Okay, the sorceress is my favorite class in D2, which is the only reason I noticed this issue, and I know this is going to sound really nitpicky, but purely in the interest of providing feedback and helping preserve the original feel of the game I wanted to point something out I noticed while watching streams of the D2R alpha.
In D2, the sorceress had three distinct animations for when she cast a self-buff (raised her staff above her head), for when she cast an offensive spell (held the staff upright in front of her), and for when she engaged in melee (wack-a-mole). Currently, in videos showcasing the D2R alpha, it looks like she only has one animation which is the “wack-a-mole” melee combat animation for every spell. I get the sense that VV decided to combine all of her abilities into that one animation, and this makes the class feel off to me.
For one, I don’t like the idea that the staff is somehow the source of her magic, rather than a conduit through which her magic is channeled. This is especially obvious in the new animation for the inferno spell where the fire plume is being emitted from the tip of her staff rather than outward from her body while she holds the staff upright in front of her. Her staff isn’t a cannon, it is supposed to be a focus. For two, seeing the distinct ways she would hold her staff for defensive vs. offensive abilities was visually more satisfying rather than seeing the same animation repeated ad nauseum. Not that there was a huge variety mind you, but it still felt nice to see it being changed up now and again.
I would like for the VV team to consider attempting to restore her original D2 casting animations for Resurrected. In the comparison videos you can clearly see the sorceress holding the staff upright out in front of her when casting offensive spells like firebolt and holding it up above her head when casting spells like frozen armor. This has been changed to an animation that looks like she is wacking something over the head while hurling the spell from the staff. It’s jarring.