@Riot Zyra plant AI

Hex the FenFen·May 7, 2015·105 votes·3,890 views

I have posted this before but I feel the need to bring it up again. I main Zyra mid and I love her, but the one thing that irritates me is her plant AI. I can cast my Q with a seed under a champion and the plant will attack the champ on the first go, but then immediately start attacking minions even though the champion is still targeted and in range. I also feel her plants should attack whoever attacks Zyra (preferring champions first) until she auto attacks something else. Her plant AI can be very irritating, I really feel it could be upgraded to something better and more reliable and maybe make it to where the plant will attack whoever attacks it (preferring champions as well)

53 Comments

BlainezyMay 7, 201525 votes

I made a post about this a long time ago and people disagreed and argued with me forever. The plant AI is whack and needs to be fixed. Period.

TonyTonyMordecaiMay 7, 20158 votes

Maybe if they make it like Heimerdinger's Turret AI then it'll be more responsive and less stupid?

Rew711May 8, 20151 votes

Like, one long shot at first and then she shoots at a constant rate (to nearby enemies), same to her current AS for 3 seconds?

TonyTonyMordecaiMay 8, 20151 votes

I mean like where the plants auto lock on minions if they're in range, or if Zyra is auto attacking a champion, then they all go ham on said champion until they are out of range, or if the champion has/is dealing damage to Zyra then the plants go to the enemy champ. I've played Zyra only a couple times, in bot matches, and if I remember correctly, her auto attack particles move really slow, but if you look at Heimerdinger's AA particles, they move really quickly. So if they sped up her AA particle speed, then she might be able to switch targets easier or even choose a target before they get out of auto range and her plant range. Or even just make the plants auto target the enemy champ that is closest to the plants/Zyra. That might help if the enemy is out of auto range.

Mandang0May 7, 201513 votes

Agreed 100%.

I have two annoyances with her plants right now:

Acquiring a target/maintaining a target seems to take longer than it should, often not attacking targets on the outer reaches of the plant's range.
DoT auras chew up plants too quickly (cinderhulk, burnout, despair, etc).

EDIT: I made a thread a bit ago in the 'Report a Bug' subforum - feel free to check it out too: http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/bug-report/GZfqKpEd-zyra-plants-not-maintainingacquiring-targets-correctly

Hex the FenFenMay 7, 20157 votes

The biggest issue is the fact that sometimes i can spawn a plant and hit a champion and minions (it should target the champion in that case) but it will sit there and do absolutely nothing. I feel like the aggro range as stated somewhere below is super low and needs to be fixed if their ranges are rather large.

HolowHall of HalMay 7, 20155 votes

She sure needs the plant champion focus since it also screws her as a support, plants stop attacking champs and start attacking the minions, probably stealing a few of them

Hex the FenFenMay 8, 20152 votes

Ugh, I know the pain >_> it is irritating since you cannot always walk up and auto them

GodhriMay 7, 20155 votes

Ai does suck. Her plants supposedly have 750 range but they switch targets at like 300 range.

Hex the FenFenMay 8, 20151 votes

One HUGE issue is when you take Zyra mid and you spawn a plant under someone for poke, but you wanna continue farming, I would much rather have them focus on the champion right next to them instead of minions i attack cause then I have to miss out on CS. Yes, some people like to use plants as farming tools but i want to farm and continue to poke much like heimerdinger can without issues.

PalPlaysMay 8, 20154 votes

{quoted}

I have posted this before but I feel the need to bring it up again. I main Zyra mid and I love her, but the one thing that irritates me is her plant AI. I can cast my Q with a seed under a champion and the plant will attack the champ on the first go, but then immediately start attacking minions even though the champion is still targeted and in range. I also feel her plants should attack whoever attacks Zyra (preferring champions first) until she auto attacks something else. Her plant AI can be very irritating, I really feel it could be upgraded to something better and more reliable and maybe make it to where the plant will attack whoever attacks it (preferring champions as well)

I don't even PLAY Zyra and I agree. It's ridiculous that I can lane against her Scott Free because her plants rarely attack me.

P0IS0N IVYMay 7, 20153 votes

Why don't the plants automatically target champs when they're in range like Heimer turrets T_T

NarasimhaMay 8, 20152 votes

To my knowledge, Heim's turrets don't actually automatically go after champions either. They have a priority list, some thing like

Enemy Champion attacking Heim
Enemy Champion attacked by Heim
Enemy Champion attacking turret
Enemy minon attacked by Heim
Enemy minion attacking Heim
Enemy minion attacking turret
Enemy minion in range

P0IS0N IVYMay 8, 20151 votes

Really? Because I get automatically targetted by the laser whenever I get close.

NarasimhaMay 8, 20151 votes

The laser, yes, but the autoattacks , no. Slight error on my part, apologies.

P0IS0N IVYMay 8, 20151 votes

Sorry I was talking about the lasers.

Regardless, Zyra's plants don't attack champions when the champion is attacking them anyway XD

Valhalla RisingMay 7, 20153 votes

yes thank you for addressing this, I've been reluctant to admit it but i've finally accepted her plants are quite derpy.

I don't recall them being this derpy in s4, but It's getting very annoying when one third of your dps is failing to work properly.

not only does it ignore champions right next to it, it's aggro range seems shorter then it's attack range, meaning enemies inside the range indicator are being ignored for no reason.

AquariusGineMay 7, 20152 votes

As for me I just hope Zyra doesn't get the Morgana treatment..

Completely nerfed out of mid to support role

Hex the FenFenMay 7, 20151 votes

Yeah, Morgana was my first mid-laner and I remember how much i loved playing her mid, but now i feel so weak and just...eh, yknow? I hope they don't touch my beloved Zyra in any way that will just shatter her mid lane :( she is my go-to mid laner

Señor KarthusMay 7, 20152 votes

I will bump this thread until Riot commits to fix it.

Hex the FenFenMay 7, 20151 votes

Thanks, I main Zyra and it just seems like a big issue and really game breaking in all honesty. I have had kills get away because of it. They really do need to update it and help her out a bit.

NarasimhaMay 8, 20152 votes

I also feel her plants should attack whoever attacks Zyra (preferring champions first) until she auto attacks something else.

As someone else who does Zyra mid, I can confirm this is already present. Zyra's autoattacks leave a weird little mark over her target, and the plants will always attack that enemy first.

That being said, the ai is incredibly wonky and could use some updating.

Mandang0May 8, 20151 votes

Yea, I think the plants are only guaranteed to prioritize targets when they're marked, but even that doesn't seem to be working right atm. You can autoattack an enemy champion within plant range, watch the plant attack them, then watch the plant change targets before the enemy leaves plant range. That or you can see a enemy champion walk into plant range while nothing else is being attacked and the plant still won't attack them until like a second later.

VeryGreenMay 8, 20152 votes

The honestly need to buff Zyra in some way.

Mandang0May 8, 20151 votes

I don't think she's too far from good right now - just some QoL buffs for her plant targeting and something to help her plants stay alive in a meta where everyone has a DoT aura (cinderhulk, burnout, sej flail, amumu tears, etc). I mean - Zyra shouldn't be punished for actually landing her melee plant on the tank, but she sorta is atm.

CansemaMay 8, 20152 votes

Standard issue for zyra.. activate plants.. first shot hits champion.. then plant says.. 'no .. i dont want to hit the enemy champ' then it starts hitting a random minion for some reason..

and also the targeting issue for zyra needs to be looked at too.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwJt-d3U4b0

NoraverMay 7, 20151 votes

The only thing I feel needs to be improved is that her plants (Along with Heimer's turrets) don't attack whoever's attacking them. I feel like that's all it needs.

In team fights/lane (Especially since I play her middle), it sucks when champions just auto attack your turret/plant twice and they're gone. Even champions like Zed can just line up their skillshots and take them out when they're creeping.

Lew SirMay 7, 20151 votes

ITS A TRAP

They will nerf Zyra with this update.

I FORSEEN IT.

FOR item 2045 item 2049 IT !

ChortleMay 7, 20151 votes

Agreed. I have encountered this multiple times. E-Q onto an enemy champion only for the plant to shoot one spike at them and then starts attacking the closest minions.

iamthegoatofwarMay 7, 20151 votes

honestly i don't like zyra in general she doesn't need ap to nuke your ass.

ZionSeekerMay 7, 20151 votes

It should be like Azir's Autos and his minions except only a little different. Whoever Zyra auto's last, her plants proceed to auto that minion/champ/monster as long as they're in it's range. If the person she last auto'd isn't in the range of the plants then they should attack the nearest champion. Maybe even have it so they attack the lowest health champion.

For an example, lets say you got someone 1-2 autos away from death under tower, next to a full health person. Drop your plants under tower and the plants ignore the person with higher health and go for the low health person(As long as the low health person is in the range).

TL:DR Plants auto last person Zyra autos

If that person isn't in the plants range then the plant targets the nearest champion with the lowest health.

If there are no champions within the plants range they auto minions.

This really shouldn't be that hard to resolve. The plants should just have priority targets from Zyra's last auto, lowest health champion, to minions.

Hex the FenFenMay 7, 20151 votes

I agree, but they already go after Zyras last auto the problem is they should already target nearest champion without her having to auto them, this would be so much easier in lane if you can't get in range to auto them and so they don't go after minions all the time

MumbosMagicMay 8, 20151 votes

As a fellow Zyra mid player, I wholeheartedly agree. I just laugh at how derpy her plants are at this point. It's costing a good deal of free harass, and doesn't even make any sense from a balance perspective - it's not like Zyra is pick or ban.

FantasySniperMay 8, 20151 votes

Also, because of the way the health works, DoTs stomp on them like a kid in autumn stepping on every crunchy, vulnerable leaf in sight.

5050BSMay 8, 20151 votes

YES YES YES I Zyra mid all the time and I HATE being vs Dingger or Morg because I hate Morg dot killing plants SUPER fast and Dingers Turret envy.

Dingers Turrets attack so much faster focus any Champ that just glances in their range and have WAY more HPS then Zyra plants.

Getting a plant out costs a lot of mana and to have it die so easy (AND its only out for what 8s) They should not have HPs and just be out for 8s.

They should use Dinger Turret AI.

Chespin2013May 8, 20151 votes

and give her passive a buff too while we're at it I'm sick and tired of having to die to utilize it

Hex the FenFenMay 8, 20152 votes

I have always wanted a new passive for her, like really badly. Something to help her more in lane

PaletongueMay 8, 20151 votes

It already focuses whichever target Zyra is autoattacking, and as far as I can tell, it does it reliably.

StoningtonMay 8, 20151 votes

As someone who also mains Zyra, mainly support, I think this would be OP as fuck. Not only in bot lane but any lane. She would be ridiculously dominant with the ability to nearly permazone the enemy out of cs. The way her plant AI works, autoing the enemy that you want her plant to attack, is the risk/reward of Zyra. It allows the enemy to attack you back and keeps the lane fair.

You should be leveling Q first in any lane you go to, which is very strong and safe harass as is. Especially with the added one AA plant damage.

donninja67May 8, 20151 votes

i found this on this old LOL page.

CertainlyT

Champion Designer

Zyra's plants prioritize:

Champions you have basic attacked;

Champs very close to them;

Champs they have recently hit that have not moved out of their range at any time ("target lock"

Champs another plant has struck;

Minions you have basic attacked;

Closest unit to them.

Hope this helps.

http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=2401462

StoningtonMay 9, 20151 votes

{quoted}

i found this on this old LOL page.

http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=2401462

OK? That's not the way it currently works. In the past Zyra has been ridiculously over powered.

GankLordMay 8, 20151 votes

My fellow Zyra mains (Who take her mid where she belongs) this is the time to unite to let riot know after the hard nerf they gave her she deserves a buff in the form that her plant autoattacks make sense keep this relevant Riot please!

Hex the FenFenMay 8, 20151 votes

YES! Mid lane Zyra needs help and now I have 70+ up votes WE NEED TO KEEP GOING! I do want them go help her out really badly

QueenAquaMay 8, 20151 votes

Pretty sure Heim's do just that. And it is annoying as heck that the plants, who have half the health and limited time they can be there, don't even remotely do half as well as Heim's. Plus, I find it frustrating that they attack whatever your basic attacking. They literally will only attack a certain champion if you are basic attacking it and that is frustrating when the plants are in range to attack them, but you aren't, so if you run in to basic attack them to get things going with your plants, the enemy just falls back so you can't and your plants continue to go on their merry way, attacking minions til they die.

SsatanikoMay 8, 20151 votes

Totally agree with OP and I might add that I find it highly unfair that Heimerdinger's turrets seem to have more HP and staying power than Zyra's plants...Heimer recalls and his turrets are still firing.

Hex the FenFenMay 8, 20151 votes

As much as i hate heimer and his turrets many have told me that is because his kit revolves around his turrets and Zyra's doesn't. But in a way hers does, it is a HUGE part of her DPS and harass. Heimer can have his turrets up faster, more frequent and more irritatingly than Zyra can and at a much less mana cost. I just wish that her plants lasted a tad longer than 10 seconds and were smarter, or at least smarter lol. And for god sakes a new passive. Heimer's turrets are also smarter and have huge range and damage

GiovarcoMay 8, 20151 votes

Heimerdinger item 3070

donninja67May 8, 20151 votes

i found this on this old LOL page.

CertainlyT

Champion Designer

Zyra's plants prioritize:

Champions you have basic attacked; Champs very close to them; Champs they have recently hit that have not moved out of their range at any time ("target lock" Champs another plant has struck; Minions you have basic attacked; Closest unit to them. Hope this helps.

http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=2401462

Hex the FenFenMay 8, 20151 votes

Except they don't lol I know what they are SUPPOSED to do, but the issue is that they do not and that is what I am addressing and a few tweaks would be nice