Yellow threat box

[Jack Power]

I'm just now running through the gold part of the game for the first time since forever. While in transit from one mission to the other, I tried to assist a poor PPD officer harassed by a member of the Destroyers. The Destroyer goon had a red threat box as expected, and the PPD officer had a yellow one. 

 

I charged the destroyer and promptly defeated him (no AoEs used). I was kind of surprised when the PPD officer attacked me from behind, forcing my hand against him as well. As I'm following the loyalist path I figure this isn't the way it should work, but I'm not really sure on how the yellow threat boxes actually work as in the blue side of the game I only see them on Crey employees, and they deserve a good beating in any circumstance.

 

Is this a bug? Or (probably more likely) me not knowing how stuff really works?

 

//Jack

[twozerofoxtrot]

This is how it works Goldside.

 

It's a deviation from the norm, deliberately, since the NPCs were not designed to differentiate the players based on alignment. 

 

This may or may not be why, Lore-wise, there is animosity between PPD and Powers Division. Or why Resistance members attack even if you're flagged as Resistance, since in that story line your character is assumed to be a rogue Powers Division agent.

[Purrfekshawn]

Well, yellow selections in games usually mean that an entity will not attack you by default, however, if you attack that entity or it falls under your AoE, the entity will turn red (hostile to you) and will fight back. Thus if you see something has yellow selection around it and you don't want to fight it be careful with any of AoE attacks, may as well refrain from these entirely.

 

1 minute ago, twozerofoxtrot said:

This is how it works Goldside.

 

It's a deviation from the norm, deliberately, since the NPCs were not designed to differentiate the players based on alignment. 

 

This may or may not be why, Lore-wise, there is animosity between PPD and Powers Division. Or why Resistance members attack even if you're flagged as Resistance, since in that story line your character is assumed to be a rogue Powers Division agent.

 

Yeah, such as Glyphica said, it looks like technically it isn't implemented to differentiate a character from Praetorian Resistance to Praetorian Loyalist.

 

Edited April 19 by Purrfekshawn

[Rudra]

Unless the mob is coded to be friendly, with its nice blue box, mobs are not your allies/friends. So if something has a yellow box, the target is neutral to you regardless of their faction and yours, and if they come under an offensive power effect from you, they become hostile. Damage isn't necessary, just an offensive power has to affect them. And since they aren't blue/friendly, your auras (if you have any) or other offensive powers will affect them.