[Xarothiell]

Fine article! I'll add in a few more pointers for the pulling.


1. Incoming Hotkey.
Sometimes when you pull one too many, either the puller or the group has to react. CC is a good way but normally it's the puller's job to give a head's up to the group.

A simple hotkey saying, "Target is incoming" is a normality I'm sure. Depending on game structure and how agro is, hotkeys are questionable. For example, EQ1 there are roaming single mobs and there are mobs that are linked by spawn points (ie. 2 mobs spaced out, even if their agro radius does not overlap, pulling one guarantees the other).

For EQ2 you can basically know how many mobs are coming so hotkeys are not necessary.

What I meant by hotkey is if VG's agro system is somewhat like EQ1 (and I sure hope it is), then having a hotkey is good. I would normally spam the hotkey depending on how many mobs are pulled. This is to ensure the group is ready.


2. Knowing Your Character When the Crap Hits the Fan.
For myself when pulling, I have two separate hotkeys. The Incoming key and the Add key. I would always inform whoever's tanking to assist my initial target when possible. If there are any adds, I'll target and gank the Add key so the group can assist off me for faster CC on the add.

Hotkey examples:

-- Incoming --> [ target ]
-- Add Incoming --> [ target ] CC please!

Spells or skills could be lifesavers. Other than rescues and what not, knowing each and every spell that you have can mean life and death on a bad pull. Daze, stun, fear, snare and all that for CC.

Or worse comes to worse, if the pull is one too many and you have a class that snares in group, just get him/her to snare the adds whilst you keep agro on the mobs. This is also known as kiting and generally used in outdoor areas or in areas with a ton of space to run around. Snares would also be important for DKs since at higher levels they have a good chance of fearing mobs with their Auras.


3. Fast Pulls.
As Ellestil mentioned, pulling is part and parcel of tanking. While you can only do so much at one time, should the opportunity arises that you can pull whilst another does the tanking, I would suggest using this fast paced pulling method. You have to know the area and keep a timer beside you.

Gauge the DPS of your group and how fast it can kill off a mob, then halfway through a mob, run off and grab another one. If you time it right, by the time the new mob comes to the group, the current one is dead or almost dead. Just play around with the timing and distance. The further the mobs are, run away from the group earlier.

Also if you know how long the spawn timers on the mobs, you can keep track. That way as mention by Ellestil, you'd avoid running back into respawned mobs.

See you all in VG!