The Healbot

[Thawwing Light]

I, sadly, find myself getting near this state as well.  Unlike Diablo 2, when partying was more of a "let's kill this stuff together instead of separately, like we both could," partying in WoW is an absolutely necessity.  Also, you are absolutely dependent on your teammates as well.  As you noted, part of being an effective tank is playing with others who understand how to let you build up some aggro, just as you learn how to lead the party and control the flow of battle.  But one poor player can make an entire instance run an exercise in frustration for everyone.

This is an additional turnoff for casual players - they may find themselves unable to get into good groups as time progresses, because it's too frustrating for the hardcore players to have someone who doesn't know what they're doing along.  Whether it be the tank, healer, DPS, or support class - not understanding your role will annoy the heck out of the other party members.  In a sense, it makes the game ANTI-social instead of the opposite.

-Bolty
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This is quite amusing. D2's 'partying' was, as you state it, usually a bunch of people soloing together. Also, when people party outside of instances, this method usually works well enough there as well.

It breaks down when people are forced to play as a member of a fighting team, and not as a solo island. It's a completely different playstyle, and it also relies on everyone in the party being skilled. Some find it frustrating, as it's difficult to find a fully functional group, where everyone has a basic idea of how to play their class in a group, let alone is good at it. This might turn many off to places where it's required to group, such as instances...

Not myself, however. You see, I played Final Fantasy 11. If the forced grouping sections of World of Warcraft are a bit frustrating, imagine an entire game where a party was a necessity to gain any experience, and good experience could only be acchieved in a string of difficult fights with a good party. For this, a competant tank, healer, support, agro manager, offtank, and dedicated damage class were required. Only the first two, really, are needed, but the last 4 were the composition of choice in the ideal party, which was more of a sought after
commodity in that environment.

***enter full on soapbox

I played a healbot, or White Mage. Indeed, pacing is regulated by the MP of the healer, a dedicated puller is a must, and any damage class (or for that matter, tank, healer, or hybrid) that doesn't know what an agro is should be educated once, and if they don't become at least harmless, they ought to be booted, sadly. There, death hurt, losing you 1/10 of a level, and you could level down if your crew didn't know what they were doing. What's more, it was also good practice to blacklist someone if they left your party within about half an hour or so of joining it, as it was bad taste to leave a party without an essential role. Between that necessity and looking for groups for hours on end, it's a wonder enough people got to the endgame, where only the dedicated, the competant, and the Ebayers reached.

***leaving soapbox.

The point of that rant is, WoW's parties are like those of any other MMO in instances. A competant group where everyone functions as part of a team is needed, especially the tank and the healer. WoW's party required sections are a step up for the casual gamer, who has only ever experienced D2 or other limited methods of Co-Op, but they're akin to the normal group experience of other MMOs.

Not that it doesn't hold up. I really enjoyed my good parties in FFXI, and this discussion of resting when mana when possible to conserve for the next pull and only Renewing the offtank reminds me of good times, but really, a good instance here is like a good party there, only with more variety of monsters and less of a loss if we wipe.