# The holy trinity

- Term: Digital term
- Canonical: https://www.lanternhall.org/lexicon/holy-trinity/

> The three-role party structure of group content: a tank to absorb enemy attention, a healer to keep everyone alive and damage dealers (DPS, damage per second) to kill things. It formalized the fighter-cleric-wizard balance of the tabletop [The party](https://www.lanternhall.org/lexicon/party/) for real-time online play.

The three-role party structure of group content: a tank to absorb enemy attention, a healer to keep everyone alive and damage dealers (DPS, damage per second) to kill things. It formalized the fighter-cleric-wizard balance of the tabletop [The party](https://www.lanternhall.org/lexicon/party/) for real-time online play.

**Origin:** Commonly traced to EverQuest (1999) and cemented by World of Warcraft (2004).

## Quick answers

**What does "The holy trinity" mean?**
The three-role party structure of group content: a tank to absorb enemy attention, a healer to keep everyone alive and damage dealers (DPS, damage per second) to kill things. It formalized the fighter-cleric-wizard balance of the tabletop The party for real-time online play.

**Where does the term "The holy trinity" come from?**
Commonly traced to EverQuest (1999) and cemented by World of Warcraft (2004).

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From The Lantern Hall (https://www.lanternhall.org/), a museum of fantasy literature and roleplaying games.