07-01-2005, 05:18 PM
What I'm getting at here, is where do you find the love of playing WoW? What is it that drives you to playing the game?
Obviously there are the four player archetypes:
1) Killer - likes to engage and kill other players, which may or may not include griefing
2) Acheiver - likes to get better and better stuff, or build the ultimate character
3) Explorer - likes to know little details about game mechanics and gameplay, as much as possible
4) Socializer - likes the companionship of their fellow player
But we've had discussions on those before and where people fall in the mix. What I'm finding lately (and it's surprising me) is that my enjoyment of any group play is substantially less when I'm not playing the tank or healer role.
The tank role represents the ultimate interaction with the mobs. The tank needs to keep track of all enemy mobs in the fight and try his/her hardest to hold their attention while helping to kill them in the best manner. The tank is someone who (if they're doing their job) interacts in some manner with every mob in every fight, even if it's just keeping track of their aggro.
The healer role represents the ultimate interaction with the players. The healer needs to keep track of all party members in the fight and try his/her hardest to keep them alive while maintaining the lowest aggro level possible. The healer is someone who (if they're doing their job) interacts in some manner with every player in every fight, even if it's just keeping track of their aggro.
Both tank and healer become massively aware of the aggro level of ALL members of the party - the tank so he/she can pull the attention of a mob back to the fold when needed, and the priest so he/she can anticipate heals (so much of healing is timing) and protect those who need it the most.
Both tank and healer will have to prioritize targets - the tank may have to decide which mob is the most dangerous and keep its attention if he/she can't maintain aggro on everything. The priest may have to decide which party member is the most important and heal that member if he/she will not have enough mana to protect all members of a party.
What am I getting at? Earlier this week I was in a Razorfen Downs run and I found myself feeling bored and useless. Well, bored's too strong a word - I was entertained - but it felt like I was on autopilot. My contribution to the group as a Warlock was minimal at best. I didn't have to worry about cursing to prevent fleeing mobs because none of them there were runners, so I became mostly a DPS monkey. I've played Warlocks a lot, so I'm long past the novelty stage with the class (something that I might experience as a rogue or hunter since I've never taken them above 20). It seemed like had I popped on a television or something to watch that while playing (and thus divided my attention), it wouldn't have made any significant difference in how our battles went.
The level of concentration of play required when playing primary tank and primary healer is, bar none, much higher - unless you're zerging an instance or are overleveled. This helps to keep play from being monotonous when grouping. I rarely EVER felt bored playing my Priest to 60 in groups, due to the pressure of healing duties, and whenever I've tanked instances with Warriors I've really enjoyed getting into the flow of controlling battle pacing. I feel more IN to the action, and less like a bystander who's helping out.
Classes who can play primary tanks and primary healers:
Warriors, Priests, Druids, Paladins
Classes who play support/DPS roles 95%+ of the time:
Rogues, Hunters, Mages, Warlocks, Shamans
So, those of you who play Rogues, Hunters, Mages, Warlocks, or Shamans as your mains - do you feel this way as well in groups? Does it seem like you're always just there for the ride? Back to my original question - where do you find the love of playing WoW? What is it that drives you to playing the game? This is not a class flame/war, it's an honest question.
I've played every class to at least 20, and I noticed that soloing with these very classes I've listed is a BLAST. Rogues for their sheer sneak-up-and-obliterate-someone-then-disappear-without-a-trace ability, Hunters for their blow-them-away-from-a-distance action and pet training, Mages for sheer nukefest, Warlocks for that I'm-a-general-leading-my-troops feeling you get as you can take on things solo that others wouldn't dream of, and Shamans for the give-me-your-best-shot-I-can-adapt-to-anything versatility.
At the same time, I've noticed that the classes that are the most fun solo are the ones that make me feel like a bystander in groups. Everything that's so cool about soloing with them is reduced heavily by grouping. Rogues have to hold back their damage and wait for aggro to build up (blah), Hunters can't do half their bag of tricks, Mages have to hold back like Rogues do (blah), Warlocks - one of the most versatile classes - turn into Summoners, Soulstoners, and Healthstoners, and Shamans become totem-dropping backup healers.
There are of course some exceptions to the rule when a class gets the front-and-center attention. Rogues moving into a group of mobs to Sap one before a fight. Mages and Warlocks AoE'ing. Hunters getting to pull. Shamans off-tanking. But these don't happen often enough.
Conversely, soloing with a Warrior, Priest, Druid, or Paladin has been less than exciting for me, and I find myself looking to group up more often when playing those classes. Am I missing something?
I've noticed that people with mains as one of the support/DPS roles will often complain that they're bored, and I'm wondering if this is the reason. I rarely see Priest/Warrior players complain that they are bored with running instances/raiding, because they always get the "high-action" roles. You always hear of people being described as a fantastic tank or a fantastic healer, not a "fantastic DPS Monkey".
Anyhow, just wondering if anyone shares/disagrees with my thoughts, and also reaching out and telling anyone who might be a bit bored with a main who is a support class to try rolling a tank/healer class to see how they like it.
-Bolty
Obviously there are the four player archetypes:
1) Killer - likes to engage and kill other players, which may or may not include griefing
2) Acheiver - likes to get better and better stuff, or build the ultimate character
3) Explorer - likes to know little details about game mechanics and gameplay, as much as possible
4) Socializer - likes the companionship of their fellow player
But we've had discussions on those before and where people fall in the mix. What I'm finding lately (and it's surprising me) is that my enjoyment of any group play is substantially less when I'm not playing the tank or healer role.
The tank role represents the ultimate interaction with the mobs. The tank needs to keep track of all enemy mobs in the fight and try his/her hardest to hold their attention while helping to kill them in the best manner. The tank is someone who (if they're doing their job) interacts in some manner with every mob in every fight, even if it's just keeping track of their aggro.
The healer role represents the ultimate interaction with the players. The healer needs to keep track of all party members in the fight and try his/her hardest to keep them alive while maintaining the lowest aggro level possible. The healer is someone who (if they're doing their job) interacts in some manner with every player in every fight, even if it's just keeping track of their aggro.
Both tank and healer become massively aware of the aggro level of ALL members of the party - the tank so he/she can pull the attention of a mob back to the fold when needed, and the priest so he/she can anticipate heals (so much of healing is timing) and protect those who need it the most.
Both tank and healer will have to prioritize targets - the tank may have to decide which mob is the most dangerous and keep its attention if he/she can't maintain aggro on everything. The priest may have to decide which party member is the most important and heal that member if he/she will not have enough mana to protect all members of a party.
What am I getting at? Earlier this week I was in a Razorfen Downs run and I found myself feeling bored and useless. Well, bored's too strong a word - I was entertained - but it felt like I was on autopilot. My contribution to the group as a Warlock was minimal at best. I didn't have to worry about cursing to prevent fleeing mobs because none of them there were runners, so I became mostly a DPS monkey. I've played Warlocks a lot, so I'm long past the novelty stage with the class (something that I might experience as a rogue or hunter since I've never taken them above 20). It seemed like had I popped on a television or something to watch that while playing (and thus divided my attention), it wouldn't have made any significant difference in how our battles went.
The level of concentration of play required when playing primary tank and primary healer is, bar none, much higher - unless you're zerging an instance or are overleveled. This helps to keep play from being monotonous when grouping. I rarely EVER felt bored playing my Priest to 60 in groups, due to the pressure of healing duties, and whenever I've tanked instances with Warriors I've really enjoyed getting into the flow of controlling battle pacing. I feel more IN to the action, and less like a bystander who's helping out.
Classes who can play primary tanks and primary healers:
Warriors, Priests, Druids, Paladins
Classes who play support/DPS roles 95%+ of the time:
Rogues, Hunters, Mages, Warlocks, Shamans
So, those of you who play Rogues, Hunters, Mages, Warlocks, or Shamans as your mains - do you feel this way as well in groups? Does it seem like you're always just there for the ride? Back to my original question - where do you find the love of playing WoW? What is it that drives you to playing the game? This is not a class flame/war, it's an honest question.
I've played every class to at least 20, and I noticed that soloing with these very classes I've listed is a BLAST. Rogues for their sheer sneak-up-and-obliterate-someone-then-disappear-without-a-trace ability, Hunters for their blow-them-away-from-a-distance action and pet training, Mages for sheer nukefest, Warlocks for that I'm-a-general-leading-my-troops feeling you get as you can take on things solo that others wouldn't dream of, and Shamans for the give-me-your-best-shot-I-can-adapt-to-anything versatility.
At the same time, I've noticed that the classes that are the most fun solo are the ones that make me feel like a bystander in groups. Everything that's so cool about soloing with them is reduced heavily by grouping. Rogues have to hold back their damage and wait for aggro to build up (blah), Hunters can't do half their bag of tricks, Mages have to hold back like Rogues do (blah), Warlocks - one of the most versatile classes - turn into Summoners, Soulstoners, and Healthstoners, and Shamans become totem-dropping backup healers.
There are of course some exceptions to the rule when a class gets the front-and-center attention. Rogues moving into a group of mobs to Sap one before a fight. Mages and Warlocks AoE'ing. Hunters getting to pull. Shamans off-tanking. But these don't happen often enough.
Conversely, soloing with a Warrior, Priest, Druid, or Paladin has been less than exciting for me, and I find myself looking to group up more often when playing those classes. Am I missing something?
I've noticed that people with mains as one of the support/DPS roles will often complain that they're bored, and I'm wondering if this is the reason. I rarely see Priest/Warrior players complain that they are bored with running instances/raiding, because they always get the "high-action" roles. You always hear of people being described as a fantastic tank or a fantastic healer, not a "fantastic DPS Monkey".
Anyhow, just wondering if anyone shares/disagrees with my thoughts, and also reaching out and telling anyone who might be a bit bored with a main who is a support class to try rolling a tank/healer class to see how they like it.
-Bolty
Quote:Considering the mods here are generally liberals who seem to have a soft spot for fascism and white supremacy (despite them saying otherwise), me being perma-banned at some point is probably not out of the question.