darkSpyro

Posts 24 and 25 contain all noted visual changes in Skylanders, if you have any additions or corrections, please add them!

Eye For An Eye gets gold wings.

Swarms Barb blades change when you get the first damage upgrade for it. they look much sharper and look like daggers. forgot name though.

By the way, it is confirmed tree rex gets a little bit of armor and yellow leaves or somethign on his back. and a armor helmet and everything. (lumbering laserer)

Anybody else get this? With Thumpback his first Anchor upgrade changed it to this clunky arrow-shaped square-edged dealy that I hated, so I couldn't wait to get the next one, I think on the upper path. In the picture it looks virtually U-shaped! But when I put him on the portal, or go to the Character Information page, he still has the clunky one! It seems to ACT as the right one, and I think it looks right in actual gameplay, but I'm bugged that sometimes he appears to have a lesser looking anchor!

And I find that most characters should change more. My Bouncer looks the same as when I bought him! (I haven't noticed or don't remember the finger guns, I bought all his upgrades I think before November). The only character who truly looks different is Tree Rex! Though I always notice Eye-Brawl's knuckle dusters since he got them. I find though his armour is different, it's not different enough to TRULY notice.

Quote: niceguy1

And I find that most characters should change more. My Bouncer looks the same as when I bought him! (I haven't noticed or don't remember the finger guns, I bought all his upgrades I think before November).

Have you gone with Rocketeer path? From what I've seen that path doesn't have any visual upgrades. Unless of course you're on the I-beam path, in which case you might have a bug...

I think that swarm gets Spikes on his wings from the upgrade Razor Wings on his barb blade path.

And, for when you are ready for the regular skylanders:

When Drill Sergent (keyboard failed i think) gets his soulgem. (armor upgrade.) he gets a massive yellow glow.

Slam bam gets a icey backpack and spiky ice shoulders for his final upgrade on blizzard brawler. i think he gets something on the chest aswell.

Slam Bam gets "Cool Sunglasses" for, I think, his Soul Gem upgrade, LOL!

And it's been SO long for my Bouncer, I had to look it up. I picked Robot Rocketeer, I found the rockets so cool and handy, and the Eye Beams to be fairly useless as it's so close range. But I still have yet to notice "Shoulder Rockets leave explosions that damage enemies", LOL!

This'll be a work in progress, but I think I'll do it by elements next. I'd like to think I'm relatively clued up on the standard sized figures, but odds are I'd miss a few.
Let's start off with Earth,

Flashwing: Basic path gives her a glittering aura with the armor upgrade with Armored Aura.

Bash: Soul gem gives him the golden, horned plate on his snout with Triceratops Honor Guard. Granite Dragon morphs his tail into a hammer while charging with Gaia Hammer, and Summoning: Stone Uppercut turns the chunk of rock into a FIST.

Dino-rang: Basic path upgrades his boomerangs with Basalt Boomerangs. Grand Boomerang Master upgrades them again with Volcanic Glass Boomerangs. Earthen Avenger grants him black armor via Obsidian Armor.

Terrafin: Basic path gives him a pair of knuckledusters with Brass Knuckles. Brawler upgrades them further with Spiked Knuckles. Sandhog path makes his fin razor edged and metallic with Razorfin.

Prism Break: Basic path turns his crystals green with Emerald Energy Beam. Prismancer turns his crystals gold with Golden Diamond Energy Beam. Crystaleer path grants him extra armor via Crystalline Armor.


Will finetune this list later, for now, let me know if I've missed anything. Still looking for confirmation on a few of the giants, please share if you can!

Terrafin gets a Razorfin on the Sandhog path.

warnado gets a spikyer shell wham shell mace changes trough basic upgrades

I believe it's the "Ultimate Stampede" upgrade on Tree Rex's Treefolk Charger path that gives him an armour set there. This armour set involves wood and spiked metal plating in a silvery colour, with some green leaves.

On the Lumbering Laserer path, "The Pod Maker" upgrade gives him armour as well, though most people seem to know this for some reason. This armour is minty-green coloured with some golden leaves.


I've noticed several possible visual changes in Drill Sergeant as I levelled him down the "BattleDozer" path this morning:

• The upgrade that unlocks the basic Auto Blaster attack causes the blaster on top of his head to portrude outwards more and become a little bigger.
  
• The "A View to a Drill" upgrade in the BattleDozer path changes his drills to a new appearance. (Red with grey stripes and some copper-coloured spikes.
  
• Soon afterwards in the BattleDozer path, the "MIRV Drill Rockets" upgrade changes his drills again. (Spikey design like before, but in an orange-and-red colour scheme, and with some extra decoration now around his "wrists" where the drills are fired from.
  
• Drill Sergeant's Soul gem upgrade, "Arkeyan Armour", creates a glowing yellow wire mesh field around him.
  

Feedback so far is appreciated, I'll keep adding to these one element at a time, don't think I've forgotten anything. Currently I'm asking after Ninjini and Oil Baron Hot Head changes.

For now: Tech!

Sprocket: Basic upgrades beef up her turrets via Auto Turret V2. Operator upgrades her spanner into a wrench via Monkey Wrench.

Drobot: Basic upgrades change bladegear apperance with Galvanized Bladegears. Clockwork dragon changes gears appearance yet again with Depleted Uranium Bladegears.

Drill Sergeant: Soul gem Arkeyan Armor grants a glowing yellow aura. Basic path improves his blaster in size and mobility with Auto-Blaster. Battle Dozer beefs up his drills twice, first with A View to Drill, then MIRV Drill Rockets. Megadozer path sinks his blaster awkwardly with Hail Storm (possibly a bug), also gives him a HUGE blade while charging and straightens drills with Mega Dozer. Wow Pow upgrade makes his blaster bigger still, adding a bigger barrel and a sort of lightbulb with Futurecannon.

Boomer: Basic path gives hime THREE sticks of dynamite instead of one with Triple Bundle Dynamite. Demolition troll upgrades troll bombs with Bomblastic, and replaces triple dynamite with a small barrel of dynamite via An Accident Waiting to Happen.

Trigger Happy: Basic path replaces golden safe with Pot O' Gold. Golden Frenzy beefs up his guns with Happiness Is A Golden Gun. Golden money bangs replaces pot o' gold with giant coin with Heads or Tails.

There, let me know if I've missed anything. Godamn Drill Sergeant has a lot of em.

Fire should be pretty easy. Flameslinger, Hot Dog, and Sunburn don't change at all, and the only change on Eruptor is when you buy his WP, he gets more spikes on his head. Ignitor has a few though.

Quote: Reaganag

Fire should be pretty easy. Flameslinger, Hot Dog, and Sunburn don't change at all, and the only change on Eruptor is when you buy his WP, he gets more spikes on his head. Ignitor has a few though.

Flameslinger gets a new bow

Really? Huh, I never noticed it.

Next up: Undead! There's a reason for my order of things, honestly.

Fright Rider: Ghoul Glaive on the basic path turns the spear into, well, a glaive. Halberd of Horror on the same path turns it into a more axey weapon. On Sir Lance a Lot, we have Supreme Spear which makes it into an even beefier spear.

Cynder: Soul Gem Haunted Ally gives her a ghostly buddy.

Hex: Bone Crafter offers Compound Fracture which makes her bone wall spikey.

Chop-Chop: Basic path has Spiked Shield Bash which puts a spike on his shield, and Vampiric Aura which puts a purple glow around his sword. Vampiric Warrior offers two sword upgrades, Arkeyan Vorpal Blade, and Demon Blade of the Underworld which change the appearance twice. Undead Defender
on the other hand makes his shield spiffier twice, Arkeyan Spectral Shield and Demon Shield of the Shadows.

Ghost-roaster: The basic path turns his spiked ball into a spike on a more spinal looking chain with Pain Chain.

Seems a little bare, let me know if I've missed anything here.

Flameslinger's bow changes appearance twice; one for each upgrade that increases the damage of his arrows. The first of these upgrades is a basic upgrade and the second is in the Marksman path.

Ignitor is the same with his sword; It changes into an axe after his first melee attack damage upgrade, which is a basic upgrade. The axe changes again into a massive fiery sword after the second melee attack damage upgrade, which is in the Blademaster path.

Next up, we've got life. By all means, keep em coming. Also feel free to correct/add on to anything I've previously written.

Shroom Boom: Paramushroom Promotion has Lock 'N' Load which improves his slingshot.

Camo: Nuthin'.

Zook: Basic path has Fungal Bloom, which turns his bamboo thicket into mushrooms. Artilleryman has Old Growth Bazooka, which changes his bazooka's appearance. Floral Defender turns his mushrooms into Cacti with Cactus Barrier.

Stealth Elf: Straw Pook Scarecrow on the basic path replaces her decoy with a straw filled dummy, and Dragonfang Dagger makes her daggers more, daggerish. Pook Blade Saint has Elven Sunblade, which makes her daggers positively fancy, and Shadowsbane Blade Dance gives her several floating knives around her. Forest Ninja beefs up decoys with Scarecrow Spin Slicer, which gives them bladed arms, and they spin as well.

Stump Smash: Wow pow Auto-Nuts makes his basic acorns look like pinecones. On the basic path, Petrified Pummel turns his 'fists' into tenderisers, Spiny Acorns puts spikes on acorns, and Thornbark places thorns on him.


Man the dragons don't get much do they?

Oh, heck with it, let's do fire as well.


Hot-dog: Pyro Pooch's Magmutt Battalion replaces the wall of fire with flaming dog heads.

Sunburn: Phoenix Grand Blaze on Blaze Dragon path turns him into a fiery avatar given enough time channelling his flamethrower.

Eruptor: His wow-pow, Lava Barf makes his head somewhat spikier. Magmantor path offers Beasts of Conflagration, which makes his fireballs somewhat more animalistic looking. Volcanor's Revenge of Prometheus adds additional volcanoes to his eruption skill.

Ignitor: Wow pow upgrade adds a blue wake of fire from Flame form and mega slam. His soul gem, Fire Forged Armor adds a shield on his back to beef up his armor. Basic path adds Scorching Blade, which makes his sword more axelike. Blademaster path's Inferno Blade makes his sword look like a solid flame.

Flameslinger: On the basic path, Searing Arrow improves his bow. Marksman improves it yet again with Hellfire Arrows.

Magic time!

Pop Fizz: Dexterous Delivery on the basic path improves the look of his bottles. Mad Scientist's Master Chemist improves the look of them yet again.

Spyro: The Wow Pow Fireslam! adds little crystals embedded in his wings. Blitz Spyro's Ibex's Wrath Charge adds biiiiiiiig horns while you charge.

Voodood: Weighted Axe on the basic path improves the look of his axe. Marauder's Legendary Blade improves it yet again.

Double Trouble: Arcane Eldritch Beam on the basic path enhances his staff. Extended Eldritch Beam on Channeler improves it yet again.

Wrecking Ball: Wow Pow Disco Ball makes his forcefield a disco ball, and adds prominent lower fangs. Basic path's Tongue Evolution makes his tongue spikier on the end. Total Tongue's Tongue Supermax adds forward pointing spikes, and extends its length.

Not a heck of a lot going on here. Let's do another anyway. Air ho!

Jet Vac: His soul gem Eagle-Air Battle Gear adds a visor in addition to extra armor. Turbine Suction Fan on the basic path enhances the look of his gun. Vac Master-Blaster 20X on Bird Blaster enhances the look yet again, while Piercing Winds turns his projectiles into airy bird heads. Vac-Packeteer's Tank Reserves improves the look of his backpack, The Mulcher modifies his gun's appearance again. (Feel free to correct me on any of these)

Whirlwind: Wow pow Cloudbursting makes her horn shine in a rainbow of colours.

Sonic Boom: Wow pow Super Baby allows you to merge yer kids into one powerful abomination.

Warnado: Soul gem Thick Shelled gives him an improved, spikier shell. Wind Master's Wind Elemental turns your tornado into a wind elemental, just what the name says.

Lightning Rod: Typhoon Titan adds orbiting clouds, one with Cloud Zapper Satellite, and three with Zapper Satellite Defense.


Finally, water.

Chill: Imperial Armor on the basic path changes her armor, while Cold Front changes her shield. Brrrr Blade on Ice Lancer improves her weapon.

Zap: Wow pow For Riley adds four red tanks on his back, rather than the two standard.

Wham-shell: Soul gem Carapace Plating makes his shell spikier! King's Mace on the basic path changes the look of his mace. Captain Crustacean's Mace of the Deep improves it yet again, making it look like a spikey snail shell.

Gill Grunt: Soul Gem Anchor Cannon lets you assemble, and launch a big ol' anchor, while his Wow pow Anchor's Away changes the look of it. Barbed Harpoons on the basic path changes the look of his harpoon gun. Harpooner's Quadent Harpoons changes its look yet again. Water Weaver's Reserve Water Tank replaces the two barrels on his back with much fancier water tanks.

Slam Bam: Soul Gem Yeti-Cooling Factor gives him a pretty cooooool visor, Wow pow Sleigh Me turns his ice surfboard into a sleigh. Basic path's Ice Knuckles puts ice on his hands while punching. Blizzard Brawler's Ice Mace makes the ice formed on his hands spikey, and Blizzard Battle Armor adds an icy back, chest, and shoulder plates. Glacier hit's Work of Ice Art seems to make his sculptures statues of himself rather than chunks of ice.

That's the end of that for now. I'll collate them into a single post later on for ease. If anyone notices any mistakes I've made, be they incorrect entries or missed upgrades, please reply and let me know!

yooooo how much time did this take you to do my boy this is some top notch stuff right here yessssiiirrr

A few days, I mostly refered to personal knowledge, the Wiki site, and other people's input. I'm still missing a few details, and I'm positive I've messed up on a few, but thanks!

Thumpback's anchor changes with upgrades. On the basic path one upgrade turns is into this boxy arrow-shape. The upper path, the last upgrade changes it into a U-shaped anchor-looking anchor again. And not sure if anyone else has this, but after the latter upgrade, he has the U-shape in game, but the Arrow shape in the portal info screen and the Character Info/Management screen. I HATE that blocky one, so I can't help but notice! LOL!

Attention, whoever the heck reads this. I'd like your help. I've done most of the work in this thread (as I should), but I need your help.

In particular, I'm wondering about visual changes to Ninjini, Hot Head on his Oil Baron path, and Wow pow upgrades (so far, they all seem to have a signifigant change to the character beyond an upgrade). Furthermore, should you feel inclined to read through my lists, I would love corrections or additions. Once I've got this more or less complete, I'll collate all the changes into a single, comprehensive post.

Thank you.

A bump and an update. I'm just putting all the changes in one post for the sake of ease, and with Ninini's release, maybe some of you can help out. Heregoes.

Giants

Crusher: Super Crusher upgrades hammer on basic path. Rock Grinder's Hammer Daddy upgrades hammer again. Rubble master upgrades his armor with Bedrock Armor.

Bouncer: I-beam supreme's Super Machine Fingerguns upgrades Fingerguns.

Eye-brawl: Basic path gives him Knuckle dusters via The Pummeler. Eye Brawler improves said Knuckle dusters with Ultimate Pummeler, and beefs up his armor with Beats An Eye Patch. Eye for an eye, wings become golden via Asserting Independence.

Tree Rex: Soul gem gives him the bird nesting on his back via Woodpecker Pal. The Pod Maker on Lumbering laserer gives him a visual upgrade. Treefolk charger, Ultimate stampeder gives him a different visual upgrade.

Hot-head: Soul Gem gives him exhaust nozzles on his shoulders with Hot Rod. Burninator path includes Hot Oil Treatment which adds a squid shield to one arm, while Eternal Flame puts a dragon shield on the other.

Ninjini: Basic path provides improved wishblades with Abra-Ca-STAB-Bra. Swords of Might beefs them up yet again with Ultimate Wishblade. (Further information required)

Swarm: Basic path improves blades via Sharpened Barbs. Barberous avenger improves Barb blades with Ultimate Barbs, Razor Wings improves his wings.

Thumpback: Now There's An Anchor! improves Anchor on the basic path. Anchor's A-Yay!! again changes it with Now There's An Anchor! Up close and personal changes his armor with Armor Of The Sea.


Earth

Flashwing: Basic path gives her a glittering aura with the armor upgrade with Armored Aura.

Bash: Soul gem gives him the golden, horned plate on his snout with Triceratops Honor Guard. Granite Dragon morphs his tail into a hammer while charging with Gaia Hammer, and Summoning: Stone Uppercut turns the chunk of rock into a FIST.

Dino-rang: Basic path upgrades his boomerangs with Basalt Boomerangs. Grand Boomerang Master upgrades them again with Volcanic Glass Boomerangs. Earthen Avenger grants him black armor via Obsidian Armor.

Terrafin: Basic path gives him a pair of knuckledusters with Brass Knuckles. Brawler upgrades them further with Spiked Knuckles. Sandhog path makes his fin razor edged and metallic with Razorfin.

Prism Break: Basic path turns his crystals green with Emerald Energy Beam. Prismancer turns his crystals gold with Golden Diamond Energy Beam. Crystaleer path grants him extra armor via Crystalline Armor.


Tech

Sprocket: Basic upgrades beef up her turrets via Auto Turret V2. Operator upgrades her spanner into a wrench via Monkey Wrench.

Drobot: Basic upgrades change bladegear apperance with Galvanized Bladegears. Clockwork dragon changes gears appearance yet again with Depleted Uranium Bladegears.

Drill Sergeant: Soul gem Arkeyan Armor grants a glowing yellow aura. Basic path improves his blaster in size and mobility with Auto-Blaster. Battle Dozer beefs up his drills twice, first with A View to Drill, then MIRV Drill Rockets. Megadozer path sinks his blaster awkwardly with Hail Storm (possibly a bug), also gives him a HUGE blade while charging and straightens drills with Mega Dozer. Wow Pow upgrade makes his blaster bigger still, adding a bigger barrel and a sort of lightbulb with Futurecannon.

Boomer: Basic path gives hime THREE sticks of dynamite instead of one with Triple Bundle Dynamite. Demolition troll upgrades troll bombs with Bomblastic, and replaces triple dynamite with a small barrel of dynamite via An Accident Waiting to Happen.

Trigger Happy: Basic path replaces golden safe with Pot O' Gold. Golden Frenzy beefs up his guns with Happiness Is A Golden Gun. Golden money bangs replaces pot o' gold with giant coin with Heads or Tails.


Undead

Fright Rider: Ghoul Glaive on the basic path turns the spear into, well, a glaive. Halberd of Horror on the same path turns it into a more axey weapon. On Sir Lance a Lot, we have Supreme Spear which makes it into an even beefier spear.

Cynder: Soul Gem Haunted Ally gives her a ghostly buddy.

Hex: Bone Crafter offers Compound Fracture which makes her bone wall spikey.

Chop-Chop: Basic path has Spiked Shield Bash which puts a spike on his shield, and Vampiric Aura which puts a purple glow around his sword. Vampiric Warrior offers two sword upgrades, Arkeyan Vorpal Blade, and Demon Blade of the Underworld which change the appearance twice. Undead Defender
on the other hand makes his shield spiffier twice, Arkeyan Spectral Shield and Demon Shield of the Shadows.

Ghost-roaster: The basic path turns his spiked ball into a spike on a more spinal looking chain with Pain Chain.


Life

Shroom Boom: Paramushroom Promotion has Lock 'N' Load which improves his slingshot.

Camo: Nuthin'.

Zook: Basic path has Fungal Bloom, which turns his bamboo thicket into mushrooms. Artilleryman has Old Growth Bazooka, which changes his bazooka's appearance. Floral Defender turns his mushrooms into Cacti with Cactus Barrier.

Stealth Elf: Straw Pook Scarecrow on the basic path replaces her decoy with a straw filled dummy, and Dragonfang Dagger makes her daggers more, daggerish. Pook Blade Saint has Elven Sunblade, which makes her daggers positively fancy, and Shadowsbane Blade Dance gives her several floating knives around her. Forest Ninja beefs up decoys with Scarecrow Spin Slicer, which gives them bladed arms, and they spin as well.

Stump Smash: Wow pow Auto-Nuts makes his basic acorns look like pinecones. On the basic path, Petrified Pummel turns his 'fists' into tenderisers, Spiny Acorns puts spikes on acorns, and Thornbark places thorns on him.


Part one of two

Part two of two

Fire

Hot-dog: Pyro Pooch's Magmutt Battalion replaces the wall of fire with flaming dog heads.

Sunburn: Phoenix Grand Blaze on Blaze Dragon path turns him into a fiery avatar given enough time channelling his flamethrower.

Eruptor: His wow-pow, Lava Barf makes his head somewhat spikier. Magmantor path offers Beasts of Conflagration, which makes his fireballs somewhat more animalistic looking. Volcanor's Revenge of Prometheus adds additional volcanoes to his eruption skill.

Ignitor: Wow pow upgrade adds a blue wake of fire from Flame form and mega slam. His soul gem, Fire Forged Armor adds a shield on his back to beef up his armor. Basic path adds Scorching Blade, which makes his sword more axelike. Blademaster path's Inferno Blade makes his sword look like a solid flame.

Flameslinger: On the basic path, Searing Arrow improves his bow. Marksman improves it yet again with Hellfire Arrows.


Magic

Pop Fizz: Dexterous Delivery on the basic path improves the look of his bottles. Mad Scientist's Master Chemist improves the look of them yet again.

Spyro: The Wow Pow Fireslam! adds little crystals embedded in his wings. Blitz Spyro's Ibex's Wrath Charge adds biiiiiiiig horns while you charge.

Voodood: Weighted Axe on the basic path improves the look of his axe. Marauder's Legendary Blade improves it yet again.

Double Trouble: Arcane Eldritch Beam on the basic path enhances his staff. Extended Eldritch Beam on Channeler improves it yet again.

Wrecking Ball: Wow Pow Disco Ball makes his forcefield a disco ball, and adds prominent lower fangs. Basic path's Tongue Evolution makes his tongue spikier on the end. Total Tongue's Tongue Supermax adds forward pointing spikes, and extends its length.


Air

Jet Vac: His soul gem Eagle-Air Battle Gear adds a visor in addition to extra armor. Turbine Suction Fan on the basic path enhances the look of his gun. Vac Master-Blaster 20X on Bird Blaster enhances the look yet again, while Piercing Winds turns his projectiles into airy bird heads. Vac-Packeteer's Tank Reserves improves the look of his backpack, The Mulcher modifies his gun's appearance again. (Feel free to correct me on any of these)

Whirlwind: Wow pow Cloudbursting makes her horn shine in a rainbow of colours.

Sonic Boom: Wow pow Super Baby allows you to merge yer kids into one powerful abomination.

Warnado: Soul gem Thick Shelled gives him an improved, spikier shell. Wind Master's Wind Elemental turns your tornado into a wind elemental, just what the name says.

Lightning Rod: Basic path's Lightning Lancer improves his bracers. Typhoon Titan adds orbiting clouds, one with Cloud Zapper Satellite, and three with Zapper Satellite Defense.


Water

Chill: Imperial Armor on the basic path changes her armor, while Cold Front changes her shield. Brrrr Blade on Ice Lancer improves her weapon.

Zap: Wow pow For Riley adds four red tanks on his back, rather than the two standard.

Wham-shell: Soul gem Carapace Plating makes his shell spikier! King's Mace on the basic path changes the look of his mace. Captain Crustacean's Mace of the Deep improves it yet again, making it look like a spikey snail shell.

Gill Grunt: Soul Gem Anchor Cannon lets you assemble, and launch a big ol' anchor, while his Wow pow Anchor's Away changes the look of it. Barbed Harpoons on the basic path changes the look of his harpoon gun. Harpooner's Quadent Harpoons changes its look yet again. Water Weaver's Reserve Water Tank replaces the two barrels on his back with much fancier water tanks.

Slam Bam: Soul Gem Yeti-Cooling Factor gives him a pretty cooooool visor, Wow pow Sleigh Me turns his ice surfboard into a sleigh. Basic path's Ice Knuckles puts ice on his hands while punching. Blizzard Brawler's Ice Mace makes the ice formed on his hands spikey, and Blizzard Battle Armor adds an icy back, chest, and shoulder plates. Glacier hit's Work of Ice Art seems to make his sculptures statues of himself rather than chunks of ice.


So for the love of Eon, please help me finish this off. I'm needing a lot of Soul Gem changes, and corrections. Thank you.

You might want to edit the first post to contain the above two posts, so that people don't have to scroll down.

Quote: EgoNaut

You might want to edit the first post to contain the above two posts, so that people don't have to scroll down.

A fine idea, except for the character limit... believe me, I'd love to have it as one, but I'm just not allowed that many letters in a single post.

Quote: Nelomet

Quote: EgoNaut

You might want to edit the first post to contain the above two posts, so that people don't have to scroll down.

A fine idea, except for the character limit... believe me, I'd love to have it as one, but I'm just not allowed that many letters in a single post.

At least write a note at the top or something saying "Scroll down to post #24 and #25 for a complete list."

You know. I think Lightning Rod's bracelets change from a round circle around the ring to spikes with the upgrade Lightning Lancer.