Jump

[aresius]

So i had read a article back in wotlk stating that jumping could be detrimental to raiding because it did not update your characters position untill you landed, and alweys held back from doing the awesome cinematografic jump escapes from mechanics.
Recently i was telling my guildies about that, and they were all like "OMG i never heard of this!!!". I was somewhat surprised and searched for the original article i read to confirm my statement. Turns out it is 2 years old, and i cant find other references to jumping in the wow engine to confirm how this particular mechanic in wow works.
I tried to test this, but i thought it was pretty hard to tell (my latency isint the best), so I was wondering if any of you have any information regarding how jump positioning works currently.
Here is a link to the article, better explaining what im trying to say happens when you jump, and why it is a pretty big deal:
http://criticalqq.wordpress.com/2009/03/01/jumpatron-3000/

(note: this isint really specificly tanking related, but there wasent any prefix that matched "relevant to everyone")

[Tengenstein]

I have heard of this though i can neither confirm or deny its validity. I know the game has some sort of Z-axis co-ords as from jumping off dalaran and charging a critter on the floor of crystal song which would way out of range if it didn't up date , but then again i've seen hunters disengage out of Engulfs and still take the ticking damage (and die) mid-air, maybe it was lag, who knows, but i think its a bit more complicated than a simple not updating co-ords while mid-air

[Ozonekiller]

I remember reading an article about tanking a long time ago that stated what you have mentioned. It recommend using jumping to help turn a mob around by running straight into it, jumping, and then spinning 180 degrees in the air to land behind the mob. This was done to avoid the chance of the mob hitting you in the back causing more damage as the game does not update your coordinates until you land.

[captanmurdoc]

i can confirm the mechanic where if you jump it doesnt update your characters position until you land, i knowa warriors heroic leap and i believe a priest's leap of faith works the same way also

[Tengenstein]

i can confirm the mechanic where if you jump it doesnt update your characters position until you land, i knowa warriors heroic leap and i believe a priest's leap of faith works the same way also

Warriors can heroic leap mid air.

[Quinafoi]

It isn't that the game doesn't really update your position until you land so much as the server always is behind your client in determining your position (where you see yourself isn't where the server sees you until shortly after). Running out of fire and jumping out of fire (provided you are moving horizontally at the same speed) will remove you at the same time on the server side.

So where does jumping actually create a difference? One example would be Lava. Jumping in lava behaves differently than simply swimming through it. Swimming through it your next tick is based off of the time the last tick occurred. Jumping in it because you exit and reenter you are actually changing the frequency of the ticks. Some mechanics other than lava could function this same way, where jumping causes you to temporarily lose the effect and then regain it, lava is just a example just about everyone should be familiar with.

Because moving out of bad you don't gain speed by jumping there is no benefit to it under the majority of circumstances. For running out of bad it is ill-advised to be jumping out of it typically because once you jump you commit yourself to a given direction and can't adjust if say for example fire that spreads or tracks a particular player (if they dart off in the same direction you want to change direction).

When jumping is good (besides specific mechanics)? The tanking example is one such case where jumping is helpful. When moving straight through a boss you can jump forward at full speed and turn mid air when you are on the other side of the boss to minimize the time your back is exposed to the boss. Additionally, any encounter in which there is collapsing and spreading, or significant movement where DPS is not facing the target they want to jump while moving, turn mid air to use an instant, and turn back before they land. As an example, on Morchok during the black blood phase the DPS can jump and cast an instant on the boss mid air and land continuing to run away.

[Tengenstein]

the jump boss thing is kinda redundant for warrior tanks, for a start why jump when you can heroic leap? andd unless you tell your character to not face the boss (through holding down the move forward key as the charge ends) you will always end up facing your target at the end of your charge

[Quinafoi]

Last I checked, Warriors weren't the only class that could jump. Additionally, Heroic Leap is a cooldown so you can't guarentee it will always be available when necessary. And finally the example about jumping is actually related to once you are already tanking the boss and need to run straight through the boss for repositioning, it had nothing to do with just charging in from a distance.

While the logic is flawed about it not updating your position until you land, the reasoning for the method is still solid. Running forward, jumping, and turning mid air is still the fastest way to continue moving in the same direction while changing the direction your character is facing thus minimizing the time your back is exposed to the target.

[Airowird]

It's not just about where your character is at that exact time, but where you are going as well.

The veterans here know how Blizzard has tweaked the pathing AI in the past, especially for (large) bosses.
Bosses don't just run after you, they run to where they think you'll be in 0.3ish seconds if you are running. Backpeddling reduces this effect by lowering your movement speed, but by jumping you 'lock down' your movement path, so the "I move an inch, boss thinks I'll move a mile" issue is averted untill you move again after you jump, because while jumping you don't move in a direction, you move to a certain location. This pathing AI could also be used for player abilities like Charge, allowing you to end up closer to the target in question, rather than where they were 0.5s ago.

PS: The back turning problem can be solved by strafing a yard from the boss' center point, that way you never truly turn your back on the boss.