Keep it simple, stupid: MMORPGs are about the roles you play

MMORPGs often require a large amount of team work and this can infuriate players or make them lazy.  Either way it is an issue that will plague players in every multiplayer game now and into the future.  How familiar does this sound? “Quick taunt them off me…”, “Why am I dying in this raid?”, “Why can’t I get some darn heals?”, “I’m doing my job, why can’t the DPS do their job?”   Over and over again, players begin to rant, mostly beyond their “push-to-talk” button on Team Speak, Ventrilo, or Mumble!  The language gets more varied – and certainly more colorful – as they get more frustrated.  

Operating as a tank in many raids/operations on Star Wars: The Old Republic, I definitely feel the pain. It’s pretty much a guarantee with any MMO that players come into raids and other group activities boasting of their knowledge, only to come up woefully short when push comes to shove. Basically the “proof is in the putting” when it comes to MMO game play.

So here are the basics: Just do your job

MMOs usually focus on three groups. These include tanks, Damage per Second (DPS) players, and healers. The team only works if everyone performs those exact roles.  Unfortunately here is where the break down begins.  I’ve heard some tanks say that “I wish I could have more damage on the target, my hits are just not that powerful!”  Well hello there tank, you are the pound of flesh being offered up to the boss or target!  It is YOUR job to take a beating, hold aggro and keep the targets attention. 

Tanking is one of the hardest roles.

You need to have the correct gear and have the correct skill to tank.  Leveling your character as a DPS then changing when you get to endgame is not a good idea.  You need to be solid on your rotations and really know what it is to be a tank.  Beef your gear up with  endurance, defense, shield and absorption traits – pretty much all MMOs will have stats similar to those.  Do your research and, once again, just do your role. If you want to be slaying bosses with huge damage, then do it: but don’t call yourself a tank.

Which leads me to those DPS players out there. 

Your focus should be on damage-per-second spells/attacks. Which seems obvious. But nowhere in this title does it say attack the target first, hold aggro, tank, heal or be Superman and take on every NPC and boss on the map!  Damage dealers sometimes think it’s their job to do everything.  DPS players feel the “need for speed” and often run off to kill, kill, kill – ignoring their teammates.  

But skilled DPS players wait for the tank to grab aggro and hold it, then attack.  Do not break CC’s or stuns with Area attacks or AOE’s.  Use gradual attack rotations instead of your most powerful attacks first.  DPS stats need to focus on powerful shots and critical hits. Since you won’t be focusing on health or defense, wait for the tank to attack first!  The goal is to win the raid, match, or operation – not see how much damage you can produce.  How much damage you put out is irrelevant if everyone is dead!  Just do your role. If you think your attacks are saving everyone, then maybe you need to become a healer instead.

Lastly, the healer is one of the most pivotal MMO roles.  Healers – heal. Please.

 “…well I see that the DPS was down so I started to DPS…”, “well I am geared enough to DPS and heal so I’m good…” 

Shortly thereafter tanks die and the DPS players get laid to waste. Even if DPS are not putting out enough damage, healing is a quintessential role in any raid and operation.  Just heal, keep the tank alive and use your abilities to make it possible for the raid or operation to be successful.  It’s still useful to boost your power and critical attacks, much like DPS, but you need to be able to heal foremost.

Basic game dynamics can go a long way to helping players have a more enjoyable gaming experience.  

Some talk can be around hybrid spec’ing and how some raids/operations are so mechanical it is almost impossible to get through them, but that is another article for another time. Long story short, MMORPG companies like Bioware and Blizzard did not make their MMORPG games easy.  The most difficult raids/operations are made to be challenging and everyone must play their role.  So go have fun and remember tanks just hold threat, DPS do damage (no rogue Superman tactics), and healers just heal.