Initiating Combat, selective targetting, and auto targetting

[HoopleHeadMan]

Last Couple of days I've noticed an significantly aggravating trend with gameplay.

I've been really slacking off these last couple of weeks, with no real advancement or progress after I did some IoD farming.. sat at 7 for WAY too long. Finally decided to do a little zerging to get back on track.

Anyways.. I'm a simple build Gnome Inquis 2Arti/18Rogue.. just hit 13. I've noticed a few troubling issues:

Quite often I'll be running around killing a few of Gawds creatures on simple easy/peasy R5.. just simple solo stuff. I'll be thinning out a Mob.. and I'll get an odd little lag spike.. Targeting, MY movement, MY casting, MY shooting... will get sluggish for a second or 2, and then 2-4 Reapers will spawn at the same time.

For the next 5-10 seconds I'll get off my CC, take a couple of shots and do regular damage... and then I can't seem to really do ANY significant damage to anything. My shots don't seem to be hitting, I'm burning bolts by the ton, but not really hitting anything. There's no 'miss', 'dodge', 'evade', or the like.. and when I DO hit.. it will be for 2-5 damage with ZERO procs or secondary damage flares of ANY kind.

Mind you, everything is still moving, still chasing me, casting at me, and still doing damage to ME. I can't seem to really hit HARD unless I keep jumping... which SEEMS to eventually clear that occurrence/issue. Unfortunately it just keeps coming back over & over.

Also, I will have something targeted, they are highlight, in my little view window.. but the bolt goes to another target. Doesn't matter if auto targeting is on or not, and this happens a LOT. I won't be able to target the critter I want until the one I'm being forced to shoot is dead. This sucks when you've got 2/3 in your face+Reapers but the game decides you really need to be shooting at that one WAAAAAYYYY in the back behind a rock instead....

Finally, when Autotargeting is on, the target will swap to a different target after a couple of shots.

If you've got a mob of 10 critters, survival means knowing to take out the casters and healers first, then the ranged, then deal with the melee. If you're just rolling thru the targets, damaging everybody but not disabling or killing anyone you're going to be meat on a hook in short order. It's aggravating when you can't target something... or the target switches to a NEW target before you've managed to kill the old one. I've noticed this happens often when something starts using the 'terrain evasion' technique and runs past an upright twig.

I've also noticed not being able to select a specific/single target despite no ground cover and no obstructions. You roll thru the targets and it keeps skipping the one you want.

[Mindos]

Either there's an animation/timing mismatch error where the animation locks you into the firing stance and overlaps the window of opportunity where you can "take action", or projectiles in the game engine are still getting "changed" instead of outright blocked. By clouds, CC, maybe mobs or reaper bodies themselves? IDK

It's confusing and hard to solve. The "lag" delay (visual only, crosses fingers) of damage number popups doesn't help. Heck, maybe the pipeline of commands between client/server is too narrow, or doesn't allow the user to interrupt often enough.

[HoopleHeadMan]

I think there's more to it then just an 'animation glitch' that isn't showing the damage being done until later. There's a rhythm to combat you can not only feel, but learn to work into your technique. We use it to maximize the effectiveness of our attacks/combos.. etc... it's like knowing when to shift or how long to hold down the button for the washing machine to interrupt/cancel so you can add that last pair of socks to the load you forgot in the bathroom...

When you're running along and you can FEEL it change.. and a non red/orange-name is taking 30 shots and is barely down half their health when it SHOULD have dropped in 3 (because you snipped 'em from hiding/invis & you absolutely ANNIHILATE critters like that with Sneak Attack)... or when you take a critter down to a completely empty health bar and find you can no longer target it but it is still WAILING on you...

...yeah..

that's NOT just an animation glitch

[KoobTheProud]

Generally when I get a lack of effect despite animations going through it is a latency or packet loss issue.

Show the network indicator in Options: UI options. When you see a lag related problem often it will register as a yellow or red network indicator. Mousing over the icon will show you the latency and any packet loss that is occurring.