I’ve always been partial to tank and dps, two low maintenance roles in a traditional party. Back when I played Everquest live in 2000 I had a Paladin and a Monk I’d trade off on back and forth. Though I never got to do raids it was still fun to do small pick up groups in dungeons like Crushbone or Blackburrow where I tanked on the Paladin or did assist dps on the Monk.
I always slid more to the DPS side of things when I was younger, absolutely adored that blade wizard build Rift had, but as I got older I slid more into the Healer role.
My time on FFXIV bouncing between running around as White Mage, Scholar, and Astrologian were some of the best times I’ve had in an MMO. It was hectic, at first, but once I got into the flow of things, it just clicked. Flowing from offensive casting to pulling someone from the brink of death, watching my tanks buffs count down to know when I need to refocus on them. Those tense fights where something went wrong, and now it’s finding order in the chaos to bring it back together for one push.
Healing in mmos always felt daunting to me because of the responsibility of keeping the party alive in tight situations. But I can see how it would be fun when you get into a rhythm of playing.
I fucking loved Rift’s healer-via-lifesteal mage subclass, and nothing else has quite scratched that same itch since. FF14’s sage ain’t shit