We’re going through some examples of frontals this tier and why Blizzard should work on a new frontal animation, especially if they plan on using it more.
Frontals
Frontals (or conal effects) are probably one of the community's biggest ongoing issues with visibility of mechanics in World of Warcraft and the issue has clearly been shown throughout this tier as well. The issue with Frontals is they lack a distinct outline of where the frontal graphic ends, either on the sides or the front, and in some cases are hard to see the frontal itself as the animation is not a flat colour.
This also used to be the case with "swirlies" (aka ground targeted circle effects), but in Patch 11.1 in the War Within, the Swirlies graphic was updated and features a clear distinct outline and a nice distinct inside colour. However, frontals were not updated in the same way and often still feature rough and/or hard to see animations that players still need to dodge.
Imagine if Belo'ren's egg burn didn't have clear outlines on the cones? That would increase the difficulty way more.
The frontal animation needs improvement and should be overhauled similarly to the swirly animation. Here are some of the frontal animations that may have caused you trouble in this tier.
Belo'ren Frontal
When Belo'ren's casts a tank frontal, either Light Edict or Void Edict, a cone effect is shown on the ground. The cone effect is hard to see, especially when it's the Light Edict clashing with the color of the ground. Neither side or edge has a clear outline, making it hard to see. In addition, the pre-visual animation for the cone looks like it ends around 15 to 20 yards away from the boss but the cone seems to actually hit way farther!
Dread Breath
One of the most important mechanics on all difficulties of Vael'gor and Ezzorak is Dread Breath. This is a cone that needs to be pointed away from the group, and the pre-visual for this ability is very very hard to see. You have a purple cone with no outlines on a purple floor, and while players can turn the breath further away, why include a pre-visual that barely helps because it's hard to see?
Image from Sense's Video
Nexus Point Xenas
One of the mobs near the end of Nexus Point Xenas is Lingering Image. These have a frontal effect, Luciferin Flare, that is a little easier to see due to it being a yellow effort on a purple floor, but there are no clear outlines on this effect still. In addition, this visual tends to clip through the floor while on different elevation, such as the bridge leading to the final boss, making this visual difficult hard to see at times, but at least it's not super deadly on most keys, and mostly annoys you due to it CC'ing you for a short duration.
Image from AutomaticJak's Video
Skyreach
On the 2nd boss in Skyreach, players soak the beams to prevent them from hitting the boss. After soaking, the construct on the outside edge fires a cone towards the middle. While this cone has distinct side edges, the animation tapers off towards the middle and doesn't have a clear edge. This makes it very unclear if the center is safe and players who are unfamiliar with the encounter may be unsure if they can stay in melee or not.
Image from AutomaticJak's Video
Windrunner Spire
One of the bosses in Windrunner Spire is Emberdawn which has an intermission where it spams Fire Breath. This Fire Breath can be very hard to see as the animation is in 3D and doesn't include any flat colors, and is also hard to tell exactly how far the cone hits to the side because of the lack of edges. Thankfully, there is a strategy to help bait the frontals, but this animation leaves a lot to be desired.
