Snaring Tactics
 

Ok so I'm a druid. I was in BB at the Master Brewer spawn. He's next to a small footbridge and some water that rests in the surrounding cavern.

I attack him and see that I am getting beat to a pulp. So I snare him and run across the bridge and notice that he paths to me by going around rather than running across the gap between us. He changes direction when I am on the opposite side. I see that I can take advantage of this pathing behavior. First of all, I can move left and right and he'll go left and right forever. Secondly, I can jump and path more accurately, to save time. He can't. His pathing is set and not dynamic.

Observation: this is a tactic. When I normally snare something I have to always run ahead of it to keep distance between us so I can cast or med. By observing the path my target takes, in this case, I am able to reduce the amount of running.

Anybody else found things like this in the way things path? I think this is more noticeable in tight spaces than in outdoor zones.

These are the kinds of things I like to see in games. I don't consider it exploiting. In a sense, it's just very dumb mob AI. If the mob was smart it wouldn't go in the other direction when I shift in the opposite. It would just run in one direction towards me until its snare wore off because it realizes it's pointless to run to/fro forever. And, most of all, it would be able to jump and path accurately to save time.

But tactics are all about outsmarting your enemy. In this case, I outsmarted the mob and was able to jump and move better. If mobs were just as smart as me or smarter than me and had the same abilities, it would be very difficult to find a suitable tactic. I don't think it would be as fun that way. It's not fun to lose or just gamble.

I think developers should look at these kinds of things carefully because they're often a positive thing rather than a negative thing. Sometimes pathing that's exploitable for gain is just simple stupid and should be changed, but other times I think it's appropriate and well placed.

It's sad that these things can be a catastrophe for game balance but at the same time can be so right. These are the kinds of things that're hard to design because it's hard to see them from all different angles. I think some developers might actually try to avoid it like the plague by making workarounds. One example: summoning. Another: no creature aggro. Another: mobs don't path. Another: mobs return to spawn if past a certain point. Another: mob can port itself to you. Another: mob runs extremely fast. Etc.

I have an idea for a game that could be this way. Make it so that loot is a resource. This way if you camp a particular mob that has a particular pathing that just happens to be particularly exploitable, the loot that drops on the mob will get progressively worse until its loot resource count is 0. This 'loot resource count" increases over time. So if you leave the this particular 'camp' for a while, it will go back up to maximum. This would make it so that heavily exploitable places have a limit on how much they will give you. It would have to be this way for all places, not just exploitable places. Additionally, the game would need to keep track of how often a place is exploited so that the increase to the resource count is measured. This way, the game will self-correct for heavily exploited places. This might prevent game imbalance. I can't think of any other way to do it right now.

Was just another thing that made me appreciate being a druid. Utility is nice.

PS: I've noticed other pathing like this in BB. For example, in the snake pit.

Pathing exploit = exp? Thats what I got from this.

In a way. But more like inaccurate/ineffective pathing = exp.

The gap between us is impassable. So he has to go around. But his pathing isn't accurate - he doesn't cut corners. Neither can he jump to cut corners further. I exploit that.

In a way, the mob is just dumb and limited. Enough for me to establish a tactic.

It's less grindy when I find things like this. I hate grinds.

im pretty sure "out smarting the mobs pathing" is just a nicer way of saying "exploiting his pathing"

Gonna go "outsmart" the devs by using ShowEQ...








kidding!!

What you've said is true. The devs regard this behavior as exploiting though. One of the many reason I don't play anymore.

Enjoy your ban

I won't speak on this specific instance, but pathing screws the player over more than the mob 99% of the time.

Anyone try fighting Galudian Widemouths in Paw? Good luck.. I can be standing on top of the snake in the water and send my pet.. and he runs around for 30 seconds taking some unseen path through the walls..

Or try to pull Spectres out of the Feerrott caves and see how well they follow the same pathing as you. Typically they simply ignore walls and come straight at you.

I'd say most of us have abused a mobs pathing at some point or another, whether or not we attempted to "exploit" it or not. If a mobs path only turns direction at 90 degree increments are we exploiting if we run at a diagonal away from it?

I always have considered exploitation to be related to bugs in the game..i.e mistakes that will be corrected. If the pathing is "working as intended"( that so often overused phrase) then can it be an exploit?.....

/e strokes chin and attempts to look like he is in deep thought

It's hard to tell exactly without actually seeing you do this, but from your explanation, it sounds as if you must periodically move to keep him from pathing to you. If that is so, you might have a case for calling it a tactic, though you are certainly at a minimum in a "gray" area in terms of the rules. Why risk the privilege of playing on this sever by fighting one mob in this way? Just fight him the normal way is my advice.

On the other hand, if you are attacking this mob and he simply cannot get to you at all, then you are most certainly exploiting.

My response to your post is, bottom line, I would not do this more than once. Sure the first time you see it happen you can't be blamed - but repeated usage of a questionable tactic is simply risky at best, and unwise.