Mob
Mobs (short for mobile objects), also called "monsters", are non-playing antagonists found in the Shadowbane world. Combat with mobiles is referred to as "Player Versus Environment" (or PvE). Mobiles will attack players on sight or when aggression is generated by attacking or casting a power flagged as "aggressive" upon or nearby them.
Contents
Aggression
Aggression or "aggro" is a term which represents the anger level of an attacking monster, which is directed against a player in the form of attack. If multiple players are attacking one mob, the artificial intelligence tells it to attack the player causing it the most aggression (who is usually the one causing the most damage).
Role in Character Progression
Level Advancement
Mobs are the primary source for experience-gain. Mobs follow the same rank and level system as playing characters, and will grant appropriate experience points when killed, depending on what level the mob is in comparison to the player. For example, killing a mob that is close to an equal in terms of level will result in high experience gain, while a higher level player killing a lower level monster will be granted little or no experience.
Wealth Gain
Killing mobs benefits the player economically through the dropping of gold, resources, contracts, and other items. As the levels of mobs in the world increases, so does the amount of gold and the value of items that they drop.
Mobile-Only Powers
Some powers may only target mobiles: these are called PvE or crowd-control powers. Mobile-only powers come in a few archetypes:
- Taunt is a type of spell that will persuade a mob to attack the caster.
- Amnesia spells force the mobile to lose all aggression, which makes it stop attacking.
- Lull, powers reduce the radius in which a mobile will notice a passing player.
- Mesmerize, or mez for short, is a stun-like effect that will break when the mobile is damaged.
- Fear is a type of power that will "scare" the mobile, and make it run in the opposite direction from the caster.
- Charm will take control of a mobile as if it were a pet, enabling its use against other mobiles and players.