There are three major player positions in modern MMO’s. They consist of a tank, a healer and DPS. Of course there are slight variations on the theme but you get the idea. In the 6+ years I have been playing MMOs I have noticed something particular about the folks that fill those positions.
Warning: Anything I say from this point on might offend some of the people who fill these roles. This post isn’t aimed at anyone in particular but I am sure someone will read between the lines and get their little feelers hurt. Stop being so vain, this wasn’t written for you.
With the disclaimer out of the way, let’s get down to business.
Tanks:
Okay so we all know that without the tank most of what we do in the MMO world would be impossible. In my opinion the tank is the center of the MMO universe. Unfortunately for us, some people can not separate themselves from the position.
Sometimes the person playing the tank thinks that they are the center of the universe as well. When this happens there is nothing but BAD on the horizon for the guild. A good tank is necessity; a good person playing the tank position well is a god send.
If you have a good person who is a good tank, let them focus on their role. People who play tanks tend to be dynamic people. It is easy to come to rely on them for many things. All of this responsibility quickly leads to tank burn out. You want to avoid this, trust me on this one.
My lesson learned about tanks: Never let a tank have too many guild responsibilities. Let them be the tank. Not the tank and the raid leader. Not the tank and the web master. Not the tank and blah blah blah.
Healers:
I am going to let you in on a little secret; healers are the backbone of your raiding team. A guild with adequate healers can go far. A guild with exceptional healers is an exceptional guild. Unlike tanks, I have never bumped into the healer who thought they were the center of the universe. But…..
I also know that a lot of healers who are closet control freaks. They may not want to be the star of the show but somewhere deep down they want to direct. Healers can also be the most overly critical players in your guild despite not being most vocal bunch.
Good healers who are vocal are hard to find. If you have one, listen to him/her. They know exactly what is going wrong and who is causing it. Just don’t let any of the healers overly critical bullshit get in the way.
My lesson learned about healers: If your guild is having progression problems that are not obvious, nine out of ten times you can look to your healers for the solution. If your healers are not under performing you can bet your ass they can tell you who is.
DPS:
Unlike tanks and healers the majority of people playing DPS avoid in game responsibility. For most of these people the game boils down to two things fun and numbers. As long as they are having fun and are on top of the meters, nothing else really matters.
Regrettably there is a shit ton of bad dps players who fit the profile. They will do just about everything they can to get their numbers even at the cost of wiping. Of course when the wipe happens they will inevitably blame the tank or healers.
Really good dps players are a rare breed. You know those players who GTFOOTF, interrupt and play to win? If you have any good dps players, get them involved with the others. There are a million fire standing monkeys who can top the meters. Use your good dpsers as the example not the meters. Make sure make your good dps players the stars because good dps players are rare indeed.
My lesson learned about DPS: If your healers are strong and you have dps that can not end the fight on their feet, they are worthless. Anyone who will not play to win is a hindrance to the rest of the group. Dead DPS is worthless no matter what position they are on the meters PERIOD.
