Please give us the option to keep the old skill use animation

[DavidmeetHal]

This has got to be seriously, one of the worst ideas I've seen in this game. I lasted maybe an hour before the strain on my eyes made me quit. I'm physically not able to play for more than an hour because of this, and that's a shame because I love playing.

But please, bring the old skill animation back.

[DavidmeetHal]

Well, I've tried playing it for about an hour and I've had enough. I'm serious. There is a huge chance I'll take a break untill/if it is fixed.

Me too. I couldn't take it anymore.

[Seregthol]

This has got to be seriously, one of the worst ideas I've seen in this game. I lasted maybe an hour before the strain on my eyes made me quit. I'm physically not able to play for more than an hour because of this, and that's a shame because I love playing.

Why does this Dev team keep insisting on "fixing" things that aren't broken, and NOT fixing things that are?

[Frace]

Agreed. I can't properly see them either, unless I happen to catch a flash of the disco stuff, which makes it worse.

Please revert.

[Porterson]

I agree that the skill animation was hard to make out. It wasn't painful to me, but using skills shouldn't involve unnecessary squinting.

[Hallsae]

Signed. Please either make it a toggle or revert it.

[Archambaud]

If they make the new animation a toggle, they'll probably decide to make the toggle a neon flashing button near the Lotro Store icon. The button will only stop flashing if you turn it on, or buy a character bound pocket item from the store that removes the blinking.

[Braer]

I'd like to know what the motivation was to make such a radical change. Is it just the case that it's still someone with zero game experience who's in charge? Why on earth would keep wanting to screw with the game after 14 years? Is it the kick back from us moaning at the ridiculous skill queue changes put into the WoTP beta? At least have someone on the chain who knows something, please. Just because you can do something and want to show off doesn't mean it should be implemented.
/signed

[Arnenna]

Well, this change isn't giving me headaches or problems with my eyes or anything of the sort, but I don't like it and find it annoying to watch. We can't even choose not to watch it, because it's very distracting and draws the eye regardless.

This is a prime example of reinventing the wheel. It's not necessary and it's causing a lot of players a lot of trouble. Please revert the change, or at the very very least, allow people to use the old format.

Less is more guys.

[Hallsae]

If they make the new animation a toggle, they'll probably decide to make the toggle a neon flashing button near the Lotro Store icon. The button will only stop flashing if you turn it on, or buy a character bound pocket item from the store that removes the blinking.

LOL! Wouldn't surprise me tbh.

[LadySelene]

/signed

Please make an option to revert to the old version. I cannot imagine what it must be like if you need to switch stances in a raid or whatever, you cannot see which of them is active unless you squint at it, and the less effort you make to get this info, the better for the gameplay. Sorry, raid, I accidentally clicked on Endurance and been wondering for 20 minutes why my DPS is bullsh#t.

AND BIG NO to flashing animations, animated emotes, animated stickers and all this blinding eyesore graphical nonsense which is thrown at us from literally everywhere nowadays. Who on (Middle)earth even needed this?
I could stomach the maps, even if I like old maps better, they are more of medieval cartography style. But this...

[Hallsae]

SSG, can you please release one of those "mini patches" tomorrow, or in the next few days at latest? Just to add a toggle option to the skill frame animations. I'm currently almost at the Black Gate storywise, and this really stopped me in my tracks. I just can't stand them.

If you could do it with the lighting, why couldn't you do it with these? The lighting's actually a good change, though, unlike this.

[Braer]

I figured it out. It's for the band of streamers who never look at their quickshot bars and just spam whatever key that's in reach of their fingers. Injecting some pizzazz into lacklustre gaming. Ofc they'll be moving the skill bar below the broadcast window or loose what viewers they have mustered.

[Arabani]

Please revert the change, or give us an option to turn it off as soon as possible. For the first time in 14 years I have no desire to log in. I was very excited about the new content yesterday, new dynamic zone to explore, new missions, new instances....but I could not bear this animation change, I did 8 WoTP missions, crafted a few things and logged out. Without even going to the new zone! The zone I've been excited of since Scenario's stream! Once again, a spent less then an hour in the game that just received a new content update and went to play another game. I think it tells something.

[justwanttopvp]

This is an idiotic change. Instead of spending time working on things that are actually broken, they wasted time making changes to something that no one asked to be changed. Now, hopefully, they will spend the time (wasted in the sense that they shouldn't have done this in the first place) to revert the changes. Why is it so hard for them to understand that they should spend time fixing those things the players are complaining about ad infinitum, rather than changing things the players aren't concerned over? It really seems that there is no one with common sense working on LOTRO.

[DiannaHimi]

I actually love the change. Maybe being on a big monitor helps, as the effects are barely noticeable and don't strain my eyes at all, even when staring at my hotbars. I find this little change weird, as class balance could have been done instead, but its still a breath of fresh air into the game, adding little by little to their goal of an updated and modern UI look. I do however think the active toggle effects needs either a color change or increase in size as its not very noticeable.

I would definitely keep using it, but would surely /sign this thread for at least giving a UI button in the options to revert to the old look, for those who need it. My boyfriend also loves the change and finds it modern and pretty, but since he needs glasses during PC use, he finds it a bit harder to read than before.

[Mithithil]

I'd like to know what the motivation was to make such a radical change. Is it just the case that it's still someone with zero game experience who's in charge? Why on earth would keep wanting to screw with the game after 14 years? Is it the kick back from us moaning at the ridiculous skill queue changes put into the WoTP beta? At least have someone on the chain who knows something, please. Just because you can do something and want to show off doesn't mean it should be implemented.
/signed

Have you ever worked with keen young coders?

"Look at this (I think its) cool thing I did"
"Oooh, that's clever, bit pointless use of your time though"
"Ah, but we can implement it like this..."

and so forth

[Oddessia]

/signed

Please make an option to revert to the old version. I cannot imagine what it must be like if you need to switch stances in a raid or whatever, you cannot see which of them is active unless you squint at it, and the less effort you make to get this info, the better for the gameplay. Sorry, raid, I accidentally clicked on Endurance and been wondering for 20 minutes why my DPS is bullsh#t.

THIS! After attempting to play my cappy, I had to give up. I turned Song Brother on and off my fellow member constantly through the instance because I thought it had continued to fall off. Not to mention the myriad of other toggle effects I continued to screw up - thinking they had turned off, because I cant freaking see if they are enabled! I was the most useless Cappy that has ever Cappy-ed during that run. It was so frustrating I quit playing, and haven't even bothered looking at new area. This morning I've started downloading GW2 and BDO again. (I mean BDO, come on! Gross!) But that's how infuriating yesterday's ridiculous change made it for combat as a support class.

NOTE: I'm only talking about TOGGLE skills on/off. I dislike the glowy change behind skills as you use them but that's not game-breaking, just annoying. Playing my easy-mode champ dps is fine, I have no issues there.

The feedback in BR on this was entirely negative, but here we are anyways! Another change that "accidently got missed in the release notes," and ignored in the forums. And on BR.

-Ods

[Silmelin]

I struggle seeing which toggles are active My eyesight isn't super bad (yet) but it's not very good either, and this just doesn't work for me

[Waylock]

The quickbar should be parsable with just a glance. You should be able to see what skills are on cooldown (and an indication how long until they reactivate), and you should be able to see which toggles are active.

When I trigger an action I don't need a flashy animation to show it triggers, I should see that from my character's animation.

Now we have this pinball/arcade flashy stuff that's very noticable but used for events that don't matter, and the useful 'crawling ants' for active toggles (that could've been a bit more distinct even) are reduced to a very subtle animation that you might be able to see, depending on the colour of the skill icon, and/or the surrounding icons.

The question is WHY? What thought process was the trigger to apply this change? It's like the 'light grey text on a white background' that was popular for websites. It might look nice from a distance, but it's absolute rubbish to actually USE it.

[Gromkil]

Totally agree with most of the sentiments expressed here about these stupid illogical changes to animations! What prat thought these were an improvement, obviously not a player. I know lots of companies are blaming Covid for lack of service and such, what i wonder id SSG's excuse? Would it not be better, for the players, to spend resources on real gaming issues like lag and such rather than ill-concecived (IMHO) cosmetic changes JUST for the sake of change?

[ShireDweller]

I'm not crazy about this change either, at the very least I'd like an option to revert to the old look.

This reminds me of when we first got the "new item in bag" highlight effect, does anyone else remember that? It got changed to what it is today after lots of feedback on the forums. But this is worse because it's there on your screen all the time the UI is visible.

I don't think the LOTRO player base is getting any younger, eyesight concerns are a real issue to be considered these days.

[MistyMountains]

Please PLEASE have an option to turn it off. On all my toons it is hard to see if a skill is pending. Especially skills with green backgrounds already. It is very hard to do DPS rotations now not knowing whether a skill is triggering or not.
Please remove this or have option to disable it. PLEASE!

[twittfounder]

Like so many on this thread...I completely agree. While the intent may be good (and in few cases, actually having a bit of additional action / sparkle to see a skill in queue before it is used) may be noble -- but the execution does NOT meet expectations OR support USER enjoyment.

Like so many -- I cannot distinguish AT ALL -- my toggle skills.

As someone who is getting older in real life -- i am taking the opportunity to role play my hobbit minstrel now becoming a bit longer in the foot hair and eyesight and wondering...did I leave the lights on? did i turn off the pot of boiling water in my hobbit hole? am I really spinning swords onto this orc looking for some precious treasure?

Seriously: PLEASE REVERT to to the original UI.
OR: provide an toggle option to allow users to select an interface.

[Arabani]

I've been busy working, but has anyone asked Cordovan about this change and possible solution/fixing during today's stream?