Petition: Bring back mob AI!

After extensive testing I've confirmed that most (If not all) cases of accidental agro while "Walking" happen due to server delays.

I should note most of my tests varied by finding the small agro circle sound for a Mob and doing 3 test.

• Agro range (Seemed to varry depending on how far away you were before you started moving, another hint at server lag being key to this issue)
• Start walking far away from mob and towards them (very few to no random agros on all tests)
• Start walking close to agro range (few agros but higher than far away)
• Start close to agro range, initiate walk key and wait a few moments (as many incidents as being far away...very few)

Concluding the results of my test (Smallish only 10 or so tets per variable) the server may think you are still "Running" for a few moments after you click the walk key and start moving.

I would like to see this return to FFXIV. I been playing another game recently and that has great mob AI behaviour. The animals in that game would also walk by and watch you craft or harvest. Animals also moved in herds which gave a real feel to the world.

Why can't they restore mob AI and make it so that when you draw your weapon they run away? Its puzzles me. IT PUZZLES ME.

you do know they took out even MORE mob AI, where the mob runs around and what not(don't know if they did that last patch or the patch coming up)

Signed! Anything that makes the world feel like a living, breathing environment is more immersive and invariably, more fun. Add back all the monster quirks instead of just making them pace back and forth. That would add a lot to the game.

Man i really hope people don't associate this with the recent "Pettition" fare threads we have seen recently. Remember folks this is the petition thread that started the fad!

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...floating-birds.

wasn't that one posted before this one?

Signed in agreement

Marmots still run away, what more do you need.

I would like mobs IA back but with more interaction porpouses than just a "good lookin" feature. and back then was crappy when you accidentally ended with alot of agro, but it made the game more lively and forced you be more aware of your surroundings.

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Originally Posted by Jinko

Marmots still run away, what more do you need.

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They wont next patch

SIGNED! WTH?! I missed this?! SE please bring back the AI.. that must have been so awesome lol

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Originally Posted by illriginalized

SIGNED! WTH?! I missed this?! SE please bring back the AI.. that must have been so awesome lol

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I'm sorry it hardly anything awesome about any of the mobs A.I. efts or w/e going into active to attack you was not awesome it just let you get away from them...

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Originally Posted by Firon

I'm sorry it hardly anything awesome about any of the mobs A.I. efts or w/e going into active to attack you was not awesome it just let you get away from them...

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Yeah it's so much better that nothing even looks at you anymore and just has a 1000 yard stare..../sarcasm.

It may have not been the best AI ever but it's the best I've seen in a MMO for monsters to actively target and track you, follow you with their heads, be alerted to sound and acting realistically instead of a blind monster...attacking everything that makes a sound.

They were baby steps that probably had plans on expanding but once again the playerbase over-reacted to the launch shunning anything and everything to do with the game to hop on the "I hate ___ train" and the Mob AI was nixed when it was a feature that could have been so much more with a few tweaks.

I'm still not sure why next to all behavioural traits were removed, I can understand the curious AI but everything else should have stayed intact hell most of them were athstetic more than practical, like the red crabs who would rear up on there legs when someone entered near their agro range.

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Originally Posted by Jynx

Yeah it's so much better that nothing even looks at you anymore and just has a 1000 yard stare..../sarcasm.

It may have not been the best AI ever but it's the best I've seen in a MMO for monsters to actively target and track you, follow you with their heads, be alerted to sound and acting realistically instead of a blind monster...attacking everything that makes a sound.

They were baby steps that probably had plans on expanding but once again the playerbase over-reacted to the launch shunning anything and everything to do with the game to hop on the "I hate ___ train" and the Mob AI was nixed when it was a feature that could have been so much more with a few tweaks.

I'm still not sure why next to all behavioural traits were removed, I can understand the curious AI but everything else should have stayed intact hell most of them were athstetic more than practical, like the red crabs who would rear up on there legs when someone entered near their agro range.

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Your making it sound like more than what it was every mob already tracks you with trier heads and stuff. The crab stuff was ok but how many of them did you normally encounter during the game? Cause last time i recall they were all 70+

I severely miss the old AI's and have argued that there was little reason to remove them in the first place. The worst being the 'curious' personality like goats but such an issue can be avoided by analyzing the battle field before engaging. I recall a picture depicting what this game's combat would be like before the game came out. It said that battle placement would matter and require strategy and thought. Combat lost that factor (other then in the case of very well thought out battles like ifrit, which in that case the developers have done a great job with). At least with these AIs there was some planning to placement and understanding your surroundings required. Apparently no one was smart enough to figure this out though and just complained instead.

They're also getting rid of enemies that run away when hit like marmots and getting rid of enemies that run around while engaged like cactuars next patch.

This is completely unneeded. I understand it's to make the game more streamlined and the combat more user friendly. But really, cactuars moving around is part of what makes them a unique enemy to fight. Use your head when using combos, know your enemy and time it right. If you can't do that learn not to fight enemies that can outsmart you by running around a little. Getting rid of this is just another step this game is taking towards the black and white world of a modern day mmo.

ff xi AI was ahead of it's time. Even Wow couldn't come close to it with the typical "Stupid" AI. THen again FFXI AI would mess with you and make your life a living hell if given a chance.

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Originally Posted by Firon

I'm sorry it hardly anything awesome about any of the mobs A.I. efts or w/e going into active to attack you was not awesome it just let you get away from them...

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as if they are hard to avoid with their stupid aggro indicator and level/color right next to their name... this game hands you all the answers. Where to get a quest, where to get a quest item, what level the mobs are, if they will aggro, nothing is left up to imagination or guessing.

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Originally Posted by Firon

Your making it sound like more than what it was every mob already tracks you with trier heads and stuff. The crab stuff was ok but how many of them did you normally encounter during the game? Cause last time i recall they were all 70+

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I encountered

Marmots
Funguar
Wolf
Antelope
Qiqrin
Efts

all the time in the game. While a few had special agro mechanics that even when extremly high level allowed you to be around them if you had 2 brain cells to rub together.

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Originally Posted by Jynx

I encountered

Marmots
Funguar
Wolf
Antelope
Qiqrin
Efts

all the time in the game. While a few had special agro mechanics that even when extremly high level allowed you to be around them if you had 2 brain cells to rub together.

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none of that stuff made the actual fights more fun tho... Except fungars now that's good mob A.I but the rest was just shity aggro mechanics. Also Effts aggro you no matter what if you moved or not. I would love to see better A.I but what we had was shity.

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Originally Posted by Morticous

as if they are hard to avoid with their stupid aggro indicator and level/color right next to their name... this game hands you all the answers. Where to get a quest, where to get a quest item, what level the mobs are, if they will aggro, nothing is left up to imagination or guessing.

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Right cause i bet you was playing XI with the wiki open.... Knowing weather a mob aggro or not does not make it more hard or challenging.

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Originally Posted by Firon

Right cause i bet you was playing XI with the wiki open.... Knowing weather a mob aggro or not does not make it more hard or challenging.

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i can safely say i did not go to some FFXI wiki to find out which mobs aggroed, i learned that myself. Just because I know how to beat Ifrit dosn't mean i think he should instantly die now when i enter his fight. Just because i can find a map on google dosnt mean i still wont buy or quest them myself in game. Even if it is on some wiki page and i want to find it, it adds one more level of complexity in order to do so.

WHy bother buying this game at all when you have the internet as a tool to both watch every cut scene on youtube and read the ending of every quest on a wiki? Youtube is FREE!!!!!!!

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Originally Posted by Firon

I'm sorry it hardly anything awesome about any of the mobs A.I. efts or w/e going into active to attack you was not awesome it just let you get away from them...

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I'm sorry.. but a crab lifting it's claw as you approach it? That's awesome. That's realistic. Sorry AI isn't good enough for you lolwat <_<;

Wolves would do the same thing before you actually hit agro range they would perk up and look right at you in a agressive stance.

Hmmmmm, I find it funny people are arguing about a FEATURE they took OUT of the GAME when everyone on here LOVES features to not be taken out of the game!!! Oh wait... this made the fights harder... that's right, silly me. Carry on.

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Originally Posted by Rokien

Hmmmmm, I find it funny people are arguing about a FEATURE they took OUT of the GAME when everyone on here LOVES features to not be taken out of the game!!! Oh wait... this made the fights harder... that's right, silly me. Carry on.

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Not every feature added to the game is a good one and not every feature removed from it is a bad one.

My point was it made the game harder.....

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Originally Posted by Alerith

Not every feature added to the game is a good one and not every feature removed from it is a bad one.

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http://images.cheezburger.com/comple...5539206554.gif

My mind has been blown.

Frankly I kinda liked it, but as the Dev said AoE tagging really made things a pain. Maybe if they implemented something like a startle tactic that would scare nearby unclaimed mobs away from the target when you engage it, somewhat similar to how Capricious Cassie scares Trents off when she does a breath move. It doesn't have to be for all mobs, but perhaps just for curious mobs that used to follow you around.

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Originally Posted by illriginalized

I'm sorry.. but a crab lifting it's claw as you approach it? That's awesome. That's realistic. Sorry AI isn't good enough for you lolwat <_<;

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Like i said the A.I in this game was shity no matter what you think about it, like someone said above me XI A.I was ahead of its time and i still think its 100x better than XIV's . If we get more stuff like mobs deaggroing you when you run through water, aggro ja's, magic aggro, aggro ppl who walk pass them in heavy armor, certain monster building hate for killing thier kin etc. All the stuff we had before added nothing to the game, except the Fungars.

What would be more realistic about the crabs if they hid under the beach sand and you could only see the top of their shell and they would aggro you when you run by. So much stuff they could have done better than the shitty A.I we had. I mean they couldn't even out do FF XII A.I... I'm all for more A.I but the stuff we had was terrible, I would love to see stuff like Pieste fighting goats near camp blue fog to feast on them, or an Goat who attacks the plant like monsters to eat them, or the Birds feeding on the rats in the LL region.

Oh god this game need Antlion style monsters again. I remember running through attowah chasm the first time and then getting dropkicked by a antlion....

*edit*

But I doubt we will ever see it, the community is it's own worst enemy in this game.
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We had the fledgling AI in the game.
Community: DAMN MONKIES FOLLOWING ME Nerf it!

We had monsters who were stronger but gave better exp per kill.
Community: I killed a lvl 40 doremouse and it gave me less SP than a lvl 40 eft! NERF IT!

Didn't know if a monster was agressive until we found out for ourselves.
Community: I need to know what level / agressive non agressive of everything evar!
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Do you think people would respond well to something like a monster that is hidden from sight until it attacks unless you pay attention?

Monsters that build a grudge? The community will have a heart attack because it makes the game harder or make you actually pay attention. The only way people would tolerate it is if it was only in a small instanced zone screw that open world junk!


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*sigh*

I guess people just want the mobs to stand still and get slaughtered. Many don't even pay attention to the small portion of mob behavior SE left in the game, like different aggro types. I'd love to see more elaborate monster AI because then the game at least had some challenge.

Hell I'd be slightly happy if they brought back blood agro even. Not like people spend any time in the "Yellow and red" though recovery from battle is so lightning quick these days.

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Originally Posted by Jynx

Hell I'd be slightly happy if they brought back blood agro even. Not like people spend any time in the "Yellow and red" though recovery from battle is so lightning quick these days.

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People cant handle waiting for anything so waiting for health is a NONO.

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Originally Posted by Firon

Like i said the A.I in this game was shity no matter what you think about it, like someone said above me XI A.I was ahead of its time and i still think its 100x better than XIV's . If we get more stuff like mobs deaggroing you when you run through water, aggro ja's, magic aggro, aggro ppl who walk pass them in heavy armor, certain monster building hate for killing thier kin etc. All the stuff we had before added nothing to the game, except the Fungars.

What would be more realistic about the crabs if they hid under the beach sand and you could only see the top of their shell and they would aggro you when you run by. So much stuff they could have done better than the shitty A.I we had. I mean they couldn't even out do FF XII A.I... I'm all for more A.I but the stuff we had was terrible, I would love to see stuff like Pieste fighting goats near camp blue fog to feast on them, or an Goat who attacks the plant like monsters to eat them, or the Birds feeding on the rats in the LL region.

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Just because YOU didn't like it, doesn't make it a crappy mechanic.

According to this thread, 400+ loved the feature, and it seems that you are one of the few that didn't like it at all. Even the mob trains weren't that bad. You don't AoE when there are other mobs around you that you haven't aggrod, so what's the difference with the ones that follow you? I thought it was great.

I remember walking through the Black Shroud the first couple weeks and I couldn't get passed this one wolf. He would turn to me and I'd run away. Then figured if I stay a certain distance from him while he's still looking at me, I'd be fine.

This was a great immersive feature that was added and taken away because the community at the time (that is most likely not here anymore) complained about it.

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Originally Posted by DeadRiser

Just because YOU didn't like it, doesn't make it a crappy mechanic.

According to this thread, 400+ loved the feature, and it seems that you are one of the few that didn't like it at all. Even the mob trains weren't that bad. You don't AoE when there are other mobs around you that you haven't aggrod, so what's the difference with the ones that follow you? I thought it was great.

I remember walking through the Black Shroud the first couple weeks and I couldn't get passed this one wolf. He would turn to me and I'd run away. Then figured if I stay a certain distance from him while he's still looking at me, I'd be fine.

This was a great immersive feature that was added and taken away because the community at the time (that is most likely not here anymore) complained about it.

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Bad A.I is bad A.I don't get your panties in a bunch. I want better A.I, and not the crap we had before, Like i said in my other post i want better A.I like XI had which was pretty good which they could make better.

Example of the bad A.I: Your leve mob who is invisible to other players which are goats. You go to the yellow marker on the map and your mob is not there, now you know what you have to do? Now you have to spend 15 min looking for the mob you was suppose to kill. That's bad A.I, that's why it's out the game.

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Hell I'd be slightly happy if they brought back blood agro even. Not like people spend any time in the "Yellow and red" though recovery from battle is so lightning quick these days.

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Yes Blood aggro was fun bring that back, even tho hp regens fast it could still be useful. I would like for all Animal type monsters to track by scent.

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Originally Posted by Firon

I would like for all Animal type monsters to track by scent.

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We would have to do away with the terrible leashing mechanics that monsters have today. Again another product of the community monsters will only follow for a set distance and apparantly lose interest in us (even if we just stabbed it in the face funny enough).

I'd love to hear if 2.0 will keep these terrible leash and rubber-banding mechanics that we had introduced into the game.

I remember when a monster would chase me through the whole damn zone if it had to.

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Originally Posted by Jynx

But I doubt we will ever see it, the community is it's own worst enemy in this game.

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This is probably the biggest thing hurting this game. Almost makes me think we should never have gotten a forum. Just kinda makes this issue stand out much more.

People LOVE THE AGGRO ICON! You can't take that away(I tried) lol

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Originally Posted by Jynx

Hell I'd be slightly happy if they brought back blood agro even. Not like people spend any time in the "Yellow and red" though recovery from battle is so lightning quick these days.

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Originally Posted by Jynx

We would have to do away with the terrible leashing mechanics that monsters have today. Again another product of the community monsters will only follow for a set distance and apparantly lose interest in us (even if we just stabbed it in the face funny enough).

I'd love to hear if 2.0 will keep these terrible leash and rubber-banding mechanics that we had introduced into the game.

I remember when a monster would chase me through the whole damn zone if it had to.

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Yeah i was thinking about the leashing thing they should just get rid of it and make mobs depop when they loose aggro. (so no grieving tactics)

Edit don't know why it quoted your old one but w/e. @ Rokien You can turn off aggro icons if you want to walk around w/o them.