So when we change our graphics we get some fancy shmancy stuff happening, like I can see my weapon illusions better at a higher graphic, which is only fair.
But it got me thinking, what about in game disadvantages due to having less graphics? I have not tested it out since I only thought about it today.
I thought about is as the last time I was in Tol Dagor was on my healer some weeks ago and I had trouble seeing the marks on the ground when he done his half AOE things that you can dodge.
But yesterday I done 2 runs in the place as my tank and had zero issues seeing the stuff on the ground, this since the upgrade to the game and the ability to push your graphics higher without losing FPS.
Does having less graphics actually take away some of the facets of the game and make it harder to play?
It can if you’re not used to looking for the graphical tell tales of mechanics. For people who are aware, there are still aoe indications on the ground. Blizz specifically designed encounters to account for people with lower graphical settings, so there will always be some indication of where the bad is.
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i have my at 5 setting and i can see stuff
When I first started playing MMOs in 1992 we would have been thrilled to have any form of graphics. Kids today have it easy with their colors and textures and audio files.
more graphics isn’t really an advantage.
see most competitive games where pros use the lowest settings for max framerates.
h1z1 everything on low on a 1080Ti kind of stuff, lol.
There was definitely a case where they didn’t do this at one point. I can’t remember what it was, but on low settings the marker was completely gone. I think it was in the BC or Wrath days?
They changed it around ulduar. I know because I used to run the raids with a potato and the markers were clear.
Yes, but having MUCH LOWER FPS also makes it harder for me to play ![:wink:](https://d38bqls1q93fod.cloudfront.net/en/wow/images/emoji/twitter/wink.png?v=6" ":wink:")
Other people have described what you speak of, not seeing stuff on the ground if effects are too low (like stuff you might need to see, or stay out of.)
I would like to just upgrade enough so that I get more than 10 FPS, around the ship in BoreAllUs.
Easiest upgrade is to get a better graphics card and stick it in your pc. Have a look at your current card and see if you can get an upgrade… you don’t need a super spectacular one. I’m using a laptop with onboard graphics and can still get 20fps on the lowest settings. I also raid mythic still.
I actually can address this as I just very recently upgraded my rig. Previously I was playing on a laptop and felt I did ok, peaked graphics at about 20 FPS, typically much lower. After the recent upgrade I can run everything topped out and get about 45-50 fps and it’s like a totally different game. Not only can you get more subtle reminders from the environment but having everything run so smoothly makes a huge difference to gameplay. It’s rather hard to describe but I feel like I was playing with lead boots on and just upgraded to some high end running shoes.
Actually … sometime back in Wrath I got a new PC and was able to push the graphics up and for the first time the entire expansion I was able to see some flame graphics on the ground that I had never noticed for the 6 months I had been playing.
I don’t know how low my graphics were to cause that and things like this might not be so bad now but I remember just being completely shocked about how OBVIOUS it was and I couldn’t believe I’d never seen it before.
Who knows how many healers I annoyed by standing in them every time.
The biggest problem I have now is I get TOO many particle effects and it can be hard to even see what’s happenening,
As others have stated there really isnt. If anything there is advantage to keeping settings low because WoW is one of the worst optimized games I’ve ever played. Even with my settings at bare minimum I RARELY push 40 fps. It gets worse on fights like M Zul where I push 20 fps. My PC is like 2 years old, but come on. This game isnt top of the line.
Check this page out, lower section. It explains all the graphic settings, shows their effect, and has notes about which ones affect performance the most, and which don’t.
http://www.logicalincrements.com/games/wow
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In a word, yes. I upgraded my PC the week of Love Is In The Air and on my old PC with low graphics settings I couldn’t see the poisons during the holiday boss and wondered why I was the only one dying or close to it everytime. It turned out I couldn’t see it and was standing in it because my old PC was such trash.
Look at the post above yours, it gives you a real good visual explanation as to what to change and how to avoid that, or you can just upgrade lol.
But yeh I found it the same, I upgraded and than they optimised the game and I feel like I can play better now due to seeing more.
what really sucks, is if your graphics are set too low you wont see certain telegraphs for spells, like the swirlies your supposed to dodge.
i havent experienced it, but i heard from a friend during dungeons she was unable to see spell swirlies, and thus didnt know where to move to avoid damage until she put her graphics settings up.
in all honesty, if the swirlies have to be removed on lower graphic settings they should be replaced with a circle outline.
being unable to see avoidable damage telegraphs due to low graphic settings should NOT be a thing.
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This is the kind of thing I was asking and what Blizzard needs to fix. I never really thought about it, my PC was some 4 years old and the game was not really ever optimised.
Again though look at the guys pos a few up, the page gives a good visual on what can be changed to help that, so maybe lowering everything not needed and upping the right ones so you can see those visuals would help.