Any thoughts on a possible support build for a Sentinel for season 2?
Last time I checked, their core design philosophy is that you should never need a group to play the game.
Iâm not sure where support would fit into that.
If anything, Paladin sorta partially fits in there already with aura, sigils, etc. Maybe the 1.2 Sentinel rework will cook it up some more.
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That doesnât mean that you canât have a group. PoE doesnât ever need a group, but there are lots of support builds. D2 doesnât ever need a group, but auradins are a thing. D3 never needed a group, but zDPS builds abounded.
Paladin makes a great support class. I run a paladin to heal my friends while they level, this allows them to do all the killing and lead the group. Healing hands + Smite Paladin features targetted AOE heals, lots of damage, and can be a caster or melee. You could technically do this as a void knight as well, if youâre into darker motifs, or if you want to become a voidmage that still supports his party.
Spriggan totem also makes an amazing support class. You can run it as druid or shaman but I always do druid because of survivability. Spriggan totem druid features large screen wide AOE heals, AOE damage, great sustain thru AOE regens, and the totems help to control corridors and smaller spaces. Itâs very fun to play. If you like minions this is a great option.
I love playing support in LE because it allows you to group up with lower level friends without them having to follow you around in your wake of destruction. Most players find it very boring to be in a group if they arenât leading the pack, so i let them lead and I heal them.
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The thing with D3 zDPS builds is that they arenât near as proficient at clearing certain progress ranks (GRs, corruption, whatever you call it) when not in a full group.
The reason I italicâd âneedâ is that if you can only do Aberroth with a certain build if youâre in a party, thatâs not a healthy build for the game, because if your friend disconnects, you canât survive.
Thatâs why I said the Paladin (and as Makszi mentioned, the Spriggan to some extent) is kinda in that position, because a lot of the healing & buffs they have is movable to other players or minions, but without being a clear support role and needing that external target to work. E.g. if Divine Bolt would only heal others, thatâs the support-only kind of talent that I think would not fit the âsolo must be possibleâ mentality.
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Yeah, I understand what youâre saying. But that doesnât mean support builds donât need to exist. Makziâs example is a good one. Likewise, you could want to play with your friend/spouse/family member and simply wish to make a build that only serves to boost their damage and has little of its own.
Even in PoE, Iâve often made an auradin just to have fun with a friend that plays less often. When he wasnât around I played my regular build, when he was around to play I mostly just supported him.
Itâs a good archetype to have in a game since it allows you to play with more casual people without them feeling like theyâre not doing anything themselves in the game.
Itâs definitely a fine balance to achieve, and if I had any friends, Iâld want to play support with them too! 
I guess maybe we need to distinguish between âpureâ support and âhybridâ support, where the âpuresâ are like WoW healers; laughably bad at doing stuff on their own.
If weâre talking hybrid support: Yes please! Stuff like being able to cast sigils on other players instead of yourself is great flexability for lower level party members. Casting it on both at once or only on other players is, imho, a no-no.
Which brings me back to the âI donât know where it would fit into the gameâ part: I wouldnât even be able to begin to describe the line between solo-capable and âpureâ support.
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