We're all DDs now >.>

[Zojha]

I'm saying that the traditional understanding of what each role does has evolved in the genre.

That's not entirely correct - It's less about the genre and more about the particular game.

Simple fact is that healers and tanks are superfluous design. You only need them if you mandate them, if you enforce them. Otherwise, people could and would well go without. Damage however does not work that way - Even tanks and healers need it and without it, tanks and healers could not function either, because both mitigating damage and undoing damage rely on damage to exist in the first place. Damage is the only thing that "truly" matters.

That in turn means that the easier and more powerful tanks and healers are, the less they become healers/tanks, as the emphasis of gameplay shifts to other things - their core role is mandatory up to a point and then useless. The shift goes to damage, or damage support. And since healers and tanks also get extensive damage tools for solo play these days, that enforces the shift all the more, as it increases the efficiency of it.

That isn't really a situational problem: All trinity games necessarily suffer from it to some degree. The difference lies in the amount of mitigation/healing activity the game mandates. FFXIV is very lenient and that's why the DPS meta is so rampant here. If we'd nerf all heals by 50% tomorrow and put tank armor on the level of DPS armor while making mitigation part of the active rotation, people might well stop asking healers and tanks to DPS in but a day, as most would likely be happy if they'd get but a functional tank/healer in the first place. As is, functioning as tank/healer is so easy, it's a given. That's not necessarily the case in other games within the genre.

In that, it probably is a situational problem - the situation being FFXIV.

[Orrias]

That's not entirely correct - It's less about the genre and more about the particular game.

That's what I was saying: FFXIV is (un)intentionally added to the process of evolving what is traditionally expected of MMO roles. People in Everquest, SWG, Lineage, etc., weren't approaching roles like they had to do dps. They were focused on their respective roles' job (e.g. heal or tank).

Most MMO didn't typically allow for such gapping windows of opportunity to dps like Healers can in FFXIV, unless the GCD was long or the combat was slow in w/e fashion. The vast majority of playerbases weren't able to add substantial percentages of dps to mix, until they overgeared the content or it was nerfed.

That in turn means that the easier and more powerful tanks and healers are, the less they become healers/tanks, as the emphasis of gameplay shifts to other things - their core role is mandatory up to a point and then useless. The shift goes to damage, or damage support. And since healers and tanks also get extensive damage tools for solo play these days, that enforces the shift all the more, as it increases the efficiency of it.

Absolutely. Once a Tank has taken and can't be striped of aggro/hate, or a Healer/Healers' resources are comfortably in the range of not being overrun by HPS required, then it makes sense to do something with X resource and time of said player. However, I don't think it's something that veteran players of any MMO should expect a (new) random casual to get straight away or want to do, really. It'd be nice, but I wouldn't expect it or beat someone over the head with it. :/

[HappyHubris]

. . FFXIV is very lenient and that's why the DPS meta is so rampant here. If we'd nerf all heals by 50% tomorrow and put tank armor on the level of DPS armor while making mitigation part of the active rotation, people might well stop asking healers and tanks to DPS in but a day, as most would likely be happy if they'd get but a functional tank/healer in the first place. As is, functioning as tank/healer is so easy, it's a given. That's not necessarily the case in other games within the genre.

In that, it probably is a situational problem - the situation being FFXIV.

Agreed 1000%. I want to main WHM in SB for aesthetic reasons (and a general proclivity towards healing in other MMOs), but nothing is more boring than healing in content where healing isn't needed much.

The fact that this entire game is tuned to barely require healing or tanking means that DPS is the only sane option.