PC mage always drawing threat before combat?

[aeroldoth]

I have a problem that is annoying me. Every single combat, even before anyone does anything, all the monsters head straight for my pc. Nobody's attacked, no spells cast, no items used, yet monsters will ignore the rest of the party, running right past them to go after my mage. He has no sustainables on and I can't figure out why this happens like 90% of the time. I have other guys closer, they have threaten on, yet they're all ignored.

 

I can understand drawing threat during combat from spells cast. I even know some sustains draw threat, like miasma. Yet why is my mage being targetted over and over before anything happens? It also seems that it takes very little in spell casting to draw threat. So EVERY combat passes that they either all attack him immediately, or it takes a few seconds before they all attack him. it's getting more and more annoying. This is a problem I've seen in numerous video games, not just DAO, and I don't enjoy it at all.

 

I have some mods installed so it may be something's going on there. Does equipment draw threat? Is it class? Is it being the PC? Is threat buildup somehow lasting between battles so his threat is over 9000? None of his gear says it raises hostility, so I don't know what the source is. Is it his AC or HP?

 

Any help appreciated.

[snargel]

The pc is always at the front of the party, so they do tend to draw more threat at the very start. A couple of tips:

 

-Heavier armor and melee weapons draw more threat, so keep your mage in robes with a staff and make sure you have at least one fighter in massive armor. This doesn't work on nightmare difficulty.

-Mind blast resets threat levels against the mage, making it incredibly useful. I have it set to autocast when surrounded by two or more enemies.

-Delay casting offensive spells at the start of a fight. Wait until your tank has engaged several opponents.

-Give your warriors and rogues tactics to knock down/taunt/stun enemies attacking your mage.

 

Failing all else, spec your mage into an arcane warrior!

Edited March 28, 2017 by snargel

[willjk57]

I find playing a mage infinitely easier and more enjoyable in Origins than Drakensang, where it takes an eternity to cast a spell (and usually he's down before it's done!), so I really don't see your problem. The npc with the heaviest armor is the one the enemies usually head to first I found.

[aeroldoth]

so I really don't see your problem.

It's a recurring problem in countless video games. I've never played Drakensang so I don't know what that's like, but I'm quite tired of playing mages who are constantly targetted over everyone else. I play a mage to cast spells, not to spend the whole combat running away from enemies, running in circles, quaffing healing pots every round, or getting cut to pieces. I want to DO something, not be target practice.

 

I remember playing Temple of Elemental Evil. I sent the whole party into a room while my mage waited around the corner. All the baddies completely ignored the party that just barged in, ran past them (getting autoattacked in the process), out the door, down the hall and around the corner to attack a mage they couldn't even know about.

 

I've played games that pissed me off so much at their stupid AI that sometimes I would put the mage in godmode and have him stand there. While all the enemies attacked me round after round I would just sit there, disgusted, as the rest of party cut them down with impunity. Creatures that focus exclusively on a target that hasn't affected them while completely ignoring the other creatures that are KILLING them is horrible AI.

 

I can at least accept DAO monsters targetting a mage that's harming them. What pisses me off (and is one of the many reasons I hate NWN2) is when monsters constantly head for my PC mage before combat starts, even though he's in the back, even though he hasn't done anything, even though no "random" selection would make him the target 90% of the time. It seems the only way to avoid this is to have him wait a mile behind the group for EVERY battle so that he can't possibly be detected. Of course this requires constantly holding him back and then it takes several rounds having him catch up to a battle. It's just a real annoyance every battle, one I don't like.

 

I wish I knew what was putting the neon sign on him.

[willjk57]

I always play a mage in Origins, not liking its limitations on melee tho, as he seems to control the battlefield. Even if I try rogue or warrior it always seems I gravitate toward using Morrigan the most.

Putting the mage in non-aggressive mode does help but then you'll have to monitor him constantly so he's blasting or casting spells, or setting his tactics in aggresive mode then. If you have the Awakening in Origins set-up the mage can use repel spells.

 

Drakensang came out about a year before DOA ( WHO COPIED WHO? ) and suggest you give it a try, I think I like it even more than Origins. Altho there is some interaction with companions, nothing like the navigation with the mad/happy sex/friends relationships in Origins.