g: Guide to Pulling Part 3

Tags: in

Updated Fri, Feb 13, 2009 by Shayalyn

Pulling It Badly

A Guide to Pulling Part III

By Nuitaran

OOPS!

In my third installment, I will cover what happens when pulling goes horribly wrong, as well as clarify some things about monster perception and pulling ranged mobs. Nobody is perfect, and even the best pullers really goof things up sometimes. Skilled parties can recover from a bad pull with very little dying. In this guide we will learn how to do just that. I have also spent the time since my last guide sneaking up on monsters and taking screenshots of them seeing and chasing me. After the XP Debt I racked up doing this, my beloved Visslaer will be taking some time off to regenerate that debt.

GOOD PULLIN' GONE BAD

Sometimes things go bad, horribly bad. One of the risks we should be willing to assume as pullers is taking one for the team. When a pull goes bad, you have two options. Pull it anyway and hope the party can recover, or stop, take the death, and try it again after you get back up. The trick to this decision is to know your party and be capable of making a snap decision. If you just pulled a few extra, warn your party that there are more than intended coming and pull them anyway if you think they can handle it.

However, sometimes a single misstep, or possibly forgetting to turn off autofire (I do that sometimes) can bring a whole mob storming down on your head. That's when it's time to take one for the team. Stop where you are, get killed, go back for a rez, and give it another try. Make sure you let your party know what you are doing so they don't get themselves in trouble coming to your rescue.

I was in a group of level 6-7 characters doing Greymoon on elite. We decided that I would pull some of the trolls in the trouble spots just in case. I positioned myself on a corner to watch and wait for one Troll to look in my direction so I could pull it. I targeted a monster to see what type it was, and nearly had a heart attack as an arrow launched from my bow. Down came the whole mob on my head. I told the party to hold, and took my punishment for a bad pull. One of my guildmates decided to snap a screenshot to immortalize a pull gone bad. And here it is…. Thanks FatherThyme.

The lesson here? Check your autofire before you start examining mobs…. When you decide to bring a rough pull back to the party, make sure they have enough time to set up any additional buffs/defenses they might need. There's nothing worse than being responsible for a party wipe after assuring a group that you could pull safely. Take the mob on an extra lap if you have to and buy your party valuable preparation time.

PULLING IT SOLO

Being able to pull just for yourself is a great way to be able to solo difficult dungeons. Wide open outdoor maps are especially good for this. Gwylan's Stand and Redwillow both come to mind right away. There is plenty of area to pull single monsters out of groups, and bring them to a spot to fight at your leisure. Although soloing 7 Trolls at once on Elite doesn't sound like fun no matter what level you are, fighting one Troll at a time is quite doable. When pulling for yourself you also have the benefit of being the only one who knows when you really goof things up. When pulling Solo, make sure you know your map well, and are aware of your surroundings. The last thing you want to do is pull a monster right into another mob.

FOR EXAMPLE

In this section I will lay out some examples and screenshots of some of the tactics I discussed in previous articles. To start out, lets discuss monster facing. This is the most important part of the prestigious “Single Monster Pull”. In this first screenshot you can see that I am just outside the perception range of the two giants on the path ahead. Both are facing my direction, and if I take one more step forward they will both be after me in short order. As they move on their patrol, I slowly move backwards to keep out of perception, and wait until one has it's back turned, or they separate enough that only one will see me. As soon as this happens, I take the step forward into the perception range, and immediately begin to backpedal until the monster is a safe distance from his friend. Now I can take him on without any cronies.

SEPARATING YOUR ENEMIES

In this second series of screenshots, I use the same tactic on these ogres. However, they are more stationary and don't have a patrol path. You can see in the second screenshot how I adjust my position to make sure I cross into perception range at an angle where one has it's back turned.

USING LINE OF SIGHT

I mentioned vaguely pulling targets who have ranged capabilities in previous articles. Lacking quality screenshots of the tactic it was difficult to explain and I have had a few requests to clarify how this is done. In the following screenshots, you can see how I prevent the giants from just throwing rocks at me as I shoot them by using the walls of the cave to block their line of sight. Each time I step behind a wall, they move to a new position to try and get a better shot. I use this to lure them away from their buddies so I can melee them in safety.

QUICK ON YOUR FEET?

The last topic to discuss is the flashy recovery. This works bestwith a solid fog set in the killing zone and an organized party. What happens is this: You goof up a pull and grab way too many monsters. Ask your caster for a solid fog and instruct the party to ONLY aggro one monster at a time from those chasing you. As you bring them in, the party takes the aggro of one monster, and you start running the others back and forth through the solid fog. While the other monsters are busy chasing you in circles, the party can clean them up one at a time.

THE END

With all this info among three guides you should now be the best puller the world has ever seen! Well, you should at least be able to make some good pulls, and get some parties through some tough quests without nearly as many party wipes. The important thing to remember is when things go bad, keep your head. Don't panic, warn the party far ahead of time, and be prepared to make an informed decision of the best way to proceed.

Like to comment on this article? Want to talk about how you pull enemies? Comment here on our forums!

Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!