PoF: annoyingly huge aggro radius

[Lord Krilik.3692]

It's not just the aggro radius, but the spawn locations too. I haven't yet managed to speak to any heart vendors without the conversation being interrupted by combat. This is ridiculous. Even the ones stood inside towns and outposts seem to have mobs spawn right on top of them.

[kharmin.7683]

I get it. We're in the desert with large/long sight lines. Still, I have to agree that the aggro and respawn rates seem excessively high.

[Endless Soul.5178]

I didn't really notice the aggro ranges, but the respawn rates are very troublesome.

[Tekoneiric.6817]

I really wish they wouldn't cram so many overlapping aggroed creature in such a small area. If you try to look at your map you get killed. At least have it where those overlapping creatures eat each other to thin them out at the overlaps.

[Shadowresli.3782]

it seems that the aggro radius is bigger, also i was in a cave in the eastern region of elon riverlands, and the fleshtearers respawned instantly, that was really annoying. another thing is, that it takes longer, to loose aggro, the mobs chase you over a longer distance.

[DedTreeJig.3245]

I've found the aggro and respawn issues are incredibly inconsistent, even across the same mob types. I've seen relentless respawning veterans as well as mobs that politely die with dignity and grace. I did a hero point with three characters, the first two times mobs (not minions) that weren't there when I started suddenly started spawning and the other time it was just me, the boss and his minions. I think the inconsistency in mob behavior is why it seems to be such a polarizing issue, some people aren't experiencing it much or at all. Yesterday afternoon I was so frustrated I was ready to leave PoF and never look back, then in the evening I was loving every minute of it. Granted I have bipolar disorder, but I am fairly certain it was the because of the game. :)

For what it's worth, I've found that crowd control is the most important thing. Having lot of AoE stuns really makes the wacked out mobs easier. After switching from my ranger to my reaper it's not as frustrating.

[MooTownSnacker.3659]

@Zaklex.6308 said:Aggro radius is no larger than anywhere else in game, it's standard...there just might be more enemies concentrated near points that we need to interact with than we've experienced before, even with HoT. Try dismounting and standing in an area away from mobs, then move towards the mob, you'll find the aggro radius is the same whether mounted or on foot...and it's no larger than core or HoT(i.e. - it's standard).

Not so sure about this. I trig gerd* aggro on a sand lion at almost maximum draw distance. Didn't see any other players around who could have trained it, but maybe there are other factors like that at work here.

*spelling due to over-zealous filter

[Ashantara.8731]

"Fun" fact: I just reached "Slayer of the Forged (500 of 500 killed)", and I wholeheartedly hate fighting Forged. I think that fact speaks volumes about the aggro ranges and respawn times getting in the way of quests and exploration.

[kharmin.7683]

I was able to move all over Dragons Stand by sneaking past most of the denizens there at a much closer proximity. No such luck in PoF.

[VaLee.5102]

The agro range is ridiculously high for some reason.

And on top of that you have mobs every few meters, there's literally no place to just stop and admire the view, not even on roads, near the heart NPCs or not even near the waypoints! Kitten hyenas killing everyone afk in the Riverlands at the waypoints lol.

[Kaltyn of Torbins Deep.294]

It's seemed very inconsistent to me. In Desert Highlands, in the eastern section of the map, I'd be fighting one Jacaranda and have 2 others that would aggro on me from further away than something would in ANY other map. Later, I could run right past hyenas or something else and it seemed like they didn't even see me run past (on foot or on mount).

Now, one thing that I REALLY hated was the stinking knock backs/knockdowns by the swirling dust tornado things in northern Crystal Oasis around the top of that pyramid. I'm trying to take down an obnoxious vet devourer, and being knocked back repeatedly before I can even get back on my feet to dodge, block, or anything else made me cuss. Loudly.

[Ardid.7203]

Its fun to agree with this. I'm having more trouble just stopping somewhere to sort my inventory than to completing the story. Even in HoT, when people were so angry about the "too many mobs" I didn't had this problem. I don't really need a change... but is true the aggro in PoF seems to be huuuuuge.

[hellsqueen.3045]

Aggro radius, spawn rates, spawn locations, the amounts of huge mobs that often cluster f*** you.The mounts are too easily destroyed by them, mounts need some extra health or toughness across all mounts because honestly whether I am on the mount or not, I am not staying there to fight them. In most cases I keep running just to lose aggro and remount. I don't want to fight mobs every time I get kicked off a mount because I really shouldn't be getting kicked off this often. I feel like I never get to places as fast as I could because sometimes mounts just don't make it past.

EG: I was on a bounty hunt train, we were doing the bounty board in the bottom right corner and we had to head through the heavily filled forged territory. Aside from the HUGE amount of forged there that feels a bit excessive just all over the map tbh, this 40 man squad was riding through and so many people lost their mounts. Sometimes they get two hit and destroyed by normal enemies. Trust me, if I wanted to stop and fight, I would but I obviously don't want to because I have else where I need to be.

You guys said we got mounts because the maps were huge and we would need them and we absolutely do but often we are thwarted by this environment.With the very few amount of waypoints and travel distance, the fact it's so easy to get kicked off the mount is truly a pain. You'll fall behind on squad doing bounty runs or you may miss an event called out because you spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to remount.Seems like the Griffon may end up as the only choice to just fly over the enemies at this point.

[crashburntoo.7431]

I've had a few encounters where I was knocked off of my mount and beaten to death, and a lot of close calls. I'm running around on my Dragonhunter, and I'm pretty sure that Aegis has saved my bacon numerous times.

I don't mind the challenge and adaptation to mounts, but we should be able to sit and look at the maps sometimes. Anet should review each map and fine tune the radius, spawn times and mob placement. Difficult areas should be intentionally difficult, but not overbearingly so. Some territories are hostile.

[Artyport.2084]

all I have to say is.. yaasssss

[Hyper Cutter.9376]

There's a lot of places that are just straight up impossible to run through mounted, because it gets killed out from under you in seconds. Forged in particular are really bad about this, as well as harpies and hydras (their meteors in particular seem to hit your mount no matter what).

[JackOfAllGames.2409]

I'm glad this topic existed. I was just coming to post about this. I'm guessing the aggro radius problem was designed to threaten mounted players - give the mobs a chance to hit. That said, it is irritating. I feel like I can't walk anywhere in the expansion or I'd constantly be in combat. One must mount the moment combat is over or you'll be stuck for another round (be it from the enemy you didn't see waaaay over there or from the mobs respawning behind you).

The problem probably isn't that big, really, but it's compounding:

• Large detection radius
• Long following distance
• Fast respawn rate
• The number of enemies that spawn in close proximity
• The general strength and abilities of mobs in this expansion

Add these together and it is a bit irritating. This might have felt right if we had the option to escape combat on mount, but as-is, it feels like a tuning problem.

[Lucas.2974]

The solution is simple, allow us to mount while in combat.

[DedTreeJig.3245]

@JackOfAllGames.2409 said:Add these together and it is a bit irritating. This might have felt right if we had the option to escape combat on mount, but as-is, it feels like a tuning problem.

I completely agree. I don't want it nerfed, I like a challenge, but there should be a reasonable expectation that I can survive. I will admit that after switching to my reaper (minion master) for crowd control it's been easier, but there are still inconstancies in mob behavior and spawn rates.

[Vindicus.2130]

I don't think it's so much the agro radius as it is how they have the mobs positioned across the map. It's almost as though they set up a grid pattern so that every point on the map would have at least a few mobs within agro radius. Sometimes I search for multiple minutes to find a spot I can stop and look at my map. If dismounted, fahgidaboutit; takes forever to get away from combat and back on your mount. Spawn rate in some areas is so high I can't keep stuff dead with full ascended zerker gear. Can't imagine people playing more defensive setups.

[Cuddy.6247]

@Veprovina.4876 said:Thank you, yes, i was about to make a simmilar thread. What the kitten is with the aggro radius? I get it, it'a a high level map, but so was HoT but that didn't have enemies hunting you to oblivion... I mean, sure, i get it, they needed to increase the aggro radius because of the mounts, they are faster and can cover more ground so enemies need to spot you sooner and chase you longer otherwise you'd just be able to never engage anything and just be on your mount. But once we dismount, can't they lower the chase aggro radius? I had 3 veterans following me across half the map until they finally killed me because you can't mount in combat to outrun them, and you can't outrun them on foot either. They just keep spamming their attacks and your healing runs out far sooner than their aggro radius.

So basically if you run into something you can't really handle, you're dead... Lol, what? In all the other maps, if you ran into trouble, you could just leg it and save yourself.Lower the "on foot" aggro radius Anet...

You and I have different recollections of HoT then. I've had to consistently resort to asking my guild for help. The only two characters I am even remotely capable of playing alone on are firebrand (wanderer) and scourge (trailblazer). Back in HoT I didn't have much of anything that was all too great solo. Luckily I've surrounded myself with good friends.

[Norseman.4280]

@Zaltys.7649 said:On the top of that, the mobs seem to repop almost instantly. I kill one, and another one repops before I'm done killing the next. Not that there's much point in fighting anyway, don't need more xp.

So most of my experience so far consists of running away and dodging attacks. Not exactly my idea of fun, and definitely doesn't feel 'heroic'. And that's with a Guardian. Can't imagine what it'll be like with my squishier alts.

I've noticed something interesting with this. There seems to be "trigger points" with those endless respawn places. I've tried it out a few times, where if I move my character 50-100 feet away, the mobs stop respawning. So if you're getting the endless mob pops, try moving over a bit.

[Moyayuki.3619]

In my own personal experience, I haven't run into this problem. I actually find the enemies to be easier to deal with than HoT (man, those guys even today are hard-hitters and sponges for me). The most I have died in PoF is during story instances fighting bosses, but not so much in the world itself...and I'm playing a Necromancer with Rampager gear.

[Boysenberry.1869]

I found exploring the Ruptured Heart to be the most troublesome. After Springing my way inside...there were so many mobs in there it was very difficult to kill enough of them to be able to re-mount and find a way back out. Ultimately I end up resorting to cheap tactics like relogging which removes aggro.

[Flitters.4095]

I was fighting a veteran worg yesterday with his two minions, got the minions down and the vet about halfway when respawn of another vet with his 2 minions popped up in the same spot and joined in. Yeah I'd say there's a bit of an issue with the respawns being two fast.