NPC Combat Dodge (ESPless) Mod

NPC COMBAT DODGE

Tired of NPCs standing there taking bullets like mannequins? Time to make combat a bit more... dynamic!

No new animations, all done on existing movements. Enemies will strafe in all directions as well as ducking.

The effect is lessened close up but compounded at range - if an enemy can see you lining up a shot they will move about!

YES IT WORKS WITH TTW, WHY WOULDN'T IT?

It probably works with psychor's stuff but NO I have not tested this.

NOTE: VIDEO SHOWS VANILLA FIRST THEN THE MOD IS ENABLED

NOTE: VIDEO SHOWS VANILLA FIRST THEN THE MOD IS ENABLED

Features

Directional Dodge Logic

NPCs don't just pick a random direction - they react based on your attack angle:

• Aiming at their front (-45° to 45°): They strafe left/right or use dodge-roll animations

• Attacking from their right side (45° to 135°): They move forward or backward to break your line

• Attacking from their left side (-135° to -45°): Same forward/backward movement

• Sneaking up from behind (>135°): They dash forward to escape

Clearance Detection

Before any dodge, the mod checks VATS area clearance (a vanilla but largely undocumented function) in all four directions. If there's a wall to their left, they won't try to dodge left. This prevents NPCs from rubber-banding into geometry or doing that awkward shuffle against obstacles. The minimum clearance threshold is configurable.

Armor Weight Penalties

Dodge speed scales with armor class:

• Light/No armor: Full speed boost (150%)

• Medium armor: 80% of the bonus (140% total)

• Heavy armor: 50% of the bonus (125% total)

• Interior locations also reduce the speed bonus by 30% to avoid crawling over obstacles at speed due to engine jank

Scope Awareness

When you're scoped in at range (default 250+ units), NPCs get more aggressive with dodging. Their cooldown between dodges is halved, making sniping more challenging. You can tweak the distance threshold and cooldown multiplier or disable this entirely.

Sensible Exclusions

Some NPCs shouldn't be doing combat rolls:

• Power armor wearers - too bulky for quick lateral movement

• Elderly NPCs - immersion

• NPCs with crippled legs - they can barely walk, let alone dodge

• Creatures - off by default because a dodging deathclaw looks silly

Move Variety

NPCs track their last dodge direction and won't repeat the same move twice in a row. If they strafed left last time, they'll pick from the other available options. Keeps the AI from looking like it's stuck in a loop.

How It Works

The mod runs a callback every 5 frames checking whatever's under your crosshair. When you aim at a hostile NPC who's in combat and has detected you, they'll attempt a dodge. The system calculates safe directions using VATS clearance data, picks a random move from available options, then plays the appropriate animation group at increased speed.

Each NPC has their own cooldown timer to prevent constant jittering. When you scope in at distance, that cooldown gets reduced to make long-range combat more challenging.

NPCs are briefly restrained during the dodge to prevent the AI from interrupting the animation. Everything resets cleanly even if the NPC dies or gets disabled mid-dodge.

Configuration

All settings are in Data/Config/NPCDodge.ini or accessible via MCM.

Core Settings

Dodge Tuning

Scope Settings

CREDITS

n2jay - testing master

Ok Lumberjack - gossip and tester