NPCs that Call for Help

[ZacKing]

It would be really terrific if hostage NPCs could call for help if you're within targetable range of them.  One of the absolute worst things about running the antiquated story content in this game is the godawful time sink missions where you've got to search the city maps for hostages.  I really don't have the spare time that I used to, and aimlessly wandering around trying to uncover every pixel of a map to locate a hostage is just painful. 

 

Yes, I know about targetcustomnext, but that doesn't always work well.  Might also be a nice inf sink P2W temp power - "hostage locater" or something.

 

Can we please get NPC hostages to cry out for help if you're near them?

[PeregrineFalcon]

They already do that. Watch your chat window.

 

I swear, half of the posts I see in the suggestions forum make me wonder if the people actually play this game.

[ZacKing]

10 minutes ago, PeregrineFalcon said:

They already do that. Watch your chat window.

 

No, they don't always cry out for help, and I do have my chat window option with NPC dialogue on the active tab.   There are some NPCs that do call out, others who don't or you essentially have to be within 6 inches of them in order for them to say something.  It would be preferable to have them cry out from a much farther range.

[Rudra]

And some cry out as soon as you enter the map. It seems to me they all cry out, but the game has problems with when they do. (Edit: The only NPC rescues I never see in the chat window for calling out have always been in the last room of the map. Every time. So they were always easy to find.)

 

Edited December 14 by Rudra

[ShardWarrior]

1 hour ago, PeregrineFalcon said:

They already do that.

 

Actually, no, they often do not.  I run the Crimson arc a few times a week, and not one of the NPC hostages in any of those missions say a peep until after you have rescued them.  Finding Kristovich in the second mission specifically can be an enormous pain in the rear if you get unlucky.  That arc is just one example I can think of off the top of my head.  There are quite a lot of missions where having NPCs call for help would be a blessing.

[PeregrineFalcon]

Sounds like it's a bug then. Because they certainly used to.

[wjrasmussen]

7 hours ago, PeregrineFalcon said:

They already do that. Watch your chat window.

 

I swear, half of the posts I see in the suggestions forum make me wonder if the people actually play this game.

Those NPCs who call for help are the ones most likely to sue the hero for some BS reason like their purse strap got broken.

[Chris24601]

17 hours ago, PeregrineFalcon said:

Sounds like it's a bug then. Because they certainly used to.

Nope. I remember those horrible missions from live and they not only didn’t say a word, the two minions packed in next to them as they cower in a corner seemed to have their threat detection turned down to practically nothing since you can run right past a dumpster they’re all behind and they won’t even twitch.

 

Now some of this depends on the missions you’re running. It primarily crops up in the issue 0-6 missions with objectives like “rescue the police officers” (14 left to find) on an Oranbega map or a number of the Portal Corp missions in city maps, ruins, or graveyards.

 

But yeah, on those they’re always dead silent (and always have been) until after you’ve rescued them.

[ShardWarrior]

On 12/15/2024 at 1:19 PM, Chris24601 said:

Now some of this depends on the missions you’re running. It primarily crops up in the issue 0-6 missions with objectives like “rescue the police officers” (14 left to find) on an Oranbega map or a number of the Portal Corp missions in city maps, ruins, or graveyards.

 

This happens throughout the game at all levels.  I just finished running through the Croatoa arcs and not a single hostage makes a sound even when you are in the midst of rescuing them.  I also recently ran through the A Hero's Hero story arc and none of the hostages in that awful, awful, awful city map mission where you have to rescue hostages from the Shadows say anything.  It is increasingly infuriating to run story content like this and a plays a rather large role in why I dislike running story content.

 

It would be fantastic if NPC hostages could cry out if you are near by.

[Super Atom]

They don't scream out in a lot of Arcs, many of the red-side ones i've done literally today the hostage was as silent as an empty void until i actually gained them as a follower. Bug or otherwise, changing this would be nice.

 

+1 for any hostage/rescue improvements.

[Chris24601]

Personally instead of the word bubbles that come on at often ludicrous ranges then fade before you can get a bead on them all, I’d like to request a sound queue like the various other mission objectives have.

 

Maybe the fire chief safety whistle? 😆