Sadly enough, I have met bards in their late 30's that do not know how to twist more than one song. I was told about twisting and started twisting around level 3. Twisting is the biggest MUST for a bard. Twisting is having more than one song effect going at the same time. It is possible to have 4 song effects going at once due to lag factors. Some people have claimed up to 5 songs can be, but I have never been able to do it, or see it done without using the few songs that last longer than 18 seconds. Below I will cover twisting 3 songs (4 songs is same principle) and twisting songs using multiple instruments. The key to learning to twist is simply practice. I suggest finding a nice corner somewhere where you won’t be attacked to learn.

How does twisting work?

Songs have a ‘casting time’ of 3 seconds. Most songs have a duration of 18 seconds. The song duration/casting time is what allows twisting to work. Basically, Song A starts, the song effect will last for 18 seconds. During the first three seconds of Song A, you sing Song B. Song B goes into effect after Song A has been going for 3 seconds. Working the complicated math, you can see that Song A still has 15 seconds left (18 seconds - 3 seconds = 15 seconds). So, Song A will last for 15 more seconds, Song B will last for 18 more seconds. As soon as Song B starts, start Song C. When Song C starts, you are 6 seconds into Song A and 3 seconds into Song B. This means you have 12 seconds left in Song A (18-6=12) and 15 seconds left in Song B (18-3=15). You then sing Song A again and its effect will begin before its original singing ends. Ideally you should be able to get 5 songs going using this method. However, due to lag, the time between songs, and server timing (more on server timing below), generally you will be able to maintain 3-4 songs without interruption.

Below is a diagram to help illustrate twisting.  The numbers on the top row are the seconds of time that pass by.  The left column are the three songs.  The light blue color is casting time and the green blocks are the seconds the song is active.  You spend the first 3 seconds singing Song A. Song A takes effect in second 4.  Also in second 4, you begin singing Song B. Song B takes effect in second 7. Notice Song A still has 15 seconds left. In second 7, you being to sing Song C. Song C takes effect in second 10.  You then restart Song A in second 10. Song A is re-applied in second 13 and would then last till second 31. Basically, Song A is reapplied before it wears off initially.

Twisting Theory Diagram

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Song A                                                 Song B                                                 Song C                                                 Song A                                                 Song B                                                 Song C

According to the above chart, you could get 6 songs going at once. However, server lag, gem refresh, and human reaction only make it feasible to do 4 normally (3 or less in laggy situations).  The reality looks more like the diagram below. 

Twisting Reality Diagram

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Song A                                                 Song B                                                 Song C                                                 Song A                                                 Song B                                                 Song C

Now that I’ve gone through the confusing explanation, let me see if I can get some useful information on how to do this. For my example I will assume you have set up your main song hotkey page the way I have describe on my hotkey pages of this site. Instead of boring explanations using Song A, B, & C, I will use Chant of Battle (CoB), Jaxon’s Vigor (Jaxss), and the healing song (heal). Set up Hotkey 1 for CoB, Hotkey 2 as Jaxss, and Hotkey 3 as heal. Start CoB, as soon as the effect starts press the ‘2' key twice. If you press to quickly you will ‘fizzle’ so just type it twice, not rapidly twice. You have now started Jax’s. Once Jax’s takes effect press the ‘3' key twice. You have now started the healing song. Once the healing song takes effect, press the ‘1' key twice and continue the pattern.

I recommend practicing with two songs when you start. Once you can handle two, then add the third song into the twist.

Server Timing explaination:

There is also another issue with songs lasting 3 ticks versus 18 seconds.  While the theory says 18 seconds is 3 ticks, the reality isn’t there. Assume a song takes effect on second 4 like in the examples. However, assume that a new tick starts on second 5.  Now, 2 seconds into the song, the server reads the song as having lasted 1 tick already. In this case, the song would wear off after second 16. The reality is songs last from 13 to 18 seconds depending on server timing.  This is more of an advanced issue.  If you want to learn more on this, I would suggest the EQ Diva message boards or The Concert Hall message boards.

[Home] [Twisting] [Basics] [Instrument] [Hotkeys] [Kiting] [Files & Guides] [Links] [State of EQ] [Vacation Pics]