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Revisiting the "Holy Trinity" of MMORPG Classes

Posted by Soulskill on from the or-druid-as-the-case-may-be dept.

A feature at Gamasutra examines one of the foundations of many MMORPGs — the idea that class roles within such a game fall into three basic categories: tank, healer, and damage dealer. The article evaluates the pros and cons of such an arrangement and takes a look at some alternatives. "Eliminating specialized roles means that we do away with boxing a class into a single role. Without Tanks, each class would have features that would help them participate in and survive many different encounters like heavy armor, strong avoidance, or some class or magical abilities that allow them to disengage from direct combat. Without specialized DPS, all classes should be able to do damage in order to defeat enemies. Some classes might specialize in damage type, like area of effect (AoE) damage; others might be able to exploit enemy weaknesses, and some might just be good at swinging a sharpened bit of metal in the right direction at a rapid rate. This design isn't just about having each class able to fill any trinity role. MMO combat would feel more dynamic in this system. Every player would have to react to combat events and defend against attacks."

1 of 362 comments (clear)

  1. Help! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Okay, this is like REALLY disgusting, but before you judge, hear me out!

    Here's what happened: A few weeks ago, my crush Daniel invited me over to his house to hang out by the pool. It was the first time we'd ever been alone together! Everything was going okay, but after too many chips and dip, I had to go Number Two.

    The problem was, after I did my business, the toilet wouldn't flush! I tried and tried to get everything to go down, but it just wouldn't work. And I REALLY didn't want to ask Daniel to help me so he could see my gross, disgusting turd.

    So I did the unthinkable...

    I used a HELLA amount of toilet paper and wrapped up my piece of poo with the intention of smuggling it out in my purse and then dumping it outside in the neighbor's yard.

    But, as I was sneaking out, I slipped and fell on the patio and everything came flying out!

    "EWWWWWWWWW!!!" screamed Daniel. "Do you always carry poop around in your purse?"

    After that, let's just say the rest of the date stunk. And I haven't really talked to him since.

    But, I mean, what choice did I have? What would YOU have done? Called for help? (He would have seen the poo anyway!)