Mob (video games)
Computer-controlled non-player character in video games
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A mob, also known as a mobile, or mobile object,[1][2][3][4] is a computer-controlled non-player character (NPC) in a video game such as an MMORPG[5] or MUD.[1][3] Depending on the context, every and any such character in a game may be considered to be a "mob",[2][1] or usage of the term may be limited to hostile NPCs and/or NPCs vulnerable to attack.[5]
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.[5] 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.).[6]
Purpose of mobs
Defeating mobs may be required to gather experience points,[7] money,[8] items,[9] or to complete quests.[10] Combat between player characters (PCs) and mobs is called player versus environment (PvE).[11] PCs may also attack mobs because they aggressively attack PCs.[2] Monster versus monster (MvM) battles, in which two monsters fight each other, also take place in some games.[12]
Etymology
The term "mobile object" [1][2][3][4] was used by Richard Bartle for objects that were self-mobile in MUD1.[1] 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,[13][14] and the term as it exists in MMORPGs is derived from the MUD usage.[5][1] The term is an abbreviation, not an acronym.