Projectile impact time problems

I edited a gnoll to have a missile attack instead of an instant attack to create the illusion that melee attacks can be dodged by windwalk/blink etc. and still eat into attack cooldown.

i.e. I have a lvl 1 gnoll with all the normal stats, 400 missile speed 80 range missile, and 0.00 second damage point. The missile is meant to be invisible but I do use a graphic for debugging. Projectile homing is false.

This works fine most of the time. However, If I'm moving around the gnoll, sometimes the missile flies at me, passes me, and goes far far away, then impacts about 2 seconds later. Which screws up being able to predict impact time.

I can't recreate exactly what happens (I simply run circles around the gnoll and once in a while the missile projectile just zooms past me instead of hitting my location close to the gnoll) so I have no idea what's wrong.

1) So... what can I do to make predictable impact time (the location of the missile impact doesn't matter, and I can't use artillery weapon type)

2) Also, sometimes the gnoll attack animation plays but no projectile launches at all, which seems weird because I have a 0.00 damage point.

3) Unrelated, but what's range motion buffer?

trigger projectile or monitor damage event.

there is no way to precalculate movement for standart projectiles.

range to calculate melee miss.

So is there any workaround or reason for why a projectile aimed at a unit 80 units in front can fly a distance of like 400+ at a bearing that's a whole quarter circle off?

I'm not trying to know when the projectile hits. I'm trying to know how to make it so that a projectile that's aimed at a target 80 units away will only travel for 80 units. It'll seem a lot easier to work with standard projectiles than to deal damage that emulates all the properties of a standard projectile.

Still up in the air: Why would an attack animation play with no projectile launched when the damage point is 0.00?

if unit is moving projectile will ajust its direction and hit point.

and may fly much more then 80 units.