Alternative lock-on mechanic

    The current lock-on mechanic can be a bit tricky, especially when you're trying to quickly heal/cleanse single targets. I've been thinking of an alternative way to handle lock-on and it occurred to me that I've already seen it before.


    There was a game I used to play – that I can't quite remember the name – where the lock-on skills would work like this:

    • Let's say you have the Mystic's skill Titanic Favor mapped to LMB
    • You hit LMB once and hold it down
    • You target the players you want to heal
    • Lastly, you release LMB and the healing will be applied


    This would be a much better alternative when you want to heal single targets or a group of targets that are close together. It might actually be a better alternative in most scenarios, and could even help against desync issues where you hit the lock-on skill twice in a row aiming at a single target and it will only register as locking on when you hit it the second time.

    For what reason would you like heal only one player?

    Use Apex Skill man, they are great and fun.


    Anyway i as healer never had any problem with healing group or specific player, in my opinion healing in this game with apex or withoud it is very good and dont need any changes. Better have 2 steps for healing because less chance to make mistake and healing is easy anyway.

    Quote from Buschfunker

    They should remove any lockon mechanic, so people have to aim.

    As a healer in mass content, aiming an escaping target that needs healing the most can be troublesome because the caster gets exposed/breaks formation, just to give one example. Lockon is pretty helpful for runaway panicking targets.


    Also for certain mechanics it's nice to lock on a target that may receive damage in advance so you can heal from a safer position.

    Quote from Buschfunker

    They should remove any lockon mechanic, so people have to aim.

    I don't get it, are you making the 'if the skill isn't aim and shoot then the player is bad' kind of argument? I would agree if this was an FPS game with decent skill and action prediction but it's clearly not.


    Not to mention there are so many skills – not just the lock-on type – that aren't "aim and shoot", you'd have to essentially create a whole different combat system if you really want aim and shoot only. Plus this is not the only proof of skill, and definitely not at all the most meaningful when it comes to healers in MMORPG titles with no regard for skill/action prediction.


    Maybe getting rid of lock-on skills that aren't healing/cleansing/buffing type would be a good idea, but let's not try to reinvent the wheel here. This thread is about a simple suggestion that involves reworking/improving an already existing mechanic, not about completely taking it away and not giving any suggestions of what should take the place of skills that use lock-on mechanic.


    If you wanna keep talking about removing lock-on skills completely, feel free to start another thread and share your ideas of how this would be implemented. This thread is about reworking/improving the lock-on mechanic only so I don't intend to focus on other suggestions that involve extreme changes from now on.


    Quote from Jubei

    For what reason would you like heal only one player?

    Use Apex Skill man, they are great and fun.


    Anyway i as healer never had any problem with healing group or specific player, in my opinion healing in this game with apex or withoud it is very good and dont need any changes. Better have 2 steps for healing because less chance to make mistake and healing is easy anyway.

    Not sure if you're familiar with Mystic but your main healing combo should be Titanic Favor (lock-on) and Boomerang Pulse with either Heal (recommended) or Chain if you're struggling to keep your own HP at 100%.


    Display Spoiler


    When only one player has low HP and the whole party is scattered, you'll probably want to TF -> BP -> TF. There is absolutely no point in targeting other players when only one of them is distant and needs to be healed ASAP.


    I also don't have a problem with healing in general, which doesn't mean the current lock-on is perfect. For instance, having to click, aim and then click again adds another step which can be mildly tiring after you've done it so many times. Reducing unnecessarily repetitive actions is a very important part of designing skills for games.


    If other players wanna use the current lock-on mechanic, they could always add a toggle option under "Game" or 'UI Settings".


    Anyway I don't even know how often – if at all – suggestions posted on Gameforge's forums are taken into account, considering most of the changes seem to aim at KTERA.

    Quote from Om3Ga

    No. The lock on mechanic is already perfect.

    Stop giving them stupid ideas when it is not necessary.

    Well, I just gave you an example of where this mechanic presents a flaw – desync – and also how it could be prevented – 'click, hold to aim, release' instead of 'click, aim, click again'. This not only eliminates a repetitive step, but also prevents you from having to click a third time when desync occurs. Anyone with more than two functional brain cells knows that nothing can ever be perfect when it comes to game – or software in general – development.


    Stop posting stupid replies when it is not necessary.

    I played this game for 7-8 years and didn't had a single desync while using lock-on skills.

    I had 2 different PC's and played all classes.


    Anyone with more than two functional brain cells knows that that you are full of bulshit.


    And besides that the lock on system that we currently have is much better for a game like TERA.

    Edited once, last by Om3Ga ().