Guild Wars 2

I was fighting the Dredge Powersuit on the Tier 2 Underground Facility Fractal, dying several times, when I realized that the reason I was dying was because I was standing in AoE circles that I couldn’t see. I am red-greed colorblind, and can only barely see the color red, and I found the narrow red outlines to be nearly imperceptible against the backdrop of white snow. In the end, I switched to a ranged weapon and stayed at max range, which was more dps than I could do while dead, but much less than is possible with a melee weapon.

There are some contexts in which the little red outline is adequate (it stands out better for me against a blue background), and at low levels it isn’t a big issue, because you can stand in AoE for several seconds without dying. But I feel like I can’t progress to higher level fractals or raids because standing in an AoE circle for even a moment means death, and I can’t see the circles to avoid them. The same is true in WvW, where people often stack wells to make an instant-death zone. It’s frustrating to feel held back by a disability which rarely comes up in my everyday life.

Having thought about it, I could suggest a number of different potential fixes to make Guild Wars 2 more colorblind-friendly. For me, it would be sufficient to simply be able to change the color of the red outline on enemy AoE circles. Alternatively, it might be helpful to be able to fill in the circles with some sort of highly-visible pattern. I find AoE skills like lava font easier to avoid because they have a component which is visible inside the circle, and being able to do something similar for all AoE would be a big help.

The large yellow-orange circles and cones that are used for active AoE skills are very easy for me to see, because their color is high contrast, and the whole object is filled in. These are the AoE circles and cones that pop up under several bosses, keep lords in the desert borderlands, and Mordrem Punishers, among others. I know that red circles refer to something different from yellow-orange circles, but I think taking design cues from the AoE circles that are easy to see could help in making the game more colorblind-accessible. Being able to swap red circles to match yellow-orange circles, or circles of a different color which are similarly high-contrast and filled-in, would go a long way towards making the game more playable for people like me.

I fully support this and I hope that it’s implemented.

I logged in just to add my support to this request. Those of us with varying vision issues would much appreciate it! You’d think any tech company that sells software to end-users would include customization features in order for the customer to be able to actually SEE the output! This has always been a pet peeve of mine…

I’m also red/green colorblind. Plus 1, OP!

+1. I’m not even colorblind but those red circles are hard to see. We need more options at the game settings (thicker circles, different colors, filled up circles like in HoT story, etc).

I’m not colourblind but I do sometimes find those circles hard to see and would appreciate the option to change the colour.

I’m also fully in favour of anything that makes the game more accessible. I’m fortunate that my own issue (mild dyslexia) is rarely a problem in this game but I know how frustrating it is to feel unable to fully participate in something you otherwise love because of that one thing.

Especially when it seems like it would be a relatively simple fix.

I also support this. I’ve seen requests for colorblind-friendly item rarity colors and commander tags, as well.

It’s not really a simple fix, there’s lots of skills to change and so many kinds of colorblindness to accommodate, but hopefully it’ll happen.

I fully support this and I hope that it’s implemented.
+1 OP

WolfmanBurnsides.9825:

The large yellow-orange circles and cones that are used for active AoE skills are very easy for me to see, because their color is high contrast, and the whole object is filled in. These are the AoE circles and cones that pop up under several bosses, keep lords in the desert borderlands, and Mordrem Punishers, among others.

The first time I saw this in HoT I was delighted. It’s one of the things I thought was well done in The Secret World: all enemy aoe skills were telegraphed in this way. Of all of the QoL things I think would be worth dev time and money to invest in for core Tyria, top of my list would be implementing this system on all applicable mobs.

It’s a fantastic way to teach combat movement and dodging. It’s how tSW broke my long-time habit of standing still during combat.

~EW

Artanis.4963:

I also support this. I’ve seen requests for colorblind-friendly item rarity colors and commander tags, as well.

It’s not really a simple fix, there’s lots of skills to change and so many kinds of colorblindness to accommodate, but hopefully it’ll happen.

I admit I don’t know the exact details but I’ve seen a lot of discussion of this recently (particularly because a friend of mine works in the games industry and is very vocal about making games more accessible and inclusive). From what I’ve heard it isn’t too difficult to fix.

In other games it’s usually not done by the developers going through and manually changing each individual skill. Instead they add an option to the UI that applies a filter or overlay on the client side (aka on your computer instead of the server).

There’s usually a few different choices, as there are multiple kinds of colour blindness and other problems that can be addressed using the same tool. But basically it detects all of the red or green (or other problematic colours) in the UI and either changes it to a different colour or adds something like an outline or text to show where it is.

So for example the red circles might be changed to blue, or have a black outline around them. But this only shows up for players who have enabled this option, for everyone else the game is unchanged.

Though I do not have vision problems myself I completely support this.

I’m not colourblind in any manner, and even I have trouble seeing those red AoE effect (though it’s mainly due to the explosion of other player spell effects and no way to tone that down). I can only imagine how much harder it is for actual colourblind people.

In all honestly, I always felt that colorblind accessibility should be like a mandated requirement for games, at least in regards to important mechanics like “tells” or “AoEs” in MMOs.

I also just logged in to support this. I don’t have trouble seeing the red AoE circles but I do have trouble noticing them sometime. However I can’t believe that colourblindness isn’t considered during game design. It would be great if ArenaNet took colourblindness into account from now on.

I support a colour blind option also. I have a friend who playes and the only way he knows what the dye colours are is by name. He is also not a red/green colour blind. There are about 4 different colour blindnesses and one is even monotone. Some games do have a colour blindness setting, but I am not sure if it is for one type or others too. It is something to look into.

Mizukiaki.8590:

I support a colour blind option also. I have a friend who playes and the only way he knows what the dye colours are is by name. He is also not a red/green colour blind. There are about 4 different colour blindnesses and one is even monotone. Some games do have a colour blindness setting, but I am not sure if it is for one type or others too. It is something to look into.

When I was a kid I was friends with someone who was colour blind across the spectrum. He always sat next to me when we were doing art at school because I had a set of pencils in a tin and I always kept them in order, and never minded being asked what colour the one he picked up was.

We went to different secondary schools and lost touch, but he made me appreciate how much of a pain colour blindness can be. I always try to bear it in mind in my work, especially when I’m writing instructions for other people. I really like colour coding things so I have to keep reminding myself that not everyone can see it.

I also support this being added to the game.