So I have sat back the past few days to watch the LFD – Call to Arms debate. While I think that Blizzards motives are good, the idea itself is somewhat suspect. Supposedly the idea is to reward the least represented class in a random group in the LFD que. In theory if your class is under represented, you get an extra bag of goodies at the end of a successful run.
We all know the real reason that DPS has the longest que times, no tanks. This isn’t a new problem for WoW. Hell it isn’t a new problem for MMO’s in general. It has been around forever and it will remain that way in any game that relies on the “holy trinity” model. We all know that there are fewer tanks than healers and fewer healers than DPS. Blizzards solution is supposed to spurn interest in the tank role, it won’t.
Blizzards great idea will work just about as well as Tobold’s suggested solution, more tank gear. For some reason Toblod thinks that players having access to more tank gear will suddenly drive interest in the role. Not gonna happen. Access to gear has nothing to do with this problem. The problem has to do with game design and the player, simple as that.
WoW 5man instances are designed around the 1 tank, 1 healer, 3 DPS model. There is no real wiggle room here. This is the way the game was designed and really no amount of player ingenuity will change this for the masses. Sure there will be the occasional player/group that will overcome this design issue, but the normal player is still forced into the mold.
The second issue is the players themselves. The majority of the players avoid any true responsibility in the game. Tanks and healers have a significant amount of responsibility in any instance/raid hence they are under represented for this very reason. I have said it before and I will say it again, most players will avoid anything they perceive as work in-game. The average joe/jane consider these roles as work, they just don’t want to do them.
A new buddy of mine in Rift gave the perfect analogy to the holy trinity. He likened DPS to Ferarri race car drivers and the tank and healer roles as the mechanics. WoW’s problem is simple, no wants to be a mechanic, they all want to be race car drivers. While DPS is perceived as flashy, cool and fun, tanking and healing is work.
I really think in order to overcome the issue Blizzard has to address it from their end. It really will boil down to a game design solution. Players are fickle creatures and there is no way they will be coerced into playing a role they perceive as work. The people who play tank/heal roles is because they love to or have to, period. In the WoW design, tanking is tanking and healing is healing. You see, there really is no middle ground. But how many different ways are there to dps?
Toblod’s idea is like telling the janitor that the company will provide a tuxedo for his uniform. At the end of the day, he is still cleaning toilets.
I think you’re on the right track for an eventual fix, but it won’t come soon. If it comes in WoW at all. This is precisely why I won’t tank unless I’m paid gold, upfront. People on Bloodscalp know me well enough to know I’m not gonna screw them, and they also know by now that they aren’t going to find many better geared/skilled tanks to pug a heroic with.
What Blizzard is offering will work until I have my mounts/pets. After that, they’re going to have come up with a new way to pay me for my time, because frankly the achievements/rewards disappear pretty quickly. Hell, at this point there’s not even any DPS gear I’ll want from Heroics. As I’m already wearing a full set of regular raiding gear with a smattering of Heroic raiding gear here and there in my offspec.
Essentially, this move is a band-aid. They’re treating symptoms instead of the disease.