I don’t know if I love bots or I hate people, but I play vs bots a lot. They never whine, say GG and yes they can be exploited (they SUCK at getting through chokepoints) but they are a very good training tool if used correctly. For example, they are amazing at showing you positioning weakness because you get insta-gibbed if you stay too long in the open.
Also, I know I am not the god of Overwatch, but some of the fastest takedowns ever were in bot controlled heroes. You will quickly learn to never get close to RH and never be in the open when Zen has a narc on.
I think they aren’t bad, as attested by the fact that people exploit the AI to win. They always do chokepoints, predict their path (Volskaya bot attack A is 1 left 1 right forever), etc. If you stay on the point they present a real challenge and I have lost to them when they get 2 or more ultis together because they do combo.
I don’t care how high you are, Nano/Whole Hog presents a problem.
They DO polish the bots. I have noticed they work better together, tend to cluster better (which exposes them to ultis, true), have more natural aim and turns, etc. In fact, there are situations where I wouldn’t be able to tell they were bots if I didn’t know. In fact, I noticed Bastion camps now on Blizzard World. Noice. In fact, Blizz World is one of the best maps to play vs bots, I think it’s because they got a boost around that map release and because bots shine when they are less constrained by narrow corridors.
Frankly, versus bots is boring on defense because they have real trouble attacking. Here is what I think could help:
- Allow bots to swap. If I know what composition they play, they are easy to counter.
- Allow bots to switch tactics mid-attack. They can come grouped, but if they detect a choke break up and flank/pierce/spam.
- Add sneaking. Many heroes are dangerous if they are behind the lines or to the side. Randomly allow, say, Reaper to flank on a separate path and only start firing once he is in optimal range or he has been detected (seen by a player).
- Better ulti avoidance. Most human players know very well to scatter when they hear ultimates, bots don’t. Yes they will scater if they see Dva ulti triggered, but they should auto-scatter if possible if they hear Hanzo or Junkrat, too. Real players do.
- Allow bots to choose between engaging and taking. If the bots determine that they have an advantage over the players in their vicinity, they should stop and fight. Right now they almost 100% ignore the players and run for the capture, which is good in general but it’s very predictable. Bots basically run a gauntlet and it’s easy to peel them. Once they go though the chokepoint, if they see the opportunity to do damage they should group, support each other and take out a few of those darned humies.
I know these are not trivial changes and that adding AI for new heroes is hard, I agree, but the small pool makes certain strategies always work.
Also, in case anyone important at Blizzard reads this, here’s a suggestion I’d ave for the bots: Puzzle mode.
In puzzle mode, you are taken to a map and given a task, in essence a short game. For example, 3 minutes, take Hanamura A. You are given a combination of 6 bots that defend, you find a comp that works and take the point. A button that work like Stay As a Team would be pushed to Retry. 50% means retry, under means next challenge.
Next game, defend Hanamura B against this comp. Next, stop they payload from making a checkpoint with this comp.
Bonus points if the bots have a random assortment of ultimates ready.
That would make a great tool to teach people about counters and I think would be easy to do. Basically just a regular game but shorter and with a bit more specific rules.
). But Bots don’t know what the enemy abilities can do.