Guild Wars 2

I did a thorough test as to why many times my pet doesn’t use F2 immediately after I command, and here’s what I found out, and I was shocked by how broken pet AI is, it’s probably more broken than it used to be.
Ok, currently most pet has an AI like this, REGARDLESS of what type of F2 they’re using.

If there’s no target or no enemy nearby, the AI is fine, pet will use F2 immediate after I press it. However here comes the real problem. When there’s a foe nearby, when you press F2, what pet will do is to CHARGE to enemy REGARDLESS OF WHAT TYPE OF SKILLS THEY HAVE, and ONLY USE F2 WHEN THE PET’S SKILL RADIUS IS WITHIN THE ENEMY. EVEN DISELCTING TARGET DOESN’T WORK, THE PET WILL CHARGE TO THE NEAREST ENEMY HE CAN SEE AND ONLY USE F2 WHEN HE’S NEAR THAT ENEMY. BOTH COMBAT MODE AND AVOID COMBAT MODE CAN’T FIX THIS PROBLEM.

This broken AI applied to BEAR, WOLF, DOGS AND JUNGLE STALKER TOO. When I try to use my bear to cleanse, what my bear will do is he’ll try to get close to the enemy before he uses his cleanse, WTH? It suppose to be a self support skill, but using this aggressive AI? Does my pet try to cure the foe’s condition not mine!?
To make the matter worse, when I try to fight a thief and start using my wolf’s F2 when the thief enters stealth, what pet does is he’ll rush to the nearest none stealth target and try to use F2 on that random target, so thief can just easily approach me and land a backstab. Many times Ik thief is coming, and switch to wolf and press F2, my pet will just rush forward to thief’s previous stealth location and try to F2 there. This type of AI clearly affects my performance and greatly hinders ranger.

Seriously Anet, WE CAN CONTROL THE PET TO THE LOCATION WE WANT THEM TO USE THE SKILL. WE DON’T NEED YOU TO ADD THAT EXTRA AI THAT DECIDE WHEN PET IS GOING TO USE F2 FOR US! PLEASE JUST REMOVE THAT AI AND LET US JUST USE F2 EXACTLY WHEN WE WANT TO!

I did check it.
AI orders pet to rush to target if F2 skill is single target one.
AI doesn’t order pet to rush to enemy if F2 skill is AoE.

Works fine for me.

The only thing stupid about it is how the f2 skill ‘qs’ up so to speak. It should cancel current attacks and the pet should begin the attack animation immediatly on using f3

This really isn’t a bug. It’s not exactly user friendly, but the AI is simply trying to ensure that the pet is within range of your target to use the F2 skill on. This is why if you have nothing selected and press F2, it goes off immediately reguardless.

Just deselect and press F2 again. It will go off immediately.

Aomine.5012:

To make the matter worse, when I try to fight a thief and start using my wolf’s F2 when the thief enters stealth, what pet does is he’ll rush to the nearest none stealth target and try to use F2 on that random target, so thief can just easily approach me and land a backstab. Many times Ik thief is coming, and switch to wolf and press F2, my pet will just rush forward to thief’s previous stealth location and try to F2 there. This type of AI clearly affects my performance and greatly hinders ranger.
!

Sounds like you have auto target on.

Shanks.2907:

Aomine.5012:

To make the matter worse, when I try to fight a thief and start using my wolf’s F2 when the thief enters stealth, what pet does is he’ll rush to the nearest none stealth target and try to use F2 on that random target, so thief can just easily approach me and land a backstab. Many times Ik thief is coming, and switch to wolf and press F2, my pet will just rush forward to thief’s previous stealth location and try to F2 there. This type of AI clearly affects my performance and greatly hinders ranger.
!

Sounds like you have auto target on.

I always turn off auto-target as a ranger because it’ll mess up GS 3 leap.

Atherakhia.4086:

This really isn’t a bug. It’s not exactly user friendly, but the AI is simply trying to ensure that the pet is within range of your target to use the F2 skill on. This is why if you have nothing selected and press F2, it goes off immediately reguardless.

Just deselect and press F2 again. It will go off immediately.

They SHOULD NOT use the SAME AI to all pets despite some pets have different purposes and usages. Bear, Wolf, and Dog who uses PBAOE F2 skills are examples that they shouldn’t use this type of AI.

Aomine.5012:

Atherakhia.4086:

This really isn’t a bug. It’s not exactly user friendly, but the AI is simply trying to ensure that the pet is within range of your target to use the F2 skill on. This is why if you have nothing selected and press F2, it goes off immediately reguardless.

Just deselect and press F2 again. It will go off immediately.

They SHOULD NOT use the SAME AI to all pets despite some pets have different purposes and usages. Bear, Wolf, and Dog who uses PBAOE F2 skills are examples that they shouldn’t use this type of AI.

I disagree.

I think no matter what they need to be consistent. All pets need to use the same AI. I certainly understand your frustration though. I just think it’s far more important for the game to be consistent so new players aren’t overwhelmed.

Thus my enormous displease with the Ranger’s 1h sword. While easy enough to figure out and work around, there’s no reason a player should have had to figure it or work around it.

Atherakhia.4086:

Aomine.5012:

Atherakhia.4086:

This really isn’t a bug. It’s not exactly user friendly, but the AI is simply trying to ensure that the pet is within range of your target to use the F2 skill on. This is why if you have nothing selected and press F2, it goes off immediately reguardless.

Just deselect and press F2 again. It will go off immediately.

They SHOULD NOT use the SAME AI to all pets despite some pets have different purposes and usages. Bear, Wolf, and Dog who uses PBAOE F2 skills are examples that they shouldn’t use this type of AI.

I disagree.

I think no matter what they need to be consistent. All pets need to use the same AI. I certainly understand your frustration though. I just think it’s far more important for the game to be consistent so new players aren’t overwhelmed.

Thus my enormous displease with the Ranger’s 1h sword. While easy enough to figure out and work around, there’s no reason a player should have had to figure it or work around it.

They can leave the automated part consistent, but they should leave the player’s control part alone. We need to have full control over what skill we use, otherwise what’s the point of giving us a pet skill to use?

I’d rather they make the kitten f2’s instant already it’s not like steal and the adrenaline burst skills aren’t instant casts either. It would also be nice to control when the kitten dog does its knockdown.

More importantly, it would be nice if the kitten pet weren’t cloak and dagger fodder to p/d thieves, and that pets would not stop in place to animate an autoattack.

A responsiveness buff would be nice, as well as making the pet’s own abilities more controllable (ie canine knockdown).

I don’t think they should be given much beyond that, making the abilities instant would be too strong. Instant, unblockable, 600 range AoE fear from a wolf?

Larynx.2453:

A responsiveness buff would be nice, as well as making the pet’s own abilities more controllable (ie canine knockdown).

I don’t think they should be given much beyond that, making the abilities instant would be too strong. Instant, unblockable, 600 range AoE fear from a wolf?

I think you didn’t get it.
The cast time is still the same, the problem is the pet will not use F2 as I pressed it.
He’s try to rush to the target, get close to that 600 range before he uses it.

However this is problematic against thief, and problematic when it comes to multiple enemies. I want to use it immediately near me because I know they’re coming, but pet will chase that other target when I press F2, and thief get a free backstab from me because my pet refuses to use fear near my location.

You can press escape to remove your target and then cast it, and the pet will do it instantly on top of you if he’s on passive. Spamming the button interrupts his current action as well, or at least the canine knockdown.

I mean yeah it sucks if your pet is on a node not near you because you sent him to go CC/Attack someone else, and then a thief gets on you. All you have to do is either pet swap or use Return to Me and use his ability without a target when he gets to you.

Besides being unable to control the pet’s other abilities and the general clunkiness how their responsiveness is, imo the only real solution to this problem is just to allow a greater amount of control over your pet like in WoW. In WoW, utilities like Guard are baseline for the pet, why can’t I control the basic positioning of my pet without dedicating 1 of 3 slots for it?

Larynx.2453:

You can press escape to remove your target and then cast it, and the pet will do it instantly on top of you if he’s on passive. Spamming the button interrupts his current action as well, or at least the canine knockdown.

I mean yeah it sucks if your pet is on a node not near you because you sent him to go CC/Attack someone else, and then a thief gets on you. All you have to do is either pet swap or use Return to Me and use his ability without a target when he gets to you.

Besides being unable to control the pet’s other abilities and the general clunkiness how their responsiveness is, imo the only real solution to this problem is just to allow a greater amount of control over your pet like in WoW. In WoW, utilities like Guard are baseline for the pet, why can’t I control the basic positioning of my pet without dedicating 1 of 3 slots for it?

Guess you totally didn’t get my point…
Currently even if I press f3 to call him back, then press f2, the wolf will still go chase that random target and refuse to use f2 in the location I want him to use. This is very annoying and deadly if I’m fighting an invisible thief.

Larynx.2453:

A responsiveness buff would be nice, as well as making the pet’s own abilities more controllable (ie canine knockdown).

I don’t think they should be given much beyond that, making the abilities instant would be too strong. Instant, unblockable, 600 range AoE fear from a wolf?

Um, Fear me? Necromancer mark? Warrior aoe CC spam with hammer? The aoe fear from the dog is on a sizable enough cooldown and it’s not like the ranger weapons outside of longbow knockback shot bring much CC of their own.

And then there are f2 skills like jungle stalker, which is a mere 5 seconds of might with a 3 second cast time, that’s just obscene delay for no reason, or the useless moas and a shout that gives protection on a ridiculously long cooldown.

I’m opposed to anything being buffed or made to work better on ranger until the excessive longbow is fixed.

Ithilwen.1529:

I’m opposed to anything being buffed or made to work better on ranger until the excessive longbow is fixed.

And the Longbow is still nowhere close to the old SB’s effectiveness and people are complaining about it so much while in WTS you only see ONE Power ranger among 8 teams. (AND they didn’t get the top, celestial and other zerkers still win at last)

Not to mention pet’s AI is bugged since launch.

the real bug is ranger’s extended range of the LB, that kitten needs to be fixed asap.

Rome.7124:

the real bug is ranger’s extended range of the LB, that kitten needs to be fixed asap.

This is not a bug, ALL projectiles that have a throwing curve works that way.
If they want to “fix” ranger’s LB, they have to equally nerf all curving projectiles too.
This includes Warrior’s LB, thief’s SB, and Ele’s staff.

Also, they have to increase the projectile speed greatly because otherwise the range will actually be shorter than the tooltip if they still curve.

You have auto target on and your spamming 1

aussieheals.6843:

You have auto target on and your spamming 1

I always close my auto-target because it’ll mess up the GS 3 leap…

f2’s work fine, AI is fine. it wont get better. pets need a 90% aoe resistance in wvw and an additional pbaoe active skill that can influence fights significantly (like canine f2’s). most pets need a significant rework of their f2’s.