It's complicated, yet retarded pet AI. Funnily enough the Arsonist seems to loooooove going into melee despite your best wishes, too.
Give him the upgrade though, by all means, it gives him Knockout Blow for crying out loud. Suck it up and /bind InsertComfortableKeyHere petcom_name Bruiser goto.
Also, I heard a rumor that slotting the Force Feedback proc into a pet will encourage it to melee more. Not sure if I understood it correctly though.
I use the bind -> /bind g "petcom_name z goto aggressive"
(His name is Zany so therefore the z)
It takes 1 second to send him in first, he attacks, draws aggro, then gets attacked which makes the other thugs attack.
You will now have all 6 pets attacking, the bruiser with melee attacks (taking all the damage), the rest of the thugs next to you using ranged attacks AND on bodyguard mode.
If he stands still all you have to do is press G and move him closer, quick solution to your problem.
Works for me. =)
Just to clarify.
The FF +Recharge does for some reason cause the Bruiser (and other Pets that take it) to play a little more meleeful. What it doesn't stop him is from being fond of Hurl or Hand Clap, which is a great combo because at times he HURLS to KB someone, runs in and HAND CLAPS thus knocking people out of Melee range and returns to waiting for HURL to recharge.
GoTo commands is helpful, but sometimes I wonder if I have his brain in a jar somewhere because pre-pet displacement he tried to run through the other thugs and not think 'Go around and to the destination!' and I just end up sending everyone to attack and hope for the best.
As a Traps MM I take great pleasure in setting Bruiser to Passive-GoTo and then detonating my Bruiser to get maximum damage out of him. His nonsense attack chain has gone down forfteen percent since I started blowing him to Hell. Maybe the AI is learning.
As mentioned I would give your Bruiser to the Top Tier upgrade, it gives you Foot Stomp/KO Blow and Hurl does damage, I wouldn't if you can help it give him the Regular Upgrade because Hand Clap is no damage and buggers up any cones/aoes from your other Thugs.
Anyway, it'll be more hassle to not just fully upgrade everyone with i13, so best to learn ways around the issue you have.
@Drakmarth & @Drakmarth2
Avatar by S. Wall
#415877 - An Uncivil War: Preclude - Looking for Feedback Ok. I did what Jimmy proposed and it works fine, though it's still annoying. Just another question: can I disable a pet attack through a command?
Glad to see it worked. =)
Im afraid i can't give you an answer to the other question, it might be possible with a macro or something but im not sure they have opened up that possibility with pets.
Gonna have to wait and see if someone else can answer that question.
Well, no. I'm tired of the goto button. When I have to face a boss or elite boss I have to be constantly debuffing and not telling the bruiser where to go. Besides, I made this toon for pvp and that is gonna get me killed. I think I'll have to bother the support department a little more.
I have no problem activating a debuff power, and while that is being cast, i have plenty of time to move my brute. (a second or so :P)
EB's and PvP is no problem, except for zones when there's always a blaster or 2 interrupting a duel.
Arena is fun though, had my fair share of wins.
No, you can not disable specific attacks for pets, the code won't allow it.
Now, on a slightly less related note, if we could put together a petition to give the Arsonist the same treatment the Medic from Mercenaries got (1st upgrade removes Brawl ability)...
Each MM pet still have certain issues. Imho for the bruiser, they should've removed any ranged attack at all.
The medic remains a retart, he just cant seem to see his master is mezzed and happely clearminding commando. Same for the healing, interuptable and he wont cast it again untill its on the 'queue' again. Then offcourse the overall redraw issue and seals issue 
Kinda every pet with melee and ranged (graveknight, ninja's, bruiser) get borked once they have to fear run away from patches.
At the end, just accept it. Its been now like what? 2 years, since release of CoV and some pets still are borked as they were at start. Just look back patchnotes, basicly never a pet fix. (apart from ninja last time).
50)Sinergy X/(50)Mika.
(50)MaceX/(50)Encore
Sign the petition, dont let CoH go down! SIGN!
[ QUOTE ]
Each MM pet still have certain issues. Imho for the bruiser, they should've removed any ranged attack at all.
[/ QUOTE ]No. Hurl is awesome. It's just slightly less awesome when he starts spamming it with closing in, but that's why the GoTo command is there. Micromanage your pets, you're less effective if you don't in general anyway - positioning the Enforcers for cones, the Arsonist for Fire Breath, etc.
Don't touch my pulling/-Fly tool with good damage that can proc the FF +recharge.
[ QUOTE ]
Imho for the bruiser, they should've removed any ranged attack at all.
[/ QUOTE ]
Agreed. My Thugs/Dark is too busy to micromanage.
@Dante EU - Union Roleplayer and Altisis Victim
The Militia: Union RP Supergroup - www.themilitia.org.uk
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Each MM pet still have certain issues. Imho for the bruiser, they should've removed any ranged attack at all.
[/ QUOTE ]No. Hurl is awesome. It's just slightly less awesome when he starts spamming it with closing in, but that's why the GoTo command is there. Micromanage your pets, you're less effective if you don't in general anyway - positioning the Enforcers for cones, the Arsonist for Fire Breath, etc.
[/ QUOTE ]
There is a rather big difference in micro-managing your pets and working your butty off for flaws in the pet's AI.
Randoms:
-Why do tier1 merc and bots open the autofire on mobs with less then 5% health? (waste of time).
-Why do range/melee pets wont swap back ranged if you put them out of melee?
-Why only 3 of the 5 melee ninja will go melee? (with forced goto)
-Whats the use of a stealth and snipe on the seals?
-Why doesnt the medic detect mezzed people? (you cant 'force' the power).
50)Sinergy X/(50)Mika.
(50)MaceX/(50)Encore
Sign the petition, dont let CoH go down! SIGN!
[ QUOTE ]
There is a rather big difference in micro-managing your pets and working your butty off for flaws in the pet's AI.
[/ QUOTE ]So, removing good, valuable powers from them to fix the symptoms and not the problem itself is the solution? Logical.
[ QUOTE ]
So, removing good, valuable powers from them to fix the symptoms and not the problem itself is the solution? Logical.
[/ QUOTE ]
Basicly yes. Several issues are around since release of CoV, removing the power solves it within hours and only need minor adjustment on playstyle.
If we would wait for the fix, we would be problaby around issue 20 by then.
50)Sinergy X/(50)Mika.
(50)MaceX/(50)Encore
Sign the petition, dont let CoH go down! SIGN!
Just on this one :
[ QUOTE ]
-Why do range/melee pets wont swap back ranged if you put them out of melee?
[/ QUOTE ]
This is because you want them to charge at another enemy and melee them once the first is defeated usually I'd guess. Knights and Bruisers would be even more annoying if they defaulted back to Ranged after every enemy defeat.
I think with the Medic some sort of "Buff me" or "Go into Buff Mode" *might* be a nice solution, so he'd never fire, he'd stick to slapping out Heals and Buffs until you told him to stop. Or "Heal & buff me" and "Heal and buff my Target" commands.
I don't see any issue with removing/replacing Hurl Boulder from the Bruiser (since Thugs had tonnes of Ranged Damage already), and changing Handcrap to Knockdown rather than Knockback.
And the Merc Mezzes could probably do with having their Recharge (and Durations to keep them balanced) reduced, they'd probably be more useful / less wasted by the Mercs that way.
[ QUOTE ]
I don't see any issue with removing/replacing Hurl Boulder from the Bruiser (since Thugs had tonnes of Ranged Damage already)
[/ QUOTE ]I do. -Fly for example. Pulling AVs, sometimes. Get back to me on this when Enforcers get Web Grenades.
[ QUOTE ]
and changing Handcrap to Knockdown rather than Knockback.
[/ QUOTE ]This I can merrily agree with.
[ QUOTE ]
I think with the Medic some sort of "Buff me" or "Go into Buff Mode" *might* be a nice solution, so he'd never fire, he'd stick to slapping out Heals and Buffs until you told him to stop. Or "Heal & buff me" and "Heal and buff my Target" commands.
[/ QUOTE ]Don't think this can be done, as it falls into the same category as disabling specific powers from pet usage.
Why not suggest a pet AI overhaul instead of nerfing my poor Bruiser?
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I don't see any issue with removing/replacing Hurl Boulder from the Bruiser (since Thugs had tonnes of Ranged Damage already)
[/ QUOTE ]I do. -Fly for example. Pulling AVs, sometimes. Get back to me on this when Enforcers get Web Grenades.
[ QUOTE ]
and changing Handcrap to Knockdown rather than Knockback.
[/ QUOTE ]This I can merrily agree with.
[ QUOTE ]
I think with the Medic some sort of "Buff me" or "Go into Buff Mode" *might* be a nice solution, so he'd never fire, he'd stick to slapping out Heals and Buffs until you told him to stop. Or "Heal & buff me" and "Heal and buff my Target" commands.
[/ QUOTE ]
Don't think this can be done, as it falls into the same category as disabling specific powers from pet usage.
Why not suggest a pet AI overhaul instead of nerfing my poor Bruiser?
[/ QUOTE ]
Because making a broad, sweeping statement like "fix the pet AI" is a pointless exercise in itself, it's like saying "Make the game better" without going into any details.
Agreed on the Hurl Boulder though, didn't realise it did -Fly (I'm Traps so I always use Web Grenade).
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Imho for the bruiser, they should've removed any ranged attack at all.
[/ QUOTE ]
Agreed. My Thugs/Dark is too busy to micromanage.
[/ QUOTE ]
I could not agree with this more - Poison Preacher, Thugs/Poison
@Boy Wonder
Quantum Flash - Ill/Kin Controller
Leader of the Legion of Heroes
I got two answers:
Hello,
The issue you are experiencing may be due to the software not working as it was designed. We will be reviewing this ticket as a bug report.
If we are able to reproduce the bug you reported, we will place it on a list of things to be fixed. We will prioritize it based on its impact on the game and players. If we cant reproduce it, we may contact you to get additional information or to provide you with information regarding the game design.
We apologize for any inconvenience or frustration the issue may have caused.
Take care,
GM Roland
---------------------
Hello,
Thank you once again for your report. This issue has been recorded as a bug report. The Quality Assurance Team will be evaluating this report to determine a resolution for the issue. Once a fix has been completed and tested, it will be made available in a future patch to the live servers. Please keep in mind that designing and testing bug fixes is an intense process that usually takes several weeks, or even months. We hope you'll understand if you don't see a fix to your issue right away.
Please keep posted to the City of Heroes/City of Villains message boards and website at http://www.cityofheroes.com or http://www.cityofvillains.com for any updates to when a fix will be implemented. We apologize again for any inconvenience this issue may have caused.
Regards,
GM Elvis
-------------------
Ok, now all we gotta do is wait.
I made a thugs/trick arrow mm a year ago and I saw that when I used the power Upgrade Equipment on the Bruiser, he wouldnt go into melee range to fight the enemies at all. All he does is to throw a rock (Hurl) and then stares at the enemy from a distance. I can make him run to the enemy with the goto button, but that's impractical, since I have other tasks to do while fighting. So Equip Thugs is all he gets.
So I reported this bug 1 year ago, then 5 months ago, and now that I come back to check out the updates I see the "feature" is still there. Somebody tell me what's going on here...