Disconnect Time

[Lockpick]

So, when I log off a character to switch characters I see different disconnect times in seconds.  I've seen 19, 14, 4, and 0 (might be others I suppose).  I understand when you are in some safe zones it is 0 (Oro or Base), but it is not clear to me about the rules for the others.  I was in the Hive and logged off in the secure area near the vendor inside the protected area and it was still 19 seconds.

 

What are the rules for the disconnect times? Curious minds want to know...

[MoonSheep]

i don’t know, but i have a related story..

 

back in the day i used to think i had discovered a l33t PvP hack. if i was being chased in sirens call or i was under attack, i’d quit the game by clicking “quit to desktop” which would close the game immediately. hah! i thought, i have discovered teh ultimate escape.. when in reality i now realise my alt was stood still for 29 seconds whilst a plethora of people pummelled it into a nutrient rich paste

[Uun]

I believe it's determined by how long you've been in the zone and how long it's been since you've attacked/been attacked. If you zone in and immediately log, you'll get a 14s or 19s timer, but if you stand there for a few minutes without doing anything you'll get 4s.

[Techwright]

Bribes can, allegedly, shorten the time.  You can make all bribes payable to @Snarky.  

[VPrime]

27 minutes ago, Techwright said:

Bribes can, allegedly, shorten the time.  You can make all bribes payable to @Snarky.  

That's only funny when Snarky himself does it.

[Skyhawke]

9 minutes ago, VPrime said:

That's only funny when Snarky himself does it.

 

Oh lord, he's outsourcing the work!

[Apogee]

2 minutes ago, Skyhawke said:

 

Oh lord, he's outsourcing the work!

 

It's a franchise opportunity

[Skyhawke]

Snarkway: the new pyramid scheme. 

[lemming]

3 hours ago, Uun said:

I believe it's determined by how long you've been in the zone and how long it's been since you've attacked/been attacked. If you zone in and immediately log, you'll get a 14s or 19s timer, but if you stand there for a few minutes without doing anything you'll get 4s.

Yes, it can also be influenced on where you are.  Certain Dayjob locations, etc...

[biostem]

In "safe zones", like inside city hall, it's only like 3 seconds, if that.  Even if you haven't been attacked and are far away from harm, (like being at the Ouro portal in Echo Dark Astoria), it's still like 15-30 seconds for me.  If you are still "in combat", but otherwise in a safe zone, such as if you just attacked or were attacked by an enemy, then hop into a store or tailor, I think that remaining "in combat" countdown timer factors in...

[RikOz]

Speaking of which, I sure wish they'd get around to fixing police stations and Portal Corp as safe places to log out. Every other day job location you can log out with a 0 timer, but those two locations always get the long waits.

[Yomo Kimyata]

6 hours ago, Skyhawke said:

 

Oh lord, he's outsourcing the work!

Step 1:  establish reputation 

Step 2: outsource based on that reputation 

Step 3:  …

Step 4: Profit!

[UltraAlt]

19 hours ago, Lockpick said:

What are the rules for the disconnect times? Curious minds want to know...

 

I agree with the non-Snarky posts about the system thinking you are actively doing something ... which can include marketing, turning on-and-off powers (including autofire powers), how long you have been zone into a map, moving, accessing email, etc.

[Lockpick]

Thanks for all the responses.  I didn't realize the disconnect time was so complex, but the explanations make sense.  I love the fact that I have played this game since launch (except the down time between shut down and HC) and I still learn something new each week.

[Scarlet Shocker]

Disconnect time can be a problem in other ways too. 

 

My Ice/Time corruptor is now just an Ice/ corruptor

 

[kanga]

fun fact, if you hold alt before you select to say switch toons, you can then tab out of the game and not disturb the timer, good for getting a quick look at discord or something before you head back in.

[srmalloy]

On 9/26/2025 at 8:34 AM, Apogee said:

It's a franchise opportunity

But he's late to the game...