Units attack closest Target over commanded target

Game Version:

Newest update on steam

Issue:

Units choose to attack the closet target over the one commanded. I have seen this happen quite a few times mostly with scout raids on villager but also with step lancers and militia. The problem is when I want to target a low HP villager or enemy units my units redirect their attack to the closets villager or enemy unit instead of targeting down the low HP unit. I didn’t bother to complain about this until now since I lost the opportunity to kill a villager here and there mostly but just now this cost me the game as enemy militia ended up winning drush war as I kept trying to target the 1 hp enemy unit and my militia kept choosing to fight the closer full HP units and this set me back enough to make my opponent hit castle age first and destroy me with xbows.

Reproduction Steps:

Please remove the code that makes units attack the closest target and make them obey my commands to the death even if I want them to charge to their death to target down a unit (enemy trebs under a castle for example)

15 Likes

By the way I am not confusing direct attack command with patrol attack. My units act almost exactly like as if I told them to patrol

After running some tests on scenario editor with scouts vs vils. It seems the scouts all head in the direction of the vil commanded to target by me and after about 1 second if the vil is not in range they redirect their attack to the closest villagers. They act like as if i told them to patrol attack when I want them to attack.

This issue was also discussed in few topics during beta and it still exists today. The sudden change of target although the direct attack command was issued. The way I see it that You have to attack command one or more times the same target. Its especially frustrating for me in the campaigns when to kill a specific target and only a few units make it. If there are enemy buildings around my archers will almost surely attack the buildings because the target is out of range.

Exactly my issue. I am glad im not the only one who noticed this.

I’ve noticed it happen multiple times but never remembered to post it in the forums.
It’s seriously annoying.

This was happening in the vanilla version too (less noticeable?), we used to go with the scouts in stand ground, this trick helped.

2 Likes

Not to mention units on aggressive stance staying idle in the middle of the battle… or while a vil is freely chopping wood 1 tile away from an idle aggressive stance unit

1 Like

I just tested this behavior by using same testing scenario both in AOC and DE. IMO units behaved pretty similarly in both versions of the game. When I selected single unit and right-clicked him on some enemy unit in group battle, then he often instead choose to attack closer unit.

This behavior might seem a little bit unintuitive, but it is needed in order to keep right-click working properly when ordering units to attack group of enemy units. Units must be able to attack closer units in order for group attack to work without units overprioritizing reaching single targeted enemy unit. This was broken for quite a long time, but thankfully was recently fixed.

Could you please check right-clicked units behavior in AOC and compare it to behavior in DE? Are there any significant differences for you? AOC behavior should generally be kept so that gameplay generally remains the same as has been for 20 years.

Yes, that method is often used and is well-accepted solution to the problem of attacking single certain unit in group battle. I believe that it would be good, if double-right-click would prioritize attacking targeted unit over closer units.

Should definitely be fixed, but appears to be a different issue.

I am also still struggeling with this. It makes it impossible to win with anything, as long as enemy makes onager/siege. When I click the onager, my units go in that direction for a second, and then just starts attacking the closest unit. Then my cavalry dies instantly to Halberdiers, and my melee units die to the siege.

3 Likes

I think they made this for noobs that click one target to send a giant army into a giant army but pro players who know how to use patrol for this are suffering. I think the only way around it is to constantly click the target you want to attack.

1 Like

Adding link to my bug-report, as we struggle with the same but I did not find your bug-report when I created mine. With increased attention to these reports I would hope something will be done with this! Units attacking closest enemy unit instead of the selected unit

1 Like

Game Version:

  • Build 4667120
  • Platform Steam

Issue:

I have to contiously click the enemy units I want my units to kill. If I only click-to-attack the chosen enemy unit once, my units go towards the selected enemy units for a second, but immediately wanders of attacking a random nearby unit. This makes it impossible to prioritize siege units. My units behave like the standard “right click” attack was replaced by the patrol move although I am not using the patrol-move. It does not happen all the time, but the problem seems to be more present during the most intens battles.)

Reproduction Steps:

  1. Engage in a heavy fight where the enemy has meele units in front of its siege units such as onager/siege onager.
  2. Make your cavalry attack the enemy siege units behind the enemy meele units by right clicking the enemy siege units.
  3. Watch as the cavalry units disregard your command, and starting attacking the closest units, which could be meele units that counter your cavalry.
9 Likes

Happened for me aswell with knights in the latest hotfix - 35209 (but never before). Enemy was attacking with trebuchets and was defending it with pikes I only wanted to kill trebs but my knights did the exact same thing what you’ve written down. For 1 second go into trebs direction then just ignore command and attack halbs. When I saw this I begin constantly clicking the trebs but this neither worked because they always went back to fight halbs. I didn’t use patrol or anything. That battle probably lost me the game, because I took a fight I didn’t want and didn’t manage to destroy the trebuchets. Please fix!

2 Likes

So sorry to hear man, thats so frustrating! For now I mainly play with strong ranged Civs such as Britons, because then the issue is easier to deal with, but for shure - I cannot keep playing the game if this is not fixed! Having to throw away Paladins for pikemen is enraging :hot_face:

Happens to me too. HORRIBLE behavior. It is effectively impossible to target specific high-value or high-damage units if they’re behind meat shields. I was trying to get 8-10 conqs to take out a siege ram after I’d castle-dropped my enemy. Instead, they’d look at the ram, then target individual villagers, buildings, etc.

I can also confirm that this is an issue. All my units have been wiped out several times because they would not reliably target onagers when told to if there are other units in the way. In addition the pathfinding was worse than I remembered it to be and units kept prioritizing buildings instead of units under certain conditions. That was a really frustrating match.

Game Version:

  • Build (101.101.35209.0 44667120)
  • Platform (Steam)

Issue:

When i command for example 2 knights to attack an enemy mango, they will automatically retarget units they get attacked by (or just random units which are closer to them; but it seems like it has an impact when they get attacked by a different unit).

For example when archers of my opponent are attacking my knights, this guys will stop targeting the mango i wanted them to attack and they will turn and try to kill the archers, as soon as their arrows connect. The only “workaround” i found is to set the knights on standground, which should not be a permanent solution (cause switching attack stance in imp-fights when u want to snipe e.g. bbc or trebs while being pop-capped is not really possible).

This could be the/an issue for the bad pathfinding and patrol-attack behaviour of meele units aswell.

I frequently lose groups of skirms to mangos, just because my knights refuse to attack them, regardless how often i order them to do so.

5 Likes

I’m facing the same. I dont know if its specific to the knight line, but they seem to face this the most as I try to send them to the enemy backline.

I have to spam clicks on that enemy units to keep them on the way

1 Like

Please can this issue be fixed soon? I suppose they decided this would be good for low elo players who dont know the difference between attack and patrol. Either add patrol into the tutorial in the game or make what used to be normal right click a new movement option.

Now unless you spam attack 10 times in 1 second you cant make all your units attack one villager or unit, you can’t make your units focus down an enemy treb, or you cant target his weak units or make counter units to attack the unit they counter if there is anything else thats closer. It gets all mixed up as armies just patrol into each other. Please fix this!

9 Likes