Pulling Guide

= Pulling Guide =

Introduction
If you’re playing THF or RNG expect to be a puller, but there is no good reason why any class couldn’t do it.

The puller is in my humble opinion the most challenging and lonely jobs in a party. Getting it right is a fine art that often goes unnoticed, and getting it wrong means at best long down times, and at worst a full party death!

Here is my guide to try and keep you on the right side of the equation.

The Job
The job is in principle, dead simple… run off, find a mob, get it to attack you, and then hightail it back to your party for the kill; and repeat!

A good pullers job is not just to get the mobs in, but to maintain the killchain as long as possible, maximizing that exp. (Note: In a typical party set up don’t expect your killchain to get into double figures)

That doesn’t sound tough!
Sometimes it’s not, but here is a short list of things that can go wrong;

•	You get agro from a mob your party isn’t ready to kill.

•	You get agro whilst running from the mob you’ve just pulled, meaning mob x2 (or more)

•	You pull the mob too quickly, resulting in party death or long down times (hence losing the killchain).

•	You pull too slowly, or just can’t find the mob you’re looking for, and lose the killchain.

•	You get killed by the mob on the way back from pulling.

•	You get lost!

Making the pull
The key to a successful pull is range, in short the further the better. If you’re a long way away then you’re much less likely to get killed on the way back. For this reason, if you think you’re going to be called on to pull, come packing a ranged weapon, or your favourite spells.

I’ve seen people use provoke to pull, my recommendation is don’t. It just doesn’t have enough range.

Another key tip is watch how far your run back is, if it’s too far the mob is going to give up and de-pop (I can’t be sure but the maximum range seems to be about 2 grid squares).

Avoiding agro
Being a puller requires that you know your prey… you need to know which mobs agro and which don’t, and most importantly how they agro. Once you have this information it allows you to make those difficult pulls (for example from ½ m behind a sight agroing mob).

This information also makes the difference between getting back to your party with 1 mob in tow, or 2 (or more).

Also watch out for links, if you know you're dealing with a linking mob, make sure he's all by himself (also applicable to mobs with pets, it is quite possible to pull the pet independantly of the mob if he's looking the wrong way).

Finding prey
I repeat being a puller requires that you know your prey… you have to know where your mobs pop and at what time, and even more critically how often they re-pop.

To keep those chain going I recommend;

•	Never rely on a single mob spawning location, keep a couple in mind, if you need to get the party to move camp.

•	Be flexible, never rely on a single mob type, keep a back up mob in mind that can be used to keep the chain going (usually something lower level, but not too low or the killchain is lost).

•	Look for new prey as soon as the party can cope without you. Try and leave when the mob has only 1 min fight left in him and go find another suitable target.

•	Know your parties limitations, gauge the lowest levels of HP and MP points your party members need before they’re ready to fight again, and learn to gauge how fast your mages MP restores.

•	If your party is lucky enough to have a high level healer looking after it, ask them to send you regular updates on their MP (disasters are avoided in this manner).

Lastly keep an eye on those killchain numbers when it ends, stop and let the party get back to full strength.

Widescan
There seems to be a perception that widescan adds something to the pullers role, however in my experience it is a double edged sword.

To find a target on widescan takes time, and even then there is no guarantee that it is the right level or even available. If you do use it, take time out in the middle of the fight (if you’re a RNG move into hand-to-hand range first) to select your target.

My recommendation though is unless you’re after something in specific (with a low pop rate) just don’t bother, and hunt by sight instead.

Miscellaneous Tips
BE AWARE: When pulling, being aware of your surroundings is paramount. With most pulling methods there is a time delay before the pull; take advantage of this time to swing the camera round, to see what’s between you and your party (having to change direction to avoid an agroing mob often means taking damage).

FLEE: The reason to use a THF to pull, when you’re taking damage hit the flee button and leave that mob eating dust.

CAMOUFLAGE: Though camouflage is totally useless when returning to the party, it is helpful to have it active to find mobs at less risk (use with caution though).

UTSUSEMI: If you can, cast utsusemi before the pull, if the mob catches you, those shadows might save your life.

ZONING: Be ready to zone, when it eventually all goes wrong and you do pick up unwanted agro, run to the nearest zone point, don’t bring the grief back to your party (unless you hate them).

KEEP YOUR OWN COUNCIL: Sometimes other party members will tell you when and what to pull. Unless this is a change of party strategy, ignore them they are fools. You are the one putting your neck on the line, and you have to go by your decisions.

ONE PULLER ONLY: Unless your speedkilling (in which case ignore everything above) there should only be one puller; this avoids disaster. If someone else starts to pull, give them hell. If they don’t stop leave… a full party death is inevitable.

Macros
Use your macro to let your party know what to expect before you get home, a typical example might be;

/ra     {attack target with ranged attack, substitute for whatever you pulling method is}

'''/p Pulling  get ready! '''

Adding a call is helpful as if your party is chatting, it makes sure you that you get their attention.

If you are potentially pulling too high, or too low mobs for your party it is worth using;

/check 

/ra 

'''/p Pulling  get ready! '''

This allows for an instant check on the difficultly of the mob, and brings the purple selection arrow up over your targets head. This allows you to quickly look at the mobs difficulty, and gives you the opportunity not to engage. In my experience this is quicker and easier than checking then pulling.

This is my first guide so let me know if it was useful.

The author plays as a THF and RNG, his experience as pulling in other classes is non-existent; so please feel free to add to this guide if you feel I’ve missed anything.

Lastly don’t get disheartened, pulling is a risky activity, it will go wrong at some point (usually with the first few pulls in a new party), and you will attract criticism from time to time.

But persevere and hopefully you’ll learn to love the hunt, and pitting your wit and nerve against the denizens of Vana’Diel.