Jumping right into the thick of things; I'm failing to see how constant proposals for increased support role damage is supposed to make the roles more valuable. It doesnt in the slightest and in all actuality, modifying the damage as a means to upping the valuability would actually backfire as it continues to put the focus on the dps side of things. The problem as I personally see it is that content seems like a one track type of deal. You've got 4 different roles and endless customization options yet the game as a whole discourages what people consider "balanced 2-2-2-2". Many people chock it up to people running with less supports as a means to carry bad dps/ spread the burn burn mentalit; while true to a point, it isnt the sole reason. Currently, the way roles themselves function in relativity to content design is a HUGE factor. Starting with healers- Solo healing is doable due to the resto stats and overall some players abilities to handle it. My question is, if one healer can do the job of two, why would someone want to bring a second one in the first place? Its a common thought process and actually it does make sense. The second healer is usually cut because there is never really a NEED for another if one is able to handle it, and thats the problem. The second is viewed as 'dead weight' and is cut in favor of bringing damage to speed up the runs Trolls and tanks are like oil and water in some instances. The crowd control effects often interfere with the opposite role's performance. Troll CC is helpful, but if a Tank has a handle on it, at times it can be detrimental to the group. Debuffs are nice and while small, do make somewhat of a difference so thats a plus, but in certain situations, it may not be worth it. Furthermore, as far as trolling is concerned, Power dump n P.O.T are the basic elements of basic trolling. But there arent really other ways to power a group. Also, to stay on topic, currently as it is, solo trolling is quite possible due to the fact that many powers have power reduction mechanics. in the past it may have been necessary to run two trolls but now its more of an option. And as far as tanks are concerned, one tank who is relatively familiar with their role and has a decent rotation would generally be able to perform well enough to where a second isnt needed, causing groups to drop it and bring in more damage. Basically, If they arent needed, people will drop them. But what can be done about it? I've been playing a couple single player games where i got a few ideas. Maybe our enemies need to attack in phases; phases that keep every role on their toes. One idea i had was for there to be phases which affect each role. For example, Burn down X enemy before it Reaches Y! Or X IS DEFENSELESS! ATTACK NOW WHILE THE SHIELDS ARE DOWN. And after a set amount of time the shields or whatever reactivate, and the phase changes. 2. for another phase, why not change up the type of damage done? Lets face it, one shots are getting old. What if there was a phase of sustained damage for an extensive period of time, so much so that the healers would have to constantly be on the grind keeping the group alive for the duration of the time. If more stress is put on the healers, people may realize that there is luxury to having more than one and they are valuable assets to the team. 3. For tanks, have them have some enemies that they aggro and Cc like currently, but a phase where the adds might drop from the tank (whilst the boss remains) and only would be able to be cc'd by the troll. Perhaps there would be more specialization in types of playstyles. by this same token, a phase can occur where enemies can be debuffed but not cced by trolls(maybe these two could work in shifts. Also, why not try randomizing the patterns? If everyone knows what's coming, of course they're going to be able to plan accordingly. Also, why not try to incorporate more maneuverability during fights? More encouragement to use our unique movement types? Just food for thought. There are A LOT of ways to incorporate all roles, but quite frankly it feels like they're glossed over
This is a casual MMO. Those mechanics which you speak of, the non elite community cannot handle, nor can the current UI handle that. You are right there are alot of ways to incorporate roles, however there just arent enough support roles in the game to accomodate the changes you speak of. People spend 30m-1hr looking for just 1 tank. Making support roles more fun to play should be priority #1. Giving AM to dps only encouraged people to not play support roles.
Okay there is this one fight in a different MMO where you have two bosses. If they get to close to each other they buff each other and start to heal one another and the have to die around the same time. You have to defeat them in separate corners and keep them there. There are also little adds that need to be stunned and burned down quick because the heal the bosses too. Stuff like that would be awesome.
