roles
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Breakfast Topic: Which role is the hardest?
This is a pretty old post, and it's a question that's been asked before, but it's still an interesting one: what's the hardest role in a raid? Ghostcrawler says he doesn't find one of the three roles (tanking, healing, and DPS) to be "hands down harder" than the others, although he does call tanking and healing "probably more stressful." As someone who's done all three in raids a fair bit, I feel pretty confident saying DPSing is hands-down easier than the other two roles. Of course, it varies fight-by-fight, but typically the most that's asked of DPS is "don't stand in the fire" and sometimes "switch DPS to X." It does take some research and work to get the optimal rotation down, and some classes (like Death Knights) have it harder than others (cough Ret Pallies), but the raid just doesn't rely on your split-second reflexes the way it does for tanks and healers. Heck, last night I caused a wipe by just saying the wrong thing while tanking.
From our readers: Always a DPSer, never a tank
We get a lot of email from our readers who are trying to improve their in-game experience. I'd like to take a moment to address a reader who's struggling to find or make the right guild. Beware of the following wall of text. I started playing over a year ago. Never have been able to find a good guild. I'm a warrior tank. Love it. Even made a second just for fun. Trouble is, it seems all of the guilds that can do anything already have their tanks. I'm really sick of pugging Ulduar and getting stuck on kologarn cause either healers or the other tanks fail. I started my own guild after my leaving my last guild because they refused to let me tank. I couldn't even roll on tank gear as fury when all of their tanks had all best in slots. But my guild is stuck with 36 level 80s who are never all on at the same time... and most of the ones that are on are under-geared or aren't skilled in the least bit. what's your advice?Dear anonymous reader, Sometimes starting your own guild is the answer, sometimes it's not. It takes time, patience, and vigilance to build a raid guild. Be sure to check out Scott Andrew's Officer's Quarters. He regularly addresses the ups and downs of guild leadership and offers practical advice on the challenges you may face.
Crygil wants to know what you think of class roles
CM Crygil has posted a very general thread over on the forums asking players what they think of the various class roles out there: "Ranged/Melee/DPS, Tanking and Healing." As you probably have noticed, those three roles make up what are often called the Holy Trinity in role-playing games and MMOs: either you do damage, prevent damage, or recover from damage, and those three roles make up the basics of most roleplaying combat systems, including the battles in World of Warcraft.But as quite a few people in the thread say, they're not quite sure just why Crygil is asking for this information. Sure, there are lots of good and informative answers in here (most people actually spread out "the trinity" to four roles, splitting melee/close combat and ranged/magic combat into two parts), but as there has always been, there's really nothing outside of the kind of thinking that's been done before on the subject -- anytime developers try to break out a new part of the trinity of roles, they either fall right back into the stereotypes (a bard that casts magic damage "songs" is really just a dressed up Mage), or they end up breaking the game (mind control/crowd controller is a new class idea that's been played around with before, but as Blizzard has discovered, it's extremely hard to balance that exactly right).As Crygil later says, these questions are his, not Blizzard's -- he just wants to get some perspective on what the forums dwellers think of how the current roles work. And he promises that CC is "on its way back," so maybe Blizzard will try to do some more experimenting with the different types of roles classes can play.
Replenishment is mandatory and other buff discussion from Ghostcrawler
One of the major overhauls heading from Burning Crusade into Wrath of the Lich King was the consolidation of buffs and debuffs. In an attempt to keep raid groups from thinking they had to bring one specific class to get one specific buff or debuff, Blizzard switched some spells up, gave buffs to more classes, and made them unstackable, the result being that one can take one of a certain handful of class and specs to get the buff or debuff they desire, in theory giving a raid more choice about who they bring. Still, the buffs and debuffs remain, and Ghostcrawler has been having some pretty interesting discussions about them in the past few days. To start with, he came out and said it pretty plainly: Replenishment is Mandatory. Blizzard will balance fights under the assumption you have Replenishment much as they do under the assumption you have a tank. In the short term, this means your raid is probably going to want to find a Shadow Priest, Retribution Paladin, or Survival Hunter if they haven't already.
Behind the Curtain: The role you play
This week, I'd like to talk a bit about how taking a look at how you play a game, and which class you play, and maybe choosing to change one or both can pay dividends. Before I do that though, I would just like to mention that I did finally manage to get hold of Baron Rivendare's mount after 68 runs - my thanks to all of you who shared similar stories in the comments of last week's column. Or at the very least, my thanks to whatever Blizzard GM read my whinings and took pity on me, if that's what happened. Apart from Keith. Ten runs, two mounts and one sword? Keith, I'll be hunting you down to kill you in your sleep, I just wanted to give you fair warning. If you've been paying attention to any of my columns of late, you'll have noticed that I'm playing a level 80 Protection Warrior in World of Warcraft just now. I may not have Matthew Rossi's deep, rather touching, love for the Warrior class, but I do love being a tank. Which is something of a surprise, because it was never something I thought I would enjoy being. My first character in WoW, away back around patch 1.9 was a Tauren Druid. I won't lie, the whole idealized Native American feel of the Tauren sucked me right in. The serenely beautiful rolling plains of Mulgore certainly didn't hurt my choice either. As for the Druid class itself, I can't quite remember what drew me there. I imagine it was that the theory and lore behind the class match up well with that of the Tauren race itself – they seemed to go well together, so I guess I just went with it. Levelling up, of course, I specced Feral. I knew the Balance and Restoration trees were there, but I avoided them. I avoided Balance because it didn't suit the way I wanted to play, and I avoided Restoration because I wasn't yet comfortable speccing into a tree which required regular PUGs to get the most out of it.
Forum post of the day: The tank surplus
"Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but she did it backwards and in high heels."- Faith WhittleseyKazug of EU-Defias Brotherhood is afraid that he will never be able to take on the role of main taink against Heroic Malygos. He pointed out that although tanks are relatively scarce in five man instances, there is fierce competetion for tanking slots in 25 mans. One out of five players must be a tank in five mans, whereas only one in twenty-five can be main tank in a raid. He feels that only the best of the best, the ones with the most time as he defines it, are able to take on the role of main tank.Other tanks are left taking out the trash on single-tank fights. Several posters echoed Kazug's sentiment. Despite a dedication to tanking, they're relegated to the roll of picking up adds in most fights. Others indicated that their guilds rotate MTs or even have tanks roll off for main tanking responsibilities. For some guilds the MT is the MT and that's all there is to it.
Forum post of the day: A Rogue without a cause
Maximogu of Firetree posed the question "Why bring a Rogue to an 80 heroic?" in the general forums. He claimed that at this point there CC is unnecessary for most tanks that rely on AOE. Most of the trash pulls are handled by AOE classes now, making the Rogue's single target focus obsolete. He argued that Rogues are best suited with Druid tanks that do not handle multiple mobs as well as other tanking classes do.Here are some of the reasons given for bringing a rogue along:Anushka of Kel'Thuzad: There's a lot of nasty things that can be interrupted in most heroics. Though I wouldn't take more than one rogue.Khadros of Frostwolf: To listen to the sound of theirs daggers going schlick schlick schlick.Morgrimm of Korgath: Because one of my friends is a rogue.Owari of Frostwolf: To DPS, of course.Mypetgoat of Bladefist: It's one expendible DPS that won't roll on my gear.Madia of Maelstrom: They need loot and stuff too.
The Daily Grind: Tank, DPS, Healer, or other?
The small group gameplay in many of today's MMORPGs is about the interplay of several archetypes that each offer something different to the dynamic -- tanks absorb damage so weaker classes don't have to, DPS classes dish out massive damage in short amounts of time, healers reverse or prevent damage done to party members altogether, and then there are a myriad of other classes that fill various other roles like crowd control.Seems a lot of folks fall comfortably into one role or another -- some even stick to just one through multiple games, always playing healers, for example. Do you have a strong preference for one particular group role, or do you try to vary your play experience? In either case, which role is most comfortable for you, and why? We're always interested to learn more about the psychology behind these games, so we're eager to see what you've got!
Breakfast Topic: How hybrid DPS could still get screwed in Wrath
Recently a bunch of the writers here were talking about all the changes we're seeing to various hybrid DPS specs. Retribution in the beta is known to bring some serious pain, cat DPS has been given some pretty sweet buffs, and Shamans...well, Shamans seem to be in a state of flux, but when is that not true? With tank AoE threat buffed, the need for crowd control may also be a thing of the past, thus eliminating one of the more annoying roadblocks to hybrid desirability in 5-man groups. For 5-mans, at least, hybrid DPS should encounter significantly less difficulty (we hope) getting a slot.However, it was my contention that, for the purpose of raiding, it doesn't ultimately matter how much these specs get buffed. They could do amazing DPS, bring incredible buffs, have any number of raid-saving abilities, and fart gold on every crit -- but you're still not going to see a lot of hybrid DPS running around Wrath raids for one very simple reason: someone has to tank and heal, and neither job is sufficiently attractive to allow most hybrid players to come as DPS. When it's a choice between respeccing resto or the raid never getting off the ground, most players will respec resto -- and decisions like that tend to be fairly hard to escape. The next night rolls around and -- um, do you mind coming as resto again?
Forum post of the day: No table for you!
There has been much debate over whether mages should always use their Ritual of Refreshment spell in battlegrounds. Shadowavatar of Boulderfist believes that this practice will become even less common because the cost of the spell is slated to increase from two arcane powder to five in Wrath of the Lich King. This brings the total cost of the spell to fifty silver per cast plus requires the use of additional bag space for mages who are not keen on restocking. Withunter of Arathor commented, "At least you know Blizzard is paying close attention to what players complain about. They identify problems with the game, and spare no effort to make them worse." While some posters see this change as a major disservice, some point out that the is really quite justifiable. Darkintent of Bleeding hollow noted that the inflated reagent cost is reflective of the greater benefit of the spell. Many responders indicated that this difference will be negligible due to gold inflation in the next expansion. The amount of space it will take to carry reagents is of a greater concern to many posters.
The Daily Grind: Should designers try to think beyond conventional roles?
We all know what the conventional roles are in a MMO - at least, a fantasy genre one. Their most basic grouping is the 'Holy Trinity' of tank, healer and damage dealer. Getting slightly more complex, we can easily identify the 'rogue' sort of character, who tends to be about stealth, backstabbing and burst damage, and the 'artillery' character who deals damage from afar but is weak up close. The concepts are pretty fundamental by now. We all know what we mean if we talk of a 'mage type character', for example. The fundamentals' origin can be traced all the way back to early D&D: fighter, cleric, wizard, thief.Many, but by no means all, games will include some variant on these. City of Villains was one game that tried to break the mould of conventional roles. Brutes were good at tanking damage, but also built up Fury that enabled them to deal good damage back. Masterminds, a pet class, were in fact intended as the tank substitute. Even so, the basic roles still surface: people look for stone brutes to act as tanks, and some corruptors embrace the 'healer' role, ignoring their attack powers in favor of healing ability.Just how inescapable are these roles? Is it worth a game designer's time to try to think beyond the basics, or are the conventional roles a necessary part of the way MMOs work? Do you prefer games that roll with these concepts, or games that work around them?
Forum post of the day: Heals and heels
Decent healing is often a key factor in determining victory and defeat in a battle ground. Resto and Holy specced characters have quite the job set out for them. Druids, Paladins, Priests, and Shamans regularly face a healing quandary. Is it better to spend time and man healing another player or continuing to do as much damage as possible. Zanhart of Medivh believes that any character than can heal in the battlegrounds, should heal. He finds it particularly insulting when a player heals him or herself while comrades die around them. Some agreed with him that anyone who can heal should, but most people dissented. There were several themes to the responses: Paying a subscription fee allows any player the right to play however they like. DPSers in substandard gear are a waste of heals and mana. Non-healing specs often have such poor healing abilities that the battleground is better off with them continuing to dps. Some people just don't find healing to be fun.
The strong bond between healer and tank
We often post about the bonds created with this game -- there are some terrific bonds between guildies, and Arena teams and battleground groups have some strong bonds as well. But Omen of Clarity and Resto4Life, two great Druid blogs, recently took a look at an even more intimate bond ingame: that between tanks and healers.Omen started it off -- after stepping into a tanking role, he noticed that a certain Paladin healer had really bonded with him in terms of keeping each other up and running, and it really made them both better players -- the tank was more willing to step up when aggro got lost, and the healer had more reason to keep up buffs and rely on the tank, even at his own expense. Resto, from the other side of the spells, agrees -- even out of raids, the healer there will send the tank potions and go out of their way to keep both together. And from my time raiding as a Resto Shaman, I was always thrilled when I got to be in the same group as the tank I was healing, and got to Earth Shield them and spend my trinkets just to keep them up.It's not the only major relationship in the game (there's also a nice relationship between the tank and the rest of the melee and DPS, as well as the buffers and the buffed in a raid group), but it is an interesting, minute one, and it's something pretty specific to these MMOs that we play. Playing together isn't just fun and games -- by building bonds with other players in other roles, we both become better at the roles we play.Update: Just in case, like Ratshag, our little hint on the picture wasn't enough for you, the two characters in the pic above are another fairly well-known tank and healer combo, Tree of Life and Pretty in Plate. You try to hide a subtle little easter egg in there for those of us who read all these WoW blogs, and Ratshag won't let you get away with it. Thanks for keeping us honest.
Forum post of the day: Thank you
It seems like far too often we take the contributions of our fellow players for granted. Whether that happens when moments are tense or we forget that the other four people in our instance (or 24 people in our raid) are real folks, Bellwether of Dark iron set out to change that on the official forums today. She posted a well considered list of the roles that everyone should be thanked for in the game, just for doing their jobs. Here are some of her comments: To Warriors: Thank you for standing in front of me and letting things hit you. Thank you for shouldering the massive repair bills that come with your job. Thank you for preventing my death. To Shamans: Thank you for every single totem. Thank you for Brain Heals. Thank you for Ankh and saving us from having to run back
Choosing the group role (for the hot engineer sex)
Why wouldn't you want to have hot engineer sex? That's the point made over at "Groups of Words" in a post about choosing a role specifically to set up your spot in a group. Well at least that's the point I came away with -- let me start over.Most players choose their role based on what they want to do the most -- if you like playing as a ranged character, Hunter is probably a good choice, while being a Rogue will let you sneak around. But if playing in groups is your thing, says GoW, then you should aim for one of those roles that groups want: healer or tank. That's one reason I personally chose a resto Shaman -- everybody always needs a good healer and/or tank, and with a Shaman, I can fill that role, or go off and do my own thing as well.GoW compares it to being a woman at an engineering school, where you've got your pick of the 1:6 girl/guy ratio (my alma mater, fortunately, had odds stacked slightly the other way). But other than the hot engineering sex, the point is a good one: if you're on a realm suffering from a lack of tanks and healers and you want to group up, why not fix things yourself and roll up one or the other?[Via Mystic Chicanery]
WoW Rookie: Forming a Group
In the last two weeks we've discussed where to go for an instance and what to do once you get there. Since dungeon runs usually require five members, this week we'll talk about how to find people to go with you. Remember that the typical instance group is made up of a tank, a healer, and three DPS members. It's not always easy to find people that match those requirements. Since there is a shortage of tanks, it's probably easiest for tank classes to find a group. That also means it's hardest if you are not a tank to find someone to play that role. The next most difficult is a healer. There's usually plenty of DPS to go around. It can take some time to make a group, but since dungeons provide excellent loot and good experience it's usually worthwhile to stick with it.
WoW Rookie: Knowing your place in an instance
Last week on WoW Rookie, I showed you the instances you might want to run in your first forty levels. This week, I'd like to tell you more about what to do when you get there. As you level up, playing your intended role becomes more and more important. There are three (or four depending on who you ask) main roles in an instance: tank, heals, damage (dps), and crowd control (cc). The typical instance team includes a tank, a healer, and three dps/cc characters. Read on for more about these specific roles.
Office management, Azeroth-style
Josh had his leadership role in WoW pop into his mind during a job interview, and he channeled that into an interesting little article about how to convert WoW roles into the roles people play around the office. I think he's really got something here-- stay tuned for how you can buy a ticket to his "Management, Azeroth-style" seminar, which will teach you and your staff how to tackle even the hardest raid bosses projects.We've heard quite a few times before that WoW can help you on the job, but I don't know that I've ever seen the roles detailed so clearly. Josh says the Main Tank is the outside communications person for the project, and fends off managers and other departments to make sure members can get their jobs done. The Main Healer keeps motivation up rather than hit points, and make sure everyone stays on task and working. And the DPS are the meat of the project, doing the day-to-day damage to accomplish objectives. The idea works pretty darn well, actually-- at least until your project manager starts taunting the CEO and your senior producer stays up late one night and catches aggro. But definitely an interesting read if you've ever been given the task of running a team of people, in or out of game.
WAR's Swordmaster dances with swords
Warcry has the details from an EA newsletter about the Swordmaster class in the upcoming Warhammer Online. The class is apparently exclusive to High Elves, and combines grace, speed, and balance along with a big swinging sword and a little magic thrown in there. EA also says the Swordmasters are known for wielding the Great Sword of Hoeth, so does that mean you get one sword and keep it for your character's lifetime. Interesting.At any rate, it's cool to see that not only is Mythic digging deep into the existing Warhammer lore for their class definitions, but that they're using those same definitions to innovate the traditional MMO roles (the class sounds like melee DPS with a bit of magic to it, which is definitely cool). As you probably already know, the Warhammer closed beta is offline right now (and will be back on in December), but we're expecting the game later next year.
Growing confidence
Of course, there's such a thing as overconfidence, and I'm sure that we've all met those players who go well beyond overconfidence and into full-bore cocky arrogance, but it's still the case that as we play the game we have those little epiphanies where a new understanding of how to use all of those expensive to train abilities blossoms. It's a fantastic feeling, that sense of pulling out a victory when failure would have been your reward before, of figuring out that proper combination of intervene - intimidating shout - thunderclap to save your healer or managing to walk out of a six mob train in one piece for the first time. It signifies the beginnings of true mastery of a class, when you suss out for yourself how to best make use of all the options available to you.One of the reasons I'm so addicted to playing Warriors (and I'm not alone, it seems, as this post from Mike brought to my attention) is that I got to have that feeling multiple times, once with each spec/character I leveled to 70. It moved me from a diffident tank to one who would willingly try and tank any mob in the game, knowing that my skills were up to the task. Similarly, I've had that sensation of 'Ah, that is how a shaman kills three mobs aggroing at once' as well as 'Do not die on me... I love you, Nature's Swiftness' by leveling my two shamans, and even my tiny ret/prot pally has given me that sense of wonder and accomplishment recently by being the hero on a Archaedas kill. Now is when we turn to you, gentle (and not so gentle) readers: have you had a breakthrough while playing that revealed a whole new facet of your character? Done what you would have believed impossible, saved the day, or just learned something new about your class? Felt like you took a step towards mastering the playstyle or even just figured out that an ability actually did something cool? The comments await you.
