Originally Posted by
Davryn
I suspect that the "social tension" issue affects a really small % of players. Should an entire category of class mechanics (single target external DPS buffs) be removed simply because of this small vocal minority?
Who benefits from these mechanics? It's a type of mechanic that promotes player interaction, which is generally something that the game is lacking these days. Among the casual player base, I can imagine there are some who enjoy the fact that they can directly help their DPS buddy, or even a random stranger in a dungeon. It's much more personal and deliberate than a raid-wide buff, and not every action has to boost your own personal score to be meaningful. A lot of the posters here won't get that because they are "veterans" who no longer enjoy the simple elements of the game, but instead focus heavily on proving their technical mastery, and anything that gets in the way of that is bad design.
Would the game really become better if devs designed the game with parsing in mind? That would be like designing a game with speed runners in mind. If those players figure out a way to make it work, fine. But they are a minority and the experience of the rest of the players shouldn't be diminished for the sake of the former.