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A mob is a type of Non-player Character (NPC) or Monster in a Computer Role-playing Game (especially MMORPG s). '''Mob''' is not to be confused with '''MOB''' (more often considered an Acronym of '''Movable Object Block''', a term for any on-screen moving object, or Sprite , stemming from its use in the earliest text-based multi-user dungeons ( MUD s)). There appears to be some debate on the exact origins of the term mob and its relation to '''MOB''' only makes things murkier. Backronym s such as "monster or beast" and "mere ordinary beast" have been developed. Another suggested origin is that mob is derived directly from (NPC); the letters M, O, and B respectively precede N, P, and C in the alphabet. The most commonly-held belief about the origin of the name is that in many early MUD s, there were three basic structures in the game: ''rooms'', ''objects'' and ''mobiles''; the latter being objects that can be attacked, which can be ''aggressive'' (may attack the player), and which wander through rooms when permitted. Because they are ''mobile'', mobile was the term used to describe them. This term was later replaced by NPC to cover a broader spectrum of '''mobiles''' (dialog or quest, vendor, trainer and now '''mob''', to name a few). ''Killing'' mobs can give such rewards as Experience Point s and items. Usually the combat is player initiated, however, if the mob is flagged as ''aggressive'', it is configured so that it will challenge a player who enters within a certain range. This area is known as the ''aggro range'' or "aggro radius". A player engaged by such a mob is said to ''have aggro''. This marks that player as the primary target of the attacking mob(s). Combat between players and mobs is called Player Versus Monster (PvM) or in a broader sense, Player Versus Environment (PvE); as opposed to Player Versus Player (PvP) battles where the emphasis is on defeating an opposing player. Monster Versus Monster (MvM) battles, though rarer, may also exist. USAGE IN MUDS (MULTI-USER DUNGEONS) The original term ''Mobile'' was originally coined by Richard Bartle in a paper describing an early MUD which was being constructed as a research project at the University Of Essex . Although it originally referred to an object that could move (as opposed to one that couldn't), one reviewer of the paper misunderstood the term to be a reference to the classic children's toy or Sculpture that goes by the same name - and referred to it as "an incredibly beautiful analogy to those hanging toys, which appear to move around randomly as if alive, while in fact being composed of mechanical parts and operating in accordance with fixed scientific laws". (Bartle was also suitably impressed by the analogy, and wished he'd thought of it.) Other MUDs and MUD-like software use a variety of terms to describe these as ''objects'', ''emitters'', and ''actors''. USAGE IN MMORPGS Mobs in MMORPG s usually refer to the generic monstrous NPCs that the player is expected to hunt and kill rather than NPCs that engage in dialog or sell items. Elite mobs, as in the game '' World Of Warcraft '', are special rarer monsters that are tougher than their regular counterparts and usually have better loot. '''Named mobs''' are distinguished by having a Proper Name rather than being referred to by their '''mob''' type (a goblin, a citizen, etc.,.). '''Boss mobs''' are mobs of unusual power, often the most powerful foe in a defined area. '''Boss mobs''' are usually also '''named mobs''', and vice versa. ''Farming'' is the repetitive killing of one specific '''mob''' type (usually well below the capability of the player) for the purpose of quickly gathering large quantities of a specific resource dropped as loot by that type. '''Farming''' can also be used for the gaining of in-game Experience Point s. This type of farming is known as ''grinding'' due to the tedious process of repeatedly killing mobs in one area. The mobs used for this type of '''farming''' are usually much tougher. |
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