They are. Shaman (orc I guess) used lightning bolt close to every time I see them. And they walked to target more characters, avoiding their friends at the same time.
And ennemies often move in/out your firewall and your spirit guardian, which means that the AI is trying to avoid damages... but the creatures just does not have any tools to range attack.
Would it be a better AI if they were just staying away while you're killing them ? The AI is not the problem. Creatures lack of tools / ranged attack may be one...
What's doing the AI in BG3 when the creatures cannot attack you for any reason ? Slowly dying without moving. Is that because the AI is not smart enough ?
As an exemple, just think about the owlbear when you're going "higher"
On the other hand if every creatures had tools and were smart enough to avoid such spells... These spells would be useless whatever we're talking about Solasta or BG3.
Just like in BG3, the ennemies use the verticality at their advantage with more variation in Solasta, they push you but also prone you, they play with the light, try to kill your characters, try to engage your ranged, use bane, slow and other debuff, use thunderwave a lot (which is less spectacular and OP than in BG3), and so on,...
Well, again, BG3 isn't a finished game and some tweaking is still needed but I already demonstrated that the AI is much more sophisticated in Bg3 than it is in Solasta. The enemies for the most part also have a lot more tools to work with. But I think you nailed the point; the creatures in Solasta do not have enough tools to work with, being constrained is a blade that cuts both ways and it results in fights that are badly devised and not well-balanced, and too easy. So bad AI and no tools make for a game that is ridiculously easy.
You could say that in a way - Solasta is a perfect demonstration why Larian has worked so hard to try to balance encounters by doing homebrew mechanics for creatures. Making sure that the mobs have as many tools as possible to work with so they don't end up - for example - being a dumb flying creatures that's only move is to move in and out of range before/after it attacks - setting itself up for multiple opportunity attacks and allowing it to get hit with persistent aoe spells like Spirit Guardian.
It gets to the heart of the problem with video games - no human DM to allow for creative behavior/schemes/attacks. So you try to come up with other ways to express that behavior.
I hope Larian fixes all the exploits, 100% I do. I want BG3 to be even more challenging than it is and I don't want anyone to have an easy out unless they choose "story mode". Solasta may get the technical stuff right, but Larian does a much better job of making the encounters feel up to the appropriate challenge level of D&D.
I respectfully disagree that the AI is smarter in BG3 than in Solasta but I agree that ennemies in BG3 have more tools... (And obviously that BG3 is in EA while Solasta is 1.0
)
Is having more tool always better ? I really don't think so.
You talked about guardian spirit and fire wall and I cannot disagree : it is overkill in Solasta.
But how to make those spells enjoyable /usefull if every creatures has a solution to range attack for the entire combats, a solution to insta break your concentration (surfaces flasks) and/or if they were "smart enough" not to come in the AoE ?
Just as you I'm 100% fine with a harder game than Solasta but the authentic mode is already challenging for new players. Challenging... but fair.
Just look at their discord or some forums talking about the game, a lot of new players are asking for advices.
Also, did you roll your abilities or played with point buy ? I tried both and this really increased the difficulty.
This is something we cannot try in BG3 but I guess it will also decrease the difficulty.
The problem with BG3's additional tools is that they're way too powerfull on both side.
- The game is extremely easy if you use them and it would be terrible if the AI was able to use them as much/as smart as us (diping, shove, backstab, avoid 100% of the AOO, and so on)
On the other hand, the tools they added to creatures and the combat design supposed to balance our "homebrewed tools" are also completely broken.
- A lot of creatures can litterally kill one or more of your characters during their first turn, concentration is broken way too easily, the harpy fight is a pain because they can fly, the combat outside the goblins camp is a pain because there are way too many ennemies, you miss more often because they increased some AC, they increased the goblins HP so you have 0 chance to OS one of them, lots of creatures makes better ST than they should because their dexterity has been increased, and so on...
The result is that combats are often unfair and frustrating (please, try to set your mind in the head of a new player that hasn't played hundreds of hours and/or that doesn't know DnD) and that your sucess rely on several custom and OP mechanics. The most challenging combats are limited to "smart moves to nuke your opponent before being nuked". This makes combats way less deep than they should and reduce A LOT our creativity and the usefullness of many tools that are included in DnD (and in BG3).
Solasta may be too easy but Solasta has fair combats and every spells and choices are valuable even if some are better than others depending the situation.
You can end the game without spirit guardian and fire wall even in scavenger or cataclysm mode because other level 3 and 4 spells are also powerfull. Will we be able to end BG3 at higher difficulty without using any "op larianisms" ? (from mechanics to consumables and so on...) I really doubt.
If Larian's will was to create more challenging combats (I don't think so, really), their answer was completely wrong according to me.
If their will was to add new custom mechanics and/or tools, I'm 100% fine with it but the answer was also wrong and created many huge issues everywhere that doesn't exist neither in DnD, neither in Solasta.
