At least make it so they stop aggroing patrols. Stop STUPIDLY perpetually running into flame rat/gunner rat fire. Stop running off to kill a distant stormer. They really need to be better. CUrrent state isnt good enough and they make solo runs frustrating as hell. I shouldnt have to know how they move/act and sit there babysitting them the entire time holding back in certain areas just to make sure they dont do something stupid. If you wont do anything about it pls sanction some AI mods that attempt to.
5 Likes
I fully agree any good ideas and changes for bots improvent.
Because there are enough solo players, like me, and over time - inevitably the number of “live” players will decrease. It is necessary to improve the bots as best as possible before the game will be abandoned.
Personally, I need more functionality for controlling bots - and a lot, for example, managing healing supplies has already been implemented in mods. But still not even sanctioned!
2 Likes
Agreed.
I’m not even sure if the sanctioned mod for AI Bot Improvements even works anymore as it hasn’t been updated in over a year.
3 Likes
What matters to me is that this mod (Bot Improvenents - Combat) works in the part that allows bots to tag elite enemies. I use only this function of this mod, it makes bots better than those “live” players who never mark anything.
I would just transfer this function to the game (as a chat block), and add an option in the settings.
2 Likes
fatshark can save some resources and time by encouraging modders to improve the bots. there is already 2 unsanctioned bot mods that fix some annoyances from the bots. they get some life in the modding community and solo/duo people can enjoy cata without having bots that cause stupid wipes or needs to be handheld through the mission.
2 Likes
That’s right, one of these mods is - Bot Improvements - Impulse Control -absolutely essential for solo play, but still not even sanctioned!
Which second mod would you recommend?
It frustrates me to no end that so many players don’t tag enemies (sometimes even bosses!), even when there’s a WHC on the team. It’s free damage and helps with keeping threats visible.
For bots, some (hopefully) simple fixes would be:
- Make bots incapable of pulling patrols, even if they ult or walk into them. Bots don’t attack pats unless aggroed so this should be balanced.
- Let IB revive during his taunt instead of gloating over downed players and only holding block.
- Increase the threat threshold (no idea how it actually works but I assume it’s a threshold of some kind) required for bots to use their ults to prevent them from wasting them on 2 elites.
Bots don’t seem to recognise attacks that aren’t aimed for them even if the attack will hit them. This can be a problem when a bot is next you and an elite attacks you with a swipe, or when the bot is really close to you and an elite does an overhead. No idea what the simple fix would be for this.
5 Likes
Bots could get some improvements for sure, though I’m not sure that this might be Fatsharks priority for the moment.
To be fair completing regular Cata with bots is way easier than in QP with randoms on average. At least with time you can learn stuff like they like to chase specials, they get shutted down by Flamerats/Gunners, they focus bosses hard even if there’s a horde.
If you play around them even a little bit you can even complete stuff like HFBS + Vanguard on Cata with them. They actually manage the elite and survive for a surprising amount of time sometimes. They’re flawed in their behavior, but their fails are predictable and somewhat manageable. With a little help from the player they’re actually pretty good.
The only thing I really want to beg for is that bots shouldn’t heal me as a Zealot. Usually they don’t take heals if the player doesn’t have any, but sometimes they still take them. It gets bad when they get the heal bundle and just heal you up at the spot. I try to prevent that with ordering them potions so they can’t heal me and heal them with the remaining stuff, but sometimes they just get ahead of me, take the pot, give it to me, “player has healing so all of us can take it for ourselves” logic turns on, they all grab the heal bundles and all you can do is just shoot them so they heal themselves. Tough.
I hear you, personally i try and give them books so they can’t heal me. This works most of the time.
But i think their behaviour should be changed. They should heal a character only if it’s in low total health or is bleeding.
On the zealot is expecially annoying, but I think even on other characters it’s a waste of resources.
Books work too, but it’ve been a long time since I cared enough to grab them in my runs with bots. Usually I just do few runs with them so I don’t get too rusty, I don’t play on official server that often for the past months.
It frustrates me to no end that so many players don’t tag enemies
Even more: in Steam there is guide “How and why to mark the enemy!” (with pictures!). What else can we say if such an obvious and significant action for a team-play requires clarification and writing of a guide? 
By the way, for me the function would be very valuable so that the bots shoot first of all at the target I tagged. This would make the game much easier with a non-shooting career (GK, Slayer or some of future premium career).
1 Like
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2230551899 this one. its nice when you really need to have your bots close to you, like when doing the screeming bell end event on cata.
This sounds like a nice mod. Bots’ biggest problem is pathfinding. I had a garden of Morr event where they just got stuck in the goo and died.