Rage

• On Aug. 1, 2005, Square Enix implemented a patch that made a handful of NMs and HNMs grow significantly stronger after they have been claimed by players for a certain amount of time. This term has become known as Rage.
  • Rage is known to have the following effects:
    • Dramatically increased attributes (STR, DEX, AGI, VIT, etc)
    • Attack, defense, and evasion increased. (It is virtually impossible to hit a raged monster. When hit, the attack usually does 0 damage except in the case of magic damage such as Mijin Gakure or Elemental Seal nukes.)
    • Monsters in this state hit for more damage (500-1000 when fully raged) and their attack speed is increased (comparable to a slow Hundred Fists).
    • Magic accuracy and attack are increased (King Arthro's "Waterga IV" spell will regularly hit for between 500 and 1000 damage).
    • Monsters in Rage status are generally considered unkillable because dealing damage to them is near impossible and they deal massive amounts of damage.
  • Rage was implemented to prevent the holding of certain Notorious Monsters.
  • The effects of rage are gradual, ramping up from the monster's normal stats to the extreme levels over the course of a few minutes. It may still be possible to finish the battle after the time limit if you act quickly.
  • Rage status will only be removed by allowing the monster to become unclaimed and have zero hate on anyone in the area. This also means you cannot aggro it before the following final step occurs. Finally, it must regen one tic of its HP -- the actual percent amount of one tic can vary from monster to monster but it is usually a fairly large chunk.

The August 1, 2005 patch read as follows

The notorious monsters listed below will slowly grow in strength after a certain amount of time has passed since being claimed: King Arthro / Simurgh / Roc / Serket / Capricious Cassie /Lord of Onzozo / Behemoth / King Behemoth / Adamantoise / Aspidochelone / Fafnir / Nidhogg.

• The time allotted to fight these Notorious Monsters before they enter Rage status has been listed below. (Some NMs other than those listed are capable of entering Rage.)

King Arthro

20 Minutes

Simurgh

20 Minutes

Roc

20 Minutes

Serket

30 Minutes

Capricious Cassie

30 Minutes

Lord of Onzozo

20 Minutes

Behemoth

30 Minutes

King Behemoth

60 Minutes

Adamantoise

30 Minutes

Aspidochelone

60 Minutes

Fafnir

60 Minutes

Nidhogg

60 Minutes

Restart Rage count down To reset time remaining to Rage, or to remove rage status from a HNM, all people in the area must lose hate. Fully logging out, death, or zoning into another area are best way to lose hate accumulated.

• A common strategy to remove rage status is make Call for Help on the NM and wait until it loses Call for Help Status. (NM doesn't need to regain 100%HP)

This is not recommended on certain NM's or HNM's as this will also allow other players present to attempt to claim or kill the NM or HNM.