Players should be able to move away from standard MMO battle model

Mar 31, 2012 06:15 GMT  ·  By

It might seem like an unlikely source for a MMO creators to draw inspiration from but one of the leading developers working on the upcoming Guild Wars 2 has said that the core structure of the classes in the game was similar to that used by Valve in their very popular Team Fortress 2.

Jon Peters, who is a game designer working on the MMO, has told PC Gamers that “No-one would tell you that everyone in Team Fortress just does damage. No-one would say a Spy and a Heavy are the same because they both do damage. They’re very different playstyles. They have a very good sense of purpose.”

The classic battle system for a MMO includes a tank to draw enemy attention and soak up damage, the DPS, designed to quickly damage enemy forces, and the healer, tasked with keeping both of the above alive through the fight.

Despite the popularity of this system ArenaNet is keep not just to tweak it but to simply move away from it.

Peters added, “I’m the anti-healer person. I don’t hate that people like to play support roles, it’s just that I want that role to be fun. I don’t think there’s any teamwork – what there is is just dependency. Guild Wars 2 combat is about. It’s about organic teamwork and building stuff together.”

The ArenaNet made MMO will allow players to develop their characters in any direction they want and to then tweak the skills they take into a particular battle on the spot, giving them the freedom to be whatever role they want as long as they have a group with which to play.

Guild Wars 2 will use the same core concepts as the first game in the series, with an upgraded game engine and evolved mechanics.

At the moment the MMO is in closed beta and the launch is expected for later during 2012.