Don't know if it should be something available in-game through some kind of new Glyph Challenge or just another donation reward, but as a boon to the RP community, how about cosmetic spells?
There are plenty of spell animations in the game not used by players, and some which they do use but have short durations (Warlock summon animation or Mage conjuring portals animations).
A no-damage, purely cosmetic fireball, shadowbolt, smite, etc... that you could target on a random player just for the animation and nothing else. Feels like it'd add something pretty interesting, especially if one could learn them regardless of class. Maybe your Druid was a Highborne back in the day, but gave it up after the Sundering, but more recently finds him/herself in a position where they really need to use that old power? Maybe you're a mage using arcane magic to emulate druidism? Maybe you're a Warlock who was one a mage before finding the faster path to power? Heck, maybe you're a warrior who believes in the Light, but just doesn't have a strong enough connection to be an actual Paladin.
I'm curious what others think.
Cosmetic Spells?
Re: Cosmetic Spells?
I will be honest with you:
For RP, it's the cream on the pie and even à necessity to mark the action of your char in /random fighting or even more the dangerosity of a boss.
But the problem is: How other could use it. Already on some RP pserver with less than 50 chars, some people were ban for exploiting those ingame treats.
Imagining what could occur on an PVE/PVP + RP server is wild, people are bound to try to exploit it if it is available on a greater scale.
An answer would be that the RP Game Master of TWOW is allowed to distribute cosmetic soulbound objects to some trusted RP chars participating in good faith to official or public RP events for a long time, a type of ingame recognition similar to the one of the guild house where an official demand is made.
Otherwise, easy access means in 100% of the cases to easy cheese. Just read the recent patch, you will see that fighting cheese is endless. People and players can be kind, don't trust them: trust the structure and limitations you put around them.
For RP, it's the cream on the pie and even à necessity to mark the action of your char in /random fighting or even more the dangerosity of a boss.
But the problem is: How other could use it. Already on some RP pserver with less than 50 chars, some people were ban for exploiting those ingame treats.
Imagining what could occur on an PVE/PVP + RP server is wild, people are bound to try to exploit it if it is available on a greater scale.
An answer would be that the RP Game Master of TWOW is allowed to distribute cosmetic soulbound objects to some trusted RP chars participating in good faith to official or public RP events for a long time, a type of ingame recognition similar to the one of the guild house where an official demand is made.
Otherwise, easy access means in 100% of the cases to easy cheese. Just read the recent patch, you will see that fighting cheese is endless. People and players can be kind, don't trust them: trust the structure and limitations you put around them.
Re: Cosmetic Spells?
That sounds like a really great idea and the sort of thing they could sell in the Turtle Shop.
If the issue is PVP, the solution is disabling them in battlegrounds.
If the issue is PVP, the solution is disabling them in battlegrounds.
Re: Cosmetic Spells?
I think this would have to be through the shop. As interesting as it would be to replace spell appearances, cast animations can be relevant in PVP, and any replacements would need to be carefully curated to make sure that the altered cosmetics didn't provide any kind of mechanical/tactical advantage.
Re: Cosmetic Spells?
To be clear, I wasn't suggesting replacements.
So, let's say you have your usual spells, and then a new tab for cosmetic spells.
[Arcane Ritual Channel (Directed)]
Channel Animation
Lasts until Cancelled
What this does is let your character use the same animation mages use when casting their portal spells. But, that's all it does. If you move, start an attack or spell/skill, take damage, etc... then the cosmetic spell effect ends. It only exists for show.
For RP'ers, this would be a great addition. Imagine you're in a Night Elf guild, and your group of Druids are performing some kind of cleansing ritual. They could use a [Nature Channel (Omni)] so that they all look like they're casting something. They're not reliant on using their actual combat spells for visual effect (which have short cast times or durations), and the visual effect can last through multiple people typing a response, rather than only a couple of seconds, making the scene that much more immersive.
The idea here is not to replace or overlap existing spells/skills. It's to add purely visual effects specifically for RP. Disabling them in Battlegrounds also seems fair, honestly. I mean, who RP's in a battleground, for starters? For another, yes, it could get very confusing.
About the only abuse or exploitation here that I can see would be griefing by running into a RP event and just start flinging around cosmetic spells to break immersion, but I'm pretty sure the server already has rules safeguarding RP so... yeah. Not a big deal? Report, ignore, and let them enjoy their vacation.
So, let's say you have your usual spells, and then a new tab for cosmetic spells.
[Arcane Ritual Channel (Directed)]
Channel Animation
Lasts until Cancelled
What this does is let your character use the same animation mages use when casting their portal spells. But, that's all it does. If you move, start an attack or spell/skill, take damage, etc... then the cosmetic spell effect ends. It only exists for show.
For RP'ers, this would be a great addition. Imagine you're in a Night Elf guild, and your group of Druids are performing some kind of cleansing ritual. They could use a [Nature Channel (Omni)] so that they all look like they're casting something. They're not reliant on using their actual combat spells for visual effect (which have short cast times or durations), and the visual effect can last through multiple people typing a response, rather than only a couple of seconds, making the scene that much more immersive.
The idea here is not to replace or overlap existing spells/skills. It's to add purely visual effects specifically for RP. Disabling them in Battlegrounds also seems fair, honestly. I mean, who RP's in a battleground, for starters? For another, yes, it could get very confusing.
About the only abuse or exploitation here that I can see would be griefing by running into a RP event and just start flinging around cosmetic spells to break immersion, but I'm pretty sure the server already has rules safeguarding RP so... yeah. Not a big deal? Report, ignore, and let them enjoy their vacation.
Re: Cosmetic Spells?
Ah. That's...worse, actually. In PVP, it would be a way for players to bait out certain interrupts with little to no risk. Disabling for BGs would help, but you couldn't really stop someone in world PVP from, say, RP casting in a fight to get the opposing Mage to waste their Counterspell, then launching a real attack while they're stuck waiting for the cooldown.
Re: Cosmetic Spells?
Could always just disable them if you're flagged I suppose. Not like you can attack someone who isn't flagged.Kefke wrote: ↑Tue Feb 21, 2023 3:15 pmAh. That's...worse, actually. In PVP, it would be a way for players to bait out certain interrupts with little to no risk. Disabling for BGs would help, but you couldn't really stop someone in world PVP from, say, RP casting in a fight to get the opposing Mage to waste their Counterspell, then launching a real attack while they're stuck waiting for the cooldown.