Alternative to the "Holy Trinity" idea

[select20]

I was just browsing another forum, one I just browse but never post in. There was a post there that said any model that got away from the Holy Trinity would fail. It got me thinking and this idea popped in my head, completely open to criticism since I'm no expert and it's just an idea. I'm going to use a typical boss fight for this that would really only involve the boss standing there so I can keep it simple.

Of course this can be broken down into whatever you feel like calling it but for the sake of argument, lets call it, Close Combat, Medium Range and Long range.

Close combat would consist of classes that could:
- do damage
- keep the boss caged in
- snares
- self heals
- heavier armor

Medium Range:
- more damage than close combat
- could act as support runners for close combat and long range as in transporting ammo to and from, maybe have speed abilities that would allow that more efficiently than a close combat or long range doing it. Example would be a class that could drop ammo/potions/buff box in the middle, and when the close combat or long range needed something, they could run it, and drop it off.
- Engineer types with different kinds of turrets maybe.

Long Range:
- Stricly heavy dps like Artillery or air strikes maybe buffs but no self healing or very limited.


Now, again, this was an idea that popped in my head. Would steer away from the holy trinity as we know it but provide a way that would still use teamwork. Being prior military I used examples that I could understand in my mind but of course you could really put anything in there. Completely open to criticism. Also, if this has been done before, I guess I'm retarded. My MMO explerience has been EQ1 and 2, WoW, Aion, Tera, Lotro, SWTOR, AC, Daoc and I think that's it. So I've not seen it in those.

[Skelington]

Doesn't sound that much different. You just give melee dps more armor and have them hold the boss's attention, then two ranged classes. The healer is cut out but classes have enough self heals to keep themselves alive unless they are the glass-cannon, in which case they stay alive by means of a "support box" given by another class.

The team effort is there, but the roles are still essentially the same.

[Larynx]

Close Range -> Tanks
Medium Range -> Healers
Long Range -> DPS

In my opinion, no game can ever stray away from this idea without a completely new concept. Even something as unique as Guild Wars 2 still has the essence of the trinity, and one of GW2's main selling points was this lack of that.

At the very core, a tank is there to control the boss, a healer provides support for the group and a DPS of course damages. If you truly want a game devoid of any of those concepts synergizing together, you'd have to take a lot away from the combat depth.

[Caiada]

Close Range -> Tanks
Medium Range -> Healers
Long Range -> DPS

In my opinion, no game can ever stray away from this idea without a completely new concept. Even something as unique as Guild Wars 2 still has the essence of the trinity, and one of GW2's main selling points was this lack of that.

At the very core, a tank is there to control the boss, a healer provides support for the group and a DPS of course damages. If you truly want a game devoid of any of those concepts synergizing together, you'd have to take a lot away from the combat depth.

Pretty much. Though you could also do so by adding a lot of (probably unnecessary) complexity. Either way, it's not optimal for group situations. You'd be making a whole different sort of game at that point.

[Deleted]

I like WoW's concept, and I hope other MMO's copy it for 99%. I'm tired of WoW theme, but WoW mechanics with a whole new look would be great.

And no, Rift and Swtor don't come close enough to WoW mechanics.