Some NPCs & creatures are nowhere to be found

[Foina]

Not sure how to best phrase this, but some NPCs and creatures I used to encounter in the wilderness aren't around anymore :confused:

There was this highwayman ambushing me at Fort Ash (on the way to Chorrol) -- haven't seen him in a *very* long while.

 

In the near vicinity (of Fort Ash) opened an Oblivion Gate (now long shut). There used to be a Mountain Lion in there, as well as a Spriggan and a Brown Bear.
They were fairly frequent encounters -> none is around anymore.

These are just examples, more AI has gone missing elsewhere, and nobody else appeared in their place.

What can I do? Please help.

[The_Vyper]

Each Khajiit Highwayman (there are 5 in game) is non-respawning. You can change that in the CS by checking the Respawn flag on them. The default respawn time is 72 hour (3 days), but that resets every time a cell is loaded. For instance, if the mountain lion was killed on Rain's Hand 1, it wouldn't respawn until Rain's Hand 4. But that counter would get reset if the cell got loaded on Rain's Hand 3. At that point, the mountain lion wouldn't respawn until Rain's Hand 6. If the cell got loaded before Rain's Hand 6, the counter would rest again.



You can shorten the respawn time by changing the game setting iHoursToRespawnCell.