by David Piner on Jul 08, 2010
Healing and death will be very different in Guild Wars 2 than other competing MMOGs or even the original Guild Wars. First of all there will be no dedicated healing class:
Simple systems like this, along with cross-profession combos, and the dedicated healing skill slot, help free players from the MMORPG shackles, and let us break the mold even more. We're making players more self sufficient, but are also providing appealing ways for them to effortlessly work together to create a more inspired moment-to-moment experience. That is why Guild Wars 2 does not have a dedicated healing class.
That seems like a big break from the trinity of healer/tank/dps and may be a welcome change for many. Why? Because it takes forever to form a group when there are so few tanks and healers but an over abundance of DPS. Of course, without a healer it seems that every class (as previously announced) will have support abilities that help mitigate the loss of a dedicated healer.
Additionally, it appears that death will be less harsh in Guild Wars 2. They are removing the death penalty all together and using a Gears of War style death sequence where you'll die but still be capable of using some abilities until you're revived (either by an ability or by someone helping to pick you up) or you're finished off at which case you will move to a waypoint.
This is some pretty cool news. You can see the full article over at the official Guild Wars 2 website.