I think its funny that many are not seeing the real point OP is trying to make.

Think of it this way, when you go to PVP or some kind of event (Like FATE stuff) would you rather leave your effects on and be able to tell whats what, or HAVE to turn them off because everything is blinding you, you can't tell what skill is what and be able to counter easier. The battles now are paced a lot faster than what we're used to, so seeing flash flash for every single little thing- while cool now, will get very old and annoying over time.

Yes it's alpha, we ALL realize this. We don't know exactly for sure what to expect for as far as battle graphics go. But the point is to say this now so it can be fixed. Yes we do want Flashy OTT effects, but they should honestly be saved for the more powerful skills so well... you can differentiate it easier. This is EXTREMELY important in not only PvP, but also for when fighting normal mobs too. ( Easier to see effects than text sometimes ) They are trying to just say to the dev team "Hey, maybe you guys should not make all skills be SUPER flashy so we can see whats going on easier later on." just in case it is similar, which is more than likely.

I agree 100% with the OP and casker (only read the first page and skimmed through btw ) on how the skills for lower levels should be scaled down a bit, if it hasn't been done for beta already. This was always a pet peeve of mine in games- especially when it comes to PVP. I rather be able to see the pretty effects for the more powerful skills over the lolflash of every single normal ability blocking everything. :< Easier to support and counter stuff especially when you don't have to STARE at the chat log 100% to know whats going on.