by Karen Hertzberg on Sep 18, 2006
by Medeor and Shayalyn
When it comes to the classes, which do you prefer--a specialist or a
generalist? We pitted Medeor, a fan of the cleric and a generalist,
against Shayalyn, a hardcore EverQuest druid who thinks that generalist
classes kick ass. Who will win this word duel? You decide!
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When you build something do you look for the
“all-in-one” tool or the tool that will complete
the task at hand? If you are in a pinch you will grab that
Leatherman All-In-One Multi-Tool™ and make do, but if you had
your druthers, you’d have real pliers or a hammer,
right? That’s my feeling on the type of character I
want to play. I don’t want to play something that
might work in a number of situations, I want to play either a hard core
healer or damage dealer that only has one direction. Here are
the reasons why: I’ll get in groups more often, I
know my role regardless of the situation, and people will like me more
(ok, I’m making this last part up).
It is hard enough getting in a group; the last thing I want to do is
pigeon hole myself even further by playing
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alt="Druid looking for group"
title="Here's your typical Druid looking for a group. "Hello! Wil anyone let me join them, please?""
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hspace="4" vspace="2">a hybrid
class. If I am playing a cleric, people know what they are
getting. If I am playing a hybrid class, then they have to
qualify my application into the group. "So, are you a druid who likes
to heal poorly, or a druid who likes to do damage poorly?" If
I am leading a group, I will go so far as to say that the hybrids get
last look unless we can’t fill the spot. Yes
I’m a grinch, and my characters typically eat gnomes, or at
least hybrid gnomes.
Here is your typical Druid looking for group: "Hello, will
anybody let me join them…please?"
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alt="Group looking for Medeor!"
title=""Whoa! There is enough of Medeor to go around here, people.""
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And here is Medeor the Master Healer looking for a group:
"Whoa, simmer down! There is enough Medeor to go around here, people."
See the difference?
It has been my experience that hybrid players don’t actually
learn to play the multi-task role well anyway. They decide
which of the phases of the character they like to play and typically
stick with it. So you end up with a multi-tool that only uses
the pliers and not the cutting edge of the knife-like part (which
really isn’t a knife but it kinda looks and acts like
one). If that is the case, then for goodness sakes, re-roll a
one-trade wonder. If you are going to play one roll and be
gimped, it doesn’t make any sense (but then I don’t
think like a druid who might think that sounds perfectly logical).
Playing a one dimensional character provides me the tools to play that
character well. I’ll stick with the healer
archetype because I do enjoy that class. As a master healer,
I get heals-over-time, minor heals, monster heals and sometimes even
chain heals. Those are all tricks up my sleeve to accomplish
the many different facets of group fighting. I can choose the
most mana efficient heal to keep my group alive and ready for the next
battle. Hybrids have to use the one or possibly two types of
heals at their disposal that are not as mana efficient or
versatile. In a sense, you could say that hybrids are less
versatile than the more “spell rich” single faceted
classes.
In conclusion, play a few character types to determine your preferred
style of play and then pick the most hardcore archetype and go for
it. If you want to play different styles, then roll an alt.
As a one trick pony, at least I have one really good trick.
And as my dad always says “If you have a hammer, everything
looks like a nail.”
Thanks for reading, please forward flames to
hybridsaresilly@bah-go-away.com.
Okay, funny guy...it’s on. You think my Swiss Army Knife of a
Druid isn’t group-worthy? You doubt that I’m a
master of my abundant and useful skills? Let me ask you this: in a
tight situation, who would you
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hspace="4" vspace="2">rather have at your
side, Nurse Nancy with her Band-aids and mercurochrome; or MacGyver
with a paper clip, rubber band, aerosol can and some duct tape?
Tsk! It sounds as though you’re saying that taking on more
than one role would be just too confusing for you. Perhaps
I’m higher functioning, but I would be bored silly playing
one role. I honestly can’t imagine focusing solely on
healing, or melee, or DPS.
Don’t get me wrong--I know that healing takes more effort
than simply kicking back and firing off the appropriate heal or cure at
the members of your group who are in need. I get that. It’s
just that I’d rather be able to multi-task. I have more fun
playing three or four roles at once. One second I’m dealing
some damage; the next I’m firing off a heal; and the next
I’m managing crowd control or using my aggro-control skills
to manage a complicated pull. Can your single-minded specialty class do
that?
I didn’t think so.
I don’t worry about finding groups, either. Instead of
filling one role, I can fill one of several. Is the group looking for a
damage dealer? My class will fit nicely. Do they need a
crowd-controller? Again, I’ve got the goods. Or maybe they
need a healer or a back-up healer. I’m there, healing away.
Need someone with aggro control to pull mobs? I’m your Druid.
I may not do any one thing as well as a specialty class can (if I did, my class would be so over-powered it would be godlike), but
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alt="Nurse Nancy" title="Nurse Nancy"
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hspace="4" vspace="2"> I fit into four times as many
situations. True, there are some folks without the skill to play a
multi-talented class to its fullest, but they’re the
exception, not the rule. Those poor unfortunates who try playing a
utility class like a Druid and fail should probably go back to
something far less challenging: a Cleric, for instance.
And there’s another benefit to playing an all-rounder type
class--I can solo. Most generalists...can't. Picture this scene: you, the generalist, have got one hour to
play your game of choice. You log in and get yourself situated and
looking for a group. That’s 10 minutes gone. You get the
group (let’s be really generous and say that takes five
minutes), and head out to your destination. In a big game (such as
Vanguard will be), getting to your destination and getting the group
fully assembled in one place could take another 15 minutes, and again
I’m being generous. Now you’ve got a half hour left
to play if you’re lucky. If all goes well, you’ll
get some experience and maybe enjoy yourself. If things go badly,
you’ll lose experience, and you’re unlikely to gain
it back before your play time ticks away.
Now, imagine my druid self logging in. Knowing I only have an hour,
I’m not going to look for a group, I’m going to run
out into the wild and start soloing. (Ten minutes gone, tops.) I solo
away. Things are less likely to go badly because I know my character, I
know my limitations, and I don’t have to worry about any bad
group members messing things up for me. Fifty minutes later
I’ve got more experience than you likely will have gained,
and I’ve had a good time, too.
Nope, I’m not satisfied being a one-trick pony. Give me
versatility any day. My choices are as unlimited as the niches I can
fill. I want my character to be a blur of activity, handling multiple
roles with ease. There’s no way I could stand off to one side
and heal like Medeor does--I have to be out there enjoying the dance!
No one puts Shayalyn in a corner.