Zul_Vakirol

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Hear ,hear! Im not much for the sit down and shut up attitude either. A lot of us have invested time and money in this franchise and have been loyal despite past problems but these issues were always explained to us. This new closed mouth policy reeks of the Orwellian and I for one will have none of it. Explain yourselves and be quick about it! Fore as you can plainly see...we are all short on patience. In this time of recession im sure most of us could find another use for your monthly stipend.

[/ QUOTE ]Did you even read BaB's post at all? I hope the devs put you on ignore.

I'm no dev fanboy, but the explanation he provided is very logical and reasonable for me to accept.

Don't you love it when you get a */Traps corr to 20 and go "Yay! Poison Trap!" ?

Don't you hate it when your level 20 */Traps corr gets to use Poison Trap and you go, "This is Poison Trap?"

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Has this thread been pruned (severely) or is something wonky?

Today is the 27th, the last post showing to me is the 6th, however the main forum page shows one for today, and I know there were some from last night and today.

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Just someone saying how awesome it was that no one was PvP'ing in the zones anymore so they can get Nukes/Shivans without trouble, then a reply of a not so kind nature following it.

[/ QUOTE ]I think I was the person who called the other guy a carebear for not wanting to deal with PvP in a PvP zone.

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From what I have seen post I13, is that there are less Strike Forces and Co-Op Task Forces going on these days. I miss the days of nearly daily ITF's. Less SF's means less merits...

Now I want to get merits. I really do. But I hate grinding out flashback missions over and over again for a relatively small amount of merits ---> compared to the cost of recipes that I want. I only play about 1 to 2, maybe 3 hours a night, at a rate of maybe 5 nights a week. It takes nearly a month to get ONE freaking recipe. Not to mention the addition getting the salvage which has become ridiculously overpriced on the black market. So far I say the Merit system is a bust, and needs refinement.

Either the cost of the recipes and random rolls as to be cut. Like 75% OR increase the amount of merits we get in story arcs and strike forces. It is such an utter grind that takes the enjoyment out of this game... It's too daunting getting 1000+ merits for one rare IO set.

[/ QUOTE ]I'd rather specific recipes cost half the current amount, and fully crafted ones only cost 125 or so merits. For some people, that's longer than usual, for other's it's much quicker.

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Thug Bruisers Hand Clap should now cause Knockdown, rather than Knockback.

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Woot! Even if he's still too dumb to go into melee without hand-holding, at least this'll help him to stay there.

[/ QUOTE ]It does 1.67 knockback through all levels, so it's still not knockdown, sadly.

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No, see, atleast he left PvP alone. Apathy > Screwing it up

[/ QUOTE ]What if Jack actually tried to balance PvP though? Oh wait, you can find out in CO.

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Jack was better then Castle.

[/ QUOTE ]Even I wouldn't go that far. If anything, Jack would have screwed it up even more.

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It's cute to see how optimistic we were back then

[/ QUOTE ]I refuse to be optimistic about anything the devs say they'd like to read. Ever since Mistakeman's mistakes and blunders, I've always been jaded and cynical. I won't be optimistic because why risk getting my hopes up? I'd rather just say they'd screw it up and be jaded, and if they don't screw it up, I'll be surprised in a pleasant manner.

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I've noticed something myself... I put an anchor power on an enemy, it almost immediantly runs. If I'm lucky, it may make one or two attacks before bolting, but for the most part, an Anchor power seems to be a signal for the victim to run.

I don't dare use one as an opener. If I don't already have the targets Aggro, placing the anchor on it just makes it bolt... usually to aggro everything else it can reach.

[/ QUOTE ]Castle has said the AI reacts to debuffs by often running away because it thinks it won't win the fight. So more often than not, an anchor mob will end up running away.

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I don't know what they changed but I am not enjoying it. Half the time an enemy takes ONE hit and runs. I lost a mission today when the elite boss mob (Biff) I was sent to kill took a single hit and ran right to the exit of the mission and exited! I kept knocking him down, he'd get up and run again. I wish they would change it.

[/ QUOTE ]Biff is programmed to run, and he's super fast, and immune to slows. That's the problem with runners who can cause missions to fail, you have to make sure they die before they get away.

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Warwolves (and clones) only require two applications of mag 3 immob, not three. (They have boss level immob protection regardless of rank.)

[/ QUOTE ]You'd have to bring that up with Luminara, she did the testing on that, not I.

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This is happening a lot with Werewolves for ToT right now. They will come out of the door, slap you across the face, then take off running. A few seconds later they come back, give you another slap, then take off again. Whatever they're slipping into their Kibbles I want some...

[/ QUOTE ]Luminara found out that those wolves require 3 mag 3 immob applications to immobilize them. They have a good amount of immoblize protection, and are completely immune to slows, and they have a +runspeed buff on them I think. So yeah, the crappy running AI is worse with the Wolves/Minions of Igneous/Scrapheap Golems.

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QR

The only times I've experienced mob run-away was due to DOTs.

Mobs always run away from my Fire/Fire Scrapper, it is a pain and the reason why I'm still at level 35 with him. I don't experience with my Fire/Fire Brute or Tanker, more than likely because of the taunt in the attacks.

While recently leveling up an Emp/Rad duo with my wife (at 46 now), irradiate causes the same effect if used more than once (if both of us use in on spawn). We end up chasing enemies all over the map.

I really think it is DOT's and really needs to be looked at.

[/ QUOTE ]It's not just DoTs, it's a bunch of things that cause it. I've had mobs run from my lowbie MA/SR scrapper, who has zero DoTs on him.

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Jock, your stories are amazing! I've never been so proud to be a defender in the CO* Universe as I am right now. And I totally understand why I've only been able to play Defenders long term above all else.

[/ QUOTE ]Jock hasn't posted in almost half a year on this thread.

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If this is "improved" AI....can we have the stupid enemies back plz.

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I've suggested before that there should be different AI's for different mobs. Certain enemies should never run away in fear. Particularly Freakshow, Warwolves, zombies, robots and other psychotically homicidal or mindlessly selfless mobs whose description indicates that they don't care how badly they're outgunned.

Low-class street thungs like Hellions and Outcasts however should flee at the drop of a head.

[/ QUOTE ]I agree with everything up until the last part, that just makes new players less likely to stick around because so many low-level enemies run at the drop of a hat.

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Hrmm...no battle axe guides? Or should I just check on the Tank side?

[/ QUOTE ]I'd check Tank side until someone writes one up.

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I've had this same problem with Cimeroran Praefectus lately. A friend and I were doing the timed missions and every boss would take off after a few shots. Strangely though, the minions and lieutenants would stand and fight until they're HP hit 0.

While it's true that Controllers and Dominators can hold the enemies in place, that somewhat unbalances the game in favor of control based ATs. I'd like to see the specs on the AI behavior before suggesting a solution.

[/ QUOTE ]It's not so much a problem with controllers/dominators having it easier, because sometimes they really don't, it's the binary nature of mezz effects. You're either slept/held/stunned/immobed/confused/placated or you're not.

I remember a long time ago, Statesman, the dev, felt that fighting statues was no fun. That was during the days of a controller's aoe hold being very permable and no aggro or target cap either.

The reason I bring that up is well, back when I started a week prior to my registration date, mobs didn't run anywhere near as much as they do lately, maybe they did, I just can't clearly remember. I think back then their AI told them to punch their fists instead of run like now.

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That's why there are controllers and dominators.

[/ QUOTE ]Oh how I love it when someone mentions the whole controller/dominator solution. Tell me, oh great and wise one, what about those who want to solo because of time constraints, or people who work the night shift?

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Well, one thing is... Don't chase the runners. I know it seems counter productive, but I've noticed that when chasing after early runners, a lot of time, they'll stop, turn around, see I'm still chasing them and start running again, leading me on a merry chase if I'm playing melee. I suspect that there is code in there that makes runners check to see if they are being pursued, and if they are, they keep on running. But if you don't go chasing after them, they tend to forget they're being chased and either slowly walk back to their point of origin, or just hang out where they wound up.

[/ QUOTE ]Unless of course you bring up the topic of mobs coded to run away in certain missions, rare as they are. ATs and such that can handle runners handle ones that will keep running away the same way of a normal runner, via and immob or hold.

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Taunt isn't buggered at all. It does exactly what it's supposed to do. HOWEVER, the AI is coded to run sometimes if it feels it can't win a fight.

Thus, you get mobs that run away. Taunt can actually bring them back from this, most times.

[/ QUOTE ]How does a +1 Freakshow Tank feel like it can't win against my Katana/SR, yet three even-con crey minions think they stand a chance?

I just had a shining example earlier of how bad the AI is when it decides to have mobs run away. I was hunting Freakshow for my aura mission on my level 31 Katana/SR scrapper and I come across a +1 Freakshow Tank and some Freak minion. I hit the Freak Tank with Soaring Dragon... and he takes off running. I keep running after him and attacking, but he just keeps running, and only takes a few shots at me over the course of five or so minutes. The rest of the time, he just kept running away from me, literally. That's weird when a +1 Freakshow boss hightails it to that degree yet 3 even-con Crey Riot Patrols will stick around and duke it out.

QR

Quite frankly, the mob run away AI is getting on my last nerve. People keep spouting how things should be challenging to make the game more fun, and I agree entirely, but whenever the mobs run, indoor or outdoor and I'm on my Katana/SR or something similar, it's just frustrating and not fun when mobs bolt off.

I mean, whenever a mob runs inside a mish, I decide if I should just sit back and wait, or go after it, and if it's something like a Mook Hitman, I'm gonna be grumbling the whole way because they're bigger wimps than my doormat of a little brother.

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Hi there! Thanks for the guide. I'm a huge fan of Earth and Storm. Though I must admit, I haven't tried them together. So take what I say with that in mind

My main reaction is: no VG and no QS?

With all that Storm gives you I can understand certain other powers that would be must haves to a /Sonic might be considered disposable to /Storm. Nevertheless, Volcanic Gasses is one of the best AoE holds in the game AND it sets up containment. It's great to be able to Earthquake one mob while you VG another. You can save your team time and time again by controlling two spawns at once. VG lets you do that in a very orderly way.

Quicksand is a fantastic defense debuff, sure.. but it's a wonderful slow that keeps enemies in Earthquake and Freezing Rain without stopping the knockdown, which is what Stone Cages does. I understand taking Snow Storm OR Quicksand... but in that case I'm taking Quicksand because it has the added defense debuff AND it's NOT anchored to an enemy who might be slaughtered before the rest of the mob, freeing them of the slow.

Agree with you about Salt Crystals. It sure looks cool, doesn't it?

Anyway, hope that helps. Thanks for giving two of my favorite sets some love!!

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Snowstorm is better than quick sand, in my opinion. Sand only slows movement while snow storm slows power recharge as well. With earthquake and freezing rain going, nothing's going very far anyway.

As for volcanic gases. It is a great move but I just don't have room for it and I already have 3 aoe stuns. If you don't go for Stone Mastery as your epic I'd suggest picking up Volcanic.

[/ QUOTE ]My Invuln/SS Tanker will gladly tell you that the QS patch used by Earth Thorn Casters has one nasty defense debuff factor to it...

Oh, my Earth/Storm controller can atest to that too, makes all those purple Tsoo easier to hit on teams. As for no VG, I have to say this, you're screwing yourself without VG. Volcanic Gasses is a Pseudo-pet, the hold lasts as long as most aoe holds, but the lovely part is that it pulses, making it last for a very, very long time. With enough recharge bonuses, you can get two VGs out at once I surmise.

This running is not challenging in the least, it's just annoying and frustrating, nothing else, it takes away the fun. It's even worse on my elec/elec brute when the mobs decide to up and run in three different directions.

When it comes to Fury, the running AI hurts Fury more than Ice Armor and Ice Melee ever could.

Azucar must have a Necro/Dark MM and found a hidden power that extends outside to the game into the forums for extracting the soul of a dead thread and bringing it back into a state of hideous unnatural life.