V-merit item: Targeting tower

[Greycat]

So, when in an MSR, one of the common strategies to be sure you can *find* something to hit is to target through a pet - yours or someone else's. The reason, of course, is that with all the people, pets and effects, enemies just don't get drawn (and/or aren't targetable.)

 

The problem is that those *pets* can run out of visible range - and so your targeting aid is gone.

 

Yeah, you can hit tab like a crazy person and target something for a shot or two, but that doesn't guarantee you'll *find* something (even if it's there) for the same reason you were going through a pet in the first place.

 

So: Suggestion.  For (say) 100 V-merits, you can plant a targeting "tower." You don't *have* to use this on the MSR, of course - it's just not all that useful anywhere else I can think of. It doesn't grant +Per or +Tohit, it does have hit points and a life span (5-7 minutes, I'm thinking, but I'm not dead set on that.) All it does is target like a pet. You (and anyone else) can select it. It will target a valid target and switch every 2-3 seconds (so it's not stuck on, say, one of those Rikti that portal in but never show up or that you can't shoot because they're not "there" yet.)

 

Range: From the center of the bowl, either halfway or all the way to the top of the ramps.

 

To keep the servers from having to do too much, limit 1-2 at a time.

 

I'm figuring purchasing these with V-merits is appropriate because the MSR's really the place they'd be most useful. Most everywhere else, you don't have the same number of players facing the same rush of enemies causing targeting issues.

[Solvernia]

I don't even understand what the issue is in the first place. You can't find an enemy to attack, so... press tab, or run into the middle of a new pack?

[Greycat]

Have you ever been in an MSR? Those questions kind of hint at "no" being the answer. (Or at best, you only play pullers.)

Edited March 31, 2021 by Greycat

[srmalloy]

6 hours ago, Solvernia said:

I don't even understand what the issue is in the first place. You can't find an enemy to attack, so... press tab, or run into the middle of a new pack?

The problem is that the game client prioritizes closer mobs when there are too many mobs to draw, so you can be standing in the middle of the bowl shooting at a target on the raised wall around the bottom,
and a bunch of Rikti teleport in -- and your target doesn't make the cut to be drawn, fading away and making you lose target. If you have the range, you can hit targets up on the rim of the bowl, but the moment there are too many closer mobs, your target disappears. Back on Live, I used to routinely pull mobs off the rim of the bowl with my AR/EM Blaster, but the raids on HC are enough better at pulling mobs from the upper decks into the bowl that her recreation here can't keep sight on a mob on the rim long enough for an attack to animate. Pets, because all of their targeting happens server-side, aren't affected by the render limits, so they can 'see' and attack mobs not visible in your client.

 

In another thread, I proposed another way to address the problem, which was to automatically include the mob you're targeting in the 'drawn mobs' list, so you don't lose sight of your target just because other mobs moved in. Because it's only one mob, and only drawn in your client, it's not a load on everyone, since each player would have their own 'special' target. If you changed targets, or your target was defeated, you'd have to pick a new target from among the visible mobs before that one became your designated target.

[Andreah]

I like this idea. 

 

Call it a Vanguard Targeting Unit, and borrow an existing model for it. Have it target the highest remaining health Rikti enemy within range, and stay on that target so long as it's alive and still within range. That should keep it from swapping targets constantly.

 

It could cost a fair number of Vanguard Merits, and still be useful. The HVAS costs 250, and unlike that, this would not damage enemies or generate much aggro. Perhaps 100 Vanguard merits for one would be fair.