That's the hope. On the list of "does this make sense" boobplate falls well below how bolter shells detonate inside their targets, supposedly rational people demanding the Imperial Guard get a presence in a game about combat elites, that 2-hit melee TTK's under .5 are "fair", and why people think the design compromises that are required for TT play have any bearing on the design compromises required to convert that setting into an active combat title. Incidentally though not rendered for the game I encourage anyone concerned a boobplate to get a good look at the mask design for the Howling Banshees. Though they can vary a little it's a well designed shrapnel trap very efficiently designed to turn any potential grazing hit into a sure ricochet straight into the wearer's face. That's stupid. That's precious stupid. Any time 40k wants to slough some of it's dumb I'm listening. But 'til then? Like the person asked, "are you sure you want to die on this particular hill?" For me the answer is no.
Fantasy and sci-fi universes have always favored looks over efficiency, though most severely the fantasy EDIT: I just remembered this: http://www.gamesradar.com/gamings-most-impractical-suits-armor-metalworker-weighs/
Well, as smart people have said everything that's art has to be understood in the context of the time in which it was created. And for 40k it was the Cold War. Unending, unmerciful, indiscriminate, and fought as though everyone and everything could destroyed on about an hour's notice. There were no bystanders, no innocents, and no neutral powers. That's over-generalized horseshit, too, and set up that way to benefit the powers at the top while feeding the unnumerable and generally unimportant masses into the furnaces of industry and war. Forever, if possible. So as I see it that describes 40k pretty well with the Eldar being the non-NATO Northern European nations like Sweden, Finland, and Switzerland. (Incidentally in some fanon theories about symbolic choices the US are the Forces of Chaos. Ho ho.) Problem being the Cold War ended, though combat kept evolving. And 40k is an homage to that increasingly obsolete model of warfare -and The Mote in God's Eye, Starship Troopers, Terminator, everything Heinlien and Asimov, a little cheeky Nazi uniform fetish, etc etc etc. Really an Eldar force should be 95% drones and instead of 90% infantry, but as has been said, "woo dubya-dubya-two!" Edit: with regard for impracticality arguments. I've heard most of them, and I think they're correct. But if we're trying to un-dumb 40k that the Eldar don't run their battle by 90% remote control ranks high for me.
I'm disappointed Wow/Blizzard didn't get more entries! Incidentally I had a few friends who made boiled leather armor and chainmail suits for SCA stuff and I showed them some of the Warhammer Fantasy designs. While lots their commentary was predictably mixed (giant pauldrons and improbably large weapons getting the most criticism) they really likee the High Elf armies for being well designed as both wearable and protective. Neat stuff.
Most of the High Elf armors are awesome, their tower shields too. Though the Blood Elf Spellbreaker from Warcraft III is still cooler (though less practical).
If you want over the top stylized stuff, you play 40k. If you want realistic, I suggest maybe Bolt Action.
