Room to strike.

Previously, creatures could reach striking distance and stay crowded together. They now look for a free, reachable approach when another body or a blocked attack makes their position awkward. A committed strike gets time to land; the next decision does not constantly interrupt it.

Puslings reconsider more often than Brutes. Automatic guards also let a distant or lost target go and return to their wizard. A target you explicitly order them to attack remains authoritative.

A visible hostile Ground Remembers or prepared Brute slam can now prompt an escape attempt. There is a reaction delay, followed by movement at the creature’s normal speed. A slow Brute, a late warning or an awkward route can still leave a creature inside the blast.

In this matched scene, the new brood spreads out, moves away from the warning and survives. The old brood stays crowded and dies in the eruption. This demonstrates one deliberately staged situation, not a promise that creatures will dodge every spell.

Move, hold, courier and ritual duties take precedence over the new automatic behaviour. Ferals briefly remember where they last saw an enemy, rather than tracking hidden movement. They still return physically to their small home area without healing or creating replacement souls.

The affected source checks and exact exported-game checks passed, including combat, warnings, orders, living camps and soul conservation. Native inspection confirmed a paid summon, pause and a real match restart. The previous complete playable is preserved. Shaun’s hands-on judgement of combat feel remains the acceptance check; no new performance claim is made.

The Spore Moth is next: an original low-flying ranged summon with a fragile body, visible shot preparation and a projectile that takes time to arrive. Extra wild creature families and camps remain a later step. The current match still conserves eighteen souls.