Guild Wars 2

So while we would all rather they would do their own thing automatically is it time we start simply pushing for a Ranger-like attack button for the interim, until a time that the AI is capable.
This is such a major issue with what is a basic function of the class, does it not deserve a bit more attention?

some of the things we consider bugs are working as intended. I never heared a dev saying anything about faulty ai for minions so i guess thats just working as intended also. i wouldn’t hold your breath for a fix.

Wait let me find the tread about the ai. Found in “I’d rather have reanimator disabled until a fix is ready.” tread so if this isnt meant to attack random mobs im sure the others are not meant to ether.

JonPeters
Game Designer

Thanks guys, we will take a look at this. It shouldn’t be dying so quickly and it certainly shouldn’t be drawing aggro on its own.
October 31, 2012 20:46

seems too fundamental, minions attacking, to consider that it is “working as intended” no?

Also, gamefreak, there probably have been a million threads about this particular issue, but the thread you mentioned is about jagged horrors being terrible in general, not minions simple failing to attack

Your right but he did say they should not being drawing aggro on its own which has happened with that minion, bone horrors, shadow fiend, and my fleshie the flesh golem many times.

Bichpwner.4012:

seems too fundamental, minions attacking, to consider that it is “working as intended” no?

Also, gamefreak, there probably have been a million threads about this particular issue, but the thread you mentioned is about jagged horrors being terrible in general, not minions simple failing to attack

they should just delete the bone horrors from this game all together imo.. cant remember how many times these things keep you in combat while you waiting for a regen..its such a faulty mechanic..

The funny part is that they do have a working AI in their code. Mesmer clones and ranger pets don’t have this idling problem.

What’s funny is I find it more annoying when they do try to assist me. Without the flesh golem I can pull a dolyak out of a camp. But he will aggro everything. I’d rather he didn’t “help” if someone hits one of my ground targeted marks.

What makes minions so bad (except the bugs / terrible AI of course) that you cannot play a iota tactical with them. You cannot assign them to a position, you cannot put them into aggressive or passive mode etc. Those are things which actually make it fun to play a minion class.
Even with a working AI this minions would just be some special form of a DoT ability. A lot of potential is wasted here.

Good evening, my fellow Minion Masters.

Allow me first to apologize for stating a possibility, a potential fix, that may be, but alas, may be not, just as well become to be.
I do, like many of you, appreciate the the crazy AI of our minions every day routine, like watching our Minions decide that they are OUR masters; the security of the familiar, like when our Golem claps happily to the mobs beating on their masters, the tranquility of repetition, like watching our minions watching us as WE attack.
I enjoy them as much as any bloke.

But in the spirit of commemoration, thereby those important events of the past usually associated with someone’s death or the end of some awful bloody struggle, a celebration of a nice holiday, I thought we could mark this November the 15th, a day that is sadly not given any credit as a day of possibility, and think and hope about it, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat.

There are of course those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now, orders are being shouted into telephones, and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power.

Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with our Minions, isn’t there?

Cruelty the injustice in pretending we don’t exist by forum monitors, the intolerance and oppression, when our threads where we write our words are deleted.

And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission.
How did this happen?

Who’s to blame?

Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you’re looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.

I know why you did it.

I know you were afraid.

Who wouldn’t be?

You’re outnumbered by them.

Bone minions, Flesh Golems, Jagged Horrors, working as intended.

There were a myriad of coding problems which conspired to corrupt the reason and rob your minions of their functioning AI. And make them the Master and you the minion.

Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you fogot that you are the master.

So in the end, they have never promised you order, never promised you peace, and all you needed to do is be silent, and give your obedient consent, that this is not a bug, that this is working as intended.

Last night I sought to end that silence. Last night I destroyed my Golem, to remind myself of what I had forgotten. I had him charge various mobs and placed copper wagers on his victory or defeat.

So now, for more than a few days a great DEV wished to embed the 15th of November with a NEW HOPE.
His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice, and freedom are more than words, they are perspectives.
So if you’ve seen nothing, if the crimes of our minion’s AI remain unknown to you then I would suggest you allow the 15th of November to pass unmarked.

But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek, then I ask you to stand beside me one week and a half-ish from tonight, outside the fountain of Lions Arch, and together we shall give them a 15th of November that shall never, ever be forgot.

posting to quote

Fiesbert.9816:

The funny part is that they do have a working AI in their code. Mesmer clones and ranger pets don’t have this idling problem.

Rangers have a PET ATTACK command. Mesmer phantasams can only be summoned with a target already locked and in range.

That’s the difference. I have said since beta minion masters would be utterly worthless, in pvp at least, without a pet aggressive/passive command and have been proven right. It’s so easy for any team with a brain to completely negate the minions, even if AI were working flawlessly. About the only thing they are good for is 1v1s and only if they don’t bug out.

Hieronymus.2146:

Good evening, my fellow Minion Masters.

Allow me first to apologize for stating a possibility, a potential fix, that may be, but alas, may be not, just as well become to be.
I do, like many of you, appreciate the the crazy AI of our minions every day routine, like watching our Minions decide that they are OUR masters; the security of the familiar, like when our Golem claps happily to the mobs beating on their masters, the tranquility of repetition, like watching our minions watching us as WE attack.
I enjoy them as much as any bloke.

But in the spirit of commemoration, thereby those important events of the past usually associated with someone’s death or the end of some awful bloody struggle, a celebration of a nice holiday, I thought we could mark this November the 15th, a day that is sadly not given any credit as a day of possibility, and think and hope about it, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat.

There are of course those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now, orders are being shouted into telephones, and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power.

Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with our Minions, isn’t there?

Cruelty the injustice in pretending we don’t exist by forum monitors, the intolerance and oppression, when our threads where we write our words are deleted.

And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission.
How did this happen?

Who’s to blame?

Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you’re looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.

I know why you did it.

I know you were afraid.

Who wouldn’t be?

You’re outnumbered by them.

Bone minions, Flesh Golems, Jagged Horrors, working as intended.

There were a myriad of coding problems which conspired to corrupt the reason and rob your minions of their functioning AI. And make them the Master and you the minion.

Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you fogot that you are the master.

So in the end, they have never promised you order, never promised you peace, and all you needed to do is be silent, and give your obedient consent, that this is not a bug, that this is working as intended.

Last night I sought to end that silence. Last night I destroyed my Golem, to remind myself of what I had forgotten. I had him charge various mobs and placed copper wagers on his victory or defeat.

So now, for more than a few days a great DEV wished to embed the 15th of November with a NEW HOPE.
His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice, and freedom are more than words, they are perspectives.
So if you’ve seen nothing, if the crimes of our minion’s AI remain unknown to you then I would suggest you allow the 15th of November to pass unmarked.

But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek, then I ask you to stand beside me one week and a half-ish from tonight, outside the fountain of Lions Arch, and together we shall give them a 15th of November that shall never, ever be forgot.

But will we get Guy kittenes masks in the BL store?

Edit: Seriously? F A W K E S is censored on this forum?

I bought this game to play as a Necromancer, and being MM.
Like the game is now, there is no fun for me playing this. I simply wanted a pet bar and decent pet AI (LIKE another game… is it hard?).

I decided to stop playing until they fix these issues. (I mean necro in general, more than 100bugs). But they prefer to do halloween bugged events and so…

I wonder how long will I wait…maybe forever, and all the effort spent in the game is gone

Minions Need AI Fix, Basic Minnion control UI (attack/comeback,Defensive/aggresive/passive).
All this mechanics exist in their code since ranger pets have control ui. and also mesmer pets attack properly… they just need to give some focus to us,cause as it is now they seem to have completely forgot us…

they attack when they shouldn’t and stand around when they should be fighting. sigh.

Sprawl.3891:

Fiesbert.9816:

The funny part is that they do have a working AI in their code. Mesmer clones and ranger pets don’t have this idling problem.

Rangers have a PET ATTACK command. Mesmer phantasams can only be summoned with a target already locked and in range.

That’s the difference.

Well Spirit Weapons and Elementals are working just fine as far as i’m aware of.

Nuhj.8372:

Sprawl.3891:

Fiesbert.9816:

The funny part is that they do have a working AI in their code. Mesmer clones and ranger pets don’t have this idling problem.

Rangers have a PET ATTACK command. Mesmer phantasams can only be summoned with a target already locked and in range.

That’s the difference.

Well Spirit Weapons and Elementals are working just fine as far as i’m aware of.

Spirit weapons for the most part hit in aoe/cleave range ive seen so not single target as minions are so they might not see the issue.

Edi: Actually I dont think my spirit weapons on my guard ever run off and hit random mobs for me though or keep me combat longer.

I have to say that I agree with the angst in this post. I was playing my necro last night and my flesh golem quite a few times would just stand there and do nothing at all. Once it was because a fence blocked his path and he couldn’t get to me. A couple of other times though I was in the middle of a field with nothing around and he was just chilling out.

It’s crazy.

Jon has responded saying they are gonna look into the minion ai. I can’t remember the specific thread though.

I’ve pretty much given up on my minion master. In fact, I found this post while digging around for another build to salvage my first/only level 80. Especially in Orr, minions are just…BLEH.

The odds of Flesh Golem standing around and doing nothing, aggroing the wrong target or attacking my target seem about equal.

Being unable to regenerate because some idiot pet is stuck in combat somewhere (happens ALL the time in Orr, but I can’t necessarily leave the pets away because I’m constantly getting attacked) drives me crazy. All pets need a detonate/kill button.

I was really hoping Anet would do something special with pets but, from my perspective (as someone that has focused on pet class play extensively in many games over the last decade+), they are pretty terrible at worst to average at best. You guys can do better.

There’s just one thing i dont understand, since we necro’s only have the “f1” skill.
Why dont they just add a F2 pet attack, F3 pet follow and F4 pet passive/defensive button ?

Once a week i say to myself : “Let’s try and play with minions again, they can’t be that bad as i remember”….
It always ends in this.

Cyanide.9751:

There’s just one thing i dont understand, since we necro’s only have the “f1” skill.
Why dont they just add a F2 pet attack, F3 pet follow and F4 pet passive/defensive button ?

Once a week i say to myself : “Let’s try and play with minions again, they can’t be that bad as i remember”….
It always ends in this.

Probably because that is the ranger’s mechanic.

Hieronymus.2146:

Last night I sought to end that silence. Last night I destroyed my Golem, to remind myself of what I had forgotten. I had him charge various mobs and placed copper wagers on his victory or defeat.

I love you.

Well, rangers also have a “pet special skill” F button, while our utility skills are that skill… so there’s a diffirence.
And that doesn’t change the fact that it would make MM alot more interesting to play.