As someone who doesn't play an LM (mine is 36 and has been for years...), I'm curious about how LMs should and do interact with groups. In my experience Sticky Gourd (I think the Improved version, according to the wiki, unless the regular version also creates a flame puddle) is a serious annoyance - it presumably does nice dps since every LM I've seen spams it as often as they can, but the effect on my burglar, champion, and to a lesser extent guardian, warden, and captain is as follows:
1. Cannot see the target mob's induction circle, so I don't know to addle, clobber, or use other interrupts. And now that there are no 5s interrupts anymore simply spamming addle/clobber isn't an option...
2. Cannot see the target mob. If it moves, whether due to the tank dragging it somewhere else, or because a silly hunter pulled aggro off of the tank, or whatever, all I know is that the target is suddenly out of range. So I have to take several seconds moving out of the giant flame zone so I can see the directional selection indicator, then move along that axis until the target is in range (ideally, the target itself would be visible once I'm out of the flames, but often it isn't). Ditto for when target #1 dies and the group switches to a new target. Whatever the dps of this skill is, there's no way it's enough to compensate for shutting down the group's burglars, champs, etc. like this. Worse for burglars since even once we find the target, if it's in a flame puddle we don't know it's facing and probably won't be getting our positional damage as a result (and depending on mob might get quickly killed by a frontal aoe).
3. Some mobs put damaging flame puddles down themselves. Players tend to reflexively avoid flame puddles if they know what's good for them. So there can be a bit of a delay as we realize "oh, that's just that annoying LM dps skill, not a hostile flame puddle". Thankfully I haven't seen much actual hostile flame usage at levels where LM Sticky Gourd spam is common...
Is there a graphics option that will make the Sticky Gourd flame puddle invisible? Or is that a skill that LMs shouldn't be using so much in groups, and I just happen to see mostly solo-centric folks doing their solo dps routine instead of (one assumes) debuffs, stun immunity, roots, etc.? I was in a recent Helegrod deed run where a LM asked if he should refrain from Sticky Gourd to prevent people lagging; the raid leader said lag was not an issue but gently suggested that fire was not the LM's primary job. The player did not take that to heart though; item #2 above - my champ spent most of the drake wing boss fight running around flame puddles trying to find where the dps target was so I could hit it.
LMs seem like they should be useful folks to have (sometimes necessary - Roots T2 back at 75, for example), so I'm hoping there's some way to improve the grouping experience between them and the melee classes in the game. Whether a graphics setting or "please don't use that skill" or something else...![]()