Ranged Targeting

That's just not happening. Never. Not a single time since the system came online.
What do you want me to say?
Yes some people have serious issues with the new System. I just don't.
I don't know if it is a user problem or a bug.
Your turn.

 

I've had no problem seeing all enemy health bars continuously by pressign the N key.

This is a bug that will be fixed, and is not intended.
I also have never had this happen (Playign in cursor mode seems to trigger the bug)

The plan is to allow a specific target to be selected, but to also have to aim at that target to hit it. this will make thigtns like autoattack compatible witht he system and prevent reandom misfires (which is an extremely known bug)

 

Happens on a regular basis, even in melee. It's for sure not a user problem.
Maybe EMPStrike above me is right, playing in cursor mode might cause the bug.

 

As I've stated numerous times, I agree with everyone's frustration. However, I feel now is the time for constructive feedback and not just combat bashing. If I am aware of how upset people are about combat, I'm sure the devs are as well. There is no shortage of posts on the issue. The pile is plenty big enough. I don't understand when people judge the system on the fact that it doesn't hit what they target, like this is how it is supposed to function and it will forever be this way. As an alternative, let's help them fine tune the new system. Once it's closer to completion, then we can compare it to the previous system and see which is truly better. I'm not sold on either one YET. My only real thought so far is I'm glad they're at least trying something different. I don't want to play a Richard Garriott and Starr Long present World of UltimaCraft. I encourage them to keep thinking outside the box.

There were times in vanilla WoW when I would've killed to just point at something and "sheep" it as a mage. Tabbing through targets till the appropriate one was selected would get quite old, especially before target marking and some people couldn't keep their target straight in the first place.

I was very against card combat. I felt for true immersion, I needed to have control over ALL of my skills/spells with no elements of chance and access to every single learned ability at any given time. However, I find myself liking it and being very happy with it as it stands now. It's fun! Moving forward, I'm trying to trust the devs' vision more and not pass judgement on early systems that were just stood up, especially when the devs themselves have stated they are only 40% implemented and very buggy.

 

That would explain the difference in or experience.
I never fight in Cursor mode.

 

This.

I saw the next update for the system in person last Friday, and it is definitely an improvement.

The devs know the issues we are having, and they are working hard to correct them.

 

You see all the health of everything not just your specific target NOT what the issues is and using the "N" key clutters the screen with way to much information.

To any and all player who keep saying that they are not having issues, please stop trying to minimize the player who say they are having problems. You are fighting one or two targets, you keep them isolated, you run all trying to not be close enough to get hit . . . .

Go out with a party, at least 3 melee fighters, Go to an area that at least 4 or more enemies group up and are fighting your party members. While in this situation as a ranged player try and focus on one target, either and enemy yo attack or a friend to heal. you can not do it, they are fixing it.

These Threads all should just be locked from this point on since all it is one side saying; "it is fine I don't have problems, all the other players are nutz" or "It sucks and I cannot work with it, everyone saying it is fine is nutz"

These two side are never ever going to meet and agree with the other side.

 

You know, this feels a little bit like the arguments people have over that picture with dual meaning (pretty young lady or an old woman, depending on how you look a the picture details)...

I've said it elsewhere and will say it again, that now I'm fairly convinced that most (let's say at least 80%) of the times people having issues with targeting, especially weird ones, relates to their use of the so-called "cursor mode", this can be further exacerbated by making the focus point (aka reticule/reticule) invisible in the video settings. Using the cursor mode makes one lose awareness of the focus point for large chunks of time, during which it is constantly operational, even when one is not actively and deliberately doing the act of "targeting" (by pressing the right mouse button). This will create borderline cases that will feel unexpected, but by closer investigation, almost always they are not. Having issues with targeting? Check. Using cursor mode? Check.

By this I don't mean to say that folks should switch to pure reticule based interface, if they don't like it. What I am saying is that the cursor mode does not play very nicely with the current iteration of targeting. Guess what? It's not finished. There is no need to complain so much. If you feel the system is bugged, please do post detailed bug reports to the appropriate bug report section, describing the exact conditions where they happen (including, cursor mode or not...). This is what will help devs, not the N:th department of coffee table complaints on the forums.

I've been wondering, who is this infamous "we"? Folks are constantly talking about him, from what I've heard, the guy is tough as nails, but boy is he difficult to reach, maybe he and that other guy, what was his name again? Oh yes, "Trad." - heck of a bard, that one. Maybe they are brothers? Are they down there somewhere, hunting anacondas, because I never get to actually meet either of them. *scratches head*

Nothing against (soft) target locking though. Quite possibly the only way to make the cursor mode work in a non-weird way. So go for it devs! Just please do not screw up the reticle targeting while at it, because that one you've already got nailed pretty well.

Another thing I've been wondering about target locking. I've heard some folks insisting that it would be "an unfair advantage in combat" or something of the sort. But target locking is not an advantage! It's a dis-advantage, actually very much like auto attack, which trades added convenience for slightly worsened combat stats (lower max DPS), target locking trades added convenience for reduced tactical flexibility. In some cases both auto attack and target locking can be used more efficiently, but in skilled hands both free attack and free reticule targeting can be devastating tools.

 

I think healing will be using a mechanism separate from free targeting, or at least providing an option to do so.

As to not being able to focus on one target when a group of enemies are clustered, it simply isn't true. In most cases it's quite doable.
(and I'm not going to argue about this with you any further @Weins201 ).

I think it's already happening. Slowly, just like in those experiments using a picture with dual meaning, it's happening perhaps slowly, but it's happening.

 

Thank you for posting, I really needed to read this. You made some very valid points I had not considered.

 

I agree, its pushing the limits that do I even want to play any more,

 

@OmniFusion1

It's probably best I don't comment on that, so I won't.

However, moving right along....

Would you be kind enough to explain how exactly a target happens "automatically" ?

 

Yeah. The other night I even managed to somehow root one of my party members in the middle of a such a fight. I know they are working on it all. I know they are getting loads of feedback. I know that they will fix it. (Because they obviously cannot leave it the way it is right now, lol.)

 

@helm That's a really well done comment and I'm pretty much on the same page.

With that said, I'll like to argue this one point:

While I'm not one to insist imbalance or whatnot, target locking does become an advantage in combat when you only have a single target. Particularly when said target is another player.

If you were to tell me that your soft-targeting would unlock automatically when your target is out of line of sight (like going behind your character, or hide behind a wall), then by all means; put that in.

 

I have been playing an R29 ranged character and agree with this feedback.

The reticle is workable with one target, maybe two. But pull three or four, and I had no idea what I was targeting . This is challenging when the bow hit only one target, unlike melee weapons.

A solution would seem to be to allow single target selection in cursor mode. Though I enjoy reticle mode on one target.

 

I have the exact same issues with targeting whether I'm in cursor mode or target mode, because as soon as I hold down the right mouse button in cursor mode, guess what, it's exactly the same as target mode.

 

except your in cursor mode. Do you use the number keys to activate skills?

 

There is going to be a way to assign a target to hit, i believe. But melee (at least the 1 handed weapons) are only hitting one target currently.

 

It is not just 1h weapons.

 

While that may be true in theory, it doesn't necessarily eliminate the possibility of bugs in cursor mode.