Lava, Swamps, Fire/Dust Traps, you name it, and they will go out of their way to run through it like kids through a sprinkler on a hot summer day.
The trick is, as has been posted already, to plan for that (as much as possible) and give these areas a
wide berth. Sometimes that is unavoidable, like when you are running across a bridge between two islands, and Durham thinks the proper route is
around the bridge and through the Smoke Phantoms.
But I still prefer the company of henchmen to 75% of the Human AI I've been teamed up with. Those that don't know what it means when your only healing monk pings, "My Energy is at 4 out of 56!". Those that charge ahead to the next mob in an area full of hidden scarabs (a 6 on 3 fight becomes 6 on 15). Those Warriors who will pack a 15 energy spell (Apply Poison) to go fight Undead and stand around waiting for their energy to build back to where they can do something. Oh yeah. They also have mending on themselves so they have 1 pip of regen. Hope you've got all night for that power swing. Whoops! He spent that 5 energy on an Orison on himself. Good work.
I think the Guild Wars team would have to work very hard on henchmen AI to approach the incredible stupidity that my human-controlled companions are capable of. How many of you, after 3-4 tries on a mission like Santum Cay have finally reverted to henchment and finished it the first time?
Lena FTW! Okay, okay, I've been known to yell at the screen when Alesia will wait until she's the last one standing before starting that 8 second res. And yes, I wish any of them had some sense of self-preservation. The only time Alesia runs from an enemy is
right directly the very moment after Orion cast his firestorm, so the 3 guys hitting her only suffer ~2 damage from it. So I know where you are coming from. But thank god the devs gave me this choice. I'll take them every time. The only times I go for humans over henchmen is for guildmates, or pure charity.
Damn my better nature.
