The only real way to solve DPS queues

[Penthea]

If the problem is that consistent, though, isn't the issue equally likely to be simply that... tanks and healers aren't attractive enough?

Attraction is subjective. For some players it's not that they hate tanking and healing, it's that they enjoy dpsing far more. Others don't want the responsibility of having the well-being of other players constantly on their shoulders.

And then there's the responsibilities. Perhaps if the responsibilities of DPS were equally visible, a bit more of the ostensible tank/healer burden taken up by DPS, then the other roles would be more attractive, at least relatively.

The responsibilities of dps aren't as comparatively burdensome as tanks and healers unless you do ex and savage. As a dps a few mistakes in your rotation will rarely cause issues in normal mode, and it's true in many savage and ex fights as well. However a tank or a healer making one mistake with their class abilities can lead to a wipe in content even before lvl 50.

Also tanks and healers must learn how to fulfil their roles alone given they're the only tank/healer in the majority of pre max lvl content, whereas dps always have another dps with them. If there was three man content with one tank one healer and one dps, then the responsibility of the dps could dramatically rise.

And as for table-top RPGs, just consider any of the DnD style video games you've approached, or any system with ranged or first-strike mechanics; they, not a tank or healer, are the bread and butter of combat.

I mentioned table-top rpgs to point out that classes specialising in damage being popular is because of human behaviour, not a fault of the game. When a game gives the choice of playing support or damage, damage is almost always far more popular. Full damage teams can work in table-top rpgs because the GM can create encounters specifically for the group playing. You don't have that option in mmorpgs.

[Shurrikhan]

Attraction is subjective. For some players it's not that they hate tanking and healing, it's that they enjoy dpsing far more. Others don't want the responsibility of having the well-being of other players constantly on their shoulders.

Every like or dislike is subjective. But when you objectively have far more people seeming to like set A over B or C, isn't there quite likely to objectively be something subjectively attractive that is lesser in set B or C relative to set A? If no one likes your food, it's not that your customers are all quirky or tasteless people; it means simply that your food is bad, at least in what's important -- attracting your target customers.

The responsibilities of dps aren't as comparatively burdensome as tanks and healers unless you do ex and savage.

Yes. Agreed. That's... what I just said....

Perhaps if the responsibilities of DPS were equally visible, a bit more of the ostensible tank/healer burden taken up by DPS, then the other roles would be more attractive, at least relatively.

Also tanks and healers must learn how to fulfil their roles alone given they're the only tank/healer in the majority of pre max lvl content, whereas dps always have another dps with them. If there was three man content with one tank one healer and one dps, then the responsibility of the dps could dramatically rise.

But just what responsibilities would that 1-in-3 DPS have that he didn't already have, identically, when 1-in-4? The problem is the visibility of responsibility, the shorter-term benchmarks such as "did this die quickly enough not to wipe us?" As healers and tanks contribute to that in functional identical manners, just with additional utilities, reducing total party dps does not make the DPS's responsibilities any greater in practice. There's no functional difference, and no change in how easily his mistakes or successes are noticed by most other players.

I mentioned table-top rpgs to point out that classes specialising in damage being popular is because of human behaviour, not a fault of the game. When a game gives the choice of playing support or damage, damage is almost always far more popular. Full damage teams can work in table-top rpgs because the GM can create encounters specifically for the group playing. You don't have that option in mmorpgs.

And I mentioned it because I don't understand why it's shocking to you, save that perhaps you're too hung up on the idea of set role allotments despite varying strategies. Be it here or in a table-top game, the only throughput that ultimately wins fights is damage dealt. Tanks and healers both require damage to be taken to see any use, and the less damage you have available to deal, the more damage you will be forced to take, especially against more numerous, lower-HP targets. There are far, far more choices in damage-dealers than tanks and healers simply because those two "roles" are far more rarely relevant, and can in many cases be avoided outright.

Moreover, outside of threat tables as in MMOs, tanking isn't meter-stacking -- it's just positioning. In most cases, if the enemy has to get past you to get to more vulnerable targets, that's enough. There's no enmity; just interception and harassment.

Think of the number of managers relative to workers. The purer or more numerous the managers relative to workers, the more potential labor goes to waste. Luckily our tanks and healers aren't forced to only meat-tank or only restore health, respectively, but the proportions still follow. Damage will remain the most popular "role" not just because of the aesthetic -- there are plenty of people who love the beefy plated Fighter or Paladin aesthetic -- but largely because it's the one not wastefully specialized past a certain point.

At any rate, though, the proportions given in this game is that there should be as many DPS as tanks and healers combined. Fair enough. But, again, are we running into roughly 2.3x the DPS as tanks/healers because of their aesthetics, or because of the gameplay or responsibilities? Is it an inherent love of the "DPS role" or simply a fault of the perceived imbalances between what enjoyment one can get out of a tank or healer relative to a damage-dealer. Even the aesthetic can technically be fixed, as we often saw with HW DRK and Warrior for a time, but the latter aspects are entirely up to the developers to improve upon. It's not a fatalistic "community irredeemable" thing; it's a game design thing.

[Keridwyn]

There are far, far more choices in damage-dealers than tanks and healers simply because those two "roles" are far more rarely relevant, and can in many cases be avoided outright.

A side note, as someone who's played D&D/Pathfinder/Others for various years this is misleading because those classes that cannot be built into tanks or healers can be built into something this game lacks...support. Also absolutely no DM I have ever met has run into a pure DPS party with zero healing options beyond potions and not gone 'are you sure?' Tanks are optional, healers are not.

Damage will remain the most popular "role" not just because of the aesthetic -- there are plenty of people who love the beefy plated Fighter or Paladin aesthetic -- but largely because it's the one not wastefully specialized past a certain point.

No, it's because of reaponsibility. People DO NOT WANT to be the ones constantly getting blamed for the mistakes of the whole party. DPS might be more mechanically satisfying to play but unless you are doing something so blindingly obviously wrong even people unfamiliar with the class notice, the only person who might call you out is someone more skilled/familiar with that particular DPS. Play a tank or healer though and suddenly anything that goes wrong is and will be your fault and folks who have little idea how to play your class will feel the need to give you 'advice'. It happens all the time. People don't want this and have never wanted this. It takes a certain mindset to be okay with this. That, more than 'its more fun', is the truth of it.

[Lium]

No, it's because of reaponsibility. People DO NOT WANT to be the ones constantly getting blamed for the mistakes of the whole party.

This is the primary reason I only play DPS classes in every MMO now. I used to play a healer in WoW for a couple years. This was back in vanilla WoW. But it got frustrating keeping bad groups alive and getting blamed for their mistakes. I rerolled a DPS class and haven't looked back in like 11 years.