Macros, Scripts and Lag Switches

WittyWindwalker

Do such things exist in our treasured game? Sometimes PvP seems a little off balance.

Asmael

Macros do exist and certainly see some use in ESO, albeit not with the effects usually mentioned. They will not allow you to ignore action global cooldowns, as such, it won't allow you to cast multiple instant cast abilities in less than 1 second. However, cast time abilities have their initial cast time used to determine their gcd, which means you can chain a cast time ability with an instant ability (such as dizzy swing into dawnbreaker).

"Scripts" need to be seriously extended. What kind are you thinking? Addons? Server-side manipulations? Client-side programs? Memory manipulation?

Lag switches are of no use in MMOs, they are way too rough of a tool to enable practical use of controlled lag and are much more detrimental to their user than anyone else. Their main reason for existence being player-hosted matchmaking.

You may however have encountered several cases of resources desync (including HP bar), which may or may not be done by player-intended means.

Excaltic

- Since the server tickrate goes down to 1 or 2 hertz when you encounter or are near a larger enemy zerg, the ESO netcode itself acts as a lagswitch (no phun intended...)

- The massive FPS drops around enemy zergs (while oddly not present in friendly zergs from your own faction) even increases this "lag switch" experience. Sometimes this makes ESO PvP feel like the netcode is 1 jumbopacket per 3 seconds on tickrate (0.3 hertz).

- And yes, a lot of people like cheats and use hardware devices that allow macro's to be used on consoles (sad but true) like custom macro-keyboards and cheat-gamepads.

- Animation cancelling even widens the gap between these cheaters and normal players, since spam-sending super-timed macro's to the server (ESO) over and over again, while the server does not allow the receiver to dodge/avoid inbetween server packages received, this allows the (macro/animation cancelling) sender to send one big one-hit combo of 3 attacks + 3 light attacks in one package to the normal players without them being able to avoid or respond to this. Resulting in the feeling on the receiving end to be dead while running around at 80% health, with suddenly no option to move/attack or block, and 2 seconds later *poof* you're dead.

And no, this will not be fixed. The whole game has to be re-written for that, which is not going to happen.

So yes, this is ESO PvP. If you know how to deal with it with all sorts of other game/netcode breaking counter mechanics, you can still win, but this is why you can not survives zergs (even small ones) -EVER-...

Still, ESO PvP is fun, because remember that the enemy also experiences this, and you can still win if your side is able to spam more attacks then the enemy like a real pro animation cancel squad!

WittyWindwalker

So, aren't macros a violation of the ToS of ESO? Or the ToS of Xbox Live? If such is being used in the game that is.

grkkll

WittyWindwalker wrote: »

So, aren't macros a violation of the ToS of ESO? Or the ToS of Xbox Live? If such is being used in the game that is.

OK I only do PVP when there's a Cyrodil event so I don't use any "automation" nor do I want to. Animation cancelling is part of my game but that's it. Now, I am getting tired of being ganked by someone who hits me with 3 triple heavy attacks before I can get 1 light and 1 heavy and its curtains. I'm 900cp stamblade with 25k health and an Alcast build. Correct me if I'm wrong but other than joining the macro crew there is no way to counteract this kind of "gameplay" is there?

MetalHead4x4

I dunno what people are using exactly but I've seen a increase in strange NB play. I was fighting a small man group last night in Cyro and got gap closed by a NB. I threw up block and heard the resounding "CLANG!" like a got the block off, but instead of the NB being knocked off balance or anything I just fell dead. Combat log showed he got off a Lethal Arrow and Scourge for 18k damage and I never saw him switch from his 2 hander.

Could have been lag but it seems like some people are managing a bar swap + attacks faster than any animation cancelling I've seen.

Ramber

Wow this is so not true, the macros absolutely DO help people in a big way, When you get an entire barrage of abilities including an ultimate from a NB in PvP before they ever come out of cloak, before you can move or bar swap, before you can turn or self heal or use any abilities until their buffer is cleared... that's a macro and a violation as far as i know.

grkkll

MetalHead4x4 wrote: »

I dunno what people are using exactly but I've seen a increase in strange NB play. I was fighting a small man group last night in Cyro and got gap closed by a NB. I threw up block and heard the resounding "CLANG!" like a got the block off, but instead of the NB being knocked off balance or anything I just fell dead. Combat log showed he got off a Lethal Arrow and Scourge for 18k damage and I never saw him switch from his 2 hander.

Could have been lag but it seems like some people are managing a bar swap + attacks faster than any animation cancelling I've seen.

I don't think its lag as my toon is moving normally and there is no change between time before the attack and time during and after. On one occasion I was hit by 3 triple heavy attacks in less than a second. The other thing I can't understand is what they get from these tactics...apart from a few telvars....so what? Any victory is empirical and therefore worthless

MetalHead4x4

Ramber wrote: »

Wow this is so not true, the macros absolutely DO help people in a big way, When you get an entire barrage of abilities including an ultimate from a NB in PvP before they ever come out of cloak, before you can move or bar swap, before you can turn or self heal or use any abilities until their buffer is cleared... that's a macro and a violation as far as i know.

You can't do that with macros, macros are slow. You can tie 6 abilities to a macro, you won't get 6, you'll be lucky to get 1 of those abilities. If the macros is set too fast or slow its either like your playing in slow motion or the game won't recognize too quick of an input.

WittyWindwalker

Is that for Xbox MetalHead4x4? I see you are a PC/NA gamer. Additionally, I have very little doubt that there is something screwy going on with certain Xbox players because of the aforementioned and my own experiences. Moreover, my question remains: are macros a violation of ToS with ZoS on Xbox and/or ToS of Xbox LIve Gold?

xtremeone

Lag switch or naw?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBlwk5gt2dc

Turelus

WittyWindwalker wrote: »

So, aren't macros a violation of the ToS of ESO? Or the ToS of Xbox Live? If such is being used in the game that is.

In theory yes, but ZOS or the console companies are not actively hunting people for minor macro use.

xtremeone wrote: »

Lag switch or naw?

Not a lag switch in the traditional sense, but questionable footage.
Lag switches in the traditional way don't work on ESO because we're not the hosts, so generating lag would only create it for yourself. Everyone else would still be sending and receiving data from the server as per normal.

xtremeone

xtremeone wrote: »

Lag switch or naw?

Not a lag switch in the traditional sense, but questionable footage.
Lag switches in the traditional way don't work on ESO because we're not the hosts, so generating lag would only create it for yourself. Everyone else would still be sending and receiving data from the server as per normal.

[/quote]
Yeah thats true. Looking at the players in the background makes me think it wasnt lag on my part either. Could be wrong but it was really weird. I thought at first nightblade but nope it was a stam sorc.

UPrime

I think a lot of cheat's use the anti-lag techniques to trick the server. That's how you get teleportation and ability burst. The server thinks that the commands just didn't reach it in a timely fashion. But looking at the video it was done very controlled.

xtremeone

So....What is this? Is it just a sorc invisibility glitch? I keep finding sorcs doing this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDPUalzMSJw&feature=youtu.be

Nicko_Lps

Macros exist, that is 100% sure.

ZoS really dont care about it, blizzard had the same problem in early years of WoW their fix was: All classes gained at least 2 procs, one or more procs had stacks.

EG:
When you use a magica ability you have XX% chance to make your crystal fragment cost XX% less and deal XX% more damage, stacks up to 5 times. Now having that on 2 or 3 skill procs + mini CD's like 10s or 5s will make you 100% unable to macro and time all down correctly as you will need more macros than actual keys to normally press.

Besides Macro combo of skills that mostly nightblades use like 4-5 skills instantly when out of stealth-gank, the most common macros in ESO are: Lightattack+SKILL+blockCancel. That is non-traceable, but when you stand still and see a guy fighting inside cyrodiil for over 2m and see 0 animations, yeah it screams from distance that all these are bound and well macro'ed since lag variations will NEVER allow you to perfectly weave for 2m and perfectly block cancel all animation for 2m.

WittyWindwalker

Thank you all for the discussion. Please continue it for the sake of the game. I found this article which also considers bots which we are reasonably sure exist
too. https://hackerbot.net/181-the-elder-scrolls-online-teso