Aetherscribe
07-29-2010, 07:32 AM
<p><strong>TL;DR: Most of these new effects look like they came from a Nintendo 64. Almost all of them lack the old versions' intensities, with the bad far outweghing the good. This is magic. It SHOULD be flashy, it SHOULD be intense, and these new effects truly make playing a Wizard less satisfying.</strong></p><p>I'll really only be talking about wizards in this thread, and only those up to level 50. First, the few things I did appreciate.</p><p><strong>--- GOOD ---</strong></p><p>It's about time Ice Spears stopped being a lightning bolt, and I'm glad they replaced that stupid hammer explosion that every mage's stun used. Nice for Firestorm to actually be visible. Ball of Fire looks a bit better overall, though the 'impact' (or lack there of) effect is still very weak looking.</p><p>The differentiation between spells' individual ranks -- Apprentice, Adept, Master, etc. -- is a nice touch.</p><p><strong>--- BAD ---</strong></p><p>Gone is the ZAP of Solar Flare and the chilling satisfaction of icicles raining from above with a Glacial Wind. No more will Immolation slam down into enemies with a fiery boom. Even the 'better than before' is still of a nintendo 64 quality -- particularly in respect to the new obsession with low quality, expanding cylinders to represent one form of shockwave or another.</p><p>Solar Flare looks absolutely wimpy. Immolation, Magma Chamber, Incinerate, and Firestorm are all too similar and way too flat and dated looking with their razor thin octagonal 'shockwave' graphics. Glacial Wind has been neutered, and Iceshield looks horrid.</p><p>Additionally, the rank-scaled effect intensity is sometimes wasted; in most cases the effects should start out looking like 'master', and then scale up from there. The apprentice solar flares make a laser pointer look fierce. After viewing most of the new stuff, I literally dug through my options again, convinced that somehow the effect quality had been set to minimal.</p><p><strong>--- What I'd Like to See ---</strong></p><p>Though I understand that this is not Final Fantasy, the quality of these "new" effects is amateurish. Being a Wizard is, overall, a lot less satisfying. I see some folks cheering that it's about time this stuff was toned down -- I obviously disagree. This is MAGIC. These are highly trained, intelligent individuals bending chaotic elemental forces into devastating strikes designed to blast opponents into oblivion. It SHOULD be flashy, it SHOULD be satisfying, it SHOULD make things go boom. And when raid time comes around? Well, that's what custom, saveable graphical profiles are for.</p><p>If I could, I'd set myself up with the following as a BARE minimum: OLD: Solar Flare, Immolation, Glacial Wind, Storm of Lightning, Iceshield. NEW: Magma Chamber, Incinerate, Firestorm, Ice Spears, Flames of Vellious (if only because keeping the old one would mean it looked just about identical to ice spears)</p><p>If I had my way completely, I'd pretty much go in and redesign everything except for the OLD Solar Flare, Immolation, and Glacial Wind myself.</p><p>On a more constructive note, if I'm to resign myself to these new effects, I'd suggest the following: <strong>Solar Flare</strong> isn't where it needs to be. The apprentice levels definitely need to look more intense, and the flat, semitransparent white cylinder just looks ugly, and should be adjusted to make the spell look 'hotter'. <strong>Glacial Wind's</strong> spinning texture needs a softer look -- the edges of the white ovals that make up the swirling texture are too defined. Maybe make the geometry a little more interesting than a sphere, and the solar flare-esque 'beam' it sends to enmies has got to go. Overall, the spell looks weak. Revert <strong>Iceshield</strong> to its old look -- there's no excuse for this new one. Nix the paper shockwaves that <strong>Magma Chamber, Incinerate, Firestorm</strong>, and <strong>Ice Comet</strong> all use: the fire ones need to look more unique. Ice Comet still needs more punch, though it's a big improvement. I think you can just do better in general with <strong>Flames of Vellious.</strong> The new <strong>Storm of Lightning</strong> is embarassing; Make it stormier, or have a more satisfying burst of energy when that tiny little spark finally connects.</p><p>That's my rant for now.</p><p>Edited for clarity.</p>