I may be wrong (big possibility that i am) but it always felt to me that, when it came to animations, the ones in Heavensward had much more impact compared to the ones we have now.
Like for example, Shadowbringer which is the equivalent of of Flood of shadow V2, and when you compare this to Dark passenger with you character empowering their sword before smacking the ground and sending this wave of darkness.
These animation always felt more "right" to me for this class.
(And they were way better than hitting like a wet noodle with bloodspiller)