Monsters coded to "prioritize" aggroing and attacking players' characters rather then summons/pets ?

I am getting the feeling that, rather then prioritizing their aggroing and targets, to the "nearest" enemy to them, they might be coded to "pick" players' characters regardless of the distance from them and even if they have enemies like Summons or pets closer to them....

The reason that I say this, is that, even if a summon or pet is in between a player's character and a Monster, I have noticed that the Monster would still aggro and go after the player's character, rather then that nearer summon or pet....

To the point that, at times, I have seen players running away from Monsters and followed by them and then, pets or summons following those Monsters and this scenario going on for a while without the Monster turning to the summon or pet that is attacking them and sticking onto the player's character that is running away from them, instead....

I am of the opinion that should this be the case, that the code should be changed and prioritize "range" of enemy rather then "type".... that is, if a Summon or pet is in between a player's character and a Monster, the Monster should stick its attention on that Summon or pet, not the player's character...

Comments

  • Lord_FrodoLord_Frodo Posts: 2,210
    So you want the MOBs to act differently than your pet/summon.  I take it that you have never notice that your pet changes targets just like the MOBs do.  
  • SethSeth Posts: 2,904
    edited May 2022
    Monsters coded to "prioritize" aggroing and attacking players' characters rather then summons/pets ?

    Ans: Yes, working as intended. To add, this was why we use protection and invis to break lock in past events. I think it's fine.
    If it ain't broke, don't fix it. 
    ESRB warning: Some Blood. LOTS of Alcohol. Some Violence. LOTS of Bugs
  • MariahMariah Posts: 2,943Moderator
    Trolls removed.
    @popps I consider mobs in game, especially paragons, to be a little like the T Rex in Jurassic Park. If you stand perfectly still they will often go straight past you. Likewise I have found that healing with bandages, which involves no movement, is less likely to attract their attention than waving arms that are casting spells, although not guaranteed. Teleport also is marginally safer than running. 

    I feel that it is unlikely that the devs will change mob AI at this point, generations of players have learned to adapt their gameplay to it.
  • Lord_FrodoLord_Frodo Posts: 2,210
    WOW @Mariah how was that a troll.
  • keven2002keven2002 Posts: 2,080
    Pops you aren't being specifically targeted. 

    Next topic. Close this thread.
  • Arnold7Arnold7 Posts: 1,291
    edited May 2022
    Don’t know if they prioritize , but at least some paras, like greater dragons, shadow wyrms and similar can interact with more than one aggressor during a fight and often switch targets during a fight.  Most, if not all, of their nonpara counterpoints cannot.
    Switching targets is common as I have often become the paras new target when I join a fight.  So, yes they are more intelligent than your average monster.  Have not noticed that they have a fondness for players over pets but know the are not just dumb sprites.  They are programmed to think.
    I know standing still is suppose to work but I have been attacked lots times while standing still. Think that only works if the para is chasing someone else and then not always.
  • drcossackdrcossack Posts: 145
    Arnold7 said:
    Don’t know if they prioritize , but at least some paras, like greater dragons, shadow wyrms and similar can interact with more than one aggressor during a fight and often switch targets during a fight.  Most, if not all, of their nonpara counterpoints cannot.
    Switching targets is common as I have often become the paras new target when I join a fight.  So, yes they are more intelligent than your average monster.  Have not noticed that they have a fondness for players over pets but know the are not just dumb sprites.  They are programmed to think.

    Actually, they can't switch targets, if you fight them in ilshenar & approach them properly - my tamer can go afk against a Paragon Greater & I'm completely unaffected.  The ones that you fight during these dungeon events are coded a little differently
  • Arnold7Arnold7 Posts: 1,291
    Thanks.  Yes, I was talking about the ones in the dungeons at these kinds of evens.  Don’t have that much experience with the others.
  • SethSeth Posts: 2,904
    edited May 2022
    drcossack said:
    Arnold7 said:
    Don’t know if they prioritize , but at least some paras, like greater dragons, shadow wyrms and similar can interact with more than one aggressor during a fight and often switch targets during a fight.  Most, if not all, of their nonpara counterpoints cannot.
    Switching targets is common as I have often become the paras new target when I join a fight.  So, yes they are more intelligent than your average monster.  Have not noticed that they have a fondness for players over pets but know the are not just dumb sprites.  They are programmed to think.

    Actually, they can't switch targets, if you fight them in ilshenar & approach them properly - my tamer can go afk against a Paragon Greater & I'm completely unaffected.  The ones that you fight during these dungeon events are coded a little differently
    Yes and that was why I wrote this was intended since dynamic event started and @Mariah called my post a troll. 

    If all of you had amnesia, the dynamic event was tweaked after lessons learnt from ToT.
    1) Players can’t stay at one location anymore and macro afk 24 7 and expect drops, This was one of the reasons we have to keep moving different locations to get drops.
    2) Paragons would be anti life leech, target the tamers, and reveal hidden and run at hyper speed.

    Y’all remember some but forgot the rest.
    If it ain't broke, don't fix it. 
    ESRB warning: Some Blood. LOTS of Alcohol. Some Violence. LOTS of Bugs
  • MariahMariah Posts: 2,943Moderator
    A couple of posts have been restored, with apologies for misunderstanding the intent in them. I'm starting to see sarcasm where there isn't any. :(
  • vortexvortex Posts: 200
    Better hire more devs he's finding things that have been around forever.
  • PawainPawain Posts: 8,972
    Mariah said:
    A couple of posts have been restored, with apologies for misunderstanding the intent in them. I'm starting to see sarcasm where there isn't any. :(
    I said the same thing Vortex said and you removed it.  But, I dont need it back since his is there.  ^^^^^^
    Focus on what you can do, not what you can't.
  • poppspopps Posts: 3,903
    So you want the MOBs to act differently than your pet/summon.  I take it that you have never notice that your pet changes targets just like the MOBs do.  
    Oh, I sure have noticed that, and that is "also" another issue that, to my opinion, should be fixed...

    Even issuing a kill command to a pet is worthless since pets, often, disregard their Masters' orders and attack something else, sometimes switching across various different targets, regardless whether their Masters keeps repeating kill "that" Target.... and that target only.....
  • JackFlashUkJackFlashUk Posts: 883
    popps said:
    So you want the MOBs to act differently than your pet/summon.  I take it that you have never notice that your pet changes targets just like the MOBs do.  
    Oh, I sure have noticed that, and that is "also" another issue that, to my opinion, should be fixed...

    Even issuing a kill command to a pet is worthless since pets, often, disregard their Masters' orders and attack something else, sometimes switching across various different targets, regardless whether their Masters keeps repeating kill "that" Target.... and that target only.....
    keep pets fed
    and I guarantee you are not running real 120 skill in taming and lore, but instead have about 100 and use jewels yes?

    Basic taming 101

    IN my opinion
  • poppspopps Posts: 3,903
    drcossack said:
    Arnold7 said:
    Don’t know if they prioritize , but at least some paras, like greater dragons, shadow wyrms and similar can interact with more than one aggressor during a fight and often switch targets during a fight.  Most, if not all, of their nonpara counterpoints cannot.
    Switching targets is common as I have often become the paras new target when I join a fight.  So, yes they are more intelligent than your average monster.  Have not noticed that they have a fondness for players over pets but know the are not just dumb sprites.  They are programmed to think.

    Actually, they can't switch targets, if you fight them in ilshenar & approach them properly - my tamer can go afk against a Paragon Greater & I'm completely unaffected.  The ones that you fight during these dungeon events are coded a little differently
    Indeed, They do retarget onto players' characters to my finding and this, also regular Monsters, not just Paragons...

    I have had it happen to me vey, very often, that I for example cast a Summoned Reaper which is a static summonm right by the side of a Monster, I then move away a few tiles, cast invisibility but if a paragon is within range to reveal me, even if I am, say, 5 tiles away from the Summoned Reaper and the regular (non paragon) Monsters that is right next to it, the Monster often retargets on me, that I am like 5 tiles away, rather then keeping fighting the Summoned Reaper that is right next to it...

    That is why I suspect that there is some code which actually tells to Monsters to prioritize players' characters rather then th closest enemy near them.....
  • ForeverFunForeverFun Posts: 782
    edited May 2022
    This thread seems to have quite a bit in common with this thread:
    https://forum.uo.com/discussion/comment/59595/#Comment_59595

    If there isn't code that causes paragons to deliberately re-target puppet-master tamers, that would be interesting to add.  Afterall, we're talking about beings that have far higher INT than the player targets.   It seems natural they would take out the "softer" controlling target first.

    This is also a numbers game -- if there are a large number of targets near the paragon, the odds of it targeting you go down.

  • McDougleMcDougle Posts: 3,742
    I think the monster AI is very good right now takes me a few tries and deathrobes to get it on my pet and not me and the way the centaurs stay back and shoot brilliant 
    Acknowledgment and accountability go a long way... 
  • Lord_FrodoLord_Frodo Posts: 2,210
    Mariah said:
    A couple of posts have been restored, with apologies for misunderstanding the intent in them. I'm starting to see sarcasm where there isn't any. :(
     <3 
  • Lord_FrodoLord_Frodo Posts: 2,210
    popps said:
    So you want the MOBs to act differently than your pet/summon.  I take it that you have never notice that your pet changes targets just like the MOBs do.  
    Oh, I sure have noticed that, and that is "also" another issue that, to my opinion, should be fixed...

    Even issuing a kill command to a pet is worthless since pets, often, disregard their Masters' orders and attack something else, sometimes switching across various different targets, regardless whether their Masters keeps repeating kill "that" Target.... and that target only.....
    keep pets fed
    and I guarantee you are not running real 120 skill in taming and lore, but instead have about 100 and use jewels yes?

    Basic taming 101

    IN my opinion
    Yes you can get them to retarget but that does not mean they will stay on that target until it is dead, after the first attack the system AI can and does retarget depending of the AIs programing and that is with a wonderfully happy pet and a real 120x3 tamer.
  • ForeverFunForeverFun Posts: 782
    In many cases, it seems pets stick on a target better if they attack based on "All Guard Me".  That assumes the pet initially selects the target you're most interested in.

    Pets seem more easily distracted when you use "All Kill" to direct them to a target.  They will happily get distracted by a necro revenant summon, after spending time trying to killing the summoning monster.  This can be a disaster for certain pet skills.

    There is plenty of room to improve the current pet control system; extending the context menu with other options would be good (which spells to use, etc).
  • McDougleMcDougle Posts: 3,742
    In many cases, it seems pets stick on a target better if they attack based on "All Guard Me".  That assumes the pet initially selects the target you're most interested in.

    Pets seem more easily distracted when you use "All Kill" to direct them to a target.  They will happily get distracted by a necro revenant summon, after spending time trying to killing the summoning monster.  This can be a disaster for certain pet skills.

    There is plenty of room to improve the current pet control system; extending the context menu with other options would be good (which spells to use, etc).
    In many cases, it seems pets stick on a target better if they attack based on "All Guard Me".  That assumes the pet initially selects the target you're most interested in.

    Pets seem more easily distracted when you use "All Kill" to direct them to a target.  They will happily get distracted by a necro revenant summon, after spending time trying to killing the summoning monster.  This can be a disaster for certain pet skills.

    There is plenty of room to improve the current pet control system; extending the context menu with other options would be good (which spells to use, etc).
    I totally agree we should be able to set some parameters for our pets and a good number of the pets  skills need reworking necromage etc but that's a conversation for a different thread. As i said the monsters AI is spot on with great threat assessment 
    Acknowledgment and accountability go a long way... 
  • poppspopps Posts: 3,903
    edited May 2022
    This just happened to me in Destard....

    While I was fighting regular spawn (Spellweaving Mage), a Paragon serpent spawns.

    I immediately cast a Summoned Reaper next to the Paragon Serpent and hide (I was about 6 or 7 tiles away from it) and stay still, not moving.

    Of course, I get revealed because of the paragon and guess what ?

    Rather then targeting the Summoned Reaper as it should have been, being it right next to the Paragon Serpent, the Paragon Serpent came after me that I was some 6 or 7 tiles away from it....

    And it has just again also happened with a Warden of the Fey Paragon.... regardless I cast a Summoned Reaper next to it, that I was several tiles further away from it as the reaper was, and that I kept casting invisibility on me over and over, each time I came visible again, because of the paragon, the Paragon Warden of the fey kept attacking me, rather then sticking onto the Summoned Reaper...

    What the hell do we have Summons for, if Monsters disregard them and target our characters, instead ?

    Range of enemy should matter way more in regards to what enemy Monsters target as a priority, me thinks....

    @Kyronix ?
  • Petra_FydePetra_Fyde Posts: 1,321
    edited May 2022
    ok. Now I'll tell you my experience in the same situation.
    Fighting regular spawn with a tamer (on Origin) Paragon serpent spawned nearby. I cast teleport and used it to move to a point approximately 10 tiles from the paragon, where I invised.  At that distance you are not revealed. From there I periodically cast heal on my pet, invising between casts, until it succeeded in killing its target. It could then take on the serpent. I carefully WALKED a few tiles further away, one step at a time, once the pet had engaged its new target to maintain the 10 tile distance where I invised and continued the 'heal,invis' sequence. 
    It didn't always work, sometimes I died anyway, but if anyone saw Rhoda Broadway in Destard on Origin with her Phoenix or, later, with her Najasaurus, perhaps they can confirm they saw her fighting some low - mid level paragons?
  • McDougleMcDougle Posts: 3,742
    I've seen the lights on Broadway 
    Acknowledgment and accountability go a long way... 
  • Victim_Of_SiegeVictim_Of_Siege Posts: 1,797
    McDougle said:
    I've seen the lights on Broadway 

    But have you seen the mighty skyline fall . . .
    A Goblin, a Gargoyle, and a Drow walk into a bar . . .

    Never be afraid to challenge the status quo

  • McDougleMcDougle Posts: 3,742
    McDougle said:
    I've seen the lights on Broadway 

    But have you seen the mighty skyline fall . . .

    Been singing it all morning 
    Acknowledgment and accountability go a long way... 
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