Why is ally NPC AI so stupid but enemy AI smart?

[The Seventh Son]

As the title says. Nothing really puts this on full display like the Moonrise assault fight. I'm watching the enemy AI do smart things, like cast hunger of Hadar then have the unit go hide. Then ally AI is just so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ stupid. Zrell made 70% of the Harpers dropt heir weapons, AND THEY NEVER PICKED THEM BACK UP. Jaheira is capabel of healing, but she never heals herself. On the contrary, she healed my near full HP Wyl, then ran into range of the last enemy alive with 1 HP and of course got killed.

I've had so many moments of fighting the enemy AI and respecting their intelligence, how come allies don't get the same AI or treatment? Why are legendary characters idiots in combat? How come AI has -zero- self preservation on my side and when they will hide themselves and stay out of line of sight on the other side?

In short: What the ♥♥♥♥ Larian?

[ULTRA]

The enemy AI seems pretty damned dumb to me also tbh, they will regularly just continue shooting one guy on my team and all I have to do is continue healing that guy to control the entire crowd

[The Seventh Son]

Originally posted by ULTRA:

The enemy AI seems pretty damned dumb to me also tbh, they will regularly just continue shooting one guy on my team and all I have to do is continue healing that guy to control the entire crowd

Did you just call the AI dumb for focus firing one of your characters down?

[katzenkrimis]

AI sucks in every video game.

In this game they are targeting my weakest character first. Which sounds great in theory, but if I keep helping them up after they fall, the enemy will waste another turn taking them out again.

Meanwhile, my other party members can chip away until the fight turns in my favour.

It's the helping hand ability that breaks fights, because it turns that fallen party member into a decoy. The AI will continue to target that character because they have 1 health.

And I'll always have someone dedicated to helping them up.

It's stupid, really, but whatever. Take the win and move on.

==

"Hey, guys, look over here! One of my party members has 1 health."

"Ookay. Let's trudge over there, boys. Them's look like some easy pickins'."

"Thanks for taking one for the team, again, Pete."

"No problems, boss."

[The Seventh Son]

Originally posted by katzenkrimis:

AI sucks in every video game.

In this game they are targeting my weakest character first. Which sounds great in theory, but if I keep helping them up after they fall, the enemy will waste another turn taking them out again.

Meanwhile, my other party members can chip away until the fight turns in my favour.

It's the helping hand ability that breaks fights, because it turns that fallen party member into a decoy. The AI will continue to target that character because they have 1 health.

And I'll always have someone dedicated to helping them up.

It's stupid, really, but whatever. Take the win and move on.

==

"Hey, guys, look over here! One of my party members has 1 health."

"Ookay. Let's trudge over there, boys. Them's look like some easy pickins'."

"Thanks for taking one for the team, again, Pete."

"No problems, boss."

You have to playing on Narrative. Helping hand costs an action, and going down means you don't have an action. So every round "Pete" goes down, only two of your party members are performing actions. Not to mention, if they only have 1 health, then only one enemy needs to hit them, so you're fighting 2v# of enemies while one of your teammates spends each turn going down and the second spends it picking them up.

This isn't viable in higher difficulties.

[zazthespaz]

Glad I’m not the only one thinking this. I’m on Moonrise now and dealing with the same problem. Having grown up playing BG1&2 I’m trying to keep Jaheira alive. I chose the option to let her control herself (after doing a couple tries controlling her)and she keeps making the dumbest decisions. She doesn’t heal herself and runs into the middle of a group of enemies with only 1 hp. My favorite today was watching her walk away from an enemy, so the enemy got an opportunity attack in on her, she then transformed into a panther, and then kept to the side of the enemy that attacked her. What was the point of all the movement? She could’ve transformed into the panther without taking the hit?!

/rant

Loving the game otherwise in spite of how much I suck at it!

[Sera Trantorová]

I agree. Moonrise fight is torture. Jaheira fights like **** she does literally nothing. Her spells affect allies too and best of: jump into 4 enemies and insta dead. Never use heal. Other NPC only dash, do 1hp dmg. Its even worse than protecting Isobel. She was also incredible idiotic.

[GloriousZote]

I assure you enemy AI is dumb as ♥♥♥♥, too, the amount of times I've seen Kagha cast moonbeam, and jump into it herself, on the same turn, and break her own concentration with it...

[YumboYack]

My biggest gripe with the AI is after you have already SPOTTED a trap.. your duma$$ party just walks through them. A close second to this is the general movement/move here pathfinding. The good old days of formations... but then again, with only 4 party members (where anyone can basically fill any role) who needs formations.

[Smakit]

Originally posted by GloriousZote:

I assure you enemy AI is dumb as ♥♥♥♥, too, the amount of times I've seen Kagha cast moonbeam, and jump into it herself, on the same turn, and break her own concentration with it...

I've had a few times where the enemy just takes damage for no reason, too. Like running to a spot they don't need to, then jumping or moving away and getting Attack of Opportunity on them only to move back out of range and do nothing. Not to reposition in a useful way or anything, just plain out pointless.

At least when they nuke themselves with an AoE and kill themselves they at least tend to hit a party member or two as well.

[GolfLover420]

Originally posted by The Seventh Son:

Originally posted by ULTRA:

The enemy AI seems pretty damned dumb to me also tbh, they will regularly just continue shooting one guy on my team and all I have to do is continue healing that guy to control the entire crowd

Did you just call the AI dumb for focus firing one of your characters down?

AI is dumb for trying the "clear the board" method, which is the most efficient in this game.

[solaris32]

Yea the AI is pretty dumb for non-melee, but the game is still fun anyway. Hopefully Larian can improve it one day.

[swbrandt]

My favorite was in Act 3 with the Gondians. One of them used Misty Step to get directly behind an enemy, then walked away and took an opportunity attack and died.

Edit to add: they didn't even attack before moving.

[Vaemer-Riit]

Originally posted by zazthespaz:

Glad I’m not the only one thinking this. I’m on Moonrise now and dealing with the same problem. Having grown up playing BG1&2 I’m trying to keep Jaheira alive. I chose the option to let her control herself (after doing a couple tries controlling her)and she keeps making the dumbest decisions. She doesn’t heal herself and runs into the middle of a group of enemies with only 1 hp. My favorite today was watching her walk away from an enemy, so the enemy got an opportunity attack in on her, she then transformed into a panther, and then kept to the side of the enemy that attacked her. What was the point of all the movement? She could’ve transformed into the panther without taking the hit?!

/rant

Loving the game otherwise in spite of how much I suck at it!

So I had an issue here as well. I eventually went back and infiltrated the tower before I finished the temple and released the Nightsong. Doing this you can isolate some of the enemies and kill them so they don't show up when this fight rolls around.

This makes the fight and keeping Jaheira alive so much easier.

[Daniel]

Originally posted by ULTRA:

The enemy AI seems pretty damned dumb to me also tbh, they will regularly just continue shooting one guy on my team and all I have to do is continue healing that guy to control the entire crowd

Dumbest AI move I saw was archer running away from my melee range triggering opportunity, into a Cloud of daggers and back to me.

[iamcorn]

I love when I set up radius of death consisting of Hunger of Hadar, spike growth, black tentacles and wall of fire only for NPC allies to WALK INTO THIS to attack the things that can't come OUT.