A) Because they're pre-controlled they can obstruct your position whilst you're trying to set them up. Let's say i want to set up 30 zombies.. I now have zombies walking into me, obstructing me. I can't carefully position them, and then control them one at a time in a controlled order so i don't get walled in by them. I'm not kidding, if you try to summon over 5 zombies, you're going to get walled by them; and then it becomes a burden on the GM to move you. You essentially have to be constantly moving to summon a large number of them; if you dare stand still for even a moment, they surround and trap you; not as bad now because you can push, but still... Having to push zombies out of the way everytime you stand still is obnoxious and sloppy.
B) The pathing just doesn't work anymore. I don't know what you did to them, but they just seem to run off into the sunset 50% of the time. They used to be janky, sure; but now they are a literal coin-flip.
C) You can't set as many up because they actively drain mana from the get-go; so it is actually a nerf to have them pre-controlled.
D) It is anti-roleplay to have them pre-controlled. It was actually way more immersive when you had to find a secluded location and set them up; like you're an actual criminal doing something criminal; but also, you somehow control them without ritual blood, which kind of breaks the logic of necromancy magic (it's a nitpick, but still).
E) There was utility in having them be stationary on summon, and have them attack anyone who attacks them. Example: in large battles, they are good anti-elementalism, as you can place them down everywhere, and if an elementalist hits one, they now have to deal with them. They were good as meat walls to block off areas for escape or ambush; or even to use them as a shield to hide away from arrows. This is mostly lost in their current form; or no longer anywhere near as a precise as it was.
Recommended Changes:
The real problem with zombies was never that they were pre-controlled; it was that they are on a timer. It was this HUGE set up, for a TEMPORARY benefit.
Remove the timer, and put them back to how they were before; now when people invest their time into the huge setup, they're rewarded with a permanent benefit. When people need rid of them? They can detonate them.
If you're worried about how strong an endlessly chasing zombie would be; perhaps set a timer on command undead, so that the zombies eventually slow to a snail's pace when the command undead effect runs out; similar to how it works when you self cast it (although maybe it already works like that on enemies too).
Another change that would be welcomed, but is a separate issue, is an extended range on command undead; so that mages who die easily don't have to go in close range just to set their zombies on people; but that is a different issue.
B) The pathing just doesn't work anymore. I don't know what you did to them, but they just seem to run off into the sunset 50% of the time. They used to be janky, sure; but now they are a literal coin-flip.
C) You can't set as many up because they actively drain mana from the get-go; so it is actually a nerf to have them pre-controlled.
D) It is anti-roleplay to have them pre-controlled. It was actually way more immersive when you had to find a secluded location and set them up; like you're an actual criminal doing something criminal; but also, you somehow control them without ritual blood, which kind of breaks the logic of necromancy magic (it's a nitpick, but still).
E) There was utility in having them be stationary on summon, and have them attack anyone who attacks them. Example: in large battles, they are good anti-elementalism, as you can place them down everywhere, and if an elementalist hits one, they now have to deal with them. They were good as meat walls to block off areas for escape or ambush; or even to use them as a shield to hide away from arrows. This is mostly lost in their current form; or no longer anywhere near as a precise as it was.
Recommended Changes:
The real problem with zombies was never that they were pre-controlled; it was that they are on a timer. It was this HUGE set up, for a TEMPORARY benefit.
Remove the timer, and put them back to how they were before; now when people invest their time into the huge setup, they're rewarded with a permanent benefit. When people need rid of them? They can detonate them.
If you're worried about how strong an endlessly chasing zombie would be; perhaps set a timer on command undead, so that the zombies eventually slow to a snail's pace when the command undead effect runs out; similar to how it works when you self cast it (although maybe it already works like that on enemies too).
Another change that would be welcomed, but is a separate issue, is an extended range on command undead; so that mages who die easily don't have to go in close range just to set their zombies on people; but that is a different issue.
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