Mmmm, I was thinking in the case of grouping and not raiding, fitting the EQ classes into the Vanguard archetype system by means of comparison, perhaps I should have made that clearer.
I am well aware that many classes bridge several archetypes, but that is what brings class distinction.
One of the best healers I ever fought with was a Druid. Her skill exceeded the vast majority of Clerics I have ever met and really opened my eyes to what a Druid can do. Shaman may be slowers, but slowing is a form of healing (less damage dealt, less to heal) - I missed Enchanters off my list, oops!
I consider raids to be a special case and therefore balanced differently. Just because EQ1 raids required a warrior and a CH rotation doesn't change the fact that Paladins and Shadowknights could tank group content as well as a Warrior with the benefit of agro lock. The fix here is to make raids either require specific tanks (as is being done, says Brad) or give non Warrior tanks a way to tank a raid that does not make them identical to Warriors.
Your use of the words "DPS, Useless, or Niche Utility" is interesting. Who in that list is useless or niche? Also, your ideal group is all well and good if you have a group of people who play together all the time, but in pick up groups I often took who I could get, so for me a group was:
Tank (Warrior, Me)
Healer
Slower (if we could find one)
DPS
DPS
DPS
It's no coincidence in Vanguard that there are twice as many DPS classes as there are healers or tanks, subdivided into melee and caster. My point is that the archetypes in EQ are loose, as you've also pointed out, which (raids notwithstanding) produces a lot more options if you are willing to try them. Post Luclin EQ there was a lot of content my girlfriend and I could do with just a Warrior and a Beastlord if you looked off the beaten track.
Where Vanguard has to be careful is that by bluring the lines between subclasses within an archetype you make them all the same with differently named abilities:
Warrior: Kick
Paladin: Holy Kick
Shadowknight: Evil Kick of the Damned
Only time will tell if they can avoid this homogeny.
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Originally Posted by Tazzrin
I like how the devs have completely hurdled the obstacle that was class balancing. Instead of wasting valuable time trying to rework the classes so they are balanced, they reworked the environment so that certain classes will be more attractive given the environment that they are hunting in. Its genious.
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This is indeed genius, I hope they can pull it off.