History Main / FishingForMooks

* To get through the ''Temple of Trials'' at the beginning of ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'', players who don't have a good melee or unarmed skill will likely resort to this tactic.

* In most ''Videogame/{{Halo}}'' games on the Legendary difficulty, this is a common option if you're low on health and have an empty or weak weapon. Fans call this the 'Trap Door Spider Method'.

* Inverted in ''EmpireEarth'' thanks to ArtificialStupidity. When a unit attacks another, the target and any nearby enemies will respond by trying to kill the attacker... and ''only'' the attacker, meaning the rest of your army can butcher the stampeding enemies without fear of retaliation as your lone archer runs like mad (this becomes less effective in later epochs, as ranged units become the norm). It's possible to win all of UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat's battles without taking a single loss thanks to this.

* Inverted in ''EmpireEarth'' thanks to ArtificialStupidity. When a unit attacks another, the target and any nearby enemies will respond by trying to kill the attacker... and ''only'' the attacker, meaning the rest of your army can butcher the stampeding enemies without fear of retaliation as your lone archer runs like mad (this becomes less effective in later epochs, as ranged units become the norm). It's possible to win all of AlexanderTheGreat's battles without taking a single loss thanks to this.

** Pulling can be used to grief other players in MMOs by deliberately pulling additional enemies toward other players. In some cases this is done so a weaker lone player can make stronger players kill the enemy for him, while in other cases it is done simply to hinder or kill the players.

* This is one of the most common traps in LeagueOfLegends and other MultiplayerOnlineBattleArena games. However, because your enemies are ''humans'', luring them takes a certain degree of [[KansasCityShuffle deception]].

[[Turn-Based Strategy]]

* In many NintendoHard games (for example, ''DemonsSouls''), this becomes a ''required'' tactic if you don't want to get jumped by a gang of DemonicSpiders all at once, and usually involves getting a single enemy's attention by hitting them with a ranged attack. ''VideoGame/GodHand'' lets you [[IShallTauntYou do this with taunts instead.]]
* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', this is frequently the only way a party that isn't insanely well-balanced (or [[EliteTweak unbalanced]]) can survive on Nightmare.
* It works great in ''Videogame/NeverwinterNights'': Hide or Move Silently works against every enemy separately, and mooks who notice the PC pursue on their own, leaving their pals idle. Thus sneaking closer until detected and then luring the pursuers so far away that others will not hear attack and death sounds makes slaughtering them much easier, up to allowing a NoDamageRun.
* This is also a reliable tactic in ''Videogame/BaldursGate''. Set up a firing line, send your weakest ranged in to draw off one guy, run back to the party as they pelt the poor slob at a distance, then switch to mêlee and gank the (probably quite damaged) slob once he closes the distance, repeat until victorious. The first game had one annoyance that made this futile though, which is that if you allowed the FogOfWar to cover an area, RespawningEnemies would sometimes appear out of thin air.
** The sequel had a variant relying on spell-reflecting magical items for defeating Beholders, in which ganking the last survivor only happened after you had gotten the rest of them killed with their own EyeBeams.

* This is an important tactic in ''StreetsOfRage''. You do not want to activate more foes than you have to at one time.
* In many ''FireEmblem'' (And other Strategy RPG) games, there are enemies that only move when you're on their line of sight. Thus the best way to defeat them is putting a strong unit just on the edge of their movement range to kill them one for one, or lure them out with an unarmed CrutchCharacter and then rush them with your other characters.
* In ''[[Videogame/{{Diablo}} Diablo II]]'', the barbarian's taunt ability can be used to lure fallen shamans away from other fallen.
* In most ''Videogame/{{Halo}}'' games on the Legendary difficulty, this is a common option if you're low on health and have an empty or weak weapon. Fans call this the 'Trap Door Spider Method'.
* Literally done in ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}''. You can use a fishing rod to pick up enemies and have them suffer fall damage.
* In Nippon Ichi tactical [=RPGs=], most enemies won't try to attack you unless you're in range. However, they'll simply charge you in other maps.
** Can be done literally in ''VideoGame/MakaiKingdom''. The fishing rod can be used to pull an enemy to the other side of the attacker, separating them from their allies.
* Useful in several parts of ''{{Summoner}}'', particularly in Wolong. Take Flece, use sneak and solo mode, get where just one enemy can see you then run back to the others. Nobody wonders where their friends are running off to…
** If you can remain outside aggro range (usually out of sight) and drop an [=AoE=] spell close enough where their position overlaps with part of ground zero, enemies will simply continue to stand there doing absolutely nothing while their health slowly vanishes.
* To get through the ''Temple of Trials'' at the beginning of ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'', players who don't have a good melee or unarmed skill will likely resort to this tactic.

* In most {{RTS}}s this also applies to ''you''. If you've got an unattended group of units that falls under attack—no matter how tightly packed—and your group takes up more space than those units' aggro range, they'll blithely stand around shoulder-to-shoulder while their squadmates are annihilated before their eyes.
* You can do this in VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum and VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity with Sonic Batarangs. As well as a few other tricks.
* This is one of the most common traps in LeagueOfLegends and other [[MOBAs MultiplayerOnlineBattleArena]]. However, because your enemies are ''humans'', luring them takes a certain degree of [[KansasCityShuffle deception]].
* Through difficult to pull, this can be done in ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}''. The game even gives you a different battle-starting command to help you on doing this: throwing a rock that does ScratchDamage to the enemy to have them chase you. Although some groups of enemies are programmed to attack in mobs once one of them is attacked, thus making this technique useless against those.
* One of the main uses for the TauntButton in ''VideoGame/GodHand'' is this.
* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' has cheap wooden arrows designed for precisely this purpose.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Angband}}'', this tactic often works on monsters that appear in groups, since they will only notice the player at a certain distance.
* This is pretty much required against the more powerful enemies in ''VideoGame/{{Gothic}}'', such as orcs.
* Easy to do in ''VideoGame/{{Starcraft}}'' with the Hallucination spell, since enemies that just killed a unit won't go back to their starting position.

[[AC: MMORPG]]
* MMO players have two terms for this: '''Pulling''' is drawing specific enemies away from a group, be they mooks or bosses. '''Herding''' is gathering all the mooks together for an [=AoE=] attack.
** Pulling can be used to grief other players in MMOs by deliberately pulling additional enemies toward other players. In some cases this is done so a weaker lone player can make stronger players kill the enemy for him, while in other cases it is done simply to hinder or kill the players.
* Same idea but different term: in ''VideoGame/{{EVE Online}}'' its called baiting against human opponents. Works especially well in 0.0 space. The pulling tactic is used against rats in missions or belts. Shoot the rat at range, then run to keep them at range, all while continuing to shoot of course.
* Variants of this exist in ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'', as certain power sets and archetypes effectively turn the proximity of an enemy into a secondary resource. Combined with the existence of some degree of in-combat regeneration for almost everybody, which means there's some level of constant attack that any character can survive, mook management in the game expands to include pulling extra mooks into an ongoing fight because the battle actually becomes easier.
** Most notable are “Invulnerability,” which increases a Tanker's or Brute's defense with every nearby enemy regardless of their power level, and the infamous mass-resurrect “Howling Twilight,” available to Defenders, Corrupters, and Masterminds, which casts as a debuff to a group of enemies.
* In ''VideoGame/DungeonsAndDragonsOnline'', the intended purpose of the "Bluff" skill is to cause a single sentient in combat to briefly ignore and turn its back to you (if successful); it's meant for backstabbers. Due to AI peculiarities, it can instead draw a distant target to where you're standing without attracting anyone else (and here you can keep trying until the skill succeeds); the "ignore me" effect will wear off before it arrives, but you can reposition yourself in the meantime. Pretty much any soloer for whom Bluff isn't cross-class trains in it.
* In ''VideoGame/EvilIslands'', this is the purpose of the Fireworks spells. It creates small purple fireworks that attract the closest enemy, and only it. You can spam it to lure it far from the other enemies. Considering that most of the time you encounter mooks that are too strong to be killed in groups, and there's no good way for LevelGrinding, it's one of the most useful spells in the game.

* In NipponIchi tactical [=RPGs=], most enemies won't try to attack you unless you're in range. However, they'll simply charge you in other maps.

** Can be done literally in ''MakaiKingdom''. The fishing rod can be used to pull an enemy to the other side of the attacker, separating them from their allies.

* In many NintendoHard games (for example, ''DemonsSouls''), this becomes a ''required'' tactic if you don't want to get jumped by a gang of DemonicSpiders all at once, and usually involves getting a single enemy's attention by hitting them with a ranged attack. ''GodHand'' lets you [[IShallTauntYou do this with taunts instead.]]

* One of the main uses for the TauntButton in ''GodHand'' is this.

* Same idea but different term: in ''{{EVE online}}'' its called baiting against human opponents. Works especially well in 0.0 space. The pulling tactic is used against rats in missions or belts. Shoot the rat at range, then run to keep them at range, all while continuing to shoot of course.
* Variants of this exist in ''CityOfHeroes'', as certain power sets and archetypes effectively turn the proximity of an enemy into a secondary resource. Combined with the existence of some degree of in-combat regeneration for almost everybody, which means there's some level of constant attack that any character can survive, mook management in the game expands to include pulling extra mooks into an ongoing fight because the battle actually becomes easier.

* Easy to do in ''{{Starcraft}}'' with the Hallucination spell, since enemies that just killed a unit won't go back to their starting position.
* Can be done in ''WarcraftIII'' with Night Elf units, many of which become invisible at night. Attack enemies, run away, hide, attack retreating enemy, repeat.

* ''In Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusades'', in the Gerald mission where you are trying to get a group of Paladins along with your lieutenant away to bring reinforcements to your besieged city, you are blocked by a massive army made up of level 50 and 100 foes. By using this tactic ''it is actually possible to fight your way through one unit at a time''. Its not easy and involves abusing the SP system, but with enough graft, the result is more experience and gold than you could ever have hoped for at those levels. Not to mention feel like a total badass for cutting through an entire army. Its a good thing too: the next mission is ThatOneLevel and some may find it harder than breaking through the mass of overlevelled orcs: at least time isn't a factor there!

* Through difficult to pull, this can be done in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles''. The game even gives you a different battle-starting command to help you on doing this: throwing a rock that does ScratchDamage to the enemy to have them chase you. Although some groups of enemies are programmed to attack in mobs once one of them is attacked, thus making this technique useless against those.

* Literally done in Minecraft. You can use a fishing rod to pick up enemies and have them suffer fall damage.

* In ''DungeonsAndDragonsOnline'', the intended purpose of the "Bluff" skill is to cause a single sentient in combat to briefly ignore and turn its back to you (if successful); it's meant for backstabbers. Due to AI peculiarities, it can instead draw a distant target to where you're standing without attracting anyone else (and here you can keep trying until the skill succeeds); the "ignore me" effect will wear off before it arrives, but you can reposition yourself in the meantime. Pretty much any soloer for whom Bluff isn't cross-class trains in it.

* This and {{Kiting}} will be your two mainstays in ''{{Myth}}'', especially since the most powerful weapons in the game are inaccurate, [[SplashDamage extremely dangerous in close engagements]], and enormously amplified by traps that can only be set in advance. To balance things out, small groups of enemies are alerted all at once, but really big groups can be broken apart in numerous chunks like this.

* In ''Videogame/DragonAge'', this is frequently the only way a party that isn't insanely well-balanced (or [[EliteTweak unbalanced]]) can survive on Nightmare.

* You can do this in BatmanArkhamAsylum and BatmanArkhamCity with Sonic Batarangs. As well as a few other tricks.

* In ''DungeonsAndDragonsOnline'', the intended purpose of the "Bluff" skill is to cause a single sentient in combat to briefly ignore and turn its back to you (if successful); it's meant for backstabbers. Due to AI peculiarities, it can instead draw a distant target to where you're standing without attracting anyone else (and here you can keep trying until the skill succeeds); the "ignore me" effect will wear off before it arrives, but you can reposition yourself in the meantime. Pretty much any soloer for whom Bluff isn't cross-class trains in it.

** Most notable are “Invulnerability,” which increases a Tanker's or Brute's defense with every nearby enemy regardless of their power level, and the infamous mass-resurrect “Howling Twilight,” available to Defenders, Corrupters, and Masterminds, which casts as a debuff to a group of enemies.