Call Target

Icons for standard and personal targeting respectively

Call Target is a keybind ability (default Ctrl+T or Ctrl+left click) that allows you to "mark" a target; ally, enemy or a structure, which creates a large red bull's-eye that hovers over the head of the target.

If an enemy that is targeted uses an invisibility skill, such as Shadow Refuge the target will be removed and have to be replaced.

Call Target allows you to quickly identify and re-acquire this target in cases where there are numerous enemies that require abilities applied to them, or in cases where your target is forcibly lost—such as when a Mesmer uses certain abilities. Calling a target also allows for teams to more easily focus their attention on a particular target. This is especially useful against Mesmers because, once marked, it allows you to easily identify the "real" mesmer among otherwise identical clones.

Without a selected target and with autotargeting active, the game will mark a target close to the middle of the screen, if any are in range.

Visibility

The Call Target mark is visible only to members of your party. If any party member calls a new target then the previously called target will no longer be marked. All players in the party may switch their target to the called/marked target (default T). If you are not in a party then only you will see the mark.

Other members of a squad or a team that you join cannot see the mark unless they are also in your party or sub-squad.

History

An update in the second half of 2013 changed the functionality of target calling to allow players that were not in a party to call targets. Previously, players would need to invite an off-line player to their party so they could use the target function when solo.

Character shouts

When calling a target, player characters will occasionally shout out one of the following lines, depending on their race and gender. A player cannot hear their own character's call.

Race	Gender
	Male	Female
Asura	Attack my target!	Attack my target!
Charr	Target identified!	Train fire on my target!
Human	Attack my target!	I've got the target!
Norn	Bring that one down!	Bring this one down!
Sylvari	There, target identified!	On my mark, attack!

Alert Target

Alert Target is a keybind ability (default Shift+T) that plays a sound signal and an effect over the selected target's head that is visible to the target caller, as well as team or group members.

The effect varies depending on the state of the target: Alive Ally, Alive Enemy, Downed Ally, and Downed Enemy.

• 

  This floater icon appears above alive ally targets.

• 

  This floater icon appears above alive enemy targets.

• 

  This floater icon appears above downed or defeated ally targets.

• 

  This floater icon appears above downed enemy targets.

While in a group, the following messages will be displayed in the party channel of the chat panel:

• <Character Name> has targeted <Target Ally Name> for assistance. (if target is alive ally)
• <Character Name> has targeted <Target Enemy Name> for attacking. (if target is alive enemy)
• <Character Name> has targeted <Target Ally Name> for resurrection. (if target is downed or defeated ally)
• <Character Name> has targeted <Target Enemy Name> for finishing. (if target is downed enemy)

Trivia

• Alert targeting was introduced in the September 20, 2016 update.
• Personal targeting was introduced in the November 30, 2021 update.