Guild Wars 2

Dont worry Neverwinter is coming

I think this may be the problem i was having, and it’s very frustrating.

Sometimes i’m attacking a target, then all of a sudden im attack another target. Idk wtf my char is doing sometimes, he has a mind of his own. I always thought it was maybe autotarget selecting a closer target that i didn’t choose. I’ll have to pay more attention the next time, and see if im moving the camera when it happens again, and where my curser is.

If right clicking does select a target that’s a horrible idea. The camera moving button shouldn’t be a target selector also, every noob developer knows this. That’s like making the f button the logout button, “oh lets talk to this npc, oh nooo i just logged out”. Seriously think about what your programming.

Please fix whatever is causing my problem, if i’m attacking something the last thing i want is to argo something else and look stupid!

Thank you!

Geotherma.2395:

Why would anyone click target?

I haven’t seen the deselecting while farming, still uploading the video tho. I seen another video where someone was targeting NPC’s and somehow it would select the NPC while moving the camera. I have just checked this and it doesn’t happen with me.

I don’t understand how you’re avoiding this issue if you’re using the right mouse button to turn the camera. The moment you press that button, the cursor disappears, you have no idea where it’ll be when you let go, so there’s no way to consistently avoid reselection of a target as far as I can see. Unless, of course, you’re constantly swapping targets with the TAB key so you simply don’t notice that your target has changed when right clicking.

As for asking why some people are trying to click to select a target, maybe that’s the way they like to play. What does that have to do with this issue?

Clicking is a logical thing to do, since tab simply cycles through to the next target, where as clicking is supposed to instantly select the target you click on.

During a battle like with the Jade Maw, you really don’t want to cycle through all the targets until you finally find the correct one. Clicking is faster… if it would work reliably.

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

Clicking is a logical thing to do, since tab simply cycles through to the next target, where as clicking is supposed to instantly select the target you click on.

During a battle like with the Jade Maw, you really don’t want to cycle through all the targets until you finally find the correct one. Clicking is faster… if it would work reliably.

Yes, clicking… but left-clicking.

lunawisp.2378:

Geotherma.2395:

Why would anyone click target?

I haven’t seen the deselecting while farming, still uploading the video tho. I seen another video where someone was targeting NPC’s and somehow it would select the NPC while moving the camera. I have just checked this and it doesn’t happen with me.

I don’t understand how you’re avoiding this issue if you’re using the right mouse button to turn the camera. The moment you press that button, the cursor disappears, you have no idea where it’ll be when you let go, so there’s no way to consistently avoid reselection of a target as far as I can see. Unless, of course, you’re constantly swapping targets with the TAB key so you simply don’t notice that your target has changed when right clicking.

As for asking why some people are trying to click to select a target, maybe that’s the way they like to play. What does that have to do with this issue?

I posted a vid of me playing in the previous page, I had no trouble “holding target”. There is nothing “wrong” with the clicking mob idea, to each their own. But it seems inefficient to me, but that’s just my opinion. Like I said in the previous post, in other games people would laugh because I clicked my skills instead of using numbers etc. I still did it anyway, and as with the clicking targets its the same. It might be less efficient, but unlike those players I’m just stating my opinion as opposed to calling them bad etc.

It seems the deeper we go into this discussion the more I realize why perhaps Arenanet has not put this as top priority. Beyond the fact that it may not be one of their top 100 things to work on right now, it could also have something to do with being able to implement a fix. I’m sure they have noticed this thread and have it in mind, but even if they do want to fix it, that doesn’t mean they can right now. I can’t imagine many people in WvW have this trouble as clicking a target would be very inefficient. For soloing I don’t think many people would be having too much problem as tab will quickly redirect you if for some reason this does happen. As some stated it does seem that in dungeons it has been a larger problem. And a few have mentioned world bosses, but most of those are simple tab targets to left-click targets and megabosses rarely move-Maw, Jormag, Shatterer, etc. Again, don’t think I am trying to downplay the concerns of those affected by this, I’m just trying to explore how this affects people. And as I see it right now it seems only some people, and beyond that, only some parts of the game are affected. A lot of it seems to have to do with play style. If this is true, I can understand why it is not the largest thing for the teams to focus on as they have huge things in the works. Balancing, content, bug fixes, exploit fixes, culling in pve, and so much more.

I know they have tagged this thread for follow up and I am sure they will keep up with it. The best thing to do is post instances(moments) that this happens, and how it happens. That will better help them determine how to fix the issue for those players affected.

Geotherma.2395:

[snip]

I think I see where the misunderstanding may lie. I won’t pretend to speak for everyone, but – for me – it isn’t an issue of using the mouse to select a target. I use keys I’ve set for that purpose. For example, I’ve set Q to cycle through available targets, TAB to take a called target, and T to select the nearest target. It’s what works for me. As you see, I’m not using the mouse to select my targets; I’m using the keyboard.

However, I use my trackball extensively for movement by clicking and holding the right button while spinning the trackball to rotate my character. I find it to be a much faster and more responsive way of controlling my character versus relying on the keyboard alone. Which isn’t to say I don’t use the keyboard; I simply use the two in conjunction with one another. So far, so good.

Where it becomes a problem is with the following. A right mouse button click can select a target. Secondly, the mouse cursor disappears when clicking and holding the right mouse button. The two, taken together, means it’s possible to click on a target I had no intention of clicking on. During the heat of a battle, with rapid character rotation, 180 degree reversals, circling, kiting, strafing, etc., potential targets constantly enter and exit the screen.

Furthermore, I’m not holding the right mouse button down continuously; I click-and-hold when a change in orientation is called for (repeating this usually many times in the space of just a few seconds). When taking the disappearing mouse cursor into account, it’s very easy to have that cursor come to rest at the end of a click-and-hold cycle over a potential target other than the one I intend on attacking. Then, with the next click-and-hold to change orientation, the enemy the mouse is hovering over now becomes my new target.

That’s where the issue lies. That and the fact that when the mouse cursor comes to rest over the skill bar or the mini-map, I lose the ability to rotate my character any further while the cursor remains in either of those zones. However, with the cursor disappearing with a right click-and-hold, its not possible to see where it will come to rest after moving the mouse.

On paper, it’s very easy to dissect the issue and dismiss it by saying “don’t click-and-hold when the mouse cursor hovers over something other than your intended target” or “move the cursor into empty space before clicking-and-holding again”. In practice, it doesn’t work this way. I’m talking about very rapid orientation changes of very short duration (a tenth of a second or less perhaps) carried out many, many times during the course of a fight. The time it would take to re-orient the mouse cursor so it’s not resting on a potential target, the skill bar, or the mini-map before engaging in another click-and-hold cycle is time wasted and which could lose a fight.

Unfortunately, it’s still leading to wasted time and frustration due to selecting a target other than the one I intend on attacking. The workaround is I have a called target which I can then rapidly reacquire by using the key assigned to this function. However, it’s less than ideal and would make for much smoother combat to simply allow us to toggle off the right mouse button targeting. Those unaffected by this issue would remain unaffected even if a toggle were implemented. Meanwhile, for those of us who use a control setup similar to what I’ve described, our needs are met by removing the frustration of tying character control and target selection to a single button.

Win-win for what is – in my opinion – an extremely simple change to program. Especially when the dev comment that was quoted earlier in this thread implies it has nothing to do with being technically difficult; it’s simply a matter of personal taste or difference of opinion between the devs on how they think the controls should work. In a game touted as “play your way” I want this to extend all the way down to the control interface. If I want to move my character around by clicking-and-holding the right mouse button without being forced to select a target at the same time, I don’t see that being an unreasonable request in a PC game where the ability to rebind any control should have been built in from the very start.

(continued)

All we’re asking is for a toggle that turns off the ability of the right mouse button to select targets or otherwise reassign that function to another key. However, I can agree this change would extend beyond simply target selection. As mentioned above, you lose control of your character’s rotation if the mouse cursor hovers over the mini-map or the skill bar when you try to click-and-hold. Clicking the right mouse button in conjunction with pressing the CTRL key is also used to toggle auto-attack. Because it’s become muscle memory now and I pay no conscious attention to it any longer, it may also be the case that right mouse click-and-hold scrolls the mini-map. Those various controls would have to be able to be reassigned, as well; so, yes, I agree it’s a little more complicated than simply toggling off the targeting function. Still, this is all basic computer gaming control 101. We’re not asking for a complete recoding of the game engine.

Kraag Deadsoul.2789:

(continued)

All we’re asking is for a toggle that turns off the ability of the right mouse button to select targets or otherwise reassign that function to another key. However, I can agree this change would extend beyond simply target selection. As mentioned above, you lose control of your character’s rotation if the mouse cursor hovers over the mini-map or the skill bar when you try to click-and-hold. Clicking the right mouse button in conjunction with pressing the CTRL key is also used to toggle auto-attack. Because it’s become muscle memory now and I pay no conscious attention to it any longer, it may also be the case that right mouse click-and-hold scrolls the mini-map. Those various controls would have to be able to be reassigned, as well; so, yes, I agree it’s a little more complicated than simply toggling off the targeting function. Still, this is all basic computer gaming control 101. We’re not asking for a complete recoding of the game engine.

I’m amazed poor kang had write such a detalied reason as to why we want a toggle to get the point across.
It’s a kittening toggle anet. Just give us the ability to toggle the function on or off! Easy fix, Everybody wins.
If this is too hard an option to impliment technicley I have no hope for GW2 every becoming a good game because the original programming must be a mass of spegetti code.

Unreal!!!
With the April 30th patch notes they decide to do this:
Fixed mouse-based target selection while using the “look behind” key.

But they cannot put a toggle into the options! YOU WERE WORKING ON THE SAME CODE!!!!

Neverwinter here we come…I am done..

Please look into this Anet, it’s annoying to mouselook and then have target switches.

Stormcrow.7513:

Unreal!!!
With the April 30th patch notes they decide to do this:
Fixed mouse-based target selection while using the “look behind” key.

But they cannot put a toggle into the options! YOU WERE WORKING ON THE SAME CODE!!!!

Neverwinter here we come…I am done..

I assume, then, that the problem still exists when not using the “look behind” key? I’m still at work and haven’t been able to test it myself.

Another patch, Another big middle finger to all the players that want an option to turn this BS off.
kitten ANET GIVE US A “BIG-CUTE-GLASSY-EYED-CHIBI-KITTEN-CHAN” TOGGLE FOR THIS!

Geotherma.2395:

I posted a vid of me playing in the previous page, I had no trouble “holding target”…

Repost with your mouse pointer showing. It won’t prove anything otherwise.

I put together a video of what does it and what does not. I also tried to cover some subtle differences between the left and right mouse buttons. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM8-VJLbbqY

It is more than right mouse. Left does it too. Since left will deselect a target if you click empty space it can cause you to lose a target as well. An example would be if you wanted to do a quick 90 degree look.

I think the issue can be fixed by filtering the target acquisition by any mouse motion after a mouse down.

Kraag Deadsoul.2789:

SNIP

I think Kraag probably gave the best explanation of what the problem with target selection is. This is exactly the problem I suffer from, and I think a lot of other players as well.

I might make a video to also show the huge problem with left mouse button targeting.

Faux Play.6104:

Geotherma.2395:

I posted a vid of me playing in the previous page, I had no trouble “holding target”…

Repost with your mouse pointer showing. It won’t prove anything otherwise.

I put together a video of what does it and what does not. I also tried to cover some subtle differences between the left and right mouse buttons. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM8-VJLbbqY

It is more than right mouse. Left does it too. Since left will deselect a target if you click empty space it can cause you to lose a target as well. An example would be if you wanted to do a quick 90 degree look.

I think the issue can be fixed by filtering the target acquisition by any mouse motion after a mouse down.

I did post with the mouse? The second vid has mouse enabled.

Left mouse click is for selecting targets mostly, it also allows you to deselect a target. Right mouse click is generally used to move the camera. When moving the camera with the right click held down it should not select any other mobs unless you reclick the button. Left click and esc can serve the same function when a target is selected that you do not want, or you want to disengage from combat(attacking). I’m going to play around again in game and see if I end up doing what you did, but it seemed more like you just clicked the other mob.

If you right click a target it will autoattack them, if you left click it should not. If you double left click it will autoattack unless you have the option changed. If you double right click it will still autoattack with the option on/off. If you select the “Stop autoattack on target change” this would(even with the double click to attack selected) make it so that using left click to select a new target would not attack. If you have autotargeting on and you are still attacking another mob and press any attack skill again it will select the next available target, this would lead to pulling non essential mobs. If you want to select a large monster tab is the easiest, if you want to target it without attacking left click would work unless its obstructed etc. But tab does not initiate attack, so it makes more sense to use this instead. You can move the screen around with left click, which even if a mob is selected somehow in the process would not attack them. A simple esc key press or left click would deselect this mob and allow for re targeting of whatever you wanted, or nothing at all.

I consider left click a way to interact with NPC’s or to select targets if I really need to. Then I can chose to double click to attack but i prefer using the number buttons or a assigned key for skills. I rarely use the right click to autoattack, as seems its function. There may be a milisecond advantage to having right click autoattack compared to double clicking. It will also open dialogue with NPC’s automatically.

Geo

Two things…

1) pressing AND releasing the right mouse button acquires a target if the cursor is over one, not just pressing only. While this is not a problem for players that continually hold down the right mouse button, the hordes of players that use it on and off for movement are getting screwed by it at every encounter.

2) using a key-bind for “acquire nearest target” is screwed up to. Many, many times I try to use it with my intended target literally right in front or next to me and instead it acquires a target next to it, behind it, or sometimes behind 3-4 other mobs 30 feet away. It’s unreliable at best, completely broken at worst. As such, using the left mouse button for targeting is sometimes a necessity in small fights(zerg warfare it doesn’t matter too much). As such again…the right-click issue comes into play.

Obsidian.1328:

Geo

Two things…

1) pressing AND releasing the right mouse button acquires a target if the cursor is over one, not just pressing only. While this is not a problem for players that continually hold down the right mouse button, the hordes of players that use it on and off for movement are getting screwed by it at every encounter.

2) using a key-bind for “acquire nearest target” is screwed up to. Many, many times I try to use it with my intended target literally right in front or next to me and instead it acquires a target next to it, behind it, or sometimes behind 3-4 other mobs 30 feet away. It’s unreliable at best, completely broken at worst. As such, using the left mouse button for targeting is sometimes a necessity in small fights(zerg warfare it doesn’t matter too much). As such…the right-click issue comes into play.

I’ve released the right click over NPC’s, is it different for mobs? I haven’t checked this yet, but i know it doesn’t select NPC’s upon release.

For the nearest target thing, I know that tab targeting is never truly 100% right as far as selecting nearest target. Autoattack seems to work better than tab sometimes.

I wanted to upload some videos so that maybe people can point out where the problem is if maybe I’m not seeing it. But again, I’m not saying everyone is lying or whatever, but I still do stand by the fact that this is something they will work on but is not as high priority as other things. Thats really the only thing I’m countering, not the problem itself existing, even if I do not experience it. I’ll add vids whenever youtube finally decides to finish them…

http://youtu.be/6bnbUusla_0
Right click for NPC’s

Yeah…I’d add that it doesn’t always change target when releasing the right-click. It’s random as far as when it does or doesn’t. At least that’s been my experience. :/
And autoattack, while fine for PvE I suppose, is not good to use in W3.

I think what upsets peeps the most is both that it seems like such an easy fix, and that ANet doesn’t seem to want to address it. It’s a pretty large thread for a minor problem.

Obsidian.1328:

Yeah…I’d add that it doesn’t always change target when releasing the right-click. It’s random as far as when it does or doesn’t. At least that’s been my experience. :/
And autoattack, while fine for PvE I suppose, is not good to use in W3.

I think what upsets peeps the most is both that it seems like such an easy fix, and that ANet doesn’t seem to want to address it. It’s a pretty large thread for a minor problem.

I attempted several times and didn’t see the sometimes factor, but that was just me. I know left click could be some part to this whole thing.

As far as the thread itself, if you delete the “X game is coming out soon, the heck with this” “game is dying”, there is a lot less pages. Also minusing the people who just see a big thread and want to contribute to help whether or not they actually know whats going on. Again, not saying the problem don’t exist, but I don’t think its a “need right now” kind of fix, just a fix that hopefully they are working on for those having troubles with it.

Geotherma.2395:

Obsidian.1328:

Yeah…I’d add that it doesn’t always change target when releasing the right-click. It’s random as far as when it does or doesn’t. At least that’s been my experience. :/
And autoattack, while fine for PvE I suppose, is not good to use in W3.

I think what upsets peeps the most is both that it seems like such an easy fix, and that ANet doesn’t seem to want to address it. It’s a pretty large thread for a minor problem.

I attempted several times and didn’t see the sometimes factor, but that was just me. I know left click could be some part to this whole thing.

As far as the thread itself, if you delete the “X game is coming out soon, the heck with this” “game is dying”, there is a lot less pages. Also minusing the people who just see a big thread and want to contribute to help whether or not they actually know whats going on. Again, not saying the problem don’t exist, but I don’t think its a “need right now” kind of fix, just a fix that hopefully they are working on for those having troubles with it.

There was a hotfix just today that included the following:

• Fixed a bug where the launcher would get stuck updating at 99%

Did I ever have this problem? No, not at all. Do I know anyone personally who had this problem? I don’t, in fact.
Does this mean it’s not a “need right now” kind of fix? Well, certainly not for me, but I expect those who were affected might feel otherwise. The developers apparently agreed, since they went to the trouble of fixing it in a non-monthly patch.

RoyHarmon.5398:

Geotherma.2395:

Obsidian.1328:

Yeah…I’d add that it doesn’t always change target when releasing the right-click. It’s random as far as when it does or doesn’t. At least that’s been my experience. :/
And autoattack, while fine for PvE I suppose, is not good to use in W3.

I think what upsets peeps the most is both that it seems like such an easy fix, and that ANet doesn’t seem to want to address it. It’s a pretty large thread for a minor problem.

I attempted several times and didn’t see the sometimes factor, but that was just me. I know left click could be some part to this whole thing.

As far as the thread itself, if you delete the “X game is coming out soon, the heck with this” “game is dying”, there is a lot less pages. Also minusing the people who just see a big thread and want to contribute to help whether or not they actually know whats going on. Again, not saying the problem don’t exist, but I don’t think its a “need right now” kind of fix, just a fix that hopefully they are working on for those having troubles with it.

There was a hotfix just today that included the following:

• Fixed a bug where the launcher would get stuck updating at 99%

Did I ever have this problem? No, not at all. Do I know anyone personally who had this problem? I don’t, in fact.
Does this mean it’s not a “need right now” kind of fix? Well, certainly not for me, but I expect those who were affected might feel otherwise. The developers apparently agreed, since they went to the trouble of fixing it in a non-monthly patch.

Not sure you can compare a bug that literally blocks you from logging in, to a button press style of some players that are still able to actually play the game ^^

If you watch the video I posted you can see the click not acquiring a target at 4:18. Mouse down shows as blue/black highlights. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM8-VJLbbqY
I know having “click lock” enabled will cause you to not acquire stuff if you click too slow. I only recorded the GW2 settings, so I can’t say for sure if that was the problem.

If Anet’s goal is for GW2 to be an “e-sport”, I expect them to take this seriously. Personally I think the disable right click is not the correct solution. The glitch should be fixed. It should not be that difficult to define a target acquisition as a click with no mouse motion. Anything else should be a rotation.

I also posted this as a bug. https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/bugs/Camera-motion-and-target-selection-w-1-click/first#post1943672

Geotherma.2395:

Obsidian.1328:

Yeah…I’d add that it doesn’t always change target when releasing the right-click. It’s random as far as when it does or doesn’t. At least that’s been my experience. :/
And autoattack, while fine for PvE I suppose, is not good to use in W3.

I think what upsets peeps the most is both that it seems like such an easy fix, and that ANet doesn’t seem to want to address it. It’s a pretty large thread for a minor problem.

I attempted several times and didn’t see the sometimes factor, but that was just me. I know left click could be some part to this whole thing.

As far as the thread itself, if you delete the “X game is coming out soon, the heck with this” “game is dying”, there is a lot less pages. Also minusing the people who just see a big thread and want to contribute to help whether or not they actually know whats going on. Again, not saying the problem don’t exist, but I don’t think its a “need right now” kind of fix, just a fix that hopefully they are working on for those having troubles with it.

Faux Play.6104:

If you watch the video I posted you can see the click not acquiring a target at 4:18. Mouse down shows as blue/black highlights. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM8-VJLbbqY
I know having “click lock” enabled will cause you to not acquire stuff if you click too slow. I only recorded the GW2 settings, so I can’t say for sure if that was the problem.

If Anet’s goal is for GW2 to be an “e-sport”, I expect them to take this seriously. Personally I think the disable right click is not the correct solution. The glitch should be fixed. It should not be that difficult to define a target acquisition as a click with no mouse motion. Anything else should be a rotation.

I also posted this as a bug. https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/bugs/Camera-motion-and-target-selection-w-1-click/first#post1943672

Geotherma.2395:

Obsidian.1328:

Yeah…I’d add that it doesn’t always change target when releasing the right-click. It’s random as far as when it does or doesn’t. At least that’s been my experience. :/
And autoattack, while fine for PvE I suppose, is not good to use in W3.

I think what upsets peeps the most is both that it seems like such an easy fix, and that ANet doesn’t seem to want to address it. It’s a pretty large thread for a minor problem.

I attempted several times and didn’t see the sometimes factor, but that was just me. I know left click could be some part to this whole thing.

As far as the thread itself, if you delete the “X game is coming out soon, the heck with this” “game is dying”, there is a lot less pages. Also minusing the people who just see a big thread and want to contribute to help whether or not they actually know whats going on. Again, not saying the problem don’t exist, but I don’t think its a “need right now” kind of fix, just a fix that hopefully they are working on for those having troubles with it.

I actually think a bug fits this better tbh. It sounds more like it isn’t “always” working as intended. But between the people accidentally clicking left click to deselect and not knowing it, and the posts with 0 contribution to the exact problem, I think they are not sure what the actual problem is. I’ve recorded me just playing, but I haven’t seen this or perhaps I’ve just worked around it naturally (I played Aion before this, idk if that makes a difference). But maybe its a bug rather than an intended game mechanic, though I don’t really know as I’m just recording how I play and may not be triggering it like others..

Geotherma.2395:

RoyHarmon.5398:

Geotherma.2395:

Obsidian.1328:

Yeah…I’d add that it doesn’t always change target when releasing the right-click. It’s random as far as when it does or doesn’t. At least that’s been my experience. :/
And autoattack, while fine for PvE I suppose, is not good to use in W3.

I think what upsets peeps the most is both that it seems like such an easy fix, and that ANet doesn’t seem to want to address it. It’s a pretty large thread for a minor problem.

I attempted several times and didn’t see the sometimes factor, but that was just me. I know left click could be some part to this whole thing.

As far as the thread itself, if you delete the “X game is coming out soon, the heck with this” “game is dying”, there is a lot less pages. Also minusing the people who just see a big thread and want to contribute to help whether or not they actually know whats going on. Again, not saying the problem don’t exist, but I don’t think its a “need right now” kind of fix, just a fix that hopefully they are working on for those having troubles with it.

There was a hotfix just today that included the following:

• Fixed a bug where the launcher would get stuck updating at 99%

Did I ever have this problem? No, not at all. Do I know anyone personally who had this problem? I don’t, in fact.
Does this mean it’s not a “need right now” kind of fix? Well, certainly not for me, but I expect those who were affected might feel otherwise. The developers apparently agreed, since they went to the trouble of fixing it in a non-monthly patch.

Not sure you can compare a bug that literally blocks you from logging in, to a button press style of some players that are still able to actually play the game ^^

I’ll give you that one, yes. Being unable to target things consistently is a more subtle frustration than not being able to log in, but you’re missing my point.

The fact that you don’t experience the problem means you’re not qualified to judge its severity. The only contribution you could offer is the anecdotal evidence that some people, including yourself, do not seem to experience this issue. Many others (in this thread, in other threads in this forum, in threads on other forums, and presumably some who don’t use forums or haven’t seen these threads) have experienced the problem to some degree.

Many of us lose target several times a day due to this issue. Some of us may find ways to adapt; personally, I’ve just gotten used to not having a clue which potential target I’ll end up hitting, and I’ve adjusted my playing style to account for that expectation of randomness. If the various issues with the targeting system were fixed (“select nearest target” being another egregious offender), I would be much happier with the game.

In the meantime, I just do my best to point the damage in the right direction and try to use skills that won’t reach outside of aggro range, just in case. Can I coordinate my skills with my party for maximum synergy? No way! I can’t count on hitting the right target half the time. But can I hit the button and expect it to do damage to something that already wants to hurt me? Yes, as long as there are no neutral creatures, friendly NPCs, or other players on my screen. Such is my Guild Wars 2 experience, thanks to the glitchy targeting system. I’m glad your experience is better, because I do enjoy the game (I play it with my wife, who has also commented on the quirky targeting), and though I want others to enjoy it like I do, I don’t expect everyone to tolerate the kind of haphazard targeting that I’ve come to expect.

I lose my targets during almost every battle. Just last night I was doing the new Molten Facility, and during the final boss battle the game kept deselecting one of the bosses as I was adjusting the camera… And then I would have to manually left click the boss, and it would ignore the left-click, and then I’d left-click it again… nothing, and then finally after a third left-click it would select the boss… but deselect it moments later.

…or it would randomly select the other boss. And during battles against trash mobs it would randomly switch between various enemies at any given time. Its just such a big mess, that I have also started to adapt to it. I now just stick to area effects that hit everything, and manually place them on top of the thing I’m trying to hit.

Also, the health bar at the top of the screen is just always in the way of seeing the boss. I constantly have to move my camera slightly to the side, so the boss isn’t overlapped by the health bar. And you can’t drag the camera down very much before it goes bonkers. And having to switch to a side view only makes the likely hood of the game auto-selecting the wrong target all the more likelier.

And imagine having to fight the targeting system constantly while also trying to focus on dodging attacks. Its a pain.

RoyHarmon.5398:

I’ll give you that one, yes. Being unable to target things consistently is a more subtle frustration than not being able to log in, but you’re missing my point.

RoyHarmon.5398:

The fact that you don’t experience the problem means you’re not qualified to judge its severity. The only contribution you could offer is the anecdotal evidence that some people, including yourself, do not seem to experience this issue. Many others (in this thread, in other threads in this forum, in threads on other forums, and presumably some who don’t use forums or haven’t seen these threads) have experienced the problem to some degree.

The fact that I provided visual evidence that it doesn’t happen to everyone is not anecdotal. The fact that i don’t experience the problem, nor do 400 guild members, and 35 friends, is not anecdotal. It may be a small sample, but still provides context. But I could say the same to you. 300 people, yourself included are not qualified to judge what Arenanet believes is a fix that needs implementation RIGHT NOW. They have far more experience and knowledge on the subject, but aside from that the forums are free to post on. And I haven’t once belittled, put down, or called any members a liar. People like evidence, statistics, and other ways of confirming a problem so that it can be seen/felt. I’ve proven I’m willing to take hours, days, weeks of my game time just to help the community, if you lack that understanding feel free to check my BLTC thread about salvage kits. To say i have no opinion, no say, no voice in this matter does not add credibility to your statements.

RoyHarmon.5398:

Many of us lose target several times a day due to this issue. Some of us may find ways to adapt; personally, I’ve just gotten used to not having a clue which potential target I’ll end up hitting, and I’ve adjusted my playing style to account for that expectation of randomness. If the various issues with the targeting system were fixed (“select nearest target” being another egregious offender), I would be much happier with the game.

Again, you like others found a way around it, so there IS a way until it is fixed. Inability to log in, classes being unbalanced, game bugs so severe people cannot progress, those things come first.

RoyHarmon.5398:

In the meantime, I just do my best to point the damage in the right direction and try to use skills that won’t reach outside of aggro range, just in case. Can I coordinate my skills with my party for maximum synergy? No way! I can’t count on hitting the right target half the time. But can I hit the button and expect it to do damage to something that already wants to hurt me? Yes, as long as there are no neutral creatures, friendly NPCs, or other players on my screen. Such is my Guild Wars 2 experience, thanks to the glitchy targeting system. I’m glad your experience is better, because I do enjoy the game (I play it with my wife, who has also commented on the quirky targeting), and though I want others to enjoy it like I do, I don’t expect everyone to tolerate the kind of haphazard targeting that I’ve come to expect.

I also play with my wife, but she doesn’t experience this issue either. I have no problem with people explaining a problem or bug in the game and asking for attention to it. It is when people try and tell devs what is important and how they should patch the game. On top of that they insult people who work for the game, toss out names like angry children, or simply bring no information to the thread whatsoever other than to say “games dying/game sucks”. There are some well thought out posts here, but they are the minority. But I think some people seem to think I’m somehow against the idea that this needs to be fixed or that “oh it doesn’t happen to me, so no one cares”. But that’s simply not the case. As I’ve stated, I take it on myself to help the community with visual evidence on just about any topic, whether I agree with it or not. And if that doesn’t somehow deserve me (along with owning and paying $ for microtransactions) some reasonable amount of space in this thread then maybe your right and I’m wasting my time responding.

Geotherma.2395 Go play a shatter mesmer and intentionally pan your camera while trying to toss out a phantasm or illusion. It would seem about 20% of the time I cant get my skill off because I have inadvertently targeted my NPC companion. I have died many times because of targeting issues, which in turn is costing me money.
I use ‘c’ to target closest(gw1 habit) and when I pan my camera I can more often than not lose that target.
I just want a toggle. I want to target the enemies I want not some random one from moving my mouse to change the camera.
I have even thought about using 3rd party software and risking a ban because this is such a game breaking issue.

Geotherma.2395:

The fact that I provided visual evidence that it doesn’t happen to everyone is not anecdotal. The fact that i don’t experience the problem, nor do 400 guild members, and 35 friends, is not anecdotal. It may be a small sample, but still provides context. But I could say the same to you. 300 people, yourself included are not qualified to judge what Arenanet believes is a fix that needs implementation RIGHT NOW. They have far more experience and knowledge on the subject, but aside from that the forums are free to post on. And I haven’t once belittled, put down, or called any members a liar. People like evidence, statistics, and other ways of confirming a problem so that it can be seen/felt. I’ve proven I’m willing to take hours, days, weeks of my game time just to help the community, if you lack that understanding feel free to check my BLTC thread about salvage kits. To say i have no opinion, no say, no voice in this matter does not add credibility to your statements.

Again, you like others found a way around it, so there IS a way until it is fixed. Inability to log in, classes being unbalanced, game bugs so severe people cannot progress, those things come first.

I also play with my wife, but she doesn’t experience this issue either. I have no problem with people explaining a problem or bug in the game and asking for attention to it. It is when people try and tell devs what is important and how they should patch the game. On top of that they insult people who work for the game, toss out names like angry children, or simply bring no information to the thread whatsoever other than to say “games dying/game sucks”. There are some well thought out posts here, but they are the minority. But I think some people seem to think I’m somehow against the idea that this needs to be fixed or that “oh it doesn’t happen to me, so no one cares”. But that’s simply not the case. As I’ve stated, I take it on myself to help the community with visual evidence on just about any topic, whether I agree with it or not. And if that doesn’t somehow deserve me (along with owning and paying $ for microtransactions) some reasonable amount of space in this thread then maybe your right and I’m wasting my time responding.

I apologize if you felt belittled by my comments. I didn’t mean to imply that your evidence contributed nothing. It was very solid evidence that during your video session, you encountered no apparent target switching due to this issue. This proves that it is possible for some players to avoid the problem somehow while many others encounter it multiple times per play session.

However, it is still anecdotal evidence in the statistical sense, because it is a very limited sample size. This isn’t something you did wrong. You can only offer your own experience, just like the rest of us. Unlike your BLTC experiments, you can’t increase your own sample size.

I have no issues with that aspect of your posts. You gave evidence, limited or not. My disagreement was with your apparent unconcern. I may have misinterpreted your comments, but the message I read in them was, “Well, it’s not affecting me. Chill out, guys. It’s not a big problem, they have more important things to do.” To those who are affected, it certainly does seem like a big problem, and one that should be addressed immediately (or sooner).

The most fundamental game mechanics (choose target, use skill on target) are thrown into disarray when the target is randomly lost or inadvertently reselected, and this can be incredibly frustrating. I don’t approve of the verbal abuse employed by some members of the discussion, but I do think it’s something that should be fixed.

The fact that it has been present in the game since launch suggests that the developers, like you and your wife, are somehow immune to this phenomenon. I won’t deny that I’m curious as to what could be preventing this in your case (Special mouse? Unusual keybindings? Overlay software? Left-handedness?). If you can think of some difference between your own system and those of the rest of us here, then by all means, please tell us. If we can’t expect a fix from the game developers, then I’m sure we would appreciate one from you.

I’m right handed and I use the Razer Deathadder. It has 2 side buttons, but I’m not big on using extra mouse buttons (I know that makes no sense :P I have a tactx keyboard too, still no keybinds). I use right click to swivel around as seen in the videos, if I need to look just a little left/right I use A or D to adjust slightly although mouse is more accurate. It is not a rollerball mouse, its a laser wired mouse. Just to clarify what I call a rollerbal mouse is those mice that have the ball on top to scroll (I hate those..).

I don’t really use keybindings, although the left side extra button is good for keybinding keyboard key 1 (auto attack) which is why I can run in circles around mobs smoothly, at least for me.

I use tab targeting to acquire any target in groups of mobs, mostly because I farm a lot. But I also quickly tab through mobs in a dungeon or event, if i ever click a mob which is rare it is with the left click. If I am targeted onto an NPC which happens when I spam F key like a kitten trying to loot… then I press esc to deselect or left click. I do tend to hold right click down a lot while moving and running, it isn’t straining on my hand because it takes almost no pressure to do so with this mouse. I do have over-wolf, but its never on anymore because I don’t use it.

Sometimes I will use both left/right click to run through groups of mobs while tapping skills, or do this to tap a skill that is no where near ASWD keys like 8,9,0. I know I could bind them and make it easier but meh.

I do play wvw sometimes, I start with attacking rather than targeting when it is a single person. I do the same with most mobs as well, it seems to attack the nearest, but I tab between mobs to “tag” better with AOE.

I have 1 of every class, every race, not all are 80 most at least have their skills finished though. Actually 11 characters, but at least 1 of each.

I hold down right click and double tap a direction to dodge in that direction, this allows me to pan-run-and dodge fluidly rather than have key-bindings or stopping and stuttering action.

I doubt any of that really helps.. but all I have seen so far is:
(For me)
Left click selects/deselects targets
Right click auto-attacks targets you select and rotates camera
Holding both mouse buttons down allows you to run and move camera while still being able to tap skills.

My one complaint while farming is I wish loot was a different key than interact so that i stopped stopping to raise npc’s when I mean to loot near them.. Or they could add loot pets with auto-loot :P Buts that’s a different discussion altogether.

Gaile Gray.6028:

Our development team reviews play input on a regular basis. They are aware of this suggestion, but have not yet reached a decision on what changes, if any, they will make to targeting.

There is a lot going on right now with the upcoming event, but after that, the team will take a look at a lot of different game elements, and may make some changes in the future.

Sorry I don’t have more specific information, but you can be sure this is not being ignored or rejected without due consideration.

Thanks for understanding.

Any updates? This was posted months ago and I still have right-click targeting

AttackAttack.8917:

Gaile Gray.6028:

Our development team reviews play input on a regular basis. They are aware of this suggestion, but have not yet reached a decision on what changes, if any, they will make to targeting.

There is a lot going on right now with the upcoming event, but after that, the team will take a look at a lot of different game elements, and may make some changes in the future.

Sorry I don’t have more specific information, but you can be sure this is not being ignored or rejected without due consideration.

Thanks for understanding.

Any updates? This was posted months ago and I still have right-click targeting

Isn’t the end of F&F may 16th’ish? Maybe they will have time to do a fix in end of May patch or June patch.

Geotherma.2395:

Gaile Gray.6028:

Our development team reviews play input on a regular basis. They are aware of this suggestion, but have not yet reached a decision on what changes, if any, they will make to targeting.

There is a lot going on right now with the upcoming event, but after that, the team will take a look at a lot of different game elements, and may make some changes in the future.

Sorry I don’t have more specific information, but you can be sure this is not being ignored or rejected without due consideration.

Thanks for understanding.

Isn’t the end of F&F may 16th’ish? Maybe they will have time to do a fix in end of May patch or June patch.

That would be awesome, but I would be surprised to see it happen. That quote is more than 5 months old, and they’ve had something like 5 monthly updates since then. In fact, the “upcoming event” she mentioned was actually the Lost Shores update, if that tells us anything.

The only other developer response I’ve seen was this one from Evan Lesh.3295:

1) I agree that targeting has been a point of contention around here since everyone has a different opinion on how it should work. We have not forgotten about this issue, but it is pretty low priority, unfortunately. This polish would fall under the umbrella of a combat team.

That was about two weeks ago, so at least it does show that they may be somewhat aware that some of us have a problem with it. Maybe. The “it is pretty low priority” comment makes me think it won’t be coming up in the near future, at least not before someone else from ArenaNet comments on it again.

The “everyone has a different opinion on how it should work” remark makes me wonder if he’s talking about the same issue. Even those who don’t seem to have the problem don’t disagree that some sort of toggle would be an improvement.

I guess this seems like a big deal to me because it adds so much stress to an activity that I expected to find stress-relieving. Consider it for a moment, and try to imagine experiencing these problems… Add together the problems with losing/changing targets due to right-clicking, inconsistent left-click targeting, auto-targeting the wrong thing (like neutrals), the ‘©losest target’ button’s erratic behavior, bringing up the context menu by accidentally right-clicking my PvP target’s name while trying to turn quickly, and occasionally realizing that my attempts to rotate the camera were only panning (maybe marking) the minimap, and you may begin to see why some players feel so frustrated with the targeting system overall.

Most of these problems could be solved by making some distinction between a simple click and a click-and-drag motion. Selection and options could be tied to a click-and-release with negligible motion in between, and any click with nontrivial mouse movement could be exclusive to the camera turn.

And, of course, many players have suggested the “Disable right-click targeting” toggle, which would also help immensely. I’d be thrilled with that, too.

But yes, “everyone has a different opinion on how it should work.” “Pretty low priority.”

And what is a “combat team”? I don’t remember hearing about them before. What other kinds of things do they work on, exactly? Is it more like skill animations, balance, or UI? PvP tournaments and spectator mode, perhaps? I’ll be honest, “combat team” sounds like it could cover just about anything, and it’s only through context that I feel confident he isn’t referring to a party of players.

Well I think the thread is heading back in the direction it should have. Which in my opinion is people posting how it affects them and suggestions on a fix. If anything will really help them figure out the best course of action, that is the best path to take. That isn’t just for this problem though, it goes for all suggestions and feedback. Too many times the threads are filled with useless clutter and anger with no substance. I hope now that this story arc is closing that many of these suggestions can be considered for the next patches as they work towards further content. Those simply complaining about the game or developers or doomsayers are only hindering progress and information. You can even +1 peoples ideas or information that is helpful, if you put yourself in the teams shoes you can see how this is much more efficient to finding a solution to “any” problem we come across.

please….fix this…please….

sephire.7296:

I don’t need to target with right click when I can target with left click.

Which, while we are on the subject, is also unreliable! There is so much broken with targeting as a whole, it’s unbelievable.

So this is why my targets keep changing! It happens ALL THE TIME to me. Would love to be able to turn off right-click targeting. I almost NEED to use auto-target because of the amount of times my target randomly becomes an ally that I’ve right clicked on while moving the camera. I wouldn’t get most of my spells off if I didn’t have auto-target on. And I hate auto target!

Curo.2483:

So this is why my targets keep changing! It happens ALL THE TIME to me. Would love to be able to turn off right-click targeting. I almost NEED to use auto-target because of the amount of times my target randomly becomes an ally that I’ve right clicked on while moving the camera. I wouldn’t get most of my spells off if I didn’t have auto-target on. And I hate auto target!

I agree completely! I hate auto-target, but it’s the only way I can play the game. Otherwise, my elementalist’s fireballs smack the ground ten feet in front of him, and my guardian looks blind. At least with auto-target, people may assume I somehow intended to attack that other enemy/moa/armorfish. You know, instead of the open air or ground.

Last night, I tried using Tab to select targets. I was already aware of it and used it some, but I tried relying on it a bit more. I found it annoying, but it was relatively effective in small encounters. I don’t like it, though I can imagine it would be nice for those who don’t mind cycling through every single mob on the screen before finding the one they actually wanted. For me, it adds valuable seconds to my reaction time. The only way I could see it working in larger battles would be the decreasing significance of your target choice; if you’re surrounded by enough enemies, it doesn’t matter so much which of them you’re attacking, as long as something is taking damage from you.

Can anyone tell me what the “target lock” keybind does? I’m sure I would have heard more about it if it could fix the problem, but I’m curious about what it actually does.

Geotherma.2395:

AttackAttack.8917:

Gaile Gray.6028:

Our development team reviews play input on a regular basis. They are aware of this suggestion, but have not yet reached a decision on what changes, if any, they will make to targeting.

There is a lot going on right now with the upcoming event, but after that, the team will take a look at a lot of different game elements, and may make some changes in the future.

Sorry I don’t have more specific information, but you can be sure this is not being ignored or rejected without due consideration.

Thanks for understanding.

Any updates? This was posted months ago and I still have right-click targeting

Isn’t the end of F&F may 16th’ish? Maybe they will have time to do a fix in end of May patch or June patch.

I hope so. Although I haven’t previously posted in this thread, this has been a problem for me since release, so I figure I’ll just post to get another user name in the thread.

I think what the target lock key does, is when ever you have a target, you press it, and it deselects that target for you.

And I have no idea what the point of that is, because don’t we have the camera to do that for us?

RoyHarmon.5398:

Can anyone tell me what the “target lock” keybind does? I’m sure I would have heard more about it if it could fix the problem, but I’m curious about what it actually does.

Target lock (with default binding) works this way:

1) Select target.

2) Press CTRL+T to “call” or “suggest” that target to your party members. This places a big red target reticle over the target.

3) Anyone in your party can then press T to automatically target your called target. This permits party members to all rapidly acquire the same target for better focus fire.

This even works for you, the original caller, and is one workaround I use for the rotating camera-plus-targeting issue. Let’s say you’ve selected a target you wish to attack. You then press CTRL+T to target lock that opponent. You then play the GW2 mini game, “spin-the-camera-and-win-a-new-target”. Congratulations; you’re a winner! You now have a target selected other than the locked target!!!

Now press the key you’ve set up to take a called target (T by default I believe; I changed my default bindings) and you’ll return to targeting your intended target. Slow, clunky as hell, and a poor substitute for a true fix; but at least you’ll be hitting your intended target with a little greater frequency as compared to not at all.

Kraag Deadsoul.2789:

RoyHarmon.5398:

Can anyone tell me what the “target lock” keybind does? I’m sure I would have heard more about it if it could fix the problem, but I’m curious about what it actually does.

Target lock (with default binding) works this way:

1) Select target.

2) Press CTRL+T to “call” or “suggest” that target to your party members. This places a big red target reticle over the target.

3) Anyone in your party can then press T to automatically target your called target. This permits party members to all rapidly acquire the same target for better focus fire.

This even works for you, the original caller, and is one workaround I use for the rotating camera-plus-targeting issue. Let’s say you’ve selected a target you wish to attack. You then press CTRL+T to target lock that opponent. You then play the GW2 mini game, “spin-the-camera-and-win-a-new-target”. Congratulations; you’re a winner! You now have a target selected other than the locked target!!!

Now press the key you’ve set up to take a called target (T by default I believe; I changed my default bindings) and you’ll return to targeting your intended target. Slow, clunky as hell, and a poor substitute for a true fix; but at least you’ll be hitting your intended target with a little greater frequency as compared to not at all.

No, that’s “Take target.”

I meant the one below that, “Lock autotarget.”

Just clarifying this once again. the name of the post is “An option to disable right click targeting”
We don’t want it gone, we don’t want it changed, We don’t want it better implimented we just want to be able to TURN THE kitten THING OFF.

I think a better thing to ask for is to fix the mouse interface so a single click can not do two things. It either roatates the camera or selects a target. That will resolve the problem everyone has an issue with.

There are subtle differences between what left and right mouse clicks do in terms of targeting. “Disabling” one button would have effect quite a few other features. The following features can only be done with a mouse button as they look at both the “mouse down” and “mouse up” events so there are very limited options on what they can be mapped to.

When both left and right are mouse down the character runs with a mouse steering effect.
Right click auto attacks on target selection left does not.
Right click will not clear your target if you click in the grass, left click will.

I posted a bug report and video that show the issue as well as some of the subtle differences between left and right mouse buttons: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/bugs/Camera-motion-and-target-selection-w-1-click/1943672

Kaaboose.3897:

Just clarifying this once again. the name of the post is “An option to disable right click targeting”
We don’t want it gone, we don’t want it changed, We don’t want it better implimented we just want to be able to TURN THE kitten THING OFF.

After seeing this topic I realized this has been the issue why I keep losing my targets in sPvP. Was already frustrated how it seemed like a lot of professions had skills that made you lose target

I just want to point out that I’ve noticed times when I wasn’t even clicking anything and still lost my target. I took my hand off of the mouse, just to be sure I wasn’t accidentally putting pressure on a button.

Maybe my target was on the edge of the targetable (is that a word?) area, and its attacks were making it move outside of that range. I re-targeted the same enemy (I can’t remember what it was), took my hand from the mouse, and soon lost the target again.

My point: I think the whole targeting system is messed up.

Targeting system, how do I loathe thee? Let me count the ways:

1. Right-click targeting (see previous 8 pages of discussion)
2. Inconsistent left-click targeting (“I’m clicking it, why isn’t it selecting?!”)
3. The limitations on “target nearest enemy” (meaning only those directly in front of my character)
4. Insane frequency of lost targets (for whatever reason)
5. Automatic target selection’s failure to prioritize hostile creatures over neutral ones (“Thanks, autotarget, I needed more things to fight…”)

I honestly don’t know how I manage to keep playing the game. I guess it speaks well of the rest of the game for me to love it so much I play it anyway.

Five months since anyone from Anet has said anything about this issue.
…and all we got then was a “maybe we’ll do something…. maybe we won’t”

The targeting system needs to be fixed.

What is the hold-up?

TheBlackLeech.9360:

Five months since anyone from Anet has said anything about this issue.
…and all we got then was a “maybe we’ll do something…. maybe we won’t”

The targeting system needs to be fixed.

What is the hold-up?

Why should they keep posting the same generic post that they haven’t figured out or worked out a fix yet. They already stated they have seen this problem and are working on it, would it make you feel better if every 48 hours a mod came back in and posted the generic “We have advised the team of this issue and it is being worked on.”? Or even better, how about they just lock the thread and say “As this problem is already being addressed, we close this thread. Thank you for the input”?

People are posting how/when/where it happens, that feedback is being seen or sent to those responsible for fixes etc. Posting and complaining just for the sake of complaining does nothing for the effectiveness of this thread.

Geotherma.2395:

TheBlackLeech.9360:

Five months since anyone from Anet has said anything about this issue.
…and all we got then was a “maybe we’ll do something…. maybe we won’t”

The targeting system needs to be fixed.

What is the hold-up?

Why should they keep posting the same generic post that they haven’t figured out or worked out a fix yet. They already stated they have seen this problem and are working on it, would it make you feel better if every 48 hours a mod came back in and posted the generic “We have advised the team of this issue and it is being worked on.”? Or even better, how about they just lock the thread and say “As this problem is already being addressed, we close this thread. Thank you for the input”?

People are posting how/when/where it happens, that feedback is being seen or sent to those responsible for fixes etc. Posting and complaining just for the sake of complaining does nothing for the effectiveness of this thread.

They don’t appear to be working on it, though. The only response we’ve seen in the past 6 months was that it was “low priority.”

RoyHarmon.5398:

Geotherma.2395:

TheBlackLeech.9360:

Five months since anyone from Anet has said anything about this issue.
…and all we got then was a “maybe we’ll do something…. maybe we won’t”

The targeting system needs to be fixed.

What is the hold-up?

Why should they keep posting the same generic post that they haven’t figured out or worked out a fix yet. They already stated they have seen this problem and are working on it, would it make you feel better if every 48 hours a mod came back in and posted the generic “We have advised the team of this issue and it is being worked on.”? Or even better, how about they just lock the thread and say “As this problem is already being addressed, we close this thread. Thank you for the input”?

People are posting how/when/where it happens, that feedback is being seen or sent to those responsible for fixes etc. Posting and complaining just for the sake of complaining does nothing for the effectiveness of this thread.

They don’t appear to be working on it, though. The only response we’ve seen in the past 6 months was that it was “low priority.”

Low priority still means on the list. Compare that statement to the mounts one “Not working on this, nor do we intend to.”