General Combat Pullers Guide

Basic pulling techniques:
Authored by Augur Fleshrender

Below is an account of a portion of the Art of War for party duty known as "pulling". Pulling refers to a party member who is responsible for drawing the attention of the designated critter and drawing it out for slaughter. This guide does not take into account the ability of an Enchanter to manipulate the minds of creatures in what is known as mass crowd control. This guide has been written from the perspective of a warrior and has been written in general terms. Locality will dictate different methods for drawing creatures at various times.

1. The puller should have sufficient hit points or buffs to complete the mission without dying. The spirit of the wolf is a lifesaver.
1a: The puller, should he have the TAUNT ability, needs a few rounds (impulses) to build up a "taunt-bank" as I call it.. a buffer that allows spellcasters to cast and not draw attention to themselves. TAUNT works like a damage causing weapon, except that it damages the critters aggression list (agro list). Most intelligent critters choose their opponents based on damage. Taunt users sway the agro list from the casters to themselves which allows casters to work more efficiently. Some spells are known as Super-taunt and Mega-taunt. An example of Mega-taunt are most greater healing spells. Without the opening few impulses of taunting, the job of a puller or "tank" is made much harder when a Mega-taunt spell is used by a caster. It is important to learn to let the puller/tank use his taunt early on, since in higher level dungeons the caster MOB's can teleport unwanted party spellcasters across the dungeon, which means an unpleasant time for the remaining members.

2. Have a doorman, someone to open the door when the puller is coming out. Also a good backup man if things go bad. Healers work best for this (if you have 2 healers in your group, all the better!!!) A well planned out combat ambush would have the puller leading the prey, a doorman at the door ready to follow the puller out, a healer behind the doorman ready to heal the puller, and the rest of the party in a "L" formation at the ambush point. At the ambush point, another "tank" type waiting to greet the critter being pulled, which allows the puller time to turn around and get his or her bearings, and behind him are the spellcasters. This makes an effective 6 person kill team for places like Unrest or Mistmoore, where groups are confronted with mass undead and confusion. Should things go awry and the pull be bad, the two tanks who are close to each other at this point can form a wall that will allow the spellcasters to move behind and cast any emergency evacuation spells available.

3. Don't put your spellcasters in the front line. Spellcasters are not tanks and are more effective in the back. If you are a spellcaster, do not feel that you must take damage in order to feel "useful". You are an integral part of the team and have a role in combat, but not the front line.

4. Hybrids (part tank, part caster) should use a bow if possible to attract the critters attention, saving mana for heals or attacks. Arrows are cheap, life is not.

5. Be careful while pulling not to pull a critter across another team or player not in your group. This can cause many problems and put our guild in a bad situation. Remember the words "A'dileab de Paegen" appear over our heads.

6. Be careful not to pull across a large area, such as in Blackburrow, being on one side of a ledge and shooting or casting to another critter on the other side. As they run, they pick up "friends" and can cause a train running right at you and your group.

7. As a puller, take a breath every so often and make sure your group is ready. It is an incredible rush to be the puller, lots of adrenaline flowing. Remember that you are part of a TEAM on the battlefield and the other members may not be ready even though you are pumped and frosty !!!

8. You are not indestructible and neither are your teammates. Be careful to "con" the critter before you pull it. Think about what is going on near your group and react accordingly. If there is another team near yours, and they are in trouble, do not pull a new critter to your old location. . If another team is in trouble, and needs our help, do not add to the combat confusion by pulling critters to the area. Sometimes this is unavoidable, but try to be careful.

9. Pullers have a difficult job. Keep them healthy and in good morale. If a puller becomes wary of going inside again, have another member pull. If they just need a rest, take a moment out and relax. The only race is the one to the grave, lets delay it as long as possible.

10. During intense combat, the "assist" button is another lifesaver. In mass melee, where there are multiple targets, the successful team takes each critter down one by one, starting usually with spellcasting MOB's and working down to the warrior types. Facilitating this action is best done with an "ASSIST" hotkey. To make an "assist" hotkey, change a current socials tab (such as "who all GM") and label it ASSIST. The command line for it is /assist. This will allow casters in the back ranks to target a team member in front of them, push the "assist" button and instantly be targeted to whatever the person in front is attacking. This keeps the caster in the back and able to get spells off quicker, which keeps healing mana and downtime to a minimum.

11. In some dungeons, such as GUK, critters must NOT get away, or they will return with reinforcements. Casters should have ROOT memorized and ready, but not cast in the first wave of spells (after warriors get a chance to taunt). Save ROOT for a running critter, or a "greenie" that will cause problems. Remember, pulling is a stressful job but working together we can make all the difference.

Augur Fleshrender
Probationary Member A'Dileab de Paegen

(the art of battle is a hobby/specialty of mine, one which I would be glad to share with fellow guildmembers. I have trained many groups and have much experience in taking a set of lower order mages, warriors, healers and teaching them techniques which they will use in almost every dungeon or outdoor situation on Norrath. I am willing and able to assist in this type training as my "shepherding" duties within the guild)