How Can Modifications of A.I. Affect the Meta for Better or Worse?

Dahkness1831

Recently with changed A.I. behavior such as Doombots and some of the new quests (yes anecdotal at best but nonetheless) I started thinking about how that affects certain champs. It seems of late, the A.I. is less apt to charge in to be parried. With just that aspect in mind, I think the ramifications of the “value” of certain champs goes down. Champs such as Sunspot, Longshot and Hyperion who rely on a Parry/Heavy combo for maximum efficiency begin to depreciate. Yes they are still solid champs, just not as solid. Further more, it increases the length of the fight. That I would say is the “bad” for the most part. The good I would say is removing a “stale” game play and breath new life into the game.

There may be other aspects of A.I. modification that can create unintended changes which may or may not better the game. I would like to hear other opinions of the matter.

As for the aforementioned one, I have been feeling particular pain as I have a 6* Sunspot R2 and a 5* R5 Longshot. This is what got me thinking about it as I find myself more and more often in situations where the A.I. refuses to get into a situation where I may parry. Had I thought if this before, I would have never upgraded those two champs. Now I am looking for other ideas to get ahead of the next A.I. modification. In other words only upgrade champs that are not reliant on the A.I. to behave in any particular way.

MSpawn

On the flip side of that, I’ve noticed the ai standing there, unguarded, while allowing you to pummel them until their power meter builds. Then they go on the offensive. I guess it’s okay until you get backed into a corner after they’ve refused to launch any specials. Then you have to fight your way out, only to realize they’re already at L3 after taking the initial punishment. I guess standing around to take damage is good for EQ, arena, etc, but when in AQ and AW, that can take a heavy toll on your 3-man team and resources. Almost seems unfair. The idea of baiting out a special isn’t necessarily a skill. Not sure what to make of it when the opponent doesn’t throw them and there’s really no way to mitigate SP3 damage (save a few niche champs). The game has definitely changed!