Building a balanced party in Funcom's Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures seems like a simple thing to do for experienced MMORPG gamers. However, because of certain mechanics in the game, even the most jaded player will soon find that the task isn't as easy as expected. Which brings us to the topic at hand: balancing the triumvate of classes in order to create an efficient party.
Since some people may not be too familiar with the triumvate of classes I am talking about, let's touch on this a bit first. There are three main parts of a party: the tank, the healer, and the DPS. The tank is responsible for taking all the party's damage while the healers are responsible for keeping everyone alive. The DPS, on the other hand, are responsible for speeding up each fight by killing the enemies before they become too much for the other two to handle.
In Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, parties are limited to six members at a time. So the obvious move would be to have two tanks, two healers, and two DPS classes right? Perhaps. A setup like this is good on paper but can be very difficult to manage. What I propose is a rather unorthodox setup, but one that has worked for me and the Ravens of Memory in the past: one tank, two healers, and three DPS classes.
The party works like any other grouping with a few important differences. Yes, the tank will still pull and will still be the focus of the enemy mobs. However, if you've been in any sort of instance before, the moment a mob pops up, all hell breaks loose since they automatically go for the healers.