Let's start by discussing 4 major exploits with the Ai caused by the lack of Focus Fire.
Exploit 1: Ranged units being drawn into an unwanted melee engagement by a single unit.
-It only takes one unit to force ranged troops into switching to melee weapons, which in effect makes them unable to function as ranged units during a battle as long as they are prevented from firing their ranged weapons.
Exploit 2: Ranged units being distracted by stray cavalry.
-Your ranged units will attempt to fire at cavalry within proximity which causes them to lose focus on their initial target and will often turn around 180 degrees to fire at stray cavalry units. This distraction renders ranged units unable to make a significant impact in the overall battle for as long as the stray cavalry is in the detection zone.
Exploit 3: Ranged units being distracted by a single player with a shield.
-Your ranged units will attempt to fire at the closest unit within their targeting zone, if this unit is a player with a shield he will be able to endlessly soak up ranged fire as long as he maintains this position and will cause your ranged units to waste their ammunition and time.
Exploit 4: Siege weapons destroying friendly units and structures
-Due to the fact that siege weapons work by targeting enemy ai troops rather than specific locations or specific formations, they often will fire their projectiles at large concentrations of enemy ai which happen to also be where your siege towers and friendly units are located. These projectiles will oftentimes destroy friendly siege towers and cause massive friendly fire casualties as a result.
These unwanted behaviors are large contributing factors as to why exploiting the ai is so easy and commonplace. In addition to this, these behaviors are the cause of ranged units being not considered at all viable for competitive mp play, or for any level of play where players understand and are able exploit these behaviors including in the Singleplayer campaign where the ai is just as exploitable as it is in Multiplayer.
What is "Selective/Focus Fire" and how does it work to solve these exploits?
This command would enable the player (and sp battle commander ai) to be able to manually command their ranged Ai to fire at a specific area or a specific unit and to ignore all other distractions while this order is active. By implementing this, the exploits mentioned above are immediately rendered obsolete as long as the player is in control of the situation by eliminating possible distractions that would otherwise render them useless. If for example I ordered my troops to focus fire at a group of peasants, they will shoot the peasants and they will ignore the stray cavalry unit galloping behind them. If I order my troops to fire at a different location, they will fire at that location without being baited by the single-shield rambo player attempting to soak up their fire. If i order my troops to fire at a different group, they will ignore melee proximity threats that would otherwise cause them to stop firing. Only when given another order by the player to "Cease Fire" will they revert back to melee form. If I order my siege engines to concentrate their firepower at the main gate of a castle, they won't blow up friendly siege towers and will make short work of the enemies defenses.
A history of Overwhelming Support from the Playerbase
This suggestion has been brought up as early as 2019 by multiple players and has garnered the support of the vast majority of the community. It is a feature that players desperately want to be implemented even today. Just take a look at any one of these forum threads which have previously discussed this topic:
Focus fire on enemy unit
Deciding target of the ranged troops
Captain mode ai targeting
Why won't my ranged units target the cavalry
Selective targeting for formations
How about a focusing command
Archers are stupid
Little list of issues
Additionally, the players of Captains League recently participated in a poll about implementing focus fire and the results were overwhelmingly positive:
If that weren't enough to convince you about the demand for this feature, simply take a look at one of the most popular mods for Bannerlord that exists which achieves a similar functionality albiet for melee targeting instead of ranged targeting: The RTS Camera mod, which allows you to order your troops to fight select targets while ignoring all other threats in the process.
I will never stop advocating for this feature to be included in native bannerlord and I hope you will join me in my attempts to persuade Taleworlds to implement this immediately. Thank you for your time.
Exploit 1: Ranged units being drawn into an unwanted melee engagement by a single unit.
-It only takes one unit to force ranged troops into switching to melee weapons, which in effect makes them unable to function as ranged units during a battle as long as they are prevented from firing their ranged weapons.
Exploit 2: Ranged units being distracted by stray cavalry.
-Your ranged units will attempt to fire at cavalry within proximity which causes them to lose focus on their initial target and will often turn around 180 degrees to fire at stray cavalry units. This distraction renders ranged units unable to make a significant impact in the overall battle for as long as the stray cavalry is in the detection zone.
Exploit 3: Ranged units being distracted by a single player with a shield.
-Your ranged units will attempt to fire at the closest unit within their targeting zone, if this unit is a player with a shield he will be able to endlessly soak up ranged fire as long as he maintains this position and will cause your ranged units to waste their ammunition and time.
Exploit 4: Siege weapons destroying friendly units and structures
-Due to the fact that siege weapons work by targeting enemy ai troops rather than specific locations or specific formations, they often will fire their projectiles at large concentrations of enemy ai which happen to also be where your siege towers and friendly units are located. These projectiles will oftentimes destroy friendly siege towers and cause massive friendly fire casualties as a result.
These unwanted behaviors are large contributing factors as to why exploiting the ai is so easy and commonplace. In addition to this, these behaviors are the cause of ranged units being not considered at all viable for competitive mp play, or for any level of play where players understand and are able exploit these behaviors including in the Singleplayer campaign where the ai is just as exploitable as it is in Multiplayer.
What is "Selective/Focus Fire" and how does it work to solve these exploits?
This command would enable the player (and sp battle commander ai) to be able to manually command their ranged Ai to fire at a specific area or a specific unit and to ignore all other distractions while this order is active. By implementing this, the exploits mentioned above are immediately rendered obsolete as long as the player is in control of the situation by eliminating possible distractions that would otherwise render them useless. If for example I ordered my troops to focus fire at a group of peasants, they will shoot the peasants and they will ignore the stray cavalry unit galloping behind them. If I order my troops to fire at a different location, they will fire at that location without being baited by the single-shield rambo player attempting to soak up their fire. If i order my troops to fire at a different group, they will ignore melee proximity threats that would otherwise cause them to stop firing. Only when given another order by the player to "Cease Fire" will they revert back to melee form. If I order my siege engines to concentrate their firepower at the main gate of a castle, they won't blow up friendly siege towers and will make short work of the enemies defenses.
A history of Overwhelming Support from the Playerbase
This suggestion has been brought up as early as 2019 by multiple players and has garnered the support of the vast majority of the community. It is a feature that players desperately want to be implemented even today. Just take a look at any one of these forum threads which have previously discussed this topic:
Focus fire on enemy unit
Deciding target of the ranged troops
Captain mode ai targeting
Why won't my ranged units target the cavalry
Selective targeting for formations
How about a focusing command
Archers are stupid
Little list of issues
Additionally, the players of Captains League recently participated in a poll about implementing focus fire and the results were overwhelmingly positive:
If that weren't enough to convince you about the demand for this feature, simply take a look at one of the most popular mods for Bannerlord that exists which achieves a similar functionality albiet for melee targeting instead of ranged targeting: The RTS Camera mod, which allows you to order your troops to fight select targets while ignoring all other threats in the process.
I will never stop advocating for this feature to be included in native bannerlord and I hope you will join me in my attempts to persuade Taleworlds to implement this immediately. Thank you for your time.