Heroes calling targets

Can we have heroes calling targets please? Since they hardly ever attack what I tell them to, maybe we can reverse roles. Things would be so much better if I could make Sousuke or Master of Whispers the designated caller, and just follow suit. That way, at least 2 partymembers would be attacking the same target.

Sadly, this isn't sarcasm, although I can see how it might be misconstrued as such.

That means they'd have to know who to call strategically.
Which, I believe, would require a lot of programming on ANet's side of things. Also, it would require more CPU power/time on the server side.

No, nothing like that at all. They can just attack who they attack now. The only addition would have to be the 'target call'.

So when they call out the warrior in a mob of 6 with two monks... You follow their lead?

Why do you want this? :P

Do you know that you can lock your heroes (and your pet) on a target?

Also, I haven't seen any problems with heroes attacking other than the target I call.

I'd rather not have a hero calling targets.

/not signed.

Heros already do some pretty stupid things. This would be just another way for them to do a thing stupidly.

Lock your heroes on the target you want and go to town.

That's already answered in my original post. Because they will attack whatever they want to attack anyway. Me helping a hero attack a warrior is preferable to me attacking the monk all by myself and the hero attacking the warrior all by himself. Stuff will die faster.

I could also request the heroes to follow my call, but their failure to do so has been discussed to death. This new suggestions seems like an easier fix.

Locking heroes on target takes too much work. I want to c-{ctrl-space} my way to victory. But since heroes don't work that way, I'll compromise and go T-{ctrl-space}

I also would like heroes to be able to talk, so they can go on vent so we can coordinate and have fun telling jokes. I want them to weapon switch also.

Heroes always follow my target.

That's funny, because short of micromanaging their controls and locking them on target, there's absolutely nothing I can do to make them follow my calls. Often they even rush ahead to cast at enemies way at the back of the group we're fighting, ones I never even touched with my aggro circle and definitely never called.

Perhaps their behaviour depends on our profession and weapon selection or something. They definitely adjust their marching order based on those.

I've never had any problems with hero's following my calls. They only run ahead of me when i put them on ''attack'' instead of ''Guard'' liek i usually have

You are their leader.

Flesh Golems choose very wisely their targets, but that doens't meant you should attack what they attack.

They should follow your lead.

lol
QFT all replies!

/unsigned

/unsigned

Heroes work correctly, IF YOU KNOW HOW TO USE THEM. Set all heroes to Guard. This makes them stay near you, and not ruch into aggro, or follow a monster 4 aggro bubbles away to pull in more groups. Set Monks without an offensive skill (like Power Drain, Leech Signet, etc.) to Avoid Combat. This makes them kite, stay to the back, and more away when needed. Call the target you want them to attack.

Hench have more issues with this than heroes, but that is because several hench are set on Attack (Devonna, etc.) If you do not call a target, you may notice that the hero/hench will attack monsters in a fairly predictable pattern. They tend to attack healers first, massive damage or interrupt monsters next, and melee last.

Perhaps you simply need to adjust your heroes settings, call a better target, and give them appropriate builds. My heroes work fine, and none of the people I have played with had issues or commented about problems with their heroes.

This is exactly how I play. It's how I got the Legendary Vanquisher title months before GW:EN came out. Recently however, nothing I do can make them work anymore. They will rush into battle toward the target I called, but once the battle is joined, they will switch to whatever target they please. I can call targets until my mouse and keyboard are pulverized, and it doesn't convince my caster heroes to comply. Ever. This behaviour started for me at the same time the presence of enemy spirits started freezing heroes. It didn't bother me for the most time because I almost always play with guild parties, but recently, trying to accomplish some solo stuff, play has become insufferable due to this.

Melee heroes and henchies work perfectly. It's the casters that are the problem.

Settings are fine.

A 'better' target? What does that mean? Are some members of a group more likely to inspire loyalty in my heroes than others, when called as targets? Or is this just a nonsense suggestion?

Appropriate builds... mmm... another suggestion I can't quite grasp. Do we have skills that cause complete disobedience when used on hero bars? Someone should make a note of those on the wiki pages.

Can't we just make the AI atleast half decent first?
As in, not be almost as bad as an Ursan-less PuG?

Gli, would this be the problem you're talking about?

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/User_...called_targets

Except for that issue, the AI selects targets based on the skills they're using. For most skills, they will use them on called or otherwise locked targets. However, when using AoE attacks like Searing Flames they will ignore target lock/called targets in order to hit as many foes as possible. Similarly, they will also ignore target lock when using hexes like Insidious Parasite (they specifically target foes that are attacking).

I think part of your problems might be AoE. Heroes will run all over the map to avoid it, and when they rejoin battle they'll just target the nearest enemy-and it's a good chance that it was one that they weren't attacking before hand.

Another possibility is that caster heroes seem to know automatically what hexes/conditions are on an enemy. So if you're running with 2 SS's (as an example), call a target, one will cast SS on him, and then the other one will pick a random foe to SS. Take a look at your hero bars and see if there are any duplicate skills.

Having heroes call targets would be nice, but they don't always pick the best targets (i.e. they'll attack warriors first and ignore enemy healers). And having them call would just fill up team chat with extra crap. And like someone said, this would require a bit more programming-it's not as easy as saying "Well they're attacking Enemy X, so why not just have them say it?". People seem to forget when they make a suggestion it requires alot of effort and adjustments within the code-even if it's something that seems simple.

Could well be it. Never heard of that issue before, but it might fit. Most of my caster heroes do run some interference skills, and I'm using an ele with an AoE water snare. That doesn't mean they I want them to use those left and right when I'm calling the shots. They should use what skills they have that do work well on the target I'm calling, when I'm calling it. I'll make sure to check if the ommission of certain skills makes them more well-behaved. Or I could go back to using mostly melee heroes. They hardly ever give me any kind of AI trouble. I certainly don't feel like going around micromanaging each and every hero all the time in order to finish dead-simple battles in half the time. Not worth the hassle.

Re: Richardt: I'm not running multiples of any hex skills.

P.S. for those who haven't caught on, I was lying when I said I wasn't being sarcastic. I'd much prefer the AI to obey me instead of the other way around.

It's actually much better than an ursanless pug if you take the time to flag them and micro them. But no one does that because it's too much work, so they're only slightly better

The problem is right there in bold print. Another lazyass that wants an easier way to play the game.

I actually prefer to play an engaging game, that's why I rarely solo anymore. Recently, there are some things I want to accomplish that my guildies can't be bothered with, and sometimes none of them are online anyway. That's when I solo, and it just sucks nowadays. I don't want an easier game, I want the game to do what it's supposed to do.

Calling targets used to be all it took at one time to make them focus fire. Heroes used to do what I told them. Why shouldn't calling targets be sufficient to have them attack those targets? Isn't that what calling targets is for? Also, if what Draikin posted earlier is true locking targets wouldn't even help. You didn't spot that, did you? Or did you chose not to consider that post? I'm guessing you're just another lazyass not bothering with the discussion and just joining the +1 peanut gallery.

I don't know what heroes/hench you are using. I don't know what class you are using. I don't know what builds you use. I do know that calling a Monk target will not help much when that Monk is not attacking (lots won't until their party is dead) and having an Empathy, Blinding Surge, etc. team make-up. For example, I run a variety of classes, and almost always take the following hench (in GW:EN).

Herta
Lina
Zho
Eve

My heroes are almost always:

Dunkoro = HB pure heal Monk with Dismiss
Livia = Jagged Bones MM
Acolyte Sousuke = Savanah Heat nuker

Dunkoro would be set to avoid, so he never follows calls, as he isn't supposed to. Livia is on Guard, and has no attack skills, so she wands, but nothing more than cast Death Nova and Jagged Bones on minion when she has them. Sousuke, he does what I want him to, and rarely to I need to micro his skills. his full build:

[skill]Savannah Heat[/skill][skill]Liquid Flame[/skill][skill]Glyph of Lesser Energy[/skill][skill]Meteor Shower[/skill][skill]Rodgort's Invocation[/skill][skill]Aura of Restoration[/skill][skill]Fire Attunement[/skill][skill]Resurrection Chant[/skill]

I call Monks/Rits (healers) first. Unless I'm playing Monk, and don't want to enter a dangerous zone, I wand/attack that target. I do switch targets frequently when playing Ranger and Mesmer, as I can interrupt when I need to. When I do this, I often see Zho interrupt a target I am not attacking. If I take a hero Ranger/Mesmer for interrupts, I see them do this too.

As I said, I have not seen heroes or hench not following called targets. Melee give me more issues than casters, but only hench following a target to another group and aggroing things I dont' want, or a hero/hench disengaging to follow me when I kite. I have not seen this problem with other people I play with either.

The AI has a target priority. If you do not call a target, they have a method for deciding what to attack. Perhaps your calls are a target their AI does not agree with, or their build does not 'work' well against that target.

If there was a problem, this should be a bug report, not a suggestion. If it isn't a bug, then it may just be you need to learn a new way to play, as I haven't met anyone else to have this problem.

Well, since it's already mentioned in several posts on the conglomerate hero AI bug thread, including one of my own, I decided to go for a somewhat ironic suggestion thread. This forum at least inspires some discussion albeit a lot of +1s, whereas the bug one is a complete waste of time in that regard.

And I got something out of it. Luckily, there's often a gem among the +1 dreck. (Thanks Draikin.) Whodathunk the dumbass AI would spend all of its time spamming 2 or 3 situational spells on targets I never even highlighted instead of using the 3 or 4 that are appropriate for the target I'm calling when I call one. I'm pretty sure this hasn't always been this way, because I never had this issue about a year ago, when I heavily H&Hed.

You are so funny

Let me put it to you this way: I have no problem with heroes or henchies attacking the called target. So the problem must be you and how you are using them.

Draikin's link in his post is to a Wiki article, posted by ........ Draikin! Don't believe everything you read on Wiki.

And I don't give a rat's posterior about +1's as my title will never change. I do notice you are posting very often .... trying to keep the thread alive and upping your post count.

Having heroes call targets is just plain dumb (or maybe lazy).

/notsigned. For above reasons. You should also check your casters' builds, perhaps some of their skills are causing them to target nearest to them instead of your targeted call. I've never had any problem that 'target lock' doesn't fix to warrant a submit on the bug report.

So there is a problem? I would certainly think so. Heroes not obeying calls certainly seems like a problem to me.

Gee? And have you tested the veracity or lack thereof before you decided to dismiss it? It sure is a lot more helpful than all those "it's not happening to me so there's no problem" posts. (Hint: those aren't helpful at all, because, you see, it is happening to me, I do have a problem. Or are you calling me a liar?)

I see, responding to people with actual content is upping postcount now?

I already admitted to the proposal being an attempt at sarcasm. I guess I better explain the joke. You see, because heroes often don't want to follow my calls, I found the notion that I'd be better off following theirs slightly amusing. And ironically, if I do switch to the target Sousuke is happily casting away at, instead of pounding the keyboard in an attempt to make him follow my call, stuff often dies faster.

I'm not calling you a liar. I say I use heroes and hench, and do not see the problems you do. I guess that this is because you don't have a good grasp at HOW to use the heroes and hench. I didnt' always know how to use them. I used to get frustrated with them. When I learned that some skills get used poorly, I stopped using those skills on heroes. When I learned how heroes pick targets, I started giving them builds and calls that worked with their AI.

I'm saying you don't understand HOW to use heroes/hench.

I never even hinted at such. I said you don't know how to use heroes properly.

/no thanks

They follow my calls well enough. The day I have to let AI determine my team's attack strategy is the day I quit the game.