(From PCG) Question time: What role—tank, healer, or DPS—do you actually play in MMORPGS, and why?

[Zed Clampet]

https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/question-time-what-role-tank-healer-or-dps-do-you-actually-play-in-mmorpgs-and-why/

Since this is an engagement article, I thought it should have it's own thread.

For me, I usually play tanks. I love playing super aggressively, charging ahead, etc.

 

[Colif]

Only played two so I think I start as tanks mostly on first character just to learn game. And go from there. They are generally the hardest to kill.

Wow I mostly played a Rogue so I was DPS, but I actually played almost every class in that game before I stopped playing. Rogue was my main eventually. Never played a warlock for some reason.

Age of Conan I mostly played a Tempest of Set - Which was both healing and DPS - but I also tried all the other classes out in game.
I think why was it is nice to be able to heal and have highest DPS in raids. That and magic/healing classes were much easier to play in that game. Melee combat moves required key combos to just do one attack, whereas healing/magic were just one button attacks.

 

[Pifanjr]

I pretty much always play a DPS because it's the best role for playing solo and I never get involved with other players in MMORPGs, unless I happen to play with my friends (but then they overlevel by playing without me and I stop playing).

 

[Frindis]

I pretty much always play a DPS because it's the best role for playing solo and I never get involved with other players in MMORPGs, unless I happen to play with my friends (but then they overlevel by playing without me and I stop playing).

Same reason I played deep frost mage in World of Warcraft so I could grind mobs outside or inside of low lvl dungeons like Dire Maul & Scarlet Monastery. Pure DPS is very good for kiting mobs or burning down single enemies, and that seems to be true in most MMORPGs I have played.

I do play hybrid from time to time, like the guardian dps/tank class in Guild Wars 2, but I often find pure DPS to be easier to level with and the hybrid role better in larger parties and to some extent kiting some bosses where you need a bit more survivability included with the kiting, like Paladin class in WoW.

 

[Colif]

Oh and I played FF14 but I can't recall what class I played as, probably not a mage and it wasn't a healer.

I normally play melee before magic. But that depends what weapons the tanks can use, if they restricted to two handers I may look elsewhere.

My first character in Wow was a warrior as I didn't realise what his role in the game was. I thought he was dps, not basically a walking shield for actual dps to hide behind. I wasn't a very good tank, so I swapped around until I found rogue and never really swapped again. I had a few alts as I got bored... this was before TBC so max lvl was 60. I sat on 60 for a year in game time on Rogue.