TheLaggingShaman
Well-Known Member
Some methods to beat lag (ingame) that I have stumbled upon around Azeroth, and you will no doubt pick up on them over time as well, but I've made a list for new players anyway. These are most useful with a latency of 400+ ms, with usefullness increasing as latency increases. I play on a constant 600-700ms and that is what I have based this off. The best and most reliable way to combat lag atm is to purchase an unshaped account from your service provider.
Hopefully these tips will be able to help you in some way
Mobile casting. Depending on your latency, you can usually begin moving before your cast bar is complete (I find when 1sec or less is remaining it is safest) and your spell will still cast. This compensates for, and is caused by, the short delay you get when your hands glow at the beginning of a spell cast. Note: This is relative. If you start casting a 10 sec Hearthstone, and move two thirds of the way in, it will fail. But if you are casting a 1.5 sec Lesser Healing Wave, and move two thirds of the way in, it will succeed.
Fast cast. Whether spamming your Frostbolt key at Raggy, or your Scorch key at that warrior, you'll notice there is a short delay before your next spell casts. However you should also notice that the cast bar hits anywhere from 2/3 to 3/4 completion and suddenly your spell casts. This is to compensate for the short spell cast delay we get from lag, but unfortunately does not occur 100% of the time.
(pvp) Melee fighting. Keep moving. Your computer sends a packet when you start moving, to tell the other players that you are moving, and it sends another when you stop moving, to tell them that you have stopped. This way you can dodge the stop-go-lag that occurs when you start moving on your screen, and are still standing still on your opponent's screen.
Use pets! Keep a small non-combat pet (yeti!) running next to you at all times in combat. As the pet's movements are controlled server-side, unlike you who is controlled client-side, its position which will be a little behind you, and is the same position all others players see you at. This way you can judge where you appear to your opponent(s).
Predict movements. A fan of thorium grenades? Remember to always throw them quite far in front of a moving player, to not only predict for the distance they will move but because they are further away than they appear to you.
Being a rogue. Rogues aren't easy to play with high latency, and that is why I have avoided them like the plague. But its possible with quick reflexes and good prediction skills. Predict where your opponent really is, where you are, and aim that gouge accordingly. This is true with stealth as well; move in front and to the side of the opponent's line of movement and start spamming the Ambush/Cheap Shot key as he closes in.
Correct timing of instants. Just Charged a mage and slapped him around a bit? He's going to Frost nova at this point (he wont Blink if he has a brain, because he'll know as soon as he does you'll Intercept Charge and knock him out for 3 seconds. He'll save his Blink for later to break the Intercept stun) so why dont you get ready and pop your trinket (Insignia of the Horde/Alliance). Do this sooner, or later, depending on your latency. If you time it well the trinket effect will land just as he freezes you, breaking you out instantly. This is also true in other situations, with other instants.
Get rid of your addons. At least, the ones you really really dont need. Use the new built in WoW combat text and enemy cast bar options instead of SCT and Carnivale. Disable CT_Raid when you're not raiding. I was looking at upwards of 10-15 individual addons at one point, then I deleted them all and it reduced my latency by about 100ms.
Voice Communication. Skype/TeamSpeak and other voice communication programs can use a lot of bandwidth, reducing your ingame latency. However Ventrilo is known to use less bandwidth, and as such it is the program of choice for raiding-guilds. [Fudzy + FireFli]
That's it for now. I'll keep this topic updated with new content as much as possible. Please post your own tips and tricks below and I'll add them to the list with your name. Happy hunting
Hopefully these tips will be able to help you in some way
Mobile casting. Depending on your latency, you can usually begin moving before your cast bar is complete (I find when 1sec or less is remaining it is safest) and your spell will still cast. This compensates for, and is caused by, the short delay you get when your hands glow at the beginning of a spell cast. Note: This is relative. If you start casting a 10 sec Hearthstone, and move two thirds of the way in, it will fail. But if you are casting a 1.5 sec Lesser Healing Wave, and move two thirds of the way in, it will succeed.
Fast cast. Whether spamming your Frostbolt key at Raggy, or your Scorch key at that warrior, you'll notice there is a short delay before your next spell casts. However you should also notice that the cast bar hits anywhere from 2/3 to 3/4 completion and suddenly your spell casts. This is to compensate for the short spell cast delay we get from lag, but unfortunately does not occur 100% of the time.
(pvp) Melee fighting. Keep moving. Your computer sends a packet when you start moving, to tell the other players that you are moving, and it sends another when you stop moving, to tell them that you have stopped. This way you can dodge the stop-go-lag that occurs when you start moving on your screen, and are still standing still on your opponent's screen.
Use pets! Keep a small non-combat pet (yeti!) running next to you at all times in combat. As the pet's movements are controlled server-side, unlike you who is controlled client-side, its position which will be a little behind you, and is the same position all others players see you at. This way you can judge where you appear to your opponent(s).
Predict movements. A fan of thorium grenades? Remember to always throw them quite far in front of a moving player, to not only predict for the distance they will move but because they are further away than they appear to you.
Being a rogue. Rogues aren't easy to play with high latency, and that is why I have avoided them like the plague. But its possible with quick reflexes and good prediction skills. Predict where your opponent really is, where you are, and aim that gouge accordingly. This is true with stealth as well; move in front and to the side of the opponent's line of movement and start spamming the Ambush/Cheap Shot key as he closes in.
Correct timing of instants. Just Charged a mage and slapped him around a bit? He's going to Frost nova at this point (he wont Blink if he has a brain, because he'll know as soon as he does you'll Intercept Charge and knock him out for 3 seconds. He'll save his Blink for later to break the Intercept stun) so why dont you get ready and pop your trinket (Insignia of the Horde/Alliance). Do this sooner, or later, depending on your latency. If you time it well the trinket effect will land just as he freezes you, breaking you out instantly. This is also true in other situations, with other instants.
Get rid of your addons. At least, the ones you really really dont need. Use the new built in WoW combat text and enemy cast bar options instead of SCT and Carnivale. Disable CT_Raid when you're not raiding. I was looking at upwards of 10-15 individual addons at one point, then I deleted them all and it reduced my latency by about 100ms.
Voice Communication. Skype/TeamSpeak and other voice communication programs can use a lot of bandwidth, reducing your ingame latency. However Ventrilo is known to use less bandwidth, and as such it is the program of choice for raiding-guilds. [Fudzy + FireFli]
That's it for now. I'll keep this topic updated with new content as much as possible. Please post your own tips and tricks below and I'll add them to the list with your name. Happy hunting
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