Supporting Roles in The Old Republic
First off, looking at Star Wars Galaxies, the only example of a Star Wars-based MMO we've got, there's the inclusion of the medic class, a sort of cleric that uses technology and the all-purpose healing substance bacta to keep allies up and running. Multiple skill lines, the ability to improve healing efficiency in several areas, and a role suited mostly to the back lines. Seems to be something that could translate pretty well into Bioware's entry, right? The problem here is really twofold, though. First, with Galaxies being set in a time far beyond that of The Old Republic, the obvious advances in technology mean that transplanting a medic class into The Old Republic wouldn't exactly be a one-to-one endeavor. The other is trying to create "iconic" classes that will be distinct to both sides,because putting in a support class for one faction but not the other is perhaps the developer equivalent of aiming a shotgun at your foot and happily pulling the trigger. While classes in Galaxies cast you in more of a regular person's role in the Star Wars universe, Bioware wants to make you "heroic" in The Old Republic.
What about the KOTOR games? In both entries, there wasn't really a healing "class" per se. Light side users were the ones who could most easily use healing abilities, but even a Darksider like me who lightsabered and Force choked his way through dialogs and encounters could use a little healing. Medpacks and first aid specialties rounded out the support stuff in the KOTOR games, making healing gameplay a bit of a mix between efficient and frequent item use and occasional Force assistance.
This worked fairly well for KOTOR's single player experience, but what about SW: TOR? Reliance on itemization might be nice, but in MMOs, having things be "who pots first" does have its drawbacks for game economy and crafting demand. Force powers being healing powers is nice, but they'd have to have some mirror on both sides of the coin. With the supposed inability for Sith to use Light side powers, for example, it's going to be a bit challenging to introduce proper support abilities from that respect.
At the end of the day, it seems that we've ended up being more like Watson rather than Sherlock Holmes - scratching our heads and wondering why our powers of deduction aren't giving us the solution that we're looking for. Really, the only thing we can do when it comes to support classes and roles is to keep watching for the information that's released,because I have a feeling Bioware has a rather unique take on the support role that will somehow be molded to fit within the Star Wars IP. What are your thoughts, I wonder?
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Posted 9/25/2009 6:46:11 PMI'd rather have "support" spread out among all the classes so that you actually have to think about what you are doing and multi-task more in your character. It makes the game play and the team play more engaging and fast-paced.
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Posted 9/25/2009 6:39:17 PMThere are two factors at play: there are DEFINITELY people who want to play a support class, and every character has to be epic and combat-capable. There is an option here to have healing branches available to (virtually) all classes. The key is to allow any class to sacrifice some of their skill point, feats or what-have-you to an expanded support role.
If there are more classes with a little healing each, then there is no need for a single dedicated healing class.
No one wants to be stuck "LF1M, healer." That won't fly in SW:ToR. For those watching the forums, the HOLY trinity is pariah. Instead, make healing (mostly) universal while allowing the players that want a greater support role to direct any class in that direction.