From 937b4903bba4123536480481d0997d16b9ba15d0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Crow <pengchengw@me.com>
Date: Fri, 17 Apr 2026 13:26:29 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] Fix Potential Dereference in AttackAction (#2308)

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DESIGN PHILOSOPHY: We prioritize STABILITY, PERFORMANCE, AND
PREDICTABILITY over behavioral realism.

Every action and decision executes PER BOT AND PER TRIGGER. Small
increases in logic complexity scale
poorly across thousands of bots and negatively affect all. We prioritize
a stable system over a smarter
one. Bots don't need to behave perfectly; believable behavior is the
goal, not human simulation.
Default behavior must be cheap in processing; expensive behavior must be
opt-in.

Before submitting, make sure your changes aligns with these principles.
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## Pull Request Description
<!-- Describe what this change does and why it is needed -->
AttackAction::Attack() uses target before checking it. This has never
historically been a problem for me, but yesterday it was somehow causing
me to crash every time I ordered a bot to attack. Rebuilding didn't
solve the issue so it didn't seem to be a bad build. The problem was
fixed by moving the target check to the beginning of the function.

I restored the function to its existing ordering today and tested again,
and somehow I don't crash anymore regardless. I'm confused as hell, but
regardless, this is a fix that should be made.


## Feature Evaluation
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- Describe the **minimum logic** required to achieve the intended
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- Describe the **processing cost** when this logic executes across many
bots.



## How to Test the Changes
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Order bots to "attack" a target.


## Impact Assessment
<!-- As a generic test, before and after measure of pmon (playerbot pmon
tick) can help you here. -->
- Does this change increase per-bot/per-tick processing or risk scaling
poorly with thousands of bots?
    - - [x] No, not at all
    - - [ ] Minimal impact (**explain below**)
    - - [ ] Moderate impact (**explain below**)



- Does this change modify default bot behavior?
    - - [x] No
    - - [ ] Yes (**explain why**)



- Does this change add new decision branches or increase maintenance
complexity?
    - - [x] No
    - - [ ] Yes (**explain below**)



## AI Assistance
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- - [x] Yes (**explain below**)
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I had GPT-5.4 try to help me identify the source of the crash. I
couldn't trace it to any particular PR, but it did identify the issue
that is the subject of this PR.


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## Final Checklist

- - [x] Stability is not compromised.
- - [x] Performance impact is understood, tested, and acceptable.
- - [x] Added logic complexity is justified and explained.
- - [x] Any new bot dialogue lines are translated.
- - [x] Documentation updated if needed (Conf comments, WiKi commands).

## Notes for Reviewers
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---------

Co-authored-by: Keleborn <22352763+Celandriel@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: bash <hermensb@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Revision <tkn963@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: kadeshar <kadeshar@gmail.com>
---
 src/Ai/Base/Actions/AttackAction.cpp | 35 ++++++++++++++--------------
 1 file changed, 17 insertions(+), 18 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/Ai/Base/Actions/AttackAction.cpp b/src/Ai/Base/Actions/AttackAction.cpp
index 96bf5c4d3..af964f360 100644
--- a/src/Ai/Base/Actions/AttackAction.cpp
+++ b/src/Ai/Base/Actions/AttackAction.cpp
@@ -53,22 +53,6 @@ bool AttackMyTargetAction::Execute(Event /*event*/)
 
 bool AttackAction::Attack(Unit* target, bool /*with_pet*/ /*true*/)
 {
-    Unit* oldTarget = context->GetValue<Unit*>("current target")->Get();
-    bool shouldMelee = bot->IsWithinMeleeRange(target) || botAI->IsMelee(bot);
-
-    bool sameTarget = oldTarget == target && bot->GetVictim() == target;
-    bool inCombat = botAI->GetState() == BOT_STATE_COMBAT;
-    bool sameAttackMode = bot->HasUnitState(UNIT_STATE_MELEE_ATTACKING) == shouldMelee;
-
-    if (bot->GetMotionMaster()->GetCurrentMovementGeneratorType() == FLIGHT_MOTION_TYPE ||
-        bot->HasUnitState(UNIT_STATE_IN_FLIGHT))
-    {
-        if (verbose)
-            botAI->TellError("I cannot attack in flight");
-
-        return false;
-    }
-
     if (!target)
     {
         if (verbose)
@@ -85,6 +69,15 @@ bool AttackAction::Attack(Unit* target, bool /*with_pet*/ /*true*/)
         return false;
     }
 
+    if (bot->GetMotionMaster()->GetCurrentMovementGeneratorType() == FLIGHT_MOTION_TYPE ||
+        bot->HasUnitState(UNIT_STATE_IN_FLIGHT))
+    {
+        if (verbose)
+            botAI->TellError("I cannot attack in flight");
+
+        return false;
+    }
+
     // Check if bot OR target is in prohibited zone/area (skip for duels)
     if ((target->IsPlayer() || target->IsPet()) &&
         (!bot->duel || bot->duel->Opponent != target) &&
@@ -121,6 +114,13 @@ bool AttackAction::Attack(Unit* target, bool /*with_pet*/ /*true*/)
         return false;
     }
 
+    Unit* oldTarget = context->GetValue<Unit*>("current target")->Get();
+    bool shouldMelee = bot->IsWithinMeleeRange(target) || botAI->IsMelee(bot);
+
+    bool sameTarget = oldTarget == target && bot->GetVictim() == target;
+    bool inCombat = botAI->GetState() == BOT_STATE_COMBAT;
+    bool sameAttackMode = bot->HasUnitState(UNIT_STATE_MELEE_ATTACKING) == shouldMelee;
+
     if (sameTarget && inCombat && sameAttackMode)
     {
         if (verbose)
@@ -146,8 +146,7 @@ bool AttackAction::Attack(Unit* target, bool /*with_pet*/ /*true*/)
     ObjectGuid guid = target->GetGUID();
     bot->SetSelection(target->GetGUID());
 
-        context->GetValue<Unit*>("old target")->Set(oldTarget);
-
+    context->GetValue<Unit*>("old target")->Set(oldTarget);
     context->GetValue<Unit*>("current target")->Set(target);
     context->GetValue<LootObjectStack*>("available loot")->Get()->Add(guid);