Damn...

[Gnyxl]

Three times tonight, got stuck in a loading screen. four times I had useless hires that did nothing but stand in front of me and watch as I died, then let the monsters kill them without even defending (they were all on active mode). Can this be fixed? Please keep DDO running.

 

[mbartol]

Sorry, but the easiest fix for hirelings is to not use them actively. Keep them parked in a safe spot, and call them when needed (not during combat).

 

[Falkor]

Hires are total trash. Depending on them in anyway is certain death and non-stop frustration. They are unreasonably buggy and nearly unusuable except in specific situations.

 

[Gnyxl]

Yeah seems you are both right.

 

[The Narc]

Count on them to be pit chuckers and a mild distraction at best like summons. Other than that you can occasionally have one that does some damage, but dont count on it.

 

[Col Kurtz]

if hires are not working ...you need to click back n forth >from active/inactive >and,or attack/defend mode
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
like others say>they are trash but left just on edge of combat area, they can help out

*I'm struggling to get my old pnp pal to use hires better. He keeps relying on them, but does not CONTROL them.

>>Hires need to be on a leash, like a 4 yr old child at a toy store.

>>>Always assume they will walk into the lava, and any Trap.

 

[Falkor]

Half the time they don't heal. And then when switching back and forth between stances, they bork. And they run around, even when on idle and don't move, often times dying. Their pathing is atrocious. They aggro, even when set on passive. They'll try to heal and run to the party, even when set on 'dont move / passive' ... hires are one of the most glaring failures in DDO.

Hires are very useful for newer players.

Yet are worthless b/c they barely function. Imagine showing up in game as a new player, getting a hire, and all the joys of trying to learn quests with a hire that barely functions. Talk about frustrating. Either group with people who zerg and leave you behind, or group with a hire that doesn't function. It's rare to find a group that actually groups, explores and teaches newer players about quests and how to play.

Such a win-win for new players. /s

Except for providing rez's in safe spots after battles and a party wipe, or for opening levers, hires are almost totally worthless and their "functionality" leaves much to be desired. Trapper hires can be useful, but most of us can ignore traps and run through them w/o consequence.

Considering how well hires work, they may as well not exist. I don't run with hires unless I am soloing and need levers pulled. I would rather die in quest and just re-run it b/c dealing with hires is irritating. Another one of those 'quality of play' things that I wish SSG would address.

I think its a shame they get sold for points, I consider it a scam.

 

[vryxnr]

It's not always the solution, so please don't take this as me saying that the following will always work, but from my own experiences with getting stuck on loading screens, I find rebooting the client often works wonders.

At least for me, most slow and eventually stuck loading screens (most, not all, there are exceptions) are memory issues, especially on accounts with characters and banks that have lots of stuff. Not only is it the longer I play the more likely it starts slowing down and freezing, but if I do any banking, it starts happening much sooner.

I came to this conclusion for myself because sometimes I multibox, but my main account has a bank filled with stuff, characters with lots of stuff, and TR caches. My alt accounts do not have nearly as much. And even running on the same computer, my main account will have longer loading screens, and if I did any banking, really long loading screens, while the alt accounts go through quickly.

I'm not saying this IS DEFINITELY the issue you're facing, but it IS something that I have noticed and this information might be able to help, maybe.

 

[Col Kurtz]

they are not Totally worthless

They will stand still before a trap or lava area...and port right back to you after the danger area

There's a very select few that rock right along with most content at their lvl range on elite
almost all are Fav Souls... lvl 5 and 7 ones (if I remember right)

Tanya Brightstone(rips through her spell points but still pops 500-700 damage spells even after the fav soul nerf)

players seem like Larafay too but he runs out spell points 3x faster than Tanya(and cant keep himself alive if the mobs dont die fast

>DPS is not an issue> so those are more for newer players and a little extra easy button for solo melee's

>defensively hires drop off the map, as you reach lvl14ish- they cast slow ass Heal spells and die before the spell goes off.

Mostly (like most) I like hires for a free Death Ward spell..and an emergency rare Rez if I'm asleep at the wheel in a tougher dungeon or difficulty. Maybe to restore lost lvl's of I can't cast that spell /scroll.

Free healing..saves resources

 

[Onyxia2016]

Hirelings have their uses but cannot and should not take the place of a real person playing a character in the group.
Having said that if you actually use them correctly and not just put them on active and hope they figure it out, they can be helpful.
I have run with them in reaper and they live and contribute to the group.

Some hirelings are better than others. Some stick close to you and others run five rooms over to go after something. Some spam spells and run out of SP within seconds. (looking at you Larafey). Note: just right click on her two spells and disable them. Then you can click on them as needed. If you have a big fight coming up enable them both and she is rain down fire and destruction on the area.

Some hirelings you need to right-click their portrait in their hotbar and customize it, unchecking the two "Attack" boxes. They will still heal and use wands/spells but will not run off. Some will ignore the stay command if their "Attack" boxes are not unchecked.

Do not forget to buff them like any other character of their class. While there base stats are nothing impressive, buffs can really amp them up. As well as augmented summon and certain past life feats.

Each hireling has its own personality and you have to know who is best in a given dungeon. Using the max possible level hireling is not always the best option. If you are in a dungeon with lots of breakables Anthem (low level) will spend all his time breaking things vs fighting or helping in any meaningful way.

Yes sometimes the AI goes stupid and you have to call them to you switch from active to passive then back to active to reset.
Best to get in the habit of doing this between each major fight just to be safe.

As with anything in the game, there is a learning curve on how things work and how to best use them. You would not expect a mass heal scroll to cast itself when you need it, you have to know how and when it should be used. Hirelings are no different. They have their uses but you have to learn what they are and deploy them accordingly.

I have testing many time, running a quest solo and then picking up a hireling and in each case having the hireling made the quest easier. (Once I understood how to deploy them).

 

[dur]

Hires definitely help me more than they hurt.

they are not Totally worthless

They will stand still before a trap or lava area...and port right back to you after the danger area

There's a very select few that rock right along with most content at their lvl range on elite
almost all are Fav Souls... lvl 5 and 7 ones (if I remember right)

[...]

Free healing..saves resources

Yes.

I only wish you could get rogues at lower levels.

 

[erousted8]

The loading screen freezes are a big issue.

 

[dur]

The loading screen freezes are a big issue.

Hit one today exiting a quest in Sarlona - gave it a bio-break (no progress) and had to kick - first one in quite a while.

 

[FaustianBargain]

I do get frustrated when hires are non-responsive or make some questionable pathing decisions, but that’s also a cue for me to play better (why am I not killing things fast enough or avoiding enough damage). It also might be a sign that it’s time to group up for that difficulty - while I’ve had puglets drown in a harbor quest, run into lava, or stand in the middle of packs of mobs doing nothing, most of the time you get some better outcomes.

Hires are fine if you recognize the limits - uncontrolled they aren’t built for reaper difficulty, and barely adequate for Elite. They’re great as a paperweight for a button, are masterful lever pullers, and if you park them out of danger and use them to heal between fights they’re solid. And the fighter with DDoor is :::chefs kiss::: on occasion. But if you rely on them for anything more it’s not on the devs.

 

[dur]

Some hirelings are better than others. When they start acting stupid (standing there while mob is beating them,) I have kicked them, run back to the beginning of the quest and re-summoned them - that usually works.

Hirelings, even the Scarecrow and (uh..) Mech (the L15 & L30 perma-hires) also get buggy. Just had it happen today, the Mech was supposedly in my party but nowhere in sight.. no toolbar, either, but he's got stat bars in my 'group.' That's gotta be my favorite.

 

[erousted8]

Hit one today exiting a quest in Sarlona - gave it a bio-break (no progress) and had to kick - first one in quite a while.

Last time I tried to log in(4 days ago) I hit it consistently every time on my main. Finally logged in on an alt. Gave up.

 

[dur]

Last time I tried to log in(4 days ago) I hit it consistently every time on my main. Finally logged in on an alt. Gave up.

Ah.. well, I'm back down to weekly(ish) because no "free VIP daily Gold rolls." You're not the only one..

I'm just running into a completely different issue (NO friggin' Night Revels keys).

 

[mbartol]

Some hirelings are better than others. When they start acting stupid (standing there while mob is beating them,) I have kicked them, run back to the beginning of the quest and re-summoned them - that usually works.

Hirelings, even the Scarecrow and (uh..) Mech (the L15 & L30 perma-hires) also get buggy. Just had it happen today, the Mech was supposedly in my party but nowhere in sight.. no toolbar, either, but he's got stat bars in my 'group.' That's gotta be my favorite.

When this happens, the hireling seems to always have the star for party leader. Their absence demonstrates that they lead as well as they follow.

 

[erousted8]

Ah.. well, I'm back down to weekly(ish) because no "free VIP daily Gold rolls." You're not the only one..

I'm just running into a completely different issue (NO friggin' Night Revels keys).

For now I try to log in once a week for the gold role. I'm not renewing my sub so once that runs out... say la vi.

 

[Speed]

I died few times just because of server lag.
I played solo and was surrounded by group of enemies (including casters from distance) which was not hard to manage, but then got few second lag to jump from almost full hp into dead character.

AI controlled allies are not better in other games, so I do not think it will be "fixed".
They have their good moments and can be useful, but never count on them and play as if you were on your own.
Sometimes they are blocked by spell/status, cool down, slow casting (mass heal), low sp or just can not reach you due to some object between or you moved out of range with your +30% movement speed too quickly after their casting that additionally slows them (if you played as healer in zerging group, then you will know what I am talking about).
They also die easily on higher difficulties when set to active and run too far from you, so it is better to keep them in guard mode (they will die less and concentrate on you).