Wow, there is so much I don't agree with here, where do I start? I often pull more than one mob on purpose, and mez one or two at the group to save time. That doesn't mean I don't know how to pull, quite the opposite. When they're killing the last one, I'm bringing another in, and mezzing it at the group so it's ready to go when the former one dies. That's chain pulling, no down time. I could easily pull singles indefinitely, but that's slower. I don't have bad pulls, problem solved. This is absolutely laughable... rangers have a fraction of the pulling tools that a bard does. I'd never claim Rangers are bad, but when it comes to pulling, bards and monks are the best, hands down.
There's nothing wrong with parking extra mobs using CC but that has nothing to do with pulling what you intended in the first place.
You didn't read very well. There is a big difference between pulling more than one mob and parking it somewhere to make chain pulling easier than pulling a bunch of mobs unintentionally and having to scramble with CC to save group. You obviously have never seen a good pulling ranger or have never played one to capacity. I never said a ranger was better than a bard or the other way around. I said I think a ranger has more tools to use. That is my opinion and I could be wrong, but I don't think so. Having more tools doesn't mean better, just that you have more options for the situation. Bards have a great tool set that works in almost every situation and don't need as many different tools. I removed that part from my post as it was merely an opinion. Heck, we have players who raid and main rangers openly say on this forum that rangers suck at DPS, suck at controlling their aggro and other things. The class doesn't suck at none of those things, the person playing them does. I spent most of the last 18 years using a ranger as a puller. I suck at DPS with a ranger in some situations, but that doesn't mean the class sucks. I probably average 130k DPS in about two hours in Sathir's Tomb with a decent group that has no downtime or wipes. Others can do better with a ranger. I am not going to say rangers suck at DPS in a raid or in a group setting just because I don't top the parse with one. I have a lot to learn with DPS. I still need AA and augs etc. Not totally maxed out. Only the truly ignorant says a class sucks at something. There will always be a player that can show you different. Classes used for purposes that they are not designed for and fail, doesn't mean they suck at it. You can't say one class or two are the best, unless it is just your opinion. That is like saying who the best singer is, etc. It is a subjective thing. Don't make absolute statements you can't prove. There is no best pulling class. There is only the best puller. Hope that isn't too deep for you.
Pulling is often a waste of time. It can be useful to split up camps and make them easier, but most "pullers" I've been unfortunate enough to group with waste a bunch of time using all their tools. The most efficient thing is a solid tank. Let them grab stuff and tank it all. Mez parking is the next best. Grab a few, park a couple and send someone to get more when killing the last one or two. There are the few exceptional pullers who provide an endless stream of things to kill. They're hard to find these days. Especially since that skill isn't much needed with the strength of tanks in today's game
Yeah, I would agree if you have a full group or even a partial one with great players in it. If you duo or molo and/or you are under developed etc., then you need to know how to pull and break into a camp. If I am soloing or moloing with a ranger, then I better know how to pull a single or a double etc. Good tanks are hard to find.
A difference of opinion is no cause to attempt insults... that's what children do. And again, I disagree. Should I insult you, too?
If you are talking about my last sentence, that was what emoticons are for, so you know I was teasing you. Nowhere have I insulted you. Besides, you didn't state an opinion when you said... Maybe you are sensitive to someone not agreeing with you?
When someone says something, that's their opinion. If I say something, that's my opinion. If you say something, that's your opinion. That's how it works.
No, it is only an opinion if you state it by saying "I think" or "I believe" or "I feel" etc. Here is a non-opinionated statement... "Rogues are the best class in EQ." Here is a opinionated statement... "I think rogues are the best class in EQ." That is how it works. Actually, I am wrong about that. I got to thinking and and did some research. Either statement can be construed as an opinion. The first statement still is not a fact and would be an opinion because it still has to be proven and can't be. So let's just agree that it is subjective and there isn't a best class for pulling.
People get to caught up in their opinions, and being looked at as being right, not respecting anything different. That is not the subject here though is it? Many combinations work well, that is a fact. Which puller is the number one is an opinion. I would say that the mob consensus is that Bard is normally the best. Enchanters are as good or better IMO. Rangers, Druids, Mages, etc ... played well can do great pulling. FD pulling is an art, as all is, and fun, but many do not have the patience for it. If you do then a Monk, Necro, etc.. may be fun for you and can pull very well. Many things come into play, determining which is best. Are you raid geared, or what they are calling chase geared or intend to be? Are you building the duo, or box as time away from the guild or friends group? Do you like melee or casters? What content are you going to challenge (no your opinion of what they should do is not important). Mostly, all depends on if you are willing to learn how to be very good at puller. Learn how the different types of mob agro work. What is fun to you (not what someone who wants to be looked at as right thinks is fun), but what is fun to you. A 2 box is going to have issues at some places regardless of what combo you pick. CC is still needed, in many situations, and is fun..IMO.
The trick to pulling on an Enchanter is to run around like a moron pulling aggro on everything, then bring it to camp and hit beam of slumber. Everyone thinks you're a calculated master of mobs when really you're just lazy AF. On topic, Bards are objectively the "best" pullers, though pretty much every serious tank I've spoken to greatly prefers to just do the pulling themselves, since they know how many they can handle at one time based on available discs/abilities/etc.
There are two areas for crowd control : in camp, and out of camp. In camp crowd control is keeping the mobs parked where you are fighting, either by men, root, charm, or what have you. They are parked there for easy access by the tank, for when the tank wants to start killing them. Out of camp crowd control is just that - controlling the size and content of the crowd to be brought to the camp. In other words, it is pulling. Many of the tools useful for in camp CC are also useful for out of camp CC. The primary addition is the “need” to fade/blur/lull the undesired mobs, to only bring the desired ones to camp.
Yes, there's pulling and then there''s crowd control. Or how I like to refer to them, inside group pulling and outside group pulling.
So what duo box on live(non-raid) will have the tools it needs to navigate as many different situations as possible?
I want to elaborate a bit more on how EQ has evolved, at least in my view. I started playing again after many year break back in October. I actually made a post under the class section asking if Necros were really limited being able to pull once every 90 seconds waiting for Death’s effigy cool down. I was only going off what I knew, where pulling singles reign supreme. Fast forward and now when I am pulling I actually generally say to myself “which mob of that cluster of mobs up there should I agro to give me the most agro from everything else as it runs back into camp”. The game has evolved from when I used to play it. Now, I have yet to tackle current content but from some of the questions I’ve asked it doesn’t seem to deviate much from that “train” of thought
