Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Full Combat AI for Companions?

Something that this game lacks that BG1 and 2 did have is full combat AI.....Now obviously I know this is turn based and proper group positioning really really makes fights easier but I can't help but see all the complaints about difficulty, unfair dice rolls, and slow combat from people still struggling to grasp that this is not a side scrolling hack and slash and think that not having to control your companions might alleviate some of their pains.

Similar to BG1&2, you could have per class options on ranged, aggressive, spell use, etc and just have the first turn of each character have the option to select which AI you want to use for that fight. Complainers will probably still complain....but it would speed up combat, throw less numbers to understand at new players, and a non controlled miss that's done in 2 seconds doesn't sting as bad as positioning your guy for high ground, aiming at a 1 hp mage, seeing a 95% chance to hit and watching as he shimmies to the side leaving you with nothing but an End Turn option.

I don't think this would take much development time....combat AI's for each individual enemy already exist would just take a little tweaking. This could already be planned for story mode or something but I haven't seen anything about it.

It seems to me that companions AI will make this kind of game slower, not faster. If 10 characters are fighting and you control 4 of of them you have to wait for the others' turn. If you control only 1 of ten you have to wait much more and you are very limited in your own turn

More or less, yeah.
Also, on a side note the AI in BG1 and 2 was utter garbage and I always had it turned off by default.

I think I would prefer this approach; or maybe something along the lines of Dragon Age Oranges. I think toggling on/off is certainly a practical concept and it would probably help people like me: whatever else I might be able to do, I'm really no sort of tactician.

I want party ai. i got burned out micro managing the divinity series

Whatever Dragon Age Oranges is, I want to play it. Sorry, couldn't resist...please don't ban me!

Can't see the harm in including an AI function but prefer full control myself in games of this ilk.

I’m not sure the problems brought up are solved by the proposed solution. Here are the problems highlighted by the OP as I understand them:
1. High difficulty
2. Unfair dice rolls
3. Slow combat
4. Steep learning curve.

1. High difficulty would be best solved through difficulty settings. Companion AI could either increase or decrease the difficulty, based on how it is implemented. What it would definitely do is remove player agency.

2. Lack of player agency is at the core of the problem with unfair dice rolls. (Player tried to do a thing, but game wrested control from them and said thing didn’t get done.) Companion AI would still have to roll dice, failure would be no less frequent. I believe failed rolls would be all the more disheartening if they were the result of automated decisions, because the player had no say at all in the matter.

3. Players already have no say outside their turn. Because enemy turns as so slow and plentiful, combat feels sluggish. However the pace picks up when the player is given control back. As others have pointed out, making companions automated would make their turns slow and strip 75% of the player’s actual game-time, both of which increase the boring, slow-feeling wait time between turns.

4. Automating companions would alleviate the mental load on newer players. However, it wouldn’t help them learn any of the tools they need to understand what’s going on. Get a player to high ground, they beat an encounter. Teach them to get to high ground, they beat the game.

All in all, I think the OP would be happier with a few changes to difficulty and learning curve than a system that handles a good chunk of the core gameplay loop in their stead.