I was talking about forced grouping but I failed to mention the grouping dynamics lol.
Correct me if I'm wrong but SW:TOR's approach to grouping is to have a hybrid trinity system, ie the tank does some dps, the dps does some tanking, and the healer does some CC. In GW2 there's no designated tank or healer so players spend their time group chaining their attacks while fending for themselves. Tera's grouping system is definitely more traditional, closer to Burning Crusade WoW style with an action RPG twist.
I'll be up front and say that trinity wise, I would love for TOR's hybrid system to work. Pre-WoW I know the horrors of being stuck as heals or tank. I enjoyed playing these specs but I didn't enjoy playing them all the time. WoW gave tanks and healers the ability to pew pew and I loved it, but there were consequences to giving tanks and healers too much power.
When tanks can respec and group with other tanks, when we dish out enough dps to finish off the boss, and when we can even turn ourselves into healers, we start not to give a **** about other people. Probably the same thing with healers as well. Even up until I started playing Tera could I not realize my selfishness. Remember that I don't speak for everyone but as a Lancer my character's progression and enjoyment of the game is tied directly to my ability to keep everyone in the immediate area alive. When I fail to do this I suffer greatly as a result. As a casual player I don't like this mechanic but as an adult experienced in these types of MMOs I can appreciate the positive impact this forced grouping system has on the community.
What is nice about Tera is that with the action combat engine, being a full time tank isn't as boring as it was in previous games. So while other MMOs are trying to mix it up with some tanking and healing with a side of dps, Tera is just trying to make the tanking and healing itself more engaging.
Comments
Correct me if I'm wrong but SW:TOR's approach to grouping is to have a hybrid trinity system, ie the tank does some dps, the dps does some tanking, and the healer does some CC. In GW2 there's no designated tank or healer so players spend their time group chaining their attacks while fending for themselves. Tera's grouping system is definitely more traditional, closer to Burning Crusade WoW style with an action RPG twist.
I'll be up front and say that trinity wise, I would love for TOR's hybrid system to work. Pre-WoW I know the horrors of being stuck as heals or tank. I enjoyed playing these specs but I didn't enjoy playing them all the time. WoW gave tanks and healers the ability to pew pew and I loved it, but there were consequences to giving tanks and healers too much power.
When tanks can respec and group with other tanks, when we dish out enough dps to finish off the boss, and when we can even turn ourselves into healers, we start not to give a **** about other people. Probably the same thing with healers as well. Even up until I started playing Tera could I not realize my selfishness. Remember that I don't speak for everyone but as a Lancer my character's progression and enjoyment of the game is tied directly to my ability to keep everyone in the immediate area alive. When I fail to do this I suffer greatly as a result. As a casual player I don't like this mechanic but as an adult experienced in these types of MMOs I can appreciate the positive impact this forced grouping system has on the community.
What is nice about Tera is that with the action combat engine, being a full time tank isn't as boring as it was in previous games. So while other MMOs are trying to mix it up with some tanking and healing with a side of dps, Tera is just trying to make the tanking and healing itself more engaging.