Feral druid range bug and graphical issues
by David Bowers 
Nov 26th 2007 at 11:00AM
For a very long time now, druids have been bemoaning the "feral range bug," which makes it so that feral special attacks sometimes don't work, even though the regular auto attacks are fine. I've always thought this bug caused special attacks to have a shorter range than auto attacks (and I wasn't alone), but some videos demonstrate that the bug (as shown above, and also here) has to do more with positioning than the actual range between the druid and the target.
I play a feral druid, and I can't say that I've noticed this bug very much, but I tend to shy away from PvP situations where it would be likely to show up most -- mainly because I find feral druid PvP to be very difficult (though I keep trying now and then). Perhaps this bug is one of the reasons for that, but everything is just too fast-paced for me to see?
In any case, Vaneras on the European WoW forums responded to a poster in order to let us know that the developers are indeed aware of this "concern," and they ... well... that's it. They're just aware. Nobody knows if they'll actually fix it or not, though I would assume they will at some point.
In addition, Vaneras says the developers are aware of the some graphical imperfections in some druid feral forms, and they also "like the idea of new graphics and models for the Druid forms, however there are no plans for such in the immediate future." The key word here is "immediate," which implies that the not-so-distant future might be quite different! Is there hope for feral druid graphical updates in Wrath of the Lich King, perhaps?
[Update] I just got back from testing this in PvP, and sure enough I found my special abilities weren't landing, even though I was on top of my enemy. Click on the link below to see a video of this bug in a PvP situation.
There are other links available, such as the one from a commenter below, to a couple Google videos. Where I live (in China), however, I cannot access Google Video, so you'll have to follow the links to see if they make the issue clearer for you or not. Below is what I was experiencing in my PvP test, from an additional video I found. It was posted on YouTube on November 11, so what you are seeing is not the same as the global cooldown issue we covered a week and a half ago, which started on the 13th, with the release of Patch 2.3.
I play a feral druid, and I can't say that I've noticed this bug very much, but I tend to shy away from PvP situations where it would be likely to show up most -- mainly because I find feral druid PvP to be very difficult (though I keep trying now and then). Perhaps this bug is one of the reasons for that, but everything is just too fast-paced for me to see?
In any case, Vaneras on the European WoW forums responded to a poster in order to let us know that the developers are indeed aware of this "concern," and they ... well... that's it. They're just aware. Nobody knows if they'll actually fix it or not, though I would assume they will at some point.
In addition, Vaneras says the developers are aware of the some graphical imperfections in some druid feral forms, and they also "like the idea of new graphics and models for the Druid forms, however there are no plans for such in the immediate future." The key word here is "immediate," which implies that the not-so-distant future might be quite different! Is there hope for feral druid graphical updates in Wrath of the Lich King, perhaps?
[Update] I just got back from testing this in PvP, and sure enough I found my special abilities weren't landing, even though I was on top of my enemy. Click on the link below to see a video of this bug in a PvP situation.
There are other links available, such as the one from a commenter below, to a couple Google videos. Where I live (in China), however, I cannot access Google Video, so you'll have to follow the links to see if they make the issue clearer for you or not. Below is what I was experiencing in my PvP test, from an additional video I found. It was posted on YouTube on November 11, so what you are seeing is not the same as the global cooldown issue we covered a week and a half ago, which started on the 13th, with the release of Patch 2.3.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Necro Nov 26th 2007 11:46AM
this video has nothing to do with the famous druid range bug..
it's just shows a bugged mob..
for a video that shows the real bug:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=725444851890406128
Arturis Nov 26th 2007 12:38PM
The video that Necro linked clearly illustrates the issue, but I disagree with the solution proposed. In that video, the Tauren druid is standing a good 10 feet away from his target! You try swinging a hammer at someone ten feet away and see how often you hit!
I say don't extend the melee attack range on feral forms, reduce the melee attack range on everything else! ^_^
aden_nak Nov 26th 2007 1:34PM
To the contrary, it's part of the issue with the range bug. The Druid Catform attacks are oriented differently than the orientation of the character itself, and in my experience auto-attacks and special attacks have different ranges. Calling it a "range bug" is really a misnomer because there are several things going on here that are bugs, and not just one.
I used the Shadowstep opponent as an example in the video, but the truth is that I can re-create this problem against any humanoid melee mob in the game (some beasts and dragons have such large hit boxes that it doesn't surface) by simply turning my kitty butt towards it and backing up. Eventually, my auto-attacks will fire despite facing away from it, but my specials simply will not. Simply put, the attack box for auto-attack damage is too far "back".
There are other bugs, such as very poor detection on "behind the mob", in a way that I've never seen on a Rogue but have consistently seen on Feral Druids. Very often, I'll Shred up my 5 points, hit either Rip or Ferocious Bite, and then have the game tell me that I am no longer behind my target for the next Shred, even if that target did not move. This is common on boss fights - again, even those with a hit box of absurd size and radius. So there are several things going wrong. The Shadowstep mob just helps to illustrate one of them.
aden_nak Nov 26th 2007 1:34PM
Sweet. I clicked on this thread to post my video. . . and it's the source used in the article already!
Matt W. Nov 26th 2007 12:27PM
The fact that feral range attacks even exist, in my opinion, is incredibly dumb.
Smurk Nov 26th 2007 12:46PM
I consider the Tauren cat form a "graphical bug."
Namisar Nov 26th 2007 2:03PM
Feral Druid PvP is hard? Even now?!? I'll tell you one thing: The ability to shift directly between bear and cat form has increased my number of Killing Blows by about 200%. I agree that Feral PvP was difficult before 2.3 but nowadays I'm a bg King.
veto Nov 26th 2007 2:14PM
this bug is terrible , but its nothing new , its been the death of me on so many occasions for years now .
id love them to finally fix it , but im also gunning for a cat form snare in the expansion , make it so blizz!! make it so !!
Zumwalah Nov 26th 2007 2:45PM
sorry to do this here, plz vote this down.. needed to make a test post
samslaw25 Nov 26th 2007 2:52PM
Yeah, I'm a fan of feral PVP now. I can stealth in, Pounce, Mangle, Mangle, etc. then Rip and Bear form as soon as my health starts dropping.
Add a mix of bear tank armor and kitty DPS, and I usually outlast my opponents--and any healing I get guarantees it. Really frustrating for the other side, as it often gives my teammates plenty of time to reinforce.
jughead Nov 26th 2007 3:07PM
"Feral Druid PvP is hard? Even now?!? I'll tell you one thing: The ability to shift directly between bear and cat form has increased my number of Killing Blows by about 200%. I agree that Feral PvP was difficult before 2.3 but nowadays I'm a bg King"
Yes I am Feral to and now LURV PVP 2.3 and made us so good...Oh Mr mage you frost novaed me?? well ill just instantly change out and back in again and rip your face off!
Oh happy days :)
Ryan Nov 26th 2007 4:39PM
Yea, those mobs just do the teleport thing behind you -- this isn't any general issue. I did notice a couple things though that do happen.
One is that I can step slightly into a mob and shred it while still technically facing it (the front of my hitbox is technically behind the mob I guess, but I havn't turned), though this only works while the mob is stunned so it's not really an exploit.
Another is that when you stand attacking a mob at max range in caster form and then switch to cat, the mob no longer takes a step towards you, which in itself is kind of a step forward for ferals.
Pzychotix Nov 26th 2007 4:42PM
ITT Druids who think BGs are the ultimate in PVP.
These comments are hilarious. Keep it up.
Zor Nov 27th 2007 3:13PM
umm, lately ive been getting chased by druids in cat form, only to be hit in the back from...10-20 ft away?
like you could fit 6-7 toons between us, and he STILL HITS?