An amount of the onus here is on the players, I think; it's up to them to realise that firing their explode-o-cannon into a hectic melee is potentially going to mess things up. Of course, the same simple fix that the Nitrome could sorely do with - having the opacity of the blast effect knocked down to 70% or so - would work wonders here. It'd still obscure some of the action but it wouldn't be the "oh %$&@ it not again" kick-attractor that it is now.

I can't speak for bombs, but the Pulsar line does not need to be changed (fundamentally... I think it does need a damage nerf).

You're not supposed to spam the explosion; it's very situational especially in groups. If a party member is spamming it incorrectly, tell them they're doing it wrong and/or remove them.

There are several tactics that the Pulsar line opens up for gunners that they would not have otherwise, and taking away that ability just because most people don't know what they're doing isn't right.

But if you're going to do that, let's take away the Calibur's knockback. And Shivermist's ability to clog the sides of arenas. And shield bumping... it's dangerous!

It's a disruptive weapon in the wrong hands, but as a trade-off serves a unique and powerful purpose.

If you're in a group, you're supposed to use the unexapanded shots or find an enemy no one else is working on, or corner an enemy and then move on, etc.

Yes, it's annoying if an idiot has one, but again, that's a player problem.

That said, if you did want to correct the graphical "issue," how would you go about it without making it look silly?

@WindOwl

Perhaps add a decent level of transparency to the explosion so things can be seen through it, or draw the monster's attack lines above the other animation layers.

Or they could change the animation altogether; perhaps with some gaps in the explosion so the player can still see inside it.

I like the pulsar and nitronome, but apparently the main complaints are 'idiots can't use it properly' and 'I can't see'. One of those can be fixed without changing the gameplay, and the other is just a litmus test for bad players.

When my friend and I use our pulsar, we use it defensively. To move back and push things away from enemies.

When put into the hands of someone even slightly competent, and has even a small clue on the works of teamwork, It's an amazing gun for pushing enemies away from friend when they're getting swarmed, and not in a way that would be positive. (Aka: Surrounded with low health, blocking with an almost broken shield.)

Just because the weapon can be used badly doesn't mean it can't be used well.

I've been killed by Levi users more then I can count because charge attacks slam all the monsters right in my face from off screen, and they're already attacking so whoops take a hit, but that doesn't mean it cant be used well. Sure, there's stupid people, but it's not a stupid mechanic.

I love the gun, but definitely agree with people who are blinded by it. Making the explosion semi-transparent or shorter is my recommendation. :)