Game Mechanics: Mend for Monks

[Aadill]

http://forums.station.sony.com/eq/po...opic_id=163427

There are synchronization issues with timed items. If I remember right, what happens is, you click an ability and your system logs it's use and starts the countdown from when you can click it again. A message is then sent to the server that said that ability was clicked, the server starts the count-down from when you can again use that message and sends a message back to your machine to use that ability. Usually this process is seamless.

What happens is when there is a large delay between your machine and the server. After whatever the cool-down is for that ability is reached, your machine says that ability is ready, so you click it right away. The problem occurs when that message that you clicked it is sent to the server and the server says, nope the cool-down hasn't been reached. Instead of giving you a wait message it used to say something like "You cannot use that ability just yet."

Unfortunately your machine registered the clicking of that ability and wouldn't let you use it again until your machine went through the entire cool-down again. Meanwhile a few seconds later the server caught up and says your ability is again ready for use, but you have no way of triggering it because your machine said you already used it (despite it failing). This is easily seen if you use the forage key immediately after it becomes available, causing you to miss a forage cycle.

With mend the cool-down without AA is 6 minutes and the community complained heavily that they were being penalized because of server synchronization issues and SOE implemented code that when the ability is ready on the PC, but not the server you get a "you have to wait X seconds, before you can use this ability" message if you click it, but more importantly it would also send a reset to the PC = to that time, so that ability becomes available after the X seconds, instead of having to then wait the full 6 minutes before using it again.


To my knowledge Mend was the only skill this special code was applied to, but not many abilities have a cool-down and use the above method of server/client synchronization to manage it, so it wasn't really a major problem in any area outside of Mend.

This is the exact explanation I was heading towards in the patch notes thread:

The client DOES reset the button but expects the server to send the okay for the button to remain grey or for it to be usable. What occurs on zoning in live is that the button does reset and will appear usable but as you zone your system makes the check against the server.. the UI catches up to it and therefore greys it out moments later, unless the Mend ability is actually available to use.


In short: the client DOES get descynced. The SERVER corrects it by telling the client to grey out the button if Mend isn't available. Right now, the client is simply showing the Mend Ability as usable any time you zone because the server isn't correcting the UI for the actual 6 minute timer. As it stands, I feel the implementation is incomplete, because zoning over and over would allow you to mend and never have to waste any downtime to bind wound up to a measly 50%... it'd be quicker to camp in and out in a remote corner of a camp to reset mend.

Right now, I'm skilling up Mend on a low level monk by zoning back and forth.

[Jaco]

Mend was hmm perfect before.

Ok, when you had used your mend and zoned the button would pop up but if you pressed it again, it would check the server and tell you "skill not available" something and it was resuming the cooldown where it was. (see previous post).

Now, everytime you zone or camp, you can press one button for insta 25% life healed .. for free. Or just reset the cooldown, right after using mend.

Please revert this change from Sat 30 patch, the timer should keep going as it was before, whatever you zone, camp out ...

Thanks.

[Haynar]

Originally Posted by Jaco [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Mend was hmm perfect before.

Ok, when you had used your mend and zoned the button would pop up but if you pressed it again, it would check the server and tell you "skill not available" something and it was resuming the cooldown where it was. (see previous post).

Now, everytime you zone or camp, you can press one button for insta 25% life healed .. for free. Or just reset the cooldown, right after using mend.

Please revert this change from Sat 30 patch, the timer should keep going as it was before, whatever you zone, camp out ...

Thanks.

It did not resume the cooldown where it was. If you had 30 sec left on mend, it resets on teh client to the full duration again. The server would be using the correct cooldown. But only if you are hacking, would you be able to use mend after the remaining cooldown time.

I did not know people were so anti-monks, anti-soloing here. Geesh.

Haynar

[Aadill]

Bump.

[ryuut1]

Jaco can just suck on the ol' short n stubby. I'm glad i dont have to wait longer for mend because i zoned.

[kbnexus]

monks

[Aadill]

Any comments on this?

Wouldn't it be possible to ping the server upon zoning to ask if mend should be up or not and resync the client?

[girth]

Originally Posted by Haynar [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I did not know people were so anti-monks, anti-soloing here. Geesh.

Haynar

I'm not anti-monk, I was monk on live and in fact I plan to roll one in kunark or maybe velious if we see it, but this is obviously overpowered...not to mention the 50 monks that kind of giggle when I talk to them about it, they know its ridiculous.

Imagine a monk getting caught in a bad spot and having to FD around mobs, normally they would have to stay FD until they regen enough to try to get somewhere safe. Now they just /q out while FD and FD/mend asap when they log in, repeating this if necessary.

Also, who needs to bind wound to 70%(which they currently can for some reason) when you can zone to 100%. Heck...don't even need a fungi.

I'm all for leaving it in too, but can you do the same for Harm Touch. I'd love to reset it by zoning. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[gojita69]

Monk haters need to burn!

[Torqumada286]

Originally Posted by girth [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I'm not anti-monk, I was monk on live and in fact I plan to roll one in kunark or maybe velious if we see it, but this is obviously overpowered...not to mention the 50 monks that kind of giggle when I talk to them about it, they know its ridiculous.

Imagine a monk getting caught in a bad spot and having to FD around mobs, normally they would have to stay FD until they regen enough to try to get somewhere safe. Now they just /q out while FD and FD/mend asap when they log in, repeating this if necessary.

Also, who needs to bind wound to 70%(which they currently can for some reason) when you can zone to 100%. Heck...don't even need a fungi.

I'm all for leaving it in too, but can you do the same for Harm Touch. I'd love to reset it by zoning. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

What do you mean BW to 70%? It stops at 50% You have to be 51st level to BW to 70% and have a high BW skill, which you can't get until 51st level.

Torqumada