It seems even more of a lost art in CoV.
Actually, It seems any form of tactics is less common in CoV!
I don't know if it's CoV only. I've been playing an assortment of alts and I've seen it in both (I've practically had to tell them "Wait right here and I'll lure them to you." so it would work properly).
I've told Scrappers and Tankers "I'm going to pull - wait around the corner." Instead they seemed intent on watching what I'm doing (standing right next to me). Then charge the enemy I shot when it starts shooting them (I ducked around the corner so it would chase me and now that it can't see me and it can see them). This totally negates the whole purpose of the pull and has gotten us into trouble.
Some things you might want to add:
If you really want to pull as few minions as possible, use the least damage causing attack. Unslotted fire bolt is a much better pulling tool than 6 slotted sniper blast.
Pull priority for thinning the herd: Any wandering MINION. The MINION that has the most distance from bosses and LT's. The MINION that has aoe buff/debuffs or status effects.
Don't pull with attacks that do DoT.
Certain aura effects from the defender sets are incredible pulling tools. The debuff they generate along with the fact that the mob will most likely move as one instead of staggered out makes them easy prey.
Ranged AOE combined with a good tank/controller can make an excellent pull. Toss out a fireball to aggro the entire group, then fall back out of line of sight. The tank/controller can lock them up and the rest of the team can attack.
I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
Thomas Jefferson
One thing I have noticed as well with pulling.. If the minion you are pulling attacks you back while his friends can see him attacking they will all come.. the trick is to have the minion come to you with out attacking..
one thing I like to do for pulling.. I target the minion and start running for the corner and right before I break line of sight i hit the power you break line of sight as your power is in animation..
also Accuracy is HUGE.. you will aggro a mob the instant you que an attack if your going to miss(not snipe).. if you are going to hit him then they will not aggro until your attack hits them..
I usually get my low damage forced power and slot it with 2 Range and 3Acc and use it for my pulling power..
/signed
I going to have to make some binds explaining that, I'm tired of typing the same thing over and over...
Even after explaining it, some noodles refuse to get out of LOS. They are usually first to faceplant, unless the team rushes in to rescue, risking multi-group aggro and a team wipe.
Typically I'm out of sight with one or two team members, all saying at the same time, "that's not how you are supposed to pull...".
Pulling probably is getting lost and abandoned, since the Devs have made the game so much like a collectible card game, the "Build is All" mentality has reduced the need to pull in all but the most extreme conditions.
With ED and Travel Power Suppression, the min/max munchkin uber-build-ers are coming to ever more dominate the game; with builds that minimize risk and maximize reward, why bother to learn a subtle tactic like pulling? Just field whatever alt is deisgned for that mob type.
Back before I4, it was so cool being able to pull with Super Speed...
It has an inherent Stealth, and I could whip my scrapper past a guy on the edge of a mob with a light "tap" attack and zoom back to my team... or to a safe corner if I was solo'ing.
It was part of what made him so much fun to play, part of what made him a Super Hero, but most important of all, part of what made him a character...
Yet another limb cut off by the Galactically Stupid Travel Power Suppression Nerf.
Dasher
HELP SAVE THIS GAME!
If we can save this game, I promise I will never complain about Travel Power Suppression again! You have my word on it!
"The customer is always right."
I don't think pulling is as much of a lost art as much as an inferior tactic. Mind you, before CoX I used to play Anarchy Online where pulling is almost required. Because of that, I can get my blaster to peel away a mob like someone peeling an onion, layer by layer until just the boss is left.
The problem with this is that it takes way too much time. Not only that, but CoX has a huge number of AoE attacks. Because of that, herding becames a much more efficient method of dispatching your enemies. In other words, you can widdle down a group of 5 or 6 by pulling them one by one in 5-10 minutes or you can have your crazy tanker run around aggrowing 2-3 groups and putting them all in a nice tight buch so the other team members can rip a series of AoE attacks on them.
The only exceptions to that that I can think of is you are soloing, have a group composed exclusivly of squishies or if you have some real tough AV or Hero as part of a group.
Other then that, pulling is just not worth the time and effort.
I have to agree 100 % with the OP. What has aggrivated me more than anything, is the increasing number of players with high level characters, who are playing alts, that don't try to pull.
One whole pick-up group, that ended up being alts of players with level 50 characters, didn't even wait to ask if everyone was ready, they just rushed in and aggroed. Zero communication as well. We had three hospital trips in 3 minutes. A lot of debt could have been avoided if they would have just stopped to think. I'm glad I didn't know the people in the group, I would have strangled them.
Some have even said that pulling and strategy isn't important in the game, since the game doesn't support strategy? These people tend to cause more debt and time loss than people who pull.
How did these people get to 50?
Had another PUG, made of new players, in which everyone BUT the team leader was willing to listen about pulling. Everytime I was able to get one mob close to the group, the team "leader" ran up and engaged the mob before it was even close to the group. I guess he needed to show off how mighty his Controller was... with Flurry from the power pools while he didn't try to hold anything.
There are occassions when a pull is not only justified, it's just about suicidal not to. Smaller rooms with multiple spawns are just one example where a good pull will keep everyone standing. Another is in situations involving foes that have multiple status attacks. (Malta, Carnies, Rikti, Tsoo)
It has been my experiance that if a tank or scrapper calls for a pull, it's a good idea to know how to do it.
It's only an inferior tactic if it gets everyone defeated. If everyone is happy with the defeat rate, then it's fine.
I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
Thomas Jefferson
Neato...
All thats missing is the "crazy tanker" that actually knows how to herd on every team...
Otherwise you are pulling (when the situation calls for it), faceplanting or setting the difficulty to wimpy.
Yes 100% right.
But this has not been working.
I can not tell you the times I have tried this or had someoone in the group try this and they hit a Min and the whole group comes.
They are doing it as you discribe.
I think there was a change to IA in the MOBs.
Pulling works but far less then b4 and not as easy as b4.
I started to see these changes when CoV hit.
Begin scene.
A warehouse in Paragon City. A non-descript minion stands chatting with his friends.
Minion one, "Ow! Hey, someone just shot me!"
Minion two, "You're imagining things. Now keep your eyes open, capes may be coming any moment."
Minion One, "I am not imagining this blood coming out of my shoulder...and I think I see some spandex right over there!"
Minion Two, "Will you shut up! I'm trying to be vigilant."
Minion One, "Right over there...can you not see those guys!"
Minion two, "No. I can't."
Minion one, "Well I'm going to check it out!"
Minion two, "Do what you want."
Minion one gets trounced by gang of do-gooders standing twenty feet away.
Minion two, "Ow! Hey, someone just shot me!"
Minion three, "You're imagining things."
Gang of do-gooders giggles like school girls.
End scene.
[ QUOTE ]
Neato...
All thats missing is the "crazy tanker" that actually knows how to herd on every team...
Otherwise you are pulling (when the situation calls for it), faceplanting or setting the difficulty to wimpy.
[/ QUOTE ]
A tanker good at herding is about as hard to find as someone who knows how to pull or even worse, a team who understands both the concepts of herding and pulling.
I'm not saying pulling has no merrits, but I do think that 9 out of 10 times, herding is the way to go.
i have blasters as well as tankers and i feel that both pulling and herding are important. i have noticed that these days, most people DO just charge on in for the simple fact that they have a healer. if anything, i'd say that healers are getting taken too much advantage of anymore and that isn't right either.
everything is off balance for some reason anymore and i'm not saying that it's the devs or anyones fault, though i have a feeling in some cases it's immaturity, in others it is too much experience, which is probably why the people with level 50 alts just charge on in sometimes. they have seen it all before and just want to get through it asap, i'm sure.
also, i have noticed as well that it is harder to pull off one mob than before. you actually have to think about it a little more than before but it still isn't too much of a problem in the right hands 
Approach to pulling will probably depend on their experiences with pulling in previous games. I was pulling for dragon and planar raids back in EverQuest as a monk...so I think pulls automatically. I think it's a matter of understanding the game mechanics of the current game and changing the approach to fit.
I've always been protective of my solo time. I like to get out on my own and take things on. In CoH I was a Martial Arts/Super Reflexes Scrapper (monk) and had some limited success with pulling and enjoyed "teleport foe" a great deal. Then I took some time off for other games.
Now I'm reactivated with the CoH/CoV combo and am trying a Grav/Psi Dominator. (I have this habit of trying builds then reading afterwards how flawed everyone says they are.) I'm relearning pulling as much as a survival tactic as for grouping, which I haven't done much of. Crowd Control powers aren't much lower levels so thinning the herd helps a lot.
I'm at work so I forget exactly but the Psi secondary has a mind dart or something that pulls nicely. Plus it seems to take a measurable period of time to head to the target. I have found that if I set it loose at max range and just back up while it's in the air, I am pretty much guaranteed to be out of range of the minion and he will run to me rather than attack, even without being around a corner. Being outside the "alert" range (when they stop shuffling and stand at attention) seems to be enough. As pointed out, the missed shot does bring multiples.
A feeling for pulling is also useful for teaching you about aggro radius, which is good for travelling even without stealth powers.
It's impossible to enter a new game without a lot to learn. But some things about judgement and tactics you can bring from game to game.
[ QUOTE ]
There are occassions when a pull is not only justified, it's just about suicidal not to. Smaller rooms with multiple spawns are just one example where a good pull will keep everyone standing. Another is in situations involving foes that have multiple status attacks. (Malta, Carnies, Rikti, Tsoo)
It has been my experiance that if a tank or scrapper calls for a pull, it's a good idea to know how to do it.
It's only an inferior tactic if it gets everyone defeated. If everyone is happy with the defeat rate, then it's fine.
[/ QUOTE ]
In cases like that, I find the best pull is an AoE pull. There aren't many (if any) situations I can think of where single pulling is overly worthwhile (too slow, as mentioned above). Pulling the entire group away from another big group, on the other hand, can be extremely effective. I'm a big fan of the fireball pull.
IMO the use of Pulling or Herding depends heavily on the group. If the group contans only squishes use pulling. If the group has a couple of insane Tanks/Brute and a healer that can keep them standing plus allot of AoE Herding is the way to go.
Personally I think both tatics should be taught to low levels (i.e. run Sewers in CoH and show the low levels both types).
Good thing to not: TP Foe is by far the best Pulling tool I've found. Unless the enemy's path would go right past another enemy you get only the pulled enemy agroed.
Too true Mageman, too true. I even got booted off a team when I tried to suggest tactics or kept asking "who's leading?" which the usual response was dead silence or one time someone said "everyone". I was playing my Kheldian on Protector and constantly had to change to Dwarf to help save teammates instead of blasting in Nova. They did the exact same thing you mentioned on a pull. No one would wait around the freaking corner and the team wiped 3-4 times just at the beginning of the mission. The other tank on the team tried to make suggestions and got kicked as well. If they had a different tactic they were using before with success they sure didn't communicate it to the team.
Both I and the other tank got onto another team with someone who actually lead and had much better results.
This is right up there with the lost art of a Tank "herding" up a room. A good tank can taunt n pull an entire room into a tight area, give a ready, and a blaster "boom" them. What ever happened to that skill?
... and don't give me "nerfs". I still do it with all my tanks. Personally, the nerfs just made badly built tanks unworkable. This needs to change!
I am Airman America... Super Hero... and I approve this message!
Yeah, what is the deal with that anyway? You tell 'em you're herding. They say ok. Ask them to move back. They don't. You run in, herd the room, and just as you turn around to run back to the herd spot, you notice the entire team in the room attacking the back of the horde, prolonging the battle, and getting teammates killed. Now is that odd, or what? Or worse, the pull that is meant to save lives and to bring the baddies to the team one by one is instead taken as a battle call and they all rush in and die??!!
Or even worse... you ask the team to stand back and not to aggro anything near the portal because it will spawn a ton of baddies that will kill the whole team. So what happens, some blaster suddenly fires at a baddie right next to the portal, spawing the huge horde of baddies, and wiping the team.
Did I missing something?
Lately, I've been taking a very vindictive view of this wacky, counter-productive and selfish behavior. If a blaster wants to aggro a whole room against the wishes/interests of the team, I simply abandon the blaster and any members of the team who are following him to their fate. Let them die. Serves them right. I'll say, "Anyone who doesn't want to die, fall back, retreat, and regroup." And then I run out of the room.
I've tried using a bind to inform the team. Here it is:
"Herding is DANGEROUS! We need to keep the horde focused on the tank or they will turn on the rest of the team. This means YOU need to STAY OUT OF THE HORDE'S SIGHT until they are in a nice, tight group.
If the horde sees you, they will scatter, attack the rest of the team, and heroes will die. Timing is everything... Wait to attack until you see this signal...
ATTACK NOW!!!
Then rush in and take the baddies out quickly before they lose interest in the tank."
However, I was berated on more than one occasion from lvl 40+ PUG heroes that "Everyone on the team has been playing the game for 40+ levels and I think we all know how herding works." And yet, more often than not lvl 40+ PUGs split the aggro, negate the tank's herd, and cause team members to die as a result. What is going on??? Should I use the bind? Not use the bind? What???
Now, I'm not one of those herding terminators, although I could be :-) . I try to mix it up. 50% herding, 40% mosh pit (whole team runs in and attacks at once), and 10% pulling. I recognize that herding can make a mission dull. Yes, it DOES generally allow the team to finish the mission quicker, and safer, but the battles don't last as long -- and there-in lies the boredom and lack of excitement. So I throw in a mosh pit or a pull here and there. Let the rest of the team shine and use their individual abilities/powers rather than merely rely on the tank's herding abilities. Indeed, sometimes the team is so good, herding is not needed at all and we simply mosh pit the entire mission faster than I could herd it. It all depends on the team and the villains we're facing.
Yet even in this even-handed situation, I run across showboaters who endanger the team and negate the ability for the team to work together... as a team. They don't listen to the leader or the rest of the team, they don't tell anyone what they're planning on doing, and they spring surprise aggro on everyone.
So what have I been doing lately in response? Well, hate to say it, but if a whole team won't pull together and act like a team... I team wipe em all. I play like an idiot. Aggro 3+ groups, scatter (not herd or gather) the aggro, and then find a nice minion by himself to attack and watch as the team dies one by one, overwhelmed by all the aggro I created. It turns out that this is a much more effective and less stressful way of getting the point across. I've found taking the team members to task, berating them for their behavior, and insisting that they play intelligently and cooperatively only serves to stir up anger and resentment and more rebellion. Yet playing as badly as they do seems to get the point across. A tank can run in willy nilly and endanger the team just as easily (if not more easily since tanks can actually BRING aggro to other individual players) as any other hero.
So what do you think? Too vindictive?
Level 50s:
BlackSpectre, Dark Defender (Guardian)
Thorin, Invul/Axe Tank (Justice)
Volcano Juice, Fire/Stone Tank
Professor ?, Mind/FF Controller
Stone Forge, Stone/Fire Tank
PULLING - WHY BOTHER ?
In the time it takes me to explain "pulling" to the newbs/n00bs I could have just used TP FOE to effectively accomplish the same thing.
Okay, scratch "could have". 
I gave up on rellying on other people to pull.
I've seen people attempt to pull with AOEs, sniping the boss, attempting to pull someone from a mob they already aggored, face pulling with a squishy, etc....
It's just not the aggrivation. 
Centinull
What is pulling? I've come to understand it simply as a means for initiating combat. Be it from a Blaster with a sniper attack, or through my highly successful 'around-the-corner' Ice Slick manuever.
I've been in all kinds of groups successfully using all kinds of pulling techniques. I've seen other groups attempting the same, only to fail and die. It really depends on who's in your group, what you're fighting and how experienced you and your teammates are.
I really don't believe there's any one superior method for pulling. And as long as it works and nobody dies, what's wrong with doing something a little different?
Thing is, pulling doesn't take undue time and effort on a team with good discipline. It usually only takes 2-3 good pulls to tip the balance in the team's favor in an ugly spot of the map. A team that knows what to do can get it done very quickly if communication is good.
Even pulls that bring a full spawn back are not always bad pulls. Sometimes that is what I want, if I'm simply breaking off one group from an area where 2-3 groups would see us if we advanced. Again, nothing that takes tons of time, and in the end actually speeds up the encounter.
I still pull. I use it when it should be used, and I use it to get the team back in the groove after a wipe sometimes. It's not inferior just because it has a time and place, and I don't think anyone is advocating all pulling all the time.
"Null is as much an argument "for removing the cottage rule" as the moon being round is for buying tennis shoes." -Memphis Bill
Well said Lemur.
I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
Thomas Jefferson
I don't know if it's just me, but lately it seems to me that a lot of other players just don't seem to understand the purpose of pulling or how to use it properly.
[*]The purpose of pulling is to get just one enemy to come after you while his friends just sit back and wonder where he's going. It's also very helpful when you have several spawns close together and don't think you can handle them all at once.
[*]HOW TO PULL!<ul type="square">[*]Have everyone in the team except the person attacking stand back around a corner where they can't see you. 2 corners are better since that way the enemies that don't come can't see you attacking their friend or wander into viewing range. And corners force them to get closer for the Melee characters to attack rather than the Melees running into the enemies.[*]The person shooting picks one target (preferably a minion that's away from the main group - a Lt will probably pull the whole group, and a Boss+ will get everyone). After attacking, run back behind the other players and wait.[*]Rinse and repeat as necessary.[/list]Simple and effective.