Something I feel should be included

Lewis244

A problem I've had with this game so far seems to be enemy aggro. I'm not sure if that's the right term for it or not, but for those not catching my drift I mean the characters of my party that the enemies chase down and attack.
If I get ambushed or something, it seems like the enemies always go for the weaker members of my party first, like my sorcerer and bard. They almost never focus the stronger members like my Barbarian or Dwarven Defender. My poor Elf sorceress only has 40-odd HP and my DD is rocking 190, and never gets to put it to good use, as the enemies always go for the squishy members first, and that leads to me either using some spell to get them to go away, or running in circles as the other members chase the enemy.
Long story short, I feel like there should be an ability for the more tanky classes to steal the aggro of enemies and have them focus on that one character. Anyone else agree?

Belanos

Lewis244 said:

If I get ambushed or something, it seems like the enemies always go for the weaker members of my party first, like my sorcerer and bard.

So what is wrong with that, I do the same thing myself. I always go for the casters first, they're potentially the most dangerous. What you're describing is just good AI as far as I'm concerned.

meagloth

Make your tank go in first. They attack the first person they see, to the best of my knowledge. I think they will change targets if you move out of visual range though.

FinneousPJ

@Belanos No, they just attack the first person they see, like @meagloth said. The AI sucks...

JuliusBorisov

In fact, something that I feel should be included into IWDEE is so that enemies really always attack the weaker (i.e. more vulnarable, less protected) members of the party, just as they do in the SCS BG mod. "Smarter AI" would be a neat feature.

Blades

Attacking lower ac/hp is not smarter AI. It's annoying AI. Smarter AI would have certain monster/enemy types go after your characters that are weakest/least resistant to their abilities.

If the monsters just keep chasing my Bard why wouldn't I just keep leading them to bottlenecks with my bard in the rear after the merry chase ensues? That turns the adventure into a borefest....

Ancalagon44

Blades said:

Attacking lower ac/hp is not smarter AI. It's annoying AI. Smarter AI would have certain monster/enemy types go after your characters that are weakest/least resistant to their abilities.

If the monsters just keep chasing my Bard why wouldn't I just keep leading them to bottlenecks with my bard in the rear after the merry chase ensues? That turns the adventure into a borefest....

Um if you want monsters to go after characters weakest to their abilities, isn't that exactly what they are doing? Low HP and AC characters will be easy for a melee monster to kill. And, if they don't kill that puny mage quickly, they might get a hold person or finger of death.

I do agree that sometimes the monsters should give up quicker, because while you lead them around, your ranged characters can punch them full of holes.

Aozgolo108

As I understand it, Enemy AI basically just latches on the first party member they see until line of sight or pathfinding to that character fails. I typically use a scout to pony just inside visual range of a group of enemies and kite them back to my main attack force (to avoid fighting all at once if possible), then surround that enemy, which breaks pathfinding and usually forces the enemy to switch to a target nearest them.

Enemy "aggro" AI is very basic but the challenge is made up by enemy abilities.

Lord_Tansheron

In my experience it's very easy to tank in IWD, enemies will lock on to whatever they see first; they'll reset if vision is broken (i.e. they'll lock on to whatever is the NEXT first thing they see, may be the same as before, may not), and they'll switch if they can't reach their target. That last part is the only issue really, as with large numbers of enemies and cramped quarters you sometimes get stragglers. Not a big deal though, and doesn't come up too often if you maneuver properly. You can also kite very easily, if needed.

lunar

Most enemies will attack the first target they see. Some enemies, particularly in the expansion areas, might be a bit smarter. Overall, enemy AI is pretty tame in IWD, when compared to scs nightmare:all archers go for your unarmored mages to turn them into pinchusions. And if you play smart and cast spells to become immune to their arrows, they switch targets anyway.

This does not make IWD easier to survive or less of a challange. BG with scs offers intelligent enemies, true, but IWD in its pure state offers hordes, and I mean hordes, of not-so smart enemies. It is still tons of fun!

Nimran

Sometimes your squishy members will run ahead if you don't watch and control them carefully. Just make sure that your front liners are in front at all times, and there shouldn't be many problems.

Belanos

Nimran said:

Just make sure that your front liners are in front at all times, and there shouldn't be many problems.

Well that's the key with all combat in these games really, you have to watch your characters like a hawk. You need to make sure they're doing exactly what you want them to do at all times, or they're likely to do something stupid. Even with the best AI script available, they're prone to screw up.

Misfit_KotLD

You can also try three tank PCs to form a better line. I prefer two so I can have four missilers shoot the crap out of everything, but in places that's a problem.

Welkin

A bit OT but what I really want is a toggle switch for two scripts.

There's no quicker way to change scripts than record - customize - script is there?

My thief does a great job sneaking into the middle of an army, just so he can he pick a fight, meanwhile my mage uses 3 fireballs on a handful kobolds and leaves himself stones for the bosses.

Is it super lazy to want a toggle button where you can set two scripts?

Would be great to more easily switch a thief between scouting and attack modes or chose if I want arcane magic used now or mid fight.

Belanos

Welkin said:

A bit OT but what I really want is a toggle switch for two scripts.

No, what you want is a single script that has hotkey switches to get the Thief to do different things at different times. Which is entirely possible to do, but you'd most likely have to do it yourself.

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