Melee while casting?

[ManaKing]

Any chance RDM could be upgraded so that we could continue to auto attack while casting under composure? No WSs or JAs, just auto attacks?

Casting can be interrupted as normal, you just don't waste auto attacks while waiting for your failed spells to go through their entire cast cycle.

[Doombringer]

this has been suggested and shot down a LOT. i still say it's a good idea, but i think at some point it came straight from se that no, it was never gonna happen. like.. COULDN'T happen. something to do with the nuts and bolts of the game.

[saevel]

this has been suggested and shot down a LOT. i still say it's a good idea, but i think at some point it came straight from se that no, it was never gonna happen. like.. COULDN'T happen. something to do with the nuts and bolts of the game.

Pretty much this. You can only have one action *active* server side, its like this for many online games. The most you can hope for is more fast cast and spells with less ridiculous casting times.

[Mirage]

Pretty much this. You can only have one action *active* server side, its like this for many online games. The most you can hope for is more fast cast and spells with less ridiculous casting times.

I find it hard to believe that this couldn't be changed by developers relatively easily. I think the reason most games are like this is a gameplay design choice, not because the programmers were unable to code such a feature into the server software.

And while I know your trying to be a d!ck, you do realize I've actually run a RO server before. Ridiculously complex is small a statement for what the server side of an MMO looks like.

Well, most of those RO servers are reverse engineered hobby projects, it's no wonder it sometimes looks like a mess. Also, RO actually has a class that can attack while casting .

[ManaKing]

I find it hard to believe that this couldn't be changed by developers relatively easily. I think the reason most games are like this is a gameplay design choice, not because the programmers were unable to code such a feature into the server software.


Well, most of those RO servers are reverse engineered hobby projects, it's no wonder it sometimes looks like a mess. Also, RO actually has a class that can attack while casting .

RO does have a class that can attack while casting. That's pretty much where this all started, for me at least. I don't mind that it has turned into us asking if we can have a Zanshin Attack after we cast a spell. I would actually love that.

/startRant

Other games have already implemented the feature to be able to attack while casting. Can FFXI specifically make that change? You would have to actually ask someone that worked/s on the engine instead of random people on a forum, who are not an authority on the game's engine. SO STOP TALKING ABOUT THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF THIS GAME THAT YOU ACTUALLY ARE NOT AN AUTHORITY ON TO LEVERAGE MELEE OR ANTI-MELEE ARGUMENTS. No one cares about how smug you are while arguing about things that are completely based on knowledge you aren't actually privy to.

Stay on topic for a discussion about RDMs gaining the ability to continue their melee attacks in some form or another while casting, and stop running off on useless tangents just so you can start fights.

Here is some info we actually do know about: Zanshin. No matter how Zanshin is coded, it exists as a reaction to a players action that failed to hit an enemy and acts like an additional action. It is a passive job trait, the player does nothing to activate Zanshin. So it has a condition to go off, it acts like an additional action, and it is a passive trait. It was also added after the original game engine was created.

I'm asking for a passive trait, aka JT, that will add an additional attack on the condition that I cast a spell. If the mob isn't in range for melee, then I don't get the additional attack because it didn't meet that condition. If you don't think the SE can code that, then you don't think they actually do anything, because this is simple and already exists.

If you want to put further conditions for which spells will actually give you additional attacks, we can discuss that. But whether or not a work around that would work will no longer be discussed here by people that aren't employed by SE. You are just wasting people's time and being blatantly disrespectful to your fellow forum goers with your OPINIONS of things can and cannot work. You don't even have to listen to what I said about Zanshin, just stay on topic.

Just in case you missed it, the topic is about RDM continuing to melee in one form or another while casting so that they can actually have a chance to keep up with other jobs in DPS. Take anti-melee sentiments to another thread and start a discussion about how you would like it improved instead of undermining melee discussions.

EDIT: None of this is aimed at you specifically Mirage. You mentioned RO and I appreciate that someone else has played it as well. Attacking while Casting was not part of the original game engine for Ragnarok Online. Scholars were a later addition to RO coding.

[cidbahamut]

Why must all improvements fall under the umbrella of "while using Composure"? It's ridiculous I tell you. We don't need to tie every modification to the job to Composure. If we do that we may as well make all the changes independent of Composure because it will simply turn into a great big "Make Red Mage function properly" button.

</rant>

More on topic, I'm going to echo Doom's sentiment. That sort of change would require delving into the core code of the combat engine and SE is extremely reluctant to do that. Even if they wanted to, I'd wager they don't have sufficient staff on hand that's familiar enough with that part of the code to untangle all the spaghetti code involved.

[Greatguardian]

The only people who would know how to do this were probably fired or shelved to other projects years ago.

[Seriha]

I don't think making it happen is so much the difficulty, but more the side effect of whacking a mob in MND gear or whatever wouldn't be terribly productive without some kind of active stat conversion.

[Greatguardian]

No, it's pretty much a matter of making it happen. Obviously, hits in MND gear would also suck. But it's pretty impossible to do with the current combat engine regardless.

[Seriha]

Something in code says to stop melee timer when you JA or cast (or maybe more simply, it's a default delay addition and the timer truly is counting down all the time). Implement check to maintain countdown (or eliminate that addition) if user possesses Combat Caster trait. Timer hits 0 while spell is being cast, attack is executed with whatever stats are determined, swing delay is reset as relative to current haste/weapon delay and the CC check is run again. Spell ends, timer is still ticking away, next attack round goes off and things are basically as normal until another spell is cast.

I know "spaghetti code" is right up there with the "PS2 limitations" lingo of why things could never happen in FFXI, but let's not pretend a couple conditional code checks are an impossibility.