Granted new animations are a "nice to have", how the player perceives what is happening is important too. A lot of crpgs used to leave the animation to our imagination and we still remember them fondly.
It would be a band-aid fix, but what would happen to player perception if the word miss was replaced with...
Attacks reliant on AC
Melee attacks (roll a d3 for outcome)
Dodged
Blocked
Deflected
Ranged attacks (roll a d3 for outcome)
Dodged
Blocked
Missed
Even this feels like a (small) step in the right direction. When you’re playing D&D you don’t want to think of your hero swinging wildly or aiming poorly the whole time (maybe on a 1). Attempting to hit an AC is so much more than that – eg. the enemy blocking arrows with their shield.
