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I posted this at Allakhazam ages, upon ages back, so I thought that I would repost it here, just to help people out. If this is already stickied somewhere and I didn't see it, then please tell me. Otherwise, without further ado....
Aggro is, by far, the most important concept of this game that one must understand if they are going to get much further than Lv10 in the game. And Lv10.... trust me, Lv10... is still like a 5 year old child... still much to learn, and can't do much on their own yet, no offense meant to anyone.
Aggro.
What exactly is this word, you may ask. Or mayhaps you players who came from WoW thinks it means the same as what we call "hate". I can assure you, Hate does not equal Aggro. They are completely different concepts entirely.
Every (with very few exceptions) Mob (mobile object, that is, anything that is not controlled by a player) has two states. An Idle Mode, and Battle Mode. Idle mode is when it is not currently doing anything. Battle Mode, as its name implies, is when the mob is considered to be "in battle".
So, what makes a mob go from Idle Mode into Battle Mode? That is what we call "Aggro". Aggro is a verb used to describe the decision of a mob to go from Idle Mode to Battle Mode. When this happens, we say the mob "aggroed" someone, or someone "aggroed" the mob.
Section #1: "What makes a mob aggro?"
1). You performed an offensive action on the mob in question. You either drew your weapon and swung at it, casted a spell at it, used an offensive job ability on it, or used a ranged attack on it. Doing so also Claims a mob. As far as I know, Gauge is the only Job Ability that does not aggro a mob when used on them, and I've heard a BST or two claim they got aggro while Gauging mobs in the Expansion Areas...but in most cases, Gauge is the lone ability that does not aggro a mob.
2). The mob is an aggressive mob, and it detected you by its method(s) of detection, and you were low enough level. Methods of detection include (True)Sight, (True)Sound, Low HP, Magic Casting. Some people claim mobs in Expansion Areas detect (and aggro) by Scent, but this is unconfirmed as of late. Note that even a Too Weak mob will aggro if you are /healing or /sitting within its range/methods of detection.
3). The mob is a linking mob and detected (using whatever detection mode that mob normally has) a linkable mob who was currently in battle mode.
4). The mob was struck by an Area of Effect (AoE) ability.
Section #2: "How do I avoid Aggro?"
Well, there are four main types of Detection Modes that I will describe here:
1). Sight. Mobs who use Sight as their mode of detection can see anything in front of them in a cone of vision. What this means, is that if you are behind the mob, it will not notice you unless it turns around, or you move within its Line of Sight. The Invisible spell, Prism Powders, and Tonko will allow you to move in front of a mob who uses Sight unless they have True Sight.
2). Sound. Mobs who use Sound as their mode of detection can detect you no matter where you are in relation to them if you are within distance. A thing to note here, is that even if you are standing still, there is still a chance the mob will aggro, though there seems to be a Chance invovled. There are times I stood perfectly still and a skeleton walked right past me and didn't aggro, but yet, other times I tried this, I got aggro. Sound mobs seem to aggro people who are moving sooner than they would aggro someone who is not moving, but this is unconfirmed as of yet. The Sneak Spell, or Silent Oil will generally prevent this.
3). Low HP. Undead Mobs will aggro if you have Yellow or lower HP. An interesting thing to note, is that an Undead's Low HP detection range is much greater than its Sound detection range. I've proved this more than once.
4). Magic Casting. All Elementals, Arcana (magic pots, statues, etc), and Bombs will aggro if you cast a spell within their magic detection range.
A thing to remember: All (I think all) mobs will make an "aggro noise". This noise or sound is unique to that type of mob, and they will only make this noise when they enter Battle Mode, for any reason. A very good thing to do, is to memorize the "aggro sounds" of most of the common mob types. If you know a mob has aggroed you by hearing its aggro noise, you can respond to it quicker than, say, if you had your sound turned off and you didn't know you got aggro until you are getting hit by this mob.
Section #3: Oh No! I got unwanted aggro .. um... what do I do!?
During your FFXI experience, you are going to get aggro from time to time no matter what you do. Panic is about the worst thing anyone can do, as it will almost certainly lead to a horrible death. If you get aggro from something you do not think you can handle, the first and foremost thing that most people do, is Zone. By Zoning, I mean, travel to the exit of an area and exit into the next area. Doing so, will lose the mob (mobs cannot change areas), but depending on the area and how far away you are, this can be dangerous. Especailly if it is a linking mob. Here are a few things to remember:
1). Mobs -can- lose sight of you and you will lose aggro. This is rare, but I've had it happen while pulling. Generally, this happens if you leave their area of detection for more than 5 seconds, but this is unconfirmed and only a theory. I've seen this happen with Yuhtunga Mandragora. I'm not quite sure how exactly this works, as its rare.
2). If you are a White Mage and you only have one mob on you, the best thing you can do is cast Flash and then immediately cast Warp. This is almost a guaranteed success unless the mob is completely overpowered for you. I've done this at least 5 times with mobs rating Incredibly Tough to me. Note: Don't Panic! Make sure your Flash doesn't get interrupted by casting it in between the mob's attacks. Stoneskin is a very good spell to have active while trudging around in dangerous areas.
3). If you manage to get the mob far enough away from you to use a Prism Powder or Silent Oil, don't. This will not work. At least, I know it doesn't work if you have Hate (see next section). If you have Zero Hate, it might, but I've never been able to test it, given how hard it is to accomplish this.
4). If you are able to get far enough away from a mob and this mob is not True Sight, you can cast Deodorize, or walk across a body of water, for mobs that track by scent.
Section #4: You mentioned "hate"? What is that?
This guide is not about party mechanics, however, I feel that "Hate" has a lot to do with Aggro, and it is something you should learn anyway. I am not going to cover party dynamics in-depth in this guide, however, I will say a few things.
Most people use the word "hate" to describe how much the monster dislikes you. A Mob will always attack the person it hates the most if there are multiple people who have that mob's hate.
But, in this guide, let me explain something that I've noticed during my travels:
When a Mob Aggros you, by Aggro or Link, your hate value is currently ZERO.
Remember this.
When a Mob Aggros you, by Aggro or Link, your hate value is currently ZERO.
Remembered it yet?
This is Very, Very important. This one concept is something everyone needs to know.
We all know that casting a Cure spell on someone who is fighting a mob will create Hate. Or at least most of us do. Ever seen that lone warrior trying to kill a mob in a newbie zone, who is almost dead, and you throw a Cure spell on him, and the mob walks over to you and starts attacking you? That's becuase you have more hate than the warrior does. Note that you didn't attack the mob, you only aided the one attacking the mob. Well, let's try this example:
Warrior is attacking Mob A, and Mob B links and comes over and starts attacking the warrior. Right Now...
Warrior has hate from Mob A.
Warrior has ZERO hate from Mob B becuase Mob B aggroed by Linking.
If you cast a Cure on the warrior:
Warrior has Hate from Mob A.
You have Hate from Mob A. Mob A will attack you.
Warrior has ZERO hate from Mob B.
You have ZERO hate from Mob B. Mob B will continue to attack Warrior.
This is a very core concept. You cannot create hate by aiding someone who has zero hate.
Why did I go to such great lengths to explain this? Its very simple...
Section #5: "What causes a Mob to go Idle?"
Well, the Hate I explained above has a lot to do with this. Simply put, a Mob will exit Battle Mode, if it has no one targeted. What will cause a mob to have no one targeted?
1). No One has hate from it.
2). The "person" it aggroed is dead.
Both of the above must be true for the mob to exit Battle Mode and enter Idle Mode.
Now, you may ask, "why did you put this in this guide"? Because this goes hand-in-hand with link handling. This is why summoners and beastmasters are excellent link handlers. Let's consider a scenario for a moment:
An experience party is levelling off of beetles in Altepa Desert. These Beetles do not aggro, but link by sight. On one particular pull, the puller throws a boomerang at Beetle A, but did not see Beetle B just around the corner. However, Beetle B saw Beetle A go into Battle Mode and decided to follow along. The Party is now in trouble, as they cannot handle two Incredibly Tough mobs at once.
The Summoner, with quick thinking, summons Shiva as the puller returns to camp with the beetle. The Summoner yells "Don't touch the other beetle!" Here's why:
1). Beetle A hates the Puller and the Tank who just Provoked it.
2). Beetle B hates no one (it aggroed by Linking).
The Summoner tells Shiva to cast Sleepga.
1). Beetle A hates the Party, and Shiva.
2). Beetle B hates Shiva and only Shiva because Shiva hit it with an AoE.
It doesn't take long for Beetle B to kill Shiva once it wakes up. Now the scenario is:
1). Beetle A hates the party.
2). Beetle B hates no one, and has no one targeted.
Thus, Beetle B is going to idle now. Just hope it doesn't turn around and see you in battle with Beetle A...
Section #6: "Um, your guide is wrong. I got attacked even though I did nothing to the other party member."
Well, this is the one main exception to the rules above. It seems that being a party member gives you an automatic hate value of 1 (or whatever the lowest possible hate value is). I've seen this time and time again: Puller attacks a mob and gets a link and then yells "Don't touch me or that mob" and zones the mob. The mobs then come back and start attacking the party. The only explaination I can offer for this, is that simply being in the same party as the one who got aggro and has hate, will give you hate as well. If you are in a party, and someone gets aggro, or you zone a link, Play it safe. Everyone in the party must zone to ensure a full hate reset.
I hope this guide has helped some of you, if you see anything that needs to be added or changed, let me know!
--Xylia
I posted this at Allakhazam ages, upon ages back, so I thought that I would repost it here, just to help people out. If this is already stickied somewhere and I didn't see it, then please tell me. Otherwise, without further ado....
Aggro is, by far, the most important concept of this game that one must understand if they are going to get much further than Lv10 in the game. And Lv10.... trust me, Lv10... is still like a 5 year old child... still much to learn, and can't do much on their own yet, no offense meant to anyone.
Aggro.
What exactly is this word, you may ask. Or mayhaps you players who came from WoW thinks it means the same as what we call "hate". I can assure you, Hate does not equal Aggro. They are completely different concepts entirely.
Every (with very few exceptions) Mob (mobile object, that is, anything that is not controlled by a player) has two states. An Idle Mode, and Battle Mode. Idle mode is when it is not currently doing anything. Battle Mode, as its name implies, is when the mob is considered to be "in battle".
So, what makes a mob go from Idle Mode into Battle Mode? That is what we call "Aggro". Aggro is a verb used to describe the decision of a mob to go from Idle Mode to Battle Mode. When this happens, we say the mob "aggroed" someone, or someone "aggroed" the mob.
Section #1: "What makes a mob aggro?"
1). You performed an offensive action on the mob in question. You either drew your weapon and swung at it, casted a spell at it, used an offensive job ability on it, or used a ranged attack on it. Doing so also Claims a mob. As far as I know, Gauge is the only Job Ability that does not aggro a mob when used on them, and I've heard a BST or two claim they got aggro while Gauging mobs in the Expansion Areas...but in most cases, Gauge is the lone ability that does not aggro a mob.
2). The mob is an aggressive mob, and it detected you by its method(s) of detection, and you were low enough level. Methods of detection include (True)Sight, (True)Sound, Low HP, Magic Casting. Some people claim mobs in Expansion Areas detect (and aggro) by Scent, but this is unconfirmed as of late. Note that even a Too Weak mob will aggro if you are /healing or /sitting within its range/methods of detection.
3). The mob is a linking mob and detected (using whatever detection mode that mob normally has) a linkable mob who was currently in battle mode.
4). The mob was struck by an Area of Effect (AoE) ability.
Section #2: "How do I avoid Aggro?"
Well, there are four main types of Detection Modes that I will describe here:
1). Sight. Mobs who use Sight as their mode of detection can see anything in front of them in a cone of vision. What this means, is that if you are behind the mob, it will not notice you unless it turns around, or you move within its Line of Sight. The Invisible spell, Prism Powders, and Tonko will allow you to move in front of a mob who uses Sight unless they have True Sight.
2). Sound. Mobs who use Sound as their mode of detection can detect you no matter where you are in relation to them if you are within distance. A thing to note here, is that even if you are standing still, there is still a chance the mob will aggro, though there seems to be a Chance invovled. There are times I stood perfectly still and a skeleton walked right past me and didn't aggro, but yet, other times I tried this, I got aggro. Sound mobs seem to aggro people who are moving sooner than they would aggro someone who is not moving, but this is unconfirmed as of yet. The Sneak Spell, or Silent Oil will generally prevent this.
3). Low HP. Undead Mobs will aggro if you have Yellow or lower HP. An interesting thing to note, is that an Undead's Low HP detection range is much greater than its Sound detection range. I've proved this more than once.
4). Magic Casting. All Elementals, Arcana (magic pots, statues, etc), and Bombs will aggro if you cast a spell within their magic detection range.
A thing to remember: All (I think all) mobs will make an "aggro noise". This noise or sound is unique to that type of mob, and they will only make this noise when they enter Battle Mode, for any reason. A very good thing to do, is to memorize the "aggro sounds" of most of the common mob types. If you know a mob has aggroed you by hearing its aggro noise, you can respond to it quicker than, say, if you had your sound turned off and you didn't know you got aggro until you are getting hit by this mob.
Section #3: Oh No! I got unwanted aggro .. um... what do I do!?
During your FFXI experience, you are going to get aggro from time to time no matter what you do. Panic is about the worst thing anyone can do, as it will almost certainly lead to a horrible death. If you get aggro from something you do not think you can handle, the first and foremost thing that most people do, is Zone. By Zoning, I mean, travel to the exit of an area and exit into the next area. Doing so, will lose the mob (mobs cannot change areas), but depending on the area and how far away you are, this can be dangerous. Especailly if it is a linking mob. Here are a few things to remember:
1). Mobs -can- lose sight of you and you will lose aggro. This is rare, but I've had it happen while pulling. Generally, this happens if you leave their area of detection for more than 5 seconds, but this is unconfirmed and only a theory. I've seen this happen with Yuhtunga Mandragora. I'm not quite sure how exactly this works, as its rare.
2). If you are a White Mage and you only have one mob on you, the best thing you can do is cast Flash and then immediately cast Warp. This is almost a guaranteed success unless the mob is completely overpowered for you. I've done this at least 5 times with mobs rating Incredibly Tough to me. Note: Don't Panic! Make sure your Flash doesn't get interrupted by casting it in between the mob's attacks. Stoneskin is a very good spell to have active while trudging around in dangerous areas.
3). If you manage to get the mob far enough away from you to use a Prism Powder or Silent Oil, don't. This will not work. At least, I know it doesn't work if you have Hate (see next section). If you have Zero Hate, it might, but I've never been able to test it, given how hard it is to accomplish this.
4). If you are able to get far enough away from a mob and this mob is not True Sight, you can cast Deodorize, or walk across a body of water, for mobs that track by scent.
Section #4: You mentioned "hate"? What is that?
This guide is not about party mechanics, however, I feel that "Hate" has a lot to do with Aggro, and it is something you should learn anyway. I am not going to cover party dynamics in-depth in this guide, however, I will say a few things.
Most people use the word "hate" to describe how much the monster dislikes you. A Mob will always attack the person it hates the most if there are multiple people who have that mob's hate.
But, in this guide, let me explain something that I've noticed during my travels:
When a Mob Aggros you, by Aggro or Link, your hate value is currently ZERO.
Remember this.
When a Mob Aggros you, by Aggro or Link, your hate value is currently ZERO.
Remembered it yet?
This is Very, Very important. This one concept is something everyone needs to know.
We all know that casting a Cure spell on someone who is fighting a mob will create Hate. Or at least most of us do. Ever seen that lone warrior trying to kill a mob in a newbie zone, who is almost dead, and you throw a Cure spell on him, and the mob walks over to you and starts attacking you? That's becuase you have more hate than the warrior does. Note that you didn't attack the mob, you only aided the one attacking the mob. Well, let's try this example:
Warrior is attacking Mob A, and Mob B links and comes over and starts attacking the warrior. Right Now...
Warrior has hate from Mob A.
Warrior has ZERO hate from Mob B becuase Mob B aggroed by Linking.
If you cast a Cure on the warrior:
Warrior has Hate from Mob A.
You have Hate from Mob A. Mob A will attack you.
Warrior has ZERO hate from Mob B.
You have ZERO hate from Mob B. Mob B will continue to attack Warrior.
This is a very core concept. You cannot create hate by aiding someone who has zero hate.
Why did I go to such great lengths to explain this? Its very simple...
Section #5: "What causes a Mob to go Idle?"
Well, the Hate I explained above has a lot to do with this. Simply put, a Mob will exit Battle Mode, if it has no one targeted. What will cause a mob to have no one targeted?
1). No One has hate from it.
2). The "person" it aggroed is dead.
Both of the above must be true for the mob to exit Battle Mode and enter Idle Mode.
Now, you may ask, "why did you put this in this guide"? Because this goes hand-in-hand with link handling. This is why summoners and beastmasters are excellent link handlers. Let's consider a scenario for a moment:
An experience party is levelling off of beetles in Altepa Desert. These Beetles do not aggro, but link by sight. On one particular pull, the puller throws a boomerang at Beetle A, but did not see Beetle B just around the corner. However, Beetle B saw Beetle A go into Battle Mode and decided to follow along. The Party is now in trouble, as they cannot handle two Incredibly Tough mobs at once.
The Summoner, with quick thinking, summons Shiva as the puller returns to camp with the beetle. The Summoner yells "Don't touch the other beetle!" Here's why:
1). Beetle A hates the Puller and the Tank who just Provoked it.
2). Beetle B hates no one (it aggroed by Linking).
The Summoner tells Shiva to cast Sleepga.
1). Beetle A hates the Party, and Shiva.
2). Beetle B hates Shiva and only Shiva because Shiva hit it with an AoE.
It doesn't take long for Beetle B to kill Shiva once it wakes up. Now the scenario is:
1). Beetle A hates the party.
2). Beetle B hates no one, and has no one targeted.
Thus, Beetle B is going to idle now. Just hope it doesn't turn around and see you in battle with Beetle A...
Section #6: "Um, your guide is wrong. I got attacked even though I did nothing to the other party member."
Well, this is the one main exception to the rules above. It seems that being a party member gives you an automatic hate value of 1 (or whatever the lowest possible hate value is). I've seen this time and time again: Puller attacks a mob and gets a link and then yells "Don't touch me or that mob" and zones the mob. The mobs then come back and start attacking the party. The only explaination I can offer for this, is that simply being in the same party as the one who got aggro and has hate, will give you hate as well. If you are in a party, and someone gets aggro, or you zone a link, Play it safe. Everyone in the party must zone to ensure a full hate reset.
I hope this guide has helped some of you, if you see anything that needs to be added or changed, let me know!
--Xylia
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