Rank, Experience and Participation

In the experiment conducted in Second Life, veterans were easily recognizable through their lack of default items and use of sophisticated hair and accessories. Basic avatar movement animations and inappropriate dress for a setting was also an indicator of a new player.
Player experience was shown through higher quality avatars, and specific styles that help tell them apart as an elite group.

What kind of styles can my characters adopt that show experience?
Is eliteness shown through lack of  common clothing and equipment?
Can it be shown through unique hair styles or individuality?

The Inquisitor. Highest ranking character of the game.
Completely different appearance to the other soldier under
her command.

As an example, The “Chaos” faction in Dawn of war uses decorative and demonic elements to show character rank.  The amount of demonic aesthetics and gold dictate the rank of a character visually. This is also related to the size of a character, with the high ranking characters being visually larger than the standard chaos marines. Experienced characters can also be identified through their lack of standard equipment and often show more individuality.

So what kind of experience indicators can I use on my characters?

Levels of mechaical aesthetics?
Use of Red?
Size?
Deviation from standard equipment?

It was also important to note that, not directly related to rank, but the individuality of a character within a single player environment is very much linked to their importance. In Dawn of War 2, most of the hero characters often lack any form of head gear, so they their faces are visible. They hold unique weapons and clothing that make them stand out from the rest.


The clothing characters wear can also show their level of participation within the group...
In second life, it was observed that players who excluded themselves from the groups dress norms also excluded themselves from activities a lot more.
People that embraced the group often wore matching costumes, however others chose something more distinctive to retain some individuality.