Help with CK Actor SpellList tab and possibly a few other questions

[doomstrike53]

Edit: I decided to switch to Immersive AFT instead of EFF, so far liking it a bit better though it'll take some getting use to.

 

I'm working on my own follower mod. I'm really new at this but after a ton of tutorials I think I've got the basics down. She's a simple destruction mage who's met extremely early game in the Bannered Mare. My intention is to travel with her for the entire playthrough, and I'm currently using Extensible Follower Framework for leveling with the player among other things. However, there's extremely little information about the SpellList tab in the actor window, not even a wiki page. Everything else seems to be working fine, but I can't finish until I can get some questions answered.

 

1) There are multiple versions of the same spell (flames, flamesLeftHand, flamesRightHand). Which one/s do I add and why?

2) I read here that the order you add spells affects how they are chosen, but as soon as I exit the actor window, they are alphabetized. Does adding spells in any particular order matter?

3) On the subject of spell prioritizing, I also read somewhere the AI is already smart enough to switch spells for the situation. (frostbite vs nords, flames vs flame atronach, etc.) How do I make her prefer fire spells generally when not disadvantaged?

 

I'm only starting her off with a few basic spells since she's met so early and plan to give her spell tomes as she gets stronger. As for perks, I added a few to start her off but later game might end up just having to add more via console, not sure if EFF will do anything on that front. Maybe if this gets finished and works, I can take it further and make her more unique. Any response would be greatly appreciated as the lack of information elsewhere has been frustrating.

Edited May 27, 2017 by doomstrike53

[lofgren]

For question 1, some creatures such as draugr can only cast spells with their left hand, so they will not cast spells that are not pre-set to left hand only. I believe for NPCs you can use either.

[doomstrike53]

Thanks for the info! So basically I can just ignore any spell with "hand" in the name? That simplifies things.

Edited May 25, 2017 by doomstrike53

[doomstrike53]

I was just looking through the spells that other mage NPCs use to try and figure out a pattern or something, and it's extremely inconsistent. Jzargo for example, his spell list goes like this:

Firebolt

Flames

Frostbite

FrostbiteLeftHand

Fury

HealOther

IceSpike

IceSpikeLeftHand

Obviously the devs who made Jzargo are way more competent than I am, so there must be a reason they gave him both Frostbite and FrostbiteLeftHand, and only the regular Flames and Firebolt. Evidently it's not as simple as I thought.

Edited May 26, 2017 by doomstrike53

[doomstrike53]

Another question a bit off topic about perks. After some research it seems it's more or less impossible to add perks to NPCs in-game. The only way would be to exit the game and add them via the CK, which would get really old really fast. Any suggestions on how to handle her perks? Do NPCs benefit from perks if they don't have the appropriate skill lvl? If not I could just give her all the intended perks and she'd "unlock" them as she gets stronger without having to add them.