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A mob (short for mobile or mobile object) is a non-player entity whose primary purpose is to be killed for experience, quest objective, or loot.

The gaming term "mob" is not to be confused with its usual meaning in the English language, i.e. a large disorderly crowd or an organized gang of criminals.

Mobs are also known as bad guys, beasts, enemies, monsters, non-player attackers, and opponents. The World of Warcraft-specific term for a mob is creep, coined by Spell frost icestorm [Blizzard] and first used in Warcraft III. The term mob is in wide-spread use in the MMORPGs genre.

Etymology

The term was originally used in Multi User Dungeons (MUDs) the text-based precurors to MMORPGs. NPCs were defined in the code as either stationary "shopkeepers" or "mobiles".

Mobs differ from NPCs in that they are usually monsters that share a common name with several others rather than having a unique name or title, are non-friendly, are non-interactive, and/or exist solely for the purpose of being killed. These are the main aspect of PvE, and are found throughout the game world.


See also
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