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#725026 01/11/20 04:18 PM
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Why does EVERY enemy focus GALE? Do the robes give off the Mage vibe? I'm trying to figure out from a games mechanic why ranged mobs burn Gale down even before there is a chance for him to do anything. It must be the robes...right?!

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Try mage armor (remains on you for the whole day!)+ cleric blessing spell+ bane on enemies. It will give him enough survivability for him to blast those bitches wink

He might die eventually somewhere in the middle of the process but it doesn't matter, he will do his dmg by then.

Last edited by virion; 01/11/20 04:31 PM.

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I believe the AI is omniscient similarly to the player (examine enemy) and knows who has the lower AC, so yeah kind of the robes smile

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The enemy AI is extremely cruel, they pretty much always go for weak/downed party members first. Once we get difficulty options the fights will probably be more balanced in this regard. My tip for now is to try to get him to higher ground at the start of a fight.
But I think you're onto something, one thing I as a player have learned (the hard way) in tabletop games, is to always kill the casters first.

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Kill the wizard first is a time honored strategy. Wizards are glass cannons and you want to break them before they can get the fireball off.

But with the homebrew rules, the AI is wrong. The HP bloat / AC reduction nerfed the spells and the AI should be trying to take out Laezel.

I'd have no problem with the AI if the assumptions behind it were correct.

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Originally Posted by KillerRabbit
Kill the wizard first is a time honored strategy. Wizards are glass cannons and you want to break them before they can get the fireball off.

But with the homebrew rules, the AI is wrong. The HP bloat / AC reduction nerfed the spells and the AI should be trying to take out Laezel.

I'd have no problem with the AI if the assumptions behind it were correct.


True story. It's always Laezel and Astarion shredding the enemy while they expose themselves chasing Gale.

Even if it makes sense to kill the mage first, you wouldn't do so at the risk of getting cleaved or stabbed in the back by the fighter/rogue that's in arms reach from you.


Verily it is written that the Omnissiah grants his blessing to those who come well-equipped with explosives. -Aphorisms 96.9
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They should give the AI a stupidity level. Int 2 enemies would perceive everyone as the same threat, while int 12 enemies would spot the wizard and attack him.

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I actually appreciate this. I always kill wizards first, so this is only fair. That said, Mage Armor + abjuration specialization + good positioning will keep Gale safe.

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Don't forget Mirror Image, immense AC boost for no concentration. The AI generally leaves high AC alone, so now you have to protect your fighters again.


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Originally Posted by rodeolifant
Don't forget Mirror Image, immense AC boost for no concentration. The AI generally leaves high AC alone, so now you have to protect your fighters again.

Exactly.

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I've had discussions in the past about whether or not it is using meta-knowledge to target the guy in robes/clothes because he's "obviously" a wizard or sorcerer. After all, there are many things he might be, including a merchant, a party scribe or a fancily-dressed rogue.

The consensus is generally that the world of D&D is what it is, and the creatures within it all live by the metaphysical laws that surround them. Therefore, most intelligent folk will know what adventuring parties consist of, and therefore that the arcane casters are liable to be the ones in the lightest (or missing) armour. The same argument goes when you have players comparing their levels and classes. If these things are fundamental to the way the universe operates, then why would the people not be aware of it?

It's an interesting way of looking at the game. I prefer to operate my games without this "meta", but I can see why others might follow that logic.

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"FOOLSSS... Kill the one in the dress!"

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He looked at them funny.

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The AI seems hardwired to only go after the enemy with the lowest AC. While I can appreciate a healthy dose of "geek the mage" in the AI's tactics I do feel it needs to be a little more complicated.

At a DnD table the DM chooses what target the enemies will go after in an intuitive way an AI can't perfectly replicate. But the AI could have some weighted variables that simulate that intuitiveness.

For example. They could heavily prioritize low AC enemies as a baseline but also factor in proximity. And the idea of taking an attack of opportunity to reach the low AC target should be an equally massive priority shift to attack whatever you can already reach.

And of course disengage needs to not be a bonus action for everyone. Jumping also needs to proc attacks of opportunity.

Amusingly the best tank I've been able to make so far is my dwarf ranger. AC is just a middling 16ish with medium armor but he has massive amounts of HP. When he's in their faces enemies seem to actually take swings at him rather than run past him to kill Gale.

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You get several mage armor scrolls as you travel around. You could use those rather than spend a spell slot if you are worried about firepower. But yeah, Boost Gale with Mage Armor, Boost Shadowheart with Magic Scale (tiefling has a set), etc.

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I get the impression a lot of people haven't been using mage armor on Gale and not realising that the A.I goes after the easiest opponent to kill first.

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Originally Posted by Quietwulf
I get the impression a lot of people haven't been using mage armor on Gale and not realising that the A.I goes after the easiest opponent to kill first.
+1

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This doesn't really happen in my game. I do always use Mage Armor, and so Gale, Shadowheart, and my rogue all have roughly the same AC. But I have Lae'zel with 22 AC and even she gets attacked a fair bit of the time. Some of that might have to do with how I position my characters, though. Often I make it so the only character they can really get to or target is Lae'zel, by keeping the others high up, far away, or hidden.

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The AI seems pretty simplistic at the moment - it simply attacks whoever is easiest to hit. If you pump up Gale's AC (Mage Armor, Mirror Image) enemies will ignore him. If you want another character to draw fire, lower their AC.

Once barbarians are in the game they should be effective tanks by using their Reckless Assault ability to make themselves easy targets.


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