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 āwack-a-moleā 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 donāt 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 isnāt 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. Itās jarring.
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You seriously think this is important? Its just graphic man and small detail.
As mentioned, I think it is somewhat nitpicky, but graphics and animations are important to a lot of players (myself included) in capturing the āfeelā of the original D2. The VV team themselves mentioned they are interested in any feedback about things that might ābetrayā the feel of the original game, and since the sorceress is my favorite class, this is something I noticed. I wouldnāt place it very high on the priority list, but if it can be addressed, then I think it would help fans of the original D2 sorceress better connect with the D2R sorceress.
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I just checked. Maybe she is twisting her body too much in the animation and thats why it feel off, but honestly its only important when using staff right? How often do you play sorc with two handed staff ? 
Iām sure it makes me a minority but I always use a 2h staff. But even if only a minority of players use a 2h staff on sorceress, the animations are still different in the remastered version and detract from the feeling of the original game. I agree it isnāt the highest priority, but again, if the VV team have the time/resources and acknowledge this was an unnecessary change, then they can just restore the animations to recapture the feeling of the original D2 sorceress.
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Attention to detail is the very definition between a good and a bad remaster.
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Not every detail is important, you wont care about thing like this if you plan to play longer than finishing game once.
They are not making copy of old game.
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I donāt think its nitpicky, VV has one job here, re-do the way things look. A big part of this includes doing the movement and skill animations right. I already have my own thread on the way the Pally moves.
What has bothered me is the casting animation without a weapon equipped looks like she is copping a squat. Its the same animation with a weapon but you donāt see it as much. The issue is that she pretty much does a squat in the new animation as she leans forward throwing her staff out. The original she just bends her legs slightly.
Sorc isnāt my favorite class but watching her cop a squat every time she casts a spell is going to bug me.
Edit: Llamaās video is using a 1 hander, the animation is the sameā¦again squatting when casting. It actually looks better with a staff as the staff goes through an animation that looks like the spell is being thrown out of the top of the staff. When this same animation is used on the single hander it looks weird.
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Youāre right it would be false to say that D2R is a 1:1 copy, because according to the many articles and Blizzcon panel on the subject, what they are going for is 70% true the original, and 30% ānewā but still in the spirit of the original. My understanding is that the 30% they are adding are just little flairs of details they can now bring to life with the remastered graphics, and things they can iterate on that are still true to the spirit of the original D2.
Changing the animations to something completely different, or attempting to compromise by consolidating the sorcās animations into this one animation is completely counter to the goals of their purported 70:30 formula. In no way does changing the animations like this āimproveā on the original, nor does it stay true to the spirit of the original, so it doesnāt seem to fall within that 30% range of creative license theyāve given themselves. Honestly, it comes across as a time/cost-saving measure where they basically decided they would kill two birds with one stone by combining all of the abilities into one animation.
People find different things important. As mentioned, getting the graphics and animations right are integral to capturing the āfeelā of the original D2, and while it may seem to you like the majority of players wonāt care if they plan to play the game more than once ā for a lot of players (again, myself included) the visuals/atmosphere/animations are all part of the āhookā that has kept us playing and coming back to the game for years.
@Rondel
I agree and I didnāt realize the extent to which these changes are impacting other classes as well. I hope that VV will acknowledge that the original animations were part of the overall experience that players enjoyed. I laughed at ācopping a squat.ā This is probably a more accurate description of the new animation movement that I found the most jarring.
I do stand by what I said in my original post, however, in that I dislike the Sorcās abilities being emitted from the top of the staff. I simply donāt like the idea that Iām firing some kind of magic gun vs. actually channeling magic through a focus. I suppose it is an example of how a seemingly insignificant animation change can completely alter a personās experience of a class.
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Totally agreed DarkMagician, and very well written.
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Being completely rudeā¦for a reasonā¦
When the sorc does inferno, she holds the āsquattedā position while she spits fire out of her staff. Just think how easy it will be for someone doing a mod to reverse the casting animation so the fire will come out of herā¦
Yes itās crude but Iām trying to illustrate how itās a bad position. The first time I thought of it was lightning but hey inferno just lets it out better. You donāt want to build these inā¦
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@Axe
Thank you. It seems like a long shot, but hopefully VV will recognize the importance the original animations have for a lot of players.
@Rondel
Lol, I admit I never really considered that. While I think that modders can do whatever they want in their own private games, I think it does underscore how ridiculous the new animation is compared to the old one. One could imagine combining the modded animation with the teleport skill to comedic effect by āreverse-infernoingā out of a room.
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I also dont like how there is a big fire under sorcās feet every time she uses a fire spell.
In og D2 there was only a slight firey aura around her coming up, like the air around her catching fire. Now when you cast spells constantly it looks like sheās burning herself at the stakeā¦ 
edit: with high fcr it looks ridiculous, like the sorc turns into a big fireplace
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Honestly had the same thoughts, juhas. Itās a lot of fire around her feet for fireballā¦
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Animations to me are one of the more important things in a game. If they look āOFFā, then the whole gaming experience is lessened imo
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