Talk:Defender

Made some changes: From the top:

• Worded choppily. Smoothed it out a little.
• Cut some very silly phrases: "his powerful attention"?
• Added /debuff to the Primary description
• Added 'or debuffing' to the primary description.
• Added (but not added to) a Strategy section

I also almost added the following under Strategy:

The 'Healer' Conundrum

It's very easy to fall into the trap of seeing the obvious additions a Defender might give a team. To this end, many players of other games consider the Defender an essential team cornerstone, because it can grant healing en masse to the team. This attitude can be even more exaggerated in some cases, where team leaders might think of any Defender who does not have the Empathy powerset is somehow inadequate to assist a team. This problem is often endemic on the more populated servers, and can often lead to exasperated Defenders, who find themselves unable to join teams because of their different choices, and Empathy Defenders finding their ability to use their attacks or their buffs stifled because teammates only want them to heal.

This attitude is one born out of ignorance. It is very easy to notice the effect an Empathy Defender has on the team, and very hard to notice the effect of a Force Field Defender, or a Dark Defender. Indeed, if the Dark or Force Field Defenders do their job well enough, their efforts can go almost entirely unnoticed. The best way to deal with this situation is, of course, to found your own teams, and politely inform people as to the viability of the Defender's different class choices. It also requires you to understand what you do do well, as opposed to the mere 'healer' mindset. A Dark Defender can heal and resurrect, but they can also debuff an enemy's accuracy with ease. The practical upshot is that, if the Defender is doing his or her job well, the party are not likely to feel the need for a Healer.

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Until I realised I was probably editorialising. That said, it could warrant a mention, and in turn, I'll be seeing about producing a Strategy section for the Defender shortly. Still not sure on the borders of appropriate, though.

The more neutral this is, the better. It's a volatile issue. Corebreach 11:14, 26 February 2007 (PST)