by The Drunken Dwarf
Raids in MMOs can provide many interesting and diverse scenarios for adventurers. However, at some point they come to a climax with a major “boss mob” facing the raid party. In most cases this boils down to a “main tank” trying to keep himself the focus the creature’s attention while the rest of the raid tries to keep their main tank alive and deal enough damage to kill the boss. For the main tank, the healers, the debuffers, and the DPS classes, these are exciting encounters. Indeed, these types of encounters are one of the main things that keep a large portion of the player base interested in the game long after they have achieved the maximum level.
The main tank is the star of the show. He experiences an exhilarating fight where he stands toe to toe with the biggest and baddest beasties a game has to offer. The success of the entire raid often hinges on his ability to remain the center of attention for the creature, causing it to ignore the many other members of the raid who are dealing tremendous damage to the creature’s rear and flanks. His life hangs in the balance of split second timing from the raid force’s healers. As one who has stood in the main tank’s armored boots, I can tell you that it is an incredible rush. Well over a year has passed since I played the game, but I can still recall tiny details about some of my fights with various bosses from Ever Quest’s elemental planes.
Unfortunately, there is a small portion of the raid force who simply don’t have a job to do on these major encounters. What is a fun and challenging encounter for the majority of the raid force can be a frustrating event for these players, causing them to ask the question, “Why am I even here?” I am speaking of course, of the remaining heavy tanks.
As much as I enjoyed being the main tank on raids, there were many times when other warriors were designated as the main tank. In those encounters I became a damage dealer. Shunning my defensive gear, I set myself up to do as much damage as possible. And I did pretty good damage…. for a warrior. (Which is to say, I didn’t do all that much.) Sure, I contributed to the overall damage… but in a system with limits on raid size (necessary for game balance) I always felt that I was taking up a spot which could be much better filled with an offensive class. I simply couldn’t do the same damage as they could (nor should I be able to). Therefore, unless I was getting pummeled by a mob, I really didn’t have anything else to offer to raid.
Vanguard promises to change things!
Defensive targets and rescues are the first and probably most important change for the raiding warrior. Now a warrior doesn’t have to be to focus of a monster’s attention in order to provide a defensive benefit. If one of the raid’s healers starts to get pounded into the ground, a warrior can step in and use a rescue to save them. Finally... a purpose for all those heavy tanks who aren’t the main tank for a particular encounter! Raid forces can assign heavy tanks to protect the important “squishies” such as your healers and offensive casters.
While raiding in EQ, we would often have two or three enchanters assigned to “crowd control” for a raid. While it was amazing to watch them turn a room full of critters into drooling idiots staring off into space, it trivialized a lot of content. Vanguard will have some limited crowd control, but the developers have stated that fights are going to be much more chaotic… they are moving away from the “one mob at a time” gameplay that became so prevalent in other MMOs through powerful crowd control classes. What this means for the raiding warrior is that there will be plenty of opportunities to “offtank” heavy-hitting raid mobs. Offtanking is its own special brand of fun, and I always enjoyed it on the limited occasions where we used that method instead of relying on crowd control classes. An offtank needs to be alert, quickly target new threats, and survive with limited healing resources since most healers are focused on the main tank. It can be an extremely fun “job” during a raid, and I am looking forward to it becoming more prominent thanks to a reduction in crowd control abilities in Vanguard.
The title of this editorial is, “The Raiding Warrior.” In previous MMOs, one of the heavy fighter classes usually stood above the others in their ability to withstand the punishment dished out by raid boss mobs. In EQ, it was the warrior. There are plenty of examples of other classes tanking the big mobs… but that is usually after they are geared well beyond what the encounter was designed for, and after tactics have been refined. If you look at the first kills for the major EQ bosses, you’ll see that in the vast majority of cases, a warrior was the main tank. Shadow knights and paladins stood on the sidelines and watched. Vanguard will change this as well! The developers have clearly stated that in most instances, all four of the heavy fighters will tank equally well, with the variety and individuality coming via their secondary abilities. This means that inquisitors, dread knights, and paladins will join the warrior as viable options for the main tank position on a raid.
Raiding is a major part of MMOs, and until now there has been little reason for a raid force to bring more than one main tank and a “spare” or two in case he dies. Vanguard promises to change things and provide valuable and exciting raiding responsibilities for all heavy fighters, not just the designated main tank. I can’t wait!
--The Drunken Dwarf
Comments about this editorial are welcome. Please visit THIS THREAD on our forums and let us know what you think.