Fair enough argument. This game is hideously unbalanced as it is right now. I'd never want to draw the eye of the nerf-bet to myself, but even so I find some of the things I can get away with as an Arcanist are totally unacceptable. I take hits like a planet. Coupled with access to heals, Protect, CC, AoE, a pet, and peerless mobility, I can very easily take things 10-12 levels higher with no difficulty. And that's not okay.
And of course, this proposed 'Support' role doesn't exist yet. There's no way to say what it can and can't do and what it would and wouldn't be good for. Because it doesn't exist! You can't balance something that isn't there.
I likened it to the nearest 'Pure Support' role I've ever played, which I enjoyed, and was completely viable in its setting. Which I admitted was radically different in pacing and tone to this game's content. It relies on very strict time management and strategic placement. It's very breakneck, and if you mess up you've killed your team. You heal for a little and give a small buff, you do a little damage and give a small debuff, you can throw out one powerful short buff with a stupidly long CD, or you can nuke the target with every condition in the game, also on a stupidly long CD.
I think something like that would mechanically mesh well with what (admittedly little) I've seen of end game. A short duration but very powerful raid buff (a la Bloodlust), with a minimal regen tacked on would be a nice 'oh-shit' thing to have. You can put down a small circle and anyone standing in it gets a Determination buff, just like K'hlyia does in the Arcanist questline. Being able to throw a Haste on an ally caster or Slow on a boss could do just as much to prevent a wipe as outright healing or mitigating damage. You would still need a healer who is NOT a support, to do the actual healing.
I don't want a support to replace healers. I would like it to compliment them. But this is a raid perspective. In 4 mans, yes, they'd 'replace' the healer because the ability to recover health is there, even if it is not the focus. A Feral Druid can still tank a 5 man, even if Guardian is 'the tank' spec. It still hardly stands that you'd be fighting tooth and nail to get a dungeon queue if there were one more healing class. As you yourself said, people don't play healers because they don't want the responsibility. There will always be a demand for them, and adding an alternative isn't likened to illegal immigrants 'takin our jerbs'. Having a support would just shift some of the burden off your poor healer's shoulders.
So what I'm thinking is that a support class won't be good at healing or DPS, it'll be good at helping both of those roles do their jobs better. It's something wholly its own thing that doesn't figure into the trifecta at all. At least how I perceive it. I don't have any reason in the world to think anything like this will come to pass, but it would be different. And different is always worth considering.
And of course, this proposed 'Support' role doesn't exist yet. There's no way to say what it can and can't do and what it would and wouldn't be good for. Because it doesn't exist! You can't balance something that isn't there.
I likened it to the nearest 'Pure Support' role I've ever played, which I enjoyed, and was completely viable in its setting. Which I admitted was radically different in pacing and tone to this game's content. It relies on very strict time management and strategic placement. It's very breakneck, and if you mess up you've killed your team. You heal for a little and give a small buff, you do a little damage and give a small debuff, you can throw out one powerful short buff with a stupidly long CD, or you can nuke the target with every condition in the game, also on a stupidly long CD.
I think something like that would mechanically mesh well with what (admittedly little) I've seen of end game. A short duration but very powerful raid buff (a la Bloodlust), with a minimal regen tacked on would be a nice 'oh-shit' thing to have. You can put down a small circle and anyone standing in it gets a Determination buff, just like K'hlyia does in the Arcanist questline. Being able to throw a Haste on an ally caster or Slow on a boss could do just as much to prevent a wipe as outright healing or mitigating damage. You would still need a healer who is NOT a support, to do the actual healing.
I don't want a support to replace healers. I would like it to compliment them. But this is a raid perspective. In 4 mans, yes, they'd 'replace' the healer because the ability to recover health is there, even if it is not the focus. A Feral Druid can still tank a 5 man, even if Guardian is 'the tank' spec. It still hardly stands that you'd be fighting tooth and nail to get a dungeon queue if there were one more healing class. As you yourself said, people don't play healers because they don't want the responsibility. There will always be a demand for them, and adding an alternative isn't likened to illegal immigrants 'takin our jerbs'. Having a support would just shift some of the burden off your poor healer's shoulders.
So what I'm thinking is that a support class won't be good at healing or DPS, it'll be good at helping both of those roles do their jobs better. It's something wholly its own thing that doesn't figure into the trifecta at all. At least how I perceive it. I don't have any reason in the world to think anything like this will come to pass, but it would be different. And different is always worth considering.
