Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst
1
2
3
LastLast
  1. #21
    The Unstoppable Force Chickat's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Orgrimmar
    Posts
    20,510
    I would love a support role. Side healing buffing ande the guy that would do the stuff like run somewhere to click something since his dps is lowish anyways.

  2. #22
    Herald of the Titans Z3ROR's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    At home
    Posts
    2,723
    Hybrids are not a 4th role. They are a combination of 2 existing roles.

    I think you need roles like this:
    - Shield type role (defend group from damage that comes from enemies)
    - Offensive and Defensive control role (Get players and enemies in the right position for maximum damage)
    - Damage dealing role (DPS role like we know now).
    - Team support role (healing, buffs and such)

  3. #23
    Rift has Tank, Healer, DPS and Support.

    I was surprised by how much I enjoyed playing Bard (Support). Keeping up buffs for the group, as well as off healing and doing moderate damage kept things interesting.
    Currently playing: Stuff
    YouTube|Hearthstone Decks|Twitter|MyAnimeList

  4. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by dokhidamo View Post
    Sounds more buffing and debuffing than CC.

    But CC is a very very much thankless and noticeless job.
    Its like Bard in FFXI, nobody notices how much a bard greases the parties wheels until the Bard leaves the party and the entire Party engine slows down to unbearable speeds. Fortunately Bards were noticed for their bonuses and became mandatory in any serious group and since they were didn't come with a huge hulking spear or made things implode not a lot of people played them and they were in high demand. I once got an invite from a bug before I had completely logged in. I played it at first because as a casual I can't afford to sit around waiting for a pug group to want me when some classes could wait all night with no invitations at all.

    CC classes though I tend to enjoy more than others, being able to directly impact the battlefield beyond making healthbars rise or dip always pleased me. I always get a smile when my DK moves enemies around with Death Grip.

  5. #25
    Stood in the Fire Taiknee's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Over thadda way
    Posts
    404
    I would absolutely love a class like this.

    The only thing is they would have to make it extremely blunt/in-your-face/read-this-twice-if-you-still-don't-understand/check-this-confirmation-box-to-continue-"Yes I Agree, I am creating a SUPPORT class - this class does not do much direct damage, but empowers your teammates, etc" so that *everyone* knows exactly what they are signing up for, and we don't see tons of "why is my damage so low?" all over the official forums, etc.
    Professional's Guide to: Upgrading Your Computer
    Quote Originally Posted by OperationFerret View Post
    Legion PvP is so bad that Holinka is handing out titles for watching the arena championships.

  6. #26
    Legendary!
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    On the road to my inevitable death.
    Posts
    6,362
    Quote Originally Posted by dokhidamo View Post
    Sounds more buffing and debuffing than CC.

    But CC is a very very much thankless and noticeless job.
    Oddly enough, I see being a buffbot as the "thankless and noticeless job".

    CC is about controlling the battlefield. Being playmaker, you guide the flow of the battle.

    Buffing and debuffing ... sounds like playing whack-a-mole with buffs/debuffs.

  7. #27
    This would be pretty neat, a support role;

    5 mans would lose a dps'er and get a support.

    What a support role could do? Buff party to increase their dps, debuffing enemies to make heals and tank life easier, off-healing to help inco..(cough cough) mana-starved healers

    This could be the perfect opportunity to add the fourth spec to every class. There are 5 healing specs, so they could give the same number of support specs that can have up to 2 support functions out of buffing, debuffing or off-healing, while they do a moderate amount of dps (perhaps a little bit more than atonement/fistweavers).

    There would be no pures anymore, since these would have the said support as the fourth spec. Then Shamans or Paladins may be chosen to have a support spec too (perhaps shaman since pally have 3 roles already)

  8. #28
    No, just no. Not because it couldn't be fun, but because WoW is nearly a decade old. The entire game would have to change. Not only is probably too much work for it to be worth it on such an old product, but it's also too risky for something that is still very profitable.

  9. #29
    Back when classes could actually go oom I thought it would be cool to have a 'mana healer' role that sacrificed health to replenish mana. Of course mana isn't really an issue anymore and the role would go against their new "bring player not class" philosophy.

  10. #30
    Bloodsail Admiral Pigglix's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Somewhere Far Far Away
    Posts
    1,026
    I would hate that, still have nightmares with BC with the hybrid taxes, Retlol, and every other hybrid class getting screwed in the DPS department. No i dont want roll a rogue if i want to be a melee DPS.

    But if they add a 4th spec with support role without affecting the DPS spec...then yes..why not, more choices are Always fun, as long they dont do the bs they did with the BC hybrids.

  11. #31
    Quote Originally Posted by Larwood View Post
    No, just no. Not because it couldn't be fun, but because WoW is nearly a decade old. The entire game would have to change. Not only is probably too much work for it to be worth it on such an old product, but it's also too risky for something that is still very profitable.
    Is not likely they are afraid of big changes. See what happened to the talent trees? If you want to keep doing DPS you can do like always, just queue for it. There is people that like different roles that are not DPS. Plus, a support supposedly is less stressful than healing, so that would offer a good option to those that don't have guts to face the perils of tank or healing, but don't want/are bored of just dpsing.

    Plus, if they implement support role, I believe the support specs are gonna have interesting things and mechanics to offer. Apart from certain cases (rogue..) Blizz did a fine job with mechanics and such, on the classes they did serious revamps.

  12. #32
    Quote Originally Posted by plantation View Post
    Back when classes could actually go oom I thought it would be cool to have a 'mana healer' role that sacrificed health to replenish mana. Of course mana isn't really an issue anymore and the role would go against their new "bring player not class" philosophy.
    This is one of the reasons why the support/CC role was so awesome in games like EverQuest. If you look at the bard they would 'twist' songs to buff/debuff as well as play mana regen songs for casters if they got low on mana. WoW could use it.

  13. #33
    Is it common for buffer/support roles to empower other classes to become tanks or healers? For example, just to get the gist across, say a buffer class could empower a rogue to increase threat by 200%; dodge by 75%; and armor by 300%, and empower a mage to be able to cast Ice Barrier on all friendly players and cause their Frost Bolt to heal friendly players for the damage dealt. Thoughts?

    Here's where I'm getting at with this. It's Future Expansion X, my guild is ready to raid Tier Who Knows in Flex, we have 10 players, but we need an offtank and we want a third healer for a fight or two. BUT, Future Expansion X has introduced the Buffer role, and we have a Buffer in our raid. He does okay DPS, but he can turn me (the Rogue) into offtank, and he can turn our Mage into a third healer for the fights we need a little raidhealing for.

    I would balance this all around the assumption that the trinity is still the most efficient. That way, Heroic raiders won't have to get into all kinds of weird class stacking dilemmas. They can stick with the tank, healer, DPS niche. But adding new roles could be a real boon for casual guilds and PUGs, particularly with the new Flex mode right around the corner; the kind of audience that doesn't necessarily need to min/max, nor is really interested in doing so. For my part, I can't count how many times I've been stuck in a group with 8 people or so stuck, stuck, stuck looking for a 2nd tank or a 3rd healer, or a 2nd tank, or a 3rd healer, or a 3rd healer, or a 2nd tank. If a buffer/support role could alleviate that rigidity somewhat, that would be a real win for the more casual playerbase.
    Last edited by hablix; 2013-06-20 at 08:12 PM.

  14. #34
    The only problem with buff classes is that you have to have the character's buff the other players to make up for the loss of a dps member and make it noticeably better than just having another DPS. This is easy to balance out if your group always consists of 5 players (FFXI) but how do you do this to a 25 man group with 24 players getting buffed so that the 1 bard end up counting as 5 dps? It gets even stickier at 40 man as from all the buffs would effectively make 1 bard count as 8 dps.

  15. #35
    No..Simply no..
    Buffer?Controller? Decoy?CC?!?@!
    NO OFFENSE to you guys but none of these makes sense and are inessential..
    The basic trio (TANK/HEALER/DPS) is enough

  16. #36
    Quote Originally Posted by Huuga View Post
    No..Simply no..
    Buffer?Controller? Decoy?CC?!?@!
    NO OFFENSE to you guys but none of these makes sense and are inessential..
    The basic trio (TANK/HEALER/DPS) is enough
    Essential - obviously not.

    Possible and potentially fun? Maybe - it's been done in other MMOs to various degrees of success. No idea whether it can be done in a way that's right for WoW. I personally expect it's not going to happen.

  17. #37
    Crowd control that is so much crowd control that it is effectively a ranged tank.

  18. #38
    I think it's important to define what level of gameplay a buffer/support role would be balanced around.

    I would balance it such that it would be fun and useful, but not required, at the Flex raid, H scenarios and dungeons, and random battleground level of gameplay.

    Normal raids as they currently exist in MoP, and Heroic raids, would continue to operate under the assumption that the trinity is the most efficient form. I'd be cautious about introducing them into RBGS or arenas either.

    Basically I see this as a fun and optional means of providing casual player groups more flexibility in tackling content suitable to their play level. Trying to balance it to be a mainstay for Heroic raiding-level or competitive gameplay would be a balancing nightmare and would lead to all kind of Sunwell-style class stacking gimmicks.
    Last edited by hablix; 2013-06-20 at 08:37 PM.

  19. #39
    They would be better served making sure every class had access to more than one dungeon role.

  20. #40
    Quote Originally Posted by hablix View Post
    I would balance it such that it would be fun and useful, but not required, at the Flex raid, H scenarios and dungeons, and random battleground level of gameplay.
    the problem with that, is that if the buffs arent substantial, you'll be asked to go dps right off the bat.

    i do think it would make things a little more interesting to have a Support role, and a Control role in the mix...

    Tanks could focus on taking the big hits, while Control help direct the enemies away from the squishy targets and onto the tanks while providing better dps than a tank would, but less than a dps would.

    Supports provide healing and damage reduction, not as much as a healer, but help provide a baseline of incoming heals to lessen the spikes of incoming damage. (like shadowpriests of old).

    While I can see progression heroic guilds tossing out the support & control roles in favor of pure dps/heal/tanks, I think more casual guilds would *love* to have a control in the group to be able to step in if a tank goes down and needs a brez, or gets otherwise incapacitated, etc. would give blizzard a little more flexibility to make fights a little more demanding on occasion without changing the amount of actual tanks needed.

    Same with Supports, makes it a little less stressful on healers that are just dipping their toes in the water, but also lets a 'pro' support keep people alive, while dishing out a good deal of damage.

    and yeah, it would speed up queues significantly.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •