See I'm ok with the minis and I also broke my teeth on 2e and prior versions. Used right the minis lower confusion amongst the players. Also the awe factor when facing massive monsters is great
I just feel that you loose some imagination with mini's, things like: "I [Girble the Swashbuckling Gnome] grab['s] the chandelier, swing across the room, slash[es] the rope, and does a back-flip to land next to the leading thug." The chandelier falls on the group of bandits but rather that a back-flip, he does a back-flop, incidentally taking a nosedive into the Leaders unmentionables... While that is totally possible with mini's, you tend to get bland, Girble the Swashbucking Gnome runs down the stairs into the crowd of bandits... What I am (poorly) suggesting is that you don't get as much outside the box thinking and instead wind up with "power play" where nifty abilities trump thought. But, with all honesty, I must say that I have only a little experience with 4e as my regular group wasn't interested enough to really get into it.
Lol not with my groups! All I ever hear is "ooh can I jump on the shoulder of the dying giant and flip over the next, stabbing it in the back as I fly through the air?" And other such insane moves. Lol.
I get the urge to use my whip to grapple onto posts and hanging lights to swing across enemies, but thats just cause my halfling bard is awesome.
To go back on topic: I would also say, just about any class that is currently being controlled by the AI. In some games, I have spent more times baby sitting than actually exploring. I can remember many a' time reloading because the stupid computer did some putz move like threw a rare item, used all the healers mana casting light, or died while I wasn't looking. AI /shudder Though I will give game designers credit, newer games tend to not be unbearable as they used to be in that department (for the most part).
But if your assisting AI would be as good as the opposing AI, then there would be less of a challenge for the player, I guess
You would have to use strategy to complete goals, disadvantage can always be given to the player. Things like a few more units, different class composition, ground layout, traps, fortification, or an opposing hero class unit, all these things can tilt a battle to give you a few tense moments and maybe a retry (possibly multiple at higher difficulty). But then again herding incompetent AI could be consider a challenge, just not one I enjoy
If I have to work with a team, I'd rather have full control over them or have them run by another player. I have noticed that in some games the thief tends to get nerfed.
I've always felt that a thief class just doesn't fit in most games as a lead. Typically you get thrust into an aggressive stance and leading with the thief is the worst thing you can do. If you stealth and attack, typically the npc's screw the pooch or everything is suddenly hunting for rogue blood, and the npc's just can't do things like tactically lead while you stealth attack the mage hiding in the back. Now games solely (or mostly) focused on rogue elements (such as Thief , Mark of the Ninja, or quasi stealth games like Deus Ex: the Human Revolution and Dishonored) tend to have no companion AI with light combat mechanic thrown in for those that like to see a bit o' blood and usually have pretty good stealth mechanics. I've always felt that these types of games just work from a mechanical standpoint.
Oh yeah Dishonored is fantastic, and I am working through it as bloodless and stealthy as possible, but it's a rare breed when it comes to a "thief" class.
