@Riandor : basically, you are having difficulties performing an ambush. I share your difficulties.
The game does a poor job at managing who gets drawn into combat mode and who doesn't. This has already been reported a while ago, see this old thread/posts for example.
Originally Posted by JandK
I understand that you want them to take their attack while they are in stealth mode, but I suppose it's hard for the computer to know that. For instance, imagine if your character went into stealth and took an attack of opportunity when you didn't want them to. Suddenly, that would be the complaint because the character would be coming out of stealth prematurely.
One could argue that if the player left the Opportunity Attack toggle ON in the current system, the played wanted the characters to take an Opportunity Attack at the first opportunity.
And of course, all this wouldn't be a problem in the first place if we had full control over our Reactions ... But that's a different topic.
Coming back to party controls,
Originally Posted by JandK
Originally Posted by fylimar
Yeah, the chain system is not getting better - companions are stuck all the time and often follow through fire and other perils. It really is annoying.
I haven't noticed this as a big problem myself, but that aside, what you're describing is a pathing issue, not a problem with the chain system.
Correct, but the two are very linked. The pathing issue only highlights the problems many have with the chain system. And when characters don't walk through fire to get closer to the selected character (as the chain system compels them to, even when the player didn't want the other characters to move), they might walk in line of sight of another enemy and thus get into an unwanted fight.
Also, for context, BG1&2 also had a relatively bad pathing. But I rarely experienced the problems I experience in BG3. In part because the old system allowed for party formations.
Yes in part. I used that as one example of the issues the Chain system brings with it. I want to maintain "Advantage", so that Astarion can Sneak Attack, but I won't have that if he can't strike from the shadows (or unless I move him behind after an enemy is already engaged in melee combat).
But even more basic than that, if I want an archer at a better vantage point to the rest of my party, I cannot set that up and engage in combat without the same issue of Initiaive tracker missing them off. Again, I was under the impression that everyone at a certain distance was always pulled into TB, but that ddistance seems very small and doesn't do it whilst in stealth full stop as far as I can tell. The quick "fix" is to hit the G key, but frankly, once TB has been engaged, all party members in the same "locale" should be pulled into TB, what they do with their turn (including travelling further away/shop etc...) should be irrelevant.
Forgetting to unchain can also be a death sentence, click on a portrait and send them to a differernt location and watch in horror as the party reforms behind the person you have selected and triggers LOS, Traps, walks into enveironmental hazards... Now Yes, you could say that's user error, but it's non intuitive and too prone to mistakes being made, as such it just isn't player friendly. In short it creates more problems that it in any way appears to solve.
You would be better off having a Toggle switch for "follow party leader", so that for mundane running around you only have to control the 1 chracter.
