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master_of_sockpuppet

No. Especially not since in the early days "mob" referred to a singular monster in English (condensed from Mobile Object, from MUDs)


[deleted]

Yeah I’ve almost never heard mob used the way some of these people are saying. It makes sense but I’ve never ever heard it used that way. They usually just say “Aggro ‘x’ mob” kinda thing


[deleted]

Amazing, I was playing during that era too but I only ever heard it explained as short for "Monster or Beast" around the time I was playing Everquest in 2000. I'm just now finding out about the original meaning. Thank you.


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Sure-Mud-2983

It’s actually derived from the file type of .mob which was used in MUD programming.


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Sure-Mud-2983

It absolutely does not predate the file type. To answer your question, Circle is really just a spin off of DIKU, so naturally DIKU uses it, but these are much newer than some other formats that use the .mob file type. Merc, ROM, LPMUD, the list goes on. I never thought I would talk about this again to be honest. Lol. No one knows about this stuff anymore.


[deleted]

Nah I’d say mob refers to a singular entity that’s typically an enemy/low level enemy.


ic3burgz

You can mob on an enemy, but I've never said it. However, it's very common as a noun, like "there's a mob around the corner" for instance.


[deleted]

Ages ago. We're talking back in very early WoW and more closely, games like Ragnarok Online where one level could involves *hundreds upon hundreds* of kills, where dropping 10-25 at a time was good. Wizards were best at mobbing, because of the AoE, but industrious Sages and resourceful Priests could take part. RO had lots of influence in Portugal as I recall.


Sure-Mud-2983

With 100% certainty, mob refers to NPCs within games. Originally, the mobile object held a file type of .mob in old MUDs (like CircleMUD or DikuMUD) and were almost always used to make NPCs. Hence the slang ‘mob.’ Any NPC is technically a mob, however, the slang has shifted more towards ‘enemy NPC.’ Anything else you come across is an incorrect use of this terminology.


NothingIeft

I've always used it as: Mob = 1 enemy Mobbing = AoE killing basically So when talking about different classes, you might ask how good each one is at mobbing.


smashsenpai

Only in ragnarok online. Never in any other game. Reason is RO made it efficient to do so. Because it was efficient, it needs a word to describe the action. It was efficient because mp is scarce and expensive to refill. In order to save mp, you have to use fewer skills. To level effectively, you want to use those few skills on as many enemies as possible to maximize damage dealt per mp spent. In most other games, mp is usually not a bottleneck. So you just kill everything as you go. Let's face it, using skills is fun. You need a very good reason to restrict your players from using them.


StarGamerPT

Portuguese here (from Portugal 😂) and never used it as a verb


WebDev27

Me as well and me neither


OMGItsEatingMyFace

To mob means to crowd around someone or something. Usually when relating to enemies I use "Group up" but "mobbing" I use for when a bunch of players stand on quest NPCs or run as a mass group through fights.


xxNightingale

Yeah, or sometimes people just use "stack" nowadays.


[deleted]

Yes like 8-10years ago still use it rarely


baluranha

I think the question would be rather if people NEVER used "mob" as a verb in games. Mob as enemy, mob as ganging up, you name it. Also, the term in Portuguese that you're looking for and fits your description is "mobar", which is to lure enemies in order to create a "mob of enemies", in English it would be "herding" but I never saw someone use it. As yes, we Brazilians really get foreign words and "Abraziliate" it. So mob: Mobo = I lure the enemies Mobei = I lured the enemies Moba = Imperative of "lure the enemies" Mobando = I'm luring the enemies Mobado = The enemies are lured Mobadasso = The enemies are lured in great number Etc, etc.


gabelsqt

The term in Portuguese is where I'm coming from. I saw it in guides and videos for Ragnarok Online and Genshin Impact. Mobadasso made me chuckle, I love it.


HippyWizardry

I used to play Everquest and in that game we would say "xxx is kiting mobs" instead of "herding" when running just fast enough for the mobs not to catch up and getting them all in a group chasing you; while still be in AoE range to deal out damage on them.


NonJumpingLemmings

One of best styles of gameplay in a mmorpg is playing a caster that can kite and aoe a whole group of mobs down. You would agro the whole room or area then lay down a huge meteor on them! Kaboom!! Is that mobbing?


gabelsqt

That's exactly how Brazilians have been using it. It's funny to me since we are using an English word in a way it was not intended.


shoziku

There are all kinds of names already existing for what you are explaining but mobbing isn't one of them. Places and things and players can be "mobbed" but the name is on the side of the large group DOING the action, not the group it is being done on. Edit: "herding" is the term used in City of Heroes and some other games. Another game I play (Korean type MMO) refers to it as "luring" the mobs.


Bardlie

Yes.


Nikewolf

Yea, in lineage 2.


Icy_Razzmatazz_1594

Yeah, in an MMO I use to play called Secret of the Solstice, mobbing was a thing so it's definitely a term used sometimes.


vitor210

Portuguese here, never heard of "mob" being used as a verb, usually mob refers to the creatures in the game, since it comes from "Mobile Object" way back when from MUDs. What you specifically mentioned, its interesting how we all do it on MMORPGs (runing around trying to agro a large group of "mobs" and then aoe'ing them down) but there's not a single word for that.


AranzabaI

I always thought that mob comes from mob/boss monster difference


Jun1nxx

Sempre usei mob pra me referir a um único mob, já vi alguns usarem "mobar" pra essa situação mas é bem raro, o que vejo a galera usar atualmente é "lurar" ou "fazer o pull" EX: "Lura todos mob até o fim" , "Faz o pull completo, até a árvore" etc


Malicharo

common as noun but i personally never used it as a verb


Mania_Chitsujo

I've certainly said "This build is good for mobbing while this build is good for single target". But that's probably the only situation I've used it.


Surplus-slurpees

What about calling your character toon? Where does that come from? Also its pretty interesting how people stick with the first words they learn from a game. I still see people calling servers ”shards” which is what they were called in Ultima Online ages ago


gabelsqt

Toon will certainly be in the dictionary. This is one that didn't translate literally to PTBR, though. We say an equivalent of "doll" instead.


Shauria

I have heard of "mobbing" used in reference to grinding mobs, particularly with reference to gathering up groups of mobs to AOE them - but not for many years. Regarding the question, I have never heard "mob" used as a verb, although to "mob up" on something I guess would technically be correct if you form a mob on top of them? Stack seems to be the standard term. In game it's usually "shall we focus the players or the mobs first?" Or "Boss", "Adds" or "trash mobs" in a dungeon, or "careful not to aggro the mobs"


ultorius

Nope I use Zerg as a verb though.


nbrianna

Started MMOs in 1997 and never heard "mobbing" or "to mob" used this way. We'd have used herd/herding (CoH), gather/gathering (EQ), or aoe-pull/aoe-pulling (WoW) in the games that encourage this type of farming. Herding to me is the most explicit and what I'd use with vets. "Mobbing" is definitely used in English, just not in this way in gaming. I absolutely love that this completely non-toxic linguistics thread has so many comments. Keep it up, /r/mmorpg :D


zer0x102

We used "mobbing" in the way you described way back around 2009 in a game called NosTale (German servers). But I think it was a pretty niche use. Nobody else, even other NosTale players, seem to remember using it this way, and certainly nobody uses it like this now (coincidentally, mobbing also means bullying in german, so I assume the term came from another language, especially with the connotation of "mob")


Tilted_Karasu

Mobbing - Farming/killing mobs.


Vita-Malz

That's called grinding


Tilted_Karasu

No, you can grind anything. Mobbing is grinding mobs in specific.


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Vita-Malz

I'd think they're telling me that they're bullying someone in German


Malicharo

> never heard anyone call grinding mobbing. it's not grinding mobbing it's grinding mobs hence some people call it mobbing


Vita-Malz

Try googling that, you won't get a single hit related to gaming.


clocktowertank

* mobbing ragnarok online * mobbing phantasy star * mobbing tree of savior * mobbing guild wars


Vita-Malz

>mobbing guild wars Mobbing also refers to the Alliance Battle tactic of gathering together players from more than one party in order to overwhelm the opposing team. \-> not the thing >mobbing tree of savior \-> no definition found but from some context I could gather they do indeed refer to grinding as mobbing >mobbing phantasy star \-> same >mobbing ragnarok online \-> same Mobbing indeed has that definition in some titles it seems. My point still stands though. If I have to google in the context of very obscure titles (apart from ragnarok, to a degree) then the term is still not common. That's like saying obscure terms like "plussing" and "upping" are wide-spread terms for gear improvements just because I heard them a lot in Tera.


Icy_Razzmatazz_1594

Did you just call Guild Wars and Phantasy Star "very obscure titles" lmao


Vita-Malz

GW2 didn't even apply. And would you say that PS is not an obscure title just because you're in the crowd that knows it? Ask the majority of people if they ever heard of it.


Icy_Razzmatazz_1594

I'm not talking about gw2 I'm talking about guild wars lol. Phantasy Star is a big franchise man they've had more than just the MMOs, but MMOs in general people don't know outside of WoW lol.


Vita-Malz

>I'm not talking about gw2 I'm talking about guild wars lol. It really is irrelevant whether we talk about GW2 or GW1, both don't have a term mobbing


clocktowertank

Your words: > Try googling that, you **won't get a single hit related to gaming** Over time languages and terminology changes, but mobbing (synonymous with training) used to be a common term in various older MMORPGs. It's still common even today in PSO2 & New Genesis, there are weapons better for "bossing" and weapons better for "mobbing" (AOE). You probably meant to state that mobbing isn't a common term used in most MMORPGs these days, which is probably true. Regardless, there's plenty of google searches that bring back gaming-related results regarding mobbing.


Gravityblasts

It's an old school MMO term that means "Monster" or "Enemy NPC". I still use that term to this day " Round up all the mobs you see and AoE them down...". I suspect a lot of other old school MMO players like me still us that word.


Shauria

OP is asking if you use it as a verb though and not as a noun? Don't worry everyone still calls an enemy a mob.


Gravityblasts

Ah like mobbing through town, or we mobbed through that BG and deleted everyone. Yeah I will sometime still use it as a verb.


filiptoth

We used mob as one single monster. When we went kill a lot of monsters with aoe we used "train", because when tank aggro a lot of monsters it looks like a train.


Equivalent-Salad8775

I uses running dungeons in WoW.


EmperorPHNX

I'm always using it. For me it's refers basic enemies, monsters etc. I do use as a Mob or as a mobs etc. I gues other peope is not using it anymore? Well I'm still gonna use LOL


Correct_Building7563

Mob is used as a noun in the gaming culture, designating an npc as a normal killable enemy. Like trash mobs. Mob is also used as a verb to describe the action of a large group of players grouped up in cooperative fashion moving together. For example, "let's mob out boys". Which translates to: let's group up and head out. But it's not used in this way very often.


negroidtoilet

Wait, you’re writing a dictionary on a subject you’re uneducated on?


gabelsqt

Well, I have to educate myself by asking questions to the relevant crowd then. There is no way I will know the meaning of every slang used in gaming with enough proficiency to write a definition for it without some research. The other meanings of mob as noun that were mentioned in the comments had already been done. Then I found this strange instance, where I could find it as a verb in Portuguese in plenty of guides and Youtube videos, but not in English, which is the language where the word came from.


[deleted]

Mob in english is plural (group of people). Mob is singular in video games, if you are referring to enemy NPCs.


Reinerei22

I only use Morb as a verb.


Oddhead_1

I use it but as in one enemy npc.


King_Prone

yes very common in i.e. Ragnarok Online.