Fuck it, Imma do it.
Been playing Marvel Rivals and am obsessed with figuring out which combat role characters from different media would take, just for the sake of it. I'm not saying I want a game like this with them, I just think it's fun to think about. Elden Ring characters (mostly Demigods) are next in line, so I thought I might share my delusions with my fellow Tarnished here.
Going further under the cut, this is your final open warning to not waste your time reading this. Will also be using Marvel Rivals for reference here and there.
Okay, so I'm gonna use the regular terms (Tank, DPS and Support) and I'm gonna go about it however the voices tell me to, but will try to go in sets of threes (trios I think fit thematically and/or have some sort of team-up). At the end, I'm gonna list what I imagine their Ults would be like.
Radahn - Tank Malenia - DPS Miquella - Support Pretty self-explanatory, Miquella and Radahn could have a team-up like Rocket and Groot, where Miq climbs onto his back and gives a slight boost to his attacks, while also giving Malenia some sort of minor buff. I'd also like to imagine Radahn and Malenia having a team-up like Hulk and Wolverine where Radahn can yeet her into the battle.
Godfrey - Tank Malekith - DPS Marika/Radagon - Support Marika and Radagon could work like Cloak & Dagger where they're technically one character but can switch between the two. Maybe Marika is more focused on healing while Radagon is more offensive with some minor healing abilities. Godfrey is a no-brainer Tank, but Malekith was the only character I could think of for the thematic DPS, which still makes sense given how agile and quick he is in his boss fight. Their team-up would be something along the lines of Marika giving the other two a slight health buff maybe.
Rykard - Tank Ghiza - DPS Tanith - Support Rykard (human form, maybe visually corrupted or something) is a fun one to imagine - give him the Blasphemous Blade and some small shielding abilities for his allies, maybe in the form of snakes? Ghiza is another no-brainer (cheese wheel go brrrrrrrrr), but Tanith is an interesting option for Support imo. We don't see her fight at all, we know she used to be a dancer but I wouldn't say she has that kinda agility left in her anymore. She gifts you with spells after each Tarnished you kill, so maybe she could be a spell-casting Support! Her team-up with Rykard could come with an offensive spell, like the Rancor.
Iji - Tank Blaidd - DPS Ranni - Support Iji being a troll is yet another easy tank pick. You could give him his hammer and make him more focused on shielding his allies and taking damage than dishing it out. Blaidd could function very similarly to Magik - big-ass sword, lots of flips, some small frost effect. Finally, Ranni being a support seems like the most obvious choice for her, considering she's one of the most powerful wizards. You could make her slightly more offensive than regular healers to keep it spicy. Ranni and Rykard could have a cool team-up where he gains some Destined Death on his attacks! Ranni, Malenia and Miquella could also have some Empyrean health buff or whatever.
Godwyn - Tank Mohg - DPS Morgott - Support We know next to nothing about Godwyn's fighting style, but I like to imagine he'd be a lightning-wielding fighter, like The Nameless King, or a Deatblight abomination to keep it visually and narratively interesting. Mohg would be a big and slow-moving DPS with one ability that lets him fly a certain distance without being able to attack (like Hela). Putting Morgott as a Support instead of DPS is a funny idea. I definitely wouldn't put him as Tank given how notorious he is for having little health, but I like to think he's one of those characters who were made Support for the express purpose of making more people pick Support, even though it's not a role that would make the most sense for him. I'd say there's potential for him though, give him a bunch of healing/buffing incantations. Mohg and Morgott would obviously need to have some sort of team-up, just not quite sure what that team-up would be.
Rellana - Tank Messmer - DPS Melina - Support Now, I know Rellana is fast as fuck and it would make a lot of sense to put her in DPS, but first of all, she's wearing a full set of knight's armour so it makes sense visually, secondly, she hits like a fucking freight train with every single one of her attacks. Messmer is a lot more agile than Rellana given how airborne and fast-paced he is. I would definitely give him his Spear's Ash of War as an AOE ability. Finally, Melina is a no-brainer for Support, given mostly that she doesn't have a lot of offensive capabilities, but would still need to remain close to the fight to be effective. One of her abilities could be the Minor Erdtree incantation. Both Melina and Messmer would have a team-up with Marika where they gain either a health or an attack buff. Messmer and Radahn could also have a team-up like that.
Now that I've covered all the Demigods I think would make great playable characters, it's time for the Tarnished and the regular mortals! And this is the point where I really gotta start thinking about who would be a fun choice.
One of the coolest things about Rivals is that they bring some lesser-known characters into the roster from the very beginning but also make them super fun to play. So this could be a great way to explore characters like Lionel, Tragoth, Bernhal, Corhyn and Vargram!
D - Tank Nepheli - DPS Roderika - Support Again, full set of armour and a bigass sword make me more inclined to believe that D would be a Tank rather than anything else. Besides, Nepheli fits DPS very well with her dual-wielded axes and storm attacks. Roderika would function like a summoning Support where her spirits perform attacks and abilities which heal or damage, while she herself could maybe administer some minor buffs.
Dungeater - Tank Gideon - DPS Corhyn - Support Dungeater as a tank seems pretty obvious to me, ngl. Was originally gonna say Gideon is a Support, but that old codger hasn't seen a support spell in his entire life. Besides, he's too busy spamming every single kitchen appliance at you to think about that. Corhyn is one of those characters where there's nothing else he could do other than heal, so he's Support. I don't know much about him and he probably wouldn't be much of a popular pick, so you'd likely have to balance it out by making him a pretty good healer. There's not much narrative connection between these three other than the Roundtable, so I don't think they'd really have any special team-up among each other. Gideon would definitely have a team-up with Nepheli.
Lionel - Tank Rogier - DPS Fia - Support Deathblight gang! Pretty self-explanatory, they'd have a team-up where Fia gives them Baldachin's Blessings or something.
Alexander - Tank Okina - DPS Vyke - Support Mountaintop gang! Alexander would have such a fun moveset I think. He wouldn't be very agile or fast, but he'd have an ability that lets him spring into that signature spinning slide all big jars do. Another ability to temporarily harden his jar! Okina could work very similarly to Psylocke, maybe have some team-up with Mohg where he gets a unique ability? Vyke is another funny pick for Support, for basically the same reason as Morgott. He uses a lot of Ancient Dragon incantations and is also known to have received the love of an Ancient Dragon, so maybe that love translates into healing/buffing abilities? I think it would be fun. Honestly, that's as far as my brain can go in terms of playable characters, at least for the time being. Now, for their Ultimates...
Radahn - "Meteoric Slam" (kinda like Magneto and Iron Man except he's the projectile and he can't change his trajectory once he launches, so it would require a lot of pre-planning)
Malenia - "Waterfoul Dance" (would function like a moveable AOE)
Miquella - "Light of Miquella" (heals allies, damages enemies)
Godfrey - "Warrior!" (kinda like the Hulk's Ult, he takes off Serosh and goes berserk with his bare hands for a few seconds)
Malekith - "O, Death" (one of his jumpy attacks)
Marika/Radagon - "The Shattering" (basically Radagon's hammer slam attack) or "Crucifixion" (Marika gets strung up and radiates a healing aura)
Rykard - "Taker's Flames" (static, linear attack)
Ghiza - "Iron Virgin" (let's get creative - Giza gets an Iron Virgin exo-suit with two saws to pilot freely for a few seconds)
Tanith - "Consort's Distress" (some sort of AOE that stuns enemies for a short time)
Iji - "War Counselor's Fear" (uses some kind of Mirrorhelm-based buff to shield allies and deal increased damage)
Blaidd - "Baleful Rampage" (briefly transforms into a Baleful Shadow for increased damage)
Ranni - "Guidance of the Moon" (large AOE that boosts allies)
Godwyn - "Bolt of Gransax" (fuck it, let's stay creative; massive AOE attack)
Mohg - "Sanguine Communion" (communes with the Formless Mother and gets an attack buff for a short time)
Morgott - "Omen's Curse" (large AOE attack that heals allies and slows down enemies, gives him more agility and an attack buff)
Rellana - "Twin Moons" (basically same as in the game)
Messmer - "Base Serpent" (movable AOE attack)
Melina - "Vision of Fire/Death" (kinda like Luna Snow in Rivals, she gets an AOE with an option to pick the effect, either heal or boost attacks)
I don't have an idea for a lot of the other characters' Ults, but I'll list some for who I do.
Nepheli - "Stormhawk's Talons" (she summons the Stormhawk King to dish out some damage alongside her for a few seconds)
Roderika - "Mimic Tear" (I'd imagine it would work pretty much like Loki's Ult in Rivals - Roderika gets to copy anybody on the battlefield for a few moments, Ult included)
Gideon - "Knowledge Above All" (could work like a gamble Ult, he makes enemies around him more vulnerable but becomes more vulnerable himself)
Fia - "Death Restored" (would work like Adam Warlock, able to resurrect allies who are waiting to respawn)
Okina - "Corpse Piler" (AOE that deals bursts of massive damage)
Well, that's all I guess! I'm honestly surprised I even managed to list this many. Again, this is just some fun food for thought that I've had stewing in my mind lately.
Might use it as an excuse to draw some redesigns though!
