Being new here this may have been discussed already but...
Will there be individual mini buff icons in the group window beside the name and above the mana and health bars of each group member? Being a healer type its nice to see what buffs have dropped on group members without having to ask or having them ask to be rebuffed.
One of the things that always bothered me in Vanguard was the amount of buff icons under players names.
I hope buffs and debuffs are less in number and more powerful so we don't get all clogged down under a huge wall of icons.
There has got to be a better way for tracking all that information.
Thanks,
Kiz~
I really hope they keep specific target information (things like buffs and debuffs) restricted to your current target (friendly or enemy), instead of showing all the party buffs and debuffs under their name frames. Having it this way encourages group communication inside fights, if you wanna know which player to dispell or which players has a debuff you'll need to cycle trough them, pay attention to who the enemy attacked or my favourite and most effecient way of all, the player aflicted by the debbuf tells you that he needs a dispell.
I am OK with this type of information being presented. However, I do not want it up at all times. I think it would work if you clicked on a player and the information appears (the defensive target). That way you have one window with this information on screen at once instead of six windows.
So about buff icons... I have a wierd quirky thing about buff icons. I absolutely hate icons that are too noisy, too busy, and packed with too much detail for a small 1/2 inch square. I really liked the "old" buff icons in EQ. They were simple, iconic (oh the irony!), and symbolic of the buff. In other words, keep it simple. Glancing at a buff icon shouldn't require me to study it like a Van Gogh to determine what it is.
Angrykiz said:One of the things that always bothered me in Vanguard was the amount of buff icons under players names.
I hope buffs and debuffs are less in number and more powerful so we don't get all clogged down under a huge wall of icons.
There has got to be a better way for tracking all that information.
Thanks,
Kiz~
Amen. Less is more.
As far as party buffs, go, I alwasy wondered why I need to see everyones buffs. As a buffing, or de-buffing, class, I would feel I only interested in seeing the buffs I cast on a player. And therefore am only seeing and tracking those. Of course this requires communication if multiple buffing classes have non-stackable buffs in the group, but typically that was always worked out early in the group who would cast what buffs.
Fulton said:As far as party buffs, go, I alwasy wondered why I need to see everyones buffs. As a buffing, or de-buffing, class, I would feel I only interested in seeing the buffs I cast on a player. And therefore am only seeing and tracking those. Of course this requires communication if multiple buffing classes have non-stackable buffs in the group, but typically that was always worked out early in the group who would cast what buffs.
What if you need to track a buff that someone of the same class casted on that player? Especially if it's a stronger buff of the same line.
Dekaden said:So about buff icons... I have a wierd quirky thing about buff icons. I absolutely hate icons that are too noisy, too busy, and packed with too much detail for a small 1/2 inch square. I really liked the "old" buff icons in EQ. They were simple, iconic (oh the irony!), and symbolic of the buff. In other words, keep it simple. Glancing at a buff icon shouldn't require me to study it like a Van Gogh to determine what it is.
I have seen this argument a lot and, don't get me wrong, it definitely makes sense. The problem I have with it is that simplicity is a double-edged sword. For example, if I have several different levels of heals (minor, light, etc.) on a hotbar (because I want to use mana efficiently and only heal as much as I have to), and they all have the same icon, it might be difficult to tell which is which, especially at first.
Liav said:Fulton said:As far as party buffs, go, I alwasy wondered why I need to see everyones buffs. As a buffing, or de-buffing, class, I would feel I only interested in seeing the buffs I cast on a player. And therefore am only seeing and tracking those. Of course this requires communication if multiple buffing classes have non-stackable buffs in the group, but typically that was always worked out early in the group who would cast what buffs.
What if you need to track a buff that someone of the same class casted on that player? Especially if it's a stronger buff of the same line.
Why am I tracking a buff that someone else cast? I presume you mean in a case where the original buffer has left the group, then we go old school and the player notifies the new buffer when it drops.
I know that means we have to communicate, and like actually talk to each other. LOL ;)
I guess you want both the ability to track buffs in the UI and also have to communicate to buff. It seems needless to have the ability to track buffs if you're going to be manually organizing it in the first place. That's my point.
It seems like having the ability to only track buffs you cast yourself is a half-measure that doesn't add much convenience, considering there are non-stacking buffs or buffs of the same line that serve as superior versions.
There really is no need to see buffs on everyone, even for buffing classes even if you wanted to keep track of buffs. Let the game track it for you. All I need is a text notification that says 'Your XX buff on SoAndSo has worn off". But to be honest an even simpler method is to buff yourself first, then buff others. When your buff wears off yourself, you know you should start rebuffing everyone else. Not to mention groupmates can alawys just say "hey, X buff is flashing so at the next chance lets rebuff."