style="color: rgb(154, 185, 124);">Pull It Fast

A Guide to Pulling Part II

By Nuitaran

THE DOG ATE IT!

    Here we
are for installment number 2 of my guides to Pulling!  Did you do
your homework?  I didn't think so!  Whatever your excuses may
be, I am prepared.  I intend to go through the art of Pulling step
by step, beginning with how to be seen, and how not to be seen.

UI DOES NOT STAND FOR
UTILITARIAN INPUT

    Believe
it or not, the first step in becoming a champion puller is in your
UI.  Get into your Advanced Graphic Settings, find your Object
Draw Distance and set it as high as it goes.  For some of you
(like me) with low system specs you may need to lower a few other
settings to keep your performance playable, but it's worth the
sacrifice to change during pulling maneuvers.  I find good things
to target to increase performance are your Bloom Filters, and Stencil
Shadows.  Giving up Stenciled Shadows for Blob Shadows can greatly
increase performance with minimal sacrifice to visual enjoyment. 
Whatever pretty graphics you need to give up for a Very High Object
Draw Distance is worth it as this will allow you to see monsters long
before they can see or hear you.  The basis I use for distances in
the remainder of this guide is calculated under the assumption that you
will be using maximum draw distances.

“I'M INVISIBLE! CAN
YOU SEE ME?”

    Now
that you can see the monsters a mile off, it's time to find out how
close you can get without being seen.  However many screenshots I
use or words I write, nothing will ever trump experience.  I
wouldn't recommend attempting tricky pulls until you have spent some
time observing href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=317">monster
detection ranges for yourself.

Many factors will affect the way monsters detect you.  Heavy armor
can allow the bad-guys to notice you much closer than someone wearing
light armor.  Take a look at your armor check penalty (don't
forget to look at your shield too!) the bigger the penalty, the more
likely you are to be spotted further off.  This isn't necessarily
a bad thing unless you are limited in your approach by corners or
obstacles.  You just have to initiate your pull farther back.



Understand that different monsters have different perception ranges
based on their perception skills (listen and spot).  Spiders and
Scorpions for example will detect players much farther off.  Along
with Slimes they also have an ability called Blindsense.  This
means that no matter how good your stealth is, they will be able to
detect your presence by the vibrations you make in the ground whether
they are facing you or not.



Monster facing plays a huge part in detection.  As it should be,
monsters with their backs turned will not be able to perceive you
visually as close as monsters that are facing you.  They will
however be able to hear you just as well.  This can be tested by
using href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=75">invisibility
and approaching a group of monsters without using sneak.  href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album14&id=Hobgoblin_Wizard&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> alt="Sneaking Wizard"
src="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/files/gallery/albums/album14/Hobgoblin_Wizard.sized.jpg"
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 250px; height: 188px;" align="left">
You will notice that Monsters who are facing you will hear you and
begin walking random paths to find you at the same time as monsters
that have their backs turned.  When a mob is standing around they
will often adjust their positions so they are all facing different ways
every few seconds.  Later we will learn how to use this to our
advantage.



You might be wondering by now what all this means.  When pulling,
unless you are using a Choke Point, you don't want to pull a whole
group.  That would partially defeat the purpose.  In an ideal
pull, you will get one or two monsters from a group to notice you and
chase you, leaving their friends behind to wonder what just happened.

“YES! MAYBE YOU SHOULD
PUT SOME SHORTS ON!” 

    There
are primarily three different types of pulling: Body Pulling, Stealth
Pulling and Ranged Pulling.  Each one has its merits and drawbacks.



Body Pulling consist simply of running towards a group of monsters
until you are seen, and then turning back towards the party and running
for your life while they chase you.  Body Pulling is quick, and in
the hands of an expert can bring small groups of 1-3 monsters out of a
larger group and back to the party.  Body Pulling is also
dangerous.  If a monster turns too fast, or the puller misjudges
their perception range, there is a chance that the whole mob will come
tearing after him seeking his blood.  When you first try this take
it slow.  Once you get close to perception range, take baby steps
until you are seen and then quickly back up.  Eventually it will
become second nature and you won't even have to slow down.  Don't
be afraid to use some quick-steps forward then back to test the
bad-guy's sight.



Stealth Pulling uses more finesse, and is much safer than a Body Pull,
but requires patience on the part of both the Puller and the
party.  Stealth Pulling is approaching a mob in stealth mode until
you are inside the visual perception range of a few monsters, waiting
until most (all but one is my favorite) have their backs turned,
popping out of stealth mode and then quickly moving backwards out of
perception range.  This will ordinarily gain the attention of
fewer monsters than a body pull, but it can take some waiting and some
great timing to achieve a truly great pull.  In incredibly
difficult adventures most parties will be more willing to give you the
time you need when they see you pull one monster at a time out of a
group of twelve.



Ranged Pulling is incredibly dangerous, and really only useful in
situations where you want the whole group of monsters to come charging
at you.  Ordinarily firing an arrow into a group of monsters will
cause the entire group to notice you and come running.  If you
want to pull a whole group to a choke point that has been set up, this
will save you some running distance.  For other purposes I
recommend Body or Stealth Pulling a few monsters out of the group and
starting to fill them with arrows after they have chased you outside of
their friends perception ranges.



Before you start running out and buying every Invisibility item you can
get your greedy hands on to start practicing stealth pulls, remember
you WANT to be seen.  Maybe not right away, but in order to pull
something, they've got to see you.  You'd rather be seen than
heard, as it is easier to only let a few monsters see you.

PULLING TRICKS

    Now
that you have some of the pulling basics in hand, we will take a look
at some of the tricky maneuvers involved in pulling.  Certain
circumstances can make pulls incredibly difficult or complicated. 
Monsters with Ranged Weapons can be pretty stubborn about staying put
and firing away at you, while some boss encounters have monsters that
must be defeated while the boss is invulnerable and threatening to beat
your brains in (e.g. General Xantilar of href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=311">Stormcleave).



Monsters with Ranged weapons are easy to deal with if you have the
proper environment.  Once they begin firing at you, they will
smartly stay put, unless you move out of range (usually quite far) and
even then they will only move up so far to keep you in range. 
Creative use of the obstacles in your environment can trick them into
moving however. 



Once they have a bead on you, try positioning yourself by a curve in a
wall, or a particular terrain formation that allows them to keep line
of sight to you, but blocks their missile weapons.  This will get
them pretty irate and usually cause them to adjust their position for a
better shot.  Continue to use obstacles to trick them into coming
far enough from their friends that you and your party can melee them
without being noticed by any more.  This tactic is particularly
effective in the Giant Caves around Threnal with rock throwing giants. href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album24&id=Fighting_Hill_Giant&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> alt="Giant in Threnal"
src="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/files/gallery/albums/album24/Fighting_Hill_Giant.sized.jpg"
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 250px; height: 188px;" align="right"> 
Remember to warn your party not to pass the monster when they engage in
melee.  Combat is loud and anyone who gets too close could aggro
the other monsters in the area.



Sometimes you will want to pull specific monsters out of rooms without
certain other monsters noticing you.  This is extremely difficult
and requires expert pulling techniques.  I recommend an incredibly
high stealth.  In reality, this is just a very technical Stealth
Pull. Get in without being seen, get seen by what you want to pull, and
get back out without being seen by anything else.  Sound
easy?  It isn't.  



The best thing you can do is sneak up to  what you want to pull,
and wait for a moment when the mobs you want to avoid are both far from
you and have their backs turned. When the moment of opportunity arises,
bump into your target, usually causing him to swing at you, gain what
distance you can, and use natural cover, or fast sneaking to get back
out without anyone else seeing you.  Keep in mind, if you re-enter
sneak mode, the monster you are pulling will know you are there, and
likely catch up to you and hit you, bringing you out of your sneak
mode.  This tactic is always risky, and rarely works, but when it
does... you look like a king.

TO BE CONTINUED…

    The
tactics you have learned in this week's guide and last week's should
have you pulling like a champ. Next week I will feature even more
information about monster perception.  I will include multiple
screenshots of advanced pulling techniques, and examples of monster
facing and perception.  I would also like to open up the guide to
questions and requests.  Please post your questions/comments on
the forums and I will address as many as I can in next week's guide
where we will “pull” it all together and turn every one of our faithful
readers into a pulling champion!