SMN/THF: Assault, Retreat, BP:Ward, and Dismiss all create a type of enmity that doesn't initially activate job traits. BP:Rage always activates job traits, even before you've acted on something directly. SMN is odd in that if your pet is killed or released, any action performed after will create the type of enmity that activates job traits. I.E. Assault, release, resummon while its attacking you, Gilfinder is activated
Just a minor correction because SMN hate mechanics are so weird and I spent a lot of time figuring them out. Not sure how much of this applies to other pet jobs.
Assault itself as you found will not create any enmity or put you on any hate list. Assault > Retreat before the avatar takes a swing results in no aggro or anything.
However, as soon as your pet takes one swing at the target, you will be given a strange sort of half-on/half-off the hate list status. You have no enmity, and if someone else intercepts the mob and gets killed, the mob will deaggro instead of coming after you again, so it's almost like you aren't actually on the hate list. However, when you're in that semi-hatelist state, performing self-targeting actions within hate range (about 30 yalms), such as resummoning, will not only put you on the proper hate list but also generate enmity. So you're clearly not
off the hate list either. If you're out of hate range, self-targeting actions are still safe.
For example, you can Assault a mob and let your avatar start attacking it, run away to about 40 yalms, cast Stoneskin, Refresh, and whatever else you want, then Release. If someone then intercepted the mob and then died, the mob would still deaggro rather than coming after you. This is the trick that makes Carby-kiting possible. If resummoning Carbuncle each time generated enmity, eventually Carby would have a really hard time pulling hate off the Summoner. By finishing their summon outside the hate range (30 yalms) they can avoid enmity. Carby can even miss his first swing and still pull hate off the SMN because the SMN is not even properly on the hate list even though the mob is claimed.
As far as how all this pertains to TH, I don't know. I just know that the idea of a cut-and-dry "hate list" is not actually that simple. There is, at minimum, three states between aggro-free and having enmity:
1. Aggro, not on hate list.
1. Aggro, not on hate list, but self-targeting actions generate enmity as if you were on the hate list.
2. On the hate list with no enmity, like with NMs that have alliance hate.
Edit/Addendum:
Regarding other abilities aside from Assault, they're fairly normal. Blood Pacts for example are just like using any other JA. They generate immediate hate before the BP even lands. They put you on the proper hate list, etc. However, they only do so for the mob which was targeted.
For example, if you Thunderspark a mob and it hits 3 other mobs, you have only generated enmity on the one you targeted. Your avatar has enmity on all four, but you only have enmity on the one. Releasing will cause only the one to come after you. On the other hand if there is no hate list established and you Thunderspark a mob, the target will come after you for the 3 seconds that Thunderspark takes to land. If other mobs link to your target before Thunderspark lands, those links will be on you rather than your avatar. If you think about it, that's all fairly expected as far as hate mechanics. Assault is the odd one out.
