Future of MMO's without healers? Oh please, let it be

[Allagnar]

SWTOR already took a standard and antiquated notion of tank/heal/dps class divide, but what do you think about the future, do you think healers are becoming just a prehistoric annoyance? Dont get me wrong, my main on wow for years whas a resto shammy and I loved it, but there is something fundamentally, game brakingly bad about the concept of a char staying in the background, just healing his team. More self heal abbilites, more defensive cc's etc, where you need some skill to survive, that is the way of the future, hopefully. Tommorow is Diablo day so ill bid this fine game a farewell, but healers in their current state need to be gone, asap.

 

P.S. This is mostly about pvp healing

Edited May 13, 2012 by Allagnar

[BoomstarPrime]

Agreed, the days of the pure healer need to be dead and buried. A character that has supportive abilites like shields, damage resistance buffs. Stuff like that is ok so long as they are able to get involved as well.

[BlueFromMoon]

Well, Elder Scroll Online is similiar to Rift. What I know. I think most devs prefer it because its really easiest way.

[Monave]

And there are plenty of players that love playing healers and healers only.

 

For myself, arena in WoW made me HATE healing and that is why I have not rolled a healer yet in TOR.

 

That being said, I believe there is a place for healers and always will be in a MMO even though I will not be one any longer.

[Niil]

You prefer apples, some people prefer oranges.

 

I like healing. I also like dps'ing. I sorta like tanking. I'm perfectly content with the tank healer dps paradigm.

[ConradLionhart]

I think the trinity system of tank-healer-dps is too rigid and has to go.

 

I would like group content to be cleared with any combination of roles, whether it be 4 tanks in a party, 4 healers in a party, or 4 dps in a party. This eliminates the tank or healer shortage that plagues MMOs using this system. This will even eliminate group finder, just find 4 people and go!

 

Problem is I don't know if you can design hard content without the trinity system. Any content that does not need a dedicated tank healer and dps would have the difficulty level of level 50 group missions, which are easy.

[RachelAnne]

I would feel pretty lost, if I cant play a tank or a healer. I play these 2 roles since I play MMO´s - dps is boring for me and doesnt really need much skill either, so I would miss the challange then.

[FITorion]

And there are plenty of players that love playing healers and healers only.

 

For myself, arena in WoW made me HATE healing and that is why I have not rolled a healer yet in TOR.

 

That being said, I believe there is a place for healers and always will be in a MMO even though I will not be one any longer.

 

My experience with TOR healers has been rather positive (but I don't PvP and all of mine are under lvl 30). I like to send my companion in... shield him... dps for a while... then shield and heal my companion... then back to dps. This pattern has worked for me thus far even for elite mobs.

[SajmanPeetee]

I like Healers in general and don't mind playing one.

 

My issues come with tanks, the whole concept completely baffles me. The Harbringer of Doom is smart enough to devise a plan to destroy the entire universe but is not smart enough to attack the cloth wearing fireball thrower as opposed to the guy infront of him in full armor swinging at him with a stick.

 

It's just a flat out dumb concept and nobody wants to play a tank.

[BoomstarPrime]

I think the trinity system of tank-healer-dps is too rigid and has to go.

 

I would like group content to be cleared with any combination of roles, whether it be 4 tanks in a party, 4 healers in a party, or 4 dps in a party. This eliminates the tank or healer shortage that plagues MMOs using this system. This will even eliminate group finder, just find 4 people and go!

 

Problem is I don't know if you can design hard content without the trinity system. Any content that does not need a dedicated tank healer and dps would have the difficulty level of level 50 group missions, which are easy.

 

 

Actually its fairly easy to make hard content you make everyone sort of responsible for their own well being and you make the content... idk actually hard?

 

What its being presented here is a complete shift from the gameplay we have now. Not just spamming hotbars and not standing in fire until the thing with lots of hp is dead. Vindictus is the closest thing I can think of but that game is so poorly done its a bad example and makes the idea seem bad when it isn't.

[Karenai]

There will be heal in every kind of group PvP or PvE. Even GW2 has heal. The only real new thing is: everyone can heal.

The only way not to have healers would be some kind of duelling system or the healing beeing done between missions/wars like in BattleTech. But that would also need a last man standing PvP enviorment at all times.

Which is not fun, at all. Even EvE has heals.

We will see how good or bad the evasion system in GW2 works. I doubt it will get rid of heals. Tanks on the other hand...

And calling it something else, like energy, resolve, shieldpower is not equivalent to getting rid of it.

Healing in GW2 is less prominent because you recover your life VERY quickly after you kill someone. After a few seconds you are back to 100%. So sourviving the other guy becomes more imporatant, then healing the damage he does, because if you sourvive him for several moments with 1% hp and he dies you still go back to 100% very quickly. There is not very much difference between killing someone with 50% hp left or 20% hp left. That may be different in RvR.

Also if you take out the heals, there is only DPS left. So absolutly no reason for any other kind of cc then stuns.

 

You end up with beat'em up games. Smash those buttons! (duells as stated before)

 

Oh, and diablo 3 has healing. Every class does it. With potions. And the monk can be specced into heal.

[AndasKastor]

My issues come with tanks, the whole concept completely baffles me. The Harbringer of Doom is smart enough to devise a plan to destroy the entire universe but is not smart enough to attack the cloth wearing fireball thrower as opposed to the guy infront of him in full armor swinging at him with a stick.

 

People would scream bloody murder if mob AI got alot better. Think about it... you hit a group of 3 mobs and one of them is a healer. Who do you focus on and dps/cc first? It isn't the tank

 

That is why people PvP - looking for a challenge. BTW I never PvP so I am not advocating it by any stretch of the imagination.

Edited May 13, 2012 by AndasKastor

[Allagnar]

There will always, probably, be a need for a healer in any game that puts one player against another, but their current state, where you are wailing at someone, get them down to 20-ish % hp just to see them jump back up again cause a friendly healer ran by, is nothing but annoyance. In wow, with addons like healbot and grid you didnt even need any mind blowingly good skills, you just watch bars and click a button. I know that we wont ever be completely rid of healers (nor would I want it to happen), but at least an evolution of a concept, something...

[amnie]

I would feel pretty lost, if I cant play a tank or a healer. I play these 2 roles since I play MMO´s - dps is boring for me and doesnt really need much skill either, so I would miss the challange then.

 

this this this and this.

 

 

if I can't feel 'needed' I have no reason to play an mmo. if I want to do 'everything' I play a single player game.

[Lindraskada]

whats the problem with specialization ?

you dont like pure healers ? dont play one . why the hell do you want to remove them?

 

lets remove tanks aswell

oh and DPS

 

lets all run around with potions solo, who needs a group ?

 

and suddenly ! a NEW MMO! with ONE CLASS! the mediocre dps/defence/bit of healing hybrid

 

oh hold me back

[Tiaa]

Let's not stop at healers...

 

Factions.

 

PvP "stats".

 

Games balanced around PvE then PvP afterwards.

 

Warzones.

 

Horrible developers.

[SneakyErvin]

Yep, hopefully GW2 will set a new direction when it comes to tanks, healers and dps in MMOs. D3 is already taking a step in that direction, although not an MMO its still a multiplayer game with grouping options and no healers. Honestly I'm not sure how close it will be to an MMO or how the multiplayer functions will work or what the multiplayer server cap is.

 

D3 will bring healing abilites to all classes it seems, aswell as the potion system, 30 sec cd on a big heal. GW2 will do the exact same thing, some classes will have group healing abilities, but there is no class desiged to be a pure healer. Med packs, healing turrets, passive group heals and so on. But all classes will be based on having self heals in one way or the other.

 

GW2 is also taking a huge step away from the OG style rogue class, stealth will not be a permanent mechanic, just as melee will not be a mandatory way of dealing damage as a stealther. Instead the stealth class will get an in combat stealth that doesnt break on damage but is needed for some abilites, aswell as getting full spec based on range, such as the shortbow. Just like the range can be a pure melee class based on 2h swords, dual wielded axes and pets, or a mid to long ranged class with shortbows or longbows with pet support.

 

I think that type of mechanical and fundamental changes to the MMO-designs as we know it is vital for its future.

[damican]

 

Problem is I don't know if you can design hard content without the trinity system. Any content that does not need a dedicated tank healer and dps would have the difficulty level of level 50 group missions, which are easy.

 

You can't. Anything that doesnt hit hard enough to require replenishing hp etc etc.

 

Know why the trinity is still around? Because it works. Of course I'd say its "outdated" too if I refused to play a healer/could never find groups due to lack of one.

[Valperion]

There is a mmo where there is no Healer/Tank

* Atm is just has dps.

 

Its a mmo where it relies more on a players skill, rather than

* Just smashing 1,2,3,4 as a tank or healer.

 

Game

* Blade & Soul

[Sparklehorse]

Yeah let's just eliminate an entire sub-group of players from the desire to play our games.

 

Here's a hint:

 

There is a significant number of people who very much enjoy playing healers. Believe it or not, there are some people who ONLY enjoy playing healers...I know...shocking isn't it?

 

Games with no trinity inevitably end up in a "let's have the dps ping pong the boss around until either we are all dead or it is" situation and you have a recipe for some really, staggeringly stupid, gameplay (yes I'm looking at you GW2.)

 

Terrible idea is terrible.

[SentinelDranoel]

Champions Online has always been like this, they even released the game without a healing spec. You can design your character to be able to self heal if you want. A great feature they have I wish every other game had was the healings powers were also attacks as well. Lock on to a enemy and it becomes a damage ability, lock on to your teammate and it is now a healing ability.

[Satans_Puppet]

To be fair is this more that you can't find a healer or a healer won't jump when you shout "More Healz"?

 

I like my healing class, I love playing a healer in PvP and people are glad to have me on their team, if people are allowed to self heal where's the incentive to mingle with other characters? Oh look I build a solo build so I don't have to be part of the community but that's fine that's how you want to play the game.

 

PvP is all about being part of the team, we don't have Deathmatch on TOR, we have objective based play and everyone has a role to play.

[SneakyErvin]

Yeah let's just eliminate an entire sub-group of players from the desire to play our games.

 

Here's a hint:

 

There is a significant number of people who very much enjoy playing healers. Believe it or not, there are some people who ONLY enjoy playing healers...I know...shocking isn't it?

 

Games with no trinity inevitably end up in a "let's have the dps ping pong the boss around until either we are all dead or it is" situation and you have a recipe for some really, staggeringly stupid, gameplay (yes I'm looking at you GW2.)

 

Terrible idea is terrible.

 

Well that game is designed around PvP, so PvP takes the lead on design decisions, just like most every other MMO is designed around PvE. This might be shocking, but different games are infact different.

 

The GW2 system is spot on for healing, and honestly, if you look at the professions correctly, there are a few that can go a bit more heavy on healing with the right combination of weapons and skills.

[ccoolmint]

This is a terrible idea. The day mmos no longer need tanks and heals is the day I stop playing them and GW2 looks like its not for anyone who wants to play anything other than dps.

[Saxx]

Unfortunately no matter what you call it a healer will be a healer. However, the sadder truth of it is the MMO market is dieing because of people wanting console game play in a multiplayer game. They want things to be like Borderlands where it is 100% solo oriented, except you can bring friends in to play if you want that experience. This eliminating the need for a straight up dps, tank, healer class spec since you are already your own healer.

 

Truly miss those days of pure healing like in EQOA/EQ2. I just have to admit those days are gone since everyone wants to be their own healer soloing all content within the game.