Combat Medic Archive

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Today we started are kicking around ideas to make pet combat a lot more challenging. I see it this way: we built an AI system that reacts well to individual players and player groups... but there are no special consideration for the powerful creatures that players employ.

I think that the combat behaviors (especially those of high-level NPC's) should *evolve* to compensate for combat pets by employing new strategies and special tactics. This approach feels more comfortable than looking for ways to reduce pet combat effectiveness or just making NPC's tougher. Please let me know if you agree, disagree, and why

If you do agree, what sort of AI features do you think would add significant (and fair) challenges?

Thanks in advance!

(BTW: a side-issue the designers are discussing... should these behaviors evolve to include special recognition of players who heal / buff other players, too? When high-level NPC's see your friend healing you, what should they do?)

Cinco Barnes
Lead Designer

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Since pets cant hold agro and other professions except TKA cant really pull agro, guess we won't be doing much healing..... Good lord could you imagine the agro on an AOE heal?

it'll be interesting to say the least lol.

Mouarf I take already the aggro sometimes with my AE when there's huge fight, and now gonna take all on me ?

They are crazy...

If it's so, give us the Mind Heal, because ifI must tankas healer, I need it a lot...

Or a mind buff where I don't have to sit for hours in a cantina before it's useful.

I think this thread by Cinco is very intersting, and very needed.

While I think your point about AOE is a good one, i fear a bit more for the Docs at this point because they'll have to be near the front to do their healing.

Don't get me wrong...I support this change, within reason. I believe that when/if implemented there will be a range modifier in it (a monster isn't going to run down a rifleman at 65m the moment it's cumulative damage is 1 larger than the TKA standing right in front of him). Same will be true with docs and us.

A couple of things I do forsee here:

This change will affect the solo ability for doc/cm templates that wish to do it....who currently use a rock beetle/gurreck/krevol as tank. I am all for the fact that someone who rolls a MD/MCM (like myself) makes a conscious decision to abdicate most solo PvE ability. If we take aggro, defense will become more of an issue. I'm hopeful that this can be compensated with armor changes, but a long time down the road defense may have to be looked at.

Further deterioration of our PvE ability maybolster the need for medical termainals, as we remain the only class section without them (exacerbation of revenue woes).

For docs some Star Wars equivalent to Sanctuary may need to be considered to help push them down on the aggro list, but I don't think CMs should have it as range should give us that through more intelligent AI design. I'm hopeful that better taunting skills for all PC melee will help alleviate this but it may not be enough.

In the end, I think this change is a good one. It's ludicrous thatI can sit down next to a mauler, without any armor...within 6m of a kryat and heal with no danger (grantedI dont' have to as a CM).

But at the same time if monster AI is being looked at, in exchange for supporting this I think CMs should call on an examinationof pet mind healing. This is also pretty silly. One trick and instant full mind regen. Outside of battle is one thing, but there should be situations in which a pet doesn't/won't/can't disengage to turn a trick and heal mind 100%. If it does, intelligent monsters like kryats should have a 'Target of Opporunity' to do massive damage on that pet who just turned its back.Possibly inflicing states (separate rolls of KD and dizzy). The recipe of rotationg 2 maulers on a kryat to turn tricks to heal mind should end. This is much more an issue if inadequate AI than it is legitimate tactics.

More salient to CMs, we should ask for a review of whether or not it makes sense to get 100% healing during combat, or whether a pet should be able to turn tricks while states are affecting it...namely our mind poisons. No CM in their right mind throws Mind Poisons at a non-faction pet because the damage can be immediately erased. I don't say this to further the notion of CMs becoming a 1 trick pony (mind poison), but rather that the mind pool should be a legitimate target for non faction pets....right now it's not.

Couple things to think about...

Jacore, MD/MCM, Tempest

I can see adding an agro list. But without a means to actively get and hold agro, healers are going to be in a world of hurt as most higher level encounters mean we heal more than we damage over time.

I am all for more mob AI, but most/alladvanced planetencounters now are not scalled well for player tanking. Some creatures hit so hard that most players will need a nonstop flow of healing. I yearn for more player interaction in combat outside of sick at-st/rancor/grual on monster and shoot from a distance. How can changes be made to make players more effective at tanking monsters when compared to the huge pets creatre handlers get? I don't know. Almost everyone I know is picking up enough creatuer handler to wield rancor(s).

As it is right now, I can tank better than any of my friends only because my mind/focus/willpower are my primary focus when spending attribute points.

My confidence something like this will be implemented in a challenging way is not very high. Most online games take about a year to work out balance issues, but I can't see how this one can. This goes beyond balance issues and is more of a gaping game design flaw.

I enjoy the game, but it was put to market far far to early and it really shows more than any other I have played.

Daffid Owen M.D.

P.S. /taunt used to work when I was building my template and needed to rescue someone. It might still work very well.

For the love of gawd, just focus on fixing the current buggs and more serious issues that are ruining the game for everyone first! (Like combat medic schematics not being able to load, and other schematics with typoes making them impossible to use or craft, and CM effectivenss being borked at 90%, etc.)...

It's a good idea for more content... I like it, but please, spend some more man power on fixing current major issues first.