All At-Will powers attack slower than intended

sergey235711

Update 1:
I found one of the sources of this problem: when a player presses any at-will, it starts holding on the client-side, not the server-side. I guess, when a player holds an at-will, game is doing following repeatedly: client sends on the server "at-will is used", then client waits until the server sends it "at-will is ended", and after that cycle is repeating (client sends on the server "at-will is used" again). As a result the worse your connection, the slower your at-wills attack.

This issue can be reproduced by causing a short network disconnection during the at-will holding:
Expected result: network disconnection will not affect your attacks.
Current result: you won't use the at-will until the reconnection.

In contrast, some powers are holding on the server side, for example tank's shield holding. If you raise your shield, then you will hold shield and gain AP every second regardless of your connection (even if you completely lost network connection to the server, you will hold the shield for 20 seconds until a full disconnection from the server).


Base:
I don't know why, but all At-Wills' real cast time is a bit more than the "Cast Time" At-Wills have in their descriptions, so all At-Wills attack slower than they should. I also found that the lower Cast Time At-Will has, the slower it attacks (relative difference). As a result At-Wills with a short cast time generate significantly less Action Points than At-Wills with a long cast time.

How to replicate this issue: you need to attack any immortal enemy (e.g. a dummy in the Chult) with At-Will for some time (e.g. for a minute). Then you need to check the At-Will's hits count and compare it with the theory hits count for that time. For example I checked all bard's At-Wills and found that Reprise and Staccato attack 43% and 25% slower than intended (all other bard's At-Wills attack slower too, but the difference is lower than 10%).


Full bard results:

Reprise:
78 hits per minute;
45.5 damage per second (excluding songs);
Each combination of 4 hits gives 1.76 raw AP (0.4 + 0.32 + 0.42 + 0.62);
It gives 75.5% AP per minute while constantly attacking (57.2% of normal generation).

Fleche:
60 hits per minute;
180 damage per second (excluding songs);
Each combination of 3 hits gives 2.7 raw AP (0.6 + 0.6 + 1.5);
It gives 118.8% AP per minute while constantly attacking (90% of normal generation).

Phantasmal Concerto:
50 hits per minute;
58.3 damage per second (excluding songs);
Each hit gives 1.1 raw AP;
It gives 121% AP per minute while constantly attacking (91.7% of normal generation).

Con Elemento:
48 hits per minute;
104 damage per second (excluding songs);
Each hit gives 1.2 raw AP;
It gives 126.7% AP per minute while constantly attacking (96% of normal generation).

Con Fuoco:
48 hits per minute;
120 damage per second (excluding songs);
Each hit gives 1.2 raw AP;
It gives 126.7% AP per minute while constantly attacking (96% of normal generation).

Con Moto:
71 hits per minute;
177.5 damage per second (excluding songs);
Each hit gives 0.8 raw AP;
It gives 125% AP per minute while constantly attacking (94.7% of normal generation).

Con Brio:
53 hits per minute;
132.5 damage per second (excluding songs);
Each hit gives 1.05 raw AP;
It gives 122.4% AP per minute while constantly attacking (92.7% of normal generation).

Staccato:
130 hits per minute;
173.3 damage per second (excluding songs);
Each hit gives 0.35 raw AP;
It gives 100.1% AP per minute while constantly attacking (75.8% of normal generation).

shirghe

I have not checked those particular powers, but if you look at the tooltip while using the at-will, it updates with a longer duration. So this might be working as intended, with only the first hit having shorter cast time.

Lower AP generation seems unintended though.

rockster

It may have something to do with the recent re-addition of movement stat. Movement also speeds up your at-wills. I've been reading in other threads about movement playing-up for tanks when they use shift and dropping-off so there seems to be something untoward happening with the stat atm.

sergey235711

I took into account that different attacks can have different cast times.

Movement speed bonus not affect at-wills attack speed.

rockster

Yes movement speed does affect at-wills. It affects all movement, including at-wills.

johnalansimmons

Unfortunately, rockstar is incorrect. Movement is going from point A to point B. An at-will (like an encounter or a daily) is an attack and as an attack requires a set time to cast/activate/execute. For example, relentless slash is a Barbarian at-will and has a cast time of 0.8s. If your movement bonus is 0% it takes 0.8s and if your movement bonus is +80% it still takes 0.8s. It would be nice if he was right, my at-will damage would increase through the roof, but he is not. Tested and confirmed.

rockster

Well you think what you like. All I will say is watch someone with Eye of the giant at full-throttle and how fast they attack with their at-wills and get back to me.

greywynd

The increased attack speed under the effect of the Eye of the Giant is part of the artifact's stated effects.

plasticbat

The single word 'speed' in various tooltip means attack speed. The combine phrase 'movement speed' in tooltip means movement speed. Increasing 'movement speed' does not increase attack speed.

rockster

Back when they introduced max level 70 I had left and come back and at the time played a GWF, I used to have all darks in all my utility slots for movement speed bonus when most people had boost enchants for gold or enchant drops because I liked the excessive speed for darting around. Someone told me to put azures in to get extra xp while I was leveling-up to 70 so I took out all my darks and it felt like I was playing underwater, all my attacks were slower it wasn't just running along the ground. It was at-wills as well and like I was in treacle, it turned noticeably slower compared to what I was used to. But I still wasn't completely sure, forgot about it, and just continued leveling until I got to 70 and kind of got used to the way it was, then I put all my darks back in and I was fighting faster again, including at-wills which were the main thing I had noticed changed. The change in all attacks was obvious. After that I decided that movement did not just affect running, but all movement which makes sense when you think about it. Now having said all that, this was a very long time ago and a lot has changed, I understand that. Devs could have changed it, they change so much without telling anyone. Also some things could have been changed while others were not. They also overlook things. But my mind goes to the current buff some people use (I forget what it comes from right now or what it's called) which adds movement speed but only when when you stand still. I think it's an artifact set actually. So how do you explain that one? What other movement do you have when STANDING STILL besides attack animations?

Found it, it's Mad Dash.

greywynd

Mad DASH. Yes, it increases your Movement Speed by 5% after you have stood still for 3 seconds. Much the way Sprint increases the barbarian's movement when you press Shift. Take a breather and run a little faster.

rockster

But if you move the buff no longer works. It says if you stand still it works, if you move it would cancel it out surely.

johnalansimmons

Sometimes we think a thing is so, that is perception but perception doesn’t always square with facts. And yes, somethings do increase at-will speed, for example a Barbarian’s battlerage but that is part of the stated effect and has nothing to do with a plus to movement speed. Use a timer, ACT, set your movement speed to 0%, select an at-will and run a test. Then re-set your movement speed bonus to 80%, re-run the test and compare results. And the result is increasing movement speed does not increase the speed of at-will attacks. Don’t rely on perceptions, memories, or opinions, rather test and rely on results.

rockster

BIOYA. I know what I know. They probably changed it as I said, but I know how it used to be. If it changed fair enough, no need to be snide.

greywynd

rockster#6227 said:

But if you move the buff no longer works. It says if you stand still it works, if you move it would cancel it out surely.

The buff goes away and your Movement Speed is increased by 5%.

rockster

For how long.

sergey235711

Any updates? It is the one of most balance-breaking bugs. How can you balance the classes and their at-will powers when at-wills attack with the different speed than they should to do?

sergey235711

Update:
I found one of the sources of this problem: when a player presses any at-will, it starts holding on the client-side, not the server-side. I guess, when a player holds an at-will, game is doing following repeatedly: client sends on the server "at-will is used", then client waits until the server sends it "at-will is ended", and after that cycle is repeating (client sends on the server "at-will is used" again). As a result the worse your connection, the slower your at-wills attack.

This issue can be reproduced by causing a short network disconnection during the at-will holding:
Expected result: network disconnection will not affect your attacks.
Current result: you won't use the at-will until the reconnection.

In contrast, some powers are holding on the server side, for example tank's shield holding. If you raise your shield, then you will hold shield and gain AP every second regardless of your connection (even if you completely lost network connection to the server, you will hold the shield for 20 seconds until a full disconnection from the server).

sergey235711

Any updates? Can we expect any improvements in this problem?