Could we have an option to reduce colors and flashes in fights, please?

[Ankhira]

Hey everyone,

I’d like to start by acknowledging that I’m likely in the minority here. My intention is not to ask SE to change its overall direction, but rather to highlight an issue that some people, myself included, are experiencing. I hope this discussion might lead to the consideration of accessibility options to help address these concerns.

As an autistic individual, I find myself struggling with overstimulation in the game lately, particularly in the new fights introduced in this expansion. For those who may not be familiar, overstimulation occurs when sensory input—such as loud sounds, bright lights, or visually overwhelming elements—becomes difficult to process, leading to discomfort or even distress.

Since the release of DT, I’ve noticed that much of the new content features bright, visually busy designs with not just flashing colors from all directions, but also intense, screenwide or raidwide flashes occurring in quick succession. While I encountered some of these challenges with EX1, it became especially apparent during the Chaotic Alliance Raid, where I was unable to complete it due to severe eye strain and headaches after about 30 minutes.

While there have been occasional instances of this in the past (for example, Mt. Gulg comes to mind), it seems to have become much more common in DT.
The new trial continues this trend, with an abundance of colors and effects from all sides. The extreme version, in particular, includes a mechanic with constantly exploding blue circles and bubbles, which I find extremely difficult and painful to look at for the full duration.

To be clear, I’m not asking for the game to be tailored specifically to my needs—I fully understand that I have my own challenges to manage. However, I wonder if it might be possible to implement an option in the accessibility settings to tone down these elements for those who need it.
Without such an option, I’m beginning to feel like I may have to give up much of the endgame content altogether.

Thank you for taking the time to consider this.

[Ankhira]

Giving a bump to raise awareness! ^-^

[Merrigan]

OK, I'll second that. I don't have any sensory problems and, despite that, I did find the last few fights visually demanding. The aesthetic they've adopted has a lot of identity but perhaps it would be good to be able to limit the coloured effects - a slider like the one that lets us limit other players' animations, perhaps?

[Ankhira]

That would already be really helpful, yes!

[Loggos]

They really need better accessibility settings. People like me who are sensitive to sound have a much easier time to manage those stimuli. People with sensitivity towards light and visual stimuli and people with colour blindness need to have the same options.

[Kandraxx]

While you're at it, make DRK playable. Who came up with that design? A spinning jump strike with an almost 3 sec animation like I was a circus monkey that gets insta-canceled by the OGCD spam anyway, like I literally can't even make out where in the ''rotation'' I am or what is happening under that mountain of red and purple flashes, splashing effects and irritating animations.

[Kaurhz]

Yes, they do need better options...

At this point it ain't new fight design as much as it is trying to make the design as fundamentally inaccessible as possible.

I am glad people are talking about this, because something needs to be done... But the sad reality is, if they can't even care about privacy issues with the game, then there's no chance they are going to rework accessibility, unfortunately.

[hydralus]

While we're at it, a way to lessen the flashbomb impact of caster LB3s would be welcome.

[Valence]

While this is not especially made in the name of accessibility, I do believe there is a convergence of struggle with actual design/gameplay issues tied to the same visual effect problems, which can be seen here as well.

Either way, it would be nice if the dev team could take a closer look at the visual effects in the game altogether, since they are starting to be a growing pain in the community.

[Nero-Voidstails]

While we're at it, a way to lessen the flashbomb impact of caster LB3s would be welcome.

you mean the red mage ring of death?