Enmity (term)

Enmity, also known as Hate, Aggro, or Threat, is a recurring concept in the more recent games of the Final Fantasy series. A carry over concept from MMORPGs, it is an invisible stat which makes enemies more likely to attack those with the highest Enmity.

Typically, dealing any kind of damage or healing will generate Enmity, and it is up to specific Jobs or characters known as Tanks to use abilities such as Provoke to draw attention away from more fragile party members.

Final Fantasy XI
Enmity first appears in Final Fantasy XI as a term that refers to the hatred an enemy feels for any particular player. In theory, every player in the same area as a creature has an enmity score. A creature will attack the player who he has the greatest enmity against. If the creature hates no one, he will generally just stand still, walk a path, or roam depending on how his behavior is set.

Enmity also appears on items. When an item mentions that it has "Enmity +2" that means that every attack, spell, or ability used against the creature or in aid of another player who the creature has hatred against will produce more enmity than normal. Gear that increases enmity is sought after by tanks, particularly Ninjas, who lack both abilities to create much enmity on their own or the ability to do great damage.

If an item lists "Enmity -2" then that means an item will make that player's actions generate less hate in a battle situation. These type of items are generally sought after by casters, in particular, White Mages.

A player will lose all enmity in an area when they move from one zone to the next. Enmity can be cleared also under special circumstances. The most common of these are Dragoon's Super Jump ability or enemy abilities that cause area of effect stun. All stunned creatures will lose most of their enmity ranking, but mages, who are probably standing far enough away to avoid the effect, will keep theirs which means the enemy will come after the mages. Character death will also erase enmity.

Final Fantasy XII
While never specifically named, Enmity nonetheless has a presence in Final Fantasy XII. All damage and in particular healing will generate Enmity, which can be counteracted by a bulkier party member casting Decoy.

Final Fantasy XIII
Again, while not named Enmity does appear in Final Fantasy XIII. The Sentinel role has several Provoke abilities to draw Enmity away from their other party members.

Final Fantasy XIV
Enmity returns in Final Fantasy XIV, working generally in a similar way to Final Fantasy XI, but with certain differences on the formula used and other factors such as a lack of enmity bonus to the player that first generates enmity against a monster.

The Gladiator, Marauder and Pugilist Disciplines can generate enmity with certain abilities or traits, while Archers and Conjurers are able to reduce their enmity. Enmity generated per action can also be affected by certain gear and Materia with enmity+ or enmity- stats.

Due to the effect of certain abilities, enmity gain / loss may be temporarily halted (for example, Ifrit's Crimson Cyclone in which he jumps out of the screen). Enmity is completely reset when a character is killed.