Bug:
Divine Storm has the wrong animation, from MoP, instead of the one from classic WOTLK.
You can find countless videos of the proper animation from 2010, some are linked below in the replies for comparison and supplemental information’s sake.
Last time I made a post I couldn’t add the links, but it seems now you can. That’s why the videos are linked in the replies instead of my main post, as I was unaware.
To Reproduce:
Press Divine Storm on a Paladin
Is it possible to get this switched back? The original animation is about 1000x cooler.
Divine “Storm” is missing the whole “storm” part.
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Comparison video:
You might also have noticed that Judgement attacks the target at a 45-degree angle.
Original WotLK:
I have recorded some footage in the following video to show this:
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Thanks for the supplemental information, last time I tried to post links here it wouldn’t let me - I guess you can now. The original animation looks way cooler.
At some point the animation seems to have been changed from identical to a Warrior’s Whirlwind, to a new Divine Storm animation seen in these videos circa 2009-2010. There also may have been one iteration in between, not sure yet. And then at some point in MoP, whether for performance reasons or something else, the particle lightning effect was removed and the animation was toned down.
Here is a video from a September Beta Build which not only has the older Divine Storm animation, but also has the bugged TBC Seal of Command animation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUPJooOnVkQ
Here is a video from 2010 that shows the original Divine Storm animation but with lower particle density setting perhaps, or maybe an earlier version of the animation. The electricity effect was part of the reason why it’s named “Divine Storm” yet we don’t get to see that anymore, just a stupid spinning hammer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gOvhlOQTAg
Here you can see another example of the original animation, from 2010 arena footage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5NZg0sAl1A
Here you can see the animation from MoP, which is the one we currently have. It is distinctly different.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytUa8vu8sBA&t=21s
A lot of people played Ret in this expansion for Divine Storm specifically, and it is a crying shame that it looks so dinky and pathetic, compared to what it used to. Divine Storm is missing the whole “storm” part.
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This video from Cataclysm shows that the animation still had its “storm” effect from Wrath, and Judgement correctly strikes the target straight up and down:
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This entire video (posted 11 years ago) was made when WotLK was out originally, and also shows how the particles of Divine Storm linger for 4 or more seconds after the initial cast. The patch of this video is the Trial of the Crusader patch. The animation has been constant since the beginning through the final patch, 3.3.5a, so any 3.3.5a client out there will have the correct animation files.
Classic live vs. Cata server (both ultra particle density)
Cata still uses the WotLK animation.
Classic live vs. MoP server (both ultra particle density):
MoP appears to have altered the animation entirely.
WotLK Classic visual vs. Cataclysm visual, Version 4.3.4 (15595)
(Cataclysm has the same animation as OG Wrath’s)
Watch the rune that flashes above my character in the first video:
Notice the 2 runes that flash above my character in the Cataclysm client’s:
It looks like the spell is missing 1 of 2 visual effects.
The entire thing could be just a particle density issue with the client. It looks like the max value is set to 100, and in the classic client the slider has 3 levels.
I was reporting this visual fidelity issue at launch since beta, they went from completely broken animation to washed-down divine storm. You cant really call it storm since it is missing all the lightning and misty pillar particles.
I think blizzard is just straight lazy to even bother and my humble speculation is that animation restoration was maybe handled by some interns or outsourced and just approved whenever they would submit something that looks similar to wrath.
Just sad to see such a cool and immersive part of your gameplay get conveniently overlooked and ignored.
