DPS/Damage dealer

In massively multiplayer online role-playing games, DPS ("damage-per-second") or damage-dealer is one of a few roles a player can assume when working in a group with other players. A DPS player is responsible for causing as much damage to enemies via melee hits or spells as possible without doing so much that it draws enemies' attention and becomes a target itself.

Over their incarnations in many games, DPS classes can be either melee (physical damage, as with swords or maces) or spell damage classes. DPS classes are often more robust than healers and can wear middleweight armor, but can't take the hits that tanks can. DPS classes are the most likely to be hybridized with another role, though some classes are "pure DPS." In the MMORPG World of Warcraft, for instance, mages and rogues are pure DPS classes that can only deal damage, while shamans can be DPS/healing hybrids.

When a group of players fight together, as in a dungeon, there are usually more DPS classes than any other type of class. Using World of Warcraft as an example, a standard five-player group consists of one tank, one healer, and three DPS classes.

During a fight, a DPS is responsible for causing as much damage to enemies as possible. However, the more intense the attacks of a DPS are, the more they risk drawing the attention of their targeted enemy, so DPS players must walk a fine line between damage and aggression. If DPS players do find themselves on the business end of an enemy or boss, most often it is because they were hitting too hard and eclipsing the tank's ability to hold the enemy's attention.

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