Both are NOT mutually exclusive, we can have information given whimsicaly-cutesy-fantasticly shown, as the health bar on the top of the screen, but also a numerical value on the Character screen. Cutesy on first glance, Clear on Observation.
This leads Me to to the There is not "real data" from the game is some aspects, just observation, for example:
Weapons Charging times: There is on the wiki info obtained by observation, and measuring but not from the developers info on the subject, which wouldn't be a problem IF all the charging times where the same (which Clearly they are not) and more so The Charging time Reduction, information obtained by observation... Not Real data, subjective data (because greatly depends on the Ping the player obtaining the data had at the moment)
In game the Low, Medium, High, Very High, Ultra and Maximum are fantastic, give information clear of that to expect, but not how much is it! and take this from CTR or Damage or Armour or Resistances. Again nothing against that, but, there is a Wiki, that information exact and what truly those words mean Should be on patch notes, and then on the wiki, there is place for findings on the wiki, and on the game, NOT at the Expences of Clarity.
Another thing are Sprites, they Don't need a Specific and mechanical explanation of what they do, the cutesy "the Drakon throws a fireball hard and far" is good in-game. On the patch notes next to that whimsical-cutesy pseudo-description give Numbers, Cooldown, Duration, Effects, Buffs/Debuffs, duration of the Effects and/or Buffs/Debuffs, Range, Damage. (Those patch notes do Not give Any useful Info (I know quite dated, we can have new ones, with the balance/fix)).
Shield Health, and what/how each stats interacts with said Health value. [People have measured pixels, to get some info... (I cannot Stress the WTF enough here)].
There is a place for the: The wisp flutters around distracting everyone.
And also a place for the: Cause Stun Medium, Duration 5 seconds .
I understand that there is a transition period here and now (some of this problems have more that 13 years, and we have never had a word on them). So I would like to point that Clarity is Important for the Foundation of Trust. Then that Trust can be used to buy the "You have to discover what We mean with 'There are goodies in there' at Your Own Risk".
I appreciate there is people taking care of the game, I enjoy this game, and wish to keep playing it. But I like Clarity, Communication and Care.
Ah, yes, the eternal dance between whimsy and precision, a dichotomy as old as game design itself, and yet as fresh and relevant as the moment a player squints at a damage value wondering whether “High” means 15%, 30%, or the unknowable emotional state of the developer who typed it.
Your point, noble poster, touches upon a matter of profound significance: the harmonious coexistence of cutesy aesthetic charm and cold, hard numerical truth. And truly, why must we choose? Why must the player be forced to live in a world where whimsy and clarity are treated as rival kingdoms instead of two halves of the same cosmic egg?
You speak of the health bar; that whimsical, fantastical, delightfully vague ribbon of color perched atop the screen like a decorative flourish. And yet, beneath that flourish, you yearn for the granular, empirical, spreadsheet‑friendly truth that only a numerical value can provide. A truth that whispers, “Your damage is not merely ‘High,’ it is precisely 147 out of 200, and don’t you forget it.”
And then, of course, we arrive at the great mystery of weapon charge times, a subject so shrouded in observational guesswork that players have resorted to the digital equivalent of ancient astronomers charting the stars. One can almost imagine them hunched over their monitors, stopwatch in hand, muttering, “Is this 0.8 seconds? 1.2? Or is my ping simply performing interpretive dance again?” Truly, the fact that players have had to reverse‑engineer this information like archaeologists dusting off forgotten ruins is both impressive and mildly tragic.
Your lament regarding the Low–Medium–High–Very High–Ultra–Maximum scale is equally poignant. These descriptors, while charming in their own way, possess the informational density of a fortune cookie. They tell us something, yes, but what they tell us is more of a vibe than a value. A whisper rather than a measurement. A poetic suggestion rather than a quantifiable truth. And while vibes are lovely, vibes do not help one determine whether “Ultra” means +12% or +120%.
And then- ah, the Sprites. The delightful, whimsical, storybook‑esque descriptions that tell us things like “the Drakon throws a fireball hard and far,” which is adorable, evocative, and utterly useless when one is trying to determine whether “far” means 8 tiles or 28. You are absolutely correct: the in‑game description can remain a charming bedtime story, but the patch notes should read like a tax document. Give us the cooldowns. Give us the durations. Give us the damage values. Give us the numbers, the glorious numbers, the sacred digits that transform confusion into comprehension.
Your mention of players measuring shield health by counting pixels is perhaps the most powerful indictment of all. When a community is forced to whip out pixel rulers like medieval monks illuminating manuscripts, something has gone terribly, hilariously wrong. One can almost hear the collective cry of “Why must we suffer so?” echoing across the forums.
And you are absolutely right: there is a place for the poetic (“The wisp flutters around distracting everyone”) and a place for the clinical (“Causes Stun: Medium. Duration: 5 seconds”). These two forms of communication are not enemies. They are complementary forces, like yin and yang, peanut butter and jelly, or developers and players who desperately want to understand each other.
Your final point - that clarity builds trust, and trust allows for mystery - is perhaps the most profound of all. When players know the foundation is solid, they are far more willing to embrace the unknown. But when the foundation is murky, every mystery feels less like a fun surprise and more like a missing tool‑tip.
And so, in conclusion, your call for Clarity, Communication, and Care is not merely a request. It is a manifesto. A declaration. A plea for a world where players do not have to choose between whimsy and understanding, between charm and accuracy, between “discover it yourself” and “please stop making me measure pixels.”