We are continuing our review of the Tenets of Pantheon and looking at class distinction and uniqueness of roles. We’ll delve into the reasons why I believe these two items go hand-in-hand and should be included in any multiplayer game.
The first tenet we are looking at is Classes have distinct identities. In an MMO, each of the archetypes (tanks, healers, crowd controllers, and damage dealers) will be filled by classes which, despite accomplishing the same role, will play differently. Healing on a cleric should feel different to healing on a druid or a paladin. The methods each use should be tied to the lore of a class. A cleric should be casting holy spells that channel the power of the deity they worship, healing their party. A druid, on the other hand, should be drawing their power from nature to regenerate their group. This allows for diversity in the game and allows players to play the style with which they are most comfortable.
The second tenet is No single player should be able do everything on their own. Much like in chess where there are 6 different pieces and each piece has a role to fulfill, an MMO has many classes, each with a distinct set of abilities and limitations. If every piece could do the same thing, what would the point be of playing a rook versus a knight? If this is what you want, then why not play a single player game? This obviously doesn’t mean that hybrid classes shouldn’t exist. Rather, if they do exist, they should be able to fulfill multiple roles almost as well as a specialized class.
Having unique roles also plays into how groups get filled. In Pantheon, groups are currently set at five players. This will allow for a tank, healer, DPS, and crowd control, with the fifth spot open to any other that the group wants to have. Groups can choose an off-tank, more dps, extra heals, or crowd control.
By creating unique roles for its players, Pantheon allows gamers to specialize and contribute meaningfully to the game.
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