Combat consistency concerns in pvp

Rohamad_Ali

Combat Consistency & Global Cooldown Concerns in ESO PvP
Class Focus: Nightblade (PvP)

Summary
In current ESO PvP, many players experience situations where opponents—most noticeably Nightblades—appear to deliver multiple damaging actions within a single global cooldown window, despite recent changes intended to enforce GCD and reduce animation-cancel abuse.

While this may not represent a literal bypass of the global cooldown, the practical outcome feels indistinguishable from one, creating concerns about combat fairness, accessibility, and consistency.

This report outlines how damage packet convergence, stored effects, proc stacking, server tick timing, latency differences, and automation combine to produce gameplay outcomes that feel inconsistent with stated combat rules.

Key Observations (Player Experience)

• Perceived “Multi-Action” Bursts
  Players frequently experience receiving 4–6 damage events in what appears to be a single instant. These include light attacks, spammables, stored projectiles (e.g., Merciless Resolve), ultimate debuffs, poisons, and set procs resolving together.
  
• Global Cooldown Is Enforced on Casts, Not Outcomes
  While only one active ability is cast per GCD, multiple non-GCD damage sources resolve simultaneously. From the defender’s perspective, this is indistinguishable from a GCD bypass.
  
• Latency and Server Tick Alignment Create Unequal Results
  Players with lower ping can more reliably align damage packets to the same server tick. Higher-latency players performing the same inputs experience staggered resolution and lower effective burst.
  
• Stored and Conditional Damage Igores GCD
  Effects such as Merciless Resolve, delayed procs, poisons, CP passives, and set bonuses release damage without additional cast time. When aligned, these effects front-load damage far beyond what the GCD visually suggests.
  
• Visual Desync Exacerbates the Issue
  Client-side animations and delayed combat text often display after the server has already resolved damage, making outcomes feel abrupt, unclear, and difficult to respond to—especially in PvP.

Automation & Input Consistency Concerns

Some players appear able to achieve perfectly timed input sequences consistently under pressure. While not necessarily bypassing server rules, hardware or software automation can:

• Remove human timing variance
• Ensure ideal input spacing every GCD
• Exploit damage packet convergence more reliably

This disproportionately benefits burst-reliant classes like Nightblade and creates a perceived gap between manual play and automated precision.

Why This Matters

• Combat clarity: Players cannot reliably understand what killed them or how to respond.
• Accessibility: Human reaction limits and latency place some players at a permanent disadvantage.
• Class balance perception: Nightblade appears balanced around edge-case execution rather than typical play.
• Trust in rules: When outcomes contradict stated mechanics (e.g., GCD enforcement), player confidence erodes.

Suggestions for Consideration (Not Demands)

• Improve Combat Feedback
  Clearer differentiation between stored/proc damage and active ability damage in combat logs or visuals.
  
• Review Damage Packet Convergence
  Consider whether certain stored or proc-based effects should be slightly serialized or more clearly telegraphed in PvP.
  
• Latency Normalization (If Feasible)
  Explore ways to reduce the impact of ping on burst alignment in PvP environments.
  
• Clarify Policy on Input Automation
  Even high-level guidance on acceptable vs. unacceptable input assistance would help reduce confusion and resentment.
  
• Re-evaluate Burst Reliance on Non-GCD Sources
  Particularly for Nightblade, whose effectiveness now heavily depends on packet convergence rather than readable counterplay.

Thank you for reading and feedback.