Mob (video games)

A mob, short for mobile or mobile object, is a computer-controlled non-player character (NPC) in a video game such as an MMORPG or MUD. Depending on the context, every and any such character in a game may be considered to be a "mob", or usage of the term may be limited to hostile NPCs and/or NPCs vulnerable to attack.

In most modern graphical games, "mob" may be used to specifically refer to generic monstrous NPCs that a player is expected to hunt and kill, excluding NPCs that engage in dialog, sell items, or NPCs which cannot be attacked. "Named mobs" are distinguished by having a proper name rather than being referred to by a general type ("a goblin", "a citizen", etc.). Most mobs are those capable of no complex behaviors beyond generic programming of attacking or moving around.