Nuclear dissipation in capture reactions is investigated using backtracing. Combining the analysis procedure with dynamical models, the difficult and long-standing problem of competition and mixing of quasi-fission and fusion-fission is solved for the first time. At low excitation energy a new protocol able to handle low statistics data gives access to the precession neutron multiplicity in two different systems 48Ca + 208Pb, Pu. The results are in agreement with a domination of fusion-fission in the case of 256No and an equal mixing of quasi-fission and fusion-fission in the case of Z = 114. The nature of the relevant dissipation is determined as one-body dissipation.