I've played GSF regularly since its introduction. However, I've noticed over the past few months many players with high kill ratios are firing both secondary ion weapons and primary laser weapons virtually at the same time, staggering between the two weapon types, allowing a 2 second volley to almost instakill. I know an AHK manipulation when I see it as I've coded a number of them for MWO where the programme is accepted. However, for SWTOR it's against community practice. The only way this manipulation can be broken and make the play more competitive is by putting a 1 second global cooldown when switching between primary/secondary laser/ion weapons. This will breakup the weapon switch between the two weapon types, which only takes milliseconds and allows both weapons to fire virtually at the same time when staggered right in AHK; AHK allows key depressions to be set as low as 10ms. I hope Swtor developers take note and do something about this, or implement the suggestion, as its killing GSF and disheartening new players. I would create an AHK myself, but I stand in principle by the community standard T&C's. The practice needs to be overcome by implementing in game changes to blunt the manipulation. Edited March 26, 2019 by Caomhin
Spelling Correction

I think I know what your referring to, and it's no hack. What it is, is people in a Starguard/Rycer swapping which primary weapon is being used. (Which can be done from hitting your 1 key). This is a ship design to switch between 2 primary weapons on this ship, so it is no hack. This is usually done between either Quads/heavies.

You've missed the point on how AHK works. You can set on AHK and some Razors (including my own mouse) so that 10ms key press fires a laser volley, 10ms to switch to secondary, 10ms fire ion. That's 3/100 of a second. You cannot do that PHYSICALLY which is the point of the community standards, so in game it is staggering shots in quick succession essentially with both weapons. I know what I've seen, maybe not on your server, but it's visible among a number of players on mine. To help you comprehend there is 1000 milliseconds in 1 second. It's allowing 1 shot kills from 2 second volley. Edited March 26, 2019 by Caomhin

You've missed the point on how AHK works. You can set on AHK and some Razors (including my own mouse) so that 10ms key press fires a laser volley, 10ms to switch to secondary, 10ms fire ion. That's 3/100 of a second. You cannot do that PHYSICALLY which is the point of the community standards, so in game it is staggering shots in quick succession essentially with both weapons. I know what I've seen, maybe not on your server, but it's visible among a number of players on mine.

 

and you've missed the point. All they have to do is press the 1 key, and keep holding down the mouse key. It's no hack. Read your ship components. All they are doing is legitimately done by holding down Left mouse key to keep firing, and hitting the 1 key whenever they want to swap from one primary weapon to the other.

Edited March 26, 2019 by Toraak

Fair enough, I'm going to test it. What your saying if I hold down F12 (the system key bind I've set) which is the thumb button on my mouse and the LMouse button at the same time it should auto stagger the shots back and forth. Edited March 26, 2019 by Caomhin

and you've missed the point. All they have to do is press the 1 key, and keep holding down the mouse key. It's no hack. Read your ship components. All they are doing is legitimately done by holding down Left mouse key to keep firing, and hitting the 1 key whenever they want to swap from one primary weapon to the other.

 

Fair enough, I'm going to test it. What your saying if I hold down F12 (the system key bind I've set) which is the thumb button on my mouse and the LMouse button at the same time it should auto stagger the shots back and forth.

I was hoping to be stood corrected. But what you stated doesn't stand up to what I've observed and just tested. Holding your system button down doesn't automatically toggle you back and forth between weapon systems to auto stagger one weapon type after another. You have to do an individual key depression per system switch which you can macro on a mouse or into AHK to do automatically. So its a hack according to community standards that I and several of my guild have witnessed.

You're talking about the Piledriving technique we've been talking about for over a year now.

 

Here is a link to Audson's forum thread where he posted exactly how this work. http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=944782

 

 

You didn't understand what Toraak was trying to explain to you.

 

You don't hold down the System key (Default "1" , but you seem to have mapped it to F12 or your mouse button)

 

You hold down your Fire lasers button (Left click) and then spam the system key as fast as you can. What happens is each laser has it's own cooldown for firing, just like swapping between 2 missiles does. By switching from one laser to another quickly the other laser is "cooling down" while you're firing this one.

 

This is very easy to test, all you have to do is hold down left click and spam whatever button you have for the weapon swap. Swaping weapons also has a cooldown so doing it every 10ms like you're saying wouldn't even matter, because the cooldown is between 300ms-400ms I'd say.

 

No ones hacking this technique was found out over a year ago.

 

Hope that helps.

In theory you are right: It would be possible to press the key for swapping every 10ms, which isn't physically possible.

There is also a small lag till the weapons are swapped like Drako mentioned it. (Luckily it was reduced making Directionals easier to use).

 

There is also the limit of the blasters themself:

 

Quads CD: 370ms (162 RPM) Freq: 184,5 RPM / 325,2 ms CD

Ion CD: 370ms (162 RPM) Freq: 184,5 RPM / 325,2 ms CD

Rapids CD: 250ms (240 RPM) Freq: 276 RPM / 217,39 ms CD

Heavies CD: 500ms (120 RPM) Freq: 138 RPM / 434,78 ms CD

 

As you can see the smallest CD with Frequencies is 217ms. AT least for musicians I think it is possible to play that fast.

It is possible physically, e.g. with spamming, though an AHK would make it easier, I have to grant you that.

 

Nice you can switch lasers that fast and if you keep pressing the left mouse button to shot continuously you are able to fire 2 lasers at once. BUT these shots aren't guaranteed to hit. For once hitting continuously in itself is already difficult, as the accuracy ratings and or a test run with full speed rapids will show. In here though depending on your lasers the targeting is even more difficult since the reticule moves slightly when you switch lasers.

 

So yeah having an AHK to switch weapons is possible might make things easier, but it is still possible without a AHK and you still have to be able to land the shots.