Dark Veil Needs More Love
Firstly, Dark Veil has no synergy with Barricade or Piercing Spikes. Previously (technically, currently) Piercing Spikes also didn't trigger Barricade, but now they do. The value of Piercing Spikes still remains unchanged when Dark Veil is used, & vice versa. An optimal example of a Legend with good synergy would be Wattson. Spark of Genius & Interception Pylon can work together to restore shields at a higher rate (& at an even higher rate with Energised Healer). Perimeter Security can keep players at bay, inhibiting them from shooting Interception Pylon, especially in buildings with elevator-esque ziplines. In return, Interception Pylon can prevent grenades from destroying Perimeter Security. I propose implementing Catalyst's introductory animation into gameplay by bolstering Dark Veil with a continuous line of Piercing Spikes at its base. Not only would this make enemies more hesitant to cross Dark Veil, as people stopped caring about being pseudo-blinded long ago, but it would also provide tremendous synergy with Piercing Spikes when used indoors by making accurate deployment easier, which would alleviate the problem of Catalysts being afraid to waste Dark Veil indoors.
Secondly, I propose permitting shorter Dark Veils to be raised without requiring that the Ultimate be fully charged or consuming its entire charge (especially when Dark Veil hits an obstacle & stops). This would be similar to Rampart's Sheila, with the exception that Dark Veil's total charge would be split into two components, where shorter Dark Veils can only be raised when at least one component is fully charged & would only consume a percentage of the component proportional to the length of Dark Veil deployed. This would allow for better Ultimate use in & between buildings, as the shorter Dark Veils would be functionally identical sans the fear of wasting the Ultimate's entire charge when used indoors or when it hits an obstacle & stops. Only one component would be charging at any given time, unless both are fully charged, to prevent doubling the rate of charge gain. A fully charged component won't recharge until fully depleted to prevent Catalyst from continuously raising Dark Veils by switching components.
Finally, the straightness of Dark Veil isn't always optimal, & its optimality decreases the more perpendicularly spread out the enemy team is. It's too common for enemies to already be at the sides of Dark Veil before Catalyst's team even finishes recovering because, even when they're sandwiched between a wall & Dark Veil, there will necessarily be some space at at least one side that enemies can spray you from. I propose implementing a 3rd toggle for the deployment of Dark Veil that raises Dark Veil as you move your crosshair along the ground, which would facilitate temporary pockets of calm for a safe recovery, unless an enemy gains height or uses the Void to get inside them. Presumably, this would co-occur with the second proposal, allowing shorter Dark Veils to be raised in shapes of Catalyst's choice as the other component charges up until the component being used is depleted, unless the other component is also fully charged. If one component is depleted while in this toggle, raising Dark Veil would begin drawing charge from the other component if it's fully charged.
