Combat VFX for new class combinations

Vaqual · June 8

There are certain abilities that where originally never intended to be displayed together, but due to subclassing it is now possible. For most abilities that is not a big deal, but for some the results are quite janky. The abilities that turn your character transparent, namely Cloak, Dragon Blood and Lightning Form, have been critizied before, due to their divisive look. Some players love them, others hate having their character texture being overridden for a large amount of time. But using them together, creates even worse results, as they do not really blend. Here 2 examples:

1. First cast Dragon Blood, then Lightning Form: Character turns transparent, dark and the heart is displayed.The color from Lightning Form is suppressed until Dragon Blood expires. If cast in quick succession the character will glow brightly for just one moment before also Lightning Form expires.

2. First Lighting Form, then Dragon Blood: Character becomes blueish-transparent, only the heart is displayed. When Dragon Blood expires the character will turn dark for a moment, until also Lightning Form expires.

3. Any sequence, with the skills recast before the cooldown expires: The effect from Dragon Blood will "win" suppressing the Lightning Form texture completely. EDIT: Apparently this is only true if a bar swap is involved.

I get that this is a very minute issue for an edge case of ability combinations, but these abilities just don't look good. I don't really like to see my character without texture, but being without texture and flashing in different colors all the time is even worse. Could it be feasible to introduce some kind of cosmetic via the collection, that prevents any form of texture altering combat VFX? How are these abilities coded? Would this be feasible without messing with transformations or other abilities?
Another solution could be to add a bit more of a pronounced fade out effect to these animations, so that the transitions don't look so abrupt.

tsaescishoeshiner · June 11

Dragon Blood shouldn't make you invisible in the first place. Not only because it's more of a burst heal than a buff, but it also doesn't make sense for a tanky, dragony ability to make you see-through, other than to show off how big the heart is. Maybe it could just have a thump-thump heart sound for a second or two when you use it?

Lightning Form could also not turn you invisible and still be a very cool-looking skill—it does help visually track when it's active, however.

Vaqual · July 18

I actually just noticed that the fade-out effect for green Dragon Blood plays after the HoT-component finishes at the 5 second mark. I suppose it is ok to have a visual indicator there, but the fade out really needs to play again when the black texture goes away at 20 s (with the expiration of the other buffs).
@ZOS_Kevin can you forward this please? This is such a nieche issue and it is unlikely to gain a lot of traction, but it is clearly not how it should be.

Vaqual · August 2

Overall I'd suggest that the most recent effect should "win", to at least avoid pointless flicker.

Vaqual · September 5

Another good alternative would be matching skill styles in class themes, to make the transition between effects less crass.