Game Mechanics: Lifetap Aggro

**Haynar** · #1 10-19-2009, 07:06 PM

On live I do not remember the healing effects of SK & Necro lifetaps being much aggro.

Here they appear to be equavalent to a heal, having an AE aggro effect when multiple mobs are around. There was never an AE aggro effect due to lifetaps that I ever saw. The aggro generate by taps is way too high on its own, or so it feels.

Haynar

Lich · #2 10-19-2009, 07:10 PM

I agree. I also get crazy aggro from just 1 melee swing.

Tananthalas · #3 10-20-2009, 06:36 AM

Lich bear in mind aggro in Everquest was also based on proximity. A caster that stands at max distance from a mob is less likely to be attacked than a caster at melee range with a mob. I honestly don't recall why this was true but any raids always required max melee distance while the tank was dam'n near inside of the mob. You can easily see this in action when you root a mob, whoever is closest to the mob while it is rooted has aggro, regardless of how much it wants to kill someone else.

Allizia · #4 10-20-2009, 01:11 PM

I played a necro from release of classic for 5 years, I can verify that there was never agro from the healing portion of the spell, and low agro from the damage portion. Mobs that you have not touched should not turn on you from lifetaping.

They should turn on you if you go below 10-15% health however, secondary agro just like sitting down

Lich · #5 10-20-2009, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tananthalas [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Lich bear in mind aggro in Everquest was also based on proximity. A caster that stands at max distance from a mob is less likely to be attacked than a caster at melee range with a mob. I honestly don't recall why this was true but any raids always required max melee distance while the tank was dam'n near inside of the mob. You can easily see this in action when you root a mob, whoever is closest to the mob while it is rooted has aggro, regardless of how much it wants to kill someone else.

I understand this. Let me explain myself more. My pet can have a mob down to 50% health without me doing a single point of damage and I can take one swing at it and back off out of melee range. The mob will chase me. It just seems odd to me that I would grab aggro with 1 swing.

Tananthalas · #6 10-20-2009, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lich

I understand this. Let me explain myself more. My pet can have a mob down to 50% health without me doing a single point of damage and I can take one swing at it and back off out of melee range. The mob will chase me. It just seems odd to me that I would grab aggro with 1 swing.

You do know that when you close to melee range you automatically pull aggro from the pet right? You don't even have to swing. I am currently playing a SK and I use that tactic all the time when I am soloing in Guk. If I pull two or more let pat off tank one for as long as he can the I just stand next to him when I need to pull aggro back away. I also played a necromancer on live and it worked the same way then (this was in like 02 or 03 however).

Smashed · #7 10-20-2009, 07:03 PM

Certainly. But the point Lich is trying to make is....why does the mob chase him when he leaves melee range? I've had similar experiences and can verify this. I just accepted it as "one of those things", and havent really thought much about it.

Khaleel · #8 10-20-2009, 07:58 PM

This is how I remember pet/player hate interactions in live:

If an NPC hates a pet more than a player, the pet will be the target of the NPC's attacks unless the NPC can make melee attacks against a player. The NPC will not, however, pursue a player if they step away.

This is what I observe on p1999:

If an NPC hates a pet more than a player, the pet will be the target of the NPC's attacks unless the NPC can make melee attacks against a player. As a player tries to move outside of melee range of the NPC, the NPC will try to follow the player for a very short distance, so a few steps will not suffice and running out of melee range will most likely shift the mob away from it's original location slightly.

It seems to me that there is just a check missing in the NPC AI that tells them not to pursue if the reason they're attacking a player is only because they're within melee range. ...which is completely off topic now that I look at the OP.

Allizia · #9 10-20-2009, 08:49 PM

It seems to be exactly as I remember it to me, if you move slow the mob will semi follow you, try this:

Let the pet get a mob down to 50% then slowly back up one step at a time, the mob will follow you since you are still in his hitbox but to far away to swing

Now let the pet get a mob down to 50%, and strafe/run/jump shoot away from them as fast as possible about 10-20 feet, the mob will turn on pet without moving much if any

Khaleel · #10 10-20-2009, 09:33 PM

Allizia: This could be the case, but the amount of distance one needs to move away from a mob before they quit pursuing seems too high, perhaps caused by a larger hitbox. I'm not talking about running away from a mob while encumbered/snared/etc. It's the distance you have to move away from them to make them stop and switch back to the pet that seems off.