The Problem
It sucks to be any kind of ranged job, and it sucks range-squared to be a caster.
The moment the damage is boss centric, or the speed crosses a certain threshold for arena wide patterns, your job design has about as much use as a cooldown on a passive ability.
If the damage is boss centric the further away you are, the further you have to move, the harder it is to doge, and your weaker than mele to boot. Dash abilities don't cut it.
Since the game engine is so limited, as content gets harder, if its not boss centric damage, then its still arena wide damage with 'incredibly' tight solution times.
Now I accept that this latter option is never going away, and perhaps shouldn't but from ranged/casters perspective your ice cream now comes in only two flavours: plain, and vanilla.
If you want proof of this, just look at how alliance raids all turn into every job just standing around the bosses hit box together (among the experienced players). If the boss suddenly cleaves 180 or even 90, or spins, and your far off... your F'd! Give up immediately and remain where you are. Push that defensive, which in the most cases only mele have. >:-/
The Solution (at least something of one)
DAMAGE PROPORTIONAL TO DISTANCE FROM SOME POINT
(the game already has this I should add, but hardly ever uses them)
Imagine, there is an attack type that:
- has a focal point of that attack.
- that focal point can be point, or it can be a point-circle/hoop/circumference.
- that focal point can be placed anywhere: at the bosses own feet for wedge/acr shaped cleave aoe attacks; on the bosses hit-box boundary to circle aoes, or even out in the area.
- where you are standing relative to that focal point, distance wise, proportionally affects how much damage you take.
What this means positives:
- If you now have a majority of 'boss-centric' abilities that work like this:
-- Then there is once again an advantage to be ranged standing off in the distance. Yes its easier for them, but that's how they choose to play. On the counter side ranged/caster have lower hp. On the counter side caster (should) have far less mobility, so they will be taking some damage, rather than mele who can dodge completely.
-- you can vary the proportionality. So some boss abilities distance will save you, and its only mele who have to worry. Others, the drop off is less and ranged will have to book it.
- It will add variety to the boss actions. Because some actions will be non distance proportional 'puddles', and look more like a cast, or a big hammer, or foot, or fist, or tentacle, or other appendage (have at it you degenerate modders), that smooches you or doesn't.
- it will variety for mele too. Because you can really make the risk they take to be closer, and the mobility they have, really mean something.
The extended benefits:
- now imagine giving this to 'just 1-2' player abilities for all jobs.
-- imagine mele have a point blank ability, that occasionally pulls them right in or a kick ability that pushes them a little out, to optimise damage. Instead or just the boring cardinals which disappeared because they were incompatible with DDR.
-- bard that has a fixed barrage ability to draw them a little in, or out from where ever.
-- Caster with a crescendo cast that acts the same.
-- RMD can have a fixed distance lunge, if they are two far, they hit less.
Who loses out?
- The people who love to spreadsheet entire fights, and allocate DPS, as the be-all and end-all solution. The margins in variability will make that 'less' standalone impactful.
- The members of the dev team who want to create difficulty by tuning fights to 'zero' margin for error, perfect play.
The arguably goods, the arguably bads
- DPS will variations will swing massively compared to now if you give distance proportional abilities to players
- to get enough skill levels through the fight, the parties who can 'ace' their distances will suddenly breeze DPS checks and enrages.
- Boss DPS will also swing massively. Again, you are going to need higher margins to get enough skill levels through the fight. Skilled players will suddenly breeze fights.
- This has another up side though... to make a tighter difficulty level... all you have to do is vary the 'rate' of those damage drop offs. Great for quantum.
The implimentation
Now for the love of hydaeln... DO NOT START CALCULATING SQUARE ROOTS or even radii squares IN GAME!
Think:
- approximate linear vs min vs max distances, octagons.
- even Manhattan
- make sure your bound boxing for anything really, really, really targeting only DPS, or doughnut. (can be manhattan)
- use lookup tables, pre-calculate and hardcode into the instance.
- Think bit shifs, addition, multiplication
- Make sure your using Single Instruction Multiple Data (SSE/AVX). Don't transform one player, transform four. (It sounds like everything has been coded from assmbly so I hope thats already being done all along the way)
- and if your bottle neck is memory, when the whole of the above is irrelevant and knock yourselves out with square roots, cmath, and cml.
Continue reading...
It sucks to be any kind of ranged job, and it sucks range-squared to be a caster.
The moment the damage is boss centric, or the speed crosses a certain threshold for arena wide patterns, your job design has about as much use as a cooldown on a passive ability.
If the damage is boss centric the further away you are, the further you have to move, the harder it is to doge, and your weaker than mele to boot. Dash abilities don't cut it.
Since the game engine is so limited, as content gets harder, if its not boss centric damage, then its still arena wide damage with 'incredibly' tight solution times.
Now I accept that this latter option is never going away, and perhaps shouldn't but from ranged/casters perspective your ice cream now comes in only two flavours: plain, and vanilla.
If you want proof of this, just look at how alliance raids all turn into every job just standing around the bosses hit box together (among the experienced players). If the boss suddenly cleaves 180 or even 90, or spins, and your far off... your F'd! Give up immediately and remain where you are. Push that defensive, which in the most cases only mele have. >:-/
The Solution (at least something of one)
DAMAGE PROPORTIONAL TO DISTANCE FROM SOME POINT
(the game already has this I should add, but hardly ever uses them)
Imagine, there is an attack type that:
- has a focal point of that attack.
- that focal point can be point, or it can be a point-circle/hoop/circumference.
- that focal point can be placed anywhere: at the bosses own feet for wedge/acr shaped cleave aoe attacks; on the bosses hit-box boundary to circle aoes, or even out in the area.
- where you are standing relative to that focal point, distance wise, proportionally affects how much damage you take.
What this means positives:
- If you now have a majority of 'boss-centric' abilities that work like this:
-- Then there is once again an advantage to be ranged standing off in the distance. Yes its easier for them, but that's how they choose to play. On the counter side ranged/caster have lower hp. On the counter side caster (should) have far less mobility, so they will be taking some damage, rather than mele who can dodge completely.
-- you can vary the proportionality. So some boss abilities distance will save you, and its only mele who have to worry. Others, the drop off is less and ranged will have to book it.
- It will add variety to the boss actions. Because some actions will be non distance proportional 'puddles', and look more like a cast, or a big hammer, or foot, or fist, or tentacle, or other appendage (have at it you degenerate modders), that smooches you or doesn't.
- it will variety for mele too. Because you can really make the risk they take to be closer, and the mobility they have, really mean something.
The extended benefits:
- now imagine giving this to 'just 1-2' player abilities for all jobs.
-- imagine mele have a point blank ability, that occasionally pulls them right in or a kick ability that pushes them a little out, to optimise damage. Instead or just the boring cardinals which disappeared because they were incompatible with DDR.
-- bard that has a fixed barrage ability to draw them a little in, or out from where ever.
-- Caster with a crescendo cast that acts the same.
-- RMD can have a fixed distance lunge, if they are two far, they hit less.
Who loses out?
- The people who love to spreadsheet entire fights, and allocate DPS, as the be-all and end-all solution. The margins in variability will make that 'less' standalone impactful.
- The members of the dev team who want to create difficulty by tuning fights to 'zero' margin for error, perfect play.
The arguably goods, the arguably bads
- DPS will variations will swing massively compared to now if you give distance proportional abilities to players
- to get enough skill levels through the fight, the parties who can 'ace' their distances will suddenly breeze DPS checks and enrages.
- Boss DPS will also swing massively. Again, you are going to need higher margins to get enough skill levels through the fight. Skilled players will suddenly breeze fights.
- This has another up side though... to make a tighter difficulty level... all you have to do is vary the 'rate' of those damage drop offs. Great for quantum.
The implimentation
Now for the love of hydaeln... DO NOT START CALCULATING SQUARE ROOTS or even radii squares IN GAME!
Think:
- approximate linear vs min vs max distances, octagons.
- even Manhattan
- make sure your bound boxing for anything really, really, really targeting only DPS, or doughnut. (can be manhattan)
- use lookup tables, pre-calculate and hardcode into the instance.
- Think bit shifs, addition, multiplication
- Make sure your using Single Instruction Multiple Data (SSE/AVX). Don't transform one player, transform four. (It sounds like everything has been coded from assmbly so I hope thats already being done all along the way)
- and if your bottle neck is memory, when the whole of the above is irrelevant and knock yourselves out with square roots, cmath, and cml.
Continue reading...