Line #92 Main/DamagerHealerTank


1	[[quoteright:330:[[http://soodinghel.deviantart.com/art/Holy-Trinity-of-MMOs-471981696 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/holytrinity_tv_tropes2_4001.png]]]]
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3	In {{Character Class System}}s, there are [[AnAdventurerIsYou many different roles]], from petmasters to nukers to jacks of all trades. However, even outside class systems, three particular combat roles often come together, forming what in [=MMOs=] is dubbed "the holy trinity":
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5	* '''Tank:''' The tank, in essence, focuses on soaking up damage on the frontlines, preventing the other party members from being hurt. To that end, they generally have a very high amount of health, high defensive ability, some methods to DrawAggro (e.g. taunting) and keep the aggro on them and not the squishier members of the party, or sometimes just being able to outright dodge the opponents. A StoneWall character is a very common type to do this. Often placed in the front row.
6	* '''Healer:''' Healers, in essence, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin heal]], preventing the rest of the team, particularly the tank, from being wiped out. They may also have other support effects to help them -- such as being able to put shields around allies, remove [[StatusEffects negative status effects]] or otherwise [[StatusBuff buff]] them, and sometimes even debuff enemies for good measure. To compensate for their amazing restorative powers, they tend [[SquishyWizard to be weak physically]], but they may be able to [[CombatMedic hold their own quite decently]] (just not as well as the Tank, for game balance reasons). Often placed in the back row.
7	* '''Damager:''' Otherwise known as DPS,[[note]]from "Damage Per Second" -- the acronym stands for damagers by convention. The actual phrase it comes from refers to the "attribute" describing how much damage you do,[[/note]] the damager focuses on, you guessed it, directly damaging and killing foes. They may be quick and able to [[DeathOfAThousandCuts slide in many attacks as fast as possible]] or simply just [[MightyGlacier hit really hard]]. Most modern [=RPGs=] further subdivide these into [[AlphaStrike burst damage]] and [[DamageOverTime damage over time]]. To compensate for their high damage output, the damager will usually be [[GlassCannon quite]] [[SquishyWizard squishy]], unable to stand up to too many enemies (or a single [[BossBattle really powerful enemy]]) at once, requiring the tank to manage aggro and keep it off the damager. Often placed in the middle row.
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9	The grouping allows each player to have a clear role and helps emphasise team-based combat. Typically, if there are any duplicated roles it will be the damage dealer.
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11	Often reliant on a simple [[MediaNotes/RolePlayingGameTerms "aggro"]] system, wherein the tank must keep the highest amount of [[MediaNotes/RolePlayingGameTerms "threat"]] in order to keep enemies focused on him -- earlier games simply had foes go after whoever did the highest damage, rarely allowing a tank a place in combat, and earlier still featured them attacking mostly at random or just whoever they noticed first. Without this threat and aggro system, it becomes highly illogical for the VideoGameAI to not just ignore the tank and attack the other two guys. Still, it is possible to work without it: the damagers/healers could be ranged, for instance, and the tank could just be blocking the path--indeed, this is how "tanking" works in more [[CommonTacticalGameplayElements tactically-inclined]] games.
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13	Sometimes, the different roles will also have bonus abilities tied in with them; the tank could be good at crowd control, the healer might be able to debuff enemies (thus becoming more of a general support role) or [[ReviveKillsZombie have special powers fighting the undead]]... The roles may also be toyed with, or merged slightly with hybrid classes -- e.g. a tank with some support abilities (often a [[ThePaladin Paladin]]).
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15	All roles are commonly found outside the dynamic in other party-based games. Has become a generally accepted standard in {{MMORPG}}s, to the point where some are deliberately defying it. As [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QuKpJTUwwY Adam Millard]] points out, the holy trinity emerges from the three main types of player interactions in RPG combat: player attacks enemy (damager), enemy attacks player (tank), and player supports player (healer); therefore, the key to transcending it is to introduce meaningful player interactions with objects other than just enemies and other players in combat, such as manipulating the surrounding terrain or controlling the resource economy.
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17	SubTrope of AnAdventurerIsYou, an overview of different classes not necessarily part of this dynamic and ThreeApproachSystem, where a game has three different gameplay types. WhiteMage[=/=]TheMedic and StoneWall are general character and gameplay archetypes, and may or may not be part of the dynamic. Compare CombatDiplomacyStealth and FighterMageThief, other trio configurations. Contrast UtilityPartyMember, who is defined by their role ''outside'' of combat.
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19	----
20	!!Examples
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22	[[foldercontrol]]
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24	[[folder: [=MMOs=]]]
25	* The original archtypes in ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' were designed with this in mind. Tankers were Tanks, Defenders and Controllers were Healers while Scrappers and Blasters were DPS. In practice though the game did not have a strong requirement for any of the three. In particular the buff/debuff powers provided by Defenders and Controllers far outclassed their healing powers to the point that teams composed entirely of Defenders or Controllers were among the most powerful in the game.
26	** The Villainous archetypes however were intended as an aversion of this. Except for Stalkers which were a pure DPS class the archetypes were designed to do decent DPS while also providing some Tank (Brute) or Support (Corruptor and Dominator) powers. The Mastermind could actually do all three, using his pets to tank and DPS while using his secondary powers to buff, debuff and heal.
27	* ''VideoGame/DCUniverseOnline'' follows this while also adding a fourth role for crowd controllers.
28	* Almost every weapon in ''VideoGame/DragonProject'' has one kind of magi slot each: Attack Magi (red star), Recovery Magi (green heart), and Support Magi (blue diamond).
29	* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline'' doesn't ''require'' using this composition, though not using it means trying some workarounds. Bethesda says [[http://www.gamezone.com/news/2013/09/08/the-elder-scrolls-online-doesn-t-require-the-holy-trinity-but-it-will-probably-help the most successful groups tend to be running it.]] How tanking works is being played with a bit, it seems.
30	-->''"In order to tank all you need to do is be able to defend. So basically the way tanking works is you encourage a guy to attack you either by using a one-handed sword and shield or a fighter skill taunting ability. You'll be fighting eight guys at a time in a dungeon, [the tank] can probably take three, so everyone else is going to have to deal with what you're not tanking."''
31	* One of the first to start using the trinity was ''VideoGame/EverQuest'', though it also had added crowd control classes.
32	* When designing ''VideoGame/EverQuestII'', the developers realized how much of a problem the Holy Trinity was in the original game. Of more than a dozen classes, 3 of them became absolutely essential for ''EVERYTHING'', leaving all the rest to be almost unnecessary. Clerics were the only ones who could Complete Heal or resurrect fallen players. Warriors had the most HP and taunting ability by far (and Ogres in particular couldn't be physically stunned from the front, making them the best Warriors), and Enchanters were the only ones who could perform crowd control and mana regeneration to any effective degree. Everyone else, rogues, monks, wizards, bards, paladins, druids, etc, were all just extra utility and DPS. To work around this off balance, four archetypes of classes were created to ensure that all classes had a defined role that could generally equally be carried out.
33	** Fighters (Guardians, Berserkers, Monks, Bruisers, Paladins, Shadowknights) were tank classes who could all tank effectively in their own ways, though in most raid situations, Guardians and Berserkers proved to still be the best just at taking damage and keeping aggro.
34	** Healers (Templars, Inquisitors, Wardens, Furies, Mystics, and Defilers) could all effectively heal, buff, and resurrect.
35	** Mages (Wizards, Warlocks, Necromancers, Conjurers, Illusionists, Coercers) were designed for crowd control, buffs, debuffs, and magic DPS.
36	** Scouts (Troubadors, Dirges, Swashbucklers, Brigands, Rangers, Assassins) were pure DPS classes, but also provided offensive buffs.
37	* Enforced in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV: A Realm Reborn''. Every class and job is specifically assigned one of three roles - Tank, Healer, DPS - and the "Duty Finder" auto-matching feature will slot players into either a "Light Party" consisting of one Tank, one Healer, and two DPS, or a "Full Party" of two Tanks, two Healers, and four DPS depending on the content (with a few exceptions such as [=PvP=] and some of the content for Alliances [3 full parties joining forces, where one Tank gives way for a fifth DPS per party]). It is possible to defy these setup rules in some cases with completely preformed parties, but that usually only makes things harder. DPS is further split into three subcategories: [[CloseRangeCombatant Melee DPS]], [[LongRangeFighter Ranged DPS]], and [[BlackMage Magic DPS]]. There's some overlap as well, even beyond the need for healers to be able to deal damage to handle solo content, such as the tank Paladin and the DPS Summoner getting healing spells or physical DPS classes having a "Second Wind" role action, but a class dedicated to one role is never nearly as effective at another to take over for a class in the other role - Paladin's healing spell costs too much MP to regularly use, Summoner doesn't have the necessary Mind stat to heal nearly as much as their healer counterpart Scholar, and Second Wind has too long of a cooldown and only heals the user.
38	** {{Defied\|Trope}} by Blue Mage, a MechanicallyUnusualClass introduced near the end of ''Stormblood'' 's content cycle. While officially classified as a Magical DPS class, the skillset of Blue Mages are so varied, with a wide combination of healing, tanking, and offensive spells, that they don't fit anywhere into the Tank[=/=]Healer[=/=]DPS designations. It is also for this reason that they are a "limited" class unable to queue up in the Duty Finder (unless they are in an undersized or pre-formed party) and were introduced with a lower level cap.
39	** Averted in FFXIV's predecessor, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI''. While lots of jobs would fit into healer, tank, or damage dealer, many jobs could fulfill more than one role, depending on the gear they wore and the subjob they assigned. Truer aversions were the classes that fit more into "support/enfeeble" role. The big selling point for Dancers and Corsairs was there ability to support party members or weaken enemies without directly damaging them, though both were respectable damage dealers in their own right, Dancer could even make a passable tank if a player stacked enough Evasion. Red Mages were particularly good at enfeebling enemies, though they were also used as healers to great effect. The truest aversion is the Bard job, which is completely impotent beyond their ability to buff party members with all manner of positive abilities, and to put negative statuses on mobs, most notably the ability to put them to sleep with the Lullaby song, which for a long time was the only spell that could put Dark based targets to sleep, as it was the only Light based sleep spell until White Mage got Repose in an update.
40	* ''VideoGame/TheFinals'' gives users the choice of Light, Medium, or Heavy classes. While there are multiple ways to play each class, they will usually fit into the three archetypes:
41	** Light is fast-moving but weak, and its weapons have very high burst damage at a concentrated point. It also features the dagger, which can insta-kill anything up to a heavy player.
42	** Mediums get access to a large number of support gadgets, such as placeable turrets and mines, zip lines and jump pads for traversal, a wall-hack device to open new access points, and of course a [[HealingShiv healing gun]]. Their survivability and fighting capability are average, so they specialize in support with their gadgets.
43	** Heavies are slow but very hard to kill. They are meant to lay down suppressive fire, destroy obstacles, and construct defenses. To that end, they can build metal barricade walls, deploy two types of energy shield, and launch dense balls of “goo” to block up doors.
44	* Averted in ''VideoGame/GuildWars2''. It actually [[http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/03/29/how-team-fortresss-influenced-guild-wars-2s-class-system/ drew inspiration]] from the team shooter ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''. Combat tries to force fast-paced changing circumstances -- meaning standing around trying to tank is a good way to get yourself killed.
45	** There's debate on how well the game's approach works, however. The dungeon "meta" revolves around dealing as much damage as possible, through applying buffs/debuffs that increase damage output and wearing equipment with purely offensive stats. While there's certainly more to running dungeons, a decent players have complained about how one-dimensional efficient dungeon clearing is.
46	** With the introduction of raids and the Druid (a healing-focussed specialization for Rangers), the game now does feature a sort of holy trinity.
47	* ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld'' follows this trope as well, despite not having the typical classes.
48	** Each weapon has two roles it can fill and you can equip two weapons. All do damage for the primary role. Blades, chaos magic, and hammers make up the tanking weapons, while assault rifles, blood magic, and fists make up the healing. The secondary role for elemental magic, pistols, and shotguns is support, most importantly damage buffs, however pistols and shotguns lean towards supporting healing and tanking respectively. Ultimately, standard dungeon groups consist of a tank, healer, and three DPS--the DPS choosing at least one weapon with support buffs are optimal to maximize damage, but few people run a dedicated support "buffbot".
49	** "Healtanks" combine chaos and blood magic so that a single player tanks the instance and keeps himself alive, to replace a dedicated healer with a 4th DPS.
50	** When queuing for [=PvP=] content, you pick a uniform that sets your role: high-powered weapons are damage, anima conduits are healer, reinforced armor is tank.
51	** Auxiliary weapons lean toward the holy trinity as well, via their passive skill. Out of five weapons currently in the game, three are specialized for damage, one for healing, and the last is tank-flavored support. Four more weapons are scheduled to be implemented in the future.
52	* ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline''[='s=] class structure was originally somewhat organized around this, with tactical captains and escort and raider-class starships being the damage dealers, engineers and cruisers being the tanks, and science officers and science vessels being the healers and crowd controllers. However the lines are actually extremely blurry:
53	** There's no class restrictions on what ships you can fly and all the classes have a mix of offensive and defensive powers that you can pick and choose at will. Offensive engineers are actually considered the deadliest ground class by far.
54	** Fanbase consensus is that there's no actual need for tanks or healers outside of [=PvP=] teams because the PVE content doesn't have enemies that are tough or smart enough to require a prolonged engagement. The "shield facing" mechanic very much encourages [[AlphaStrike Alpha Strikes]] to overcome one of the enemy's shields and [[AttackItsWeakPoint fire through the opening]]. If your ship isn't built for killing things as quickly as possible, you're just slowing everyone down, which renders engineer-heavy ships like the ''Galaxy''-class family [[LowTierLetdown Low-Tier Letdowns]].
55	* Advanced classes in ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' (unlocked at level 10 for each starter class) are divided into these categories, with each advanced one geared towards filling one particular role. Parties are limited at four, allowing for someone of each role, plus an extra. The Group Finder explicitly is divided into these, and groups may search for specific roles and, if they find a match, automatically transfer to their location.
56	* ''VideoGame/WildStar'' also features the trinity, though each class has two different roles it can easily fufill (either tank/healing or damage-dealing). For the most part each class plays their roles differently from each other; for example, an Engineer tank is a ranged pet class.
57	** Discussed in [[http://www.wildstar-online.com/en/news/uplink_analysis_the_holy_trinity.php/ this blog post,]] featuring comments by players about whether it's outdated and if it works.
58	* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' is in part likely responsible for the prominence of the dynamic in [=MMOs=], given its trendsetter status and popularity. Healer, tank, and damage dealer are the primary roles, though each role has its own subroles, and some groups bring other "support" roles along in addition to the primary ones.
59	[[/folder]]
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61	[[folder:Other Video Games]]
62	* ''VideoGame/{{Arknights}}'' divides all operators into classes with the Defender being the Tank, and the Medic being the Healer. Usually Guards are the source of DPS, although ranged operators like Snipers, Casters and the occasional Supporter can serve as one too. Vanguards fall into a defensive, offensive or supportive archetypes, the purpose of the first two being the holding off of enemies in early battle where one won't be able to place the aforementioned classes yet.
63	* This is your starting party in ''VideoGame/{{Bonfire}}'': Zivko (damager), Ephrem (healer), and Hildie (tank). The most successful parties tend to be a balance of these three roles. Every hero is versatile enough to fill other roles if respecced with different runes and inspirations, however.
64	* ''VideoGame/DeathbulgeBattleOfTheBands'': Faye, Briff and Ian in that order.
65	* In the ''Franchise/DragonAge'' series, the Warrior class is mainly about tanking, Rogues are pure damagers, and Mages are the only ones with healing powers. That said, both warriors and mages can be built as damagers instead, and ''[[VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins Origins]]'' even includes a secret tank build for mages. The "holy trinity" became very prominent in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', which took many cues from [=MMORPGs=] in regards to its combat, but the trend was broken by ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'', which removed magical healing (except for a select few LimitBreak abilities) and thus the Healer role altogether.
66	* Traditionally, ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' gives Knight characters (or a given entry's equivalent) the "Cover" ability, allowing them to take hits for squishy and/or heavily-damaged party members and functioning as Tanks. [[TheMedic White Mages]] are the healers and buffers, and [[GlassCannon Monks]] and [[SquishyWizard Black Mages]] typically deal the most damage at the cost of requiring protection.
67	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'': Since the magic and summoning materia that allow for much of the most powerful damage-dealing also [[GlassCannon decrease hit points]], divvying up roles in this way makes a lot of sense. A character with naturally high hit points such as Barret or Cait Sith can be given the Cover (allowing them to randomly take hits for other party members 20-80% of the time) and HP Plus (boosting their defense even higher) materia, with the magic materia loaded onto a dedicated caster like Aerith or Red XIII. Since a single Restore materia doesn't lower HP so much as to cripple the wielder's defense, healing duties can safely be spread around the party, although a caster with their Magic stat boosted by many other magic materia will still be better at it.
68	*** Alternatively you can use "Cover" on a character with [[GlassCannon strong physical attacks but low HP and Defence]] in order to force them to build their LimitBreak gauge quickly, allowing them to output absurd amounts of damage if you can keep them alive. (The classic strategy is to do this with Tifa.)
69	** A solid strategy for most of the playthrough of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', where micromanaging is everything. Also recommended in the official guide for that game.
70	*** Tank: Vaan or Balthier, armour to boost defence and evasion, buffs to boost defences, max HP and to draw enemy fire.
71	*** Damage dealer: Basch, weaponry to maximise damage output or to be ranged (to keep them out of danger), buffs to boost speed, attack power and to give them berserk status (for both attack and speed).
72	*** Healer: Penelo or Ashe, weaponry to be ranged (to keep them out of danger) or to boost magic stat, usually too busy healing to be buffed.
73	*** Fran has such horrible stats she doesn't really fit into any of the roles and is largely worthless. Typically, the game's magic lag and costliness of magic generally prevent magic from being used effectively as a damage-dealing tactic, though certain circumstances (crowd control of enemies with exploitable elemental weaknesses) may encourage this.
74	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' gives you roles in battle that can be changed via Paradigm Shifts. Four roles fit under this:
75	*** Sentinel: A role that does nothing but guarding (with the exception of countering and evading attacks).
76	*** Medic: Heals allies.
77	*** Commando: Deals high physical damage to the enemy.
78	*** Ravager: Works along the opposite side of the BreakMeter to the Commando to increase inflicted damage.
79	* Also a solid strategy in at least one ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' game. Park a unit with high defence against what's coming at you in a bottleneck (General for physical attacks, Pegasus for magical attacks), have a powerful ranged character behind (Any mage or character with a bow) and any mage with ranged healing in the nearby area.
80	* ''VideoGame/FreedomWars'' has three kinds of thorns: Binding, Healing, and Shielding thorns. Binding thorns paralyze Mooks and [[HumongousMecha Abductors]] for a set period of time. Healing thorns create a forward-facing blast that heals allies and cures their [[StatusEffects status effects]], along with creating a giant tree made of thorns that create a healing AreaOfEffect that heals everyone within the radius, including the wielder. Shielding thorns buff the base defense for everyone within the radius, including the wielder, and its second charge creates a barrier that nullifies firearms from enemy Sinners and Accessories.
81	* ''VideoGame/GoldenSun1'': Played with, since class and abilities change completely depending on what Djinn are set, and many classes learn healing abilities. And while you start with three characters, you end up with four or eight at endgame.
82	** Until you meet Mia (healer), the party consists of Isaac (healer), Garett (tank) and Ivan (damage against enemies with wind weakness).
83	** Similarly, ''VideoGame/GoldenSunTheLostAge'' starts with Felix (tank), Sheba (damage against enemies with wind weakness) and Jenna (healer).
84	** ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'' has Matthew (damage), Tyrell (tank), and Karis (healer).
85	* Barring going off the beaten path, ''VideoGame/LISATheHopeful'' has you in control of such a trio: Beltboy being the Damager, Lanks being the Healer, and Cyclops being the Tank.
86	* ''VideoGame/HeroesOfTheStorm'' splits heroes into Assassins, Tanks, Bruisers, Healers, and Supports. Assassins are Damagers, Tanks are Tanks, Healers are Healers, Bruisers can fill either Damager or Tank depending on the rest of the comp, and Supports are essentially [[MechanicallyUnusualClass mechanically unusual]] Healers that assist without restoring health (or at least don't focus on that). Prior to an update, they were instead split into Assassin, Warrior, Support, and Specialist with the former three being Damagers, Tanks, and Healers respectively. Specialists were classified by having a playstyle that diverges from the norm, but in practice were almost all Damagers, and were divided as such when the role rework was released.
87	** That being said, some heroes can fall under multiple categories: Maiev and Uther are examples of an Assassin and Healer respectively that can also serve as Tanks, while Kharazim, a healer, can easily be built as a Damager. There's also Varian, whose entire gimmick is that he can be built as either as either Tank or Damage depending on his team's needs, and Cho'Gall, a two-player hero who combines Tank and Damager into one body.
88	** The Lost Vikings are the only hero that breaks this system. They're a MechanicallyUnusualClass where the player controls three separate heroes who don't even start with active abilities, just unique passives. They can't tank, they barely deal damage, and they can't assist their teammates. What they can do however is gather experience at 3x the rate of any other hero.
89	* ''{{VideoGame/Overwatch}}'' heroes are classed as Damage (more frequently called DPS), Tank, and Support. The standard match format now requires teams composed of two Damage and Support players and one Tank player.
90	** DPS (originally split into Attack and Defence), focuses on dealing damage, relying on the others for protection. Their hero pool is the biggest, containing more than half of all heroes, and also the most diverse, with such specialties as mobility (Tracer, Genji), long-range (Widowmaker), short-range (Reaper), and area denial (Symmetra, Torbjörn).
91	** Tanks have high health pools and large hitboxes, defending their team mostly by being in front of them. Many of them can deploy barriers or other blocking abilities. Their high durability is usually balanced by lower range, damage output and mobility, though a few tanks (Winston, D'va, Wrecking Ball) specialize in using high mobility to control the engagement.
92	** Supports are primarily healers, but tend to have secondary abilities for buffing their allies (Mercy, Lucio) or debuffing their enemies (Zenyatta, Ana).
93	* In ''VideoGame/SuperLesbianAnimalRPG'' the heroines gain star power (used to perform higher-level skills) when they act according to these roles. Melody gains star power from casting healing spells, Allison from hitting things, Claire from casting offensive spells, and Jodie from taunting enemies into hitting her instead of her allies.
94	* ''[[VideoGame/WarCraft Warcraft III]]'' has most of its heroes follow this archetype, with some variation:
95	** The Alliance had tank and healer combined with the Paladin, the Mountain King / Archmage / Blood Mage as damage (the Mountain King makes a slightly less effective tank).
96	** The Horde has Tauren Chieftain as the tank, Shadow Hunter as healer, and Far Seer / Blademaster as damager.
97	** The Undead have the Crypt Lord as the tank, Death Knight as healer, and Lich / Dreadlord as damage.
98	** The Night Elves have the Demon Hunter and Warden as tanks (comparatively speaking, they're both fragile, but the Demon Hunter can evade some attacks and the Warden can teleport), Keeper of the Grove as healer and Priestess of the Moon as damage.
99	** Neutral heroes have the Pandaren Brewmaster, Beastmaster and Pit Lord as tanks, Alchemist as healer, and Dark Ranger / Sea Witch as damage.
100	* ''Xenoblade Chronicles'' series:
101	** The ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'':
102	*** The party takes this configuration once the CombatMedic Sharla joins Shulk, a GlassCannon damager, and Reyn, an aggro-drawing tank. Later additions are the evasion tank Dunban, the even more fragile SquishyWizard Melia, and JackOfAllTrades Riki and [[spoiler:Fiora]]. In late-game, the healer role becomes much less valuable as tanking is better done through evasion than tanking damage and most characters can get at least some self-healing capability, leaving Sharla as more of a CrutchCharacter.
103	*** In the UpdatedRerelease-exclusive epilogue story ''Future Connected'', you start off with GlassCannon Shulk and SquishyWizard Melia (both Damagers) and quickly pick up CombatMedic Kino (Healer) and MightyGlacier Nene (Tank).
104	** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' quickly follows the same archetype, with the first three party members (and the only ones you'll have for a good third of the game) being offensive main character Rex, new CombatMedic Nia, and the shield-wielding, aggro-drawing Tora. Later additions are Mòrag, an evasion tank and Zeke, another damager. Everyone is customizable due to being able to equip different Blades to make them take whatever role you want (especially Tora), but they're best at these default roles. Similar to the first game, the healer role is less necessary in the late game, but even more so with HP potions being plentiful in battle and anyone being able to equip healer Blades. This makes Nia more of a CrutchCharacter for the early game, [[spoiler:at least in her Driver form. She's the best healer in the game in her Blade form, so in the rare case a healer is needed, having Nia on Rex is the way to go]].
105	** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2TornaTheGoldenCountry'' gives you Addam, whose team specializes in high DPS, and Hugo, whose team specializes in holding aggro and surviving through either plain meat-shielding (Hugo himself) or dodging (Brighid and Aegaeon). While Lora's team is more balanced, she still has the only devoted healer among the party (Haze).
106	** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'' has the starting trio from Keves: Noah, the primary attacker, Lanz, the slow tank, and Eunie, their CombatMedic. Early into the game, you also meet the trio from Agnes: Mio, the dodge tank, Sena, another damage dealer, and Taion, another healer. As you play through the game, you can collect Heroes who can pass their classes on to the main characters, allowing more options and changing who takes which role.
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109	[[folder: Tabletop Games]]
110	* ''TabletopGame/DescentJourneysInTheDark'' has this trope encoded in its hero archetypes: Warriors are Tanks with the best defenses and most hit points, Mages and Scouts are damagers (Mages specialize in AreaOfEffect attacks, while Scouts lay directed damage), and Healers are just that. That said, Warriors and Healers can also dish out some pain, they're just not geared exclusively towards it as the other two.
111	* In ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', many character classes or options for them have been made to fit these roles in varying degrees over the game's many iterations. In third edition, for instance, the Knight base class was built specifically as a tank, with abilities that helped them keep enemies off of their friends. The fourth edition codified this tradition the most directly, by categorizing classes as belonging to one of four basic roles: Defender (tank), leader (healer, though with an emphasis on ally buffs sometimes), striker, and controller. The striker and the controller shared the damage dealing role somewhat. Striker classes usually specialized in high damage output to single targets, or sometimes small groups. Controllers were built more for dealing smaller amounts of damage to larger groups, in addition to using status and lingering area effects frequently. By fifth edition, however, these roles were discarded in favor of a combat system that puts much more emphasis on killing enemies before they can kill you, as healing magic, while capable of reviving characters from falling unconscious from hitting 0 HP and definitely having its uses in battle, isn't as potent as in previous editions, and you'll often find characters teetering constantly between 20 or so and 0 HP if you try to do nothing but heal. It's much more practical to use your spell slots to damage or hinder enemies, or buff your allies to protect them to prevent as much damage as possible from occurring in the first place and heal afterwards when combat is over, though there are plenty of spells and abilities that can misdirect enemy attention to someone (or something) else.
112	** In general, most versions of tanking in D&D, including 4th Edition, avoid forced threat aggro in favor of instituting consequences for attacking targets other than the tank. Most commonly, targets other than the tank will have a severe penalty to hit, which will tend to make the [=NPCs=] focus on the tank as an easier target. Tying to run past the tank and hit the characters in the back would usually give the tank an extra attack on the moving NPC, if it was even capable of getting by at all. Ranged and magic attackers were usually free to ignore this, and can and did target non tanks, or even the entire party at once. Only rarely do effects include a "you must attack x target", notably the Knight/Cavalier classes from various editions, and the Taunt spell. The reasons are generally because [=MMOs=] have a computer opponent that needs a firmer rule of enemy engagement than tabletop games using a human DM that can make better judgment calls, especially for what would be considered in character. Lower intelligence foes may simply attack the nearest target (usually the tank, if the players are smart) or decide targets randomly, while smarter foes can make better decisions, depending on their objectives.
113	* ''{{TabletopGame/Lancer}}'' has this in the form of its Striker, Defense and Support classes of mecha.
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118	* In ''Literature/AndYouThoughtThereIsNeverAGirlOnline'', the protagonists play a MMORPG called Legendary Age, and their roles are distributed this way: Hideki/Rusian is the tank, Ako is the healer, Akane/Schwein is a physical damager and Kyoh/Apricot a magical damager. They're later joined by Nanako/Sette as another physical damager.
119	* Examined by Brian Green in [[http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4219/rethinking_the_trinity_of_mmo_.php this]] Gamasutra article.
120	* In ''Webcomic/CrystalHeroes'', the party composition resembles this in both story and in the mini RPG scene, where Marina is the tank, Ayanna is the healer, and Garrett and Isaac are the damage.
121	* In ''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex'', this is the role that both [[TheHero Rex]] and [[BigGood Providence]] plays within the series: with Rex serving as both the '''Tank''' because of his powers allowing him to create Machines from his body, and technical '''Healer''' due to his ability to shut-off active Nanites that mutate normal people into [=EVOs=] which is what makes him a valuable asset to Providence. However, since Rex is just one kid up against a world of dangerous mutants, he needs the help of [[BadassNormal Providence Soldiers]] to soften up his opponents should they prove too difficult to take on his own; serving as the effective '''DPS''' role.
122	* In ''Literature/KonoSuba'', Megumin, Aqua, and Darkness are a parody of this concept; in each case they're extremely powerful but suffer from CripplingOverspecialization. Megumin fills the role of a nuker with explosion magic, but since she invested all her points into making her explosion magic stronger and nothing in mana or any other ability, she can only fire off one spell before running out of energy. Aqua is the healer... because in spite of all the powerful magic she possesses she's not good for anything else. Darkness is the tank because she's a masochist with no actual combat skill. She's extremely durable and has high stamina, but is woefully inaccurate. Kazuma meanwhile is the UtilityPartyMember because he's the weakest, but his actual strengths lie in being the most intelligent... not that that's saying much.
123	* ''ComicStrip/{{Nodwick}}'': the party consists of Yeagar (tank), Artax (damage) and Piffany (healer). Though they've been known to toss Nodwick (the ItemCaddy) at monsters and resurrect him later.
124	* In ''Series/{{Noob}}'', this was the dynamic of Arthéon (tank), Omega Zell (damage) and Sparadrap (healer). Gaea refers to these concepts by name in a season 1 episode where the players' characters are swapped.
125	* Discussed in ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' strip [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/06/29 "The Guildfather"]], mafia-style. Gabe (his guild's main healer) wants to try a new MMO, and Kiko (the guild leader) delivers a guilt trip on how the guild's tanks and DPS are doomed without Gabe.
126	* ''Franchise/{{Tron}}: Endgame Scenario'' {{Discussed}} in a short fic where [[Film/TronLegacy Sam, Quorra,]] [[VideoGame/TronTwoPointOh Jet, and Mercury]] are fighting off Datawraiths. Mercury (tank) taunts the incoming horde and uses flashy acrobatics to keep their attention on her. Jet doesn't get in many hits, concentrating on invoking User power to keep Quorra and Mercury from taking damage (Healer). Sam and Quorra (DPS) are trying to take down the Wraiths as fast as possible. It's in mid-fight that Sam realizes this trope is in full effect.
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Context Main / DamagerHealerTank