What are your ideas to make AI builds more viable?

Or does no one care about these forgotten builds...

Most of AI skills are already good enough for pve. They shouldn't have place in end game content because they enforce braindead gameplay and huge area control (phantasms in spvp last winter for example).

The only AI that needs buffing is gyros, since they are useless, have limited duration and low area control, so buffing them wont create huge mess.

@steki.1478 said:Most of AI skills are already good enough for pve. They shouldn't have place in end game content because they enforce braindead gameplay and huge area control (phantasms in spvp last winter for example).

The only AI that needs buffing is gyros, since they are useless, have limited duration and low area control, so buffing them wont create huge mess.

So what if passives were nerfed while actives were buffed?

They need to be more active.Like minions if necro would be fantastic if your weapon would create minions if you kill enemies with a certain skill and another skill on the weaponsets "trigger minions" so they exert a certain effect like death nova.Similar to some ranger weapons.

And ranger pets just need to be faster, better utility on f2 and a traitable mark abbility to command your pet rewardingly.

Is passive play something we should really strive towards?

@Ayrilana.1396 said:Is passive play something we should really strive towards?

Exactly what i think we should improve on AI. Better control, better utility, better costumizability and generally more active.

Personally, I would make AI perform more like real players - all AI for all NPCs.

Give pet AIs dodge skills, blocks, interrupts, and counters. Let them respond to long tells from opponents. Then strip them of their toughness and make the controlling player chose the appropriate command so that being a MM requires a lot more skill.

The personal story in The Desolation has a minion-control episode that requires more skill than Necro minions so that is a start.

Of course, all opposing NPCs should also respond more player-like to to my, and my AI pets.

Core Tyria <L80 can retain "dumb" AI for new players but L80 areas need better AI, especially in older maps and require more player skill to control.

@"Ayrilana.1396" said:Is passive play something we should really strive towards?It depends, properly executed minion master classes always have at least to some degree a "passive" element to it.

Do what Blizzard did with their Necro:

Have the pet skills be just as much about a passive pet as it is about an impactful active.

I mean, most pet abilities do have an active component already but they are like 10% of what the skill is about. 90% is about just summoning a passive pet.

Reworking these skills to have shorter cooldown and more impact would be the way to go, IMO. Although naturally this would come at a slight nerf of the pets themselves, but the new active component should of course more than make up for it.

@"Oglaf.1074" said:Do what Blizzard did with their Necro:

Have the pet skills be just as much about a passive pet as it is about an impactful active.

I mean, most pet abilities do have an active component already but they are like 10% of what the skill is about. 90% is about just summoning a passive pet.

Reworking these skills to have shorter cooldown and more impact would be the way to go, IMO. Although naturally this would come at a slight nerf of the pets themselves, but the new active component should of course more than make up for it.Nah, unless you want to talk about some kind of golemancer who specialises in remote controlled drones "pets" should be as self sufficient as posible for what they're worth. I don't want to see them turned into a glorified attack animation. But yes, Blizzard absolutely nailed the basic minion master necro gameplay in D2.

@Tails.9372 said:

@"Oglaf.1074" said:Do what Blizzard did with their Necro:

Have the pet skills be just as much about a passive pet as it is about an impactful active.

I mean, most pet abilities do have an active component already but they are like 10% of what the skill is about. 90% is about just summoning a passive pet.

Reworking these skills to have shorter cooldown and more impact would be the way to go, IMO. Although naturally this would come at a slight nerf of the pets themselves, but the new active component should of course more than make up for it.Nah, unless you want to talk about some kind of golemancer who specialises in remote controlled drones "pets" should be as self sufficient as posible for what they're worth. I don't want to see them turned into a glorified attack animation. But yes, Blizzard absolutely nailed the basic minion master necro gameplay in D2.

Well, as I way saying the optimal solution is a 50/50 split between the passive pet and active ability. No “glorified attack animation”.

@Oglaf.1074 said:Well, as I way saying the optimal solution is a 50/50 split between the passive pet and active ability.That's way too much focus on babysitting the minions, maybe for some kind of demon summoner where you tag up with one strong minion but definitely not with the weak ones.

@Tails.9372 said:

@Oglaf.1074 said:Well, as I way saying the optimal solution is a 50/50 split between the passive pet and active ability.That's way too much focus on babysitting the minions, maybe for some kind of demon summoner where you tag up with one strong minion but definitely not with the weak ones.

Wat? There’d be absolutely zero “babysitting” involved at all.

Minion builds are an valid part of the game. So they should be playable like every other options.But in my opinion they should never work without doing anything. (For example the Necro minion master or turret Engineer that are used for afk farming.)

These builds should require an active game play to work.Things like:

• minion positioning
• buffing and healing of minions
• and active command usage (buff active commands and nerf passive damage)

Which type of ai?

Ranger Pets: Their base AI is good enough to get the job done (attack target, repeat), but as the pet class they should get full control of their pet. They should be able to ground target an area and have their pet move there, order them to follow an ally, things like that. Let the pet truly be an extension of the character and not just a dps bot. I'd like to see more shared abilities like druids Cultivated Synergy. Could probably do this by overhauling shouts.

Engi Turrets: Should have sticky targeting (like Thieves Guild does) - they always attack your target and never anything else.

Necro Minions: They need their active skills overhauled (except for Shadow Fiend and Golem which are fine) and the necro desperately needs a way to kill all minions to keep them out of bad pulls, or from keeping you in combat from 3000 units away.