Iron Wolf kick attack

[LavCat]

Leaving the Kurast docks two nights ago, I came upon an Iron Wolf kicking a vile child. This is not something I had seen before. Is this kick attack similar to that of the sorceress? And why was the Iron Wolf kicking when he held a sword?

Flavie is a rogue, but like the (at least two types of) barbarians in act 5, she and these Iron Wolves seem different from the ones that can be hired. When one of these kills a monster, how is the credit apportioned?

How many other of these people are there? Are there ones beyond the types I mentioned? What is the generic term for them? Some special subset of NPC's?

[Ruvanal]

The Iron wolves do not have any 'kicking' type of animation to use. The closest to that is their A1 attack animation that has them doing a step forward and lunge with their sword. Maybe that is what you saw since few have every had a chance to notice their mercs doing this type of an attack.

[LavCat]

Nope, thanks, he was almost certainly kicking! Next time I will try to get a screen shot if I can. I am pretty sure I have seen the sword attack, and this was not the same.

Note I am not saying that I believe he is necessarily the same kind of Iron Wolf as the ones that can be hired. Just like the barbarians in act five are not (I think) the same as the ones that can be hired.

But while I have a chance to ask the question, under what conditions, if you know, does the normal Iron Wolf use his A1 attack?

[Ruvanal]

Nope, thanks, he was almost certainly kicking!  Next time I will try to get a screen shot if I can.  I am pretty sure I have seen the sword attack, and this was not the same.

The animations that the Iron wolves have are
IWSC1HS (spell cast)*
IWDT1HS (dying and fall to ground)
IWRN1HS (run)
IWWL1HS (walk)
IWNU1HS (standing around in non combat pose)
IWA11HS (the sword attack)*
IWDD1HS (corpse on ground)
IWGH1HS (get hit or stun)

The ones with an asterisk are the only ones that have possible action event associated with them (spell launch or actual point of sword blow landing).

This also applies to the ones that you cannot hire as they use the same animations also. No other monsters/NPCs with similar graphics.

The only other graphic that has anything remotely looking like a 'kick' is the GH animation. About the middle of the sequence the Iron Wolf is balanced on one leg and the other is exended forward a short distance. There is not that many animation files for the Iron Wolves to look at, so it is easy to look at each in detail.

Note I am not saying that I believe he is necessarily the same kind of Iron Wolf as the ones that can be hired. Just like the barbarians in act five are not (I think) the same as the ones that can be hired.

Actually both sets of barbarians use the same set of graphics files, just different sets of sequences (2 handed weapon for the ones you hire and the others use the 1 handed weapon sequences). From some of the inforamtion in the files it looks like orginally there had been plans to allow the hireing of either type, but this was abonded for some reason prior to the release of the LoD expansion (both types of act 5 merc were set to use 2 handed swords).

But while I have a chance to ask the question, under what conditions, if you know, does the normal Iron Wolf use his A1 attack?

The Iron Wolf will need to be standing within weapon range of the closest target and at the same time have the combat desicion choice pick the default combat action. Because their positioning AI is to try to keep their distance from the enemy, they rarely are in range. The chance that the default action is chosen varies from 10/100 for fireghtning to 10/310 or 10/1310 for the ice version (depends on if the frozen armor is active or not). This second part makes it very rare to see them doing this unless you try to force them into a situation in which they are getting mobbed.

In 1.09 it was unrealistic to expect them to hit anything due to their comparativly low dex and no bonus AR rating. This has changed in 1.10, so they might actually be able to hit something if they ever do make the attempt.

[Rhydderch Hael]

This has been seen and reported before: one of the Iron Wloves who patrol the docks will, on occasion, move out of the Kurast Docks and into the battlefield. When engaging an enemy, he will kick it.

Back in the olden days, if Flavie plinked a monster with an arrow, you will not get an item drop from them, even if they were a boss or champion. This will no longer occur in 1.10, be assured of that. Flavie's contribution of damage will not prevent the creature from dropping an item on death now.

[Orbert]

Back in the olden days, if Flavie plinked a monster with an arrow, you will not get an item drop from them, even if they were a boss or champion. This will no longer occur in 1.10, be assured of that. Flavie's contribution of damage will not prevent the creature from dropping an item on death now.

I don't quite follow. Are you saying that in 1.09 and earlier, you would get no drop from monsters that Flavie killed, or no drop if she'd hit them at all?

Orbert

[Rhydderch Hael]

No drop would occur if Flavie contributed any sort of damage. Which means that if she hit them even once, they would not drop a thing.

This may have occurred earlier than 1.09. I know not a thing about what they did in 1.09. I quit playing for a spell after 1.07 or abouts.

[Guest]

Assassins in heavy armour look kind of like Sorcerers', and they kick a lot......:blink:

[LavCat]

I tried for a couple of hours to get another Iron Wolf to come out to help me so I could get a screen shot. So far I have not been successful. Under what conditions do they come out of town and fight? The other night was the first time I recall having seen such a thing.

[Ruvanal]

They have to wander into the path going out and then all the way down it. If there were enough cooperative players, you could limit the directions he can move in so that he forced to only go that way. But that really just means he will not be able to go the 'wrong' way most of the time and only occasionally will he go the way you really want. Slow and tedious.

[LavCat]

My assassin, sorceress and I were playing in a large basin game last night when another of the iron wolves came out to help us. There was too much confusion (no, not as in delirium) to tell if he was actually adding to our damage, but I got a couple screen shots. Unfortunately I did not catch him in the act of kicking.

The kick sure looks like an attack and not like a "get hit" animation!

There must be something special about these iron wolves since they do not cast any spells, nor do they try to run away or use their sword. He did have my blessed aim merc's aura at his feet, which would indicate that he was in our party.

[Ruvanal]

I modded the game to place a number of these act3hires out in the jungle wandering around. The only type of attack that I saw them doing was the A1 attack animation with the sword. I did note that if the target was their size or larger that from most angles the animation of the sword would be hidden by the monster and you would then typically just see the right foot the is raised up the 'lunge' part of that animation. This to some I would guess might look like a kick since you cannot at that time see their sword.

There must be something special about these iron wolves since they do not cast any spells, nor do they try to run away or use their sword. He did have my blessed aim merc's aura at his feet, which would indicate that he was in our party.

Not really too special. They are the blank templet for the hireable version that you can get from Ashera. Their levels are 1/34/67 by difficulty. Their base stats are blanks, so that would give them either a zero or a one for a stat depending on what the game will default to using for individual stats. For example they would be killed be a single point of damage (they survive because most monster ignore actually attacking them), their AR=0, DR=0, damge would probably default to min=1, max=2 if they ever manage to hit a monster that is many levels higher than they are with only an AR of 0; etc. All the one that I saw tried to use their sword until a monster that would take notice of them killed them. They will not use any spells due the spells being assigned by the routine that sets up a mercenary and they do not get processed with that when they are spawned. The mercenaries that you hire have their AI altered by the set up process also which is why these tend to react a bit differently (seeking melee combat instead of avoiding it).

[LavCat]

Thank you, Ruvanal. Oddly enough in a game tonight yet another of the iron wolves came out to help. Two nights in a row, that makes three times in three and a half years.

I was planning to encourage him to come further out into the jungle, but now I guess it is not worth the effort. I also tried to offer him enchant, but politely he declined.