In a lot of team-based games, there are three main roles you will see, tanks, support and damage dealers which are also known as the Holy Trinity. Popularised in MMOs but can now be found in strategy games, shooters and even sports games. When you have more than one character chances are it will involve these three roles as they are designed to provide synergy between players so they can work together to achieve team targets.

Roles

Damage - The damage dealer's main task is to inflict damage on any given target or enemy and thus controlling the momentum of the game
Support - The support's main purpose is to support their teammates for example the healer is a very good example who can heal their teammates and can also inflict minimal damage to the enemy
Tank - The tank will be the first line of defence e when coming to face the enemy. They will put their body on the line to make sure others are protected and they have a very high defence statistic to endure the damage for a long time

Example in games

One good example would be the RPG games Dungeon and Dragons. In this the thief would be the damage dealer, the warrior will be the tank and the cleric would be the support. In football or alternatively the games like Rocket League, the striker would be the damage dealer who scores the goal, the midfielder will support their team and the keeper will act as the tank to defend against attacks. In games like Destiny or Overwatch you can find different flavours of these roles.

Holy Trinity in World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft is one of the best examples of these three major roles. It has talent trees that dedicate players to their single role and an innovative agro system that makes the enemy focus on just one particular player. This game has 12 classes with three specializations each that slots neatly into a part of the holy trinity. Most of the classes have access to two of the three archetypes and each of them has a specific job to do. Tank's job is to be the front line of the dragon attack and keep them occupied without dying. They do not have to do maximum damage because they are made to hold on to every damage from the dragon while giving the chance to others to play the game. Support meanwhile will be playing as a healer and buffer that gives extra strength to the damage dealer and tank or increases the life of the tank from the dragon's damage. Damage dealers will continue to give damage throughout the fight as fast and as much as they can

Outriders

Outrider is a looter shooter with 1 tank class, 1 support class, and 2 damage dealer classes. The game is built around combat that rewards aggression and quick close-quarter skirmishes. Sometimes if we choose the wrong role, it can be very boring for example the support that needs to wait to buff and heal the damage dealer when needed only because your damage is very low compared to tank and damage dealer and can be killed easily in-game.

How can games move beyond these roles?

Environment

The reliance on the holy trinity can be shaken up by introducing new elements such as in the environment. Players can interact with the environment to create a new axis of interaction opening up new possibilities for new synergies. For example in Divinity Original Sin players can do all the classic RPG stuff but they can also interact with the environment by cleansing harmful effects from the ground or creating beneficial ones. This will give some bonus effects like setting fire with oil or conducting lightning with water which make the game more strategic.

economy

Starcraft, although it relies on the mix of tank, damage dealer, and support roles, it relies heavily on their economic element. It is important to win battles but at the same time, it is more important to get your economic element strong to make a stronger unit to win the games. One example of this unit is the zerg queen. Another game that relies on the environmental element is the DOTA game. High-level strategies like the holy trinity exist for a very good reason. They are a fantastic scaffolding for both developers and players to build from allowing them to create something unique rooted in a formula that always works. This becomes a problem when they stop acting as a guide and foundation and instead restrict how the games can be designed and played. Three examples of games like this are Nintendo, overwatch, and Tell Tale.

Another example games like Rogue Company and CS:GO have a buy phase

Is playing a team game with the holy trinity better?

Even if you have a team game that is free from the holy trinity, it is not for the better. Compare Apex Legend and Fortnite. Fortnite doesn't have any holy trinity involved in the game meanwhile the apex game has a medium-level holy trinity. Due to this team fights in Fortnite are mostly uncoordinated free for all that do their own thing for the best. In Apex each character's roles are clearly defined which leads to much more interesting team play. Each role has a significant task to lead or support their teammate making this game better.

Turn-based games

In turn-based games, going first is always better because it gives you control over the pace of the game. That is why games like Five Tribes which is a tabletop game allow you to bid against other players for priority on the turn order thus giving an interesting strategic part to the economic benefits

Conclusion

The games that use the roles the best are the one that adds to the formula or offer it in a brand new context meanwhile those games that use it badly sacrifices their interesting gameplay for the specific roles of tank, supports, and damage dealer.

Tank, support and damage dealers