The Zero Hour,
Or why do affects that last 8 hours, actually last 8 and not 9.
Affects lasting through their zero hour was one of the first things that made a strong impression in me the first few times when I started playing FL, but it was only recently that I actually pondered WHY it is so. Until recently, I never actually bothered to think over that matter - I simply accepted it as a strange quirk of the game (or the one who created it, or the code itself) and learn to *intuitively *turn it to my advantage.
Recently I've been discussing certain affects and their durations with some IMMs and other players. Inevitably, we fall into a silly quarrel about the duration itself, and how a 5-hour-duration is actually a 6-hour one and so on...
I am not certain who actually made the decision (if there was even a decision) for affects to last through their zero hour, but in this post I am going to present my view on it, its importance and certain tips and useful information for the less experienced part of our players.
As many of you know, a tick in FL lasts roughly 8 rounds. How many of you though begin combat EXACTLY on the first round of the tick? Or the second? Or the third? Unless a player is fighting static mobs (like during hunting) and makes a concentrated effort to actually start combat at the very first rounds of the tick, you will find that most of the time, you begin combat somewhere at the middle of the tick, at rounds 3-4-5-6.
This statement is reinforced by the fact that a lot of people try to catch ticks sleeping, and that the first couple of rounds of the tick are generally slept through or used to replace dropping spells and then look around for your opponent. To illustrate this assumption, just think about how many times you dirt someone and he rubs the dirt away from his eyes during the next few rounds. Happens quite often, doesn't it?
Affect durations are especially important when talking about mals - spells that mess you up more the longer they stay on you. Considering most of the time you are beginning combat during the middle of the tick and that mals take a few casts to lands, you are more likely to be hit by a mal during the second half of the tick. So can you really call 2-3 rounds a tick? Of course not, and that's where the zero hour comes to ensure that the 6 hour enfeeblement you just put on that feral ranger is going to stay for 6 ticks, and not 5 ticks and 2 rounds.
Same goes with dirt. A very common misconception about dirt is that it lasts 1 tick. That's simply not true. It lasts as long as your luck (or skill) allows it to last. But it's always LESS than 1 tick. It might be 6-7 rounds, or 1-2 rounds. But how can you call 1-2 rounds a tick? In the second case, you are actually hurting yourself more than the enemy.
Dirt is actually a very good example why the first tick of your affects shouldn't be counted and which in turn is compensated by the zero hour. Unless of course one makes a concentrated effort to land it at the very start of the tick.
In my view, the zero hour replaces the first hour, because the first hour can hardly be called a full tick. I am not sure if that is how the zero hour actually came to exist, but I like this version, because it seems logical and helps one with his PK efforts in the timing department.