How to split single prey from groups.

This could be feedback or just something I am missing, so if any players have some suggestions I have not tried please, post them so I can try them out.

One thing I have been having trouble with is trying to split out one or two manageable creatures from a herd when in smaller parties or solo. Seems like once you Agro one you Agro them all and there is not much you can do to separate once they get together.

Seems like the only usable options so far have been kiting them to the end of their rubber band and trying to catch the last one before he springs back. Or using Root to get one stuck and drag the rest off before coming back. In open areas you can range attack one and hope he is the only one you get the attention of, but that doesn't work to well in confined areas.

I tried invis lately which doesn't work when Agro'd. There doesn't seem to be an energy field or blocker to trap one in and seal out the rest out of a room.

Anything else I am missing here that would make separating one from the herd manageable? I don't just want to run around in circles while 10 mobs chase me in circles until their dead.

 

Watch a group and move to the edge of the range of the farthest member. If you catch the attention that member, then turn around and run a short distance so you're well out of the range of the others. It helps if there is an obstruction of some type between you and them, and/or the others are facing away from you when you catch the attention of the one. I've caught some spiders that way.

 

Works if you have enough room, but once you have their attention only the leash puts then back.

 

You could try the escape skill in the light armor tree but it didn't work for me at the time I tried it.

 

Yeah tried escape. Seems to only work to lower your Agro and make them switch targets to another member of your party. If you are solo you are still their only focus so escape really is Party only if you have a tank. I have not seen it work to have it remove the Agro to get them to drop you as a focus.

I was thinking of trying the distract or charms but seems way to complicated.

 

Yea, as an pure archer, I really wish we could pull 1 at a time without pulling the others. EVERY game I have played, that was what Archers were best known for, the ability PULLING 1 critter from the rest. , besides the damage dealt. But not in this game

 

Fully agree that the aggro and group behaviour of mobs in this game is whacky.

Sure maybe it's more realistic that one bandit getting hit by an arrow would call out and the whole camp would come running, but it's not good gameplay.

I don't want to see the other extreme and have 2 mobs standing side by side ignoring each other getting shot, but I think we could fine a reasonable balance between that and the current 'pull everything in the zone with one arrow' type of play we have now.

 

I have seen dev notes in other threads stating that the random encounters have been designed so that all of the skeletons spawn when you pull one. Since this is by design I have no problem with it. In other random encounters with bandits, wolves or stag you can easily pull one of them.

Also, in deep ravenswood my archer mage can easily pull one wolf or bear from the pack. Its a bit harder with the spiders but can be done if you can avoid stepping on a skeleton or spider egg sac when you are pulling.

Was there a particular place where you were having the most trouble pulling one monster or beast from the pack? If so it is probably by design. There are reasons that some mobs help each other so I think they have achieved a pretty good balance so far in the current design.

 

Yeah I don't mind the mechanics that if I attract the attention of multiple mobs I get the attention of multiples. But, once there together there is now way to seperate without taking them to the end of the leash. Guess I miss the energy fields for choke points and invis that can break Agro. Just seems like cloud control and singling out targets is difficult. Thought there may be some. Tactics or glyphs I was missing that could help.

 

I use a 2h sword, but still try to devote one slot on my combat bar to some kind of spell-based single-target distance attack, like Fire Arrow. For most mob types -- bandits, elves, kobolds, animals, etc. -- I can pull just one at a time pretty reliably. It only breaks down when faced with things like skeletons which sometimes don't even spawn until you draw close enough. Some mobs of course just attack as soon as they notice you, which in the case of bandits for example, can be pretty far away. As Kelly O'Shay notes, some mobs are designed intentionally to assist each other, to promote group play.

But Fire Arrow is my usual pulling spell.

 

You have to run around in circles while 10 mobs chase you in circles until their dead OR you participate from the abilities of crowd control which are present in a good number: stun, root, knockback, slow. Easy peasy.

 

for the most part i like the group agro effect feels more immersive and makes it more challenging to go up against stronger mobs than standard mmos.

that being said a subterfuge skill like pebble toss or something that has a chance to seperate one or 2 mobs from a pack would be interesting as long as it could fail and attract them all.

 

Yeah distract may work if you could get it to focus on one mob and bring him away from the group before attacking. Could be an interesting concept.

Yeah I've used all those and they do help but the running around in circles is a little odd. They just seem dumb when your are circling 10 people and there too stupid to catch you. Guess it be nice to see an Agro breaker like invis that can let you separate and confuse and even setup areas for controlling them.

 

There are a few aggro breakers I discovered. Try to get out of line of sight, jump on a rock, or even jumping makes Zombies reset. Try a little and you will find a way to get them one by one.

 

That sounds more like a broken mechanic instead of an intended gameplay. But I will give them a try also.

 

I know I've heard Chris state multiple times that group AI mechanics were not done yet as well. And that the resource member working on AI also had a lot on their plate. So I don't think we've seen the last on tweaking group AI behavior by far.

 

Yeah, I look forward to seeing it advance and develop. Seems like some spells could fill some holes but overall I do like most of the behaviors so far. Few tweaks here and there would be nice.

I would like more of a wolf pack mentality with them. If you see one it runs, once they have numbers they attack.

Bears would sooner fight each other over who gets to kill me rather than packing up. But that would be hard to implement when they spawn so close.

I think the bandits would benefit from the same wolf pack mentality also as in stories they tend to be cowards unless ina group.