A quick guide to WoW’s Trial of Style

One of the most anticipated micro-holidays is back in World of Warcraft for the week, and it’s inspiring both transmog addicts and non-addicts to take a shot at earning first place and earn the glory of knowing you look fine as fel. If you’re not sure you want to enter, not sure how to enter, or just feel like doing some research ahead of time to help ensure victory, we have you covered.

It’s a fairly simple concept, but we’ll be going over some of the basics to help you decide if the Trial of Style is truly your thing.

What is the Trial of Style and how does it work?

The Trial of Style is a transmogrification contest that puts you and 5 other players into a scenario. When you first zone in, you’ll notice you and everyone else are in the same, simplistic exact outfit — essentially, you are a blank canvas. Shortly after entering, a theme will appear underneath the stage. You then have 2.5 minutes to come up with a transmog outfit that fits that theme. There are two transmog NPCs on either end of the room, and you’ll be able to choose from any of the transmog you have personally collected in your Appearance tab.

It’s worth noting that transmog is completely free while in the scenario, and you can you pre-existing sets. If you really want to prepare, you can save sets ahead of time for each theme and simply select whichever you happen to get in your scenario. Also worth noting — even if you don’t participate in the Trial of Style, all transmogrification and Barber Shop visits are absolutely free while the Trial is going on.

After time is up, there are several rounds of voting. Only 2 people take the stage at a time, and if you aren’t one of them, you will have a vehicle-style action bar that lets you transition between the two people on stage and cast your vote for whichever you think nailed the theme better. If you are one of the people on stage, you’ll have three buttons — one to cheer, one to wave, and one to dance — however, you can also type in your own emotes if you think something will work better. For example, one of the people in my competition decided to /sleep on stage.

How do I enter?

This one’s pretty easy: Just find a transmogrification NPC in any of the major cities, talk to them, and queue for the scenario.

No, really, that’s all there is to it.

What are the themes?

Wowhead has ideas for each theme, so be sure to check out their post if you want some inspiration. If you want to plan something ahead of time without any outside ideas, these are the 16 possible themes you’ll want to prepare for:

• Summer Styles
• Winter Wear
• Ready for Battle
• Fun and Flirty
• Mismatched Mayhem
• Spook-tacular
• Dark and Deadly
• Faction Pride
• Zen
• Magical Modeling
• Make me Laugh
• Tabard Time
• Everyday Heroes
• Epic Purple
• Champions of the Light
• Freestyle!

As I said, you’re free to create preset outfits ahead of time, or you can just zone in and wing it. It’s up to you! Personally, I think part of the fun is scrambling to find an appropriate set in the moment, but you do you.

I don’t actually care about all that, I just want to know what I can win

I’m well aware that many of you are probably going to skip straight ahead to this section, so let’s not waste any time. The Trial of Style will reward players with Trial of Style Tokens — however, the amount will vary depending on how well you do. Here’s what you can expect, in descending order:

• Trial of Style Reward: First Place — 50 Trial of Style Tokens
• Trial of Style Reward: Second Place — 35 Trial of Style Tokens
• Trial of Style Reward: Third Place — 25 Trial of Style Tokens
• Trial of Style Consolation Prize — 11-16 Trial of Style Tokens

What do you use these Tokens on? Gear, transmog sets, an admirer to cheer you on, and a few “props” for your time on the Trial of Style stage. You can buy these from transmog vendors in most major cities — though currently neither the Boralus or or Zandalar vendors sell them. It’s probably an oversight on Blizzard’s part, but it’s quick to hearth to Dalaran to shop.

Here are the rewards to spend your hard-earned Tokens on:

• Tabard: Fashionable Undershirt (requires the Stylish! buff from winning the Trial to purchase) — 1 Trial of Style Token
• Cloth: Ensemble: Mana-Etched Regalia, Ensemble: Mindwrack Raiment, Ensemble: Spiritbind Regalia — 60 Trial of Style Tokens
• Leather: Ensemble: Obsidian Prowler’s Garb, Ensemble: Tundraspite Armor, Ensemble: Restless Dreambound Battlegear — 60 Trial of Style Tokens
• Mail: Ensemble: Der’izu Armor, Ensemble: Crimson Sentinel Garb, Ensemble: Chainmail of the Timeless Hunt — 60 Trial of Style Tokens
• Plate: Ensemble: Righteous Battleplate, Ensemble: Goldspine Plate, Ensemble: Amaranthine Path Armor — 60 Trial of Style Tokens
• Prop: Trial of Style Flames — 50 Trial of Style Token
• Prop: Trial of Style Spotlight — 50 Trial of Style Token
• Prop: Trial of Style Dance Floor — 100 Trial of Style Token
• A fan! Letter from an Admirer — 100 Trial of Style Token

There are two things to note regarding the rewards: All of the sets can be earned in-game through boss drops (i.e., they are not exclusive or retired gear), and you cannot purchase an armor set if it’s not your primary armor type.

And finally anyone who forgets a shirt or tabard before entering will be able to buy some from Nellie Voguesong within the scenario itself. This way, you won’t be left out and unable to transmog those slots if you happen to forego them as part of your usual ensemble.

All in all, it’s definitely my favorite micro-holiday to date. I do wish that there were more rewards or that the Tokens could be sent to alts, but I imagine this initial run will serve as a test for future iterations. What I’d like to see happen is a more frequent occurrence, as well as more rewards to be purchased — even if just a chest containing random transmog loot. As it stands, two first-place competitions net you (literally) more Tokens than you can spend. But those are all minor complaints — for now, the Trial of Style is a success in my books.