Only players run on all 4 ?
I thought the exact same! aha! Maybe an update?
I think it’s actually because the NPCs are running at a slightly slower speed than players. If you get snared, your character will run with the bipedal animation as well.
If you get snared, you run bipedal because you’re in combat once you take damage or get hit with a condition. You always do so when you have your weapons out.
As an interesting note, Charr Engineer PCs will always run bipedal when they have a kit equipped, because they never sheath their weapon. With that in mind, I imagine it’s a quirk with how the NPC models are designed.
This is because the player is trying to move from point A to point B quickly, with their weapon sheathed. For simple speed of movement, that’s the quickest they have. However, when using their weapons, they need to be upright.
The charr are a vigilant race (note the sniper perches on the left and right on the inside of the Plains of Ashford Black Citadel gate), as such, they tend to have a lot of patrols. Those patrols are trained to be ready for anything. They keep their weapons at the ready and patrol with almost clockwork accuracy over the set area of ground that their warband has been ordered to protect.
Now, imagine those patrols running everywhere on all fours. It would be akin to seeing policemen on the beat actually jogging their beat. I hope that’s as silly a mental image for you as it is for me. The charr walk their beat with a slow, determined pace. That’s why you don’t see them running on all fours. They’re doing a patrol circuit, not in a rush to get anywhere right now.
Maybe, but what about the instances when they’re out of combat or trying to get somewhere quickly? Plenty of times I’ve seen non-player characters out of combat and rushing during an event while hopping along on two legs. I’d like to see the non-player charr run on all fours like I do, because consistency is never a bad thing. Excuse it however you want, but it just seems like an oversight and quirk to me.
@Mutiny
I have never seen this. Can you give an in-game example of a charr NPC in a desperate rush to get somewhere? One that I can see for myself? Even in the Diessa Plateau, you tend to see groups on very definite patrol routes, even taking a while to sit down every now and then after a bout of fighting. You don’t really see any trying to rush anywhere.