Thread: .3 Second Positional Update Delay (Requesting Dev Response)

So, I'm making a new thread as the thread with the most responses seems to have a lot of people mistake it for QQing about endgame, specifically Titan. That thread is here for anyone interested:

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...-fix-something.

Originally Posted by tingko

Finally Yoshi... Finally......

Official response is out:
Q2: You have said that in FFXIV: ARR, the character's position is checked by the server once every 0.3 seconds. However there are times where the character receives AoE damage even though the character on the screen is outside of the range. Seems like the information on character's position is not up to date. Is there any plan to make an adjustment to this?

A2: If we apply faster response times in all areas, the load on the servers will be too much. Therefore, while it will only be for certain areas (for example high-level content and the Wolves' Den), you will be able to notice the faster response times. Please stay tuned!

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/121315

Sinth posted an excellent explanation for what the problem is, and why it's that way. He also explained it's very difficult to fix without investing millions. Very good read, can be found here:

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...annot-be-fixed.

The Problem(s)

The game client only sends your position to the servers every .3 seconds. This, combined with latency, can make aoes impossible to dodge at times for some of the player base. Yoshi himself has stated even players with a "great connection" will still see a .1 second delay on the cast bar.

Now, a large portion of the player base are not going to have a "great connection" to servers in Montreal, Canada. So what happens? Please note: All of these will appear on the player's screen as if they should have successfully dodged. On their screen, they're out of the red by the time the cast finishes. (thanks CatofNineTails)

Players with a very small latency don't seem to notice a problem. They only get that .1 second delay Yoshi referred to.

Players with lower latency seem to have to get out of aoe effects by the time the cast bar reaches around 85% to 90% or they will still get hit.
I'm in this category, here's what not dodging looks like to me. Also, I know that I hesitated in the first video, but if you pause it towards the end of the cast bar up you can clearly see I'm out with the cast bar still up. I am not arguing that it's not dodge-able, I'm arguing that you shouldn't get hit when you're out before the cast bar completes: http://www.twitch.tv/sunarierymshek/c/3084552
http://www.twitch.tv/sunarierymshek/c/3084630

Mid-high latency can mean out by 50%, and in bad cases can mean no hope of escape (the cast is finished before you even have a chance to move).
Example videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5g4T...ature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg33BjzwLWw

I don't know if the problem is only because of the .3 second update intervals, or if there is some other problem with cast bars showing up for people late. I know that cast bars and ground animations (the red you have to get out of), are not always in sync. All those players complaining about lag, probably aren't lying about it.

Are there work arounds?

For some people, yes. As many have suggested, you can sometimes move before a skill is cast when you know it's coming up. Additionally, some have had success using a skill right after moving out of an aoe, as well as not using skills while in the aoe. Others have been using VPNs to try and get their latency into the "great connection" range. Not all work arounds are valid for all players, and for some, none of the work arounds actually help (I would probably say these are the high latency players). No amount of moving seems to be able to get them to safety.

If it's latency related, is it really SE's job to fix it?

In my opinion, yes. When no other MMOs that have come out (not developed by SE) in the past 13-14 years have had this issue, and when your only server choice for everyone is in one set location (two if we count JP servers as a choice), I would say it's in SE's court to fix it. High latency isn't something new, I've seen people raid with it in various other MMOs without having issues dodging.

As I mentioned in another thread, I did a Google search for "Got hit by aoe when out [game]", and replaced [game] with various MMO titles, then went through the first page of responses. Lots of talking about aoe, how to avoid it in PvP and such.. zero issues with getting hit when you're out by the time the cast finishes or the ground marker disappears. If someone can direct me to an example of that in any other MMO that they found on the internet, I will gladly add it to this paragraph and correct myself.

The Questions

So what's going to be done about it? Is it the way the game is built (like FFXI) and there are no plans to investigate or improve it? I'd appreciate something either way. Either a "yes we're aware of it, and it's being investigated", or a "we have no plans to change it, you need to find work arounds yourselves."

TL;DR Lag is a major issue in the game for many players. Getting out of an aoe on your screen doesn't mean the game sees it that way. What is (or isn't) going to be done about it?