The problem with having “Tank” as a class name

Hello all, I believe this discussion may have come up before, but I really would like Steven and friends to reconsider the name “Tank”. Overall, they have done a good job at naming the other classes and subclasses, but they ruin the immersion of the game by using the class name “tank”. Tank was a code name given to military vehicles being created in 1915. It has been a slang term for classes and archetypes in many video games given to the role that is used to absorb/mitigate or “tank” damage. Having a class name feels very uncharacteristic compared to the other class names. It’s like naming your cat “Cat”. It’s cute and punny, but is that what they really want for their game? What class do you play? Oh, I play a tank! Yea, but like what class? TANK!! *insert meme of a tank with a face on it... drooling*

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Marcet

Dygz wrote: »

I mean...a Cleric/Cleric could choose to DPS and never heal.
A Tank/Tank could also choose to act as DPS and let the Tank/Mage be main tank.
A Fighter/Tank can tank, of course, but will not replace the need for a Primary Archetype Tank.

Exactly, and a Bard will not replace the need for a Primary Archetype Cleric. You just made our point.
Change Cleric to Healer.

Dygz

Tank's primary role is tanking.
Cleric's primary role is not healing.

Noaani

Dygz wrote: »

Tank's primary role is tanking.
Cleric's primary role is not healing.

Yes it is.

Conrad

Dygz wrote: »

Tank's primary role is tanking.
Cleric's primary role is not healing.

..... cleric is a healer wtf are you spewing now? Can you share me a bit of whatever you're smoking? Paladin sure is not a healer, but cleric? 100% is a healer main

Dygz

In Ashes, Healing is not the primary role of Cleric:
Restoration. Enhancement. Debilitation. Clerics keep their team in the fight by bolstering their combat abilities and cursing their enemies. Far from simply supporting their allies through healing, a Cleric is also capable of wielding destructive force in the face of danger.
Ashes Clerics have more focus on Death than previous MMORPGs.
The Trinity in Ashes is not Tank/DPS/Healer. In Ashes, the Trinity is Tank/DPS/Support and the official primary role of Cleric is Support. Which is why the devs would not name Cleric "Healer".

Noaani

Dygz wrote: »

The Trinity in Ashes is not Tank/DPS/Healer. In Ashes, the Trinity is Tank/DPS/Support

Actually, the way Steven describes it is that Ashes has a trinity +, or quadrant system. Tank/DPS/healer/support.

You're the one that wants to argue semantics all the time, get your semantics correct.

SirChancelot

Dygz wrote: »

Tank's primary role is tanking.
Cleric's primary role is not healing.

I'm pretty sure it was you that rather flatly told me X/clerics might be able to heal but they will not be able to replace the need for cleric in a group... And then posted the quote of Stephen saying that...

Soooo if X/clerics can fill the healer role... Why can't x/tanks tank

Dygz

The dev quote states that some Cleric augments will indirectly allow a character to heal others, but will not replace the need for a Primary Archetype Cleric.
Cleric heal abilities will be more powerful than Cleric heal augments.

In Ashes, the primary role of a Cleric is more than just Healing - just as the primary role of a Tank is more than just Damage Mitigation.
Steven is not going to call the Cleric Healer because Steven wants people to understand that Ashes Clerics are not intended to just be standing in the back of the group focused on Healing.
Just as a Tank is expected to be focused on Threat Generation as well as Damage Mitigation, an Ashes Cleric is expected to be focused on Debilitation and Enhancement as well as Healing.

I didn't say that x/Clerics "can fill the healer role".
I said that x/Clerics are Clerics. x/Clerics will be able to heal others. Yes.
Life is one of the Cleric augment Schools.
Death is also one of the Cleric augment Schools.
The Life School is not more primary than the Death School.

We can expect Threat Generation to be one of the Tank augment Schools and Damage Mitigation to be another Tank augment School. The Threat Generation School would not be more primary than the Damage Mitigation School.
Steven is not going to change the name of Tank to Threat Generator or Damage Mitigator.
Steven is not going to change the name of Mage to Elementalist or Teleporter.
And he's not going to change the name of Cleric to Healer or Enhancer.

Noaani

Dygz wrote: »

In Ashes, the primary role of a Cleric is more than just Healing - just as the primary role of a Tank is more than just Damage Mitigation.

The reason you are wrong (and maybe someone will quote this for you) is because you are using the word "primary".

The *PRIMARY* role of a tank is to tank, but it can fulfill other roles.
The *PRIMARY* role of a cleric is to heal, but it can perform other roles.

apmax

Given the archetype being called "Tank", I feel like the other archetypes should have a consistent naming scheme.
"Healer", "Magic DPS", "Support", instead of Cleric, Mage, and Bard. You could come up with a multitude of reasons that this style of nomenclature would break down or quickly become unwieldy, but the point is that there is a clear and obvious inconsistency with the choice of "Tank" as an archetype name.

Acknowledging the lack of other archetypes using a combat-role based naming scheme, something like "Defender" or "Guardian" would be more appropriate for the Tank.

szelesbt

pls for the love of god some1 kill this thread

Vhaeyne

szelesbt wrote: »

pls for the love of god some1 kill this thread

The thread lives, it dies, it lives again. Shiny and chrome.

Witness it!

Sathrago

szelesbt wrote: »

pls for the love of god some1 kill this thread

Why? This is history in the making my friend. Years from now when they totally decide to change tank to something else we can all look back at this ridiculously pointless thread and laugh.

maouw

I hope a bard chronicles this thread in-game and fills an entire shelf in a library.

Atrushan

I can't wait until someone makes a summoner and focuses on tanking and people kick them because they're "not tanks".

Noaani

Atrushan wrote: »

I can't wait until someone makes a summoner and focuses on tanking and people kick them because they're "not tanks".

If a summoner isn't as good a tank as a tank, why wouldn't people kick them from the group if they have a tank available to them?

Sathrago

Noaani wrote: »

Atrushan wrote: »

I can't wait until someone makes a summoner and focuses on tanking and people kick them because they're "not tanks".

If a summoner isn't as good a tank as a tank, why wouldn't people kick them from the group if they have a tank available to them?

Depends on the gap in effectiveness and how elitist that select group is. I would hope that summoners can do just as good, but we cant say summoner classes have every really excelled like we hoped for in other games. Heres hoping steven and crew can figure put the winning formula.

SirChancelot

Sathrago wrote: »

]

Depends on the gap in effectiveness and how elitist that select group is. I would hope that summoners can do just as good, but we cant say summoner classes have every really excelled like we hoped for in other games. Heres hoping steven and crew can figure put the winning formula.

That's what I was saying in a different thread, I would love for some X/Tank combos to be good tanks...

Marcet

SirChancelot11 wrote: »

Sathrago wrote: »

]

Depends on the gap in effectiveness and how elitist that select group is. I would hope that summoners can do just as good, but we cant say summoner classes have every really excelled like we hoped for in other games. Heres hoping steven and crew can figure put the winning formula.

That's what I was saying in a different thread, I would love for some X/Tank combos to be good tanks...

I think Tank/X combos can be good tanks, but X/Tank combo would be an offtank

Sathrago

SirChancelot11 wrote: »

Sathrago wrote: »

]

Depends on the gap in effectiveness and how elitist that select group is. I would hope that summoners can do just as good, but we cant say summoner classes have every really excelled like we hoped for in other games. Heres hoping steven and crew can figure put the winning formula.

That's what I was saying in a different thread, I would love for some X/Tank combos to be good tanks...

You mistake what I meant. Steven recently re-confirmed that summoners are being designed with the intent for them to be able to specialize as a tank, healer, or dps according to what talents they pick for their pet. This is before a secondary archetype is considered.

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