Q&A: Jonathan on desync solve coming with A4!!!

Q&A is taken from reddit

Jonathan: With the expansion we are adding a Deterministic Lockstep mode to Path of Exile that will have no desync. Bear in mind that this means that when you click you will have to wait for whatever your ping time is before you start to move or do a skill.

This works the same way as you would see in strategy game like Starcraft or a MOBA like Dota.

Because this requires a fairly low latency to feel good we are still supporting the old mode for high ping players, however, we have a lot of improvements there too.

It's not quite finished yet and we are working out the bugs, but I'm optimisitic that we will be able to get it done before the beta starts, or otherwise a week or so into it.

We are also adding a bunch more servers to new locations in order to reduce latency so expect to see East and West coast of America servers, as well as more locations in Europe like London.

Q: Will monsters still be able to desync in this mode?

Jonathan: No. Everything you see will be 100% in sync with what is happening on the server, only delayed by (half) your ping time.

Q: How does this work for parties? I assume it'd be by lowest common denominator - i.e. if one person is above the ping threshold, then everyone goes off Deterministic Lockstep mode.

Jonathan: You can have people on the same server, some of which are in Lockstep mode and some who are not.

Q: This is fantastic news. Though, with my limited knowledge with net stuff in general, playing with people in different region would be neigh impossible now right?

Jonathan: You can just play with the old mode when you play with people in a different region. It should be a lot better too.

Q: That is awesome! Does GGG already know the ping threshold whether it's treated as lockstep or traditional? If so, would you mind sharing?

Also is this dynamic as your ping changes? Based on the instance or based on initial connection to the login server?

Jonathan: So we haven't actually nailed down the specifics on any of those questions since it's still in development. The threshold is probably going to be something like 150ms, but that is just a default so that the average player who starts the game doesn't have to know about it. You will be able to set the mode in the options if you like.

Q: Can a party consist of party members with different modes?

Jonathan: Yes.

This info needs to stay at the top of general.

Thanks for posting this.

This is going to be great :)

IAM IN FUCKING HEAVEN!!!!!

cant wait for west coast servers....i get like 20 ping to blizz which is miles away vs like 150 to texas PoE.

Cool.

This brings a tear to my eye. Desync has always been one of the worst issues with this game if not the worst.

If this works as great as the Q and A suggests then this news is just as big as all of act 4.

I actually love this news... GGG finally did something to desync...

I will be missing that dreaded "PoE = Desync" trademark lol.

Desync became so natural to PoE that I think it's a little sad it will be gone forever. ;(