Feedback Outline: Restoration Druid (Healer) – Blizzard Default UI Issues
1. Introduction:
- Healer perspective—specifically Restoration Druid
- Forced reliance on Blizzard default UI due to add-on policy changes
- Result: UI feels slow, misleading, and unsuited for Mythic+ and competitive dungeon gameplay
2. Core Problems:
- Critical Information is Slow or Missing
- No reliable indicator for who dangerous effects (e.g., bolt mechanics) are targeting
- Party/raid frames do not clearly display essential HoTs, debuffs, or dangerous status effects
- Visual cues for incoming damage are nearly invisible or absent
- UI Design is Misleading and Cluttered
- Overlapping, tiny icons group together, making it hard to spot urgent effects
- Health changes or targeting indicators for incoming fatal mechanics lag behind real events
- No color-coding or prioritizing for lethal debuffs vs. harmless effects
- Customization and Responsiveness are Lacking
- UI controls for customization (e.g., frame size or debuff priority) are deeply buried and limited
- Reaction time is slowed as healers must scan, hover, or guess rather than instantly see threats
- Raid frames sometimes lag or fail to update rapidly during burst damage windows
3. Impact on Gameplay:
- Predictive/preemptive healing is impossible for many mechanics—healers often discover who’s hit only after they drop dead.
- Healing is more about luck and brute reaction than skill—competitive M+ becomes guesswork.
- Default UI discourages players from healing, furthering shortages and increasing frustration.
4. Specific Examples:
- Double bolt/spam mechanics in dungeons have no clear target indication—healer cannot prepare.
- Overlapping buffs, debuffs, and HoTs make vital information disappear in a flood of icons.
- UI inadequacies become glaring without add-ons, as shown when most popular healer add-ons are restricted or removed.
5. Conclusion & Requests:
- Blizzard should overhaul default UI for healers: clearer combat information, reliable targeting cues, customizable and prioritized debuff/buff frames, and rapid health updates
- Make healer gameplay about preparation and skill, not frustration or guesswork