Enmity

See also: Aggression

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Enmity is a measure of how likely an enemy is to attack a player. Your enmity in relation to that of party members is represented by numbers next to your names. The lower the number, the more enmity you have, with an "A" identifying the player currently targeted by the enemy.

How does one build enmity?
Attacks against an enemy and healing effects used on allies generate enmity. Tank classes are designed to generate higher levels of enmity than other classes, but there are occasions where a DPS or healer class will draw the enemy's attention. In such cases, one should stay close to the tank so they may build back enmity as quickly as possible.

How should each role manage enmity?
Tanks should make liberal use of enmity generating abilities to hold an enemy's attention.
DPS should focus on the tank's target, making use of actions that reduce enmity as necessary.
Healers must maintain the HP of party members, but try not to heal more than necessary. When using several powerful healing actions in quick succession, it is advisable to also use abilities that reduce enmity.

Enmity management becomes increasingly important as you gain in levels, so it is important to learn the fundamentals of party dynamics early on.

Enmity List
Indicates the enmity level of the target or targets with which you are currently engaged. A red icon next to their name means they will attack you, so be careful.

— Mastering the UI / HUD Overview → Parts of the HUD

In this example, the dark knight has the highest enmity on the enemy that the player (the dancer) is currently targeting. The warrior has the second highest enmity, and the summoner has the lowest enmity.

Enmity, also known as threat, hate, or aggro, is a mechanic that causes the enemy monsters to target and attack a player. When multiple players are attacking an enemy, the enemy A.I. will target the player with the highest enmity. Players increase their enmity by attacking, healing, applying status effects or performing specific enmity increasing actions like   Provoke or a tank job's ranged attack. Players can also reduce their enmity by executing the enmity reducing action   Shirk.

Players can keep track of their enmity with the Threat Meter U.I. underneath the Job icons of you and your party members (by default). The number represents the enmity order of the party from highest to lowest and the letter "A" represents the player currently holding aggro, and the meter bar represents how close the player is in enmity to the player with the number above theirs. Another Enmity U.I. is the icon next to the names of enemies currently engaged in combat on the Enemy List, there are 4 different icons going from Green, Yellow, Orange, and finally to Red. If the icon is Red that means you are currently holding aggro for that enemy.

Certain bosses have mechanics that allow them to target players that are not the highest on the enmity list. In these instances you will see a character with an "A" as well as a character with a "1". An example is during Alliance Raids such as  The Labyrinth of the Ancients, where only one party's tank will have the "A", and the other parties' tanks will show as "1".

All Tank Jobs have abilities (generically called "Tank Stance(s)" by players) that drastically increase the amount of Enmity they generate, these are shown both as Buffs with an infinite duration and on the Tank's Job gauge. Since these stances are coded as buffs, they are automatically deactivated when the player is level-synced.