A thought about runners

[Parabola]

This just occurred to me - I wonder if it would make runners slightly less annoying if they could be flagged as 'defeated for the purposes of mission objectives' when their morale breaks. So, in a defeat all you wouldn't have to worry about tracking down every last enemy that has fled from you, and any enemy guarding a hostage wouldn't count as still holding the hostage while they take to their heels (which also strikes me as more realistic).

 

I've no idea how the coding for fleeing works so this could well be a complete non-starter but it just dropped into my head (as I watched an enemy guarding a hostage run out of the room while the hostage continued to cower in place). Avoid effects and the like would need to be excluded of course, this would only apply to enemies fleeing due to low health.

[kelika2]

running enemies added nothing to the game and removal of this mechanic as a whole would be much better

 

[Techwright]

I'll settle for a hook, a long chain, and a "get over here!" third-column ability.

[Rudra]

7 minutes ago, Techwright said:

I'll settle for a hook, a long chain, and a "get over here!" third-column ability.

Teleport Target. It just lacks the requested animation and could use a new teleport enhancement set with a 4 second duration Stun proc. (Which would annoy players when you recall them to you, but it would give you what you are asking for versus mobs.)

[Techwright]

2 minutes ago, Rudra said:

Teleport Target. It just lacks the requested animation and could use a new teleport enhancement set with a 4 second duration Stun proc. (Which would annoy players when you recall them to you, but it would give you what you are asking for versus mobs.)

 

Oh, absolutely, you're quite right, but that's a hero's way.  To at least two, and probably all three other stances, a good tug on a barbed hook and chain is just so much more... satisfying. 😈  I know I would have used it on a certain villainous CEO of a corrupt company last week when she tried running back through the full maze of rooms and corridors.

[Marine X]

I really feel the love when a Crey Juggernaut Taunts me, throws up his force field, then runs out of targeting range, What was that?

[tidge]

I don't mind the critter AI that makes them flee... but it is rather common to have a single critter (including minions!) run enormous distances for a long period of time... which I can almost tolerate, except that this happens on 'defeat all' and on certain maps there is no guarantee that they'll make it back to their spawn location in a time frame shorter than the cooling of the Earth's core.

 

The two 'changes' I'd like to see (although I don't know how to implement either):

 

#1 An enemy which has 'run' ought to have a second (delayed?) timer that has them 'run' back to their spawn location, rather than the leisurely stroll they often take.

 

#2 Flying enemies should have travel suppression, or some other mechanic, that keeps them from rocketing great distances.

 

For an open-world example of just how far fliers can get, and sometimes become 'lost': The Grim Vale event demonstrates that the Cabal can (a) end up just about anywhere, even when NOT pursuing players (b) is a contributing factor as to why there is an asymmetry in outcomes favoring team pumpkin when no players are involved... since the witches will scatter wide making it easier for team punpkin's AoEs to wipe out team irons.

[DrRocket]

I would like to see the running mob mechanic go away, since it is a time sink event. Frankly, the days of the time sink as a necessity to fake the game is bigger than what it really is, is no longer needed at all.

 

So yes, remove the running mob, it is a very unwelcomed time sink event, that adds boredom to the game, I am sure there will be a player or two, who actually will claim that chasing mobs all over the map and looking for them all over the map is the greatest form of fun they could possibly experience.

 

regards

[Techwright]

21 hours ago, DrRocket said:

I would like to see the running mob mechanic go away, since it is a time sink event.

 

Is it in all cases, though?  I'd mentioned above about the fleeing Countess Crey.  It actually made some tactical sense.  AV Hopkins was still up and fighting part of the team, she'd pulled another part aside, then broke for the rooms behind, which, since we'd been teleported in, were not cleared.  What should have happened at that point is that the team should pull back and pound on AV Hopkins.  What happened though was that the team strung out farther, running into the room where Crey's PP bad boys were waiting.  Was it poor team play?  Yes.  Is the game AI that bright?  Probably not, but this is just the kind of tactic I'd pull were I controlling the Countess.  Kite half the team away, let the PPs drop one or two of them, then join the remaining NPCs to take out whatever remains of the pursuers.  It's clearly not an intelligence, but the coded move works if there's other NPCs nearby to kite players to.  

 

I do agree that sending a runner into an empty mine, warehouse, etc, is just silly.  Now if they added a bonus to the game for taking down a runner before they reach a designated escape, that would be something.  But we're not there...yet.

[Riverdusk]

24 minutes ago, Techwright said:

 Now if they added a bonus to the game for taking down a runner before they reach a designated escape, that would be something.  But we're not there...yet.

 

There are missions like that though, "Prevent <Mob boss name> from escaping."  Only a few though,  Also unfortunately they tend to be bugged as I've literally seen the escaping boss mob phase through walls and elevators and had the mission fail because of it.  Maybe them being buggy is what you meant though.

 

Also every blue side bank safeguard mission, although they rarely get to the point of even trying to escape.

[srmalloy]

13 hours ago, Riverdusk said:

There are missions like that though, "Prevent <Mob boss name> from escaping."  Only a few though,  Also unfortunately they tend to be bugged as I've literally seen the escaping boss mob phase through walls and elevators and had the mission fail because of it.  Maybe them being buggy is what you meant though.

And virtually every time I've gotten one of those missions -- preventing some Family boss from escaping -- the map seems to be like the last mission of the Synapse TF, with two routes to the back room, and the boss always picks the other one to the one I'm in -- or, in some cases, spawned behind me (where I've seen the boss just appear out of thin air). What I've taken to doing when I get these maps is to fight my way in far enough to get the distant dialog from the boss about having to get out of there, and then immediately back up to 'upstream' of where the two paths to the back room join and wait for him to arrive to be beaten down. And even then, on rare occasions, he'll spawn between where I've set up and the exit, escaping before I notice he's spawned behind me.

[SeraphimKensai]

Honestly I don't mind runners, but I wish they did 1 of 2 things:

1. They run to another NPC cluster and go get reinforcements and bring them back

2. They are running for their lives and head for the mission exit, only to leave the mission when getting to the door (and then be treated as defeated).

[Rudra]

3 hours ago, srmalloy said:

And virtually every time I've gotten one of those missions -- preventing some Family boss from escaping -- the map seems to be like the last mission of the Synapse TF, with two routes to the back room, and the boss always picks the other one to the one I'm in -- or, in some cases, spawned behind me (where I've seen the boss just appear out of thin air). What I've taken to doing when I get these maps is to fight my way in far enough to get the distant dialog from the boss about having to get out of there, and then immediately back up to 'upstream' of where the two paths to the back room join and wait for him to arrive to be beaten down. And even then, on rare occasions, he'll spawn between where I've set up and the exit, escaping before I notice he's spawned behind me.

To counter this, I typically do the same, except I move to the exit for the map or level (depending on the situation) and wait there. The boss can't spawn behind me there, and once I start attacking the boss, (s)he stops running and fights me until I defeat him/her. Just have to make sure to move forward away from the exit when you can see the boss to prevent the escape for being too close to the escape point.