Aggro range mechanics

Milchmann

👋🏻 Hey there,

I’d like to share my thoughts on aggro mechanics. Currently the aggro range in AoC seems to be a fixed value. How about giving mobs a variable range that’s being set on spawn? Making it unpredictable for you to know if you are able to skip it. Another idea is to increase the range (for x seconds) of a mob if it was aggroed before. (or change the mob-status to „onGuard“ or „patrolling“ etc.)

Feel free to share your thoughts and see you in a2.

Vargan

Fret not, other players' aggro range will be completely random and unexpected.

Craiken

I'm very concerned that the current aggro range is too small. At 10:55 in the Steel Bloom video, two mobs are pulled while their friends in the same doorway don't notice anything.

https://youtu.be/T1gJiGXStHA?t=655

They looked completely robotic. I would expect monsters to be aggro'd by nearby combat.

Edit: I copied a link to the exact time, but the embedded player seems to want to start from the beginning. Sorry!

Voeltz

Yeah agro range needs improvement as well as AI behavior. It was supposed to be line of sight based and hearing which varies depending on the mob type, but I haven't seen anything new on that front. Some should also alert nearby friendly mobs if there are any in different ways. For ex. a wolf would howl, a guard in a fort might ring a bell or blow a horn which would trigger the whole fort to a defensive state and potentially wave based, 1 bandit out of a group in a camp would run close to other bandits and shout something with in game audio like "we're being attacked!" Or "intruders in the camp!".

ThevoicestHeVoIcEs

I wish both aggro range, and range of mobs behaviours are fleshed out, especially in group content. Add an option to investigate a source of noise, dead mob bodies, maybe add new patrol route. Mobs should not necessarily always just attack, instead they should become alert of player presence, observe from distance, call for backup or...retreat to join other mobs.

Also as this is supposed to be a PvX game, if a new group, new players arrive, mobs should react and for example be able to switch aggro to the new players if they are close enough, or for example retreat all together.

Veeshan

They do need to sprinkle in some mobs that have higher alert levels than others like a watchman/patroling mob may have larger agro ranged than a standard mob of the same type and they get scattered through the area so you gotta keep an eye out for them.

Also leashes line i think could be longer especially in POI/Dungeons they should basicly atleast force you out of the POI or dungeons if you need to reset things

Endowed

AoC has lots of pvp centric minutia.
There is very little pve centric minutia.
Hopefully the coming months see a sea-change in regards to the latter. Including adjusting and adding character skills and abilities.

Uboon

I also do not like the very old fashioned fixed aggro range. It seems so stupid that mobs that can see or hear you just stand there and wait their turn to be piled on top of. Can't they start a short patrol on hearing combat? Can't their friends shout or ring a bell or one go off to get help? When the further away mobs see you perhaps they tactfully advance towards the group until within normal aggro range? Can't the last man standing flee instead of just battling on and if he gets away pull his nearest buddies? There just seems so much easy-to-add flavour waiting to be applied to combat aggro.

And don't get me started on respawns. A necessary evil yes, but right in front of me while I am flexing? Just pop! Grrr. (Except for undead - I love then crawling up out of the ground.)

I am hoping the mob AI will grow with the rest of the game, early days yet.