[Hot Take] Auto Battler

[Thadeus]

I would really like a feature that makes your characters auto battle in every combat encounter, and you're just in charge of walking and talking and gearing them.

An option in the game options that if you check, the game's combat plays automatically as soon as combat is initiated.

Obviously, you forgo using gimmicks and sweaty strats and whatever.

[[OTS]EchoZenLogos]

They could implement such a feature and combine it with the easy difficulty (since it wouldn't be possible to win otherwise), but it seems like a weird thing to ask for.

Because half of this game is the combat and planning out things during said combat.

To avoid that, is to basically avoid half of the game.

At that point it's better to probably play something else.

Though I don't think the idea of an "auto-battler" is necessarily wrong to allow for. It wouldn't be "cheating" since the AI would be limited and it wouldn't be that viable anyway, and people already can save scum as much as they want if they want an easy win.

[Blair Fujin]

yeah, since playing regalia: of men and monarchs, I feel like more games could use a "let's assume I won the battle" button
just like people who just want to battle are usually allowed to skip cutscenes, so should people not into fighting allowed to skip fights
and while I do enjoy combat here, I'd kill for such an option in mass effect for example so that I could skip all the shooting I don't give a single ♥♥♥♥ about and just focus on talking to npcs and making story related decisions

[Broseph884]

play on easy mode

[Midas]

I would like this purely so I can have a replay mode where I watch an encounter play through automatically. It's kinda boring only really seeing my character in dialog when they're standing there. I want to see them up close fighting.

[Jon]

Certainly needs a 'speed up' button of sorts, the trash fights in ACT 3 are extremely tedious.

[Makkura]

Originally posted by Blair Fujin:

yeah, since playing regalia: of men and monarchs, I feel like more games could use a "let's assume I won the battle" button
just like people who just want to battle are usually allowed to skip cutscenes, so should people not into fighting allowed to skip fights
and while I do enjoy combat here, I'd kill for such an option in mass effect for example so that I could skip all the shooting I don't give a single ♥♥♥♥ about and just focus on talking to npcs and making story related decisions

What you want is a movie, not a game.
Also, during battle you are using resources. Depending on what resources you use you need to adapt your next steps. You cannot just "assume" you won the battle, there are several implications that need to be resolved.

[Taya]

Agreed.

I think having the option to control every character should still be present in the game, but I'd appreciate if an "NPC auto-battle" feature was implemented. When I play DnD, I'm only controlling my own character (and their familiars/pets/etc.), so I was expecting something similar here -- where an AI would control the other characters, and I would only be expected to control my own character. Then again, maybe I've been playing too much Dragon Age, lol!

I also don't think an "auto-win" feature would benefit this game in any way. Like people have already mentioned, a big portion of any tabletop adventure game is the combat. To bypass it altogether would be to forgo a massive part of the experience.

tl;dr - I'm for NPCs having an AI that controls them in battle. I'm against having an option to skip combat altogether.

[alanc9]

One big problem with implementation is that the existing AI doesn't seem to really care about resource depletion.

[VDRSK]

Originally posted by alanc9:

One big problem with implementation is that the existing AI doesn't seem to really care about resource depletion.

Indeed this would be the only issue, you would either need to make the resources unlimited which would open so many exploits but since it's AI i guess it doesn't matter since they won't exploit them

or

have a system like DAO where you can definite when to use resources such as low health, strong enemy etc.

[GriffinPilgrim]

I can sort of see where you're coming from but I don't think it would really help much. Because the battles would take almost the same length of time only now with no interaction. Seems pointless to boot up a game only to spend half of it doing nothing.

[Heu, Iterum Id Feci]

Dunno if it still works, but if you really want it here you go:

AI Control Party While in Combat
https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/727

I personally think it's stupid, at that point I can just watch a youtube let's play, but whatever floats your boat...

[magnumaniac]

BG3 is a fully fleshed out RPG experience, not an auto-battler.
I think the game you are looking for is "Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms".