Playing Support Classes

The shadows seem to move with each quiet footstep of the assassin. As if he were one with the blade, he eagerly turns the grip over on his palm. This blade, so familiar, a very extension of the master’s lethality, has tasted much blood over the years. Now before him, this blade shall soon savor another meal. Slicing deep into the enemy’s soft flesh, the assassin offers a slight grin at his art. His companions gather around to admire the kill. Each played their role, but the assassin is satisfied, knowing that his own role is the most fulfilling.

This is the essence of the support class. The support classes provide physical damage to the team. These are the characters who are toe-to-toe with the enemies they face with high damage output.

Types of Support Classes

There are two kinds of support classes.

These are:

• Fighter-type
• Stealth-type

Fighter-type support classes deal larger amounts of damage at a time. Stealth-type classes deal slightly smaller amounts more quickly.

Each type has their own means of effectiveness. Often, the fighter-types are able to take more amounts of damage than the stealth-types, but the stealth-types tend to have damage over time on their side, which drops the enemy more quickly.

Roles

Deciding upon whether to play a fighter-type or stealth-type support is completely up to the discretion of the player. Here’s a simple list of preferences for players who can’t decide whether to choose one or the other.

     Fighter-type

• Takes out large chunks of health from the enemy at a time.
• Can double as a secondary tank in a pinch.
• Able to lower enemy defense.
• Has higher defense than stealth-type.
• Uses more powerful weapons.

    Stealth-type

• Deals slightly less damage at a faster rate.
• Able to cause damage-over-time.
• Able to bypass some enemy defenses.
• Can often use multiple weapons.
• Some games allow combos (such as Rift), and most allow stealth bonuses.

Tactics

For fighter-type classes, it’s generally most effective to place yourself near the tank. This leaves the back open for stealth-type classes, who usually gain bonuses for being directly behind the enemy. The enemy will turn their attention to the player dealing the most damage, so you have to stay nearby to pursue the enemy if it turns towards one of the spellcasters or a stealth-type support class.

Always target the enemy that the tank is attacking. There have been so many teams that have been torn apart by a scattered team. With no unit coherency, victory becomes difficult. Unless the entire team runs, DO NOT RUN AWAY FROM ENEMIES. The healer cannot heal a character that is not in their line of sight. If your character grabs the enemy’s attention, your best bet is to stay in place and use potions. Also carefully select which of your abilities you will use, since your time is limited. If you die, it happens, but the healer will do all they can to avoid that.