hiver said:
Seen dragons finishing guards by biting them whole and throwing them around like bags. Did that to me too few times when i was foolish enough to go direct melee for long.
They also made very low swoops as if they are going to pick up someone but it never happened.
bethesda most probably intentionally gimped them not to make their mass market cry.
or its a bug.
anyways, ... im trying to talk some modders into enhancing dragons as they should be.
1. Make them much stronger then ordinary guards and wildlife
2. Allow them to perform their finishing moves on such lower enemies much more often.
3. actually use a much wider assortment of shouts including disarm, knockback, freeze etc.
I'd like this kind of thing done not just dragons but for all enemies, so if your contacts are serious about it, it's be cool to ask them to consider refining the enemy AI (possible?). Most only have 2-3 moves which consist of their normal attack and power attack. For mages it's 1 normal spell, 1 advanced spell, and 1 heal. Their only maneuvers are attack, run for heal, and beg for mercy.
Players can sidestep projectiles but enemy AI don't do that. It's weird because in many situations, they know you're shooting spells/arrows. How? Lower level melee units run for cover. Doesn't seem a stretch to me for them to be able to sidestep. Wolves run for cover then circle back around to gank you. I think this could be expanded to allow for more advanced movement for all enemy units.
Players can also sidestep slower melee attacks and power attacks, but enemy units just stand there and block it, which breaks their block and leaves them totally open for 1-2 normal attacks from you. At the very least, bosses should have this programmed into their behaviour. Using a shield, I've also been able to block enemy attacks at the last second, but enemies don't do this. They randomly enter block mode until the timer on the block runs out or you break it. I don't think I've ever seen one block one of my random attacks - not even bosses. However, I've experienced enemies interrupting my power attacks with a shield bash, even if I did it from a distance.
Equipping some units with potions might make for more dynamic combat. Not just healing potions but poisons that halt stamina/magic/health regen or paralyze you. How come I can loot mammoth cheese off a dead body but nobody has a minor stamina potion on them? A few people have commented that diversity of enemies can make the combat more dynamic. I think there's enough variety in enemy mobs, but it's their behaviour that's stale.
There are probably a ton of ways the combat in Skyrim could be improved. What I think it boils down to is that it gets utterly predictable with the exception of a few notable bosses, which can still be taken care of by manipulating their crappy pathfinding and lack of jumping.
A typical example is fighting a bear. It behaves in one of two ways: it attacks or it power attacks. I'm faced with a tactical decision that basically only has one option: block. If the bear had additional moves like a charge that knocked down, a bite that paralyzed, a swipe that caused concussive head trauma even through a block, or a roar that randomly summoned a fellow bear, it might vary things some.
I get that many don't like this game, and I have my reservations as well, but from a completely objective pov, does it make sense to tackle combat mechanics first and foremost, or does the leveling system deserve modding priority?
