Druid bugs

[Ferrante]

First, congratulations for the great game you have delivered. I am enjoying it a lot and can't stop playing. Second, I am playing a druid with cat affinity and I have found 2 bugs that are annoying. 

1. The charm Beast spell is not working properly. Its durations says 9.6sec (8sec base). It is charming for about 2 seconds, maybe less. That make it useless and It should be a signature spell of a druid. 

How to replicate the bug: Just use the spell in any animal. 

2. This is a graphic bug. When I shapechange, sometimes (like 1 in 3) it shows the human form AND animal form, making it a mess. It happens randomly, often when I use Flurry attack. 

How to replicate the bug: This one is tricky. I have tried myself to replicate it and dont get it. Even loading again the file and doing the same things it does not happen. 

This is the print screen:

http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com/ugc/34115347319209648/31AA92461F67BBBCD502AD92BCCBBC85DAFCFD79/

 

Thank you for everything and good luck fixing these issues. I really like the druid and this can discourage people who wants to play it (not me for sure). 

 

 

oh, the dxdiag upload have failed twice, so I will paste the first block:

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System Information

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Time of this report: 3/28/2015, 07:50:10

       Machine name: GERARDO-PC

   Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_rtm.101119-1850)

           Language: Spanish (Regional Setting: Spanish)

System Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.

       System Model: GA-A75-UD4H

               BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG

          Processor: AMD A8-3870 APU with Radeon HD Graphics (4 CPUs), ~3.0GHz

             Memory: 16384MB RAM

Available OS Memory: 16382MB RAM

          Page File: 5893MB used, 26867MB available

        Windows Dir: C:\Windows

    DirectX Version: DirectX 11

DX Setup Parameters: Not found

   User DPI Setting: Using System DPI

 System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)

    DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled

     DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 32bit Unicode

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

[Sakkura]

Yeah the charm beast spell seems to be WAY too brief.

[Insolentius]

I can confirm the bug regarding "Charm Beast". Despite the log stating that the charm duration was 10.6 seconds, the actual duration was 1-2 seconds. This happens every time and can easily be reproduced.

[Insolentius]

Another (potential) bug with druids...

 

Damage calculation while spiritshifted and using Wildstrike Burn seems broken...

 

 

The calculation doesn't seem to take into account the DR of the enemy. It works properly when attacking with a normal weapon.

 

 

Another example...

 

 

Am I missing something here?

Edited March 29, 2015 by Insolentius

[PoisonWar]

Firebrand is bugged too, it can completely mess up your weapon sets.

-If you use firebrand then the turn into your animal form, it will get stuck and replace your current weapons, but your character will be using his or her fists.
-The only way I've found to get rid of firebrand is to cast it twice more, the first cast will get glitched/interrupted, the second one will actually summon firebrand, and after the spell expires you can equip things again.

-However, now my secondary weapon set is completely inaccessible, the game refuses to let me switch to it, and i'm no longer able to equip off-hands or shields. Which is a shame since i've already invested into weapons and shield combat..

 

So yeah, if anyone can find a way to fix this, i'd be grateful. i'll keep trying things as well.

[varangy]

Confirmed charm beast spell bug. It works for me for around 1 sec too.

[Insolentius]

After testing werecat form against enemies with different slashing DR values, I think I figured out the problem with damage calculation. When is werecat form, the character/druid seems to ignore 5 points of DR. Since this DR bypass ability isn't listed anywhere, I assume it's a bug or an oversight.

[PoisonWar]

One more glitch to the pile, summoned a blight, it persisted after combat, after resting it was still there, during combat the model disappeared but the selectable circle is still there and i still get vision from it, I can also move it around.

Edit: Upon loading the game the model was back.

Edited March 29, 2015 by PoisonWar

[Insolentius]

Another (potential) problem. When using a potion while spiritshifted, the regular character model sometimes appears inside the spiritshifted form. This happened to me a couple of times, but it's kinda hard to reproduce.

[Thrum]

In case the threads never get merged, I'll post some bugs I listed in another thread.

 

-The common issue I've seen for druids is the tooltip error for spiritshift listing it as modal.  Sort of related and maybe intentional, but all spiritshift forms gain 5 passive DR ignore, which is not listed in the tooltip for spiritshift or weapons gained through spiritshift.

 

-Cat spiritshift attack speed seems the same as stag and wolf.  This may be intentional, but every other spiritshift form has an active and passive benefit (except boar which has 2 passives), so it seems odd that cat form would only get one benefit.

 

-The boar spiritshift passive health regeneration ability (druid boar regeneration) lasts after the spiritshift expires, until the end of combat (it behaves just like fighter constant recovery).  This happens even through knock outs.

 

-The stag defenses passive lasts after the spiritshift expires.  This seems to be permanent, so free +7 to all defenses.

 

-The stag spiritshift ability druid stag carnage has a few issues.  First, it has a longer base duration than spiritshift (it does not list a duration in its tooltip), so it always lasts after spiritshift ends.  It also behaves oddly in that it is activatable from pause (the only other action I can think of that can also do this is weapon set shifting) and does not provide a visible buff (it does give a deactivation message in the combat log though, like other combat passives).  Incidentally, the ability has incredibly low base damage unrelated to melee damage: 1-6 with no DR ignore compared to 16-25 spiritshift melee base damage with 5 DR ignore.  It seems to behave similarly to the ranger pet ability stag carnage instead of the barbarian passive carnage.

 

-I've had the double character model happen before but I also couldn't consistently replicate it.  I think it has something to do with other actions going off when spiritshift occurs 

 

-As for the charm beast duration issue, I think it is an intended game mechanic.  The spell lasts the full duration if cast when multiple enemies are in combat.  It looks like all charm and dominate effects have a 100% chance to end the effect when the target performs its first action (it lasts 1.5 seconds on a wolf with a 1.5 second recovery time) if there is only a single opponent left in combat.  I'm assuming this is so that you don't have to wait around for the last enemy to become targetable.

[Sakkura]

 

-As for the charm beast duration issue, I think it is an intended game mechanic.  The spell lasts the full duration if cast when multiple enemies are in combat.  It looks like all charm and dominate effects have a 100% chance to end the effect when the target performs its first action (it lasts 1.5 seconds on a wolf with a 1.5 second recovery time) if there is only a single opponent left in combat.  I'm assuming this is so that you don't have to wait around for the last enemy to become targetable.

 

 

I've seen it happen when charming 2 out of a pack of 3 spiders. One of the charmed spiders didn't even have time to walk over to the one that was still hostile.

[Thrum]

 

 

-As for the charm beast duration issue, I think it is an intended game mechanic.  The spell lasts the full duration if cast when multiple enemies are in combat.  It looks like all charm and dominate effects have a 100% chance to end the effect when the target performs its first action (it lasts 1.5 seconds on a wolf with a 1.5 second recovery time) if there is only a single opponent left in combat.  I'm assuming this is so that you don't have to wait around for the last enemy to become targetable.

 

 

I've seen it happen when charming 2 out of a pack of 3 spiders. One of the charmed spiders didn't even have time to walk over to the one that was still hostile.

 

I felt like I've noticed this too, so I did some testing.  I think I may have figured out what is happening and it seems to be an intentional game mechanic, though maybe with some funny execution issues.  When there is a single enemy left, there is 100% chance of charm breaking early.  When there are 2+ enemies left and they are all charmed, they will all break early.  When there are any charmed plus any uncharmed enemies in combat, the charms should remain for the full duration.

 

There does seem to be a factor of range or aggro/combat dropping in the charms remaining or breaking.  I had two beetles remain charmed while a third was close, only to instantly (I'm guessing on their next action) break free when I kited the third away.  The charm on the two lasted full duration when I pulled the third one back in closer.  I'm not sure if all charms/dominates behave the same, but two other spells on my cipher seem to have similar mechanics.

[Ferrante]

 

-As for the charm beast duration issue, I think it is an intended game mechanic.  The spell lasts the full duration if cast when multiple enemies are in combat.  It looks like all charm and dominate effects have a 100% chance to end the effect when the target performs its first action (it lasts 1.5 seconds on a wolf with a 1.5 second recovery time) if there is only a single opponent left in combat.  I'm assuming this is so that you don't have to wait around for the last enemy to become targetable.

 

 

Well, no, I had this issue in the first cave, I charmed the big bear when the small one was around and It lasted less than 2 seconds. I tried again after the quick save and I had the same behavior. By the way, I disliked a bit the Only Combat restriction for everything that could be cool, but if the charm (will) work like that (ending when the charmed creature is the last one), it sucks. 

[vahadar]

Firebrand is bugged too, it can completely mess up your weapon sets.

 

-If you use firebrand then the turn into your animal form, it will get stuck and replace your current weapons, but your character will be using his or her fists.

-The only way I've found to get rid of firebrand is to cast it twice more, the first cast will get glitched/interrupted, the second one will actually summon firebrand, and after the spell expires you can equip things again.

-However, now my secondary weapon set is completely inaccessible, the game refuses to let me switch to it, and i'm no longer able to equip off-hands or shields. Which is a shame since i've already invested into weapons and shield combat..

 

So yeah, if anyone can find a way to fix this, i'd be grateful. i'll keep trying things as well.

confirming this too

[Zwiebelchen]

It seems that the duration of charm is pretty much random and the duration displayed only determines the max duration. I've found that when you charm a group of enemies, there's usually one or two that remain charmed for the full duration, whereas some break early - especially when there's no enemy around. Feels like that's working as intended as a balancing factor, as charm is incredibly powerful.

[Insolentius]

-Cat spiritshift attack speed seems the same as stag and wolf.  This may be intentional, but every other spiritshift form has an active and passive benefit (except boar which has 2 passives), so it seems odd that cat form would only get one benefit.

Werecat form gives the character "ignore 5 DR" ability, even though it's not listed anywhere. I tested this thoroughly against various slash DR values.

 

[Insolentius]

I did some more testing with Charm Beast.

 

- as long as at least one hostile beast remains uncharmed during a combat scenario, the duration works properly

- if every beast gets charmed, the duration is less than a second, regardless of missing/grazing/hitting/critting

 

For example, if you're fighting two bears:

 

- charm both bears - duration is less than a second

- charm one bear - duration lasts as advertised

- charm one bear and kill the other while the Charm effect is still ongoing - the effect ends immediately

 

It seems that the game, for some reason, requires having at least one enemy in a combat scenario. Basically, it doesn't let you charm/dominate every foe.

 

I don't know if this is intended or not.

 

EDIT: I believe I know what might be causing the problem:

 

- Charm Beast is a combat-only spell

- if you charm every beast, the combat state ends (since there are no more enemies (charmed beasts count as allies))

- because the combat state ends, the spell stops working (because it's combat-only)

 

Thoughts?

Edited March 31, 2015 by Insolentius

[Thrum]

 

-Cat spiritshift attack speed seems the same as stag and wolf.  This may be intentional, but every other spiritshift form has an active and passive benefit (except boar which has 2 passives), so it seems odd that cat form would only get one benefit.

Werecat form gives the character "ignore 5 DR" ability, even though it's not listed anywhere. I tested this thoroughly against various slash DR values.

 

The DR ignore applies to all spiritshift forms' melee attacks.  The boar DoT seems to be raw damage (ignores all armor) and the stag carnage ability ignores 0 armor (and does 1-6 damage which makes me think it is lower than intended).

[Thrum]

I did some more testing with Charm Beast.

 

- as long as at least one hostile beast remains uncharmed during a combat scenario, the duration works properly

- if every beast gets charmed, the duration is less than a second, regardless of missing/grazing/hitting/critting

 

For example, if you're fighting two bears:

 

- charm both bears - duration is less than a second

- charm one bear - duration lasts as advertised

- charm one bear and kill the other while the Charm effect is still ongoing - the effect ends immediately

 

It seems that the game, for some reason, requires having at least one enemy in a combat scenario. Basically, it doesn't let you charm/dominate every foe.

 

I don't know if this is intended or not.

 

EDIT: I believe I know what might be causing the problem:

 

- Charm Beast is a combat-only spell

- if you charm every beast, the combat state ends (since there are no more enemies (charmed beasts count as allies))

- because the combat state ends, the spell stops working (because it's combat-only)

 

Thoughts?

 

I don't know if it is combat state related as you can still cast other combat spells while the fast breaking charms are in place.  From my own testing and what you and others have seen, it sure looks to me like it is intended for charm to break as soon as there are no more uncharmed enemies in combat and (maybe) within a certain range.  I feel this is more for convenience than balance, as you can't damage charmed foes without using aoe spells and 12 seconds of invincibility might be annoying to wait for (although 12 seconds to heal/re-position could be useful in some situations).

[Skor]

I did some more testing with Charm Beast.

 

- as long as at least one hostile beast remains uncharmed during a combat scenario, the duration works properly

- if every beast gets charmed, the duration is less than a second, regardless of missing/grazing/hitting/critting

 

For example, if you're fighting two bears:

 

- charm both bears - duration is less than a second

- charm one bear - duration lasts as advertised

- charm one bear and kill the other while the Charm effect is still ongoing - the effect ends immediately

 

It seems that the game, for some reason, requires having at least one enemy in a combat scenario. Basically, it doesn't let you charm/dominate every foe.

 

I don't know if this is intended or not.

 

EDIT: I believe I know what might be causing the problem:

 

- Charm Beast is a combat-only spell

- if you charm every beast, the combat state ends (since there are no more enemies (charmed beasts count as allies))

- because the combat state ends, the spell stops working (because it's combat-only)

 

Thoughts?

 

My thoughts are that way too many spells in this game are tied to 'must be in combat'.

[lionroot]

I have the same bug when shapechange  

[Plazmid]

Very cool posts!

 

I am currently playing a Druid using the cat. The charm mechanics do seem a little wonky. Not knowing how the game is really tracking things, its hard to say.

 

One would expect that any spell that is not permanent would not change the overall game state from combat to not combat. This would imply a creature base-state that is hostile, with a spell overlay that overrides that. This way you stay in combat since the base-state is still hostile. I like the hypothesis/observation that the charm duration would be influenced by the number of actively hostile creatures. The game is, in a way, accelerating the charm duration, so you don't have to sit around for the charm to wear off. This was an issue in the BG games. Perhaps a short doc on game mechanics would work well for us from Obsidian?

[Thrum]

Extra info on some of the more complicated mechanics would be nice, I'm sure a lot of gamers appreciate that sort of transparency.  Obsidian's done a great job explaining and displaying most of the game's base combat mechanics.  Luckily they are usually nice and simple (including most status effects), but charm/dominate and confuse effects are inherently trickier.  For these, it seems extra rolls are taken periodically (either on some sort of timer or after the affected character's recovery is finished) to determine how the effects work or remain.  

 

Something else helpful would be some way to access detailed information on pet/summon stats such as damage and attack speed.  There might be UI issues preventing this, but maybe a document or forum post outlining some of the important details would be an option.

[Hatred]

I am playing a druid and I am level 8 now. Cant say that I have found enough beasts to even try charming them tbh. Early game I charmed some wolves and bears but I never had that much trouble with it. Not sure if it is a druid bug but I have found that secrets of rime does nothing to my cold spell damage.

[Thrum]

Charm beasts can be useful in certain encounters, i.e. drakes.  I'll have to check on the +spell damage talents.  I don't believe they affect tool tips, are you sure there was no increase based on damage in combat?

[Guest Matt Sheets]

Charm/Confuse/Dominate Duration ends after 1-3 seconds if there are no valid enemy targets.

 

Spiritshift is not a modal and has a duration, so there are some information that's missing on that ability.

 

Spiritshift has 5 DR penetration and Wildstrike Proc Damage is calculated differently than normal damage (it onlty takes 1/4 amount of the enemy's DR).

 

If you are consistently getting the Spiritshift issue where you get both models, please attach your save file as we are trying to narrow down what's causing that issue.

 

Savegames

Try to include a save file from right before as well as during the issue you are reporting

Windows Location: %USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\Pillars of Eternity\Saves

Mac Location: Library/Application Support/Pillars of Eternity/Saved Games