The transmog setup kicks in once you've maxed out armor pieces to level 9 at any dwarven shop. Watch for the upgrade counter in the corner when enhancing gear, and as soon as it hits max level you'll spot the edit appearance option appearing in your inventory menu. For precise timing, hit square while hovering over maxed armor to access appearance changes - this lets you apply the look of any collected gear piece from the same slot category without affecting your actual stats

The system really opens up mid-to-late game since getting pieces to level 9 needs quite a few resources, but once unlocked you can freely swap appearances without additional costs. Best positioning is usually at shops where you can preview looks, and maybe interesting to note that companion gear like atreus and freya's armor is purely cosmetic from the start. When experimenting with looks keep an eye on your resource count since youll want enough materials to max out key combat pieces first before focusing on style changes

Combat-focused players should prioritize actual stats early on and save appearance tweaks for later phases when upgrade materials are more abundant. The recovery window after maxing gear is your chance to really dig into customization, just remember that only the equipped piece needs level 9 - you can copy looks from any collected armor regardless of its upgrade status