Please put lower level AI difficulty back the way it was pre-3.7

I started a thread asking about this in Shadow Lords, but have since found out that the changes effect every mode, (I think), so I wanted to put this plea in the feedback section because, well, it’s not just Shadow Lords, plus it’s direct feedback and not a question. I also thought it might get more eyes in here.

Please change the difficulty for the AI back to what it was, or at least somewhere close. You want to keep the highest difficulty the way it is because some people love that kind of challenge? Go for it. I’m not here to ruin their fun.

But on lower, perhaps more casual levels, this AI is not fun to play against at all. Forgetting the near 100% use of optimal combos, tons of counter breakers, combo breakers and whiff punishes, which I don’t love, but fine, make them play smarter I guess, my main issue is that the reaction times are insane to the point of quarter munching arcade games from the 90’s.

I’ve had AI repeatedly throw me out of rekkas, poke me out of special moves, shadow counter on one hit moves and react simultaneously to my button presses FAR too many times, and this from medium level mimics on challenging. It only gets worse on hard, very hard and impossible.

Again, it’s not like I’m complaining because the computer is mimicking a good player, this isn’t a git gud scenario, I’m just not looking to learn how to cheese obnoxious AI for wins. That’s not fun to me, not in a game with such unique characters and deep move lists.

The AI is displaying inhuman reaction times and it makes playing something like Shadow Lords, where I’m now constantly having to spend buffs on characters, an extremely frustrating slog to the point where I’m actually losing interest in playing it.

I don’t mean to be a jerk here in saying that and I’m NOT threatening to leave or take my ball and go home or whatever, but I can tell you that after playing this AI for several hours, my interest in continuing Shadow Lords is starting to wane and I say that as someone that absolutely loves this mode (currently at 100% / 104%). So if EVERY mode now has AI like this? For me, that’s a huge problem.

If possible, I’d humbly ask that you let me know if this change was intended, why it was made, and if it would be possible to roll back, at least on lower difficulty levels.

TL/DR: The AI is too hard and too cheap/inhuman now. Please fix.

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The AI has always had crazy reactions, but they aren’t undefeatable.

The game has formulas for what they can and can’t react to. The Kyle AI has a 1 or 2 frame reaction, and the lower difficulties had more.

This is to teach you about frame data. If you keep getting poked out of specials, then you must have left a gap over 5 frames for them to poke through. That’s not good, you need to be more thoughtful with your block strings.

Sorry, but the answer here is to git gud.

Every Kyle AI could be beaten before, but now the optimal combos will make their punishes better.

So now you must make less mistakes.

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No it’s not. Not on lower difficulties. You’re asking casual level players that have been playing on lower difficulties to suddenly play on higher level difficulties that they don’t want to play on and never wanted to play on, otherwise they would have been playing on those before. If you think that’s a good idea for casual level players, then I respectfully disagree.

Look, I can take most of this stuff. If I’m punished for a max damage combo on medium, so be it. I can also see human players poking me out of certain moves.

But the AI having simultaneous reaction time to my button presses? Repeatedly? No, sorry. That’s not how human beings react. That’s how arcade cabinets designed to suck my wallet dry react.

You want to tell me that a human player can Shadow counter on a single attack? Fine. But repeatedly?

Also, keep in mind that it’s a combination of all of these aspects as well as the consistency of the execution by the AI.

Again, I have zero problems if they want this to be how high difficulty opponents play. Just leave me my shallow pool to play in. That’s all I ask. I was fine with the difficulty the way it was before, where I still got a stiff challenge on very hard and definitely in impossible.

But if medium or hard is going to play how impossible was before, and I just have to cheese the AI to win and spend buffs like there’s no tomorrow, that’s not fun to me. That’s not playing the game the way I’ve always enjoyed playing it.

You might see it as the computer trying to teach me better and that very well might be the case, but in Shadow Lords? That’s a bit of a costly lesson. You want to have a training mode where the AI plays you this way and maybe even tells you what you did wrong or recommends tactics, that sounds great.

But destroying me with all of this stuff (one hit Shadow counters, simultaneous reactions on my button presses, tons of combo breakers and counter breakers, murdering me for max damage constantly, poking me out of everything, etc) on difficulty levels that used to be reserved for more casual play? Can’t say that really appeals to me, but if you like that and you realistically believe that other lower level players will enjoy and appreciate that, then more power to ya.

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Lower the difficulty?

How difficult the “difficulty levels” are, and whether they are appropriate or not, depends on the skill of the player. Maybe you are below average? Maybe you are average? Maybe you are above average? I don’t know.

To say “the AI is too hard” requires a lot more data than just your experience.

Idk how to get that data, but if you refuse to believe that you need to drop the difficulty down, you should try to get it.

(Maybe make a poll where people play a FT10 against each difficulty and record their results.)

Erm mate, I was the one requesting them to change it back, because the AI was too easy and dumb; no shadow counters at all back then was too easy. You could easily spam a heavy kick or punch constantly to kill them.

Also, the CPU vs CPU mode was awful before and it looks better now with more action.

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I’m talking about changing the AI behavior or whatever you’d like to call it back to what it was before, at least on the lower, more casual leaning difficulty settings.

Are you telling me that the AI isn’t objectively more challenging and displaying far more complex behavior patterns on all difficulties than it was before?

On what difficulty level though? Easy? Medium? Impossible? I have zero issues with people wanting more of a challenge in the higher difficulty levels, but why should I and other players that tend to play more on lower levels of difficulty have to take it on the chin too just because you want more of a challenge on the higher levels?

Also, I’m not just talking about shadow counters. In talking about multiple shadow counters on single hit moves in a single match. I’m talking about simultaneous reaction time for the AI and my button presses.

Crap that doesn’t mimic good players, but rather, for me at least, turns the AI in to an obstacle that I have to cheese wins out of or game in ways that have little to do with how to play the deep move lists and combo systems well and more to do with finding garbage tactics to work around something rather than play against it the way I’ve enjoyed playing the game.

If that kind of AI is fun for you, then so be it. But in lower level play, a lower skilled player like me doesn’t find much value or enjoyment.

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If only there was a dislike button to express my dissatisfaction at the overuse of the “git gud, scrub” line.
Whilst your response is relatively well thought out, I’m sure the OP understands that on higher levels, things like this will matter. From what I see, that’s not the point of the post - it’s an attempt to ascertain just why the lower levels are so much harder.

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Tbh, I only requested it for the CPU vs CPU mode, since I like watching the AI duke it out. I ain’t that good and I hate fighting the AI, but it is beatable I’m sure.

Also, it was kyle difficulty I requested.

I never wanted a challenge, I struggle enough, since I don’t know much about fighting games, but watching the AI or players (shame there wasn’t an option to watch players actually) fight is enjoyable.

And yes, I remember before 3.4, fighting Arbiter and spamming heavy lower attacks, he instantly shadow countered. I guess it makes sense to punish you for errors and finding weaknesses really.

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Dont even listen to this dude. He is just trying to sound better.
Anybody who says the difficulty did not go from too easy to insane
is trolling.

This is going to drive people away for sure!
Another smart one from out in the Iron Galaxy!

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If you join a lobby you can watch, but then you will have to fight also.

I was testing out shin Hisako and at the very last minute I did the teleport cross up: not once did I hit my CPU opponent. No, better yet, they countered every teleport I did. Not by simply anti-airing but by jumping and poking me out of the air at the very same time (much harder to do than simply doing an anti-air). And, no matter my timing and NO MATTER THE DIFFICULTY.

But the biggest problem is that my kid loves KI but the game has become very unforgiving at the moment. My kid is repeatedly caught in max combos on medium difficulty. @rukizzel please have a look at this.

No need to apologize. I feel the same way.

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How much time do you spend playing SL? @Iago407 and I play it all the time. Yes, the lower settings are to hard for a newer player. The whole point of “normal” is for new players. Normal mode is just for fun and should be easy “that is why you can’t unlock the stage on this setting”. The AI should not be able to shadow of a single hit. This is something a human couldn’t do even if they wanted to. The AI should not have a 95% success rate on combo breaking on normal. Also normal AI should not counter break at all “considering it is an advanced skill”. That is what higher difficulty levels are for.

Yes @Iago407 and I can beat SL mode and have, but we would like to do it without exploiting some trick with the AI.

For the record I hate fighting games when the AI can do things a human can’t do even if the human is able to.

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Nah lol. I’d like something like Street Fighter 4 with online replays really.

Im sure the AI in SL 3.7 could beat you too. The op is right, The Ai is broken, in my opinion it is a bug cuz the gargos I fought had 270 health and 110 %damage without a damage power up. The omens had random 90%damage with insane health buffs out of no where. It is hilarious to me cuz it is really broken. They do frame one shadow counters that a human cant do, or punish whiff normals and grab u out of block strings. Just to add a litle, gargos HK pyscho crusher now tracks you all the way and does not land on the last position you where before he went into the air. Its clearly bugged

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Couldn’t agree more. Funny thing is that I’ve been playing on challenging a lot, but now I’ve been burning through buffs so quickly that I thought “okay, back to normal now,” but it’s just as bad there.

THIS x 1,000.

I tend toward single player modes a lot more in fighting games and this to me is the cardinal sin.

If they want to counter break or whiff punish for max damage or shadow counter, so be it. That’s part of the game and so long as the AI is properly adjusted for each level, I have no problem with opponents using more human-like tendencies.

However, the problem right now is that the AI is most definitely not well adjusted to the indicated difficulty levels and the AI is doing far to many non-human things and doing them far too often.

In a match against a medium level Kan Ra, I was thrown out of my rekkas twice and shadow countered on a single hit move three times in a single match.

I sincerely hope that @BiyemAssi237 is right and that the AI is somehow bugged, because this is unreal if it’s actually intended. Hopefully Rukari will be able to shed more light on it on Monday.

Think about it, if they had to buff the difficulty, they will announce it in the patch notes. Can you believe omen blocked my shadow boot reversal with rash and shadow counteted ? I was like im done lol

It may be silly and I’m sure they’ll fix it, but I like skynet level AI. I mean, everything they’re doing is within the confines of what the game allows and therefore it’s all fair and can be outplayed. You gotta anti-air those jumps, shadow counter those multi-hitting moves, punish those -3 moves with DPs.

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What!? What’s the point of this thread?! You want kyle difficulty to not be the hardest difficulty in the game? Nobody here need fake difficulty you know. There’s always toggles for difficulty. If you cannot face killer or kyle you can play on normal, very easy. Whats the point of having fake dufficulty then you never know you can really beat it for real. Listen, I’ve managed to beat a character on kyle at this 3.7 patch on my third attempt with a character I don’t even main. With Jago I’ve done it on my first try. Videos are on my profile showcase if you’re interested. So don’t come here saying they should nerf the higest difficulty of the game cause there a lot of people who want to make sure they can beat the ultimate ai without any doubt. Go ahead and play on normal.

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I can definitely tell you there was a drastic swing in AI this last patch. I’ve always bodied normal Gargos. Now? He stuffs frame traps with izuna drop or Qcf Hk. Dashes back and forth thwarting any punishes, immediate portal punches for hitting minions, even the mimics are doing it too. I play casually against very hard AI when I practice execution and SL right now is basically between very hard and killer of not higher. Their breaking still sucks but it’s the neutral that is overwhelming right now. Dashing in response to a Jab or throw attempt is not possible without a read. Which means, the ai is reacting to your inputs within 1 frame. Running Fractured Ward is almost a must right now, at least until a fix comes.

@TotalJimkata Was anything changed with the AI in SL in 3.7? I can tell you with how much I’ve played, the difficulty spike will turn off new players. I’m an SL veteran and Hard/Very Hard missions are frustrating. It isn’t the items I have to bring, it’s the ai reactions. As the OP said, its old arcade input reading.

I can understand where OP is coming from but I happen to like the new AI. It teaches me to not be so hasty in neutral. Sure, it’s harder but it beats AI that blocks all and does nothing. I’ve had multiple occasions where the CPU would just stand there for 5+ seconds doing nothing even while I’m throwing out normals.

As long as Killer/Kyle remains the same, go ham on nerfing the former difficulties.