Am I crazy or are spells uglier in Retail?

[username993720]

The vast majority of these are just Shadow-based abilities that have nothing to do with the aesthetic of Death or Necromancy. A few of them are Talents that have no aesthetic whatsoever.

The names.
And i hope you saw my comment about warlock gear.

Since you're all so fixated on the shadowbolt you also need to consider the gameplay changes.
In classic a single shadowbolt crit could onehit people. It was the embodiment of death, often the last thing people saw before they died.
In retail it's a filler spell thats around rank 10 in the rotation. It barely tickles.

Those changes also need to be reflected in their presentation.

Damn... what a burn.

[Aucald]

The names.
And i hope you saw my comment about warlock gear.

Random ability and talent names don't create an aesthetic. This would be like saying Demon Hunters are like Hunters because of talents named "Isolated Prey" or "The Hunt." Gear is also all over the place, so it's easy to cherry-pick different sets for desired aesthetics. I can make my DK look like a Warrior or even a Paladin if I want to, but that doesn't change the nature of the DK's general aesthetic as it is commonly presented.

[Puri]

In my experience, you needed some pretty significant setup to reach one-hit levels with Shadowbolts, such as layering ZHC on top of other trinkets and so on. This isn't to say one-hit Shadowbolts were impossible, but they were rather rare, and it doesn't account for Resistances and so on, which were equally prevalent back in Classic. To say it was "often the last thing people saw before they died" would be an exaggeration, IMO.

I haven't said that every shadowbolt did one hit, I said one hits were possible.
And that shadowbolt is often the last thing people saw before they die is not an exaggeration, because that's how warlocks usually killed, no matter if it's a one hit or not. And it's also technically true, since the shadowbolt animation was among the slowest animations, and you would see them coming while you already were dead.
But obviously that's all completely offtopic.

[username993720]

Random ability and talent names don't create an aesthetic. This would be like saying Demon Hunters are like Hunters because of talents named "Isolated Prey" or "The Hunt." Gear is also all over the place, so it's easy to cherry-pick different sets for desired aesthetics. I can make my DK look like a Warrior or even a Paladin if I want to, but that doesn't change the nature of the DK's general aesthetic as it is commonly presented.

They are hunters, of demons. The Hunter can also excel in hunting demon when choosing to track demons. They differ in their method of hunting. The Paladin can also be considered one, given how their abilities are aimed at demons and undead.

[Aucald]

They are hunters, of demons. The Hunter can also excel in hunting demon when choosing to track demons. They differ in their method of hunting. The Paladin can also be considered one, given how their abilities are aimed at demons and undead.

And yet, the aesthetic differences between Demon Hunters, Hunters, and Paladins couldn't be more distinct.

[Ereb]

There are a few exceptions, but for the most part I think pretty much every aspect of the graphics is better in retail than classic.

It is, but boomers hate change

[username993720]

And yet, the aesthetic differences between Demon Hunters, Hunters, and Paladins couldn't be more distinct.

I agree.
But, we can't ignore how they all do that. Like we can't ignore the Warlock's necromantic side.

[Lecadre]

the druid's "wrath" ability was definitely better before, with that wild green ball being thrown, now it looks underwhelming and lower in visuals

[Lytrwths]

I miss the original Female Human Hand of Justice animation. Otherwise, I think the visual and animations are generally (but not universally) improved. I like the new Shaman Lightning Bolt. I beats all hell out of the original 'lightning coloured Wrath'. And Chain Lightning remains Chain Lightning, which is the important thing for Elemental, really.

Well said! In most occasions there is a big improvement visual wise.

[Inxotep]

I remember when they updated frostbolt in argus patch and thought it was a downgrade with a weaker visual and it being more white instead of strong blue color. I miss the blue glow, 2004 frostbolt looks more powerful than 2025 frostbolt.

Frostfire Bolt also looked a lot more impressive in wrath than now. Doesn't look bad now, but it does look weaker in comparison imo.

Then there's weird changes like the skull of shadowbolt or the dragon head from chaos bolt just being replaced by pretty colors.

Glyphs for more spell animations so we can choose whatever animation we prefer would be wonderful.

[TBM X]

... Snipped...

You are not wrong at all. I remember playing WoW when the Burning Crusade came out. It was a lot beautiful and clean. But nowadays, these effects in retail are just fancier.

Sure, I have seen some graphics of the spells getting a major upgrade in its appearance, and some spells... not quite so appealing. To each own preferences and how they see these spells, I guess.

[Kalisandra]

I remember when they updated frostbolt in argus patch and thought it was a downgrade with a weaker visual and it being more white instead of strong blue color. I miss the blue glow, 2004 frostbolt looks more powerful than 2025 frostbolt.

Frostfire Bolt also looked a lot more impressive in wrath than now. Doesn't look bad now, but it does look weaker in comparison imo.

Frostfire definitely looks pretty minor these days. On the other hand, it is a fairly minor spell now - Fire gets it's damage from Pyro, not from fillers.

Glyphs for more spell animations so we can choose whatever animation we prefer would be wonderful.

More glyphs would be great, and allowing people to glyph in old spell graphics should be a fairly minor thing (assuming there isn't some major engine change under it).

[MrLachyG]

yes you are crazy, but you're also right... technically. what's that saying about beauty being in the eye of the beholder?

and for mods purposes: the part where I called OP crazy is a joke, not a dick. don't take it the wrong way please.

[Alanar]

You are not wrong at all. I remember playing WoW when the Burning Crusade came out. It was a lot beautiful and clean. But nowadays, these effects in retail are just fancier.

Sure, I have seen some graphics of the spells getting a major upgrade in its appearance, and some spells... not quite so appealing. To each own preferences and how they see these spells, I guess.

Maybe its the age, but in classic, but also bc. The animation and effects were short, but powerfull. The impact sound was also felt more. Mindblast hit on target used to be a louder screech as well for example. I mean, You had a yellow number on your screen and a sound. Easy to read. Honestly nowadays, the screen is swarming with numbers and sounds overlap or fall to the distance, because there is to much going on. Its like the sounds fade, half way through to make room for the next.

Lighting was probably one of the best examples. It was short and had a good impact sound. On top of that, that short animation also contributed to the fact, how lighting literally looks in real life.

[Cynical Asshole]

My BM hunter's Cobra Shot has the same effect as a wand from vanilla WoW.

[Alanar]

Glyphs for more spell animations so we can choose whatever animation we prefer would be wonderful.

They slack so hard on glyps man. So much options there, its a real shame they dont put much effort into it.

We see like max 2 glyphs added per expansion or so..

- - - Updated - - -

My BM hunter's Cobra Shot has the same effect as a wand from vanilla WoW.

The wand sound in classic was a lot louder no?
I realy though this was the case.

[Soon-TM]

Some spells look better in retail (wrath, lightning bolt, flamestrike) while others look worse (incinerate, frostbolt, chain lightning), and combat animations may be prettier, but at the price of looking incredibly generic. Ditto for sounds in retail, whereas in classic they carry way more punch, especially for popular specs like ret or ferals.

[Ghostile]

Some spells look better in retail (wrath, lightning bolt, flamestrike) while others look worse (incinerate, frostbolt, chain lightning), and combat animations may be prettier, but at the price of looking incredibly generic. Ditto for sounds in retail, whereas in classic they carry way more punch, especially for popular specs like ret or ferals.

man, if there is one spell I want back that's old chain lightning.

[Ashana Darkmoon]

IDK shadow had one visual in classic, now we throw galaxies with more pixels than all of original Westfall combined.

[Tezzeret1993]

They slack so hard on glyps man. So much options there, its a real shame they dont put much effort into it.

We see like max 2 glyphs added per expansion or so..

WHEN they add something.
Glyphs have alot of potential, the last time they have care about them was in Legion if IRR.
Sometimes they add some in the middle of an EXP, like 2 in 2 years

The wand sound in classic was a lot louder no?
I realy though this was the case.

Yes, that was also why i hated wands i mean: they were louder then some real spells