Noticed something with King Leoric.

[Foxhound3857]

I've been doing a number of solo Ironman runs lately as a Warrior and Rogue, and Leo has always been a significant obstacle for me. I always tense up when I enter dlvl3, knowing that he could show up and ruin my day at any time. I've had varied results against him, not due to my equipment or stats, but now what I believe is due to a physical change in Leo's stats and his AI.

From what I've noticed, Leo has two AI's.

#1: Passive AI: Leo will take the most direct route to get to you. Leo will show varied degrees of waiting and patience, and sometimes you can get him in a position where he will not make a move for as long as 15 seconds. This is a great opportunity for the Rogue to bring him down, as long as she's careful not to get caught off guard when he starts moving again.

#2: Aggressive AI: When Leo gets within range he will circle around the targeted hero, constantly on the move, not allowing an attack. When he closes enough distance he will beeline directly for the targeted hero, and when enough distance is gained he will start circling again. It's almost impossible for the Rogue to attack while he's doing this.

My standards for facing Leo as a Warrior are Lv9, 56 Dex, 34 Str, Morning Star and about 25AC. I've recorded four different results with these average stats, two when he was moving with Passive AI, and two when he was moving and Aggressive AI.

Passive #1: Two potions consumed, Leo dead. Dropped a Long Sword.
Passive #2: No potions consumed, Leo dead. Dropped RoE.
Aggressive #1: Entire belt consumed, Leo dead. Dropped Chain Mail.
Aggressive #2: Entire potion stock consumed, heal scrolls consumed, died to Leo.

This still needs some testing, but what I've noticed is that Aggressive Leo has considerably more AC and is therefore significantly harder to hit, as 9 out of 10 of my swings at 78% ToHit would whiff, yet I would hit about 1/3 when he was Passive. So a Warrior against Aggressive Leo is pretty much a death sentence in Iron Man, since he will simply leech more life off of you than you can damage him for, and the only option is to wait it out until he shifts to Passive, then take the fight to him. Same with the Rogue, since she'll never be able to score a hit against him in Aggressive AI, since he's constantly on the move.

Like I said, I still need to research this. I wonder if anyone could help me look into this. Thoughts?

[Spelunker]

How does this correspond with / conform to JG 5.5.9? Never heard of two different ACs ... (doesn't mean, that's wrong.)

Notes:

• Use your browser search function and look for Skeleton King.
  
• circle walk is described above in subsection 5.5.3
  

[Galbraith]

Hi,

I 'heard' from some people that such things, which we call 'random' like

- What exactly damage is done in range i.e. 10-20.
- How often one can hit a monster, when given percentage is taken into consideration.
- and many many many others…
are not really random.

Many players during tests notified strange manner when testing to hit monsters. Monster tend to hit more often even unnatural 100 hits on 100 tries when its real chance was 30% or so...
I recall one such report from claudiospage.com (currently dead link but way-back machine can display it still - older players would remember what I say about).


We have to understand that game is using PRNG it means Pseudo Random Number Generator. It means game takes very small amount of data called seed (i.e. date and time of game creation) and is trying to generate huge amount of data that is output of seed.
Such PRNG are ALWAYS flawed. It is certain that all software RNG that is used in IT are flawed and generate artifacts of non-randomness or fall into tendencies or generated numbers form 'planes'.
To more understand the problem I recommend to read some about it in let's say wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRNG

Some experienced IM players also noted TK-book games, TP-scroll games. Or other tendencies: If there is one unique dropped, there would be others and opposite etc.
And those are not some Murphy’s laws, just observations from hundreds of games.

What I am trying to say?
I am trying to say:

PRNG that is this game based upon generates many non-random effects.

Some even claim to know how to control it:

http://speeddemosarchive.com/Diablo.html

Last thing to note is that I did extensive research on every aspect of the game important in a speedrun (with the help of a couple of guides), the RNG and how to manipulate it, how the game calculates damage done, what monster drops what and appears where, and so on. So keep that in mind and remember that I really busted my balls to get this done, so you better fucking enjoy it.

Of course it is cheating what this guy is saying about.
I don't even believe that he managed to manipulate it by finding one seed (data and time of game creation) to trigger all of what was registered.

However I believe that game has flawed RNG (PRNG - see wiki for names) and it is not believe only, but also observations from thousands game plays.

One more important thing is Problem of year 2027 (If i recall this date correctly) - date from when game to stop to be random at all...

I would leave no comment for any manipulators of the seed and its legitimacy.


Summarizing: there are no two AC values, just not-so random chance sequences.

[Foxhound3857]

So it's simply a matter of the PRNG being stingy to the player?

That might explain how Acid Beasts can score 7 hits in a row against my Warrior at 59 AC.

[maht1]

From what I've noticed, Leo has two AI's.

#1: Passive AI: Leo will take the most direct route to get to you. Leo will show varied degrees of waiting and patience, and sometimes you can get him in a position where he will not make a move for as long as 15 seconds. This is a great opportunity for the Rogue to bring him down, as long as she's careful not to get caught off guard when he starts moving again.

#2: Aggressive AI: When Leo gets within range he will circle around the targeted hero, constantly on the move, not allowing an attack. When he closes enough distance he will beeline directly for the targeted hero, and when enough distance is gained he will start circling again. It's almost impossible for the Rogue to attack while he's doing this.

Hi,

You probably know me as terry from the freshmeat forums. I think Galbraith has given a good explanation about the supposed hit probability you are getting.

For my solo IM warriors, the total hits I land can vary from 9/10 to 1/10. No matter what way you square it, 50+20+9+60/2-70 = 39% hit (I have 60dex by clvl9) vs Leoric is somewhat unreliable without someone to back you up. In the event that I end up draining a full belt with leoric appearing to leech back more that he is getting damaged, I just park him (It is possible with enough room cleared) and come back later. Probably makes no difference, but at least I can stop clicking the mouse so much, and standing ground would have just increased his life. I applied this technique in two games, losing 12 pots or so in the first engagement, then retreating and killing him in the second engagement, consuming 4 pots.

I apply the same tactic that I use against balrogs for leoric. The key is to stand next to a wall so that when he reaches the wall, he is forced to "beeline" directly towards you. You then shoot him when he reaches the wall. Of course leoric is much faster than a balrog, so allow for enough time to move away. The "agressive" mode can last for quite a while, so you may as well attempt to curb his normal regeneration, then let loose when he decides to go to "passive" mode. I would rather not let him regenerate freely for who knows long at 10·14/64 = 2.1875 HP/sec (refer to section 5.1 of JG for the formula) after I have dealt considerable damage from a previous "passive" mode.

[Snoogens]

Just get a firewall scroll or spell and cast it where he stands when she starts attacking.