AI spell casting priorities

[Kristoffer O]

Hi,

Seems like some spells might be too popular.

I've heard about:
Astral Shield
Arrow Fend (recently heard of this, so I'm not sure how bad it is)

Any others since last patch?

[sector24]

Bone Grinding (typically over Undead Mastery)

[Zeldor]

Kristoffer:

Black list! We want the ability to set a list of spells that our mages are forbidden to cast!

[Jazzepi]

Zeldor said:
Kristoffer:

Black list! We want the ability to set a list of spells that our mages are forbidden to cast!

Seriously. This would fix most of the problems.

Jazzepi

[ano]

+1 vote for blacklist.
If you really want to fix the problem, it will be definitely the best fix

[Amhazair]

Okey, people. I suspect KO has already heard about the blacklist idea, and that it won't be very easy to implement.

While a blacklist might fix some issues, that's not the point here. KO is asking specifically for spells that have too high spellcasting priority, probably with the intention of fixing that. Wether or not at one point in the future there might possibly be thought of maybe adding a blacklist feature, it won't be today, nor tomorrow. In the meantime having the priority of the ridiculously popular spells lowered would be wonderful, so the least we can do is help the guy out when he asks for input instead of throwing requests for a new feature in his face.

Having said all that, I can't think of one not already mentioned right now, but I'll definitely keep my eyes open.

Edit: Oh, and thanks, KO, for caring.

[thejeff]

KO, would the simplest solution be to boost the bonus added to the scripted spell?

At least it looked like that was what was going on in the debug log.

[NTJedi]

Here are some battlefield spell annoyances:

Priests casting 'sermon of courage' on archers instead of the nearby melee troops marching forward. Melee troops should always be targeted first over archers.

Mages casting elementals like 'living earth' when the enemy is already retreating. This becomes a total waste of gems and shouldn't be casted while the enemy is retreating.


---
I agree with Natpy... spellcasters with 12 hitpoints or less should never cast fireshield unless scripted.

[Natpy]

Fire shield

[thejeff]

Targeting is a different issue.

Lowering priorities for Summons, especially gem using summons would be nice. Slow summons while the enemy is already retreating are pointless.

I'd say the AI over prioritizes summons in general. Raise Dead spam is nice, but usually summons aren't that effective.

No gem use when the enemy army is routed? I can't think of a reason. As long as beserk or other unroutable units are considered.