In DevNote #9, Bellring Games explains with unusual openness why hits in Mistfall Hunter sometimes just vanish and dodges get pulled back.
The short answer: the server always has the final say, and the studio wants to keep it that way.
Why damage goes "missing"
In Mistfall Hunter, the server decides whether a hit counts. To keep combat feeling snappy, your client shows blood and hit sounds early, based on its own prediction. This client-side damage prediction is on by default.
Because of network latency, client and server are never quite in sync. Two situations cause "missing" damage:
- The server says the enemy has already moved out of range, but on your screen they are still inside it.
- The server says the enemy was invulnerable during a dodge, but your client had not caught up yet.
The fast combat makes it harder. The active hit window of the first Sword and Shield strike is just 62 milliseconds, which leaves very little room for sync errors.
Why your dodge gets pulled back
Dodging works the same way: your client starts the roll instantly, but the command only reaches the server after the upload latency. If the server has already registered a hit by then, you get rubberbanded back and take the damage anyway. That applies to every skill in the game.
Server load adds to it. The server calculates every animation and hitbox for every character and monster. When lots of fights happen at once, the server frame rate drops and the problems pile up. That happens more often in Brandrgarde than in Hallowgrove, because there are far more monsters around.
Why Bellring is sticking with the server
Trusting the client more would make attacks feel better for the attacker. But with high latency on the attacker's side, the target would pay the price, and cheats would have a lot more room. So Bellring deliberately chose server-side hit registration for fairness and anti-cheat reasons.
If you would rather never see a false hit, you can turn prediction off in the settings. The trade-off: hits feel delayed.
What has already improved
- Smaller prediction hitbox: client-side prediction now uses a slightly smaller hitbox than the real hit registration to cut down on false feedback.
- Server performance: DDoS protection, a switch in AWS storage that removed multi-second stutters, no more hyper-threading on servers, leaner logging and monsters that cost less when no players are nearby.
- Sync: more tolerance for follow-up attacks after dodging and more accurate display of enemy dodge directions.
What is coming next
Bellring is moving blueprint logic over to C++ to lighten the server load and is testing stronger CPU models with AWS. Both should roll out step by step once testing is done. For how the game got here since Next Fest, see our piece From Next Fest Hype to One Million Players.
FAQ
Why do I hit in Mistfall Hunter but the enemy takes no damage?
Your client shows the hit early, but the server decides otherwise because of latency or dodge invulnerability. It is a prediction error, not lost damage.
Can I turn hit prediction off?
Yes, in the settings. You will not see false hits anymore, but feedback will feel delayed.
Why does Brandrgarde lag more than Hallowgrove?
It has more monsters packed more densely, which puts more load on the servers.