Why does the AI keep refusing to use Specials?

Ebbtide

This keeps getting brought up by the community, but no response is given by Kabam. This whole year the AI keeps acting like it's All or Nothing. The AI did not previously act like this, so was this a decision to make the AI more difficult with more unavoidable damage?

LeNoirFaineant

Where are you seeing this? If it's in the area, the AI has always leaned AON until after you get your streak established.

Thi101

It’s what we call passive AI

It’s annoying when you die just because the AI refused to use a SP1 or 2 and keeps saving until it reaches SP3, no matter how much you tried to bail those out.

Frustrating to say the least

Aomine_Daiki10

Ebbtide said:

This keeps getting brought up by the community, but no response is given by Kabam. This whole year the AI keeps acting like it's All or Nothing. The AI did not previously act like this, so was this a decision to make the AI more difficult with more unavoidable damage?

Especially the ones that are easy to dodge the hard ones like korg sp1 won't wait for you to bait they just use it cause they know it will get you

Tehsigzorz

I encounter these most often while building my infinite streak. Its massively annoying and I am realizing that the side events the past few months also has quite a passive AI.

UnFazedSkull

Ebbtide said:

This keeps getting brought up by the community, but no response is given by Kabam. This whole year the AI keeps acting like it's All or Nothing. The AI did not previously act like this, so was this a decision to make the AI more difficult with more unavoidable damage?

Because you forgot to ask nicely.

DNA3000

Ebbtide said:

This keeps getting brought up by the community, but no response is given by Kabam. This whole year the AI keeps acting like it's All or Nothing. The AI did not previously act like this, so was this a decision to make the AI more difficult with more unavoidable damage?

When you say the AI did not previously act like this, what do you mean specifically by "previously?" Different people have complained off and on about this for along time, since at least 12.0 and honestly probably a bit before that. Also, while the AI seems to be more and less aggressive at times, different styles of play seem to greatly affect the behavior. Some people see this often, some people see this rarely.

One strategy I've found that mitigates this is that most champions seem to be more aggressive with specials when their back is to the wall, and less aggressive with specials when your back is to the wall. So when you're in a part of the arena streak where you tend to get the more conservative AI, if you stop using full combos and start using shorter combos so as to not give as much power, and you aggressively tag the champ repeatedly with jabs to push them to the right, you can significantly increase the probability they will try to throw a special to get out of the corner.

klobberintyme

knocking them on their *** and dashing back tends to do the trick. Mlllm won't. Just my experience.

Ebbtide

LeNoirFaineant said:

Where are you seeing this? If it's in the area, the AI has always leaned AON until after you get your streak established.

This is showing in Alliance War, Quests, and Alliance Quests, as well as what you said in Arena. It's particularly annoying in Alliance War, as that costs you points when the AI refuses to use a Special and builds to Special 3 for a frequent instant KO. In AW, I had this happen while I was using Infinity War Iron Man, and this was interesting to watch as I Power Controlled my opponent, who literally did not fire a Special attack the entire fight because I kept them between Special 2 and 3, and in some cases it's on the same node but with varying enemies. It's clear in those fights the AI was just going to hold to Special 3. No All or Nothing fight. Varying combos, waiting at Special 1 to see if they fire, then needing to fight back as time passes. Waiting at Special 2 to see if they fire, and the same result. The impending Special 3 was only prevented by my ability to power control them, and no other option.

In an Alliance War fight against Domino I held in a corner, taking a beating for over 40 seconds until I built up to a Special 3. Time was running out and I knew I'd either timeout or get KOed from the chipping away of health. Her Special Bar was above 2, and I had to decide if I just hit her with my Special 3, knowing she would return attack with her Special 3 when mine ended, or just hoping she eventually fired her Special 2 attack as I evaded and blocked in the corner. Leading up to that beating, I had her on the right side of the screen, dashing back, block-block-blocking, varying my combos and spacing out attacks; nothing made her fire a Special, leading me over to my side of the screen.

The only thing that saved me that fight was firing my Special 3 and aggressively attacking with IWIM's energy attacks to drain some power off of her, leading her to remain at two bars of power while I finished her. She was absolutely not going to fire anything but Special 3.

The AI being too passive is a problem for numerous reasons. Characters like Hyperion or Mordo can hang back and build specials with no opportunity to Power Drain them. If you go to heavy attack these opponents, they can counter with an instant heavy attack. If you strike at them while they block, they can fire a Special off, or even hit you mid attack. In countdown fights this can also be a problem, and not just in Alliance War or Alliance Quest. Fights that have you needing to hit the enemy in so many seconds or take degeneration damage are an issue with this, fights where unavoidable damage over time is applied is frustrating with passive AI, as they can just hang back and you're losing a fight without a fight.

I understand the AI blocking, or not just instantly firing Special 1 every fight. I understand the AI not just being mindless and running into punches. But look at videos players have of Modok just holding block; not moving, not fighting, not working as intended. Go to heavy hit him; bam, instant heavy by Modok. Hit into his block, boom, counter attack hit. If he is power gaining from a node bonus, he's going to build to Special 3 while doing nothing. If you have Void, or Quake or Corvus Glaive maybe the Passive AI works better for you. But for many other champions this hanging back, not fighting, not firing AI is not something that flows well.

Something has changed this year and that's what I'm asking about. This isn't every fight, but it's occurring enough that the community has raised this numerous times, yet there never seems to be an answer as to why we seem to face quasi-All or Nothing champions, or AI that just holds block until they can get a cheap hit in on us.

Kabam Miike

We have not made any changes to the AI in-game, and have not done anything that would affect whether or not they choose to use a Special Attack.

We've replied to a few threads like this, but cannot spend time replying to the same questions over and over, which might be why you haven't seen a reply to your specific question.

RagamugginGunner

Passive AI and going All-Or-Nothing is just the worst. Really makes arens unenjoyable.