Designer Jon Peters has been explaining in-depth how death and healing will function in Guild Wars 2, as well as the game’s attempts to move away from the Tank/Damage Per Second/Healing model used by other MMOs.
First of all, the game wants to make death a more jovial affair. “We decided to look into what would make dying a more enjoyable and memorable play experience,” Peters says.
To this end, when players lose all of their health they are put in a ‘downed’ mode and able to still fend off enemies from the ground with various skills. This sounds pretty familiar to those who’ve played Left 4 Dead, and, as in those titles, it will be possible for allies to revive downed comrades. However, players can also revive themselves by killing foes with a last ditch attack while on the floor. People who find themselves getting downed a lot will take longer to revive each time.
“The cherry on top of all of this: Guild Wars 2 will have a much milder death penalty … If no one revives you, you can spend a small amount of gold to come back at a waypoint. It’s as simple as that.”
As Guild Wars 2 aims to make players more self-sufficient than in other MMOs, the game has decided to do away with a dedicated healer class. Instead, Peters explains, there will be professions that are suited to a support role which will “not [be] about clicking on a health bar and watching it go up, it’s about being there for your friends when they need you.”
“Instead of the traditional trinity [of DPS/Tank/Heal], every Guild Wars 2 profession is self reliant – not only can they all help each other by reviving in combat, but all professions have ways to build their characters differently to make them more versatile for group play.”
