When KCD was released, the ambush points were interesting but sometimes ridiculously easy. by 1.4.3, there were notable improvements. with 1.5, things are looking up but noticeable gaps remain.
the number and quality of NPCs has improved a lot. in earlier releases, plain clothes NPCs were poor at fighting and were as easy to kill as cockroaches. now, to me, they battle better. if i’m too reckless or hasty, they can kick my arse especially when there are 3 or more. still think it’s foolish that they don’t run when they see a fully armored Henry with fancy weaponry. the fear perk should be totally unnecessary for them.
the Cuman do better and their archers seem to shoot better. that said, they really should be deadeye shots, and they shouldn’t wait to see the whites of Henry’s eyes to act. currently, the log/chest/body trigger on the path is too desensitized. once Henry’s in range, the archers should open fire and from strategic locations. this doesn’t happen… yet.
the bandits have increased in numbers, quality of gear and techniques. on the forested path, if my technique suffers much, they seriously wound and sometimes kill me. they swarm really well on 1 person (Henry). this combat AI is fine and doesn’t need much if any tweaking.
all the night time ambushers wait until the ambush is triggered to pull out their torches. that’s nice. there’s also more variety in the ambush scenarios. much appreciated.
Areas for improvement:
-can’t recall any Cuman asking me to surrender. so, the Cuman archers should clearly strike with lethal intent, and they should do so proactively (aim/hit Henry in head/neck once within 5-10m; or, better yet, one targets the horse and other targets Henry)
-the NPCs still don’t track and react well enough to Henry when he goes off path. so, Henry can still get off the path, dismount, sneak behind and stealth kill the ambushers… even 2 side by side (did so 2 days ago)!
-some ambushers still face the wrong direction (eg face away instead of towards path and ambush point)
-simple bandits (light/no armor) should have greater runaway tendencies
-knocking Henry off horse seems too easy for ambushers who have just been hit or pushed by a +500kg animal; ambush NPCs should take a greater stamina reduction when bumped by Warhorse Jenda et al. currently, they get off strikes too easily. also, it would be nice if these enemy NPCs had a chance of being trampled (knocked down, out, killed; enable via horseriding perk if need be)
-pls add a greater sense of randomness by adding more locations, more variety and more situational triggering elements. after 30h(?) of exploring, you’re likely to know (almost) all the ambush spawn points. going in and out of LOD seems to trigger the RNG behind the ambush mechanism. could benefit from more nuance. an example: if Henry is overloaded there’s a 30% more chance of barricaded check point at strategic locations (well traveled paths outside of town limits). These checks points are less ambushes than straight up highway robbery. At least 3 NPCs standing at barricade, and at least 1 should be an archer (at draw on Henry as he approaches)
fyi @WH_janrucker @DrFusselpulli much but not all of the above has been communicated via WH support tickets
Agree? Disagree? Pls share your thoughts below!