Icons: Benison vs Benediction

Can we please change these icons a bit more? They look too similar, and if it's been awhile since I've used them, sometimes I find myself clicking the wrong one and the results are usually..... less than desired.

They are both blue-greenish icons with a silhouette of a person that is dark blue. They are very similar and in the heat of battle, sometimes I end up finding myself going "Uh, which is which again?" and fumbling over myself trying to figure out which one is which.

Could we add something to one of the icons to make it more distinctive from the other? Like perhaps put a cross inside the silhouette for Benediction or something?

I totally agree, I actually moved Bension a few times now trying to find a place that I won't make this mistake.

My suggestion would be a barrier icon with the color pallete to make it distinct from SCH's Adlo. Or DRK's TBN but instead a light version.

Just change Benediction position on your hotbar and put it away.
Or don't and just keep playing like this, you'll get used to it.

There's no need to change the icons, they already are difference.
If you still don't feel confident with this, just make a macro to change the icon.

/micon "theskilliconyouwant"
/ac "Devine Benision"

I don't know if Stoneskin's icon is still here but you could use it.

I'm going to be honest right now; I did not notice the icons looked the same until you mentioned it.
I keep Divine Benison on my Crossbar with the rest of my skill buffs so I only see it momentarily to cast it and then quit the crossbar to it goes back into hiding that I never really got a good look at the skill icon.

I've placed Benison in between Esuna and my normal heals. Benediction I've placed on the 2nd hot bar together with spells like Tetra, Asylum etc. Guess it's muscle memory from my old WoW days where I would put my Priests shield also right next to my cleanse and healing spells.

I just embraced it and put them on the same key with a modifier <3

Tilde = Bene(diction)
Control Tilde = Beni(son)

Sorted =(

Uuh.. what?

They are both blueish green? No Bene is more blue-purple. The silhouette in Benison is similar to the Cure/Cure III silhouette, with its arms down and not raised like in the Bene icon... Not only that but Benison shows only above the waist, Bene shows the whole body.

I'm a bit baffled how you can claim they look similar and not then complain about Cure and Cure III. (I don't think any of them look nearly similar enough to mistake one for the other personally)

For reference:

CURE: https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/m.../7/7b/Cure.png
CURE III: https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/m...2/Cure_III.png
DIVINE BENISON: https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/m...ne_Benison.png
BENEDICTION: https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/m...enediction.png

They look nothing alike and I find it disheartening that some of you actually think they do, and that it causes problems and mistakes.

While looking at it here on the forum, there are differences, sure.

But in the heat of battle, when you only have <0.5s to glance down to see where the ability is and/or what time is left until it is usable again, it is very easy to mistake.

And yes, now that you point it out, Cure III does indeed look very similar as well! Now, obviously, you're not going to be looking at your cooldown timer left on something that has no cooldown, and that is why I never have a problem with Cure III, that and it (along with all of my other non-cooldown stuff) is on the main no-modifier bar.

The problem arises when two abilities that are cooldowns have somewhat similar icons, sometimes I glance down to check the cooldown (and/or sometimes click the button instead of using the Ctrl+ or Alt+ shortcut because I'm moving at the same time and don't want to/can't stop moving to hit Ctrl+ or Alt+), that I'll mistake one ability for another if the icons are too similar.

I haven't run into this on PLD because no two PLD cooldowns look similar.

And c'mon, SE. Could we move past the "silhouette of a person with glowy stuff around them" for icons? Surely you can think of something new for icons.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rivxkobe

They look nothing alike and I find it disheartening that some of you actually think they do, and that it causes problems and mistakes.

---

I'm sure every single person out there with a visual impairment, different HUD setup or poor monitor feels bad for disappointing you, your majesty.

For heaven's sake, people are just politely pointing out a small thing which, if changed, would help them and harm nobody.

Honestly a lot of the whm spells look familiar; silhouette of a man in front of a blue/green light.

Personally I don't get them mixed up but this is due to how they're laid out on my bars and that some are keybound. However I can very easily see how someone would get them mixed up. The same can be said of the sch's fairy abilities. So many have the same colour palette with dark fairy silhouettes.

Thankfully you can make a macro to change the icon but I really do think SE should make some icons more distinct. A simple colour change would do wonders. Hardly need indepth artistry or dev work to do that.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rivxkobe

They look nothing alike and I find it disheartening that some of you actually think they do, and that it causes problems and mistakes.

---

Because visual impairments aren't a thing now, apparently. Not everyone perceives colors the same way. For some people purple and blue are easily distinguishable. For others, they appear as the same thing, and those people rely on the icon design to distinguish the difference. The only problem is that most of the WHM have similar designs so it complicates things for people with vision impairments

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Velox

Because visual impairments aren't a thing now, apparently. Not everyone perceives colors the same way. For some people purple and blue are easily distinguishable. For others, they appear as the same thing, and those people rely on the icon design to distinguish the difference. The only problem is that most of the WHM have similar designs so it complicates things for people with vision impairments

---

If they haven't already, SE should introduce a colourblind mode. WoW has one. No reason why SE can't do the same.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Maeka

But in the heat of battle, when you only have <0.5s to glance down to see where the ability is and/or what time is left until it is usable again, it is very easy to mistake.

---

Simply needing to look down at your keys or even hand position is a bigger issue than samey icon designs imo. I've used the same keys to target my party going back nigh 18 years to Everquest, whilst I can trace my rough key layouts back to vanilla WoW. Being able to effectively play with your eyes closed is a significant advantage when it comes to concentrating on mechanics or such and is well worth learning. I'd go as far as saying it's almost essential for savage content.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Maeka

The problem arises when two abilities that are cooldowns have somewhat similar icons, sometimes I glance down to check the cooldown (and/or sometimes click the button instead of using the Ctrl+ or Alt+ shortcut because I'm moving at the same time and don't want to/can't stop moving to hit Ctrl+ or Alt+), that I'll mistake one ability for another if the icons are too similar.

---

Ironically I have the opposite issue, I look at my bars so little that I tend to lose track of CDs and as such, underutilise them. I got around this by dedicating a super sized hotbar specifically to duplicating important CD icons right slap bang in the middle of my screen to both help me keep track of what's up, as well as reminding me to actually try and make good use of it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sebazy

Ironically I have the opposite issue, I look at my bars so little that I tend to lose track of CDs and as such, underutilise them. I got around this by dedicating a super sized hotbar specifically to duplicating important CD icons right slap bang in the middle of my screen to both help me keep track of what's up, as well as reminding me to actually try and make good use of it.

---

I'm forced into 1360x768 because of the TV I use as a monitor. That's the only resolution it likes (I didn't know this when I bought it, as similar priced TVs are usually at least 1600x900).

For the record, this is what my UI looks like:

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.n...540DDAE68BFBD/

I REALLY don't have room for a normal size hotbar, let alone an enlarged one. As it is, I had to shrink the hotbars I have to fit all that stuff.

Just put them in different places and learn where they are? Benediction is my 'oh shit' button and my healer 'oh shit' button is always 6 on my hot bar. Just as Esuna is always 8 and Lucid Dreaming is always CTRL =. Benison is on = and Tetra is on -. I hate the icons altogether because I prefer words over pictures but you can't use 'micon' to change the picture to a word. So I set up my hotbars VERY CAREFULLY and then I learn them. The only time I hit the wrong thing is if my finger slips ... which can be fun when it slips to R and I autorun off of the platform in Titan ...

EDIT: as per the above post, I'm not looking at keys, I'm looking at the bar itself to keep track of cool downs, party health, my focus target (generally the boss or my tank). And I have all those in a position that I'm not going to miss seeing an AOE or something because I'm looking away from the floor. Unless the RDM makes the floor go all sparkly ...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Velox

Because visual impairments aren't a thing now, apparently. Not everyone perceives colors the same way. For some people purple and blue are easily distinguishable. For others, they appear as the same thing, and those people rely on the icon design to distinguish the difference. The only problem is that most of the WHM have similar designs so it complicates things for people with vision impairments

---

This is specifically about 2 icons that are not that similar at all not all WHM icons.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Serilda

I'm sure every single person out there with a visual impairment, different HUD setup or poor monitor feels bad for disappointing you, your majesty.

For heaven's sake, people are just politely pointing out a small thing which, if changed, would help them and harm nobody.

---

Hilarious. There is no need for a change because the complaint is baseless.

Visual impairments, different HUD and/or poor monitors don't change the shape of the silhouette or the style of the icon.

Also. FFXIV has a colourblind mode.

If size is an issue then increase the size.

Otherwise? Its literally on the player if they, for some reason, need to rely on the IMAGE instead of the hotkey/memorization.

The icons are not similar at all. And no one who is playing should be relying on the icons/looking at the icons while they are in the middle of a fight.

Not only are neither of you adding anything to the thread, or stating anything that is of worth, but you act as if I don't know about colourblind people or those with visual impairments. Both of which already have things in place to help them. This thread is not about that. It is about two icons that are not similar being mistaken for eachother and causing issues and I don't see how its even possible when no one should be looking at their icons to decide what spell to use because the location/hotkey/whatever of your spells should already be known to you so you can use them quickly. DB and Bene are not used, at all, in the same way and one should know what button to hit to use which ever they need.

This thread sounds more like a way that OP is trying to brush of their own failure as somehow being SE fault. Instead of learning their own set up. Especially since Bene has been around for AGES.

This isn't even mentioning that DB is greyed out when you have no Lilies.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rivxkobe

FFXIV has a colourblind mode.This thread sounds more like a way that OP is trying to brush of their own failure as somehow being SE fault. Instead of learning their own set up.

---

They are literally trying to improve their performance and risking their reputation in admitting that the interface as it currently stands is causing them to make mistakes with their emergency abilities. There's no decent argument not to improve accessibility; there are many forms of colourblindness and some people might ordinarily have no trouble but falter over this tiny, completely unnecessary problem. We've only had the icon for Divine Benison a little while so adjusting it isn't exactly going to destroy the game.

If they have time to change the icon colour for things like Esuna, Lucid Dreaming and Eye For An Eye (I still don't really understand this one, it looked more unique before to me), they have time to change some of the WHM and probably also the SCH icons (way too much yellow-green). They won't know these things are issues for some people unless people tell them it's an issue. People who don't display icons prominently will barely know it was done.

To use another example from personal experience, a long time ago I asked for customisable colours in Frontline because I was on Maelstrom (red) and Flames were blue, which meant that it was harder to tell an enemy Flames player apart from an ally than it was for them to differentiate us from their own team. The two shades of blue were objectively very different - dark blue versus light blue - and I'm not even slightly colourblind, but in the heat of battle it is simply easier for me if all teams have genuinely distinct colours, like in most PVP games in existence. So I posted about it, admitting that I was occasionally drifting into Flames in my peripheral vision. Now, you can customise the colours. I made the Flames hot pink on my screen and feel much more in control. It's great, and it's completely optional. Nobody else is harmed by this minor accessibility improvement.

(Also, is there really a colourblind mode? I don't keep up as I'm not colourblind and you yourself admit this issue isn't necessarily to do with colourblindness which is why I specifically said 'visual impairment', but the last I heard it had been delayed?)

OP, I suggest posting this in the User Interface section as an accessibility request, to avoid the pushback from people who don't get it.

I do admit I do not understand the issue. I had Benediction in the same spot since 2.xx so I know what it is and where it is, no matter what is going on, despite what it looks like:
https://i.gyazo.com/26f004428c40dd87...940b3f2a53.png

If Benson icon is too much of an issue, because of how lilies work, you can just make a macro for a different icon, though it hides recast:
https://i.gyazo.com/69713debf4e71548...efab414c5f.png
I know it is not ideal but it is something till they can fix this for people with sight issues

Not everybody has their icons in the exact same spot they've always been "Since 2.0" and not everybody has even been playing WHM "since 2.0".

I didn't reach Level 50 on my WHM until after Heavensward (I had a long hiatus during half of 2.0->3.0). I started playing again well after Heavensward, I think perhaps a couple major patches before the end and I made this dash to get "Stormblood-Ready" earlier this year, between Dec. and the release of SB.


Anyways, it was rather chaotic and abilities got moved around on the bar rather often, especially cooldowns as I kept tweaking the formula, but I kept getting NEW cooldowns, and trying to figure out how to work them in too, etc. I haven't really been able to spend a lot of time at max level to get "settled in" until my WHM dinged 70 but a month or less ago (I arrived a little later than many due to RL work and such). And of course, with SB, we got EVEN MORE COOLDOWNS, yaaay, MORE abilities I have to shuffle around and find good spots for them that I can remember where they are. That's what I need, more abilities. Sometimes I think they give us abilities for the sake of giving us abilities so that they can then prune/change them later.

So, a lot of these abilities are either new to me, or I haven't used them a lot, or they got shuffled around as I try to find the best layout or at least one I'm fully comfortable with. Using macros to hide the ability icon would be a solution.... if it displayed the cooldown remaining. But sadly, it doesn't, and that defeats the whole purpose of me glancing down at the hotbars.

I don't know why someone brought up glancing at the keyboard; I never said that. I glance down at the hotbar to see whether or not the ability is ready (or how long until it is). This normally works with everything else, but as I said... these two abilities... ugh. I suppose I could put them on opposite ends of the bar, but that's yet more shuffling of abilities to confuse me further when I go to grab one or the other and I end up clicking the wrong button or using the wrong hotkey because that's where it used to be and is no longer.

All of these problems would be solved if they would put more variety in their icons, especially for healing spells.

But when I suggest that, everybody is quick to get on the "git gud" bandwagon and then they start making personal attacks about my skill as a player (I really don't care what anybody thinks as long as I clear the content), about how the problem lies solely with me, and about how I need to completely re-work everything I'm doing, because I'm doing it "wrong" if I ever glance down at my hotbars.

If I'm not supposed to look at, or click, hotbars... then why did SE give them to us?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Maeka

If I'm not supposed to look at, or click, hotbars... then why did SE give them to us?

---

If I'm not supposed to look at, or click, the accelerator, brake and clutch pedals in my car... then why did Ford give them to us?

;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sebazy

If I'm not supposed to look at, or click, the accelerator, brake and clutch pedals in my car... then why did Ford give them to us?

;)

---

Your accelerator, brake, and clutch pedals in your car are not displayed on a device specifically built to relay information to your eyes.

It was a barely relevant joke, I hoped the wink would give it away (not to mention the horrible imagine in my head of people driving whilst looking at their feet, as a keen cyclist and motorcyclist, I can't think of much more terrifying on the road than that!) =(

Seriously tho, I genuinely do think the touch typing and keyboard references are actually rather relevant if you want to go forward and progress. Optimising your controls and then getting comfortable with them is a pretty big deal and you'll always be hamstringing yourself if you don't do this. Needing to look down at your hud for whatever reason is always going to slow you down, not to mention you're taking your eye off the ball in doing so. I legitimately appreciate how horrible it is at first as I'm having to do the same thing trying to get used to motion controls in Splatoon 2.

I definitely feel your pain with the screen resolution thing, perhaps consider using the HUD banks feature to have one HUD that places key cooldowns more central and in the way for raids, and a second casual hud that gets rid of all that? There are ways around it. You just need to experiment and persevere with it.

Sorry, I didn't see the emoticon (it's on another line), lol.

And that's what I'm doing, trying to get stuff worked out... I was just noting that the process would be simpler/easier if I wasn't mistaking icons one for another, lol.

And even if I were fully comfortable with my setup that I never, ever had to look at the hotbar to locate/click abilities.... I still kinda need to know their cooldowns/when they are available?

No amount of HUD/UI configuration is going to get around that, as there are no recast timer bars or anything like that that one can do, due to the lack of UI mod support (not something I'm bemoaning; I hated the days I played WoW where I had to re-download Titan Panel and other mods every single update, not to mention how they had to design raids around 3rd party addons that made the play experience too easy so they had to balance it around assuming people had it, which made stuff like DBM mandatory to raid).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Maeka

And even if I were fully comfortable with my setup that I never, ever had to look at the hotbar to locate/click abilities.... I still kinda need to know their cooldowns/when they are available?

No amount of HUD/UI configuration is going to get around that, as there are no recast timer bars or anything like that that one can do.

---

It's dooable without resorting to 3rd party stuff, just not as neat or clearly visible as it used to be in WoW with a few choice mods.

http://i.imgur.com/4kMa422.jpg

The block in the middle under my lilly gauge is what I'm referring too. It's a bit of a rough hack but it gives me a much more centralised area to glance at for my cooldowns without having to scan over my hud for various different icons and their tiny timers. Naturally my screen resolution makes it a lot more palatable than yours, but I've used the same layout on a regular laptop just fine as well. It wasn't pretty but it worked =(