This is the 2nd time I have teamed with a Shaman that could cast all their spells and do all their melee attacks in about 4 seconds, for ALL of them. The first time, someone told me in group chat that THIS Shaman was using the exploit, and I saw him do this. Today, another Shaman did the same thing; every available spell and melee attack, including crits, were done in a few seconds.
Just to be clear. All available spells, and melee attacks, including all available crits, were done in a matter of a few seconds for ALL of them. One second you look at the attacks on the mob, and in 3-4 seconds, ALL Shaman spells, and melee attacks, including crits, were applied. In a normal case, I could not even get off that many spells/attacks before the mob died. I refuse to play with such a player. Or maybe I'm missing something ..... (49 Shaman)
Hmm, to me this sounds a little unusual as nearly every Shaman spell has it's own global cooldown. What type of Shaman were they? Are you sure they were all Shaman abilities? Did you report them to a GM?
it would be a pretty powerful exploit to get all those abilities up since every single dps ability that a shaman has triggers a global cooldown. heck the pet ones trigger a global for the pet. you mentioned that they did everything in 4 seconds... which with the 2 sec global cooldown at level 49 should be two attacks tops... next time you see such a player you should /log the encounters where they are doing this so you can look through the log and actually see if they are exploiting a bug or using a hack and then send the log to deveopment or gms.
My current theory is that when the exploit is in use, a melee hit applies ALL melee attacks. And, a spellcast includes ALL spells. The Shaman can land all melee attacks, and all spell attacks, with one of each type. So in 3-4 seconds, the time for 2 attacks, they can apply all attacks.
What level are you? What level was the shammy? What were you killing? Does the combat log show every ability or are you guessing by how fast the mob died. if you turn on your timestamps and ./log your combat channel to confirm it, it can be dealt with accordingly. Or just passing the name to a GM
I am a lvl 50 Shaman. We were fighting 4-dots in ToT. I watch the icons on the enemy when I cast spells or use melee attacks, to see if they landed. For example, I cast Lethargy on a mob, and then look to see if it landed, or missed; and if it missed, I cast it again. I will cast Hoarfrost, and then watch the mob icons; when Hoarfrost falls, I might cast it again. This other lvl 47 Shammy joined us, and I watched ALL the Shaman icons light up on the mob in 3-4 seconds. I was not casting or attacking. All the icons for the melee attacks, landed in 2 seconds. All the icons for spells, landed in another 2 seconds. Including ALL the crits. By the time I could get off 2-3 attacks, the mob already had all the Shaman attack icons applied. The first time I saw this, someone in chat explained that the Shammy was using an exploit. The 2nd time I saw it, I was just observing the Shaman attack icons on the mob. So, I get ready to cast Lethargy, cast it, and check for the icon on the mob. He already had 6 Shaman icons on him! Then I go to cast a DoT, and look and see that the mob has ALL the spell icons applied too. Including crtis, like Gelid Blast, Throat Rip, etc.
Well at this point all you can do is file a ./petition in game, file a ./bug report, and keep truckin. There are a few scenarios where lag can produce the effects you're talking about. I'm not defending anyone, but the UI can be very laggy and inconsistent, you could have been in your first epic bard group and been with a 55 shaman who had tight macros. hit a lag spike.....he continues mashing....and when the lag clears the UI updates the debuff window with the new icons all at once. Do you use macro's and understand how they work? If you had an epic bard in group and saw someone using a fully macro'd toon for the first time I bet you would be confused by the pace. Especially since it sounds like you may not have this play style. No offense intended, I'm just trying to knock out possibilities. There are 2 debuff bars you could be looking at, one which displays all YOUR active debuffs on the mob and a window for ALL active debuffs on the mob (including group/raid debuffs other people have added). So I'm not trying to insult your intelligence, I just feel like I would have heard about this one. If you know the guys name but don't want to say it publicly, I would do a ./report as well stating what you thought you saw happening. I know of no way around the GCD. If none of the solutions above seem plausible I would definitely pass on the names of suspects so it can be investigated further.
One more time. The first time I saw this happen, the group chat TOLD ME HE WAS USING AN EXPLOIT. The 2nd time, on another team, here is the exact scenario: - team of all melee, no casters, I am the only Shaman, no healers, no casters - we attack a mob, 4-Dot. I cast Lethargy, DoT's, a few heals, etc. Maybe some melee. All is normal. Mine are almost the only icons on the mob. - a 2nd Shammy joins, and I stand back to watch. In the time it takes me to cast one or two spells, ALL of the Shammy icons are on the mob, including all crits, both melee and spell. Is that lag?? Or a macro? How does a macro cast all Shammy spells, and all melee attacks, including crits for both, in 3-4 seconds?
1. Run a /log (if you know how to do this, if not ask in chat we will tell you) 2. File a report and include said log file 3. Be very careful, you would hate to accuse someone of cheating and then find out you were wrong. You say the group chat told you he was using a exploit.... did this person actually say that or someone in your group. 4. IF in fact you have found an exploiter you have a "duty' to report them. Understand that a persons connection to the internet can make things appear differently, peoples knowledge of the game can make it appear they are doing something wrong when in fact they are just good at writing marcos or assiging things to keystrokes. Exploits of that nature are not seen in this game for a long time. This is becuase we as a play base dont like it and normally report it . But we always have proof!
Ok, I experimented with macros, to see if I could duplicate what I saw. As a professional programmer, and gamer who has done mods, I understand the Internet and macros. There is a global cooldown that affects almost all Shaman actions. There is no possible way to activate 4 melee attacks with 2 crits, and 4 spells with another 2 crits, in 4 seconds using macros. Almost all of the melee attacks and spells have to be done sequentially, each one waiting for the global cooldown. To get 8 attacks/spells off, plus another 4 crits, would take around 20 seconds, each one cast as the cooldown cools down. Please try to cast all your dots, including at least one crit, and all your melee attacks, with at least one crit, and tell me how long it takes you. In my two experiences, the other shaman had all of them done in the time it takes me to cast two spells, around 3-4 seconds. Perhaps I am missing something ....you can't cast two dots at once, the second one has to wait for the cooldown timer, right? Macros don't take that limit away. Based on this, I believe there is a Shaman exploit that is being used by a few Shamans. The next time I suspect this, I will start logging it. I've been wanting to write a log parser anyway
Log parsers are a good tool for this game and maxing your dps. If you suspect exploiters. log it and report it. even send them PM on the boards. They will look into it. byond that... make note of the names and dont group with those ppl.
I don't believe that this is a Shaman exploit. If what you describe is true then this person would probably be able to do it on any character, as to make this work they are circumnavigating the basic programming of global cooldowns.
what abilities we're those? some are speedy as hell and don't have any cooldown towards next melee attack. If you use some spell first like the quick casted dot you can follow up with an imidiate melee attack after, no cooldown. Since i'm bear i'd use the one that lower mitigation and i have macroed in my pet to both attack and use ability that enhance the very same effect. that's 3 attacks i can make in 0.5secs. So its completly possible.
