I have spent the past few days trying to figure out just how to pull on a ranger and I am stumped. I keep single paci and group loaded along with fluster and bluster and vinelash.Let me paint you a scene. Spent this evening trying to complete the T1 katta mission for my alt bard ( only 95). I go outside the temple and establish a camp. I then start using drifting darkness on the mobs but notice there is a good amount of mobs and it s fading off them too fast. I then try vinelash and now have 8 mobs on target window wanting to say Hi to me. I need to pull one out so I hit it with one arrow. Then the summoning begins. At one point the tank merc dove head in and wiped us. So my question is how do you split when there are multiple mobs close together like that? And how if I vinelash will I be able to get a mob our of their other eoot d ones? I saw that harmonious arrow effective levels have gone up so should I use that? And if I us HA do I have to still pacify nearby mobs? A ranger is new to me as atm main is mage with a bard alt. Running a tank merc and two healers. Any other rangers pulling when using a tank merc and if so how are you making sure the merc picks the mob up neither too late or too early. Am I supposed to fluster the mobs till I get just one Headed to camp? PS bard is 86 so he is not pulling and even though having a mage I do not want to Coth pull
Vine the group like you have been, and pop them out with Fluster & Bluster. If it feels faster, pop out the ones you actually want instead of those you don't, and Cover Tracks the rest off. Or leave the bunch Vined.
Calm -> Ensnare -> Cover Tracks is less reliable than Vinelash -> Ensnare -> Fluster- and Blusterbolt. For a good example that shows the truth of this claim, try the final group mission in Degmar both ways. I'd mention Harmonious Arrow but it's failed for me so often I practically never use it.
H.A. (or lulls) won't work on even con (or better) mobs. Fluster / Bluster / Vinelash /AA Root / AA Snare / Cover Tracks etc can all be used to get us some good pulls and fix bad pulls. The FD classes don't have a lock on the "pulling class" tag. Rangers and Enchanters are two classes that can pull and split with relative ease. Rangers also have the innate run-speed advantage over most classes. We are indeed a pulling class by design. (perhaps not the very best - but better than most) Rangers have all the tools needed to get into and out of a whole world of trouble. Any perception otherwise, comes courtesy of the crop of "Headshotz Rangerz" who don't really know much about anything else to do with the class. Those of us who mained Rangers since '99 know otherwise. -Rat
I pretty much agree with Ratbo on everything he said there. Id like to throw in that Harmonious arrow does seem to work very nicely these days.
We call those rangers "Headshot Hero's" Pulling as a ranger is quite fun and when you do enough of it you just keep getting better and pick up new tricks along the way, "Trial and error" is what most of it is. When I'm strictly pulling I've usually have vinelash, fluster/bluster bolt, and a reg root, use entrap for snaring, and our AA root as well. If there's a group of mobs (3+) I'll vinelash, then entrap everyone, usually knock back 1 to the right a bit and the other to the left and or back just enough so I can single pull the next 2 mobs. In most cases with 2 mobs I just knock back 1 and have the other come to me, or aa root 1 have the other come to me and CT. The nice thing about snaring them is they will stay in that spot til the snare fades, and entrap lasts a long time. I use Lingering Fear Essence alot also if I really need it. But for the most part with run8 we can outrun far enough to snare everything and wait for ct to repop. If I'm in a regular situation where I'm not really worried about the splitting etc I keep blusterbolt up and use AA root/snare,then my dps set up or what not. I don't use Harmonious arrow all that much probably due to the fact that it fails for me more often then working. But the harmony spells I do use in tight quarters.
So, a big thing is to know what's rootable and isn't, to know what is more likely to resist (check buffs on mobs since some buff each other) and to know how proxy agro works. The caster section has some videos from Dandin last year on how to pull as a chanter, and talk a lot about proxy agro. And yes, HA is very good, use the lulls when it's insufficient, and roots as needed. Try to get a good eye for distance and how far mobs actually agro each other also.
----------------- Awwww...you all are making my Norrathian heart sing ;o). Soooo nice to hear from some Ranja Vets.
I preface this by saying I have only been back for a bit over a year. I leveled up my Ranger from 1-105(no heroic): I group mainly (99 percent of the time) with my wife (a Mage); and there is A LOT I still don't know. That said, I love the lull spells we get, can lull multiples and pull the one's you want. This requires getting the right angle. That requires a bit of practice! I keep Fluster and Bluster up, can reduce any mob scene by two; vinelash of course (also gives you time for your Fluster/Bluster to come back), AA snare and root. I can break down a sizeable crowd pretty well. (not just at 105 mind you; but that is where I am now). Reading about the skills and AA's we have helps a ton and is highly recommended: but it does not beat getting out there and experimenting a bit (LOT!!) and see what works for you. I love my Ranger for how I play now, and still have plenty to learn due to how I levelled up. That's ok, practice is good, and my getting occasionally squished is entertaining for those who see it happen! Gadsen/Bristlebane
best ranger I ever grouped with was Klassie on bristlebane she rocked as a ranger hands down and seemed to really know her class well shoot her a tell I'm sure she can offer great advice.
I realize this thread is a couple of years old, but I just wanted to say how much it has helped me as a returning ranger after 10+ years away. I was level 70 when I came back, stumbled my way to 75, then upgraded to heroic when an old guildie started playing again with a heroic druid. The info here, and lots of practice has turned me into a pretty good puller. So thanks to all who posted! EDIT: originally mistyped 10+ as 19+ - that was wrong, lol
A couple extra pointers: Set puller group role to 'puller' to avoid tank merc jumping in prematurely. For most spells, RkII is just a small quantitative difference: nuke/heal for a bit more HP, or debuff AC by a few more points. With pacify spells, the difference is major: greater assist radius decrease. That means if two mobs are fairly close to each other, Rk.I pacify may have no effect, while Rk.II/III may lower the mob assist radius enough that its neighbor can be single-pulled. In other words, getting pacify Rk II/III should be a priority.
Thanks, Scorrpio - yeah, I figured out the puller/tank merc situation pretty quickly after a few...situations. I have been getting RkII spells as well. I saw in Ratbo's post above that our lull doesn't work on even con or above. I have found that in fact it does work on even cons, at least in the Gribble HA's that I've been doing lately.
Like chanter, ranger lulls are set max level. I.e. lvl 81 spell Drifting Mist works on up to lvl 85, regardless of your level. Meaning that at 85, you can lull at most whites. But come 86, you get the next one and can lull yellows and reds up to 90.
