Admittedly, there would be times when it would be difficult to determine intent. I would imagine the GM would observe the scene for a while before making any call. If the player seems to be mounting his pet, realizing the monster is attacking into empty space, then leaving and returning to let the monster reset, then maybe the GM doesn't have anything to worry about. However, if a player in the same situation seems to be forcing the monster into the "blind to his attacker" situation and bragging about how no one can stop him from exploiting, then that player may find himself in a little trouble in the near future.

Cynthe
Community Manager
ORIGIN Systems

参照： UO Stratics

There’s a new “tactic” some players have begun using, whereby they mount their pet in the middle of certain combat situations to avoid being re-targeted by their foe. I’ve been asked to clarify whether or not this is an exploit.

A typical example of the situation in question is this: You are fighting against a spell-casting monster, side-by-side with your ridable pet. At a certain point you consider that the pet is taking too much damage, and mount it to protect it. The spell-casting monster doesn’t seem to pick-up on the tactical change, and for some reason continues to fire off spells “into nowhere.” It seems to ignore the mounted character, and even ignores a second pet that the mounted character commands to begin fighting that same monster.

The game mechanic issue is the spell-casting monster not re-targeting you, as his victim/attacker, when he should be doing so. Whether or not you are exploiting that situation is defined in the context of the situation?do you plan for the monster to not retarget you or your pets, and thus you take every advantage of this game mechanic flaw to never be put in harm’s way? If the answer to that question is “yes,” then you are participating in a game mechanic exploit.

The monster should be able to re-target the player. In the situation described, the player is not using a spell, ability, or object to engage the monster in combat, but is taking advantage in a flaw to turn what should be a challenging situation into a "no lose" situation. It is not intended that monsters cannot re-target someone simply because they have mounted their pet, and thus this would be considered an exploit.

As always, use of any exploit could compel us/a GM to take action against one's account. However, this sort of exploit might not necessarily be on the level of a "felony" that would get you insta-banned (if you had a clean record), but it might be more along the lines of a "misdemeanor" which would get you at least a warning (although it certainly could be more severe, depending on the situation and your account history).

So, just to be clear, it’s not wrong to jump on your mount when you see the combat going bad so that you can run away, or better evade your opponent’s attacks. But if you mount up to knowingly exploit a flaw that allows you to slaughter monsters without you or your pets from ever being in any danger, then that’s the sort of “tactic” we ask you to avoid.

=========
Sannio
Online Content Coordinator
Ultima Online (www.uo.com)
Origin Systems

I do quite a bit of fishing. I also bring my beetle. Since I cannot fish while mounted, I dismount and fish. The serpent comes up, and first thing it attacks is my beetle. My beetle can not survive a battle with a serpent, so I mount it, and I do notice that the serpent will continue fighting my beetle. SInce I cannot get off my beetle to see if its still getting damage, I do my best to redirect the serpent to me, but, the serpent is not in an area where I can attack it. This fisher is not a mage either, so spellcasting is out of the question. Am I exploiting? It truly isn't intended, and I usually have to move my boat out of the area. I don't want to get into trouble due to the scenario above, or my account marked for what *looks* like an exploit is in use, but the game mechanices *ie: of not being allowed to fish while mounted*, can make it look that I am intentinally using this as an exploit. I bring my beetle to carry my loot from several hours of fishing. Should I stop using my beetle until this is fixed? Thanks

It's fine to bring your beetle fishing with you, and there's nothing wrong with mounting your beetle in a fight to try to redirect the attack straight to yourself. But if the sea serpent starts firing off into nowhere and you realize you might be able to attack him without him ever "seeing" you, then that's what concerns us. Moving your boat out of the area to recover between attacks is also fine, especially if that helps to "reset" the monster so that he recognizes your true position on your return.

Please do continue adventuring while mounted, and feel free to dismount and re-mount as appropriate during combat--this continues to be a normal and accepted part of playing UO. It's only when the attacking monster seems to be "blinded" to your true location that we might have concern, and not the act of mounting your pet in combat.

=========
Sannio
Online Content Coordinator
Ultima Online (www.uo.com)
Origin Systems

参照： UO Stratics