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Before the "git gud"s start rolling in, I should point out that this isn't a problem because it makes the game harder. It would be just as much of a problem if it made the game easier. The AI isn't working correctly in some cases and needs some attention.
In WT4/Challenge content the AI disregards cover or any sense of self-preservation to walk directly up to, into, and past you, even while you're emptying a full mag directly into their face. Everyone has seen this happening.
Rushers are supposed to do this, and they actually run, but that makes sense because they only have close range weapons. You have time to deal with them and weak spots to poke that will stall them.
However, I have seen every enemy type do this in the highest difficulty content. I have been rushed down by regular jobbers, grenadiers, medics, even snipers. This is clearly not intended.
As a result many end-game mission encounters involve falling back to the entry room for the encounter and camping there, shooting through the doorway. Even then sometimes all of the enemies will simply pile into the room and kill everyone. Here's an example (this is how this final encounter usually gets cleared in end-game): https://imgur.com/ZzFe2ax Outside that door is a huge area with lots of cover that the final fight is clearly intended to take place in, but it's almost never used because the AI simply walks over you, forcing you to fall back or die.
Yes, there are CC options, but they generally have long cooldowns or limited resources (grenades). And the enemies have too much durability to actually kill enough of them before the CC wears off. They also seem to be less effective against elites.
I've considered some plausible causes. The AI's aggression may factor in how much health and armor they have relative to you. At end-game the AI NPCs have enormous amounts of health and armor, so if this is the case, then the aggression check may be overflowing, causing all of them to move toward the players relentlessly.
With WT5 on the horizon, I would really appreciate it if Massive could take a look at this. This AI behavior renders the cover-based nature of the gameplay pointless and ineffective, and just doesn't feel right.
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