Am I using the targeting system wrong or what?

So one thing that makes me sadface is how awful I am at cycling through monsters with TAB. Typically I just rage a bit about it then move on with my day because it was never that big of a deal.

Well a day ago I finally had it. Two mobs aggro me and I wanted to sleep the 2nd mob. Well the TAB cycling had me targeting some random mob not aggro'd 20 yards away. After I killed the mobs attacking me, I go into my menu to the Target and Filter sections thinking it'd help me with what priority TAB cycles mobs. Nope. Even after selecting things like enemies attacking and what not, or deselecting enemies/NPCs not aggroing me, I still have to cycle through the non-aggro'd mobs that don't matter. It's worse in Levequests. Why the hell would I want to attack a mob 20 yards away in a Levequest when I have two duty-required mobs already in my face and I need to select the other to Sleep it? What does the target and filter system in the settings even do?

Any help would be appreciated.

Use your mouse or controller to select which mob you want to target instead of trying to tab throughout all the mobs.

Nope, working as intended, as in it's still broken and has been since since 1.0. It will always target the thing that's miles away first rather than the thing you have right beside you. That's just how it is, maybe one day it'll be fixed but it's been more than 3 years and two different versions and a bunch of bug reports and the issue is still there. Be prepared for the barrage of posts saying "it's not an issue, stop complaining for the sake of complaining!" though.

Tbh, after playing for such a long time, targeting problems still kinda plagues me. I found out tabbing through monsters is quite unreliable, nowadays I mostly rely on simply clicking on the mobs that I wanted to target (Yep I am a PC user). Makes me kind of wonder how console players target their mobs though. Also one thing might be worth mentioning is, you can actually set a keybind to target the mob that is closest to you, which can be handy at times. I hope this might help you a bit.

From all that I hear, 'nearest to farthest' actually just cycles based on pure 'left to right' order, regardless of distance.

Which, yes, is exceedingly annoying XD, but there you go.

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Originally Posted by Jasiwel

So one thing that makes me sadface is how awful I am at cycling through monsters with TAB. Typically I just rage a bit about it then move on with my day because it was never that big of a deal.

Well a day ago I finally had it. Two mobs aggro me and I wanted to sleep the 2nd mob. Well the TAB cycling had me targeting some random mob not aggro'd 20 yards away. After I killed the mobs attacking me, I go into my menu to the Target and Filter sections thinking it'd help me with what priority TAB cycles mobs. Nope. Even after selecting things like enemies attacking and what not, or deselecting enemies/NPCs not aggroing me, I still have to cycle through the non-aggro'd mobs that don't matter. It's worse in Levequests. Why the hell would I want to attack a mob 20 yards away in a Levequest when I have two duty-required mobs already in my face and I need to select the other to Sleep it? What does the target and filter system in the settings even do?

Any help would be appreciated.

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I’m also one of those players who “Tab”-cycles through the targets. And yes, i’m also experiencing the same issues as you. (^_^; ) I never really understood why they didn’t implement the “Tab”-cycle priority based on currently engaged targets combined with the distance between you and the target. In most cases, you want to target the immediate threat which is closest to you, not the one who is located on the horizon or below you (for example in Halatali Hard Mode).

In order to solve the issue, i either click on the target with my mouse or turn my camera so that only the name plates of the engaged targets are viewable on my screen.

If you want to focus on the mob that the tank is attacking, you can select the tank in your party list and then type “/assist” or “/as”.

I bound the E key to 'confirm' which selects the closest mob to you as long as you don't have something else selected. I then use tab to make adjustments and scroll other mobs.

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Originally Posted by Ampheni

Makes me kind of wonder how console players target their mobs though.

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Originally Posted by Aldora

turn my camera so that only the name plates of the engaged targets are viewable on my screen.

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Basically this.
I also take my time (doesn't take much) to make sure I am on the correct target. This is why I love it when enemies are marked. It speeds things up. :) I'm not sure if it's actually built into the game or just coincidence, but I've found that most of the time the target marked 1 is the first target I get when I tap the 'X' button.

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Originally Posted by Kule

I bound the E key to 'confirm' which selects the closest mob to you as long as you don't have something else selected. I then use tab to make adjustments and scrolls other mobs.

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You can also use “ /targetenemy”, “/battletarget” or “/bt” for that.

Thanks for the responses everyone. I'm glad I'm not alone on this irritation. I'd click with my mouse more often, but I have to sometimes click more than once on a monster and it's easy to misclick someone's name in larger fights with more people (raids, hunts, etc). I'll work on it though.

So...does anyone know what the Target and Filtering sections do from the Character/System Menu?

The system only targets enemies displayed on the screen. I often end up rotating my camera just enough so that only the mobs I care about targeting are on the screen.

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Originally Posted by Ampheni

Makes me kind of wonder how console players target their mobs though.

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Just to sate your curiosity, hitting left or right on the directional pad is basically the same as Tabbing. It's actually not so bad, considering the issue brought up in the OP. I'm not sure if there is a hot-key on PC (console player since 2.0) for moving backwards using Tab, but it's nice if you actually target past the mob you want with Right on the D-pad you can just hit left to get right back to the one you wanted.

Also, it makes healing very easy on controller also, because if you use Up and Down on the D-pad it will cycle through only your party list. Not as efficient as click-selection but the amount of time you waste, when adept at using a controller, compared to clicking is negligible.

The quickest fix for me is I make sure my camera only see the mobs I want to attack. In other words I can't even see in my camera those who are further away.

My other fix is that I have "backspace" set on "target nearest enemy"

If push comes to shove like mog ex, I click on the mob I want to attack using my mouse because I don't want to memorize their names...

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Originally Posted by JayCommon

Just to sate your curiosity, hitting left or right on the directional pad is basically the same as Tabbing. It's actually not so bad, considering the issue brought up in the OP. I'm not sure if there is a hot-key on PC (console player since 2.0) for moving backwards using Tab, but it's nice if you actually target past the mob you want with Right on the D-pad you can just hit left to get right back to the one you wanted.

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That would amazing in so many ways. Welp, I'm off to look through keybindings to see if there is ANY KEY I can use for this purpose. Nothing is more annoying then tabbing over something and having to go through the same cycle just to get it again.

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Originally Posted by JayCommon

...not sure if there is a hot-key on PC (console player since 2.0) for moving backwards using Tab...
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Originally Posted by Jasiwel

That would amazing in so many ways. Welp, I'm off to look through keybindings to see if there is ANY KEY I can use for this purpose. Nothing is more annoying then tabbing over something and having to go through the same cycle just to get it again.

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Tab cycles in one direction, Shift+Tab cycles in the other.

I actually find that targeting with a controller is easier than tab targeting, but is impossible to use with the cross hotbar unless you use the Hold option exclusively (because you will always be on the cross bad and activating skills >.>).

Targeting is one thing that should be fixed immediately, and it shouldn't have the misleading configuration options in the menu that literally do nothing. But as others have said, three years, numerous bug reports, and changing the color of atma is more important.

Are you tanking or DPSing? If you're tanking... pretty much gotta use tab sometimes.

In groups I have 'T' set to target target's target. Meaning whatever the tank is working on, I can target it.

If you're soloing this isn't much help. But you don't have to target the mobs with tab. Everything you are fighting should appear in the lower left. I'm not sure how to use that with a controller, but if you're using a mouse you can click on them and target them that way.

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Originally Posted by Kaethra

Are you tanking or DPSing? If you're tanking... pretty much gotta use tab sometimes.

In groups I have 'T' set to target target's target. Meaning whatever the tank is working on, I can target it.

If you're soloing this isn't much help. But you don't have to target the mobs with tab. Everything you are fighting should appear in the lower left. I'm not sure how to use that with a controller, but if you're using a mouse you can click on them and target them that way.

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I do both (DPS/Tank) and it's way worse when tanking. That said, I'll try getting used to clicking the specific mobs more, but it is a pain when you have to click the same one multiple times to target it. That might be an issue exclusive to me in this situation, but I'm just saying so you guys know my preference of using TAB over click.

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Originally Posted by Malzian

Tab cycles in one direction, Shift+Tab cycles in the other.

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You sir deserve a cookie. Thanks for the help!

Setting filter options is a good way to deal with it. Another option is setting hot keys for cycling through mobs in the enmity list. When I play on my laptop I have all my controls set up so I don't need to use a mouse and I rely heavily on the hot keys I set that cycle through the mobs only in the enmity list. It does take some getting used to, especially if everything in the list has the same mob name, but once you are accustomed to it it's much more intuitive.

There is a much easier way to target enemies that are currently aggro'd, especially useful for raids. Most people just see the Enemy List as a way to determine if you have aggro on mobs, but it's actually the most effective targeting utility in the game. Drag the Enemy List near your hotbars, or wherever is most convenient, and simply click on the name of the enemy you would like to target. This targeting method will work even if you cannot currently see the enemy, and it is impossible to mistarget unless you are horrible at clicking the mouse.

The only time this method does not work well is if you are fighting multiple mobs with the same name. It does, however, display the remaining HP of the mobs, so you can use that determine which mob to target.

If your on PS3/4 or use a controller, you can use L1(LB) and ⬆️/⬇️ On the D-pad to cycle through your emnity list. Or L1(LB) and hit L2(LT) to cycle through near enemies.
Takes a little getting used to, but when I'm playing Paladin I use the first trick all the time.

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Originally Posted by Billzey

The only time this method does not work well is if you are fighting multiple mobs with the same name.

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Any solution that involves "clicking" is not an optimal one. Tab targeting is the chosen method for the experienced tank, a tried-and-true method to cycling your abilities around evenly. Targeting just needs to make sense, and in this game it doesn't. I don't know who thought it was a good idea to target the furthest enemy away first even when you drill down all the filters to ONLY target aggoing enemies...
But that's SE for you.

I usually have somewhat the opposite problem. When I push X (confirm) to target something (ideally the NPC/ player/ mob I'm facing) it usually targets whatever is closest to the camera, and since I don't play from a first person perspective this often ends up being something behind me. It's somewhat alleviated by filtering to just mobs with my weapon drawn, but their system places priority based on the camera rather than the player with placement on the X axis (proximity to the center of the screen's width) taking priority above the Y axis.

It would work so much better if the system just drew a cone from the player in the direction that they're facing and targeted the closest viable target within that field. Proximity should be judged by 3D space, not screen space.

I've gotten accustomed to framing my battle, mostly unconsciously, so as to only see the mobs I'm engaged with. I'm also pc gamepad, so that might have something to do with it. It's not a good answer, but it's the only suggestion I've got.