Is it good to play multiple roles?

SedoUmbra

So, I'm a relatively new player (I played ages and ages ago but the game has changed so much since I last played) and I've got only 2 characters at level 50, and I'm around CP170ish iirc (would check, but PC EU servers, yo) and I'm wondering how valuable it is to play different roles? So, currently, my 2 champion characters are a Warden (Stam)DPS and a Warden Healer (got a bit carried away with Wardens because it was the only available class that I hadn't already played an awful lot lol) and I'm wondering if I should pick one role to focus on and get good at or is it fine (or better) if I mix it up a bit? I intend to make my way towards Trials, but that's a bit far in the future for me, and I'm just wondering if it is worth investing my time in multiple roles for flexibility or sticking to one for proficiency? I was reading a thread from a while ago about what CP level is recommended to start Vet dungeons and trials etc, and a lot of people talked about the value of a "good" healer and a "good" tank etc and how high stats isn't the only important factor, so I was wondering if it's more valuable for me to try to become a "good" [insert role of my choice] or is it totally possible to become good enough for end game content while balancing multiple roles?

EDIT: Got lots of very helpful replies, sorry for not responding to them all individually, I wasn't expecting there to be so many

dragonmage0313

I main an Altmer MagSorc DPS and love my job! However, sometimes I want to switch it up and Tank. Change around some skills, CP, and gear and there ya go! Is a Sorc Tank the best combo? Not at all, but the job gets done on Normal and Vet dungeons (Trials with hardcore groups are a different story). Do I still enjoy playing the game the way I want? Heck yes!

To answer your question: Yes, play with whatever role you want! Its your play through, so mix it up, and dont let anyone tell you that you are waisting time!

BXR_Lonestar

If your talking about having multiple characters to play different roles - YES, it is good to do this. I play all 3, even though I prefer healing/tanking and it is good to see how other roles play in order to get a better understanding at what is going to make life easier for the DPS (for example) if you are a tank, or how you need to heal certain encounters where the DPS can't stay rooted.

If your talking about playing multiple roles on the SAME character, that is a bad idea. You're better off specializing for a particular role. A character that is a jack of all trades is a master of none. That's not an issue if all you want to do is overland or story content, but for higher-end content, you will find that your hybrid character is lacking.

The ONLY Hybrid character I've made successfully (one that can play two roles well without wholesale changes) is my Offtank, who I can take into high-end content (dungeons and trials) and play as a healer OR a tank - and often, I just do both and we carry an extra DPS.

goldCoaster

No!

BejaProphet

You can only answer what is “good” when you define your goals.

If you are seeking to engage in difficult content successfully then you need to become skilled at a role.

If you seek to have crazy fun doing whatever appeals to you on any given day, then “good” is whatever facilitates that.

There is only a wrong answer once you say, “Does this help me specifically to do....”

My advice is to get at least one toon setup for and competent in extremely challenging group content. For me that is my tank. But on any given day you are just as likely to find me in first person, with all things stripped off my HUD and slinking through the shadows of a delve back stabbing my unaware opponents.

Enjoy every aspect of the game. But part of that game is swapping over to my min maxed to the teeth character and enjoying serious challenges.

You will only be able to do both if you have a character ready for that, both in gear and player skill.

Just my 2 cents.

Athyrium93

As long as you don't try to mix tank and DPS on one character you should be fine, Magicka DPS and Healers share a lot of the same stats so they are really easy to do, just swap gear, food, and MAYBE mundus stone and your good to go. It's also pretty easy to make a tank/healer combo (more tank than healer, more like tank with heals) for dungeon runs so you can go 1 tank 3 dps.

Or do whatever you want, it's a game, have fun

Vevvev

I can do every single role in the game with all my points in magicka. All it takes is a gear swap, or in the case of tanking also a mundus stone switch, and I'm ready to do that other role. Since DPS and healers use most of the same stats I can actually get away with a DPS set or two equipped as well so during a fight I can start DPSing after casting all my heals and making sure my allies are buffed.

Nestor

I play all 3 Rolls across several Classes and Races. Some are optimal, some are not (but the performance is closer than the forums would have you think)

Each combo has me approach things differently which keeps things Fresh.

amm7sb14_ESO

I mainly tank, tho I do have characters of all 3 roles. Though, I'm not very good at dps, so I play my dd's far less frequently. I tank mostly exclusively, with a sprinkle of healing if that's what my guild needs for a trial, but I'm typically the guild tank, and I enjoy it, so that's what I do.

newtinmpls

BejaProphet wrote: »

There is only a wrong answer once you say, “Does this help me specifically to do....”

Good point.

To severely paraphrase Genie from the live action Aladdin movie "there is a lot of grey area in that question"

I have different characters set up as healers, tanks, and so on, but even then there is a lot of variety.

I have my "A team" Breton Templar healer, with Sanctuary and Spell Power Cure, and shards and spheres so she can both manage heals and also do resource help.

I have my "not quite" A team level Altmer Warden healer; she is only barely beginning to deal with some of the vet undaunteds, and it's really right now a matter of me figuring out what is the best approach for each bit of content. Finally got Spheres on her, which helps, and she is using Lamias which boosts the heck out of her Warden "Forest healing" ulti in serious situations, and adds a spare "heal & hurt" combo if she's running her bear in less stressful situations.

Play with what works.

I also am 'playing around' with a StamSorc Orsimer tank, a Bosmer StamNecro tank, and trying to figure if a magicka Altmer tank could even be a thing (maybe not, but it's interesting to mess around with her).

Athan1

Tbh I really dislike that min/maxing approach re characters builds... This approach is only useful for vet trials dungeons, i.e. 1% of the game. For the remaining 99% of the game these niche min/maxed set-ups are not always effective or just plain boring.

ESO allows players to build their character however they want and play whatever role they wish. Hybrid builds are possible and totally encouraged by the game's design. The two new classes (warden, necromancer), as well as reworks of the basic classes, are proof of that. It's also much more fun to play as a hybrid, you can mix and match sets, weapons, and skills when necessary.

Doing so also saves you time from creating a gazillion of alts (if you aren't altoholic). Why create a magDPS, a stamDPS, a tank, and a healer version of the same class? Granted, it's more effective to stick to one resource (magicka or stamina) and build around it, but you mix up roles.

For example, I have a solely magicka focused templar. Atm I'm running one tanking and one magicka set. He can heal vet dungeons, off-tank or main tank (with frost staff), all the while contributing to DPS. He can also solo world bosses. Obviously this is not BiS but it's much more fun to play tbh.

Larcomar

Your main should have enough skill points to do all three roles to a reasonable degree, with a bit of gear swapping. It's a lot of fun setting them up, gives you variety in play styles when you fancy something different, shortens queue times, means you can backfill if your guilds short on something and you'll learn a ton of stuff about being a better dps by playing tank and healer.

That said, you need to be realistic about what your main profession is, and what you can do - but not optimally. I usually say my sorc is a full time dps, part time tank and back up healer. I'd happily queue him as a tank for an RND (he easily out performs my "proper" tank for anything normal) but I wouldnt put myself in the queue as a tank for a random vet dungeon. He can do it - I've stepped in when guild groups can't find a tank, or the tank crashes in pugs - but I wouldn't pretend he's optimal. He doesnt have the resists or health pool of a dedicated tank and the healers going to have to work harder than he would with a reg stam dk for instance.

UntilValhalla13

It's incredibly useful to be able to competently play all the roles, ESPECIALLY support roles. When I'm tanking something difficult like vet cloudrest, I know how hard attacks hit and which ones are priority. Then, as a healer, I know which attacks to throw extra heals to the tank, because I've experienced how hard they hit. It's better to heal PREEMPTIVELY instead of just REACTIVELY trying to get them to full. I'll also heal in the same way that I dps, with a rotation. It does make you better at the game overall.

Grianasteri

Concentrate on one role while you are learning the game, Id say up to CP160, where your real education begins, then you can start to branch out, and should.

Playing all roles gives you a far greater appreciation of how the game is played and how best to perform the other roles to best aid your tank/healer/dps etc. Once I started healing and tanking, I became a better dps for instance, because I had a far greater awareness of what those roles were doing in any given situation.

Nairinhe

I've always wondered: can a stamblade DD work as a tank or a healer too?

FrancisCrawford

If you play on the PC, where there are gear swap add-ons, and have a banker assistant, then it's very easy to share gear among different characters.

Accordingly, I have many characters that could reasonably be described as healer/damage dealer hybrids. If I queue for a dungeon, it's almost always as a healer, due to queue times (I prefer magicka specs anyway). But if I solo, or duo with my wife, commonly I'm damage-first.

And now as I start tanking, I indeed have a character who has healed nICP via GroupFinder, tanked some easier dungeons duoing with @DarcyMardin, and soloed his way to a bunch of skillpoints,

AcadianPaladin

My main role is as healer. I do alt a tank and a dps primarily to explore what those roles need from my healer. . . in order to make my main a better healer. I have found it worthwhile.

TheRealDrRat

I play one: role tank. I started the game as a tank and have only played really as a tank up to this day. In all mmorpgs I played as tank. A month ago I thought to make a dPS and have done so. Realized it wasn’t for me and changed it to yet another tank. I have a total of 4 tanks I don’t like dPS and I never tried healing. I know the mechanics enough to know what the other roles are doing when grouped with them. So no you don’t NEED to play every role to be any good, but it’s solely your decision to play multiple roles. If you need to play as multiple roles to figure out what’s going on in a group based setting then you are doing something wrong. All these people who say play different roles to know mechs are doing extra unnecessary work when all they need to do is communicate and watch. I really only play on one of the four tanks I have. The rest of my characters are just for inventory space at this point.

BejaProphet

TheRealDrRat wrote: »

I play one: role tank. I started the game as a tank and have only played really as a tank up to this day. In all mmorpgs I played as tank. A month ago I thought to make a dPS and have done so. Realized it wasn’t for me and changed it to yet another tank. I have a total of 4 tanks I don’t like dPS and I never tried healing. I know the mechanics enough to know what the other roles are doing when grouped with them. So no you don’t NEED to play every role to be any good, but it’s solely your decision to play multiple roles. If you need to play as multiple roles to figure out what’s going on in a group based setting then you are doing something wrong. All these people who say play different roles to know mechs are doing extra unnecessary work when all they need to do is communicate and watch. I really only play on one of the four tanks I have. The rest of my characters are just for inventory space at this point.

The are a couple holes in your thinking.

1. Your unspoken “given” is that you are actually good. Your reasoning goes: I play only one role, and I am good, therefore you don’t need to play more than one role. What if you stink and don’t know it? Just saying.

2. If you are good, it still doesn’t address the question really. If you play only one role and are extremely skilled, does it therefore follow that you would gain nothing by playing other roles? What if your game play went to a new level as a result?

I’m just saying, I dont honestly care. My daughter is starting a logic class this semester and now I can’t turn it off. 😕

I’m sure you rock.