Pet Control Interface

[Hachem_Muche]

I'm playing an alchemist right now, and have found that the most challenging part of many fights is manipulating my golem into not committing suicide, getting in the way, or attacking the wrong mobs. It's quite frustrating watching your golem charge off to it's suicide against a pack of drakes that just came around a corner while you're finishing off the last encounter.

To make the game more enjoyable and, hopefully, more balanced for pet classes (alchemists and summoners, mainly), I propose that some basic pet controls be implemented. Upon hitting "p" or another currently unused keystroke, a pet menu comes up allowing the player to choose one of the following options for how pets will act:

1. Escort: Order your pet(s) to stay close to you at all times.
This will force pets to stay in the squares adjacent to the player, and if already adjacent to attack any hostile monsters within reach with priority given to mobs attacking the pet followed by mobs attacking the player.

2. Defend: Order your pet(s) to stay within 6 grids and defend the player from monsters as much as possible.
Similar to option 1, but the range is greater and priority is given to protecting the player over the pet.

3. Guard: Order your pet(s) to stay within 6 grids and attack all hostile monsters.
As 3, but the pet(s) will attack whatever hostile is most convenient within range. (Similar to current behavior, but the pet cannot move more than 6 grids away.)

4. Seek: Order your pet(s) to seek and destroy all hostile monsters.
This is the current pet behavior.

5. Sentry: Order your pet(s) to stay in place but attack any monsters that come into range.
The pet(s) will not move from their current positions but will attack any hostiles they can reach with their attacks.

6. Target: Order your pet(s) to attack the designated target.
Prompt the player to select a target. All pets will pursue and destroy that target. This will override whichever setting is currently selected until the target is dead or no longer detected.

These are just settings telling the game how the pet should behave, so changing them is a "free" action that takes no game time. Option 3 should probably be the default.

In addition to these options some basic changes to pet behavior should be made:

Never attack the player, even with a ranged ability when the player is between the pet and its target.
Path around known traps if possible. (Assume the pet knows about all traps the player has discovered.)