Problem - Bard song bar locks up consistently.

[B_I_G__D_A_D_D_Y]

I've had a lot a problems with my bard "locking" up with the song gems grayed out and nothing except zoning will fix it. Yesterday I finally was able to duplicate the problem reliably. A "Tempest" quest required 5 clicks of a device called "Virgae Summoning Stone" which has an effect "Summon the virga" which has a 0.3 second casting time.

I found that each time I clicked this item my bard song bar would lock up and I'd have to zone out or camp to clear it.

My first step was to /end so that I was no longer running KissAssist. On the next click the song bar locked again so it wasn't the macro running. Then I unloaded both the Mq2melee and the Mq2twist plugins. Also note that I had zero Lua scripts running at this time. I was also not foraging or looting or even moving the character. The problem persisted with those plugins unloaded or disabled.

At this point I only had one more item to click in my quest, so I rebooted the PC and ran EQ without loading MQ. Without MQ loaded I was able to click the device and the song bar did NOT lock up.

Something in MQ is causing the issue. (Also note that there have been no current bug reports for bards on the DBG forums!)

This morning I did a list of loaded plugins and that would have been the same as yesterday except for mq2melee. I'm not sure if I'm going to try to troubleshoot this any more today but I thought I'd post this in case anyone else is having the same issue or wanted to chime in with comments/suggestions!

[CODE title="Plugin list"][2023/05/04 10:32:51] MQ2Log :: Logging is ON
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] Active Plugins
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] -----------------------------
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2lua
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2groundspawns
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2react
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2xassist
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2status
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2shellcmd
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2say
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2rez
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2posse
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2portalsetter
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2nav
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2moveutils
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2melee
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2map
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2log
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2kisstemplate
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2itemdisplay
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2exchange
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2events
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2eqbugfix
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2eqbc
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2easyfind
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2dannet
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2chatwnd
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2cast
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2bzsrch
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2autosize
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2autoloot
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2autoforage
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2autoaccept
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2advpath
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] mq2aaspend
[2023/05/04 10:32:57] 32 Plugins displayed.
[/CODE]

 

[Sic]

stuck gems have been off/on issue for years.

they fix it for bards and break it for other toons and the vice versa

you can more frequently get it to happen with quick time reducing things to near instant and doing multiple things at the same time - which is why it happens to bards.

i don't believe this is mq related at all

 

[B_I_G__D_A_D_D_Y]

stuck gems have been off/on issue for years.

they fix it for bards and break it for other toons and the vice versa

you can more frequently get it to happen with quick time reducing things to near instant and doing multiple things at the same time - which is why it happens to bards.

i don't believe this is mq related at all

OK, I have experienced this also, but in my testing yesterday I had the bard doing absolutely nothing and it still locked up! No macro or Lua was running, no songs were playing, no twist or combat or anything going on and when I clicked the item the song bar locked up. I neglected to mention but I had also stripped the bard of all buffs and effects at that time so the Quicktime buff was not an issue for sure. But without MQ running the click worked without any lock up.

At that point I had consumed all the clicks and didn't want to get the quest again to try other things.

Edit to add: I've had the problem often enough that my KissAssist INI file has all clicky's disabled just to minimize the issue.

 

[Sic]

OK, I have experienced this also, but in my testing yesterday I had the bard doing absolutely nothing and it still locked up! No macro or lua was running, no songs were playing, no twist or combat or anything going on and when I clicked the item the song bar locked up. I neglected to mention but I had also stripped the bard of all buffs and effects at that time so the Quicktime buff was not an issue for sure. But without MQ running the click worked without any lock up.

At that point I had consumed all the clicks and didn't want to get the quest again to try other things.

Edit to add: I've had the problem often enough that my KissAssist INI file has all clicky's disabled just to minimize the issue.

quicktime can help cause it, but clicking it off doesn't stop it.

once it is stuck you need to die or relog in (cause you can't gate or aa, or fellowship or anything)

 

[B_I_G__D_A_D_D_Y]

once it is stuck you need to die or relog in (cause you can't gate or aa, or fellowship or anything)

You can also zone to clear it.

 

[B_I_G__D_A_D_D_Y]

So I just did some more testing by making 5 more of the items and unloading a bunch of plugins. I used the 5 items and narrowed it down to 7 plugins. But now there is an 18-hour quest lockout before I can test further.

I eliminated most plugins and then began adding a few in at a time. One of these listed plugins appears to be the culprit but I ran out of clicks for now!

mq2xassist
mq2kisstemplate
mq2itemdisplay
mq2eqbugfix
mq2bzsrch
mq2autosize
mq2aaspend

 

[Many_Whelps]

Try using an AA that has a cast time. If that doesn't work, there's not much you can do. But this is 100% an EQ native bug as it happens even without mq.

 

[Shadow]

Def EQ bug, but I haven't seen it much lately. Every once in a while it happens, but pretty rare from my experience. Not sure if my hardware has any effect on the frequency of the bug...

 

[dewey2461]

This is an EQ bug that is made worse by MQ ( which casts fast ) and/or using spam keys ( which tries to cast multiple things over and over ).

It is a long shot but what I would suggest trying the next time you can force the issue.

type: /stopcast - This is unlikely to help but you might get lucky.

The other thing to try as a "hail marry" is sync your PC's clock to "internet" time.
search for "how to sync windows time with ntp server" and follow the instructions.

I'd give that a 0.01% chance to "fix" the issue but you might get lucky.

-------------------------------------

As others have said, one way to get your spell bar unstuck is to use a zero casting time AA/item.

We have a warrior who fairly often gets the spell lock up issue. He doesn't run MQ. He does use multi binds to spam the hell out of the client.

 

[Many_Whelps]

As others have said, one way to get your spell bar unstuck is to use a zero casting time AA/item.

Actually, you want the opposite. You want an AA that *does* have a cast time. Reason being, you want the client to tell the server that you have finished casting something.

 

[dewey2461]

Actually, you want the opposite. You want an AA that *does* have a cast time. Reason being, you want the client to tell the server that you have finished casting something.

Yep you are right. Needed more caffeine before posting.

 

[nuggy]

OK, I have experienced this also, but in my testing yesterday I had the bard doing absolutely nothing and it still locked up! No macro or lua was running, no songs were playing, no twist or combat or anything going on and when I clicked the item the song bar locked up. I neglected to mention but I had also stripped the bard of all buffs and effects at that time so the Quicktime buff was not an issue for sure. But without MQ running the click worked without any lock up.

At that point I had consumed all the clicks and didn't want to get the quest again to try other things.

Edit to add: I've had the problem often enough that my KissAssist INI file has all clicky's disabled just to minimize the issue.

have to agree with sic , its been a bard issue a long time and its not a mq issue im sure eq is the blame , my bard does it randomly too

 

[celestialtaco]

make sure you do /stopsong before /useitem epic etc seems to happen when you are singing and use an item w/ a cast time

 

[Motojeff]

Have had this happen to me during raids some times, only running mq2twist normally when I hit QT, and am mashing other stuff for example I don't keep alliance in my twist rotation but like to hit it here and there, and epic, or a number of other things mq2twist just picks back up where I interrupted its super nice, but this bug will some times get me then I am screwed the rest of the event. There are some threads on the eq forum about this being a long time bug like everyone is saying. It does seem like we amplify it some using some of the tools we have. Unfortunately I haven't any way to fix it but log out and back. I will have to retry an aa with a cast time, or just try dyeing bards are good at that. In a panic I swear I try everything but nothing works but I haven't had it happen in a few months, but also haven't been playing much in a few months.

 

[B_I_G__D_A_D_D_Y]

I know this is weird but since I quit using mq2feedme I've had almost zero lockups. It's probably a pure coincidence but I'm afraid to change anything.

BTW, if you lockup you can just zone out and it will clear the issue, however you can't click on anything to zone, you have to die or have a druid/wiz evac or just run to a real zone line.

 

[Lord Sivion]

I back up the notion that it is an EQ thing. Been around a long time. What you are experiencing with the whole "but when MQ is not running it doesn't happen" is mere coincidence to the bug not showing up just because. It's an EQ thing.

 

[B_I_G__D_A_D_D_Y]

I back up the notion that it is an EQ thing. Been around a long time. What you are experiencing with the whole "but when MQ is not running it doesn't happen" is mere coincidence to the bug not showing up just because. It's an EQ thing.

At some level MQ is just doing EQ things at a quicker or more consistent pace. The distinction becomes irrelevant. It's like saying that getting a speeding ticket is just a "cop" thing.

 

[Sic]

At some level MQ is just doing EQ things at a quicker or more consistent pace. The distinction becomes irrelevant. It's like saying that getting a speeding ticket is just a "cop" thing.

Historically it has been due to spell/abilities taken too low cast time from AA reduction and especially when QuickTime is running. There were frequent offenders for each class, like spear line on SK, because of the combination of AA reduction and QuickTime making it instant.

They have fixed it for other classes, and then it only happens on bards, and gone back and forth on those two a few times. At the same time there was issues with cooldowns not properly reflecting cool down.

Many/most/all automation, while being quick, are not just spam smashing keys - which a real player with multibound spells, abilities, and items often does. So I don't think it has to do with speed, probably more to do with consistent usage of the same abilities and things without adult ADHD setting in and "phoning it in". Bards are also weird. Many automations are like "am I casting, u less if. A bard cause I can do stuff while doing stuff, one man band style". Mq being consistent in doing things when conditions are met is, in my opinion,ore likey the reason folks notice it withq usage.

For bards currently, it appears to be more common when using items while singing songs and spells.

One day eq will fix it, maybe.