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How to avoid aggro, a compilationFollow

#1 Oct 31 2005 at 2:45 PM Rating: Excellent
Ok, so this is a subject that needs to be beaten to death. Not just for newer players, but seasoned players as well. I cannot tell you how many times level 75's from my own Linkshell get aggro in Sky...it makes Baby Jesus cry it really does.

There's not really any specific method to avoiding aggro, there are just several things to remember. I must encourage you to practice, avoiding aggro is an essential skill that will save lives. If you want to become a Zen Aggro Avoison Master (yes I know Avoison isn't a word), take a trip to Ifrit's Cauldron with a Mage Job and mine there as long as you can. Because the bombs aggro sight and magic (they have a very wide aggro radius), this is a difficult area to be in. If you can mine here for an hour or more, you will be well on your way to becoming a master.

In addition, try making the trek from your Hometown to Jeuno as a level 1 of any job with no Oils/Powders, and no assistance whatsoever. While Ifrit's will teach you how to apply Sneak/Invis strategically to avoid aggro, this will teach you how to avoid aggro alltogether by positioning. Both very valuable skills.

Ok, so here are the main tips for you to remember. If you think of any more please let me know and I'll add them. Please, please take these things to heart. Don't be that guy that gets several people killed, we all know that guy.

1. Yes, Silent Oils are expensive. Yes, unless you are a mage job in an area without Magic Aggro, you still need them. Don't skimp on them. Sell crystals, level Alchemy, sell your Mithra mule's body, whatever it takes. Don't bum them off your party.

2. Silent Oils should be first on the list, Prism Powders are equally important, but you'll find that a stack of powders will go farther due to fewer mobs aggro'ing Sight (depends on area).

3. That mage in your party is not your personal Sneak/Invisible *****. Buy Oils and Powders so that you can be self-sufficient. You don't still breastfeed do you? There's nothing worse than a party member that thinks their mages should follow them around because they want to save some money. If you forget Oils/Powders, ask nicely for Sneak/Invisible. Use complete sentences. Do not simply say "sneak plz", or "sneak".

4. Never, ever use /follow in an area where ANYTHING aggros. Don't fuc[/i]king do it. You will be better off to never use this command, really. Remove it from your vocabulary. If you absolutely have to, stop in a safe place and tell your party that you need to go afk for a few seconds.

5. Don't go afk while traveling, stay with the group. There are few things more annoying than just getting to your camp, and one member in the party saying "wait plz, i dont have map", or "im lost someone come get me".

6. If you don't have a Map to an area and you get seperated, [i]look at the Map anyway
. When you select Markers and hit left or right a couple times, you will see your party in relation to your current position. Blue dots are your party, turquoise are Alliance members. Every map starts with A-1 in the upper left hand corner, use this knowledge and <pos> to figure out where you and your party are. I'm sure you know the alphabet and you can count.

7. The second you see your Sneak/Invisible wearing off, take note of what is around you. You now have seconds to find a safe spot to recast or use another Oil/Powder. Don't keep walking, find a spot away from the monsters to recast. This is your #1 priority.

8. Invisible can be reapplied without losing Invisible as long as you do it yourself. This is true for both the spell and the Powder. If someone else is casting on you, you need to take it off first. You can reapply it while laughing in that Goblin Gamblers face. Sneak however, must be taken off before reapplication no matter what.

9. Monsters have what is called an "Aggro Radius". This is a circle projected out from the monster in which the monster will aggro if it's conditions are met. Learn the aggro radius of monsters in the area, the more you learn the more prepared you will be.

10. If you are with your party and get aggro from a single monster that your party can easily kill, go ahead and do it and apologize profusely for the aggro. Why? Because you just made the other members of your party waste an Oil/Powder to help you.

11. If you are seperated from your party and get aggro from something you cannot kill yourself, Call for Help on the monster and die in a safe place if no one is near to help you. Don't train, and don't di[/i]ck around. Aggro happens no matter how good you are, but don't get other people killed.

12. Don't panic, there is life after xp. If you get aggro and can't kill the monster, chances are that you're going to die. It happens, life goes on, yadda yadda. Don't spam your Party chat with "OMFG BATZ!" or "OMFG BATZ AND GOBLINZ!". We can see that you are rapidly dropping in HP, that is very unfortunate. We'll notify your next of kin.

13. Don't bring 2 goddamn Oils and 1 Powder. What is that? You are going to run out. Bite the bullet and buy another stack. Why? Because I assure you that you're going to use them eventually anyway, why not look cool by being prepared?

14. If you are going to Sky, bring a full stack of Silent Oil no matter what job you are. Mages: you cannot use your Sneak/Invisible spells here, you [i]will
get people killed from Magic Aggro. I know it sucks to have spells that give you the same effect for free, but you can't use them in Sky. Just trust me on this one.

15. Silent Oil and Prizm Powder last longer than the spell equivelent 99.9% of the time. These things rock, really. The spells are very unpredictable and can be difficult to use. The items almost always last twice as long (there are always the duds).

16. If you are in an Alliance, don't fall asleep dammit. Yes, you have 17 other people with you. Yes, you are a force to be reckoned with. That does not mean you can mess around and download **** while you are on the mission. Stay alert and keep your hands where I can see them.

17. If you don't know what a monster aggros to, look it up here. If you can't do so, ask your party if they know, they'll need to know anyway. If they don't know, ask your Linkshell. Don't have one? Ask a buddy. No friends? Call a GM and ask. Don't test by running up to the monster and seeing if it kills you.

18. A Rabbit exists in almost every zone that can kill you. This is the mantra you should remember when using your Zen Avoison skills.

19. You cannot avoid aggro from a Sound Aggro Monster by staying perfectly still. They will aggro the sound of your breathing, heartbeat, and farting noises.

20. While all monsters have an Aggro Radius, Sight Aggro mobs only use a fraction of this circle in the form of a conical area directly in front of the monster. How big of a line of sight depends on the monster type. This means that you can slip past monsters that aggro Sight only by simply moving behind them...out of their line of sight. Because it's going to be better to use Prism Powders anyway, use this information primarily for True Sight monsters.

21. Ah True Sight...how you will hate these monsters if you haven't discovered them already. True Sight means that you cannot avoid the monster by going invisible...they will see right through it. For these monsters, you must use your Super Mega Happy Ultra Ninja Technique to slip by them...take special note of point #20 which describes line of sight.

22. True Sound? Yup! There are monsters that can hear you even if you have Sneak on. The most memorable monster type is the lovely Fomor (this will only happen if you have too much Fomor hate). Monsters that have True Sound (while rare), can be fairly tricky to slip past. You need to pass them while remaining as far away from them as possible. Often times, you will find that you may just have to kill them rather than avoid them. This is where staying with the group becomes key.

23. Blood Aggro. Undead monsters will aggro you through Sneak/Invisible if you are in yellow HP or below. This applies to Ghosts, Skeletons, Undead Mutts, etc. When moving through an area with Undead, always always remain in White HP.

24. You should realize this fairly quickly, but you must apply Sneak first, then Invisible. Invisible wears off if you use any Job Abilities, items, or cast any spells. An important note though, is that you CAN rest while Sneak/Invisible. This is exceptionally useful if you are a mage that is running low on MP.

25. Deoderize is not just for making Galka smell better! Let me blunt and clear at the same time: No monsters aggro scent. Zero. Many, many monsters will track you by scent though. That means if you Bind Mr. GoblinThatWantsToMakeAWomanOutOfYou and run for your life, he's still going to find you, even if you cast Invisible. He tracks your scent even when you are out of sight. This is where Deodorize comes in. If you run out of sight and around a corner for example, you can cast Deoderize, then Invisible, and Mr. Goblin should not be able to find you.

26. In addition to the previous point, you may hear talk about running across a body of water to lose Aggro. This isn't made up! If you get aggro in say, Boyhada Tree from a Crawler, running accross one of the streams can and will make the Crawler lose you because they track by Scent. (And water covers your stink). Sometimes they'll lose you immediately after crossing the stream, sometimes it takes a couple passes. This is incredibly usefull for links, or unwanted aggro.

That's all I can think of for now. I assure you that each one of these points are important, they aren't ranked by number. This is really, really vital. Avoiding aggro makes everything go faster, and it makes you look like a knowledgable person.

Thank you for your time, happy playing.


Edit: Added some additional points, I'm going to try and reformat this to make it more readable.

Edited, Wed Nov 2 19:10:32 2005 by Stunted
#2 Oct 31 2005 at 2:54 PM Rating: Good
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725 posts
Avoision (not a real word) = Aversion (a real word).
#3 Oct 31 2005 at 2:57 PM Rating: Good
Quote:
Avoision (not a real word) = Aversion (a real word).


Avoison sounds cooler :D. More "Ninja-esque" if you will.
#4 Oct 31 2005 at 3:02 PM Rating: Decent
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3,139 posts
Excellent post. It is unfortunate how many people have no clue how to avoid agro.

Just one small thing i would add to the invis spell. You can overwrite **YOUR** own invis spell, but someone else cannot.

Example:


Billy bob is being your invis biotch for this adventure. If your invis is wearing, billy bob cannot recast before it wears, and have it stick. It will fail just like sneak does. I learned this one the hard way in Castle Zhavl, going to solo "The Bomb" as WAR/WHM lol





#5 Oct 31 2005 at 3:04 PM Rating: Decent
Couple of things you should consider adding is that those who can wear it really should invest in a skulker's cape ^^

Also it IS possible to navigate sky without oils for a mage, but only when you have a lot of experience with aggro ranges. Best way is to use the various nooks and crannies there to safely cast.

#6 Oct 31 2005 at 3:06 PM Rating: Decent
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592 posts
Quote:
17. If you don't know what a monster aggros to, look it up here. If you can't do so, ask your Linkshell. Don't have one? Ask a buddy. No friends? Call a GM and ask. Don't test by running up to the monster and seeing if it kills you.


Actually, asking your party would usually be better. If they don't know, then you're usually screwed anyway.

I'm not sure if you're allowed to ask GMs questions like "What does this aggro to?"
#7 Oct 31 2005 at 3:10 PM Rating: Good
Quote:
Couple of things you should consider adding is that those who can wear it really should invest in a skulker's cape ^^

Also it IS possible to navigate sky without oils for a mage, but only when you have a lot of experience with aggro ranges. Best way is to use the various nooks and crannies there to safely cast.


I've not heard any good things about that cape actually. Everyone I know that's tried it says it makes little to no difference. They could be wrong though :P.

And yes, it is possible to navigate Sky with the spells...but it's best never to even think about it when you are with an Alliance/Party. There is always the mage that thinks they are the Zen Master, few actually are.

Quote:
Actually, asking your party would usually be better. If they don't know, then you're usually screwed anyway.


XD true. Often some people can be embarrassed asking their party something like this, so I suggested the alternatives.

Quote:
I'm not sure if you're allowed to ask GMs questions like "What does this aggro to?"


No you can't lol. I was being facetious, though I think it would be hilarious to see the GM's reaction.

Edited, Mon Oct 31 15:29:50 2005 by Stunted
#8 Oct 31 2005 at 3:26 PM Rating: Decent
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240 posts
I *think* this is true, correct me if im wrong XD

When sneak is wearing and there are only sound aggroing mobs around you, just stop, they won't aggro you if you don't move, cause you don't make any sound ^^
#9 Oct 31 2005 at 3:28 PM Rating: Good
Quote:
I *think* this is true, correct me if im wrong XD

When sneak is wearing and there are only sound aggroing mobs around you, just stop, they won't aggro you if you don't move, cause you don't make any sound ^^


Definately not true, but I used to think the same thing.

Supposedly the Sound Aggro Monsters can hear your breathing or something. You will still get aggro by staying perfectly still.
#10 Oct 31 2005 at 3:41 PM Rating: Decent
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5,729 posts
Quote:
That mage in your party is not your personal Sneak/Invisible *****.

This is one of the things that pisses me off the most in this game. I don't mind throwing out a sneak or two at the beginning of a dungeon, but it is NOT my job to folow you around and stealth you on command.

Quote:
I've not heard any good things about that cape actually. Everyone I know that's tried it says it makes little to no difference.

I had one and sold it back about a week later. What it seems to do is give your stealth a minimum duration of about 30 seconds. All this means that you won't see your stealth start to wear off 5 seconds after you cast it (though with a high enough enhancing skill that doesn't happen very often nayway.) I does not appear to extend the time sneak/invis lasts. It's still mostly random.


Quote:
When sneak is wearing and there are only sound aggroing mobs around you, just stop, they won't aggro you if you don't move, cause you don't make any sound ^^

Not. They'll aggro you anyway. I've died a bunch of times because of that.


____________________________
75 Rabbit/75 Sheep/75 Coeurl/75 Eft/75 Raptor/75 Hippogryph/75 Puk
75 Scorpion/75 Wamoura/75 Pixie/75 Peiste/64 Sabotender
51 Bird/41 Mandragora/40 Bee/37 Crawler/37 Bat

Items no one cares about: O
Missions no one cares about: O
Crafts no one cares about: O
#11 Oct 31 2005 at 3:52 PM Rating: Decent
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3,139 posts
Quote:
I *think* this is true, correct me if im wrong XD

When sneak is wearing and there are only sound aggroing mobs around you, just stop, they won't aggro you if you don't move, cause you don't make any sound ^^


Yeah that doesnt work. It seems the agro sensitivity is **SLIGHTLY** less when standing still, but they will still agg you.

#12 Oct 31 2005 at 3:55 PM Rating: Good
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240 posts
Ah, you see, I just thought that I tested it earlier today in Fei'Yin, as i was standing really close to some EP aggroing bats, but they didn't aggro me. I guess they were just too low EP to aggro me then XD
#13 Oct 31 2005 at 4:15 PM Rating: Decent
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82 posts


As a Bst, learning to avoid aggro is a big part of the game.

This trick will only really apply to Bst or /Bst.

Sometimes you can be in a situation where aggro will be unavoidable, for example in a hallway.

A prime example for this would be in Phomiuna Aqueducts and the true sight Taurus mobs.

What a Bst can do in this situation is to send a pet after the monster, and then run past. The whole party can obviously run past at this point.

And then just /logout or /pol and log back in.
When you logout your monster will uncharm/dissapear if it's a jug, and the monster will just be unclaimed.

It's a slight inconvenience in a party situation, having to rejoin party, but deffinetly not a big deal.

Unfortunetly Smn can't do this because they can't rest while an Avatar is out.

#14 Oct 31 2005 at 4:43 PM Rating: Good
Quote:
As a Bst, learning to avoid aggro is a big part of the game.


Usually any BST that gets to 30 is a Zen Avoison Master already.

Quote:
What a Bst can do in this situation is to send a pet after the monster, and then run past. The whole party can obviously run past at this point.

And then just /logout or /pol and log back in.
When you logout your monster will uncharm/dissapear if it's a jug, and the monster will just be unclaimed.


Yeah it's a fun hate-reset method, though it happens rarely because BST isn't very common in normal XP parties (which sucks because BST's rock).

The one problem with this is that if anyone in your party casts anything after you get hate, once you log hate immediately shifts to them.

Plus you need a monster that will survive for 30-45 seconds to be able to run past the mobs and get to a safe place, and it leaves you open for additional aggro.
#15 Oct 31 2005 at 5:03 PM Rating: Decent
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5,729 posts
Quote:
What a Bst can do in this situation is to send a pet after the monster, and then run past. The whole party can obviously run past at this point.

And then just /logout or /pol and log back in.
When you logout your monster will uncharm/dissapear if it's a jug, and the monster will just be unclaimed.

Most mages can do the same thing. You just sleep the mob, run to safety, and log out.
____________________________
75 Rabbit/75 Sheep/75 Coeurl/75 Eft/75 Raptor/75 Hippogryph/75 Puk
75 Scorpion/75 Wamoura/75 Pixie/75 Peiste/64 Sabotender
51 Bird/41 Mandragora/40 Bee/37 Crawler/37 Bat

Items no one cares about: O
Missions no one cares about: O
Crafts no one cares about: O
#16 Oct 31 2005 at 6:36 PM Rating: Decent
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805 posts
Silent oils, prism powders, spells and Tonko. Lovely stuff but they make you weak. I'm sure all of you remember when you were a low level n00b and you needed to - avoid - agro by learning what agro'ed and how to avoid them.

I think people get too reliant on invisible and silence. Then they get into the CoP zones with True sight mobs and don't know what to do anymore, don't have patience and it's n00b-ville all over again.

If you want to be an Avoision master, take a level 1 mule, no sub job, no potions, no escort. Run it from your starting city to Jeuno and back without dying. Repeat this until you can do it. Now you're ready to navigate Phumonia aqueducts or Uleguerand range without getting your alliance killed.
#17 Oct 31 2005 at 7:26 PM Rating: Decent
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134 posts
Quote:
Most mages can do the same thing. You just sleep the mob, run to safety, and log out.


I can't believe I've never thought about this or even heard it mentioned. Its so simple and so.. so.. genius! That just made my week =D.
#18 Oct 31 2005 at 7:54 PM Rating: Decent
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127 posts
Quote:

Supposedly the Sound Aggro Monsters can hear your breathing or something. You will still get aggro by staying perfectly still.


Because putting that oil in your lungs, eyes and butt [farting, as mentioned earlier] is so good for you! XD

Seriously though, it seems so few people do know proper aggro avoidance. [I'll claim to be no master, just that I understand what to do, even if I ***** up sometimes. ^^; ]
#19 Oct 31 2005 at 9:03 PM Rating: Decent
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654 posts
Another option, take same lvl 1 job and go run around in the proms. Seriously, after doing the proms I didn't aggro anything for a couple of months afterwards.
#20 Oct 31 2005 at 9:23 PM Rating: Decent
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3,005 posts
Stunted wrote:
Quote:
Avoision (not a real word) = Aversion (a real word).


Avoison sounds cooler :D. More "Ninja-esque" if you will.


Actually, it sounds like you're an adventurer from Da Bronx. :P

#21 Oct 31 2005 at 9:32 PM Rating: Good
Quote:
Avoision (not a real word) = Aversion (a real word).


Aversion would mess up the meaning though. If you are a Zen Aggro Aversion Master, you have the ability to actively cause aggro to dislike you. I wish I had that power. ._.

Zen Aggro AVOIDANCE Master, on the other hand, now that works.

Rate up, this is way overdue.
#22 Oct 31 2005 at 11:58 PM Rating: Good
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1,326 posts
Just to let you know, re-casting invis (or using another powder) when your old one is failing doesn't always work. There seems to be a split second where you're visible to the bad guys. Just long enough for whatever you're trying to avoid to go, "Hey, what the heck was that?!" and attack you. I've gotten aggro that way once. If you're not standing directly on top of or in front of them, you're probably ok.
#23 Nov 01 2005 at 2:09 AM Rating: Good
I've reused invisible in front of gobs all the time. No deaths yet.

For the love of god, bring you're own ******* silent oils in Sky, no matter what job you are or how l33t you are. This is what happens when you forget silent oils and you're a mage.Suck it up and buy it. Most alchemists are dumb enough to undercut to the point of almost 0 profit, even with max hq rate. And if you get arggo, die. Don't cause the whole pt to wipe.

#24 Nov 01 2005 at 11:06 AM Rating: Good
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1,622 posts
I almost always wander around with my own sneak/invis (BRD/WHM), and I always carry powders and oils with me. I never know where I might be going, and it may be more convenient for me to get there without going back to a moogle first (say, using a teleport spell, and then either getting a chocobo or having a WHM pick me up for a higher teleport).

Trying to rely on mages for sneak/invis is bad because you're making unnecessary demands on others, but that's not even close to the worst reason. A mage has to drop his invisible to recast either sneak or invis (or both) on you, and then possibly wait for the recast timer to recast it on themselves. That's several seconds of vulnerability for them...because of you. And of course, in magic aggro areas, nobody can use these spells at all.

I'd add something else. Sometimes sneak and invis don't mean a damn because of true sight aggro. If you never learn how to sneak behind things, you'll cause problems for yourself and be a liability to others. Fortunately, a lot of true sight monsters have tunnel vision; they can see well in a straight line, but have almost no peripheral.
#25 Nov 01 2005 at 11:44 AM Rating: Good
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1,226 posts
1.) Take a few mules from your home city to jeuno without silent oils or prism powders.

That by far is your best form of hardcore experience without risking the lives of others.

Imo, I think it should be standard that people carry 1-2 stacks of oils and powders on them at all times.
#26 Nov 01 2005 at 11:50 AM Rating: Good
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362 posts
Very entertaining read!

Quote:
18. A Rabbit exists in almost every zone that can kill you. This is the mantra you should remember when using your Zen Avoison skills.


I think the quote you were looking for was "No matter what level you are, there exists a bunny that can kick your a$$" Which is very true.

Quote:
19. You cannot avoid aggro from a Sound Aggro Monster by staying perfectly still. They will aggro the sound of your breathing, heartbeat, and farting noises.


lol, I remember back when I was a newb I thought you could avoid sound aggro by not moving. I soon learned otherwise.

Quote:
Most alchemists are dumb enough to undercut to the point of almost 0 profit, even with max hq rate.


Sadly, as a 100+3 alchemist, I can testify that this is fairly accurate. Per my calculations, the last batch of oils I made yielded a whopping 403 gil profit per synth... with max HQ rate... weeeee.... That's what happens when you get crafters who don't want to research their own moneymaker synths, so they just do what everyone else does and undercut the market to death. If they took time to pick up a pen, paper and calculator, they would realize what I know... they're barely making any money. Sorry to hijack, my point is that don't complain about prices of Silent Oils... you're not getting gouged by crafters, trust me... go whine to the people selling beehive chips for 13k a stack. O_O
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