Post-Global Cooldown (GCD) Video Runs at Balefort Sewers

[Physiologic]

Post-Global Cooldown (GCD) Video Runs at Balefort Sewers
by Physiologic

Check out my other Pocket Legends guides:
How Drop Rates Work (Simplified) and the Factor of Luck Elixirs (http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?30059-How-Drop-Rates-Work-%28Simplified%29-and-the-Factor-of-Luck-Elixirs)
In-Depth Guide to Farming Balefort Sewers (http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?22587-In-Depth-Guide-to-Farming-Balefort-Sewers)
Comprehensive Archer Skills and Equipment Guide (http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?16244-Comprehensive-Archer-Skills-and-Equipment-Guide)
Complete Lv 55 Archer Gear List (http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?19819-Complete-Lv-55-Archer-Gear-List)
Pocket Legends Enemy, Boss, and NPC Compendium (http://tinyurl.com/4tmz87x)
How to Craft Lv 55 Gear (http://tinyurl.com/4lcxe23)
How to calculate your attributes using STR, DEX, and INT (http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?20606-How-to-calculate-your-attributes-using-STR-DEX-and-INT)
Ring List (http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?18941-Ring-List)
Guide to Advanced Mechanics in PL: DPS, Crits, etc. (http://tinyurl.com/4u6bkuj)
Void Set versus Sentinel equips: An Unbiased Analysis (http://tinyurl.com/4g72okf)
In-Depth Guide to Farming Alien Oasis 3: Victory Lap (http://tinyurl.com/4u62hxt)

Check out my other Star Legends guides:
Star Legends General Attributes (STR, DEX, INT) Guide (http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?30467-Star-Legends-General-Attributes-%28STR-DEX-INT%29-Guide)
Prefix/Suffix Compendium for Weapons and Armors (http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?30417-Prefix-Suffix-Compendium-for-Weapons-and-Armors)
Lv 20-21 Operative Weapons and Equips (http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?30545-Lv-20-21-Operative-Weapons-and-Equips)

Still unsure about GCD?

With great teamwork, you can still clear maps as fast as you have prior to GCD. This video reflects the most recent changes regarding GCD (http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?23586-1.7.1-Client-Update-%2857072%29), which is decreasing GCD time to about ~0.25 seconds.

There is also evidence that skill damage has increased (http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?23551-Evidence-of-buffed-skill-damage-post-GCD), as well as time-to-complete certain combos. For instance, an archer's Cruel Blast combo needed Shattering Scream and Blast Shot to connect within 2 seconds prior to GCD. Now, the connect time has increased to roughly 5 seconds to complete the combo. All this combined with a shortened cooldown from 0.5 seconds to ~0.25 seconds, and your party can go through maps as fast as before.

Here are the run times of each Balefort Sewers map. A run time begins at first enemy contact and ends at boss death. No elixirs were used in any run. We could've done better...:cool:

The party:
Mitsuimoon 56 mage
Echelongx 55 archer
Ellyidol 56 dex bear
Urrsus 55 dex bear
Physiologic 56 archer

Post-GCD Bandit Hideout run: Finished in 3 mins, 56 secs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhWZrz-XO3c

Post-GCD Bandit Stronghold run: Finished in 4 mins, 21 secs
[Extra video: How to aggro the Queen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u47bRCvUHuM)]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M4N4uwwLvs

Post-GCD Catacombs run: Finished in 3 mins, 24 secs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1xJJU_iGT4

Post-GCD Roach Motel run: Finished in 2 mins, 49 secs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgoAVzn9pa4

Post-GCD Swill Pitz run: Finished in 2 mins, 16 secs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j3wizG4Goc

Total time to complete all BS maps: 16 minutes, 46 seconds

http://i53.tinypic.com/1zxsb68.jpg

[Ayrilana]

Last picture was a nice touch

[XRAX]

Nice videos. It seems that PVE has not been drastically affected, and low run time is certainly still manageable. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about PVP...

[Physiologic]

They've got a Waterboy reference in the Ancient Swamps ;)

And yes, the shortened CD time as well as other factors to balance out the GCD has definitely stabilized overall run times at Sewers.

[anglfyr]

Wow wow. Nice videos. I wish I can join ur party someday hehe!

[Ellyidol]

Bear doubters, here you are, we don't slow down runs :p

Thanks Phys! Should have been a pink in at least one on those ;)

[Samhayne]

Nice vids, Physiologic! Thanks for taking the time to post up your findings.

[neko]

Fun fun fun! Thanks Phys!

[Kindread]

I don't know if any of you experience this but it seems I have longer time to complete my cruel blast combo on mobs but on bosses it's really short. I can throw one or two skills between the blast combo on mobs but if try to do it on the queen, I get no combo. Anyone else experience this?

[suomaf]

Thanks boss, much appreciated..

[razerfingers]

oo man ur good i fail so bad hahaha im a delayed reaction kinda guy

[SUPAPRODIGY]

nice job explaning it but i still dont like GCD

[thatboyderek]

I wish when I played It was as smooth as that I'm always lagging and things just seem to teleport

[MITSUISUN]

Pffff, I call this a world tour runs titled: "Elly, Phys and 3 noobs"

First time mage with GCD for me, still need some adjustment and think of a strategy that suits my style and be good for the party at same time...

ahhhhh, i am gonna just go with noobing~~~ it's more fun :p

[Ellyidol]

Pffff, I call this a world tour runs titled: "Elly, Phys and 3 noobs"

First time mage with GCD for me, still need some adjustment and think of a strategy that suits my style and be good for the party at same time...

ahhhhh, i am gonna just go with noobing~~~ it's more fun :p

The fact that you can manage by being the lone mage is proof enough that you are not a noob.

Cmon, Ech, neko and yourself noobs? That must be the highest noob standard, ever!

[Slush]

great vids as always. a little voice intro at the start would be nice :P

[Corpser]

okay first that was a good run

second you had a party of lvl 55-56

third they were pros

fourth try it with a group of lvl 50s hen ill believe this.


hope it doent sound rude sorry if it does

-corpser

[Vallist]

Wow your device is really smooth, mind sharing what device you're using?

[Physiologic]

@Morawk - I've been getting 5 seconds to complete Cruel Blast pretty consistently (timed it at several bosses including ones from Meathead's Deli, Mardi Growl, and Plasma Pyramid but not Sewers). Maybe those bosses are dodging one of those attacks or you're missing sporadically? I'll try to see if I can time 5 seconds somehow at a Sewer boss.

@Corpser - If we were a group of level 50s, we would be running slower even if GCD didn't exist.

@Vallist - I use a Samsung Galaxy S Fascinate w/ Android v2.1; everything is stock.

[Knazen]

Gcd still sucks I run them maps fast to doesn't mean for me to like Gcd I will prolly quit wish u best of luck for all players who decided to stay bye all :) // hmmhmm

[XRAX]

Gcd still sucks I run them maps fast to doesn't mean for me to like Gcd I will prolly quit wish u best of luck for all players who decided to stay bye all :) // hmmhmm

:/
I completely understand your frustration, but give the devs time. You never know, they might even remove it for PVP hmmhmm.

[Corpser]

@Corpser - If we were a group of level 50s, we would be running slower even if GCD didn't exist.

my point exacly nearly all partys have a lvl 54 and under its rare to get a full group of lvl 55-56
and if u are lower you normally get booted anyway

[JaytB]

Gcd still sucks I run them maps fast to doesn't mean for me to like Gcd I will prolly quit wish u best of luck for all players who decided to stay bye all :) // hmmhmm

Seeya :)


And phys, nice videos! Saved me the trouble of finding a coke can ;)

[MITSUISUN]

The fact that you can manage by being the lone mage is proof enough that you are not a noob.

Cmon, Ech, neko and yourself noobs? That must be the highest noob standard, ever!

well, most people runs with me know i noob and make other people noob with me :p
the only reason I am alive, is because you guys already killed mobs for me :p
the only reason you are alive, it's because you guys health potion yourself :p



third they were pros
fourth try it with a group of lvl 50s hen ill believe this.


well, 2 of them were pro, the other 2, they are associated with me so you get the idea :p

this proves that, 1, or 2 people, as long as they play great games, can lift and help the whole party.

Regardless of race/class, ONE can make a difference and the whole party can be strong and effective. Jedi/speedy bear runs to setup mob for group kill, mage debuff/heal/lighting/combo, bird thron / self combo.

It's still the basics, GCD or not GCD, the order, effective skill usage does not change.

I dont know for sure, but I feel mob/boss level associates with the party level too. Because when at low lv50s, I still cleared under 5 mins with party. When my bear is 49/50 I will give it a try.

We did some runs a while back in AO2, Cyber, Mystery gears as well. Perhaps it's time to dust off those set and do alien vs bandit style :p

[JaytB]

@mits
You're a pro in my book ;)

[Nightarcher]

I both love and hate GCD.

I love how it makes me so much better at pvp, because I'm not the best at skill-spamming. However, I can strategically order skills better, and I'm up to par now with some of the best archers.

But I hate how it seems that the gcd brought a whole slew of ping spikes. My connection is literally the worst it's ever been. And I'm playing off a good wifi-router. I thought the gcd was supposed to reduce lag :-/

[cynic]

Still unsure about GCD?

With great teamwork, you can still clear maps as fast as you have prior to GCD. This video reflects the most recent changes regarding GCD (http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?23586-1.7.1-Client-Update-%2857072%29), which is decreasing GCD time to about ~0.25 seconds.

There is also evidence that skill damage has increased (http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?23551-Evidence-of-buffed-skill-damage-post-GCD), as well as time-to-complete certain combos. For instance, an archer's Cruel Blast combo needed Shattering Scream and Blast Shot to connect within 2 seconds prior to GCD. Now, the connect time has increased to roughly 5 seconds to complete the combo. All this combined with a shortened cooldown from 0.5 seconds to ~0.25 seconds, and your party can go through maps as fast as before.

Here are the run times of each Balefort Sewers map. A run time begins at first enemy contact and ends at boss death. No elixirs were used in any run. We could've done better...:cool:

The party:
Mitsuimoon 56 mage
Echelongx 55 archer
Ellyidol 56 dex bear
Urrsus 55 dex bear
Physiologic 56 archer

Post-GCD Bandit Hideout run: Finished in 3 mins, 56 secs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhWZrz-XO3c

Post-GCD Bandit Stronghold run: Finished in 4 mins, 21 secs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M4N4uwwLvs

Post-GCD Catacombs run: Finished in 3 mins, 24 secs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1xJJU_iGT4

Post-GCD Roach Motel run: Finished in 2 mins, 49 secs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgoAVzn9pa4

Post-GCD Swill Pitz run: Finished in 2 mins, 16 secs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j3wizG4Goc

Total time to complete all BS maps: 16 minutes, 46 seconds

http://i53.tinypic.com/1zxsb68.jpg

this is not how fast it goes on my android device!!
i dont know what is happening, but what i see here is completely different from what is see if im playing the gcd is twice as quik in this movie.

i get the same result on my desire and archos 101 and its not what i see here?????
whats going on, i understand people are ok with this but this is not what i get.

[Seminole]

Before did hideout 3min 07sec with Cyroblade. But how come not now?

[Echelong]

The fact that you can manage by being the lone mage is proof enough that you are not a noob.

Cmon, Ech, neko and yourself noobs? That must be the highest noob standard, ever!

Thanks Elly, I like that highest noob standard. Should be our motto from now on. Those where really fun runs and we proved that even with two bears or getting killed runs can be under 5 minutes and even having us in the party. Also been a Mage with 14 m/s or a bird with 6m/s is not an issue now. This means that the enchanted set should be really good.

GCD makes the game much more interesting and it does add some strategy at first I didn't want it but after some time I adjusted and now I really like it now. I for now want to pvp because it's not who can spam the fastest skills or multi-tap them.

Players just need to adjust a bit and as you can see this was Mits first playing his Mage with Gcd and he adjusted fast.

PS: Mits thank you for this kind words lol

[KaotiicxDream]

Wow.. Invite me to some of these games ;-)

[Physiologic]

@cynic - The GCD is supposed to be that speed. If it isn't, something's really strange on your device. If you are able to record a vid and upload it on youtube you can show it to the devs so they can fix it (email support[at]spacetimestudios.com).

Here's a vid on aggroing the Queen. I have a strong suspicion that the Queen's healing interval has been increased, meaning she heals less. In addition, all the minibosses (Ooze, Drusila Badelf, Blanky, etc.) at the Sewers may have been nerfed either in armor or health, because they go down a lot quicker now than pre-GCD.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u47bRCvUHuM

[cynic]

@Physiologic i will do my best for the video!
I guess ur device is a iphone?
i see its a samsung now. so a android device is used on the video
i play with my archos 101 most of the time, could it have something to do with the screen size?

btw i see that not all of the skills are activated when touching
counted them and over 8 times the skill doesnt activate when pressed!!! watch closely and count

[Riccits]

Gcd still sucks I run them maps fast to doesn't mean for me to like Gcd I will prolly quit wish u best of luck for all players who decided to stay bye all :) // hmmhmm

dont quit plz!! :/

[lilbyrdie]

Nice videos.

This matches with my experiences. Timings are now basically pre-GCD. For one, we've gotten used to a slight delay between presses. This is nice; it's not about having the fastest trigger finger in town to go the fastest. For two, there has been a lot of rebalancing going on lately, largely to make various areas easier or simply faster.

After all these changes, I usually feel like I can race through areas much like I did before, especially when a full 5-way party all clicks together and combos are being hit left and right. I had some really great runs with both my 20-somethings and 50-something last night. (I even got a couple of non-boss pink drops in Balefort castle bonus areas -- was quite surprised as I thought they only came from bosses.)

This is all proof that STS folks are listening and responding.

[Moogerfooger]

Agreed, byrdie, but there is no pleasing some people and they will continue to holler and scream blue murder that GCD has stolen their firstborn, drank the last beer, took the last slice of pizza, took their girlfriend/boyfriend, AND did unspeakable things to their dog.

GCD is still apparently glitchy for some users on some devices, which needs to be fixed if the devs can recreate the problem, but it is not the end of the world as some make it out to be. Don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of it either compared to the way it was, but if this is the way it has to be, fine. My times on levels are pre-GCD because I have, like you, bothered to learn it instead of complain incessantly on an anonymous forum.

[Duped]

Agreed Moog. I'm still having a little adjustment with mage (sometimes I need to hit heal faster than cool-down lets me), but so what? If people are gonna quit, I say bye. Life is about adjustments. This is a LOT better than how GCD was when it first came out. I've also noticed that there are LOTS of new players from what I can see, so keep up the good work! You can get the same times as before with a little work :)

[Physiologic]

I was skeptical at first too about PvE experience post-GCD, but all the other things implemented to balance out GCD helped a bunch to maintain the same run-times as before.

[JaytB]

To be honest, I was happy with gcd as it was, as soon when somebody in a private game said we weren't doing the death train but the EXPRESS death train. I couldn't agree more with him at that moment, since we moved forward non-stop killing everything around us :D