Blink

[Zax]

Also possible is the "Fulmen method" which is to rapidly scroll through every weapon, butting heads with the enemy, until one side eventually gives. Including specials, even if VIR. Worked rather well for Warrior with blink, but not so much in 6.1 where blink warp is nearly erased.

[Zero Angel]

Also possible is the "Fulmen method" which is to rapidly scroll through every weapon, butting heads with the enemy, until one side eventually gives. Including specials, even if VIR. Worked rather well for Warrior with blink, but not so much in 6.1 where blink warp is nearly erased.

Not true. Blink warp is still alive and well in 6.1. It can be caused accidentally as well, by players who use a certain (fairly normal) weapon switching technique.

[MrTwosheds]

Blink warp is a fairly serious problem in 6.2.
A potential game ruining exploit in fact.

[Red Devil]

just remove the damage and reduce the kickOmega and kickVeloc done in xblinkin and reduce the damage done in xblinkout.

[Feared_1]

just remove the damage and reduce the kickOmega and kickVeloc done in xblinkin and reduce the damage done in xblinkout.

The problem is that the player looks like they Blink, causing the player(s) fighting that player to turn around to see where they Blinked to only to have themselves being shot in the back again.

[Mortarion]

Fairly certain it nullifies the 'lock on' on weapons like shads too, very annoying.

[Zero Angel]

just remove the damage and reduce the kickOmega and kickVeloc done in xblinkin and reduce the damage done in xblinkout.

VSR already does reduce the damage, range, and kick of blink explosions. However, as F1 and Mortarion mention, the biggest issue is the fact that the player appears to blink, making you turn and disengage when he did not actually blink. The worst blink glitchers will use the bug (perhaps unintentionally) yet continue to dealing damage to you while you're in a state of confusion. As well, anyone who is the target of an offensive blink glitch attack still behave as if they've been collided with until the netcode catches up and the collision effects are undone, usually this is 2 to 3 seconds from when the glitch is initiated. The confusion that the blink glitch can cause can disorient human players so much they fight worse than 1.2 AI scouts.

[Zax]

Less than confusion, more like absolute revocation of tank control.

Testing team is small. Seemed cleared up in closed tests. Guess not.

[MrTwosheds]

Testing is usually a fairly non aggressive process, this bug has to be activated by one player and observed by another.
Just using blink does not clearly reveal it to testers or players. It does highlight the need for tester to engage in more MP testing.
This will probably become even more important considering the nature of recent post 6.2 changes.

[GSH]

Seems like blink is now just as much an exploit as flying. Too bad people seem to want to pick and choose which exploits they want to keep. Or apply peer pressure to keep away from any and all exploits.

-- GSH

[Feared_1]

Fairly certain it nullifies the 'lock on' on weapons like shads too, very annoying.

It just looks like it does. If they Blink bug, your screen shows you losing your lock, but if you keep the button pressed, your lock will actually remain.

The difficulty comes when you automatically release the lock-on button because you think they blinked, so your perception is that there is no need to hold that button down anymore. Another difficulty comes if the person moves out of your lock-on while they are "bugged" on your screen and you lose the lock that way. Players should not have to teach themselves to adapt to this because it was not the original intent for Blink.(something that has come up before)

[Zero Angel]

Seems like blink is now just as much an exploit as flying. Too bad people seem to want to pick and choose which exploits they want to keep. Or apply peer pressure to keep away from any and all exploits.

-- GSH

I prefer to think of things commonly referred to as exploits as 'balance issues'. It's less of a loaded phrase and emphasises the true nature of how it affects other players.

[Red Spot]

Seems like blink is now just as much an exploit as flying.

Not really. In 1.2 you only needed one skill to own a game so much the other couldnt get defences up against it, and plenty of games got wrecked by simply not having an equal amount of airmen. But in 1.3 you can create defences vs a missusing blinker, you have ample time to do so if all they use is blink-capable ships, leaving it to be an imbalance in the open field and an annoyance at most. Now if you, before blink hits the field, already cant hold on to 2 pools, blink isnt whats going to kill you ..

[Zero Angel]

Seems like blink is now just as much an exploit as flying.

Not really. In 1.2 you only needed one skill to own a game so much the other couldnt get defences up against it, and plenty of games got wrecked by simply not having an equal amount of airmen. But in 1.3 you can create defences vs a missusing blinker, you have ample time to do so if all they use is blink-capable ships, leaving it to be an imbalance in the open field and an annoyance at most. Now if you, before blink hits the field, already cant hold on to 2 pools, blink isnt whats going to kill you ..

Well, VSR eliminated scion fast tech to blink via 20 scrap empty canceling and buffed scion midgame (because endgame stuff was the only stuff worth getting before).

That said, it was perfectly possible in 1.2 to rush to a fast GT which would almost certainly prevent your base from being hovered down. The main issue lied, however, with being able to do both at the same time. By making your base immune to hover attacks, you also sacrifice teching ability quite dramatically.

By that same line in 1.3, it is common for the ISDF team to put GTs up in the field ANYWAYS. Still, even in doing so, the blink glitch does cause some major balance issues on the field. As an ISDF team will have difficulty gaining ground, or even doing base defense in presence of the blink glitch -- making guntower/seige walking an arduous, if not impossible task and certainly unbalancing the game in favor of the glitching team, even when team strength is otherwise even.

Blink glitching cannot be considered a skill, due to how easy it is to do -- and requires no mastery. Just a simple knowledge of how to do it. It is much like rats in buildings, sitting on b-bay, etc. Though, it can be done accidentally -- with the glitcher not even aware they are doing it.

[Red Spot]

Not sure if you ever seen a 1.2 game with 3 players who can hover, of which just 2 rush, vs 3 players who cant hover or properly counter it? The non-hover team soon is shipless and cant defend a cons, than just gets pummeled untill the recy gives (hovering isnt even needed any more at this stage). These games ended before the 5min mark .. awesome ...
Even if you can hover but are outgunned it was much easier, using hover, to keep control over the enemies base. (How to set up a net of 3 rats if you're trying to get just 1 out of the recy?)

Concerning blink. Put a Rtank near that GT and you'll make it a lot harder for the Scion. Even if that leaves them stronger it doesnt completelly dominate a game. It would only have a real effect if you allow yourself to be 'trapped' in a pure dogfight.

Hovering made such a huge impact on ingame ability, and had an instant effect, that you had to play that way or be doomed. No matter which race you picked. Blink only comes into effect after a period you can put up some form of defence without completelly hampering tech progress. It becomes even a smaller problem when its scion vs scion, even if it concerns noobs as it isnt very dependent on skill.