Different Colors for HP Bars of Undead/Forged Characters

[changelingamuck]

To me, this is a huge quality of life change requiring little developer labor. I'm suggesting that the health bars displayed for pale masters in undead form and warforged/bladeforged party members have a different color than the standard red. I'd suggest purple health bars for pale masters in undead form and silver health bars for warforged/bladeforged. Fleshie artificers with the construct essence feat could have a grey color or just stick with the standard red since they still receive larger heals from positive energy than from repair spells. For the very few forged characters who take the improved fortification feat that makes them immune to positive healing, maybe they could be assigned a very, very dark grey colored hp bar.

This would solve a number of continuous problems for many builds while in parties:

1) Benefits to Healers healing the Fleshie and Undead: Healers in a party/raid group won't be wasting spell points misguidedly casting positive energy healing spells on wizards while having no idea whether or not they're pale masters and totally immune to positive energy. And, divines would have to consider carrying the Harm spell and they would actually know for sure which party wizards would benefit from it just by looking at the party UI.

2) Benefits to Fleshie Wizards: Fleshie, non-pale master wizards would receive third-party heals since healers won't assume, based on their wizard icon, that they're immune to positive energy heals or don't need heals since they're probably self-healing war-/blade-forged.

3) Benefits to Positive Energy Healers healing the -Forged: Healers in a party/raid group will be able to see those war-/blade-forged in the group who will likely receive smaller heals from positive energy and be able to adjust the strength of their choice of healing spells accordingly. And, healers will see silver/grey hp bars next to an arcane/artificer icon and consequently know that they can self-heal through most things and don't need as much help.

4) Benefits to Repair Healers: Classes with access to repair spells will be able to see whom those spells will affect just by looking at the party UI. Artificers, who are not a competitive class at all right now, have access to both positive and repair healing spells and admixtures and this simple UI color change of health bars would increase their effectiveness in groups by knowing who they can most effectively heal with what repair spell/positive energy admixture by looking at hp bars.

5) Overall Benefit of Less Healing Confusion: A significant amount of the balance problems with 'non-self-healing' builds would be ameliorated and some problems with healing classes being 'less fun' would be ameliorated by this improvement of their efficiency (and how transparent and enjoyable healing is) by far.

This is a simple change of the display of colors in the UI that, I think, would improve the balance of classes greatly without 'nerfing' or 'buffing' a single numeric value. It would require no additional 3d graphics, animations, nothing like that. Just a change of colors, resulting in a large quality of life improvement.

I rest my case. Please provide opinions and "/signed"'s or "/not signed"'s.

EDIT: As some people replying to the thread have pointed out, the colors of hp bars would need to change under some varying circumstances. For example, war-/blade-forged sorcerers in the capstone savant elemental forms become just like fleshies in terms of their receptiveness to positive energy heals and being immune to repair heals; so their hp bar color would need to turn to the standard red in those elemental forms. The same thing would happen with characters with druid levels going into animal forms. Dead characters raised through the tier 5 pale master animate ally enhancement or by the Cursed Blade of Jack Jibbers would need their hp bars turned purple (which should be automatic since undead forms would already be coded as turning to purple hp bars under this proposal).

[HatsuharuZ]

I think this is a good idea. It would save my characters a lot of annoyance, trying to heal something that can't be healed.

[Qhualor]

skull and crossbones.

I don't play any undead toons, but I know the frustration to throw a heal on someone that is almost dead and keep hitting them with it thinking you were out of range or something only to realize they are undead. I think whenever these undead characters are in form there needs to be an icon change that lets everyone know. I would say a color change but some people are colorblind.

4 years ago I would have agreed with WF, but unless I have repair spells for some odd reason on my melees that always have Cocoon or cure spells that come with the class, positive healing is dominant today. im still going to throw them a heal regardless if they dumped healers friend. how much im willing to throw on a dumped healers friend forge is another story.

[EllisDee37]

4 years ago I would have agreed with WF, but unless I have repair spells for some odd reason on my melees that always have Cocoon or cure spells that come with the class, positive healing is dominant today. im still going to throw them a heal regardless if they dumped healers friend. how much im willing to throw on a dumped healers friend forge is another story.

I think the OP's thought is the value of a robot color isn't for healers using positive energy, it's for repair-ers who don't normally throw any recons being able to see at a glance if they could.

[Nefatron]

If they ever make healers something to play again I could see that..
But I haven't had a heal tossed my way in ages now.

[lyrecono]

anything to get people to run healers again, +1

[Powerhungry]

But I haven't had a heal tossed my way in ages now.

Then you're either playing with the wrong people (every healer I know throws heals) or you only solo and there isn't anyone to heal you.
Maybe try a different server if they won't heal you

[peng]

I would definitely be in favor of a change like this.

[changelingamuck]

It looks like this would be a really popular change then...

How do I bring this thread to the attention of the devs and the players council?

[If a dev or player council member reads this thread, can I get a "read by a dev" or "read by a player council member" comment please?]

If more players read this, please comment with a "/signed" or "/not signed" and any opinions. To people who've already posted, thanks for the feedback.

[Connman]

It looks like this would be a really popular change then...

How do I bring this thread to the attention of the devs and the players council?

[If a dev or player council member reads this thread, can I get a "read by a dev" or "read by a player council member" comment please?]


If more players read this, please comment with a "/signed" or "/not signed" and any opinions. To people who've already posted, thanks for the feedback.

/signed

you just have to hope enough people agree with you and /sign

[doubledge]

The only bad thing I can see from this, is that if you're playing a WF with anything that cannot self heal, you'll be almost completely ignored by healers. I suppose it's not any much more different compared to how it is now (if you have less than 60% incoming healing, then people stop healing you), but it'd hurt players of toaster melees. Bladeforged, being Bladeforged, would be completely untouched by this.

All in all, I'm all for the addition of a different color of pale masters, and the color change for WF would be okay. Just gotta remember to disable the color change for WF if they were to say... turn into a wolf form as a WF druid.

/signed

[knifefighter]

I think this is a great idea.

[changelingamuck]

The only bad thing I can see from this, is that if you're playing a WF with anything that cannot self heal, you'll be almost completely ignored by healers. I suppose it's not any much more different compared to how it is now (if you have less than 60% incoming healing, then people stop healing you), but it'd hurt players of toaster melees. Bladeforged, being Bladeforged, would be completely untouched by this.

All in all, I'm all for the addition of a different color of pale masters, and the color change for WF would be okay. Just gotta remember to disable the color change for WF if they were to say... turn into a wolf form as a WF druid.

/signed

Good point about the going into druid animal form issue. I didn't think about that. If the devs are able to change the color of hp bars of palemasters going into/out of undead form, though, they should be able to make going into animal form turn the hp bars into the standard red though.

As for warforged receiving less heals as a result of this proposal, personally for me, it would result in the opposite effect while playing my healers. Seeing that a melee is warforged based on their hp bar's color, I'd know right off the bat to throw them a stronger cure/heal spell. So, instead of being frustrated wasting more sp by having to cast two cure spells after the first one reveals that they're receiving lower healing from positive energy, I'd know just to cast one stronger heal to raise their health where I want it to be... I'd be less annoyed healing warforged melee because I would know what I needed to do without zooming in to look at character models to determine what my spells will actually do or, more realistically, just dealing with the 'surprise, I actually have to cast another healing spell' revelation.

[doubledge]

Not just animal forms: Many "forms" would also change the color.

Off the top of my head:

Sorc elemental capstone
All druid forms
Shadowdancer shadow form?
Jibbers blade (to undead)
Raise zombie palemaster enhancement (to undead)

[changelingamuck]

Not just animal forms: Many "forms" would also change the color.

Off the top of my head:

Sorc elemental capstone
All druid forms
Shadowdancer shadow form?
Jibbers blade (to undead)
Raise zombie palemaster enhancement (to undead)

Thanks for pointing these out (and thanks doubledge for bringing up animal forms initially). I don't play forged characters or sorcs so those issues hadn't occurred to me. I'll edit the original post when I have more time to reflect these concerns about various 'forms' changing susceptibility to healing.

I've never used shadow form, but I don't think it affects healing... at least the shadowdancer page on ddowiki doesn't mention anything about it changing the healing received by characters using it. Anyone know if it affects healing received?

And do warforged/bladeforged going into Primal Avatar's tree form become susceptible to positive healing and immune to repair healing like how going into sorc capstone elemental forms and animal forms affects them?

[doubledge]

Thanks for pointing these out (and thanks doubledge for bringing up animal forms initially). I don't play forged characters or sorcs so those issues hadn't occurred to me. I'll edit the original post when I have more time to reflect these concerns about various 'forms' changing susceptibility to healing.

I've never used shadow form, but I don't think it affects healing... at least the shadowdancer page on ddowiki doesn't mention anything about it changing the healing received by characters using it. Anyone know if it affects healing received?

And do warforged/bladeforged going into Primal Avatar's tree form become susceptible to positive healing and immune to repair healing like how going into sorc capstone elemental forms and animal forms affects them?

I'm pretty sure that shadow form does not prevent positive energy healing, but i'm not sure it's effects on wf.

I'm 3/4 sure that tree form is just a appearance change and a buff. I'm pretty sure it's treated similar to shadow form.

No problem, I really love this idea, but ideas can always be improved. (fyi, both of those posts were by me lol)

:Edit also of note include artificer construct essence (50% repair effect) and warforged improved fortification (heal amp x 0)

[changelingamuck]

(fyi, both of those posts were by me lol)

Yeah, lol, reading fail.

[RD2play]

I like this idea!! There are 3 different states to be in considering healing atm so 3 colours would be fine one for positive, negative and repair. also like the red, purple and grey you choose.

[RD2play]

maybe there should actually be a 4th colour, namely for warforged that took feat/enhancements that completely make them immune to positive

[General_Gronker]

It looks like this would be a really popular change then...

Really? With 7 whole replies you think this looks like it would be a popular change? That makes no sense.

/not signed

Why? Because lord know what they would break in the process for almost no gain whatsoever.