Sorc Pets Disappearing during combat.

kyle.wilson

I was fighting an overland boss (Druitalarg), during the fight my sorc pet disappeared. I could still use the clannfear's heal, but the pet was nowhere around. I started recording when I realized the issue. I'm hoping that whatever causes this isn't transferred to other possible pet builds after Morrowind's release.
https://youtu.be/8Ap4E9Z_BUg
@ZOS_GinaBruno

Shadowshire

kyle.wilson wrote: »

I was fighting an overland boss (Druitalarg), during the fight my sorc pet disappeared. I could still use the clannfear's heal, but the pet was nowhere around. .... @ZOS_GinaBruno

In my own experience, the clanfear tends to "disappear" from a fight when my PC's opponent ignores the clanfear's attack(s), especially after an opponent has killed the clanfear and my PC re-summons him.

First, the clanfear doesn't seem able to attack an enemy while moving, especially if both are moving. At the start of a fight, the clanfear charges the enemy which the PC targeted, then stops to attack. If the target moves away, the clanfear will either follow the target and resume attacking when the target stops moving, or instead attack another stationary enemy which is closer to the clanfear.

One context in which the clanfear will not attempt to engage an enemy is while my PC is "kiting" that enemy, especially while my PC is running in a circular, repeating pattern -- as your PC is shown doing in the video.

Another context is when my PC moves backwards while facing a foe and continuing to attack, usually with a bow or staff and/or with spells. In that case, the clanfear ordinarily chases the foe, and attacks from behind when the clanfear can do that, as my PC retreats. Sometimes the foe will immediately turn and attack the pursuing clanfear after my PC stops retreating and attacking -- if only because the foe is too far away to inflict damage on my PC.

If my PC resumes attacking the same foe, the fight between the foe and the clanfear ordinarily continues until either the foe or the clanfear is killed. So I use the healing ability to heal the clanfear regardless of whether my PC needs healing.

Also note that after a clanfear becomes engaged with an enemy, whether the PC attacks the same enemy or chooses another one instead ordinarily does not stop the clanfear's fight, or cause the clanfear to instead attack the foe that the PC attacked. That is, the PC and the clanfear, respectively, can be engaged with one or more foes at the same time.

Casting Rapid Maneuver (or its morph) tends to make the clanfear focus on keeping up with the PC instead of attempting to attack the enemy. As noted above, the clanfear doesn't seem able to attack an enemy while the clanfear is moving. But it will move toward, and stop to counterattack, a stationary enemy which has attacked the clanfear.

Regardless, the healing ability of the clanfear is not affected, unless there is too much distance between the PC and the clanfear. I would guess that they must be within ~28 "meters" of one another for healing the PC to occur, and using the heal ability to restore health to the clanfear (while the PC is at full health) probably has the same distance limit.

In conclusion, it seems to me that what you report as a flaw in the software (i.e., the clanfear is not displayed on screen) is a result of the way that the clanfear behaves in certain situations. We cannot see what the clanfear is doing because the clanfear cannot attack the enemy with which the PC is engaged, or the clanfear might be engaged in a fight which the PC cannot see in progress. However, healing is usually still available.