Chocobo Companion AI is Awful

[Fyrebrand]

OMG, something seriously needs to be done about Chocobo Companions. It is easily the game's worst feature, and proabably one of the worst-implemented features in all of MMORPGs. And not just for the shoddy AI the Chocobo has, but because it's also completely incompatible with the rest of the game. Can't summon mounts with it. Can't queue in DF. It's like the people who coded Chocobo Companion had never even heard of FFXIV.

I swear when SE introduced the choco companion system, they mentioned that the chocobo would be controlled through "gambits"; I was hoping this would be similar to the system used in FFXII as opposed to the simplistic mess they have now.

FFXII's Gambit system is seriously amazing. If any game has to have some kind of pet/ally AI, I want this to be the standard. Dragon Age has a similarly excellent system.

Don't forget the way chocobos react on those leves where you have to /soothe something to pacify it. I always put it on healer mode because it's screwed me a few times on ones where one death means failure.

This is exactly what came to mind for me when I saw this thread. What gets me is, if you Sleep a target, the chocobo will stop attacking it. So, it's perfectly easy for them to script the AI so that it recognizes certain status effects and lays off if an enemy has a specific status. When you /soothe a monster, it gets a "pacified" status or something like that. How hard is it to just apply the same behaviour to that, as it does to Sleep status!? I may not be a professional game designer or programmer, but I'm pretty sure this is not rocket science.

[Ilenya]

OMG, something seriously needs to be done about Chocobo Companions. It is easily the game's worst feature, and proabably one of the worst-implemented features in all of MMORPGs. And not just for the shoddy AI the Chocobo has, but because it's also completely incompatible with the rest of the game. Can't summon mounts with it. Can't queue in DF. It's like the people who coded Chocobo Companion had never even heard of FFXIV.

I most certainly can summon a mount with my chocobo out. It's called using the right mount calling option and not the roulette.

[Coatl]

You can only summon the chocobo mount if your have your companion out.

[Adrian74]

Ah.... I COULDN'T AGREE MORE WITH THE OP...

I usually laugh in my lovely server saying that I'm a noob and actually my dear chocobo is the pro, but.... But... Damn...

It is indeed a help, I would not be able to level my nin so fast without it, but for some contents it is just useless.... I'm going to say the things I hate of my level 17 pro-chocobo:

<-- Things I hate -->

- Dumb Healer Stance. I don't know why the chocobo has to be exactly touching me, always together with me in that stance, ready for eating the next boss AoE and die in a stupid way, this is one of the things that most infuriate me... WHY?!... You are a healer, damn, stay away!....It makes its heal useless except in meaningless FATES or other places.... Even if I try to move all the time so even the chocobo would dodge some areas it will soon or late eat one.

- "ignore mode". My chocobo ignores some enemies in a brutal way, unlike the pets. A enemy attacking? He doesn't care... I use AoE? He doesn't care. I put poisons and use bane? After attacking and killing the first he won't care.

- Awful Skill Selection. A bird, indeed, and that's why I want to change it to a retainer!... Why does it have a super AoE attack with a better potency than the solo target one if it only uses it in the worse moments? The AoE is only used once when there are some mobs I don't want to attack in a fate surrounding boss, so, okay, extra work for me because it is so stupid that won't use AoE again for dealing with the adds, and if I don't do anything it will eventually die. Medica, let's not talk 'bout medica.....

- /cac command. There's a command in macro list called "companion actions" /cac.... Don't know if any of you noticed but I was surprised with it and after reading it of course I tried many combinations.... Just for.... Nothing, it doesn't work, total useless. [It is not /pac (Pet actions) ].

But luckily not everything about my pro chocobo is so bad....Going to praise only this...

<-- Things I like-->

- Free Stance. Actually the most clever one the chocobo has, seriously. If it wins the aggro it will become stubborn and try to maintain it, if your HP drops around 80% or so it will give you a regen, if it drops to 50% or less it will use cure, normally. And it will stay in some cool position attacking the monster, NOT ASIDE YOU....But still you risk that it won't give you a needed heal in this stance and you die.

- Attacker Stance. One of the most useful ones when you don't need healing, not the best but, hey, not bad for a birdie... I have seen it many times stunning my enemies in epic moments, I wonder if it was luck or randomness but.... Alexandrite maps, stunning the morbol when I couldn't run away.... Love.

<-- Things I want to add to the system -->

- Replace my chocobo for retainers. That'd be the first quick fix to the system, allow them to eat the chocobo so they win the level 16, or a portion of it. Give them extra bonus because my chocobo is bigger than my lala retainers.

- Gambit System. I loved that in FFXII, even if, have to admit it made it a bit automatic in most cases... IS not so baddish for companions/pets...If not, at least... Allow us to control the skills of the bird manually with /cac...

- Place. Just like the command for pets, please please please.

- TP and MP bar. I understand if we would be able to just spam choco heal, choco medica and choco blast to our own will it would be overpowered... So why not make small little TP and MP bar for the companion? Not even numbers needed, just something to check and let refresh sometime so we can at least use those skills when we really need them. (Yes, I'd prefer to use a limited amount of those but when I want, than let the chocobo do it unlimited and dumb)

- Super Catnip Mode. Allow my chocobo to share the stats of my neko-chan when she activates super catnip mode, increasing attack speed +75%, damage +50%, defense +50%.... Let it be stackable with sylkis attack buff.

<-- General Conclusion -->

" Please, fix my chocobo, my DPS and tank classes can't solo Marraco "

[Stihllodeing]

Uh.. Actually there is nothing wrong with the AI.

A Chocobo has a "Bird Brain". If they get any smarter, they would be replacing Roegadyn as a PC playable race, making Roegadyn as the game's over-glorified transport mule.

Me like chocobo. Me love chocobo. Me no like you say what you sayed.

[OdinEon]

What did you expect from a giant chicken that willingly comes to a whistle, if they were smarter they would probably just run away.

[Doki]

Nearly at rank 19 now with my bird. The +45% chance to crit is pretty nifty. It still stays in attacker stance 90% of the time, with micromanagement of follow and attacker to make it always attack my target during maps where it would otherwise just stick like glue to the first target. Gambits would be awesome, but suspect it won't happen any year soon.

[Erudain]

Well...I mean, have you seen its head? it's 30% beak, 40% huge eyes....not a great space left for a brain.
Still I love my dumb Choco....they are just so cute.

[DSaint]

Noob chocobos.
Yeah, my chocobo eat every single aoe...

lolcobos

[Maero]

lol i must agree. My chocobo is @ lvl 10 and all stats spent on healing,
Well at times even @ 3/4 health and i am dying he heals himself instead, like really? No carrots for you, lol