Gray Zone Warfare devs know AI needs tweaking but they’ll still be “hellish”

Gray Zone Warfare’s AI are a huge part of the game but they’re extremely deadly to fight against and a portion of the community is desperate for change. Although designed to be “hellish,” the developers are aware that adjustments are needed.

AI in Gray Zone Warfare aren’t the usual cannon fodder to gun down without thought – they’re often more deadly than the other players in the server. While the AI’s difficulty has divided the community, many feel the problem goes deeper than how hard they are to fight against.

Players have reported that the AI can see through walls and foliage, will quickly spin around to headshot you, and be able to beam you from extremely far out.

We spoke with Gray Zone Warfare’s Director of PR and Communications, Rick Lagnese, and while he emphasized AI aren’t going to get easier, he said the team is aware they can be unrealistic at times and are addressing it.

“It’s mostly PvE so we try to make them intelligent within reason while we still need to balance it,” he explained. “But, there are times where, yeah, it’s a little bit unrealistic. We’ve noticed issues with glass, we’ve noticed issues a little bit with the wall. So, yeah, we absolutely have to make it a little more reasonable.”

However, even with changes lined up, the AI are designed to be extremely difficult to fight against so don’t expect that to change. As detailed in their first community briefing, getting shot through the foliage, for example, is by design.

“You go to run behind foliage, it doesn’t mean you’re all of a sudden- you know, they don’t know where you are, right? If they saw you, whether it’s sound, whether it’s seeing you go behind foliage, they’re still going to shoot behind it, and they’re still going to hit you through the foliage.”

However, “If you’re approaching them and they haven’t seen you yet through the foliage, then the idea is, yeah, you’re still hidden.”

“So there are some adjustments that we might make, but overall, we’re going to still make it hellish in some areas,” he continued. “You’re going to have to work together with your squad and, especially the harder factions, military, they’re going to be very smart and aware, but I think it’s fair to say we need to make adjustments.”

“I just want to make sure that you know, realize, this is a hardcore game even though it’s a sandbox,” concluded Lagnese. “So you’re definitely going to need to work together to accomplish some of these tasks.“