[#SomeChanges Suggestion] Faerie Fire (Feral) Consuming Two Dispel Effects

[Bisonpasfute]

1. Current Behavior

1.1. Description

The debuff caused by Faerie Fire (Feral) sometimes consumes two dispels when it should only consume one. This issue occurs when a Priest attempts to dispel multiple debuffs, such as Faerie Fire (Feral) and Moonfire. Depending on the order of the dispels, the behavior is inconsistent:

• If Moonfire is dispelled first, both Moonfire and Faerie Fire are removed.
• If Faerie Fire is dispelled first, only Faerie Fire is removed, leaving Moonfire intact.

This issue is particularly impactful in arenas, where dispel efficiency can significantly influence the outcome of matches. The unpredictability forces players to rely on chance rather than strategy, especially in matchups involving Feral Druids and Priests.

1.2. How to Reproduce

1. Duel a Priest.
2. Cast Faerie Fire (Feral) on the Priest.
3. Cast Moonfire on the Priest.
4. Ask the Priest to dispel themselves.
   • Observe that when Moonfire is dispelled first, both Moonfire and Faerie Fire are dispeled.
   • Observe that when Faerie Fire is dispelled first, Moonfire is not dispeled.

Note that I had 2 talent points in Feral Aggression.

1.3 Source Material

• Video: Demonstrates the scenario where Faerie Fire is dispelled first, leaving Moonfire intact.
• Image: Combat log showing the above scenario.
• Video: Demonstrates the scenario where Moonfire is dispelled first, causing both Moonfire and Faerie Fire to be removed.
• Image: Combat log showing the above scenario.

2. Expected Behavior

2.1. Description

When a Priest casts Dispel Magic on an ally with two magical debuffs, each cast should remove up to two debuffs:

• Faerie Fire (Feral) should be dispelled.
• Moonfire should be dispelled.

Dispel mechanics should function predictably and consistently, ensuring that both debuffs are removed when two are present.

2.2 Source Material

• Video: Demonstrates the scenario where Moonfire is dispelled first, causing both Moonfire and Faerie Fire to be removed.
• Image: Combat log showing the above scenario.
• In-Game Spell Description: Dispels magic on the target, removing 2 harmful spells from a friend.

[ManneN1]

You need to show evidence that this is not how it worked in original Cata 4.3.4. That it's working like this in Classic is not evidence of expected behaviour (see 2.1 and 2.2).

I believe this is indeed how it worked back then, i.e. no bug. The burden of proof is on you, claiming otherwise.

Note: This is the same explanation Jammin has given others pointing out "obvious" bugs which were bugged also in original 4.3.4.

[Bisonpasfute]

I've updated the title to be #SomeChanges Suggestion instead.
That would suit the issue more as you mentioned !

[raethkcj]

Possibly related to #1435

[SimonBpvp]

possibly related to the Spellsteal bug for sure but my guess would be no, not directly related.

Also I don't think this Faerie Fire thing is really a BUG. I think it's part of the normal RNG of friendly dispels.

If i remember correctly how it worked was when you Dispel Magic the game chooses 2 debuffs and then checks AFTER if one of them was a Faerie Fire and then it removes all stacks of Faerie if there was more than 1 stack. So it's like happening on 2 different server ticks? So that would mean that it's working properly on Classic. I could be wrong though.

edit: here is a clip where priest dispels it and I THINK it shows the exact delay thing I was talking about with separate server ticks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhTueSQnbTk&t=591s

[ManneN1]

My theory is that the selected auras/stacks are determined ahead of time by Dispel Magic, without considering the special rule that all stacks of Faerie Fire are dispelled at once (so the logic of the dispel aura selection just reduces the stack count by one, and if it's still >0 it can still be selected for the second dispel as well - even though for Faerie Fire it probably shouldn't be possible).

Here's an example:
Target has 3x FF stacks and Moonfire
The Dispel Magic code creates an array with valid dispel "auras" (one entry for each stack of an aura) [FF1, FF2, FF3, Moonfire1] from the target auras
Dispel Magic randomly selects its first aura/stack to remove - 1x FF stack (removes e.g., FF2 from the array)
Target still has 3x FF stacks and Moonfire
Dispel Magic randomly selects the second aura/stack to remove - 1x FF stack (removes e.g., FF3 from the array)
Dispel Magic tries to actually remove the aura/stack selected first (FF2)
Special rule activates and makes it so that when Faerie Fire is dispelled the entire aura is removed
Dispel Magic tries to remove the second aura (FF3), but the aura doesn't exist anymore so it fails silently
Target has no FF but the Moonfire debuff remains

It's quite easy to check if this is what's occurring, because if it is these are the probabilities for it:
3x Faerie Fire + 1 other debuff: 37.5% (3/8)
3x Faerie Fire + 2 other debuffs: 24% (6/25)
2x Faerie Fire + 1 other debuff: 22.2% (2/9)
2x Faerie Fire + 2 other debuffs: 12.5% (1/8)

If it doesn't match up with this then it works differently.

And again, I don't think this is a "bug" nor something that should be changed. I believe this is how it worked in original Cata. Let's call it "flavour".