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For the enchant, see Spell holy greaterheal [Threat]. For the World of Warcraft #16 comic, see Threat!.

Threat is a measure of an NPC's aggression towards a player. Each NPC has a threat table, and a unit toward the top of the list is usually the target of its aggression. In-game, this is known as having aggro from that particular NPC. The NPC will attack that character if possible, unless something overrides the NPC's target.

Mechanics[]

Every unit is added to the threat table upon begining combat, and removed at the end of combat. Threat is a positive number beginning at zero upon entry to the table. (Leaving and re-entering combat starts at zero again.) Each NPC tracks opponents using their own threat table.

The following actions accumulate threat while combat continues:

  • Damaging the NPC adds one threat per one damage done
  • Healing any of the NPC's enemies adds one threat per two effective healing done, divided by the number of NPCs who observed the heal
  • Friendly buffs or on-use abilities may add a fixed amount of threat, divided by the number of NPCs who observed the ability

The NPC aggros to a new unit if that unit:

  • Overrides the NPC's target using a Taunt or special ability
  • Exceeds the previous target's threat by 10% while within melee range
  • Exceeds the previous target's threat by 30% while outside melee range

Modifying threat[]

Some abilities accelerate the rate of threat generation:

Many roles also have abilities to reposition themselves within the threat table:

Finally, many encounters and other NPCs have abilities which modify their threat table in unique ways.

Detailed values[]

When expanded, the following tables list currently-known modifiers for threat abilities:

Abilities[]

Threat Auras
Effect Threat Multiplier
Baseline modifiers (all characters)
Damage caused 1.0 * damage done
Healing caused 0.5 * healing done (overheal not counted)
Mana gain 0.5 * mana gained (only certain effects)
Rage gain 5.0 * rage gained (only certain effects)
Death Knight
Spell deathknight bloodpresence [Blood Presence] 5.0
Druid
Ability racial bearform [Bear Form] 5.0
Hunter
Ability hunter misdirection [Misdirection] All attacks for 4 seconds temporarily increase the target's threat instead.
Monk
Monk stance drunkenox [Stance of the Sturdy Ox] 5.0
Paladin
Spell holy sealoffury [Righteous Fury] 5.0
Rogue
Ability rogue tricksofthetrade [Tricks of the Trade] All attacks for 6 seconds temporarily increase the target's threat instead.
Warlock
Spell shadow metamorphosis [Dark Apotheosis] 7.0
Warrior
Ability warrior defensivestance [Defensive Stance] 5.0
Threat Modifying Abilities
Ability Threat Bonus/Reduction
Death Knight
Spell shadow deathanddecay [Death and Decay] 1.9 x damage done
Spell nature shamanrage [Dark Command]
Spell deathknight strangulate [Death Grip]
Sets threat equal to player highest on target's threat list.
Druid
Ability physical taunt [Growl] Sets threat equal to player highest on target's threat list.
Hunter
Spell arcane blink [Distracting Shot] +110, and functions as a temporary taunt.
Ability rogue feigndeath [Feign Death] Removes from threat lists of all enemies. (resistible)
Ability druid cower [Cower] -?? to pet
Ability physical taunt [Growl] +?? to pet
Ability devour [Intimidation] +?? to pet
Ability golemthunderclap [Thunderstomp] +?? to pet
Mage
Ability mage invisibility [Invisibility] Reduces threat vs. all enemies by 10% per second for 3 seconds.

Removed from all threat lists upon becoming invisible.

Paladin
Spell holy unyieldingfaith [Hand of Reckoning] Sets threat equal to player highest on target's threat list.
Spell holy sealofsalvation [Hand of Salvation] Sets target's threat to 0 for the duration.
Priest
Spell holy blindingheal [Binding Heal] 0.5 * healing done (above & beyond base healing reduction)
Spell magic lesserinvisibilty [Fade] Sets threat to 0 for the duration.
Spell holy holynova [Holy Nova] This ability causes no threat.
Rogue
Ability vanish [Vanish] Removes from threat lists of all enemies.
Shaman
Spell frost frostshock [Frost Shock] 2.0 * damage done
Spell nature cyclone [Wind Shear] Reduces threat vs. target by 5% of total.
Warlock
Spell arcane arcane01 [Soulshatter] Reduces threat by 90% for all enemies within 50 yards.
Spell shadow blackplague [Suffering] Sets threat equal to player highest on target's threat list.
Warrior
Spell nature reincarnation [Taunt] Sets threat equal to player highest on target's threat list.
 

Items[]

Threat Gear
Item Effect
WoW Icon updateBloodfang Armor 5 part set bonus 25% improved Feint Threat reduction
WoW Icon updateNemesis Raiment 8 part set bonus Reduces the threat generated by your Destruction spells by 20%.
WoW Icon updateBonescythe Armor 6 part set bonus Reduces the threat from your Backstab, Sinister Strike, Hemorrhage, and Eviscerate abilities by 8%
WoW Icon updateVestments of Faith 6 Part set bonus -10%
WoW Icon updateInv weapon shortblade 12 [Black Amnesty] -540 Threat
WoW Icon updateInv misc ahnqirajtrinket 03 [Fetish of the Sand Reaver] Reduces the threat you generate by 50% for 20 sec
Bc iconInv misc herb 02 [Grace of Earth] -640 Threat ~ 30 Yards, 5min cooldown
Bc iconInv misc gem variety 02 [Hypnotist's Watch] -720 ~ 30 Yards, 5min cooldown
Bc iconInv misc gem lionseye 01 [Jewel of Charismatic Mystique] -1075 ~ 30 Yards, 5min cooldown
Bc iconInv misc cape 17 [Muck-Covered Drape] -473 Threat
Bc iconInv misc gem diamond 07 [Prism of Inner Calm] Reduces threat from your harmful critical strikes
Bc iconInv datacrystal02 [Timelapse Shard] -901 ~ 30 Yards, 2min cooldown
Threat Enchantments
Slot Enchantment Effects Source
Back Wrath-Logo-SmallSpell holy greaterheal [Wisdom] Reduce threat slightly and increase Spirit by 10. Enchanting (440)
Bc iconEnchant Cloak - Subtlety Decrease threat from all attacks and spells by 2%. Enchanting (300)
rowspan = "2" Hands Wrath-Logo-SmallSpell holy greaterheal [Armsman] Increase threat caused by 2% and increase parry rating by 10. Enchanting (435)
Bc iconSpell holy greaterheal [Threat] Increase threat from all attacks and spells by 2%. Enchanting (300)
Threat Potions
Item Effect
Inv potion 144 [Shrouding Potion] -1500 ~ 30 Yards
Threat Gems
Color Name Effect(s)
UI-EmptySocket-Meta Meta Inv misc metagem b [Bracing Shadowspirit Diamond] 2% reduced threat +54 Intellect
Color Name Effect(s)
UI-EmptySocket-Meta Meta Inv jewelcrafting shadowspirit 02 [Bracing Earthsiege Diamond] 2% reduced threat +21 Intellect
UI-EmptySocket-Meta Meta Inv misc gem diamond 06 [Bracing Earthstorm Diamond] 2% reduced threat +12 Intellect
 

History[]

Threat management dominated gameplay during Classic and The Burning Crusade, as well-geared DPS could potentially accumulate threat faster than a dedicated tank who had limited options to gain it faster. This compelled other players to slow their combat and use abilities to lower their threat beneath the tank. In subsequent expansions, tanks received increasing passive boosts to threat generation -- becoming a five-fold multiplier by Cataclysm -- rendering threat relatively unimportant to modern gameplay: now a tank either has aggro or doesn't, but they can easily maintain it once they do.

Until Wrath of the Lich King, threat was a hidden variable reverse engineered by the community and tracked using AddOns which predicted threat accumulation through trial and error. These addons worked by tracking a player's status and actions, and then communicating through AddOn communication channels so other players with a matching AddOn could predict their relative position on the threat table. Patch 3.0.2 added new API making threat transparent, allowing AddOns to perform this function without any special communication or synchronization.

The most successful addon of this kind was Omen by Xinhuan, Nevcairiel, et al. with 17 million downloads[1] at Curse and 4 million[2] at WoWInterface. At the latter, it remains the most-downloaded "Combat Mod". Prior to patch 3.0.2, Omen also used the Threat-2.0 library to predict and communicate threat levels with players using other AddOns.

Patch changes[]

  • Cataclysm Hotfix (2011-08-16): Threat generation for all tanks has been increased to 500%, up from 300%. This applies to warriors in Defensive Stance, death knights in Blood Presence, druids in Bear Form, and paladins with Righteous Fury.
  • Wrath-Logo-Small Patch 3.0.2 (2008-10-14): Threat is now accessible in the API, changing how addons can display information

References[]

  1. ^ Omen Threat Meter, Curse
  2. ^ Combat Mods, WowInterface
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