Always targeting main character?

[StevenT475]

Why is it after escaping first dungeon and leaving tavern for first time all enemies always go for the main character first? It doesn't matter if there are four other party members between them and main character. They will run straight for them and all fire is directed at them until they are dead. Then they will divide themselves between remaining party. Is it because I rolled a sorcerer ? Or is this just how AI is in this game?

[Curath]

Hard to say, my experience is very different. Most (melee) enemies go for Seelah (built as high AC tank). They don't often specifically target my main character who's medium AC melee character or my caster(s) who definitely have the weakest AC. Mostly they just seem to target the nearest character.

Sometimes they do target others, especially ranged enemies like to shoot past Seelah but that's expected.

One explanation might be lack of defensive buffs on your main character, making them a very tempting target (maybe the target priority AI has a certain breakpoint after which they ignore your tank if you have a VERY squishy caster). Possibly some difficulty options can modify that as well, not sure.

[Invisible]

Usally they go for the first character they see, or if you shoot them first they go for the shooter.

BUT there are some locations where is a heavy focus on the main character. As this character is the leader of the crusade, you are targeted. Heavy defenses are needed to cope with this. High AC is good, but due to critical hits not enough. If you can, give him/her/they blur, displacment, blink etc. If your main is a arcane caster you should use mirror image.

[t]

Really? My experience is that the AI enemies almost always target the closest character.
I think it is also tied to difficulty level because I noticed that when fighting the corrupted Hand of the Inheritor he would always beeline for my main character no matter where my character was located. Switiching the difficulty from Core to Normal caused him to act normally and target the first party member nearest to him. That was the only time I noticed an enemy deliberately go for the MC only.

[Invisible]

Originally posted by panda_express411:

Really? My experience is that the AI enemies almost always target the closest character.
I think it is also tied to difficulty level because I noticed that when fighting the corrupted Hand of the Inheritor he would always beeline for my main character no matter where my character was located. Switiching the difficulty from Core to Normal caused him to act normally and target the first party member nearest to him. That was the only time I noticed an enemy deliberately go for the MC only.

Spoilers:
the fight to rescue the hell knights, the gargoly stuff to rescue your irabet after the head gargoyle kidnapped her, as well quite often in the fight of drezen

[Sunday_Assassin]

In turn-based enemies will usually close in on the character who doesn't have a melee weapon to fight back, unless they can't see one. But in some stages where new enemies appear mid-fight they'll all head straight for my PC who is a buffed up melee specialist. They also seem to make the decision who to fight immediately, and never change their mind, which can lead to weird actions involving running through lots of attacks of opportunity, or continuing to fire on the Paladin with Missile Shield when more vulnerable targets appear.

[stpmorrow]

Often enemies attack my magic users first, charging past front-line fighters to get to them. Always maximize attacks of opportunity capabilities.

[gmwaddington]

Enemy behavior seems to change based on which combat mode you're playing in. The enemies seem to provoke more AOOs in turn-based mode than in real-time mode.

Mounted characters riding dogs are particularly effective for shielding weaker characters, since the dogs' AoO can trip enemies. Add in Outflank and Seize the Moment for dog and rider, and you can sometimes kill the enemies outright on the AoO.