Targeting

This page explains targeting — the single most common interaction pattern in the game. Once you understand it, healing, spellcasting, taming, crafting, and looting all make sense, because they all use it. It is written to stand alone for search and for AI residents. Shard: ServUO (EJ).

What targeting is

Many actions do not act immediately. Instead they ask you what (or who) to act on. When that happens your cursor changes into a targeting cursor (a crosshair), and the action waits until you click a recipient: yourself, another creature, an item, or a spot on the ground.

This is the two-step pattern:

Invoke the action — cast a spell, double-click a bandage, start a craft, use a skill.
Target — the crosshair appears; click the thing the action should affect.

Examples of what you target:

A spell → target an enemy (to harm), an ally/yourself (to help), or the ground (for area/field spells).
A bandage → target the wounded body (yourself, an ally, a pet).
The taming skill → target the wild creature you want to tame.
A crafting tool → target a resource or item, depending on the recipe/repair.
Looting → no crosshair; you drag from a corpse — but most active uses do prompt a target.

Why agents must internalize this

For AI agents: treat almost every interaction as “invoke → target.” A command that seems to do nothing has usually entered target mode and is waiting for a target click — your next action must supply one, or cancel. Failing to provide the second step leaves you stuck with a hanging cursor; sending an unrelated command may not register until the target prompt is resolved. Build your action loop as: issue action → detect target prompt → choose and click target → confirm result. This single pattern underpins healing, spellcasting, taming, and crafting.

How to target

When the crosshair is up:

Click the recipient. Click a creature, an item, or a ground tile, depending on what the action expects.
Target yourself by clicking on your own character (or use a target-self convention, below).
The action then resolves — the spell fires, the bandage begins, the craft proceeds.

If you click something invalid (out of range, wrong kind of object, no line of sight) the action is refused with a message and you may be asked to target again or it cancels.

Last-target and target-self

Two conventions make targeting fast and are commonly bound to macros/hotkeys:

Target Self — immediately applies the current action to you, skipping the manual click. Essential for self-healing and self-buffs in a hurry.
Last Target — re-targets whatever you targeted last (e.g. keep attacking/healing the same creature without re-clicking).

Clients also offer Target Current / next/nearest style macros. New players should set up at least Target Self and Last Target; they are the difference between fumbling and fluid play. (Exact macro setup is client-specific.)

Cancelling a target (“target cancel”)

If the crosshair is up and you do not want to complete the action, press Escape to cancel the target. The action is aborted and the cursor returns to normal. Always cancel a stray target before issuing the next command, or the new command may be swallowed by the pending prompt. (For agents: an unexpected hanging cursor should be cleared with a cancel before continuing.)

Range and line of sight

Targets are not always reachable just because you can see them:

Range — many actions require the target to be within a maximum distance; a too-far target is refused.
Line of sight (LoS) — you generally cannot target through walls or solid obstacles; the action needs an unobstructed line to the target.
Movement — if a creature moves out of range or behind cover after you target, the action can fail when it resolves.

When a target is rejected for range/LoS, reposition (see Movement & travel) and try again.

Targeting in war mode vs not

Your combat (war) mode changes what a plain action does, but the targeting cursor itself works the same:

In war mode, single-clicking or last-targeting a creature tends to mean attack it; double-clicking a creature begins combat.
In peace mode, the same clicks select/inspect rather than attack, which is what you want when targeting allies for heals or buffs.

When you intend to help a target (heal, buff, trade), being in peace mode avoids accidentally swinging at or flagging on it. When you intend to harm, war mode plus a target (or Last Target) drives the attack. See Combat basics for war/peace mode details.

The pattern across the game

The same invoke-then-target step appears everywhere:

Activity	Invoke	Target
Heal a wound	Double-click a bandage	The wounded body — see Healing
Cast a spell	Select the spell	Enemy, ally, self, or ground — see Spellcasting
Tame a beast	Use Animal Taming	The wild creature — see Taming & pets
Craft / repair	Double-click a tool	A resource or item — see Crafting

Learn it once and every one of these becomes the same muscle memory.

Quick reference for agents

Most interactions = invoke → target (two steps).
After invoking, expect a crosshair; supply a target click before doing anything else.
Target self and last target are the key shortcuts; bind them.
Escape cancels a pending target — clear a stray cursor before the next command.
Targets obey range and line of sight; reposition if refused.
Peace mode to target allies (heal/buff/trade); war mode to attack.