Puller Instance Guide

The Puller

Classes: Hunter, Rogue, Warrior, any

The ideal attributes for a puller include:

* Ability to draw enemies from a distance (almost any class with ranged attacks)
* Ability to abort a bad pull (hunters via feign death or by sacrificing their pet, or rogues via vanish)
* Ability to track targets in order to detect additional mobs concealed around corners. (Mostly the Hunter, and to a lesser extent Paladins, Warlocks, and Druids (cat form))
* Ability to lose aggro quickly (hunters and rogues via various methods)
* Ability to survive long enough to transfer aggro to main tank (any character with leather or better armor.)

It is always preferable to let a hunter pull in a group, as their tracking ability, and multiple means of fully aborting a bad pull allow maximum safety to the group. If a hunter is not available, a rogue can also pull effectively and have the ability to abort a bad pull, but the five minute cooldown required for vanish is less than optimal. Using the main tank as a puller should be avoided, but is the best choice if no hunter or rogue is available.

This may seem counterintuitive, as most people will, wrongly, want the tank to pull because of the "problem" of aggro transfer (For more information on this subject, see Perfect Zone of Ultimate Safety). Unless there are no mages sheeping or rogues sapping (a highly unlikely event), then transferring aggro is no more complicated than usual and much, much safer. Only a hunter or rogue is equipped to safely turn a bad pull into a full abort, saving the party from a wipe and the healers from resurrecting the puller. See The Pull for more information on this topic.

What you need to know as the Puller
Don't pull from the middle of a group. Each mob has an aggro radius other mobs crossing this radius will pass their aggro on and follow into the melee. So always pull the mob closest to you, and move your self to the mob that is away from the others. Try to pull as few mobs as possible. If you are not the Tank, keep the group well away from you so that if you have a bad pull, they don't fall into the aggro radius of the extra mobs - you can be resurrected to try again. Bring the mobs to the party, not the party to the mobs. If you're pulling a ranged mob or caster, make sure you go back all the way to the group, and even beyond. Another particularly useful tactic for ranged mobs and casters is the line-of-sight pull, whereby you run around a corner immediately after attracting a mob's attention: leaving their line of sight forces them to follow you around the corner, which means that you may not have to run very far at all to get them where you want them.

Only pull mobs specified by the Leader and only once he has given you permission to pull. Also make sure you are not pulling the mob that is targetted by the Sheeper for crowd control.

Request that the party leader use Lucky Charms to designate who you should pull, and who should be sheeped, to ensure that you're not pulling the mob that is targeted by the Sheeper for crowd control.

What you need to know to assist the Puller
Under no circumstances should anyone other than the Puller cause Aggro during the Pull. If you're a Mage, do not Poly into the group unless the Pull gains Adds, and then only when the Adds are expected. Unexpected Adds will cause the pull to be aborted by the puller, aggroing mobs on an aborted pull will hurt. Remember to give the puller plenty of room so that in the case of a bad pull, only the puller dies. When a ranged mob or caster is being pulled, stay where you are until the puller goes even farther back from the group so that you don't aggro any more than the puller did.



All Pullers: Whenever pulling, you should employ a three step process.

1. Assess the situation, and place yourself to allow safe distance for the rest of the party.
2. Pull onto yourself first. Make sure the pull is good.
3. Only after you make sure the pull is good should you pull back onto your party.


Hunter Pullers: Hunters should use their tracking abilities to fully assess the number and placement of mobs before pulling, and position themselves well ahead of the group to allow room for aborted pulls.

Feign Death is the primary means of escaping a bad pull. You should be positioned such that no other party members will be able to attract aggro.

Rogue Pullers: If no Hunter is present, use stealth carefully and from a safe distance to scout, return to an intermediary position a safe distance from the party, and use a ranged weapon to pull.

Vanish should be ready in the event of a bad pull, however, you should exercise caution, as vanish has a five minute cooldown, and while it's cooling down, any further aborts require taking one for the group and waiting for res. Vanish should not be used to gain additional ambush or backstab attempts when pulling as a rogue.

Warrior Pullers: If no Hunter or Rogue is present, the pulling job can be combined with Main Tank role, as the inital aggro gives the Tank a head start on Threat.

Resist the temptation to Charge. Use Defensive Stance (with Shield), and a ranged weapon to do the actual pulling. It is important to bring the enemy back to you, rather than plunge into it, as this helps reduce the likelyhood of extra enemies joining the fray ('adds').

- Charge is an exceptional tanking ability when done correctly. It also places the tank far enough into the mob to achieve the Perfect Zone of Ultimate Safety if the Charge draws more mobs then foreseen. The initial rage generation is huge when it comes to gathering up aggro; speeding up the nuking of tough encounters. Ive noticed that some things in this guide assume that the party can survive long enough on every pull to wait for 3/4+ sunders. This is not always true. While I am not advocating that every pull must be initiated with a charge, there are some situations where a Charge is a good idea; Especially on Boss Fights. As a tank myself, on some "pulls" I charge into the mob and use Demoralizing Shout and one Sunder Armor, Stance dance to Defensive Stance and apply another sunder or revenge. This takes a fraction of the time to build up enough rage for 3 sunders, and its nearly impossible to pull the aggro off of the tank. The casters, cc and healers can almost immediately begin to do what their roles suggest. I just think that a guide that suggests for no one to do anything until the main tank has aggro is a bad idea, there are some pulls where waiting for all those sunders leads to a quick Main Tank death.
Be sure to coordinate carefully with any Mage Polymorphers, or Rogue Sappers on what enemy to hit, and when.