Trapped in a black grid!

[bxb32001]

Hmmm... I was playing one day and was in the Act I Den when, suddenly, parts of the Den on the outer edges of the screen where sealed off by, uhmmm, blackness! I couldn't get out!

Nowadays I just exit the game but the first time it happened I was slaughtered.

Why does this happen?

[Swarmalicious]

I think what you've got here is your first case of "Black Wall". When this happens you can say you've been "blackwalled". If you get killed during this phenomenon, you can say "I died because of black wall". ;)

Happens to just about everyone eventually... I believe it happens because your comp & the server stop communicating (lag).
The server computer (battle.net) thinks you are in one place, and your computer displays you in another, so you keep going based on the last 'map' the server sent you... when you get to the end of this map there you have it - black wall.

One trick I use when this happens (usually from running too far, too fast) is to open a tp. You should hear the sound but not see it... then look for the yellow X on the mini-map. Once you get back to it you should re-sync.

Of course if you're surrounded by monsters exiting the game quickly is your best bet.

Hope this answered yer question.

[Elric of Grans]

Hail Swarmalicious,

Aye, that sounds like a blackwall to me too. It's caused by desync, and is most easily corrected by forcing a resync; I tend to find it MUCH easier to leave the game and rejoin though. If there's anyne else about, they can help you find where you really are ;) I also find that dropping/picking up items helps you to resync, so I tend to do that a lot in any game I play.

[bxb32001]

Thanks guys... so I got 'blackwalled' eh? :D

Thanks for the tip. What if it happens in town though? Now that's a bummer... has happened to me twice...

can I just simply wait or should I just go?

[traxus]

If it happens in town, that usually means that you're stuck on some decoration, like a corner of a wall or a rock or something, when it happens to me I just drop a potion or something to find out where the server thinks that I am, walk to where the potion drops, pick it up, and walk way around whatever I was stuck on.

This usually happens when I'm trying to run to cain, but he won't talk to me. NPCs ignoring you is another good sign of desync.

[Brista]

Another tip is to re-trace your footsteps looking for your merc. Once you get back to where your merc is they are generally frozen. If they start moving though you have re-synched (if such a word exists ;) )

[Swarmalicious]

Heheheheh:

"Leela: Within the black wall wherein lies paradise.

Doctor: Is that just religious gobbledygook or is that an actual place?"

- From "Doctor Who" episode 'The Key to Time'


edit: took too long to post - you guys beat me to the answer (but a quick google look gave me the above) ;)

[bxb32001]

NPCs that ignore you... yeah that's really funny, not to mention annoying... thanks a lot for the tips fellas!