Why is it called "DPS Character"?

General Discussion
21

Not quite sure it is just a thing that evolved.

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22

I’ve been playing WoW since BC and it’s always been DPS.

23

I propose we change their name to “fighty shooty guys/gals”.

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24

i think because initially there’s nothing like DPS in FFXI its all about Delay with weapons until max level since you get to have haste equips but i am still not sure why we call them DD and use Parser plugins that has DPS meter.

25

While something like DD or Damage Dealer would be more descriptive it doesn’t really “fit” well into mouth. It feels cumbersome to say. “Who’s our DeeDee?” DPS feels better to say. Tanks and Healers never got an acronym or abbreviation since they are easy to say as is.

26

because the dps’s role is to deal a lot of dps…

27

If we would separate damage oriented heroes by their real category it would be too complicated.
DPS: Phara, Junkrat, Reaper
DD: Everyone else
DPS is broader and easier to understand

28

Yes, calling it dd for damage dealer would make more sense, but it evolved into dps hero out of habit.

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29

I played WoW for the first year til burning crusade and it was always DPS there… DPS made more sense in WoW… where you’re standing there trying to burn down a boss… the more dps you were doing, the quicker you could get thier health down, the more likely you were to win. All DPS in wow was basically burst damage.

In overwatch… it’s not really about DPS but the term has just grown to mean attack characters who’s primary purpose is to put out damage.

30

DPS stems from MOBAS where characters are separated into support (Healers/CC)
DPS where you do a consistent amount of damage per second as your main crux, or Burst, where you do your damage through skills/skill shots that do a lot of damage together as you use them, instead of over time.

There are also tanks that provide CC and minimal amounts of damage.

This game is a MOBA FPS, so that’s why MOBA terms got used in this game.

31

I’ve been in WoW since its Beta, and it has always primarily been called DPS. The whole “DD” thing was used by a couple of popular sites at the time, and carried over to some parts of the community, but it was never the one I heard used the most. It always represented that your job is not just to deal damage, but to burn through that trash and boss as fast as possible. Particularly bosses that had asinine enrage timers.

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