PvE Spike AI

It would be cool to have a co-ordinate spike AI in the PvE game. It'd make the PvE game much more challenging because to avoid spike damage, teams must be able to pre-prot... or use shelter.

The AI could work as usual, but at some conditioned event, they would all target one character and spike that target.

For example, fighting a mob of Necro's, the Necro's could degen the group randomly, then select a target and Oppressive Gaze spike a target or a mob of smite monks that Mystic Spike a target.

/sign

This would deffintly make the game a lot harder and more reliant on "player" groups rather than "henchie/hero" groups.

I *think* I've seen this happen on occasion, but it was really too infrequent to present a challenge. Also, you'd need to tweak enemy skillbars as they're typically atrocious.

Main problem is a lot of PvErs don't like the AI as it is right now, so they'll revolt over AI that systematically took out their parties. Hell, even if you stuck it into one area a la DoA, the hordes would go try the area and then complain about difficulty.

Henchie/hero groups are better than many player groups because they focus fire. If enemy AI would also do this with any regularity, most PUGs would be annihilated.

Smarter AI is always good, be it for allies or enemies.

/signed

Аfflicted guys spike me quite often even now ((

I have the perfect {not so serious} solutions for this. Each AI group has a target caller. When they are about to spike, the target caller will say:

Monster: Spiking {player's name}
Monster: 3...
Monster: 2...
Monster: 1...
Monster: Spike!

It'd be just like HA except in PvE.. LMAO! Hell, they could even animate the monsters with head sets and mic's. :P

Seriously, it could be like Shiro's "I'm going to banish {player's name}" thing... Even when the target caller is dead, it should still be able to co-ordinate the spikes.

It would give the players a 3 second chance to pre-prot..

HAHA.. it'd be funny to see monsters randomly yelling "My vent is down" or "damn, team speak not working".

If anything, this would make playeres more reliant on henchmen and heros because they have much faster reflexes to save you from a spike. But I am in support of this idea.

Mobs spike very often, but since they are mostly too weak, it's not noticable.

But play on a caster with low health, and you'll see what happens. Getting hit 15-20 times in 2-3 seconds on a monk isn't funny.

These are pure damage spikes, but often gimmicky as well, since in PvE lots of groups have 3-5 creatures of same profession, and with their limited skill set, they are likely to hit you at the same time with same skill.

Mobs are very likely to spike you if they get into attack range at exactly the same time. The first thing they'll do is use one skill on closest target, resulting in a spike.

For a good aproximation of a spike go to mirror of lyss and go against 3 roaring ethers and ruby djinn. Unless you're prepared, 3 e-surges + liquid flame + SF can and will wipe your party. But it's not really enjoyable or challenging, since they always attack in exactly the same way, so a single skill or two will completely devastate the mobs.

Large groups of Rot Wallows and the Kournan Rangers in Gandara are probably the closest I've seen to spiking AI in PvE, but I don't think they're programmed to co-ordinate their skills. The massive damage they can inflict in a short space of time just happens because they start attacking or all use the same skill at the same time.

I would like to see more build co-ordination in AI mobs, especially in their use of damage skills.

/signed

/halfsigned
yes this might make pve more fun but dangerous too

A few months back I was playing through SF and noticed that the Stone Summit Wardens seem to coordinate Obsidian Flame spikes on occasion. Seems that when someone is below a certain health point, they all cast OF on that target. Fortunately, it's usually nothing more than annoying, but they have spiked out monks in seconds flat.

You DO see AI spikes, because they have certain conditions where they'll use certain skills. Most AI spikes are just gimmicks, as was said before: low-powered skills all hitting at once, but when the skillbar is set up right, AI spikes can be dangerous to an unprepared party.

With the new AI (attacking the lowest AL spellcaster) they already do it.

/not signed