"Teleporting" all over the map isn't just for hackers these days -- an issue with the way Blizzard synchronizes data between the servers and the clients allows anyone to mysteriously jump from place to place without the use of any third party software. I'm sure we've all been in groups where we see someone start to run forward and then continue running forward, right through a pack of mobs and into another and another... there's a moment of panic before you realize that, oh, they've just gotten disconnected, and none of those mobs noticed him at all.
What's happening is that Blizzard's servers know the person is disconnected (they're no longer synchronized with the server) and hasn't actually moved -- but on everyone else's screens, the character continues to do exactly what it had been doing previously. The purpose here is to keep the game running as smoothly as possible in a world of imperfect network connections. When someone experiences a lag spike and is de-synched from the server, Blizzard made the decision that they wanted game performance to look smooth to the rest of the players in the area -- so instead of freezing the de-synched player in place, the de-synched player continues doing just what they were doing before (at least on other player's screens). When the player re-synchs with the servers (he's no longer lagging, or he reconnects after a disconnect), Blizzard takes the client's data as the most accurate interpretation of events -- meaning that even while lagged, you can continue to play and issue commands as usual. (In this sort of system, you may not even notice lag unless it's quite extreme.) When you re-synch with the servers, Blizzard accepts what you were doing and synchronizes the game world to that. And for the most part this is entirely invisible to players, except for those few times when a lag spike turns into a longer disconnect.
The problem here is that players can recreate this issue manually. And while this little trick doesn't fool the servers (that know exactly where your player was when you de-synched from the server), it easily fools other players. So let's say you're in a PvP battleground, standing right next to another player -- you start running away and then de-synch yourself from the server. The other player sees you running away but in fact you're right next to them, and issuing commands that cause him grevious harm. The other player just sees what you were doing when you de-synched from the server, but when you re-synch, Blizzard will accept whatever commands you've been issuing as what really happened. End result? The other player sees you running away, and a few moments later is hit, instantaniously, with everything you've got to throw at him -- and is probably dead without any idea of what hit him.
What does Blizzard have to say about this -- obvious -- cheat? Well, when the folks over at Not Addicted found out about this problem, they decided to bring it to Blizzard's attention on the official forums -- only to be derided by posters explaining that this has been a known issue in the game since the introduction of Warsong Gulch, but it hasn't been changed it yet. So is this another issue of "creative use of game mechanics," perhaps? For now, at least, Blizzard is keeping quiet. And if they haven't done anything about it now, I can't say it's likely that they're going to any time soon.
For those interested in more of the technical details on this, PlayNoEvil has a great run-down.
[Fan art by Guillaume Bonnet]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-02-2007 @ 5:55PM
Deathlike said...
It's the same damned thing that ruined Halo 2.
Standbying. Not the exact same thing, but close enough.
Please, God(Blizzard,) don't let what happened to Halo 2 happen to World of Warcraft..
And also, to anyone reading the post (including WoWInsider) it might be best not to talk about this at all. The less people know, the better..
Unless you played Halo 2 extensively, you have no idea of what this is like.
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4-02-2007 @ 6:07PM
brian said...
it sucks in halo2, 1 second your team is winning, and literally the next second everyone is dead when it was 4 against 1.
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4-02-2007 @ 6:09PM
SEAN said...
HA... Yes. those damn standbyers piss me off... one reason i stoped playing halo2. well, that and my xbox decided to cook itself and setoff the fire alarm. i just sat there staring in disbelief as a white mushroom cloud poured out of the box.
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4-02-2007 @ 6:29PM
Mike Schramm said...
From what I can read, it sounds like the solution is to give the server authority over what the player is doing after he desyncs. That means that if you get disconnected and don't know it, you could suddenly be dead after you log back in (if a mob aggros you).
But a few instances of that seems much better than allowing players to desync at will and teleport around when they sync back. Would you all be willing to accept a few mistake aggros and deaths during PvE disconnects just to prevent malicious PvP disconnects? It looks like Blizzard doesn't think you are, but I'm pretty sure I would be.
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4-02-2007 @ 6:39PM
Jonathan said...
Wall of text hits you for 20000 (crushing)
You die.
You lose 10% durability on your items.
You suck.
lrn2read.
dont you wish the death messages were mean sometimes?
:D
as far as the issue: one of our pvp warriors uses this in raids. Its caused many a wipe sadly. Usually someone freaks out...usually me cuz im main healer most nights. So ive stopped following him in and if he dies..well he dies. and we all laugh at him.
its also not hard to fight this, just cast spells or do damage where they started the hack, and viola! youll be hitting them like no tomorrow.
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4-02-2007 @ 6:58PM
Klatz said...
You don't understand the nature of the problem #5, if you knew that they were doing yes you could stand there and spam attacks and when they reconnected bam they are dead. But you can't tell until error messages come back like out of range or target is not in front etc. That gives your opponent a few seconds of precious time, uninterrupted to heal or whatever.
Another use is to act like you ran off the edge of the platform in the Blades Arena or off a tower or someother elevated surface. You follow them but then you realize, nope, they didn't run off. They gain an immediate and lame advantage.
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4-02-2007 @ 6:58PM
Smutcakes said...
seems as if the system needs to only be reversed on the Battleground servers for everyone to be happy.
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4-02-2007 @ 7:32PM
Deathlike said...
Mike:
Yes. Yes, I would accept that. And I have a shitty ISP/Router that disconnects at least once a day.
But it is unbelievably better than being trumped by.. I can't describe it. I've cursed often enough in Halo 2; as I said above, you have absolutely no idea how aggravating it becomes.
WoW has an advantage over it, and that's that there's no true "host." That's the significant difference between MMO standbying and room-based gaming. If you have host, when you standby, instead of losing yourself to the connection, you lose everyone else.
Basically, no one else can do anything while you run around one-shotting them.
Thank god it's not possible here.
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4-02-2007 @ 7:32PM
Deathlike said...
Hah, Smutcakes, I only just read your comment; brilliant idea.
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4-02-2007 @ 8:23PM
Chris 4tee4 said...
I'm wondering if this is the same thing as the macro I used to tease people in molten core near bosses.
Basically, you make a macro that consists of /sit /stand /sit /stand all the way down the macro list. When you repeatedly click this macro icon, it makes you lag out and everybody sees you running forward, even though you're in the same place.
I never thought you could use this maliciously in pvp, or gain the upperhand while using it, I always used it for giggles in between rests in long nights of raiding.
Any networking gurus know if this is the same thing as the teleport glitch Elizabeth is talking about?
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4-02-2007 @ 9:15PM
duffster said...
@10
Yes, it is the same thing apparently
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4-02-2007 @ 10:24PM
Psyae said...
I call it "skipping" or "jumping" when I'm dueling or pvping. If I see that someone who wants to duel me has been "skipping," I won't duel them. I know it's not always intentional, but when it is, it's evil.
One of the other problems with this is that not everyone sees the skipping. I'll say, "hey, you see that guy (who isn't a mage) blinking all over the place when he runs?" Response, "uh, no, what are you talking about?" It certainly gets frustrating, but I'm thinking it would cost Blizzard a lot of time and money to rework the system to eliminate the problem, and perhaps the "fix" would end up being worse than the problem.
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4-03-2007 @ 7:25AM
Terry said...
simple solution - server shouldnt accept movemtn, self-heal, comabat action commands from a re-synced player.
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4-03-2007 @ 10:45AM
homant said...
There's a post over at Notaddicted about this issue and how people are using the sit/stand macro to "blink" in Arena Matches.
http://www.notaddicted.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1011
-Gritz
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4-03-2007 @ 2:14PM
Jellodyne said...
> "one of our pvp warriors uses this in raids"
If he's using this in raids, he's almost certainly using it to cheat in PVP. So the question is, why are you playing with him? /gkick asap, and get someone in that raid slot that knows how to play, instead of knowing how to cheat. Also, he may be giving your guild a bad name. Do you want people to think you all cheat? Refuse to match against you? And by raiding with him, you're benefiting from his cheating. Or, actually, it sounds like his cheating may be causing you grief. Either way, kick him from the party, kick him from the guild, and tell him he's lucky Blizzard doesn't ban him. Come to think of it, you may want to report him. Sounds harsh? Maybe, but cheating sacks of crap like that ruin the game for everyone. Seriously.
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4-03-2007 @ 10:58PM
Doctadjones said...
Solution:
Roll a Hunter....and always trust your pet. He's smarter than you!!
Happens to me sometimes in PvE. I've learned that if my Pet is attacking thin air, and the MoB is standing next to me....attack the air.
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5-10-2007 @ 8:17AM
pantslesshobo said...
heh i just realised i have been using a variation of this in WSG for quite some time. when running up the tunnel mounted i quickly unlimit a very fast torrent file causing massive lag, allowing me to sometimes get to the flag even. the idea came to me after chasing a guy up a tunnel and he was mounted for some strange reason.
you guys know if they have fixed the dead-entry exploit yet?
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