Why the netcode issue exists, and why it cannot be fixed.

[dejavutwo]

I think people understand that there will be lag to a certain extent, and don't expect absolute perfection and 100% synchronization between the server and client. As an online game, desynchronization is unavoidable and something that must either be compensated for (through things like movement prediction) or avoided. The problem with FF is that its lag compensation (if any) is not good enough to cope with the movement requirements of the encounter design and leads to a game the feels laggy and sluggish. Almost every encounter is about dodging AoE attacks, which in some cases means being out of them before they appear, which leads to a very frustrating and unfair experience. The real problem is not that the game lags, but that the encounter design highlights the desynchronization instead of hiding it.


There are a lot of difficult fights that did not rely on 1-shot mechanics in other MMOs, and this is the direction FF should take if they are not going to fix their lag compensation. Lady Vashj from WoW:BC was a very difficult fight with some cool mechanics that did not rely much on quick position changes (Playing pass with tainted cores, slowly increasing number of enemies spawning in waves to overwhelm players).


A great example of a game that hid lag incredibly well in pve was Tera. You can not tell how much lag compensation that game has until you try pvp where the compensation fails horribly. Everything about the pve in that game felt smooth and responsive, from timing dodges, to timing blocks, to avoiding AoEs. However, pvp was a complete mess as you could be blocking a player 5 feet in front of you on your screen while they are hitting you in the back on their screen. As a melee character, I had to run in front of people to hit them with my attacks at times.

TLDR: If Tera can take that much lag, and make it almost un-noticeable FF should be able to get a reasonable level of responsiveness out of their game. If they don't want to do that they should focus on fights that are difficult without relying on 1-shot AoEs.