MMO Class Behaviors

[ShiroeMegane]

Hi, I'm new here, and I was curious about something... In MMO animes, Healers constantly are portrayed as "I'm not very good, but I will do my best" kawaii desu scrubs. Realistically, while some may start out that way, most Healers seem to act along the lines of "Screw you guys. Tank, quit going at a ridiculous pace: slow down, or I'm pulling all healing from you... I can't keep you alive if you're exceeding the abilities of my character. DPS, if you choose to draw the aggro, you're on your own... Forget this noise."

Now, onto the question: How have you noticed players in each class archetype (Healer/Special Stuff, Tank, DPS) respond to things in-game? If you've heard through voice chat their exact reactions, I'm even more curious.

~Shiroe Megane

P.S. If this is the wrong section, or previously done, my apologies, but I couldn't find anything suggesting an alternative.
P.S.S. Let's stick to the three class archetypes. Only specify a specific class if it's a notable example or an anecdote, please.

[Karrotlord]

As primarily a healer I start out the first way and end up the second way if they piss me off.

But seriously, I do tend to underestimate my abilities and when things go wrong I'm more apt to leave than blame someone else. Unless I know it's their damn fault.

Haven't done too much group things lately to notice any patterns if any exist in others. Currently playing swtor.

[Fencers]

I usually find DPS players to be somewhat careless. Or at the least, DPS are the most likely members of a group to ignore mechanics, over pull or exceed threat threshold.

I do not play DPS classes very often. I tank usually.

[namecraft]

I am also kawaii desu scrubs.

[Deleted]

Hi, I'm new here, and I was curious about something... In MMO animes, Healers constantly are portrayed as "I'm not very good, but I will do my best" kawaii desu scrubs. Realistically, while some may start out that way, most Healers seem to act along the lines of "Screw you guys. Tank, quit going at a ridiculous pace: slow down, or I'm pulling all healing from you... I can't keep you alive if you're exceeding the abilities of my character. DPS, if you choose to draw the aggro, you're on your own... Forget this noise."

Now, onto the question: How have you noticed players in each class archetype (Healer/Special Stuff, Tank, DPS) respond to things in-game? If you've heard through voice chat their exact reactions, I'm even more curious.

~Shiroe Megane

P.S. If this is the wrong section, or previously done, my apologies, but I couldn't find anything suggesting an alternative.
P.S.S. Let's stick to the three class archetypes. Only specify a specific class if it's a notable example or an anecdote, please.

Your observations are purely anecdotal and subjective. No class role has any special kind of people drawn to it. Everyone can are everything.

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OP there is no need to post your name after the comment, it is automatically displayed with each post already.

On Topic: Tanks have often the Leadership role inherently in WoW. They have to control a lot of fight Elements such as the positioning of Boss, Phase transitions etc. so they end up leading the group as a whole while at it.

Hope this was helpful.

~ Speshil Exclusif

Pretentious snowflakes who want tone noticed and special always write their name in forum posts even though there is no damned way they don't know their name is displayed next to their post.

It's almost as bad as the people who add color to their text.

[Cosmic Janitor]

The behavior of healers depends entirely on their equipment, the current meta and their personal skill and the tank they are dealing with. Get the Euclid's norm* of that setup, rank it from 0 to inf. and every healer on the lower end of the scale, from here on out indicated with the adjective "shit", will tell you to slow down, wheres the ones on the other end of the spectrum, from here on out indicated with the adjective "good", will tell you to pull faster and even pull for you if you aren't fast enough for their taste.

*can't find the proper English name currently, essentially ||x||₂ = sqrt( (x₁)² +(x₂)² + .. +(x_n)²)

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Your observations are purely anecdotal and subjective. No class role has any special kind of people drawn to it. Everyone can are everything.

In the majority of guilds I've ever been in healers where for the most part women :P.

[ShiroeMegane]

As primarily a healer I start out the first way and end up the second way if they piss me off.

But seriously, I do tend to underestimate my abilities and when things go wrong I'm more apt to leave than blame someone else. Unless I know it's their damn fault.

Haven't done too much group things lately to notice any patterns if any exist in others. Currently playing swtor.

Haha I know what that's like. I tried to be a healer once... I learned quickly that I was better suited for DPS, and promptly started over. Honestly, I respect Healers a lot. They keep the group alive in conjunction with the Tank, and both are invaluable to any party. I have seen quite a few Healers put their party members back "in their place", though, due to DPS pulling and expecting the Healer to save them or Tanks taking on more than they can handle and getting overwhelmed.

I haven't looked into Old Republic. Do you think it's good?

I usually find DPS players to be somewhat careless. Or at the least, DPS are the most likely members of a group to ignore mechanics, over pull or exceed threat threshold.

I do not play DPS classes very often. I tank usually.

I know I personally have a habit of over extending, which is a really bad thing to do, but I agree that tends to be a commonality with DPS players, albeit it can be easy to do on accident if you get carried away. I most commonly solo, though. So my characters get designed as off-tanks to help me get around damage and last longer. The trade-off is kind of obvious... If I cared enough to go ahead and party up to do a bunch of Raids and whatnot, I might actually go ahead and Respec my characters to be true DPS.... but until that day comes... Haha

OP there is no need to post your name after the comment, it is automatically displayed with each post already.

On Topic: Tanks have often the Leadership role inherently in WoW. They have to control a lot of fight Elements such as the positioning of Boss, Phase transitions etc. so they end up leading the group as a whole while at it.

Hope this was helpful.

~ Speshil Exclusif

Off-Topic: I know. I do that when I'm typing an original post, starting off a thread. Otherwise, I don't do it.

On-Topic: Given their role in a battle, I knew their ability was what the strategy's typically based around. I haven't been enough groups to notice a role of them being the leader. That is interesting. Thanks for the information!

I am also kawaii desu scrubs.

Forgive me. I didn't clarify why I called them that... My reason for saying that is because many healers in these animes tend to not pay attention to the Skills they have and just assume that spamming Heal Spell #1 is all they can do. Given these are based on real MMOs, to an extent, it's unrealistic that all they can do is that. As a consequence, all those characters appear to do is choose what is comfortable instead of learning the ins-and-outs of their Skills which is why I call them scrubs, because they don't know how to play their character effectively. You can be modest and good-hearted without being a kawaii desu scrub, as opposed to the cynics I described, but it just seems that I haven't noticed any Healers, real or fictional, that don't fall into said classifications. As Creamy Flames states, my observations are purely anecdotal, hence the reason for the thread. I wasn't trying to insult anyone, but if I did, I apologize.

Your observations are purely anecdotal and subjective. No class role has any special kind of people drawn to it. Everyone can are everything.

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Pretentious snowflakes who want tone noticed and special always write their name in forum posts even though there is no damned way they don't know their name is displayed next to their post.

It's almost as bad as the people who add color to their text.

*Jokingly being a pretentious snowflake* Wooooow, someone hasn't gotten their coffee yet! :P
*Back to being serious* As I said earlier in this, I only sign at the end of a post if it's the OP. I OCCASIONALLY break that rule if I'm using it to make a point or joke. The latter seldom happens, however.
Anyhow, yes, my observations are purely anecdotal, which inherently means they are subjective to what I have viewed. That is why I made this post to get a compilation of everyone else's views and input. It wasn't me being a pretentious snowflake, it was me trying to create a discussion. The signature at the end, which is why you called me a pretentious snowflake, is a carryover from growing up writing actual letters until I was 12 as opposed to living on the internet. Some habits don't break. It's easier to accept the idiosyncrasies of others than be a grouch about them; however, even if that's just who you are, I hope we can be friends on here, nonetheless.

The behavior of healers depends entirely on their equipment, the current meta and their personal skill and the tank they are dealing with. Get the Euclid's norm* of that setup, rank it from 0 to inf. and every healer on the lower end of the scale, from here on out indicated with the adjective "shit", will tell you to slow down, wheres the ones on the other end of the spectrum, from here on out indicated with the adjective "good", will tell you to pull faster and even pull for you if you aren't fast enough for their taste.

*can't find the proper English name currently, essentially ||x||₂ = sqrt( (x₁)² +(x₂)² + .. +(x_n)²)

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In the majority of guilds I've ever been in healers where for the most part women :P.

Fair enough on all points you raised. While I don't quite agree, you probably know better than I do. As for you observation that Healers tend to be mostly women, I wonder what could cause that.

[Cosmic Janitor]

Fair enough on all points you raised. While I don't quite agree, you probably know better than I do. As for you observation that Healers tend to be mostly women, I wonder what could cause that.

I was mostly joking with the math part (though you could do that if you wanted to quantify it), what I was trying to say is mostly it depends on the healer. Especially during times when equip is easy to get (like currently in wow where everyone out-gears everything) and when Blizzard's current healer approach is enabling spam builds, it's fairly easy to find healers that will tell you to pull faster (even if your CDs don't allow that) because they want to finish this fast and have nothing to do. Obviously there are other cases, where when a healer is new to the spec/class/business they will want you to take it slow. Same for when they currently barely are able to keep up or try to keep reserves for when a miss-pull happens. I've seen both over the years (since DKs are around I've been tanking and have seen a lot) and generalizing it is probably no doing the subject justice.

As for the healer tend to be women part.. probably many factors. It's a more social apporach to the game since you used to be not able to do much (depending on the game) as a healer, many gf's started as healing slaves to their bf when they started the game, etc. It might not be politically correct, but I have definitely seen a bias over the years in WoW and other games, and I know my fair share of male healers - used to be a healer for years myself in Ragnarok Online .

[Karrotlord]

I haven't looked into Old Republic. Do you think it's good?

I like it. It's a bit casual but relaxing. Good story lines. The F2P model is atrocious though. And like i said, haven't done much group content to comment on that.

[ShiroeMegane]

I was mostly joking with the math part (though you could do that if you wanted to quantify it), what I was trying to say is mostly it depends on the healer. Especially during times when equip is easy to get (like currently in wow where everyone out-gears everything) and when Blizzard's current healer approach is enabling spam builds, it's fairly easy to find healers that will tell you to pull faster (even if your CDs don't allow that) because they want to finish this fast and have nothing to do. Obviously there are other cases, where when a healer is new to the spec/class/business they will want you to take it slow. Same for when they currently barely are able to keep up or try to keep reserves for when a miss-pull happens. I've seen both over the years (since DKs are around I've been tanking and have seen a lot) and generalizing it is probably no doing the subject justice.

As for the healer tend to be women part.. probably many factors. It's a more social apporach to the game since you used to be not able to do much (depending on the game) as a healer, many gf's started as healing slaves to their bf when they started the game, etc. It might not be politically correct, but I have definitely seen a bias over the years in WoW and other games, and I know my fair share of male healers - used to be a healer for years myself in Ragnarok Online .

Interesting, and it makes sense.

Oh wanted to add that Healers occasionally get "God Complex" as they literally rule over life and death, since they can opt to "kill" unwanted party members by not healing them.

I'd say that makes sense.

I like it. It's a bit casual but relaxing. Good story lines. The F2P model is atrocious though. And like i said, haven't done much group content to comment on that.

Well, please tell me about what it's like when you do get around to the group content, if you choose to do such.




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So, what do you all think are definite do's and don't's when it comes to each Class Archetype? Please, explain your reasoning if you can. I'm curious to hear your thoughts.

[Gandrake]

nope, pretty much everyone acts the same

not as good as me

some warriors are calm, some warriors are angry. a lot of ferals and dks are just simply obnoxious people. the angriest player i've ever met was a gladiator mage.

[Dilbon]

Tanks are often cranky if things don't go well.

[Nurvus]

@ShiroeMegane
What you seem to fail to understand, is that in MMO animes the players "roleplay" their characters.

Fast-paced MMOs of nowadays don't support proper, spontaneous - ON THE FLY - roleplaying.
And it's not because it's impossible to implement the necessary tools, but because the developers don't give a damn about it.

So you're comparing incomparable things:
1 - "Reality" has players almost always act "out of character", all the way to the character creation screen, because if you're not playing an "OP" class/spec and for some reason you're not getting along so well, leveling up is so fast that you can just reroll another one.
2 - Anime portray players acting "in character", all the way to the point that they pick the class that fits their personality, and leveling is slow enough that they stick to it till the end.

[Cosmic Janitor]

@ShiroeMegane
What you seem to fail to understand, is that in MMO animes the players "roleplay" their characters.

Do they really? Most seem to me like the standard anime trope characters, with a few exceptions like the "I end my sentences with stupid gibberish" character who tend to do actual role playing, otherwise the bumbling airhead in-game is also the bumbling airhead outside of it. Some characters tend to behave more open in-game for the obvious reasons, but I wouldn't go as far as call that role playing in the conventional sense.

[Deleted]

I heal for 5 straight years now main. I appreciate it when a tank pushes me to the limits in dungeons, as the goal has always got to be "as fast as possible". If dps stand in fire for no reason, they still get heal because it will be a slower dungeon if I let them die. If i risk the tnak dying in the process, I might not heal them.
I really never refuse to heal anybody.

I think if healers care about hps too much, they should play dps. Ofc it's nice to be on top, but when the boss dies, and youre not underperforming, its fine. Discipline priests or resto druids blanketing the raid with shields / reju for hps and bragging about it are just a bit toxic for the heal staff of a raid imo.

To me, the sense of roleplaying and class imagination is very important. It may sound stupid, but I could never play a rogue reading the descriptions of "garrote" or "mutilate". Refreshing the vitality of allies with streams and tides of powerful water, conjured by calling to the very elements themselves is the thing I'd much rather do than "harming" anyone else, let alone asphyxiating them or let them bleed to death. Oh and I am a male :P. I have to agree though that healer types are mostly defined by that slaves thingy described in comments above. As a result, they play awful (e.g. discs blanket shielding the raid while the tnak is on 20% life and no raiddamage is to be expected) and are still celebrated because A) hps and B) theyre female. I found that to be the case especially while playing alliance. Way more bad heals in casual mythic than on horde side. (Casual mythic meaning like 10 mythics now on 6 hours / week or sth like that).

So, IF anyone tends to be a kid / aggro / entitled kinda guy, it's the tank imo. Dps may just suck, but they are quiet most of the time. The best example for strange behaviour imo is LFR tanking. I am always happy if the other tank is the guy who is always taunting everything so I can pretty much go watch some videos. Then, when he notices it that he is doing all the work (what he clearly wanted to because he taunts every mob as soon as you taunt it) he flames you because you dont taunt.

[Ergar]

Hunter/Archer/Bowman/etc players are jerks/complete retards in every single game. The classtype seems to attract mouthbreathers for some reason.

[stellvia]

Oh wanted to add that Healers occasionally get "God Complex" as they literally rule over life and death, since they can opt to "kill" unwanted party members by not healing them.

I had a bit of fun with that in MoP, as Brewmaster with the correct talents was almost self-sufficient in 5man dungeons. So if they lagged behind, oh well

I've found myself playing all 3 sides of the Triad over the years in MMOs. I guess I prefer DPS, but it can be frustrating being at the mercy of the tank/healer not fucking things up. As a tank, you can control your own destiny far better than as DPS, although even they are somewhat at the mercy of healers. If you're MT though, you can generally count on the heals to be there though. Healer can also control destiny to a certain degree, but there is only so much you can do if everyone else is Standing In Fire as it were.

Raided as Rogue in WoW through like 9-10 tiers. Really enjoyed the eventual utility/mobility they had. (And always funny to end up being the last person alive on an attempt and vanishing to clear aggro/save repairs lol) Ended up having a lot of fun with Brewmaster in MoP and inherited the MT job for those tiers. It combines the mobility of Rogue with even more utility and a touch of Feral Druid's "John Fucking Madden" for a highly engaging and rewarding tanking class. (At least in MoP, I heard WoD wasn't kind to tanks, especially BM. Made them far too dependent on healers again) Spent some time as a Resto Shaman around BC era as well.

My favorite MMO class to date would have to either be that MoP Brewmaster, or Enchanter in Everquest1. I love the CC role, even though its largely absent from modern MMOs or made really weak. Enchanter is the lynchpin of a group in EQ and when you excelled at it, you could really accelerate the XP gain of your group or prevent some pretty nasty wipes from happening. (Sleep spells, roots, stuns, even charm) With proper management of a charm pet an Enchanter could even put out as much or slightly more DPS than a main DPS class—the caveat was you played on the razor's edge, as charm can break randomly and a buffed pet can wreck you quickly if it turns on you.

Only MMO I know of with a solid CC/utility class since EQ is Rift.

[SpikeySquad]

Sure there may be some generalisations but the majority of the time I find they do not actually hold up in practice. I actually have met a few very likeable and skilled hunters! Tanks tend to be of all types from going faster than DPS can keep up to very slow (especially if they are just starting out). Healers who are shouting at the tank to pull more or that they wish to solo heal bosses (and then promptly fail). Oh and even DPS who know their role and actually have respect for others!

While in my guilds in WoW and Rift I have never found the majority of healers to be female. I will say overall the females that I have come across tend to play healers than other roles or if a DPS then it tends to be a caster.

[Nurvus]

Do they really? Most seem to me like the standard anime trope characters, with a few exceptions like the "I end my sentences with stupid gibberish" character who tend to do actual role playing, otherwise the bumbling airhead in-game is also the bumbling airhead outside of it. Some characters tend to behave more open in-game for the obvious reasons, but I wouldn't go as far as call that role playing in the conventional sense.

What I said still stands.
I never said the characters in MMO animes are super deep and developed.
The author usually focuses on the interactions between MMO mechanics and the story first and foremost, and given the limited duration of each episode, and the need to develop the "plot", there's usually little room for much else.

I guess the only stuff I regret from animes in general are comic reliefs and scene.

[Lord Havik]

I shrug off all damage, do a bajillion dps, and give less than zero fucks.

I am that Blood DK. You know the one. And by the time you zone in, I'm already soloing the boss.