Combat | Development

[MiqobotKeymaster]

Materials Hunting

The most basic Combat AI will be able to navigate through the area and hunt monsters for loot. An example would be farming Leatherworker materials.

It will work like Gathering. You will be able to set up a navigation route for the area, and Miqobot will follow it killing the monsters on her path. An option to hunt monsters by name will be available as well.

Arenas

Arenas are basically free-roaming areas.

Navigation grids provide information on how to reach a destination point based on the current position in the world. But for Combat we are designing a different kind of Navigation AI, which will be able to move and fight at the same time. This is not a replacement for navigation grids. Arenas will be connected to waypoints, and Miqobot will switch betweeen them when necessary.

It is still unclear how to detect and avoid obstacles within these areas. We’ll share more details when we have more information.

FATE Grinding

FATEs are currently the best way to level up additional jobs outside of Dungeons. And it’s also the first stage of the Anima Relic Grind. Eventually we are planning to release both FATE and Dungeon support. Details for Dungeons will be revealed later.

As for FATEs, we are preparing complete navigation grids which will cover the whole map. They will allow Miqobot to navigate between active FATEs in the area. Miqobot can already detect active FATEs, so she will be able to fly directly to the next one. With initial release, all Heavensward locations will be supported. And some time later we will add navigation routes for other locations.

The main idea we are working on is to participate in as many FATEs as possible while still getting the Gold rewards everywhere. Our AI will be able to track each FATEs progress and your character’s personal investment in order to predict the expected reward. When Miqobot decides that it was enough for receiving Gold, she will leave FATE early and proceed to the next one.

Like with every feature in Miqobot, we plan to release FATE Grinding in stages and add improvements along the way.

[MiqobotKeymaster]

Several other leveling methods have been introduced by the game since we started Combat development, and FATEs are no longer the best. Therefore our priorities changed as well.
The core combat system is 90% complete and we are now making announcements of the upcoming features.

Squadron Dungeons

Starting from Patch 4.1, it is possible to enter a dungeon with 3 unit members of your Adventurer Squadron.

This leveling method is significantly faster than farming dungeons normally, because there is no queue time. A limited set of dungeons is available at the moment, however new ones are being unlocked with every major patch.
With the latest addition of Sohm Al, it gives the best experience per hour rate up to around level 60, and still remains viable after that.

Miqobot will be able to farm the selected dungeon of your choice by interacting with NPC in Squadron Barracks, for as long as you want or until Grand Company seals are depleted.
Although the price for a single run ranges from 1,000 to 3,000 seals, about 60-70% of the cost returns in form of dungeon gear which can be used for Expert Delivery. Additional scenario function will be implemented to automate the delivery process as well.

The core combat system will contain:

• Seamless omnidirectional battle navigation.
• Detecting and avoiding obstacles.
• Multiple AoE dodging.
• Maintaining positionals.
• Maintaining line of sight.
• Battle rotations for all classes.
• Squadron engage / disengage / limit break management.
• Complete understanding and execution of boss mechanics.
• Automatic switching between combat and normal navigation.
• Automatic recovery after KO.
  (KO events will be rare, but a recovery system will be put in place regardless.)

All dungeons are carefully scripted by Miqobot team with a comprehensive list of objectives. All you will have to do is select your squadron party, choose a dungeon, and click Start.

Here is a preview of our Combat Pathfinding system.
The algorithm is designed for fast on the fly calculations and is capable to provide instant reaction.

Cell meshes are generated directly from navigation grids and thus become highly customizable.

This feature will become a special test area for creating and fine-tuning AI behaviours for each role and job.

After the core system is stabilized, we will introduce Palace of the Dead and Heaven-on-High support.

[MiqobotKeymaster]

The early beta version of the Combat system is released: [Beta] Combat

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