What’s the best way to fix a follower AI that just stands in combat?

[Brian67]

I’ve been trying to make my own custom follower mod, and I’ve got the voice lines and basic behavior down, but I’m hitting a wall with the companion’s combat style. No matter what I tweak, they just stand there like a mannequin when a fight starts. Has anyone else dealt with this kind of AI package weirdness?

[Jonathan_M]

Man that AI package thing can turn a follower into a statue right at the first punch; feels like a bug you notice but can’t pinpoint.

[PaisleyJT]

Could be a state machine issue: when combat starts the code slips into an idle branch, so the companion just stares until something else nudges it.

[Chloe40]

The AI package might be waiting for a signal you aren’t emitting in combat, so it never commits to an attack even though you hear the clash in game.

[GeorgeFT]

I’d throw some logs at the enterCombat and see which branch actually runs; sometimes a high priority interrupt blocks the attack cue.

[Chloe.M]

Maybe your follower’s stance or weapon logic clashes with the boss’s taunt pattern; you might need to tweak attack priority rather than rewrite the whole thing.

[PaulLC]

Reframe it: maybe the issue isn’t damage timing but target selection and spacing; a lot of fights hinge on where they stand.

[EthanFP]

This reminds me of agency in NPCs in general; the line between scripted response and genuine choice is fuzzy, and tiny timing changes can flip the result.