Followers will not draw weapons unless in combat...

[Echo3Delta]

**UPDATE 2** I did a fresh install and encountered the same problem. But after testing the game with and without every major mod in my collection, I finally found the culprit! It's the SKSE! I have no idea what to do now, but launching the game with SKSE launcher results in my followers not drawing weapons when I do. This is ridiculous, and I'm gonna fiddle around more with this. All you guys better keep a weary eye on that SKSE thing.

 

**UPDATE** I'm calling Uncle and will do a fresh install of the game and all my mods. This will probably solve my problem, so don't strain yourself on my account!


I was planning to do some screenshooting with a couple followers and had some action shots with drawn weapons planned, but after I equipped them with weapons and drew mine, they wouldn't draw theirs! Consequently, I can't put weapons in their hands for the weapon poses I had planned for my screenshoot! This problem was not always the case, but I've installed quite a few mods since I last let followers hang around me.

Note: The followers still draw their weapons on their own and use them effectively when bad guys are around, so my problem isn't that they CAN'T draw; it's that they don't draw outside of combat when I do.

Background: I haven't installed any mods that advertise themselves as preventing follower draw outside of combat such as UFO.

 

Things I've tried: Lord I've been working on this for hours! I disengaged every single esp I installed since the last time I ran with followers (when they were drawing like normal); didn't work.
If it's not an esp, I thought it must be elsewhere in the data folder, so I crossreferenced the data files with mods I'd installed since the last time follower draw was working. The behavior files that came with xp32's New Animation Collection and FNIS updates looked suspicious, so I removed the whole behavior folder (backed up of course), and recalibrated FNIS; didn't work.
I spent hours and hours pouring through the console trying to find a command that would force my followers to draw; no luck.
I installed UFO's AlwaysDrawWeapons add-on even though I don't use UFO (I'm an Extensible Follower Framework guy), and tried the esp at both the bottom and top of my load order; didn't work.

 

I'm at my wits' end here. If you good people can't tell me how to get my followers to resume drawing their weapons whenever I do like old times--or teach me another way to get their equipped weapons into their hands so I can pose them--I'm going to do a fresh installation and carefully install all my mods again, which will take hours.

 

I'm sorry for such a long post, but I wanted to be as thorough as possible, so as not to waste your time by making you ask "Did you try scrapping your behavior files/disengaging your esps?"

 

Even if you don't have a solution for me, thank you very much for taking the time to read my problem!

Edited December 11, 2013 by Echo3Delta

[pheo3309]

The UFO AlwaysDrawWeapons I'm pretty sure won't work without UFO. What are the most recent mods that you've installed? While they may not advertise it, some could have conflicts somewhere. There's also the issue of load order. You may want to post that and people might be able to help you better after you show what you have. I personally use AFT and sometimes followers won't work correctly if they're not loaded before AFT. If they're vanilla followers though, I'm stumped until I can see a load order list.

[Echo3Delta]

Hey, thanks for your comment, but I got to thinking that it would take about as long to type out all my mods and the load order as it would take to do a fresh install. The number of mods I'm working with is probably just irresponsible, and that's why I'm having problems. So I'm gonna back up my saves and build a new Skyrim.

Again, thanks for your input!

[pheo3309]

Alrighty! One thing you could use in the future is BOSS or WyreBash, or you can find the plugins.txt in your LocalData folder I believe.

[Epis0dezer0]

Hey, I'm having the same problem.
It started out of nowhere, I hadn't changed any mods or anything...

I use the latest version of AFT and have 3 followers.
I was in breezehome, doing something, I think making potions, and i looked up and two of my followers were gone, just nowhere in the house.
I reloaded a previous save and all three followers were present, but wouldn't draw swords when I did.
Then two of them casually walked out of the house and were just gone.
I loaded an even earlier save, and found the no sword drawing problem persisted, and when I fast travelled and entered breezehome, they didn't follow me inside.

At this point I started uninstalling and reinstalling mods, changing load orders, the usual stuff.

After about three hours of messing with s#*!, the followers all decided to start following me home again.

However they're still not drawing swords.

 

Now the game is playable, and they behave appropriately in combat, but they no longer draw swords when I do, and I have no idea what to do about it.

[myztikrice]

It's a setting made by AFT fAIDistanceTeammateDrawWeapon

[Epis0dezer0]

Actually found a work around, by looking up the opposite.

There's a console command:

setGameSetting fAIDistanceTeammateDrawWeapon 2000

 

this fixed the problem for me, but it doesn't persist on save/load

I guess something happened that set the draw distance to 0

it doesn't explain the other s***, like the teammates walking off and stuff, but that part seems to have been sorted, and the draw distance thing is just the lingering effect of whatever that bug was.

 

 

@myztikrice - just saw your comment, how do I change it back permanently?

Edited January 24, 2014 by castingninja

[mikeloeven]

I had this issue and your solution worked perfectly Thanks !!

[FaintestVirus]

For whom it may concern. I also use AFT, and bloody love it. However, the followers not drawing weapons when your PC did, drove me mad, as I couldn't help but feel silly being the "only" one drawing my weapon before an ambush, and sometimes minutes before I actually stabbed anything. After some research, and a little desperation, I went ahead and tried out the UFO patch for this issue, despite using AFT, thus lacking the UFO core files. Seeing as my theory was that this "patch" should only effect One line of data (fAIDistanceTeammateDrawWeapon) I decided it should technically, work without the Core, and "hopefully" with another overhaul such as AFT. I was right, and decided to post here saying. Yes, the UFO patch for this issue works flawlessly with AFT, and I'd "assume" it'd work with others, assuming the mod effected the same line of data. Seeing as this worked for me perfectly, I decided to endorse UFO, as a sign of gratitude, plus I've seen it in action, and know it's worth the extra endorsement. Would even recommend it to those with whom AFT just didn't click with. " AFT forever for me though :) " Anyhow, hope this saves desperate AFT'ers a lot of pain. Enjoy! :)

 

I want to thank the authors of both UFO, and AFT. AFT for their amazing mod, and UFO for their beautiful Universal patch <3

[Cagamuchi]

Thanks, FaintestVirus. It works. :)