Know Your Role: Part 1 - Defensive Fighters Do you know your characters role when it comes to MMORPGs? Some people do, others don't. Maybe you are new to the genre and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes will be your first MMORPG. Well fear not for Martuk is here with a guide to knowing your class and role, and how to perform your job when grouping. Vanguard: Saga of Heroes will make use of many traditional MMORPG classes as well as a few new ones. Those classes fall under one of three categories Protective Fighter, Healer, Offensive Fighter, and Arcane casters. Each one has its own role and job when it comes to grouping. It is up to the player to learn and perfect their role when it comes to their respective class. A failure to do so can result in the death of yourself or your group and a rather healthy corpse run if you're not careful.Protective Fighters: The Protective Fighter in Vanguard will be what many refer to as the tank. The tank is the big bad heavy armor wearing fighter that will stand at the front line of battle and engage the enemy toe to toe while the other classes hang back and dish out damage. The role of the protective fighter is to manage the safety of the group over their own. Their job simply put is to keep the mob from getting to his or her group mates. In traditional MMOs like Everquest the Protective fighter line of classes like Paladins and Warriors would engage an enemy and taunt it to build agro. The rest of the group would unload with damage at a moderated pace while the Warrior/Paladin kept the creature at bay by building agro with taunting and at times other skills. The Vanguard style of Protective fighter has been said to differ greatly from the old ways of tanking as we once knew it. Now instead of having a tank stand his ground and taunt repeatedly they will have reactive combat skills that will allow them to rescue their allies.. The Vanguard combat system is said to be more chaotic than previous MMOs. A creature may not always focus on the tank. He may decide to start beating the cleric that's healing the tank instead. This would do away with the old way of hate list as previous MMOs have used and make being a Protective fighter require a tank to pay close attention and be alert to what is going on in case a group member finds themselves in trouble. If so it is the job of that tank to use his skills to rescue that member. The Vanguard Protective Fighters announced at the moment are the Warrior, Paladin, Dread Knight, and the Inquisitor.Warriors: Traditionally the Warrior is a heavy armor tank that can use most or all of the weapons. In Everquest he had high mitigation and for raid encounters was an ideal choice. With defensive skills high armor and great mitigation, the warrior was arguably the greatest tank in Everquest. How the Warriors of Vanguard will shape up in comparison is anyone's guess, but I think it is safe to assume they will share some of the similarities with their Everquest counterparts along with a few new tricks to add some flavor to these new age of Warrior.Paladins: Traditionally in Everquest Paladins were Holy Warriors of light. They served deities of good intent, and were great tanks in their own right. While not as great as the Warriors when it came to hit points and damage mitigation, they had they're own set of strengths that made them very capable tanks. Paladins could heal as well as cast beneficial spells known as buffs to aid them and their group in battle. They also had a rather useful skill known as Lay on Hands which was an instant heal that could save the Paladin or an ally from death. The Vanguard Paladin from what we know will make use of certain skills that will use something called Gift of Virtue points. These points are said to be for powerful skills and may take a good while to regenerate once exhausted. The Paladin will also be a Protective Fighter in Vanguard. Paladins of Vanguard will be given a choice to either serve a deity or remain undevoted. <a href="http://www.sigilgames.com/000110.php">Darrin "Talisker" McPherson</a> in an interview with Vanguard Ten Ton Hammer states…"The Paladin of Vanguard is a servant of Righteousness, Truth and Light. These aspects are embodied by several of the gods in the Vanguard Pantheon, but it is not required of the Paladin to prescribe to a certain deity in order to gain his powers. Allegiance to a particular god will be a choice that the Paladin is free to make, but only when he is ready to take that step.The Paladin of Vanguard is a servant of Righteousness, Truth and Light. These aspects are embodied by several of the gods in the Vanguard Pantheon, but it is not required of the Paladin to prescribe to a certain deity in order to gain his powers. Allegiance to a particular god will be a choice that the Paladin is free to make, but only when he is ready to take that step."This class is looking to be a fun choice if you are a Paladin of previous MMOs. The ability to use heavy armor as well as the Virtue skills will undoubtedly make this class a great one for warriors of light lovers everywhere. You can also read more of Darrin "Talisker" McPherson's interview.Dread Knight: The Dread Knight is one of the new tanks of unique to Vanguard. They are for the most part still a huge mystery, but one thing we do know so far is that the Dread Knight will use fear, dread, and despair as his tools. Will they be good or evil? That to is unknown at this point as developer's remain tight lipped on the subject. Some people have compared the Dread Knight to the Shadow Knight of Everquest. This comparison was quickly shot down by the developers.. In any case, the Dread Knight looks to be an intriguing and very mysterious class.. One I look forward to seeing in action when Vanguard goes live sometime later this year.The Inquisitor: The last of the protective tanks is possibly the most tightly wrapped. The Inquisitor has had very little information released on it, maybe even less than the mysterious Dread Knight. The only information that we have at the moment on this class is that it will indeed be a Protective Fighter, and it may be able to counter or block spells. This is a class to keep an eye on as a little mystery is always a good thing.There you have it. The four Protective Fighters of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. These are the classes announced to us and are subject to change at the developer's discretion.. We could possibly see another class by launch or one could be removed. Until the developers let loose more of the Sekret Sauce we can only speculate. The protective Fighter is the figurehead of the group. They are the protector and guardian of their fellow adventurers and the first line of defense in battle. Their role has not changed since the traditional incarnations of them in games like Everquest, but how they will perform their duties has become more strategically designed. When Vanguard goes live later this year and you are one of the many who choose a Protective Fighter as your class. Make sure you remember the job of the tank and learn your class well. One thing that makes you well known among the community and your group mates is to know your role when it comes to your class and grouping..