ArenaNet talk:AI bugs/resolved2

Assassin

 * --Draikin 19:40, 14 March 2008 (UTC)
 * I agree that in most cases this skill is reserved for when you are taking damage, but that is not to say it also cannot be used to move faster to, for example, get to a shrine in HB. I'm leaving this with the gray X so more people can share their thoughts. --Andrew Patrick 00:04, 15 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I put a bug in on this issue. Heroes seem to be using Dark Escape on their way to engaging an enemy. As a result, it ends almost immediately when they subsequently attack. Ben Kirsch 18:17, 9 July 2008 (UTC)
 * After the latest update the AI uses this skill less frequently during combat. --Draikin 13:48, 9 August 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 04:44, 10 April 2008 (UTC)
 * The conditional damage is not the only effect of this skill which means it is still beneficial for a hero to use this skill against a non-blinded foe. This is actually kind of the opposite of the report for Shattering Assault. In both cases, just because the skill is not giving all of it's effects does not mean it is not still beneficial to use the skill. --Andrew Patrick 23:25, 14 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I really have to disagree here. You can't compare Shattering Assault and this skill. In this case, using Signet of Shadows to deal only ~30 damage every 30 seconds is not worth it at all (compare that to an unblockable SA combo). First of all anyone using Signet of Shadows will have a way to inflict blind so you'll want the hero to wait until they apply that condition before using this skill. I have to emphasize that just because a skill has a secondary effect, it's not always worth using on recharge. That's why these things should be reviewed on a skill-per-skill basis. In its current form simply nobody will use this skill. I changed the "No" icon to indicate that this is up for debate. --Draikin 23:46, 14 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I put in a bug on this issue requesting that heroes rarely use Signet of Shadows when the target is not under the effects of blind. I am hesitant to ask for heroes to only use the skill when the target is blind, because the skill may be one of the few non-melee attacks the hero has. Ben Kirsch 18:49, 9 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I just tested the new AI update for this skill to try and understand the "less likely to use" part added to so many of the skills, and after sending my hero into combat the first skill it used was Signet of Shadows on a target that wasn't blinded... A few test runs later, I can't say I see any noticeably improvements to the way they use the skill. Could someone clarify exactly what was changed about the skill? --Draikin 00:29, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
 * I have posted a general example in the thread on Lightning Bolt. I didn't test this particular change first hand, but I'm assuming the same principle will apply. I hope to update all of the changes in greater detail soon. In short, your hero should now think of Signet of Shadows as slightly less useful than certain of his other skills. If the target is blinded, he will think of it as more useful than certain of his other skills. The difference might not be dramatic in all situations with all skill bars, but I can confirm from similar changes that the percentage chance of the hero using a skill when it's conditional effect is not met has been decreased if a better skill is available for that situation. -Kim Chase 01:04, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the explanation, I hadn't notice the example you posted on Lightning Bolt. I can understand this type of solution (which should work reasonably well for skills with a low energy cost/recharge), although I'm a bit confused about updates like these:
 * Heroes are less likely to cast protective enchantments that trigger on attack unless the party is in combat.
 * Heroes are less likely to use Extinguish if only one ally is suffering from a condition.
 * Heroes are less likely to use Enfeeble on foes that are already suffering from Weakness
 * Heroes are more likely to use preparations outside of combat.
 * I'm not sure why the "less/more likely" part was added to those skills as well? In any case, thanks for releasing this update! --Draikin 02:02, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

I see what you mean! This probably wasn't used as a strict term to always mean this kind of change in the update notes. Some of those might have been someone paraphrasing a change and choosing to use soft wording where it wasn't relevant. And thank you for helping this build be bigger and better yourself. On our end, the AI changes are thanks to the hard work of mister Joe Kimmes. He's pretty awesome at what he does. -Kim Chase 02:11, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Going to archive this since the skill has changed in the latest update. --Draikin 13:48, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

Dervish

 * --Draikin 19:20, 28 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Skills that have some effects that always occur, and other effects that only occur when a specific prerequisite is met (such as "must be enchanted") are tricky. It is very subjective when it is "worth it" for a skill to be used despite the fact that only some of the effects will occur. With that in mind, this isn't really a "bug" per se. However, I want to keep this discussion open as I am aware this may not be the preferred behavior of the AI, so please share your thoughts. --Andrew Patrick 00:38, 15 May 2008 (UTC)
 * If possible, I think the AI should attempt to enchant himself/herself before using this skill. However, considering that's skill chaining, I am not sure if AI is able to accomplish it. --Voidvector 07:13, 16 May 2008 (UTC)
 * A bug has been submitted requesting that heroes use this skill less often when not under the effects of an enchantment. Ben Kirsch 19:45, 9 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 19:20, 28 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Skills that have some effects that always occur, and other effects that only occur when a specific prerequisite is met (such as "must be enchanted") are tricky. It is very subjective when it is "worth it" for a skill to be used despite the fact that only some of the effects will occur. With that in mind, this isn't really a "bug" per se. However, I want to keep this discussion open as I am aware this may not be the preferred behavior of the AI, so please share your thoughts. --Andrew Patrick 00:38, 15 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Spamming it is fine by me. It is pretty much what I do as a player dervish. I rely on runes and inscriptions to boost my health above the enemy's health. Human players have no way of exacting enemy's health anyway. --Voidvector 07:13, 16 May 2008 (UTC)
 * This issue has been reported. Ben Kirsch 19:27, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

Elementalist

 * --Draikin 02:52, 29 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Unlike Blinding Flash, Blinding Surge also causes damage and thus the AI uses it for it's damage rather than strictly the "blind" effect. This is by design since players have the ability to disable automatic use of this skill if they wish for them to only use it on certain targets. This sort of ties in with the "conditional effect" skills in a way, so I am keeping the discussion open. --Andrew Patrick 00:57, 15 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Players do have the ability to disable skills, but the more they are forced to do so the more it means the AI is flawed. When people bring Blinding Flash on their heroes, they primarily want them to blind foes wielding martial weapons. Heroes should stick to completing that task and let the player handle all the rest. Lets compare the current behavior and the way I would change the skill:
 * the skill used like it is now: heroes mindlessly spam it on a completely random target until they're at 0 energy as if the skill is an expensive version of Lightning Strike. Players are force to disable the skill entirely and micro it if they actually want to blind certain opponents.
 * the skill the way I would change it: heroes specifically target the opposing foes carrying martial weapons in an effort to blind them. The skill isn't used as much since the AI focuses on maintaining blind, leaving more time for them to use their other 7 skills (one of which might be Lightning Strike for example, which costs half as much energy and does the same damage). Players also don't have to micro nearly as much and only have to manually click the skill occasionally (to blind and/or deal damage to a certain target). --Draikin 18:10, 15 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Human players use B Surge for both blinding and damage (just watch any GvG, you will see B Surge being used for spiking). I think AI should be able to do both as well. Considering it's more useful for blinding than damage, I think the AI should prioritize for blinding. I suggest use it on recharge with the following priorities:
 * Use it on the locked/called target
 * Attempt to blind multiple martial enemies
 * Attempt to blind 1 martial enemies
 * Lastly use it for damage --Voidvector 07:13, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

I have put in reports requesting that both Blinding Surge and Blinding Flash be used more effectively. Hopefully Blinding Surge will be used in a more limited fashion to keep heroes from using the high energy cost for less base damage. Also, when testing Energy Flash my hero was using it even on enemies that had no martial weapons and were already blinded, so hopefully we can get that to work better as well. Keep in mind that heroes are not intended to play at a higher level than a player, since AI can react to some situations much faster than a user can. We hope to make improvements, but it might not always be the "most effective" use for this reason. Thank you Draikin. -Kim Chase 19:26, 9 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 12:44, 14 March 2008 (UTC)
 * I agree that Chain Lightning should only be used against multiple targets, since its steep Exhaustion cost is only justified by hitting two or more enemies. If a Glyph of Energy was used, I wouldn't care if it hit one enemy, since the exhaustion penalty would be avoided. However, I don't think Invoke Lightning should be used against single targets, it does a lot of damage with no drawback while enchanted.  If the elementalist lost all enchants, it would be nice if Invoke Lightning was only used against multiple targets, since it would cause Exhaustion as well; but that might not be worth the work to implement. - Elder Angelus 15:07, 15 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I have put in reports suggesting that Chain Lightning and Invoke Lighting could be used more effectively by heroes. Hopefully we can prevent the heroes from exhausting themselves needlessly. -Kim Chase 21:35, 9 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 13:31, 12 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I have put in reports for these five skills, although I would prefer that the changes be more conservative than what what has been suggested here. For instance, we don't want to make it so that a hero uses Mind Blast as efficiently as possible. A player is not aware of the energy level of their target, instead relying on certain observations to guess as to whether their energy is greater than the target. Anyway, these have all been passed along along with your personal comments. Hopefully we can do something to have heroes manage their energy with these skills a little more efficiently. Thank you for the suggestions. -Kim Chase 23:37, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

Mesmer

 * --Draikin 20:34, 2 January 2008 (UTC)
 * A bug has been submitted on this issue. Ben Kirsch 19:59, 9 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 14:53, 29 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I could not reproduce this. My hero would cast Empathy on a non-attacking target and would never attempt to cast a hex on a spirit. More info would be helpful if you are still experiencing this problem. Thanks! --Andrew Patrick 01:17, 15 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Let the Master of Spirits set up Shadowsong or Pain and then follow the above instructions, that always triggers the bug for me. --Draikin 06:30, 15 May 2008 (UTC)
 * A bug has now been submitted on this issue. Thanks for the report, and additional info. Ben Kirsch 18:12, 15 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 19:40, 14 March 2008 (UTC)
 * A bug has been submitted on this issue. Ben Kirsch 22:27, 9 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 13:00, 11 April 2008 (UTC)
 * A bug has been submitted on this issue. Ben Kirsch 22:45, 9 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 13:31, 12 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the report. Heroes should be using Shame against all Monks (Primary or Secondary), but there appears to be something preventing them from using it against other heroes. A bug has been submitted. Ben Kirsch 23:35, 9 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 18:35, 17 May 2008 (UTC)
 * A bug has been submitted on this issue. Ben Kirsch 18:37, 10 July 2008 (UTC)

Monk

 * --Draikin 23:38, 8 September 2007 (UTC)
 * These issues have been reported. Ben Kirsch 23:10, 28 January 2008 (UTC)
 * After the February 6 update heroes now also target themselves when using Zealous Benediction, but the skill is still used on allies above 50% health which means it's still used very inefficiently. --Draikin 00:02, 7 February 2008 (UTC)
 * I put in a report on this. Personally, I don't think having heroes not use this skill on targets over 50% health would be all that desired. Even without the +7 energy this is a pretty big heal with a cost on-par with Heal Other. I passed on your concern, though. --Andrew Patrick 18:56, 9 July 2008 (UTC)
 * The Hero AI always seemed to be efficient at using skills the moment the right conditions for it are met so I would imagine they'd also be effective at using it that way. The way the hero AI uses the skill now, giving them Word of Healing instead is always a better choice. --Draikin 23:21, 9 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Zealous Benediction should be used sparingly when a target needs healing but has more than half life. It will be given priority over some other healing spells if the condition is met. -Kim Chase 04:13, 8 August 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 23:38, 8 September 2007 (UTC)
 * I was testing this today and my hero was using this skill in-combat with energy between 10 and 20. I think because of the slow casting speed, heroes are cautions about using this particular skill, but at least with the bar I was running, my hero was using this skill when it seemed appropriate. Could you double check to make sure your hero is still behaving the way you stated above? --Andrew Patrick 18:56, 9 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I just tested this skill again and I'm noticing some really strange behavior. Disabling every skill except for Signet of Devotion causes your hero not to use the skill at all. Enabling Patient Spirit caused the hero to start using Signet of Devotion as well just if it's a normal healing skill, regardless of their energy level. However, when I enabled Reversal of Damage and Signet of Devotion and left everything else disabled, the hero refused to use Signet of Devotion (I have yet to test if they would still refuse to use it in that situation when at 0 energy). Again enabling Patient Spirit as the third skill in that situation immediately caused the hero to start using Signet of Devotion. There still seems to be something wrong with the way the AI is using this skill. --Draikin 21:25, 9 July 2008 (UTC)
 * You are correct, Draikin. Heroes are not using this skill efficiently with certain skill combinations. This has been reported. Thank you. -Kim Chase 18:28, 14 July 2008 (UTC)
 * As you had guessed, heroes were ignoring Signet of Devotion in favor of certain other healing skills, even if they were disabled or otherwise unusable. This has been fixed. In addition, it has been given a higher priority over other skills when the hero is low on energy. -Kim Chase 03:22, 8 August 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 00:24, 9 September 2007 (UTC)
 * I did experience the issue where my Hero would simply stop using Mending Touch, and I have reported that. My hero also seemed to make a few odd decisions about target-priority so a programmer is going to look at this. It seems that the hero AI will prioritize targets that are below full health, so if they are suffering from Weakness (no degen) and a semi-nearby ally is suffering from Disease (degen) they will go to the one suffering Disease since they are the ones in need of the heal. I'm not too sure how desirable that is, so it has been passed on to a programmer.--Andrew Patrick 19:53, 9 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 00:36, 13 September 2007 (UTC)
 * I have confirmed this issue and have reported it to a programmer. Thanks! --Andrew Patrick 21:40, 9 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 20:34, 2 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Yeah...not to useful to Martyr your own conditions. ;) I reported this to a programmer, thanks for the report! --Andrew Patrick 21:40, 9 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 00:36, 13 September 2007 (UTC)
 * I'm closing this thread because the issue is covered later on in the section about Healing Seed, Protective Spirit. etc. -Kim Chase 18:02, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Ronduwil 00:56, 4 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I mentioned this problem above, but I guess it makes more sense mentioning it here. I included the other skills that have the same problem. --Draikin 03:31, 4 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I have reported this issue to a programmer. Out of curiosity, why did you include Air of Enchantment in this list? That skill does not rely on your target currently taking damage. It could be used in correlation with other enchantments such as Patient Spirit to get the target's health back up quicker without a huge cost. Not that that would be a very likely combo...--Andrew Patrick 22:24, 9 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Both Air of Enchantment and Divine Intervention are indeed debatable since they can technically be used outside of combat, so I would understand if they're left alone. I just don't see a lot of viable ways to use Air of Enchantment outside of combat, while Divine Intervention on the other hand could in fact be used effectively just after a battle ended on characters suffering from health degeneration. --Draikin 23:21, 9 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Haha, well, Air of Enchantment is useful because it allows the monk to potentially cast more very fast, even if their energy has been depleted. I mean, wouldn't you bee a little cheesed if your monk failed to save someone that stumbled into a fire trap because they were low on energy and they had this skill the whole time? Anyway, it's another combo-option we don't want to remove just because you're not currently in combat. -Kim Chase 18:10, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I'd only have myself to blame for giving my monk Air of Enchantment instead of Word of Healing and rushing into fire traps with my monks at zero energy ;) That said this isn't much of an issue either way so leaving Air of Enchantment alone is fine. --Draikin 20:27, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 23:46, 24 January 2008 (UTC)
 * This issue has been reported. Thanks! --Andrew Patrick 22:51, 9 July 2008 (UTC)
 * They seem to use these skills perfectly now after the update, only using the skill when two or more heroes in their range need a heal. Thanks for the update! --Draikin 19:15, 8 August 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 02:18, 29 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I think it was like that to start with, but it got changed at some point, I prefer it this way, as it's cheap and quick to cast anyway at the start of a battle and doesn't slow down energy regain by recasting when you're cooling off at the end of a battle. --Ckal Ktak 19:16, 2 February 2008 (UTC)
 * The issue here is that they won't always cast it at the start of the battle and start using other spells instead that could have benefited from it. It's the exact same issue that existed with attunements and since those were changed after complaints about heroes not maintaining them, I don't see why this skill should be used in a different way. Compared to attunements this skill casts and recharges a lot faster and it still lasts 30 seconds. It doesn't exactly slow down energy regain either since not maintaining it means they'll have to use 5 energy at the start of the battle to cast it anyway. --Draikin 21:21, 2 February 2008 (UTC)
 * The thing is, they enchant themselves with this only when many allies are badly hurt already, which results as a minor loss of 1 second (cast+aftercast time). It is not a matter of using another skills that prevents them of buffing themselves, as they often can be seen idle, waiting to use reversal or smite hex/cond or whatever else rather than using Smiter's Boon automatically. -- 81.242.174.76 19:49, 30 March 2008 (UTC)
 * I passed this on to a programmer. Thanks for the report! --Andrew Patrick 23:46, 9 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 02:26, 29 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Can skills that don't cost energy ever really not be "worth it" to cast? I agree that when there is a target that may begin to attack, or if there is another target that is already attacking, it would be preferable for your heroes to not use these skills on a non-attacking foe given the long recharge, but in situations where there is only one foe (Perhaps a Monk?) that is not attacking, it's kinda wasteful for your hero to flat out neglect to use these 50+damage skills. With that in mind, do you think perhaps better target priority would be preferable to simply never using these skills against non-attacking foes? It's free extra damage, really... --Andrew Patrick 01:03, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * That's a valid point, if it's possible to implement then better targeting priority would indeed solve the problem with both of these skills and allow the AI to use them efficiently in nearly every situation. --Draikin 19:54, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 19:05, 2 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the report, I have passed it along for analysis. --Andrew Patrick 17:55, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I'd note that current behaviour is highly desirable. Consider nondamaging skills such a Panic and Daze. Backsword 08:31, 21 July 2008 (UTC)
 * You can micro it in that case. Currently they'll just spam the skill on whatever hex or condition they can find and drain their energy ridiculously fast, so I have to ask why anyone would bring this skill on a hero in the first place? I can't agree to just letting the AI stupidly spam this skill because there are a few exceptions to the main rule of not using this skill when the ally doesn't require a heal. I want them to use the skill efficiently so that when I do have to micro them, they actually have the energy left to use the skill. --Draikin 12:41, 21 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 19:05, 2 February 2008 (UTC)
 * You know, I think you may be right. Either that or someone told Tahlkora that Healing Breeze is like SUPER MENDING so she tops every enchantment off with it. ;) I've passed it along to be looked at. --Andrew Patrick 17:55, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 19:26, 6 February 2008 (UTC)
 * I passed this one along. Are you sure you would want this to be instantly removed in all instances? There may be some cases where the shorter condition duration is better than just removing one condition, such as when someone is moving through lava. --Andrew Patrick 19:45, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * You can just momentarily disable the skill and maintain it in that case, that's exactly what Hero Battle players are doing with maintained enchantments like Recall, Shadow Meld and Strength of Honor. It would be interesting if the AI was intelligent enough to "preveil", but I think that's just too much to ask for and simply letting them cancel it instantly is the preferable solution. --Draikin 20:27, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Zealous 19:32, 26 February 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm thinking that heroes may not be using this skill because the -1energy regen and -25% healing power may make this skill cause more harm than good. A programmer is going to take a look, thanks for the report. --Andrew Patrick 19:45, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I've used this skill by manually disabling it on heroes before, it's actually very efficient on heroes if you give them a build designed for it (that means giving them 5 energy skills to get the most out of the -3 energy reduction). --Draikin 20:27, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 13:24, 11 April 2008 (UTC)
 * This has been reported. Given the low cost-to-benefit ratio I tend to agree with you that heroes should maintain this skill on themselves and nearby enemies more often than they currently are. --Andrew Patrick 19:45, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 15:08, 14 March 2008 (UTC)
 * I have reported this issue. My hero didn't seem to like using this skill much at all, even though I was in situations that they would really benefit from using it. A programmer will be taking a look at this. --Andrew Patrick 19:45, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 16:16, 5 April 2008 (UTC)
 * What, 15energy and a 12 second recharge isn't good to remove one condition? ;) This has been reported. --Andrew Patrick 19:45, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * The latest update changed the skill so that it's less likely they'll use it for only one ally, but in practice this doesn't actually make a difference. I think this is one of those skills where this kind of solution doesn't work, at least in my opinion. It only makes them more likely to use other condition removal on their skill bar but that doesn't take into account the other condition removals on the rest of their team. The way they use it now, it's not a skill I would bring on a hero unless it's disabled. --Draikin 20:26, 8 August 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 13:45, 11 April 2008 (UTC)
 * My hero did seem a bit hesitant to cast this when I had an enemy targeted. I passed this on to a programmer to take a look. --Andrew Patrick 19:45, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Resolved in the latest update, thanks again. --Draikin 20:26, 8 August 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 21:09, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I was unable to reproduce this issue. To test, I had a hero with a melee weapon attack the Student of Blind in the Isle of the Nameless with only Dismiss condition equipped. The hero would continually remove blindness as soon as it took effect. If I manually ordered the hero to use the skill, they would still use it on themselves as soon as possible. Ben Kirsch 19:44, 14 July 2008 (UTC)
 * That's not quite the problem I'm referring to, allow me to clarify with an example: simply take your hero out of range from any allies suffering from a condition and target a "Suit of 60 armor" with your own character, then click Dismiss Condition and you'll notice the hero won't use the skill on itself. --Draikin 20:45, 14 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks for clarifying. I'm not sure how I overlooked that, but a bug has now been submitted. Thanks again for the quick response. Ben Kirsch 00:45, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

Necromancer

 * --NieA7 21:53, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Agreed, I see no reason why they should maintain the enchantment at all times. Most of the time my necro will wait until he is taking damage to cast, at which point he is sometimes interrupted.  If he maintained the enchantment, this would not happen.  The same goes for Infuse condition.  Thanks, Old Man Of Ascalon 20:55, 26 November 2007 (UTC)
 * I have opened a bug on this issue.  Elijah Miller 19:05, 9 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --NieA7 21:53, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
 * I have opened a bug on this issue.  Elijah Miller 19:05, 9 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 21:17, 9 October 2007 (UTC)
 * I don't necessarily agree with this but I have opened a bug on this issue. Because this spell is steal health in addition to the conditional energy regain, while not optimal, it is still useful for the hero to toss in some additional damage or use this as a mini-self heal while waiting on skill recharges. So, personally, I wouldn't want this skill strictly limited to when the Hero is suffering from a condition, but we can see what results from the bug submission.  Elijah Miller 19:05, 9 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 16:00, 14 March 2008 (UTC)
 * I have opened a bug on this issue. Elijah Miller 00:02, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 16:13, 15 February 2008 (UTC)
 * I have opened a bug on this issue. Elijah Miller 00:02, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 22:09, 5 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I have opened a bug on this issue. Elijah Miller 00:02, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 14:48, 29 June 2008 (UTC)
 * I have opened a bug on this issue. Elijah Miller 00:02, 10 July 2008 (UTC)

Paragon

 * --Draikin 23:49, 9 September 2007 (UTC)
 * I have opened a bug on this issue. Elijah Miller 21:56, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 21:17, 9 October 2007 (UTC)
 * I have opened a bug on this issue. Elijah Miller 21:56, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 21:17, 9 October 2007 (UTC)
 * I have opened a bug on this issue. Elijah Miller 21:56, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 21:29, 18 November 2007 (UTC)
 * I have opened a bug on this issue. Elijah Miller 21:56, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 23:24, 27 November 2007 (UTC)
 * I have opened a bug on this issue. Elijah Miller 21:56, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 23:24, 27 November 2007 (UTC)
 * I have opened a bug on this issue. Elijah Miller 21:56, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 23:24, 27 November 2007 (UTC)
 * I have opened a bug on this issue. Elijah Miller 21:56, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I use Enduring Harmony on W/P adrenaline warrior heros, and the fact they use it only on themselves is a big positive, rather than a problem.
 * Solving this issue doesn't mean your build won't work anymore: heroes should just prioritize maintaining the skill on themselves, if it's already active on them they can proceed to use it on other allies. --Draikin 17:40, 4 August 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 23:24, 27 November 2007 (UTC)
 * I have opened a bug on this issue. Elijah Miller 21:56, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 23:24, 27 November 2007 (UTC)
 * I have opened a bug on this issue. Elijah Miller 21:56, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Voidvector 04:49, 30 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I have opened a bug on this issue. Elijah Miller 21:56, 10 July 2008 (UTC)

Ranger

 * -- Hong 15:07, 29 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I confirmed this issue. Heroes certainly should still use Barrage against a single target since the cost and recharge are still low enough to make the added damage against one foe worth it. This has been reported. --Andrew Patrick 21:51, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Voidvector 04:29, 30 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Could you please list which preparations are effected by this? Thanks! --Andrew Patrick 21:51, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I'll look into this, but I would only let them maintain preparations if they can maintain them 100% of the time. Some preparations have a recharge that exceeds their duration so those should only be activated the moment they go into battle. --Draikin 00:29, 11 July 2008 (UTC)
 * We'll take care of making this list. Thank you for the suggestions. -Kim Chase 16:52, 14 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Heroes will now maintain preparations who's durations are long enough to make doing so worthwhile. Preparations with shorter durations will still only use them in combat, but should have a high chance of casting them before attacking or using other skills. -Kim Chase 03:28, 8 August 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 18:35, 17 May 2008 (UTC)
 * What, you want to blind the target that's actually attacking you with a martial weapon? Picky picky. ;) This has been reported. --Andrew Patrick 21:51, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 09:45, 14 June 2008 (UTC)
 * I have reported this, and have shared your concern about HvH balance if heroes begin to use this skill more efficiently. --Andrew Patrick 21:51, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * To clarify my point, it's not that I don't want this skill to be used more efficiently because of R/P and R/W builds in HB. The only way to repair HB is to change the morale meter mechanic, and if that's not going to happen then you might as well update this skill anyway. --Draikin 18:23, 14 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 23:49, 9 September 2007 (UTC)
 * This has been reported, thank you for letting us know. --Andrew Patrick 21:51, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 00:36, 13 September 2007 (UTC)
 * I am mildly concerned about this buffing hero bunnythumpers, but that aside, I have confirmed your findings. I will let Izzy make the call on this one. --Andrew Patrick 21:51, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * To be honest I can agree that this change isn't necessarily a good thing since it promotes degenerate builds, although I'm not sure how much on an issue this is considering the AI fails at maintaining Rampage as One. --Draikin 00:29, 11 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 13:00, 2 October 2007 (UTC)
 * I have passed this on. I don't know if I fully agree with not using Punishing Shot except as an interrupt as it does do pretty decent damage. Granted, most foes are going to cast at some point so it would be wise to wait for that before using it. Either way, this has been reported. --Andrew Patrick 21:51, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 11:02, 7 October 2007 (UTC)
 * Given the rarity of situations where your Ranger will be in combat, but not shoot during the 6 seconds while this skill recharges, I have put this as a low priority. However, I did confirm your finding by entering combat with my Ranger set to passive. That was the only way I could get him to not attack (and in turn, remove Poison Tip Signet) before the 6 seconds it took this skill to recharge had passed. --Andrew Patrick 21:51, 10 July 2008 (UTC)

Ritualist

 * --Draikin 23:49, 9 September 2007 (UTC)
 * A bug has been submitted on this issue. Ben Kirsch 00:27, 15 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Heroes will now use Gaze of Fury on enemy spirits first if possible, putting the next priority on ally spirits with low life. There was a problem with Gaze of Fury not being used against non-attacking spirits that was also fixed. This was probably another reason that the heroes were so fond of killing their own Spirit of Fury before! -Kim Chase 04:19, 8 August 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 23:47, 17 September 2007 (UTC)
 * I have requested that heroes use this skill outside of combat, and also brought up they they aren't properly using the skill's held-effects. Thanks again. -Kim Chase 21:50, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 20:34, 2 January 2008 (UTC)
 * We are looking into whether these skills can be firther optomized. However, as you said, heroes are already pretty awesome at using them. -Kim Chase 19:28, 15 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 21:39, 24 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Wow, that's really strange! I put in a report on this. Thank you! -Kim Chase 21:21, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 19:01, 31 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Yeah, it would be better if heroes used this skill outside of combat as well to support casting binding rituals outside of battle. I have suggested this. Thank you for drawing our attention to this, Draikin. -Kim Chase 21:06, 10 July 2008 (UTC)

Warrior

 * --Draikin 17:54, 19 October 2007 (UTC)
 * A bug has been submitted on this issue. Ben Kirsch 20:09, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Heroes should now use Disarm to interrupt actions, not exclusively attacks. -Kim Chase 04:03, 8 August 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 23:24, 27 November 2007 (UTC)
 * A bug has been submitted for "Retreat!" I was unable to find an issue with "Shields Up!" When testing, my heroes would only use "Shields Up!" if the majority of the party didn't already have it. Ben Kirsch 21:59, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * After testing it again I can confirm "Shields Up!" is indeed used correctly, thanks for submitting the bug report. --Draikin 23:33, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 17:57, 29 March 2008 (UTC)
 * A bug has been submitted on this issue. Ben Kirsch 21:04, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 16:16, 5 April 2008 (UTC)
 * A bug has been submitted on this issue. Ben Kirsch 21:59, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 17:47, 5 April 2008 (UTC)
 * A bug has been submitted for this issue. Ben Kirsch 21:19, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Kim reported that adrenaline skill management for heroes isn't going to change, so I assume this issue won't be resolved either? I'd like to note that I wouldn't prefer this skill to simply be used on recharge either (the way Wild Blow is used now), since that wouldn't actually be much of an improvement for a build that uses other adrenaline skills. --Draikin 18:47, 14 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 17:47, 5 April 2008 (UTC)
 * A bug has been submitted on this issue. Ben Kirsch 21:04, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 21:29, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * A bug has been submitted on this issue. Ben Kirsch 22:32, 10 July 2008 (UTC)

big Common skill issues

 * I mentioned the problems with Disrupting Dagger and Disrupting Throw before (see above), although I kind of disagree on Disrupting Lunge since you can't really expect the AI to time that kind of interrupt (they would have to keep track of the distance between the pet and the target). Changing Castigation Signet (and Bane Signet) so that they only use them on attacking foes would indeed make sense. --Draikin 18:09, 10 November 2007 (UTC)
 * I am making this a "Gray X" becuase these issues have already been reported individually above. If there are other skills that are also having this issue, please make an individual report for it in the section above. Thanks! --Andrew Patrick 22:02, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 23:47, 17 September 2007 (UTC)
 * There have been a number of AI improvements related to "skill combos" over the past couple months. Have those changes resolved this issue, or are you still experiencing the problems you mentioned above? --Andrew Patrick 22:09, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * For assassins I would say the combo's are used correctly now. The "auto-attack in between using skills" issue seems to be a global AI problem which I assume would be difficult to resolve. The issue with the AI not always following a knockdown with the appropriate skill is probably something that can't be resolved either. The AI seems to repeatedly check to see if there's a skill that they can use, rather than actually planning their combo's like human players would. This means they don't differentiate between two different dual attacks, or they might use a random skill on a knocked down target instead of using Crushing Blow. I don't expect a rework of the AI at this point to deal with this limitation, which is also why I often suggest adding more conditional parameters to AI skill usage rather then letting them spam skills on recharge, since that basically forces them to use combo's correctly. --Draikin 23:53, 10 July 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 02:25, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I passed along a list of affected skills. Thanks -Kim Chase 22:39, 11 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Okay, this wasn't happening with all pbaoe skills, but there 29 skills that I found that had the problem you reported. That should be all of them, but let me know if you see this sort of thing happening after today's update. They should now no longer run into close range if the pbaoe skill is disabled. -Kim Chase 05:03, 8 August 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 22:01, 27 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I put a report in on this. Thanks again, Draikin! -Kim Chase 22:47, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

Combat and Behaviour Issues

 * --Draikin 00:36, 13 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Thank you Draikin. This has been reported. -Kim Chase 20:05, 14 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Heroes should not give up on pursuing a target at a range shortly outside the range that the will enter combat in. -Kim Chase 04:08, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
 * This is probably my fault for not being clear enough the issue. In this case, heroes overextending to use a manually ordered skill wasn't actually a bug. Currently they obey flag settings even when ordered manually, while HB players actually used the previous behavior to their advantage. I'm not sure if the new casting bug has anything to do with this change, but in any case heroes overextending to use manually ordered skills is actually a good thing. Sorry for the confusion. --Draikin 22:59, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
 * The specific issue I reported and that was fixed was with heroes using skills that were not manually ordered. As far as the manualy ordered skills, they should give up pursuit at the same range as skills the hero has chosen themselves. They do overextend beyond their combat-entry range, but it's not as far as before, when they only dropped pursuit at radar range. Having heroes increase their pursuit range based on whether a skill was manually ordered or not doesn't seem like it would be intuitive, but instead is something that you have learned and gotten used to over time. -Kim Chase 00:46, 9 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Well basically I agree that it should have been this way from the start, it's just that there are now people complaining about their hero "standing there" when ordered to use a skill on a hero on another shrine. Like you say this is something people got used to and now that it's basically the correct behavior people consider it to be a bug. I don't think it's a real problem either way, in the end it's just a matter of placing an extra flag before using the skill. --Draikin 01:10, 9 August 2008 (UTC)


 * --Draikin 23:46, 24 January 2008 (UTC)
 * We're looking into what we can do about heroes with longer-range weapons entering combat before melee-range heroes.
 * I haven't seen the problem with heroes running back and forth if a target is called that is just inside their range. I'm not saying I've never seen a hero run back and forth before, just that I didn't see it in a controled situation involving calling targets while in this sweetspot. If you have any tips I'd be glad to look at this again. Thank you. -Kim Chase 01:29, 11 July 2008 (UTC)
 * No problem: bring three heroes with you to the Isle of the Nameless: one wielding a spear, one with a sword and one with a staff. Stand well out of range of a stationary target and call it (without attacking it yourself). If you're far enough away from it, the heroes won't run in. Now move one step closer to the target and call it again, and repeat that step until you notice the hero wielding a staff starting to run back and forth. The other heroes still won't move. Moving closer again will eventually cause the hero with a staff to run in and attack the target. As you continue to move closer, the hero wielding a spear will start to run back and forth and eventually attack the target if you get close enough as well. The hero wielding a sword needs to be even closer to the target to display the same behavior. --Draikin 15:47, 11 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Wow, I must have been doing something to invalidate my test before because that was super easy. Thanks for the reality-check, Draiken. -Kim Chase 20:29, 14 July 2008 (UTC)
 * All heroes on the same combat setting should now enter combat at the same radius regardless of weapon equipped. The range chosen was on the lower end, your agressive wanders will now be entering combat at a much shorter range than they were before. -Kim Chase 03:37, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
 * It seems to me the range was actually set to the high end, which would explain the complaints I'm hearing after the update from people saying their heroes are attacking foes outside of their aggro bubble (also see the bug report from Fighterdoken below). Basically it's the melee heroes that now have the same aggro range as casters and not the other way around. This also means that all heroes now begin walking back and forth at the same distance as the casters would before the update. --Draikin 16:14, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Yeah, it looks like they are going too far on defend. Thank you. -Kim Chase 17:34, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the reply, it seems Defend is actually the same setting as Attack now. I also noticed that the old "cancel-cast-cancel" bug heroes always had occurs a lot more after the update, I'll post that in a new topic. --Draikin 17:42, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

We made a couple of changes to how hero combat range works in the update that just occurred. Defend should now have a shorter range now. There may be some situations where you can still have your hero pull a bit away from you but it should be at a minimum now. -Kim Chase 21:24, 8 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Fighterdoken, did you happen to use C + spacebar to walk towards the target and then stop before reaching its aggro bubble? The heroes basically interpret this as a sign that you want to attack that target, and with the latest update they seem to overextend more (see my post above concerning called targets) so that might explain their more aggressive behavior. --Draikin 16:50, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Yeah, they seem to be entering combat on guard at about the same range as when they are on attack. We're looking into this now. Thank you. -Kim Chase 17:34, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Defend should now have a shorter range. This was fixed in the build that just occured. Please let us know if you have any issues. Thank you! -Kim Chase 21:24, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Seems to work now, thanks! --Draikin 22:45, 8 August 2008 (UTC)