Changing colors on Heals 'n Buffs...

So I'm loving the ability to change Power colors, I've seen some really great (and some really awful) changes.

But could I just ask players to at least *consider* not tampering *too much* with Heals and +End buffs?

Vet players (those who've been around long enough to grow accustomed to the various cues) use the audio and visual cues as an almost-subconscious gauge of team health, success, and potential for success.

When I'm being periodically bathed in a sea of green or blue, I know without even looking up from the fight, that my Health and End are in good shape and don't need near-constant monitoring.

For me, it allows me to focus on, and enjoy, the action more.

Again, not making demands or saying other colors are BAD, just asking peeps to think about the potential effects on other players' gaming, before switching their green heals to black, white, or plaid, or whatever.

In this specific case it can have more of an impact than just whether it's pretty or not.

I can see your point, especially in an organized PvP type situation where teammates need to rely on every visual cue they can get to quickly react to the combat situation.

But beyond that I think we all need to accept that a "cost" of power customization is the slightly uncertain world we now live in. Yes it's mildly disconcerting that I can't instantly tell exactly what powers are flying around like I used to be able to. But I will gladly accept that to have the "realism" of powers being any color. Frankly it was always a bit "unrealistic" to have everyone's Radiant Aura be green (for example) regardless of the origin or mechanics of a power.

So while I agree with you that power customization does come with this minor downside I would not go so far as to encourage people to deny themselves in the least. I suppose it would be nice if people followed your suggestion, but I'm not going expect it or be upset if they don't.

A little hint is useful, aye.
With my empath/psi fender, I made her power combo be red and white. Except with the Auras, Regen being green and Recovery being blue, alongside the red. It helps remind me, as much as anyone else

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Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

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Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.

I'm pretty used to quickly glancing at my buffs bar to see what I have on me already, so I haven't had any trouble adjusting to color changes. Doesn't seem like that big of a deal to me.

At first the new colors threw me off but I've gotten use to it. The animations and buff icons kind of give the buffs away. It takes about a second to look at the buff Icons.

Buff icons and my health bar not blinking red and my being able to fire my powers tells me I'm doing OK.

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Originally Posted by Dispari I don't know why Dink thinks she's not as sexy as Jay was. In 5 posts she's already upstaged his entire career.

I'm teaching myself to look at the particle effects instead of the color. They can be told apart, it just takes more learning.

I say with an embarrassed grin that I learned this less the hard way the first week. I was on a level 2 character in Fort Darwin when a friendly */kineticist speed-boosted me, with an orange-tinted speed-boost. Which I mistook for Inertial Reduction, and tried instinctively to super-jump my way to my mission, right off of the top of Fort Darwin. I didn't die, but losing all but 1 hit point to an easily-caught mistake was all the reminder I needed to stop trusting buff colors.

You'd love my new kin. His kinetics powers are more colour-co-ordinated than they were. Transfusion being apple green, siphon power being blood red, speed boost being that aquaish colour that run speed enhancements are. Heh. I'm starting to love it myself.

Most buffs are pretty easy to see, but I have to admit I've never looked at the character for buffs. Coming from more support-ish standpoints, I always look at the team status windows, and the icons there help. Besides that, checking the team's info as things start up gives you a good idea of what they're up to. Knowing their primaries/secondaries means you'll know what they can do, irregardless of colors.

...And let's be honest, what are the persitant buffs in this game? Cold, thermal, forcefield, sonic, empathy, kinetics, pain, and in a more limited way, radiation and poison. None of those are very similar, even in different colors.

Strangely enough, I've been more surprised by how many people don't modify their colors than by those that do. ....and in my experience, most have changed them to be more subtle, or at least changed the colors tastefully.

Yes, you'll run into the occasional "bublegumpopstarPrincesscatgirlgigglesLOL" character with some awful neon pink, purple, and yellow coloring, but such is pretty rare.

I cannot agree with this. There's a reason we have health metres and buff bars, they are there to represent the buffs and heals we have on us. Unless I'm in PvP (and I couldn't imagine why I'd want to be), it's simple enough to just glance up at my health bar and conclude that it's not in the red any more, meaning I have been healed.

For me, I rather prefer not being able to tell what powers each and every person is using, much in the same way I wish I didn't know the exact layout of each and every map I am always on. After five and a half years with this game, I always know what's around every turn, and that saps all the fun out of it. I'd much rather meet someone and suddenly discover he is able to shoot green fire or heal me with a blood red aura. It's a bit like your classical anime showdown, where one of the coolest moments is figuring out what, exactly, the other guy can do.

In fact, I'd do away with the spinning effect icons if I could.

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Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

You still get a halo of green when getting healed regardless of the color of the power animation. Your status tray, health bar and experience of a mission or two should be enough to let you know how skilled and alert the support on your team actually is, even in a PuG. If things are all good, take bigger risks and push the envelope. A constant green beacon isn't going to make a difference either way.

Speaking for myself: If it fits a character's aesthetics and concept, my buffs and heals will be bubblegum pink. Personally grew very tired of the default green for empathy and the years long hegemony of homogony. I'm thrilled we have this option and the wide range of variety now. Even if the combos make me want to barf now and then...

Is it really that hard to glance at the buff icon bar?

Yeah I dont mind the colored changed heal/end buffs at all- I just look for the effects and monitor my bars above my characters head.

What I do mind is being encased in a black force field... that makes me want to punch a baby seal.

No problem, Roberto. On all my support toons, at least one costume has classic colors on the buffs that matter. It's not so hard to look at the buff bar, but I don't mind taking the extra step.

Just a courtesy thing...like holding a door open, or an old-style Hami catsuit.

I actually enjoy it quite a bit when I see a fully themed character throwing out their buffs not using the default colors. By this point how the particle effects from the various buffs behave when on my character is ingrained into my head.

I reeeeeeeally love my Empathy Defender and how she was able to match a holy kind of theme for her blasts and buffs/heals. It makes the character that much more satisfying and was the first time in five years that I was able to get myself to play something than a Trick Arrow/Archery Defender seriously.

I'm in agreement with most here, the cost of power customization is getting used to the fact that color-coordinated power effects aren't to be assumed.

I will say this, my healing effects have kept at least some green in them to give the team a visual heads-up. But its a personal preference and it doesn't bother me at all when someone else's heals stray from the old norm.

I'm actually surprised how quickly I took power customization for granted. At first, I was all ecstatic and overjoyed. Oh, boy! I can't wait to play with this! Then, little by little, it settled in as an integral part of the costume creator. OK, he has these and these powers, this costume and his effects look like this. Perfect! It's come to the point where facing sets I cannot customize throws me for a big loop. Whadayamean I can't make my Gale black? What gives here?!?

Yeah, yeah, it's sometimes hard to tell what other people are using, but I don't consider that to be such a big problem. Personally, the prize of probably the best costume editor in the history of gaming is worth the cost of a little ambiguity.

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Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

Amen to that, Sam.

I only have a couple toons who can heal. And really I don't usually play buffers.

My Necro/Dark has most of her powers colored black/purple. Essentially they still look more or less the same (dark shadows), just with a purply flair. Her heal and rez, however, are black/red. So yeah, might annoy the OP since my heals are red and not green. But it's a vampiric/undead sort of life siphon, so red works out better. Also, her Darkest Night is black/green so it looks like a sickly fog.

Um, I know I made my Thermal's powers all look like actual fire, so no green healing flames. I didn't mess with my kin. I probably won't change Pain any -- I plan on doing Demon/Pain for GR. My Cold Domination girl's ice is a faint white, so still looks like ice, just easier to see through. I didn't change Traps any except to make the FF purple. I think that's it for my heal and buff toons.

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Originally Posted by PRAF68_EU Dispari has more than enough credability, and certainly doesn't need to borrow any from you.

It's weird, but I find myself giving most of my heals a greenish tinge. Just like my Build Ups are all reddish.

I think the most important thing when customizing a buffer is not to make the persistent ally buffs too obnoxious or obtrusive. I don't care if Warmth isn't green, as long as I'm not covered in blinding white fire the whole time I'm teamed with you. I find overly obscuring buffs distracting, they're screaming "Look at me!" when you're supposed to be looking at the fight.