Targeting ... how to stay focused on one opponent?

Razzak

Please, feel free to correct me, as what I am about to say is based solely on my own observations.
You hit the opponent your cursor is focused on. Or closest to it. What is the tab on target used for, then? I've spent a lot of time focused on that particular aspect of combat during my fights, but I have to say I am still confused.
Let's look at a fight with two opponents. I tag one of them and find myself in a situation where both of them are directly in front of me. Sometimes I hit the one that is tagged and sometimes I hit the other one.
Is this just due to the very sensitive positioning system? Meaning I am actually closer to or more oriented towards one of them for 1 mm (P.S. How much is 1mm in Imperial system?)?
How do you focus one of the opponents during AOE fights? How do you switch between them? I am leveling a NB and trying to do as much of single target damage as possible, but many times it gets really confusing knowing who I am actually hitting.

I would appreciate your help in understanding this a bit more.

GnatB

When two targets overlap your crosshairs, you'll attack the one you're tab targeted on.

Or at least, that's how it's supposed to work, and as far as I've seen, it always has for me. Maybe if the one you're tabbed on is out of range of the attack and the other one isn't it'll hit the other one instead?

(Note: I play 1st person, so it feels much easier to actually have my crosshairs on what I'm trying to hit, as the crosshairs aren't off to the side.

Merlin13KAGL

Razzak wrote: »

Please, feel free to correct me, as what I am about to say is based solely on my own observations.
You hit the opponent your cursor is focused on. Or closest to it. What is the tab on target used for, then? I've spent a lot of time focused on that particular aspect of combat during my fights, but I have to say I am still confused.
Let's look at a fight with two opponents. I tag one of them and find myself in a situation where both of them are directly in front of me. Sometimes I hit the one that is tagged and sometimes I hit the other one.
Is this just due to the very sensitive positioning system? Meaning I am actually closer to or more oriented towards one of them for 1 mm (P.S. How much is 1mm in Imperial system?)?
How do you focus one of the opponents during AOE fights? How do you switch between them? I am leveling a NB and trying to do as much of single target damage as possible, but many times it gets really confusing knowing who I am actually hitting.

I would appreciate your help in understanding this a bit more.

As @GnatB indicates, tab is supposed to let you focus a target. While tab is active, your attacks will hit that target only until it expires or you tab to another.

It can be useful in specifying the first one you wish to attack (such as openers), as the standard targeting does not always work as it should.

Case in point when my fireball went sideways killing a squirrel, as the game decided it was clearly a bigger threat to me than the Storm Atronach I was aiming at.

Regarding focus in AoE fights, you don't. Unless it's a target based AoE, tab will be meaningless. It's either point blank (you-centered), drop on ground (yellow circle/cone, or target specific (Meteor from MG, for instance)

In the last case, Tab will still work.

With AoE, given the target cap, you will rarely know who you are hitting, and I suspect it will rarely be who you want it to be.

GnatB wrote: »

When two targets overlap your crosshairs, you'll attack the one you're tab targeted on.

Or at least, that's how it's supposed to work, and as far as I've seen, it always has for me.

(Note: I play 1st person, so it feels much easier to actually have my crosshairs on what I'm trying to hit, as the crosshairs aren't off to the side.

@GnatB , I agree that it should be easier to target in first person. Personally, I still feel that the crosshairs are offset slightly for me.

I'd love to be able to sight in my character to my personal preference and potentially disable the crosshairs entirely (except to indicate stealth) or at least lessen the contrast.

Beyond that, if I'm not using Tab, what I'm pointed at should be what I'm aiming at.

Don't get be wrong, it's great that my skill hit the guy 30m away, but I'm a little more interested in the guy 1m away winding up his power attack.

Tab to specify and focus, field of vision otherwise, and let us sight in our personal 'kill zone.'

Drazhar14

I find tab targeting useful for bosses with lots of adds around them. When there is a clump of enemies, I always hit the one that is tab targeted. That being said, I rarely find myself using it.

GnatB

Merlin13KAGL wrote: »

As @GnatB indicates, tab is supposed to let you focus a target. While tab is active, your attacks will hit that target only until it expires or you tab to another.

It can be useful in specifying the first one you wish to attack (such as openers), as the standard targeting does not always work as it should.

Case in point when my fireball went sideways killing a squirrel, as the game decided it was clearly a bigger threat to me than the Storm Atronach I was aiming at.

Curious. I'll admit I haven't played much recently, but I've yet to ever experience anything like that.

As far as I can remember, my attacks are *always* directed towards whatever I've got my crosshairs on. If I have a tab target, but my cross hairs are on something else, as expected, I'll hit that something else. If there are two overlapping enemies under my crosshairs, then I'll hit the one in front. Unless the one in back is tab targetted. Then I'll hit it.

Tab target is more of a preferred target, than a locked on target.

Nestor

Razzak wrote: »

What is the tab on target used for, then?......Sometimes I hit the one that is tagged and sometimes I hit the other one.
Is this just due to the very sensitive positioning system?

I think your going to target who ever is closest to you, it seems that way to me. Unless you use the Tab Key. The way to works out for me is I will get an initial attack, then the other mob will move towards me while the first is stunned. So to get the kill shot off on the first stunned mob I have to move around.

I have never used the Tab Key to change targets. In fact, I remapped it to open and close my character windows. I think the only way it would work for me is when sending a Sorcerer Pet out to attack with the Y key.

I prefer to move around to target who I want.

Cazic

The tab targeting feature is purely visual. It just helps you keep an eye on and track a target if you want to. The target you're actually attacking is the one closest to your crosshairs highlighted in red.

Cazic

A focused targeting feature would be pretty cool though. Kinda like in Ocarina of Time for N64. I'm sure there are much more current examples that I can't think of right now.

MasterSpatula

Does Tab Targeting work for blocking/bashing/interrupting as well? I often find, when fighting a group of mobs, I aim the cursor at the one charging up a special, but I end up bashing the mob I had just been attacking rather than the one I aimed the cursor at.

I would think Tab Targeting would fix that, but it all usually happens way to fast to tab to the right guy, anyway.

AaronMB

Cazic wrote: »

The tab targeting feature is purely visual. It just helps you keep an eye on and track a target if you want to. The target you're actually attacking is the one closest to your crosshairs highlighted in red.

Thank you. This is what I "needed" to hear. I was also confused as to why the brackets via TAB didn't dictate where my attack landed.

I would also appreciate a targeting "lock."

Dominoid

My experience is that if you stay with the box of the tab targeted enemy your ranged attacks will always hit that character. You cannot tab target the mob and simply forget about him and have your damage hit them.

kijima

Pro Tip: TAB targeting lets you follow your target through an obstruction, i.e. a building/house etc.

For the bowman out there, tab targeting is important if you are bursting down that someone who is on the run trying to hide inside a building/house. Just when they think they are safe, you've got them and BOOM!

It's also brilliant when you have a specific person you want to kill on a battle field but with all the action and tonnes of other people are in the way, your target can easily get lost. It assists you in keeping focus on that one person you need to have dead, when there is so much going on.

TAB, it's not just a refreshing drink, it's a good tool.

Nestor

I figured the Tab Targeting system would have more of an application in PvP. In PvE, I just use the Mobs AI against them.

Varicite

I don't think that there will ever be a "target lock", and I certainly hope that never becomes a part of the game.

I enjoy actually having to pay attention to my targets, it makes me feel a lot more involved than tab-targeting something and just hitting the keys, only readjusting when my target runs out of my line of sight.

Valymer

The real problem is that when there is a mob's corpse between you and your target, your character will often cast on the corpse rather than the mob. This needs to be fixed ASAP, it is incredibly annoying.