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Article: Pulling in CoH/CoV (http://capesandcowls.info/option=com_content&task=view&id=73&Itemid=36)
A Guide to Pulling in City of Heroes

There are times in City of Heroes, or City of Villains, where a little subtlety will help you avoid debt and speed you to a successful conclusion of a mission, instead of a team wipe.  An example of this is when you approach an area to find out that it has several groups of enemies all tightly packed together.  If you rush in then most likely you will be attacked by all groups present.  At low difficulties this is seldom a problem, but at higher difficulties, or if your party has many sidekicks/lackeys then this will most likely have bad consequences.

What Pulling is

Very simply it is the art of attracting the attention of a small number of enemies (preferably one) so that they can be fought successfully away from the main group.

How to Pull

Individual Requirements

All none player enemies in CoH/CoV are directed by a computer intelligence of varying degrees.  By getting to know a little about this and some basic game mechanics you can make pulling much more effective and help your team greatly.

Always Pull Minions First (if possible)

The reason for this is that attacks on Lieutenants and Bosses frequently result in the whole mob attacking.  Effectively they tell their minions "Hey!  I have been shot" and the minions come to help out too.  It is occasionally possible to pull a boss without the whole group coming, but it is very rare.

Only if a suitable minion is unavailable should you target a Lieutenant as, like bosses, attacking them frequently brings the whole group.  Having said that, the chances of a successful pull on a Lieutenant is much better than the chances of a successful pull on a Boss.

Pull Stragglers First

Like any predator, you will have more success if you attack those that are separated from the main "herd".  On many mobs you will notice a lone minion that walks around separate from the main group.  This minion is a prime target.  If you attack him while he is at his furthest point from the group he is attached to, then most likely the main group will not notice.

If no minions are walking around then try to pull one from the edge of the crowd instead.

If a Tree Falls in the Forest...

If no one is watching your target then it is much more likely that your pull will be successful.

The game AI does seem to give enemies better perception from the front.  Therefore if you attack an enemy that none of the mob is looking at you will have a greater chance of success.  Also if two of the mob are talking to each other, or fighting etc., avoid these and target the ones that are watching or listening.

Avoid Attacks that do Knockback

Attacks that do knockback are a no no.  For example if you use Burst (from the Assault Rifle set) to pull you will have more success than using Slug.  If you shoot an enemy and he goes flying it is likely that his friends will notice, no?
Use a Weak Attack

If your objective is to pull a minion, or a small group, then you are better off using a weak attack.  Attacks that kill a minion outright are rarer these days but it is still possible to do.  Avoid these if possible, as when the minion dies his friends naturally become curious about the cause of his demise!

If you have no choice other than one shotting a minion then use cover or run and hide as soon as possible after the shot (see later section).

Shoot from as Long a Range as Possible

Pulling is possible with short range attacks, but it is easier with long range ones.  If you do not have a snipe that doesnt cause knockback then use a longer range attack of at least 80' if you have one.

Go beyond the range of your attack, target the enemy and fire.  As you are beyond the maximum range for the attack it will not go off, so edge forward (tap the forward movement key) and as soon as you reach maximum range for the attack it will go off.

This tactic is not possible with snipe attacks as they are interruptible and moving will stop them going off.

Use Cover

After you have made your shot quickly duck back behind cover.  The reason for this is that the enemy you have just shot will want to retaliate.  If he shoots immediately then his firends will "hear" and will also come running.  If you are behind cover then he will have to come closer to retaliate and the rest of the mob will not notice his shot.

Using cover is very important with some mob types that have long range attacks.

Attacks that have long animation times or delays between the end of the attack animation and the attack arriving at the target are excellent for using cover.  You can hide behind a crate or other obstruction, target your enemy, fire.  The attack will not go off as line of sight is obstructed, so you then jump up and it will begin the animation, but by the time it goes off you will be back behind cover.

Again, this will not work with snipe attacks as they are interruptible.

When there is No Cover

What do I do if there is no cover?  Well, this can make pulls hard, especially if the terrain means that you cannot get good range between you and the target.  A simple but effective strategy here is simply to shoot using the best of what is available to you and run as fast as you can away from the target.  If you are quick (superspeed helps) then by the time the target turns around (you did shoot one with his back to you didn't you? :)) you should be far away and he should have to run to you in order to retaliate.

Team Requirements

Only Use One Puller!

This is not an optional extra!  When pulling only one person must shoot.

Aside from any confusion that having two (or more!) pullers can cause it is highly likely that any "good" pull will quickly turn bad when the second person shoots!

Get the Team Out of Sight

A great puller is only as good as his team mates.  If the team are impatient, don't understand what you are doing or plain don't care (a problem on pick up groups) then they are likely to mess up pulling.

Do yourself a favour and make a simple bind/macro like:

/macro PULL "team Please stand behind me as I am attempting a pull.  Don't attack until the enemy is very close"

Use your own words, but a macro like this will help enormously as everyone understand that your attack is not a signal to rush in and start thumping keys.  If you are attacking from long range then even if a few impatient types do run in a little then the pull should still not go bad.

The times when a team makes a pull go bad is when they are too close, the enemy sees them and the whole mob then runs in or, once you have attacked and the enemies start to approach, Mr Impatient dives in to "save" you and agros the whole mob.

Pulling from range or behind cover can solve both of these problems.

Ask the Team to Wait to Attack

Try to arrange a point that the enemy must pass before anyone attacks.

What frequently spoils a good pull is when the enemy gets halfway toward you and some "helpful" soul decides to attack him.  What happens next is that as he is closer to the enemy than he should be the mobs sees him shoot the one you have pulled and the whole mob agros and comes running toward you.

Teach the Team About Master Select

Most likely if you are the team puller you will be a comparatively weak toon and the enemies will  be strong (else you wouldn't need to pull).

The enemy you shot is coming for you!  If the pull went bad for some reason then the whole mob is coming for you! It is therefore in your long term survival interests to tell people how to use master select (or assist).  In CoX it is a simple matter of getting the other team members to preselect your target by left clicking on your name in the team list.  By using this method anything you have selected will be automatically targetted by the rest of the team.

Once the pull has started the enemy(s) that agroed will frequently run straight through the team and head directly for you unless others intercept him.  Master select means that, as a comparatively squishy toon, your team mates can help save your life.

Tactics for Large or Tightly Packed Groups

Sometimes you will come across large, tightly packed group with no stragglers/wanderers.  Mobs like these can be extremely difficult or impossible to pull from.

In these situation a tactic that sometimes works is to get the team far away and try a normal pull (you may get lucky), if it goes badly and the whole mob agro's then run and with luck when you return once the mob loses agro you may find that the group has thinned out, or that you now have wanderers or isolated minions/groups to successfully pull from.

Conclusion

Pulling is an art and not a science.  Even if you do everything "right" you may find that you still agro the whole mob.  Sometimes that is just the way of things, but by applying the advice listed in this guide this should happen only rarely.

Remember:

    * One puller
    * Get the team back
    * Attack from long range
    * Choose a target that doesn't have the mobs attention
    * Shoot a minion where possible
    * Use cover
    * Use a weak attack
    * Run or duck behind cover quickly after attack

A final word of advice.

Some mobs are highly resistant to pulling for various reasons.  For example Vazhilok minions almost always bring at least a Lieutenant with them.  I suppose this is because of the fact that they rez their fallen.  As there are so many types of enemy in CoH/CoV it would be almost impossible to list them all and their various behaviours.  I also seriously doubt that anyone could, or would want to, remember them!  Tongue out

Let experience be your guide, if necessary practice pulling on grey minions in a zone lower than your level, gradually going to higher level zones/mobs until you are pulling from purple con mobs and are master of your art!

Good luck and good gaming!   ;D

If you wish to comment on this guide please feel free to do so by following the link (requires forum account and login).

Very very good and comprehensive guide to pulling, and I think you've covered everything.

I'd say that:

Hide after your shot

Is by far the most important point.

I don't have anything to critisize, just a short adendum.
Something I've done to great success is to stand near a corner, start moving towards cover before initiating the attack and click the power half a second before the mob is out of sight. The power will execute but the inertia from your movement will take you behind the cover a long time before the mob is hit.

I'd actually go so far as to say that if you don't have cover to hide behind, pulling is not an option.

But pulling is very very handy even if you intend to pull the whole group of mobs. Choosing where to fight will in almost every case make the fight a lot easier. If the mobs have to move to be able to attack, they will get disorganized immediately and they are less likely to swarm you. Like you said, Dave, having a basic understanding of how mmorpg AI works is a must when pulling.

Anyway, excelent work, Dave. Probably the best guide I've seen.

Good guide, cheers.


This is a good time to hit individuals, when they start to walk back to the gather point. Their backs will be turned and you can (re)pull the last one fairly easily.

Aaaargh!  Silly software published this early! 

If you look at the author you will see that it isn't from this account (although they are both from "Dave").  There is a bug in the authoring process that is publishing articles while I am still editing them!

Still, thanks very much for your comments guys.  I took the liberty of editing them slightly as they were quoting parts of the guide that no longer exist! 

Most of the guides on this site go through an editing process before I put them up and it wasn't my intention to post the guide in the format in which you guys saw it.  I hope you understand.

A tactic that I use on certain characters (Stumble and Quest) is a teleport foe pull.  As a short range fighter, the Teleport Foe pull means you can quite frequently pull one character out of the group and instantly into hand to hand combat before he has a chance to fire long range attacks or alert his buddies.  Even if this type of pull fails and you have pull the whole group, you have enough time to dispose of this one person swiftly before the rest of them reach you to join the melee.  ( Other rules of pulling apply ).  You also have to remember that it is much more difficult to teleport a lieutenant than a minion, and that Bosses are nearly completely resistant to such efforts.