Is there an agro system? - Guild Wars Forums

zecster · Apr 26, 2007, 11:07 PM // 23:07

is there a agro system in this game. I am currently playing Nightfall and it seems when i have 3 hero with me and i order one of them to attack wait about 10 secs of them attacking and the I hit once ad he is on me for the rest fo the fight and this is getting quite frustrating.

viper11025 · Apr 26, 2007, 11:30 PM // 23:30

LOL there is.
Look at the top right corner at the map.
That white part is your aggro area.
Call an attack by olding Ctrl and double clicking on a target.
You can use your heroes by seting up flag posistions and luring a target into an ambush.
Me+3Heros+Dumb boss=Boss get's Pwned!

countesscorpula · Apr 26, 2007, 11:30 PM // 23:30

there used to be an aggro system to the game, but with all the AI updates that have been going on in the last 6months or so, it's hard to say nowadays.

viper11025 · Apr 27, 2007, 12:03 AM // 00:03

Just call an attack and watch the chaos.

zecster · Apr 27, 2007, 12:12 AM // 00:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by viper11025

LOL there is.
Look at the top right corner at the map.
That white part is your aggro area.
Call an attack by olding Ctrl and double clicking on a target.
You can use your heroes by seting up flag posistions and luring a target into an ambush.
Me+3Heros+Dumb boss=Boss get's Pwned!

I am not talking agro range but agro or threat where is i hit someone i get agro and stuff like that.

Mournblade · Apr 27, 2007, 02:48 AM // 02:48

No there is not. You can manipulate aggro by using tactics, but its not like EverQuest, for example, where you have an actual level of aggro you can maintain to hold a mobs attention. Typically the mobs AI does what we do - go for the monks and other squishies first, then kill the tanks.

Chronos the Defiler · Apr 27, 2007, 03:20 AM // 03:20

although by normally going through the game you can almost discern that certain mobs will actually engage and pursue you for longer amounts of time or farther distances than other mobs.

For example, Nightfall introduced the "spotter" system for the Kournans, which will engage you from a distance of almost your radar. As well the monsters speed also causes differences in agro. Another example is the Drakes in Prophecies Crystal Desert, which have a speed greater than yours (even with a running skill on) so they tend not to "break agro" as easy as a slower monster would.

If you are talking about how the Monsters designate targets, then it would seem that monsters are able to read HP amounts, Armor levels, and player levels and attack accordingly. They will engage squishy target and pre-defined "support units" such as monks. If you are playing those roll of a monk, elementalist, necromancer or other relatively low armored class then the monsters will bypass other targets simply to reach you (or your low armored companions).

eightyfour-onesevenfive · Apr 27, 2007, 08:03 AM // 08:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chronos the Defiler

If you are talking about how the Monsters designate targets, then it would seem that monsters are able to read HP amounts, Armor levels, and player levels and attack accordingly.

Emphasis on the bold part. If you travel in a group with one member who has lower max health - be it either due to lower level, death penalty or use of superiour runes - that player will be more likely to be attacked first than any other player. This can very easily be exploited by monks and other squishies boosting their health with vigor/vitae runes, survivor's insignia and fortitute weapon mods and tanks actually lowering their health with a superior attribute rune and not too much to bring it back up. This is also why Minion Masters are so great in PvE: Minions usually are level 18, two levels below a player, and as such are priority targets.

arcanemacabre · Apr 27, 2007, 10:32 AM // 10:32

Also, I have heard this long ago, and it seems to hold true - There doesn't appear to be any skills that can draw aggro, however certain skills can avert aggro. Constant regeneration skills like Mending, and damage reducing skills like Stoneflesh Aura can cause monsters to ignore you, and move on to squishier allies. So, unless you can control where the monsters go by careful maneuvering, it can actually be a bad thing to bring "tank-like" skills if you want to be a tank. Now short-term healing, regen, and damage avoiding skills don't appear to affect this. Skills like Healing Breeze, Protective Spirit, and Guardian don't seem to change aggro at all.

Now, I'm no expert at this, just telling you from what I've heard, and what I've experienced. Also, for averting aggro, it could be good to use PBAoE (Point-Blank Area of Effect) spells, like Symbol of Wrath. The AI in most of the harder high-level areas will scatter away from you when you use a skill like this.

aindrei · Apr 27, 2007, 04:53 PM // 16:53

You get less aggro if you don't attack. If you are a monk it is better to not attack until there are just a couple of mobs left.
Also I noticed that if I get attacked but my health doesn't drop too much they give up and search an easier target.
Also if you are attacked and start running aroung the mobs will give up after a while and switch to a more static target.
On other games players have ways of controlling their aggro level which is really cool and creates lots of new strategies. GW is kind of dumbed down here and you can't control much.

October Jade · Apr 27, 2007, 05:36 PM // 17:36

The absence of a "hey, look at me instead of the fragile spellcasters" skill doesn't bother me at all. I've played other games where the tank role was essentially defined by that one ability and the only real result was to further human carelessness. Most pug strategy usually revolves around ganging up on the monks and mesmers first anyway; it follows that this line of thinking should be a minimum expectation for AI. Why would a mob want to spend all its energy and adrenaline on the target who is most resistant to their effects?

A common argument against aggro skills used to be that they would have zero utility in pvp. On the other hand, we were left with things like Otyugh's Cry (the old version)...and with the advent of pve-only skills we might see one in GW:EN.

Apr 26, 2007, 11:07 PM // 23:07	#1
zecster Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: Apr 2007 Profession: N/Me	Is there an agro system? is there a agro system in this game. I am currently playing Nightfall and it seems when i have 3 hero with me and i order one of them to attack wait about 10 secs of them attacking and the I hit once ad he is on me for the rest fo the fight and this is getting quite frustrating.

Apr 27, 2007, 10:32 AM // 10:32	#9
arcanemacabre Grotto Attendant Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: North Kryta Province Guild: Angel Sharks [As]	Also, I have heard this long ago, and it seems to hold true - There doesn't appear to be any skills that can draw aggro, however certain skills can avert aggro. Constant regeneration skills like Mending, and damage reducing skills like Stoneflesh Aura can cause monsters to ignore you, and move on to squishier allies. So, unless you can control where the monsters go by careful maneuvering, it can actually be a bad thing to bring "tank-like" skills if you want to be a tank. Now short-term healing, regen, and damage avoiding skills don't appear to affect this. Skills like Healing Breeze, Protective Spirit, and Guardian don't seem to change aggro at all. Now, I'm no expert at this, just telling you from what I've heard, and what I've experienced. Also, for averting aggro, it could be good to use PBAoE (Point-Blank Area of Effect) spells, like Symbol of Wrath. The AI in most of the harder high-level areas will scatter away from you when you use a skill like this. Last edited by arcanemacabre; Apr 27, 2007 at 10:35 AM // 10:35..

Apr 26, 2007, 11:30 PM // 23:30	#2
viper11025 Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: 02/18/05 (Pm me with the place, its a riddle) Profession: A/	LOL there is. Look at the top right corner at the map. That white part is your aggro area. Call an attack by olding Ctrl and double clicking on a target. You can use your heroes by seting up flag posistions and luring a target into an ambush. Me+3Heros+Dumb boss=Boss get's Pwned!

Apr 26, 2007, 11:30 PM // 23:30	#3
countesscorpula Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Nov 2006 Guild: Gwen Is [EVIL] Profession: N/	there used to be an aggro system to the game, but with all the AI updates that have been going on in the last 6months or so, it's hard to say nowadays.

Apr 27, 2007, 12:03 AM // 00:03	#4
viper11025 Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: 02/18/05 (Pm me with the place, its a riddle) Profession: A/	Just call an attack and watch the chaos.

Apr 27, 2007, 02:48 AM // 02:48	#6
Mournblade Furnace Stoker Join Date: May 2005 Location: Houston, Texas Guild: Dawn Treaders [DAWN] Profession: W/Mo	No there is not. You can manipulate aggro by using tactics, but its not like EverQuest, for example, where you have an actual level of aggro you can maintain to hold a mobs attention. Typically the mobs AI does what we do - go for the monks and other squishies first, then kill the tanks.

Apr 27, 2007, 03:20 AM // 03:20	#7
Chronos the Defiler Desert Nomad Join Date: May 2005 Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada Profession: W/	although by normally going through the game you can almost discern that certain mobs will actually engage and pursue you for longer amounts of time or farther distances than other mobs. For example, Nightfall introduced the "spotter" system for the Kournans, which will engage you from a distance of almost your radar. As well the monsters speed also causes differences in agro. Another example is the Drakes in Prophecies Crystal Desert, which have a speed greater than yours (even with a running skill on) so they tend not to "break agro" as easy as a slower monster would. If you are talking about how the Monsters designate targets, then it would seem that monsters are able to read HP amounts, Armor levels, and player levels and attack accordingly. They will engage squishy target and pre-defined "support units" such as monks. If you are playing those roll of a monk, elementalist, necromancer or other relatively low armored class then the monsters will bypass other targets simply to reach you (or your low armored companions).

Apr 27, 2007, 04:53 PM // 16:53	#10
aindrei Ascalonian Squire Join Date: Feb 2007 Guild: Sky Profession: R/Mo	You get less aggro if you don't attack. If you are a monk it is better to not attack until there are just a couple of mobs left. Also I noticed that if I get attacked but my health doesn't drop too much they give up and search an easier target. Also if you are attacked and start running aroung the mobs will give up after a while and switch to a more static target. On other games players have ways of controlling their aggro level which is really cool and creates lots of new strategies. GW is kind of dumbed down here and you can't control much.

Apr 27, 2007, 05:36 PM // 17:36	#11
October Jade Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: drifting between Indiana and NorCal	The absence of a "hey, look at me instead of the fragile spellcasters" skill doesn't bother me at all. I've played other games where the tank role was essentially defined by that one ability and the only real result was to further human carelessness. Most pug strategy usually revolves around ganging up on the monks and mesmers first anyway; it follows that this line of thinking should be a minimum expectation for AI. Why would a mob want to spend all its energy and adrenaline on the target who is most resistant to their effects? A common argument against aggro skills used to be that they would have zero utility in pvp. On the other hand, we were left with things like Otyugh's Cry (the old version)...and with the advent of pve-only skills we might see one in GW:EN.