. . . . . . "In games with multiple units, different units will have different capabilities, leading to the Common Character Classes. These character abilities lend themselves to particular tactics. When working together as a group, these characters tend to fall into certain roles -- some distract the enemy while others attack, some use beneficial abilities to keep their allies alive, some deal as much damage to the enemy as possible, and some use abilities to boost the effectiveness of allies and reduce the effectiveness of enemies. These are the standard RPG combat roles. These can show up in any game with multiple units of differing capabilities working together to defeat an enemy, but they're most often found in MMORPGs. This allows players to enjoy different playstyles while still participating meaningfully to the group's overall success. For obvious reasons, this is particularly valuable for online games where every individual unit is a Player Character. The basic version of the standard RPG combat roles is a three-way split: someone takes damage, someone deals damage, and someone heals damage. If everyone does their job right, then the enemies focus their attacks on the damage-taker, while the damage-healer keeps them alive and the damage-dealer retaliates. The common names for these roles are, respectively, tank, healer, and DPS. A fourth role, used to boost the effectiveness of the other three roles, is occasionally added as well. Complicating this arrangement is the fact that the roles usually have to balance their effectiveness with one another or else they'll run into problems. If an individual tries to do too much, they'll get themselves killed. If they do too little, though, they'll get their allies killed (and probably themselves killed soon afterward). A balanced effort is required for a party to be successful. Each member of the team relies on the other members to do their job properly."@en . . . "Orphaned/Sandbox/Standard RPG Combat Roles"@en . . . . . . . "In games with multiple units, different units will have different capabilities, leading to the Common Character Classes. These character abilities lend themselves to particular tactics. When working together as a group, these characters tend to fall into certain roles -- some distract the enemy while others attack, some use beneficial abilities to keep their allies alive, some deal as much damage to the enemy as possible, and some use abilities to boost the effectiveness of allies and reduce the effectiveness of enemies. These are the standard RPG combat roles."@en .