Mob (video games)

Template:Short description A mob, short for mobile or mobile object,Template:R is a computer-controlled non-player character (NPC) in a video game such as an MMORPGTemplate:R or MUD.Template:R Depending on the context, every and any such character in a game may be considered to be a "mob",Template:R or usage of the term may be limited to hostile NPCs and/or NPCs vulnerable to attack.Template:R

In most modern graphical games, "mob" may be used to specifically refer to generic monstrous NPCs that a player is expected to hunt and kill, excluding NPCs that engage in dialog, sell items, or NPCs which cannot be attacked.Template:R Most mobs are capable of no complex behaviors beyond attacking or moving around. "Named mobs" are distinguished by having a proper name rather than being referred to by a general type ("a goblin", "a citizen", etc.).Template:R

Purpose of mobs

Defeating mobs may be required to gather experience points,Template:R money,Template:R items,Template:R or to complete quests.Template:R Combat between player characters (PCs) and mobs is called player versus environment (PvE).Template:R PCs may also attack mobs because they aggressively attack PCs.Template:R Monster versus monster (MvM) battles also take place in some games.Template:R

A game world might contain hundreds of different kinds of mobs, but if players spend a certain amount of time playing, they might become well aware of the characteristics presented by each kind and its related hazards. This knowledge might dull the game to some extent.Template:R

Etymology

The term "mobile object" Template:R was used by Richard Bartle for objects that were self-mobile in MUD1.Template:R Later source code in DikuMUD used the term "mobile" to refer to a generic NPC, shortened further to "mob" in identifiers. DikuMUD was a heavy influence on EverQuest,Template:R and the term as it exists in MMORPGs is derived from the MUD usage.Template:R The term is properly an abbreviation rather than an acronym.