Bots taking a Coffee Break while I get Slaughtered?

So I was on this weekend working on my level 50 MM Bots/Traps going +0x8 in solo mish'es. I ended up in the mish against the AV Stheno. Well, you can imagine when I got to him and all those eggs at x8 what that must have looked liked. Needless to say, I got whacked pretty hard even at +0 in difficulty, the ambushes were just too big to handle, even for my MM.

The biggest issue that I would occasionally encounter was when my pets were trailing behind me as I got back to the egg nest on "Defensive Follow". This is what I normally use for the command unless I decide to have them "Attack". They would just run up and stand next to me and do "nothing" in Defensive Follow mode. As the snakes started to pound me like a pound of Pillsbury Dough, my Bots where just looking around like they just say a bee fly by and couldn't care less that I was getting hit. Normally this is not the case. In fact, probably 8 times out of 10 they will attack anything that attacks me while in "Defensive Follow". For some unknown ungodly reason in that 20%, they will decide to take a break.

I had to double check my bots to make sure they were in "Defensive Follow" and not in "Stay" "non-combat" mode. I do know that certain pets will encounter glitches now and then. Like the glitch that when you go from zone to zone, your pet display usually shows no pets but your pets are still there. They will reappear again once you enter a mish.

Prior to the last few issue upgrades, there was the big collision issue with my bots getting stuck behind the seeker drones. That appears to be fixed. Maybe I just have to take it for what it's worth and accept that there may be some minor glitches now and then with these guys. Anyone else encounter this?

Could it be the few second lag after you've hit the follow button to when the pets start engaging? Or do they stand there stupidly for a lot longer than 5 seconds or so?

I noticed this too on my lvl 20 bots/traps MM... sometimes they just stand around laughing at the beating you're taking. When this happens, I just hit the "aggressive" button for all pets and they seem to respond well to that, but you usually have to re-summon a few after the battle.

It depends on when you issue the command, I think. If you send the pets a "defensive follow" command, it basically seems to suppress their AI for a few seconds. I suspect this is probably intentional, to keep them from attacking immediatly and regaining aggro during a fight. If this is what's going on, the only workaround I know of is to issue the command about ten seconds before you attack. For me, that generally gives them time to wake up and start targeting normally again. Tell them to follow you, then refresh their shields/buffs or whatever. By the time you're done, they should be running again.

If the command didn't disable their AI for a few seconds, it would seem like the command didn't work at all. You'd issue the command. Attacks that were animating or in-transit when you gave the command would hit you. The bots would immediately aggro on those targets and run off again. Sadly, neither solution is ideal. The current functionality is more team-friendly though, since it gives a dedicated taunter a few seconds to try to build up more aggro than you. And in the meantime, the bots are at least in Bodyguard mode, so they're all sharing any damage you take.

Check your Mastermind Handbook...page 3: "The beatings will continue until morale improves."

I've encountered this a number of times, and it's most annoying.

I order the bots to Def/Attack my target, but then it becomes clear that the aggro is a bit too heavy and I'm likely to take serious injury, so I switch mid-combat to Def/Follow and they switch to inert piles of metal, taking damage all the while.

There seems to be a several second lag while the AI gets used to the fact that we're still under attack and they need to respond. Happens a lot. Luckily the BG part of the command seems to kick in immediately.

Also, I can't help but notice that once in combat the pets have a TERRIBLE time responding to Goto. Def/follow, combat in progress, bad guy runs, bots run after him.

"STOP I say, STOP! Def/Goto next to me!" Bots still running away. Hit the command 10 more times. Bots repeatedly do the hokey pokey, taking a few steps towards me and then trying to run after the bad guy again. Takes a severe effort and much mouse clicking to get them to relent and by then it's usually too late.

This sort of behavior makes it nearly impossible to avoid aggro-ing other mobs. Goto seems to be largely over-ridden by the AI's desire to KILL/CHASE!

Seems poor coding to me. There should be nothing short of the apocalypse that should over-ride a goto command. The whole point is to keep them at range!

Use Passive to clear their agro for more immediate response.

I know, it takes them out of bodyguard; but if you can't have them running off, it's better to bring them back under control quickly.

Of course, it's best to anticipate when they're about to go nuts and rein them in, but not always possible.

As I hear it, their Union.