Narben4 said:Tanking - i am a control freak!
I like to manage the flow and speed of a fight or fights,
i like to control mobs and where they go
I like to manage oh **** moments through good class knowledge and attentive game play.
I am a control freak
I like to raid lead and through experience have found this is often done best from front.
I like to have to rely on team mates - i can't kill things alone and can't stay alive alone
i am a control freak
i re-read my response and thought wow i have come a long way. I healed everything for six years progression raid content in WoW and then variations of heals across other games. the intensity of healing progression kills, keeping a tank running, managing to keep key dps alive and adding some (minimal) dps to get us over the line was always exhilarating. COntent that required hours to kill always kept me coming back for more......
so well done this post even got a response outof me that was a little unexpected!
Wandidar said:I have to say, when I started this thread I was hoping it would go well... but (in my opinion) its going REALLY well. I'm really enjoying what you guys are writing. It is interesting to me to see so many say (directly or indirectly) "I like having some responsibility in my group"
Thanks for writing... I hope many more of you decide to add your thoughts here!
How about yourself Wandidar? What is your favorite role?
I will play and enjoy almost any role in an MMO, usually I fill in what is needed. What special abilites or what role the class plays does affect my choice strongly.
I think having responsibility or feeling needed in a group is a huge contributor to longevity of MMO's (ie EQ). People want to be needed - to feel like they are playing their part. "I have to show up I cant let my group down" or "Fred come play we need you" rather than "Bah, I don't need to go they dont need me....."
I played WoW for years (and I am not bashing it- I respect that game) and the decline of having a specific tasks per class led to the decline of a certain feeling that you had when you were the one who could innervate, heroism/bloodlust or use tranquilizing shot. You felt needed and special for being the one (or one of a few) that could provide that task. With all the classes so homogenized now you do feel "equal" but you not feel special anymore.
BTW For dinnertime I love a good popover!
I probably enjoy the tank role the most and what I played at EQlaunch; however, my restricted play times don't favor that role especially when most are very gear dependent. So, now, I typically choose the class that's the most difficult (or has the most strategic combat) to learn/master, but where player skill is more noticeable and can make-up gear deficiencies. EQ Enchanter (with charms), EQ Bard (prior to melody), VG Bloodmage, etc.
My favorite role in EQ was PULLING.
What I loved about it was that it was so active and involved - both game wise and mind wise. Seeing what the mobs were, understanding what type of mob they were and what that would mean in regard to pulling an area. Understanding agro ranges and the different things you might do to pull one type of mob over another... understanding spawn times and having that "mental clock" running in your head on when respawns would start. All were fun. It was also fun learning what your group was capable of and striving to pull at the right pace for that group. I would always start slow and ramp up until I'd hit the sweet spot... and that was yet another clock you had running in your head. Keeping the pace up without causing wipes due to bad pulls, etc... was a good dose of responsibility I felt for my groups. I liked that responsibility.
My favorite role in games since EQ (in which roles like pulling have been more or less obviated) has been HEALER.
I like healing becaue I actually find it (in today's MMO's) to be the most critically important role within a group. I know that many consider the tank the pre-eminent role nowadays, but I don't - and for one very simple reason. Tanks can't fix the mistakes of other players within the group. Healers can. Healers can also fix tank mistakes. NOBODY can fix healer mistakes. Tanks manage what the fight SHOULD be if everyone acts correctly and does appropriate things. They can't remedy the fact that someone stood in a fire. That sense of, again, feeling responsible for the success of my groups was something I really liked.
So overall, it was that last bit in both descriptions - the sensation of being a responsibile component of my group's success - that I liked most about each of the two roles listed. My hope is that pulling is a compelling role in Pantheon like it was in EQ. I'll be all over that.
Raidan said:I probably enjoy the tank role the most and what I played at EQlaunch; however, my restricted play times don't favor that role especially when most are very gear dependent. So, now, I typically choose the class that's the most difficult (or has the most strategic combat) to learn/master, but where player skill is more noticeable and can make-up gear deficiencies. EQ Enchanter (with charms), EQ Bard (prior to melody), VG Bloodmage, etc.
I really hope that given the spirit of this game, all the classes lean in that direction! I feel like melody was an attempt to make the bard more in line with other classes for play difficulty, when I for one think it should have been the other classes moving towards the bard difficulty! I find that in most games, you need a strong tank and a strong healer, and the dps can do whatever. From a lore/RP I tend to gravitate towards dps classes (though I go the healer route other times) and I'd love to start seeing dps classes that require a bit more thought and engagement beyond rotating aimlessly through 5 near instant cast 1 second global cool down abilities with auto attack on.
I enjoyed being a casting/support type class, so a summoner type attracted me first. Not a hard core Wizard, I wanted to be more engaged. But, for Pantheon, I may just change my mind and maybe try all-out fighter. I imagine collecting interesting armors and weapons, never having enough room, and being good enough so that because of my reputation I can ask in a group if I can try out this new weapon I quested/looted/bartered because I dont know what it does or how it handles. and having a large friends list with healers, casters, rougues and odd-balls who also feel comfortable calling me to do stupid or dangerous stuff.
