Titan issues that need addressing.

[seekified]

Castbar tells you the former. It gives you absolutely no indication of the latter.

You can infer your required positioning by estimating how much is left of the cast. The telegraph will go up within fractions of a second of the castbar and you know you need to be off the telegraph by the time the cast completes. The problems arise when your view of the game is significantly behind the server, but I do agree that what's referred to as "the lull" shouldn't exist. That pause slows down gameplay and feels unnecessary.

I have to say I've never had problems with this. If my character is off a telegraph by the time it vanishes, I don't get hit.

EDIT: I think tightening up this system would be fantastic and would make battles feel more responsive, but I also think it can be a pretty dangerous thing to change a basic part of the battle system after two years.

[Gyson]

I think more than a few critics of this thread are missing a point (which I thought I spelled out clearly enough) in the opening post.

First, I find it difficult to believe that most players monitor Titan's cast bar. Heck, going by the number of interrupt opportunities that pass by unchallenged on everything from the average mobs to dungeon bosses, I would argue that most players aren't watching cast bars anywhere. While it's fantastic that the fraction of people on this forum who are participating in this thread (which make up an even tinier fraction of the people playing the game) are apparently all cast-bar watching pros, as someone who is always tanking I feel like I can safely say that most of the time the only one staring at cast bars seems to be me (as I'm rarely able to count on the average player to help interrupt anything).

Second, this thread is not about what people should be doing - remember, "we're apparently all pros here" , so nobody is dropping any insight bombs on anyone else. But for your average player (you know the one, that fellow who has died early *again* on Titan attempt #X) the issue pointed out in the original post is not making anything easier for anyone. It is very difficult to convince your average player that they failed to react in time when every visual indicator on their screen is reinforcing the idea that they *did* react in time. The average player is not going to want to hear a lecture about castbars versus telegraphs, or theories on video/processor lag versus network latency - on their screen they see themselves clearing the AOE-warning makers before it vanishes and/or explodes, and a) it is a lie, and b) it is a lie they're buying into. To argue with them that they were "late" at that point is to basically tell them to stop trusting their own eyes and the information being displayed on their screen. It doesn't work.

I would argue that tightening up the animations (especially for this trial) such that the castbar and animations are more in sync would be infinitely more useful towards helping players improve compared to a futile attempt to educate everyone in the game about the quirks and workarounds for this encounter. Simply put, if Bob sees his character die in an explosion he will make a real effort to move faster/anticipate better in the future. Where as Bob seeing his character die (when standing a safe distance from an explosion) is not likely to put much effort into improving at all, because in his mind the game got it wrong, not him. And when half your Duty Finder PUG is filled with Bob's having this issue, it sucks for everyone wasting their time on that run (regardless of who is doing it right or wrong).

We can argue about whether or not this can be fixed, but nobody should be arguing about whether or not it would be preferable to have things syncing up better (hint: it would be preferable). And yet some of the responses seem to be doing just that, which is more than a little strange.

Side note: for the memorize and move early crowd that is proudly chiming in on this discussion - I would also argue that you are essentially screwing over the rest of the party in an effort to guarantee your personal survival. If everyone is tightly stacked to minimize the amount of traveling distance needed to clear all those "Weight of the Land' telegraphs, you must realize that by breaking formation early (even a half second early) you're causing those telegraphs to spread out more, which in turn is making escape more difficult for the people who are waiting for the telegraph as a visual cue to start moving. Perhaps you don't realize this or you just don't care, but it is what it is.

[Fynlar]

It is very difficult to convince your average player that they failed to react in time when every visual indicator on their screen is reinforcing the idea that they *did* react in time. The average player is not going to want to hear a lecture about castbars versus telegraphs, or theories on video/processor lag versus network latency - on their screen they see themselves clearing the AOE-warning makers before it vanishes and/or explodes, and a) it is a lie, and b) it is a lie they're buying into. To argue with them that they were "late" at that point is to basically tell them to stop trusting their own eyes and the information being displayed on their screen. It doesn't work.

I think you've become one of my favorite posters on these boards.

Given the overall quality of posts on these boards though, I have to admit that's not a difficult standard to achieve.

[Daranion]

I would like to throw out the following two moves for consideration. Mortal Gaze from Angra Manyu and the missles from Turn 8's The Avatar. These two moves do not inflict damage when the castbar is cast. Those two moves do infact consider you hit with the animation. This is exactly what OP is asking for. GO look up some WoD or T8 videos. You'll see that the effects are applied in perfect sync with the animation. This means that Square is capable of doing it and that all the other fights are off for some reason. Go ahead and test it yourself if you don't believe me. Angra Manyu, stare at him until even after the cast bar dissappears, if you flip around before the animation plays, you're golden! Same as for the missiles you have to stand in. The server doesn't declare the missiles inactive until after the animation plays of them exploding

[AsahinaMyLove]

Thats why cheap cheaters like Titan is on my "Black List"
I rather wait 30mins lockout than wasting my energy on this guy <,<

Whenever I was stupid enough and took a try it, ends with wipes.

[ElHeggunte]

Having them "tighten" the combat is a noble crusade to be sure, but the only thing I really see in this thread is making excuses for people who lack awareness. Most people get hit because they aren't paying attention or because they really are lagging, neither of which are things that would be addressed by adjusting the relationship between the castbar, telegraph, and the ability. Would it be nice if the animation and effect of more abilities coincided more with the castbar? Yeah, I suppose, though I'm used to it so I don't care either way. However, I don't see how it's too much to ask for people to learn to watch the castbar and not the animation.

[Tanthalus]

OP you took on a lot of work for little gain in my opinion :/
The reality is you can move the cast bar to where you can see it. You can also focus target Titan to watch for casts. Of course neither of these things are necessary if you know titan's rotation. It doesn't change.
When you do Titan enough times you know when to clear away and when to cluster up. Knowing that not all players can understand why we stack just know that if that one guy is standing south of the cluster of players -your running North when plumes it.
Fight is not broken and they've actually increased the reaction time players get for plumes so I do believe the point is moot.

[Mercutial]

Not that it really is necessary for Titan EX, but what serious player isn't applying focus target to the boss?

[Chiramu]

There is nothing wrong with the fight, if by Titan HM/EX you don't know the castbar determines whether you get hit or not (few exceptions exist), it's just you, not the game.

I'm WHM on every primal fight(especially on Titan cause I find it hard to concentrate on DPS and dodging at the same time :/), I NEVER see his cast bars. I see the Weight of the Land underneath me, I move immediately. I am an Australian connecting to an JP server, I will always have lag and I can dodge every attack Titan does without even clicking on him >.>.

Learn to look at the screen OP.

[Zigabar]

"I was out of it!!!" - This one never gets old.

My SCH friend never believes me OTL

He tells me to Git Gud. So I do.