Aggro

Threat (Aggro/Hate) is generated based on damage done, healing done, and modifiers on certain abilities.

• In PvE, aggro against player characters is based on a hate table.
• In PvP, aggro may force target switching to the Tank. Feedback on this will be sought during testing.

If we think about PVP settings and the role of taunt or hate, a lot of times for tanks in the MMOs that I've played- where you have a PvE and PvP scenario- those types of hate generation abilities don't really have cross application into the PVP realm; and that can feel bad, because typically a tank build-out can be delegated around how I generate hate; and if it has no cross application into PvP then effectively you're creating a class composition that just is not relevant in half of the game, or in that area of the game. So when we talk about how we're going to apply hate to player targets or taunt to player targets, sometimes that can move into the realm of target switching, or the ability to demand that target on the tank in a PvP scenario as well. That's something that we need to get player feedback on, because there's a lot of strong emotions around that type of mechanic. I for one am a big proponent of that. I think it's interesting. I think that it plays into the role of the tank and that it it hits a class fantasy that most tank players want to feel. And I think however on the flip side of that, it is a source of control; and anytime you're under the effects of some source of control, it's going to be a feel bad moment for the target that's being controlled. So that's why I think it generates a lot of feelings on both sides of the aisle. – Steven Sharif

• Detargeting is the act of removing hate/threat/aggro from an enemy.
• There will be a taunt skill available at higher levels than what has been previewed so far for Alpha-2.
  • In Alpha-0 testing there was a single-target taunt skill, called Hatred.

Q: There were a lot of concerns about threat [in the Alpha-2 Tank preview video]. A lot of people didn't understand how holding threat works, because you weren't holding threat at some point.

A: It's important to remember that these previews are done at a very low-level, so these are low-level skills and abilities that the archetypes have available to them; and so because of that, some of the functionality from these abilities they don't necessarily perform as well as you would want them to in a later stage of the game for that role. Now also keep in mind that balance is a perspective that needs to be incorporated also. So, threat is generated based off of a few factors: It's based off of damage done, it's based off of healing done, it's based off of threat generation modifiers that are on abilities. Now the tank in this situation I believe has two abilities that are going to generate additional threat. They have the slicing- the number two ability; and then they also have the shout ability. Both of those are creating additional threat. But with that being said, we need to tune probably those abilities up a little bit to contend with the DPS that's coming both from the ranger and with the heals that are coming out of the cleric. – Steven Sharif

Skill	Icon	Origin	Description
Ancestral Bolas		Tank	Throws a magical web of bolas at the target location. All enemies within are snared and build additional hate towards the tank every second. Enemies entering or exiting the radius will be tripped.
Grapple		Tank	Takes aim for a moment before hurling a hooked chain in a line, damaging the first target it contacts and immediately pulling them to the caster. The target suffers a tapering snare for 3 seconds.
Hatred		Tank	Single target that adds hate.
Inciting Strikes		Tank	Slashes twice in a forward cone while adding additional threat.
Shield Assault		Tank	Bashes the target with your shield, dealing damage and applying the shaken condition. If the target is already suffering from the shaken condition, stun the target instead.
Slam		Tank	Slam your target with immense force, knocking them back. Applies 10 stagger. Deals 500% additional threat.

Threat assessment

You decide to gank the player, but find out that you have been ambushed!

Players will have a buff on their nameplate that indicates the gear set they are wearing. Other players will be able to see this buff by targeting that player at a distance.

• This will indicate the type of armor (cloth, leather, plate) that they are predominantly wearing.

You can target a player. You're going to see what type of armor they have based on a buff they have available to them because obviously cosmetics can change appearance. You might have different silhouettes as a result of that. – Steven Sharif

• The border will indicate the level and quality of the tier set.
  • This also indicates if the gear is enchanted, along with visual effects associated with enchanted items.
• The developers believe that inspecting gear to obtain an exact equipment list or gear score may lead to "unwelcome behavior".

When you see a player approaching you and they're wearing a transmog you don't know if that person is a high damage mitigation against physical damage or against magical damage and essentially the way we overcome that is through you being able to target a player at a distance and they will have a buff that's present on them that you will see, which indicates that essentially the piece set that they are wearing. It is important for players to be able to ascertain from a threat assessment standpoint what they're going up against if they're actively checking that, and that will be available. – Steven Sharif

Health

During PvP, detailed information about your opponent's HP is obscured. This means you will not know the exact HP percentage an opponent has.

Health is a stat in Ashes of Creation.

If you are targeting another player specifically, another player not an NPC. If you're targeting another player and that player is not a member of your guild, alliance, raid, or party- those are the four affiliation factors. If they're not a part of those four groups you will not have specific information of their HP level. You will have quarters of information to their [HP] level and you may progress to get that a bit more granular, perhaps to sixths or eighths. You're not going to have exact information about what amount of hit points they have available to them. That level of obfuscation protects a bit of that engagement, that TTK interaction. So you might overshoot a target if you don't know exactly if they're down to their last 20% or 25%. That I think is a very healthy thing to have in PvP, but it is not a normal game design mechanic. – Steven Sharif

• Players that are not in the same party, raid, alliance, or guild will not be able to see other player's exact health bar values or percentages. This information will instead be displayed in quarters. A player may be able to progress to see sixths or eighths.
  • Previously it was stated that a player's name plate would deteriorate to give an indication of how much damage they have taken.

Nameplate

Nameplate in the Alpha-2 party UI.

The icon in the corner next to Steven's nameplate: that little icon is actually his secondary archetype that he hasn't unlocked. – Margaret Krohn

Alpha-2 nameplates, targeting plates, and raid frame UI.

There have been some updates to a little bit of the nameplates that Colby and the UI team have implemented, as well as some of the targeting plates as well. – Steven Sharif

Nameplates are displayed above the head.

• Player character nameplates will have first, and optionally last name (surname).
  • The name of the character's guild is displayed next to their name.
  • The character's nameplate will deteriorate to give an indication of how much damage they have taken.
  • An icon will identify the character's class.
  • Hovering over a player nameplate will show information such as level, class name, and archetype combo.
  • A buff icon will indicate the character's gear and grade.
• The size and priority of nameplates will be relate to their distance (away from the camera).
• The visibility of nameplates can be obscured by in-game objects, such as trees; by utility skills, such as Camouflage or Stealth; or through the use of disguises.
• UI settings will enable nameplates to be hidden, resized, and customized.

You can set nameplates to always appear. You can set it to only appear on targets. You can set it to only appear on targets that have taken damage. You can set it to only appear on targets that are aggroing you or your party members. You can set it for your allies, for yourself, for whatever: There's a lot of highly customizable options that are currently in the game. – Steven Sharif

• Summoner summons' creature type appears in the nameplate above the summon. This cannot be changed by the player.
• Mob nameplates will have indicators that identify resistances, buffs, end elite status.
  • A star format may be utilized to indicate hit point allocation.

Nameplates in the party UI indicate the player's choice of secondary archetype.

• A padlock icon indicates that the secondary archetype is not yet unlocked.

See also

• Skills
• Tank