You do not need to break their legs to make them smart - just make them use a array of possible targets and they pick the closest one that another hasn’t picked(or randomly pick between the closest and the third closest to that specific minion or something). Then increase aggro range a little.
You could also have them reprioriise targets if the attack kills OR if there are new valid targets after the attack.
Naturally manual targeting overrides all this.
And in case you are wondering, Yes, the minions are manifest armor level, they all use the same targeting AI. You only notice it with the armor because it is one minion, attacks slow and doesn’t have big aoe attacks.
The minions have really weak stats at a baseline, but scale really well with passives and eventually get good with dreadshade.
A default skeleton mage shoots a hungering soul which has a base damage of 9. but if you take the necro passives for flat damage, as well as the dreadshade with 4/4 for flat damage, you get a whopping +42 flat damage. which is 5.6x the damage of the default skeleton mages not even considering the more damage multiplier from dreadshade as well.
The class feels tragically bad to level because it just does not work until so late. I really like to level new characters when I play a new build and it really hampers me enjoying necromancer because its leveling is probably some of the worst in the game.
For me, it may be the easiest mastery to level. I litteraly run all around and the minions destroy everything behind me. I don’t know how you level, but there are other ways. I have levelled around ten necros, they all have been a realy pleasure. When I say “level”, I mean till at least the end of the first timeline, and for four of them till empowered timelines.
Necro is a real pleasure to level!
I was saying this as kind of a joke because stationairy (ranged) Wraiths feel way better to play than moving (melee) Wraiths in my opinion.
From what I can remember at least the AI for Wolves (and maybe some other minions) was changed not too long ago. I’m not sure if all minions use the exact same AI.
From my understanding, and I mentioned this before, some minions (especially Skelletons) have pretty shitty base damage. I don’t know the exact numbers and from where you got the 9 base damage for Hungering Souls (my guess is that you looked at the Acolyte skill and assume that Mages use the same base skill which is probably right) but yes, the base damage is pretty bad so any flat damage is, as you said, a very good boost.
I have to agree with both of you.
Depending on what kind of Necromancer you play and your knowledge of the class, leveling can be either super frustrating (especially bosses like Majasa seem to be a big problem for some Necromancer players) or it can be very relaxed.
Its not at risk of like struggling, it just feels sluggish to me, minions are pretty free in most arpgs cause as long as you know how to dodge you win eventually.
I just really wish necro minions had more oomph early game.
From my experience the Skeletons are a bit squishy until you get your mastery and you can skill into some health and regen. But from around level 30 on I don’t have had any issues with any of my builds. And as I said earlier, a Golem can often help very well by tanking damage away from your other minions.
It’s not the fastest zoom class, but story I find a walk in the park with Necro.
I agree that the ramp up of damage from level 1 to 20+ could be improved.
Early game is 1-30 for story, by level 40 I have all my passives and am doing monos normally.
Basically I feel like before mastery like you said they die too often, then they are sorta weak until dreadshade. As soon as you get dreadshade then everything is fine. But before dreadshade they just do such little damage that story bosses are a slog.
It is a walk in the park, its just a walk in the park with grandma and her walker because of how slow it is. Necro will never be a zoom class, but I think they need additive damage in some aspect before level 45-50~ when they get access to dreadshade finally.
Maybe we should compare how we set them up.
OK before mastery, they die and have to be resumonned.
After mastery, they melt everything. I run through maps while they destroy all what we see.
I only start using dread shade in the level 90 timelines, it’s totally useless before.
