Apparently, new player means no one can look anything up anymore

[Nestama]

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I think it was just the Life/Spirit Force attack that threw him off, since that was also the only time he complained about it (supposedly no issues with the other green attacks). All that said, SE did try to make the two attacks distinguishable. You'd just need to go the extra mile and explain the design of the debuffs and which design goes with which animation of the orb. Vine/plant orb requires a shield debuff. "Eyeball" orb requires the X debuff.

A colourblind mode would definitely make it easier, though.

No. If I went into a zone, I did all the side quests, then the MSQ until that brought me to a new zone. I was usually 5 levels ahead of the MSQ by the time I did it, so I barely avoided being synced down for duties. However, I ONLY did quests. Had I done my leves and guildhests as religiously as I did my quests, I probably would have been closer to 10 levels ahead of my MSQ. Or if I did my dungeons twice instead of once when I unlocked one. It's very easy to be far ahead the MSQ just by playing the game normally.

And you'd also try to keep your gear up to date with your level? (either from quest rewards or purchasing from NPC vendors) By the way, I can't recall if any quests in Coerthas direct you to Ul'dah (where you accept the quest to unlock Cutters Cry).