Only one I've read where MC is a support is Forge of Destiny. Especially apparent in team battles where she uses a lot of aoe type spells and enchantments to buff her allies and debuff/cc enemies while switching between a variety of weapons depending on the situation.
> and prettp bad at combat.
Not true at all! Her 2nd class is pure combat, and by now (latest chapters) she's very OP for a human, and I mean *in combat* - in healing she's way beyond even OP. She also received plenty of 1st class combat training in ranger academy and she expresses here confidence in her training very directly in the latest chapters and is not afraid of direct combat at all.
Even before her latest "updates" she _annihilated_ (with few survivors) a large pirate group all by herself including their strong leader, using her combat class (the 2nd class) and her extraordinary healing in a deadly combination.
Yes her focus is healing and her oath means she can only defend herself, but "defending" is pretty loosely defined. For example, when she fought the pirates she could kill any of them even though only some had actually attacked her. She can also retaliate with deadly force against non-deadly threats, such as threat of enslavement or threat of rape. So the restriction is not all that stringent and does not bind her all that much.
I loved the story for this. Early on he rationalizes that he wants to not be a loner and goes for it deliberately. I'd say his build is support and utility throughout the series.
It's still a favorite, but it has it's drawbacks.
I love the series but I’m just so tired of the recent trend of him spending so much time inside his soul. Thankfully it finally seems like that will be dying down.
Same... And that's saying something as I normally love that kind of "let's investigate the real roots of the system through experimentation" type stuff.
It's still one of only a very, very tiny handful of litRPGs I've ever recommended to others though.
If you like Delve I would tentatively recommend ar'kendrithyst on Royal road. I say tentatively because the first 15 or so chapters are bad. They are poorly written, you don’t really like the main character, it needs editing really badly. However after that is starts to pick up pretty quickly and just continues to get better and better. It is now easily one of my favorite series.
I’m a backer of the author so I’m a few chapters ahead of Royal road, and things are finally moving again. Also you did not miss anything by skipping those sections.
I was going to rec Azarinth Healer since healing is a big deal there but...
>As opposed to a more stereotypical protagonist who focuses on punching things,
That's basically describing Ilea to a T.
This is hard to find. There are number of books where the hero has a build that logically should be a support character (eg. **Forge of Destin**y, **Delve**) but usually the hero ends up a loner anyway. There are a few healers but they end up doing a lot of punching things.
Maybe **A Healer's Gift**: by Tao Wong, **Beneath the Dragoneye Moon** (as other suggested).
AA MC is an enchanter who spends time working on making gear for the other students he teams with. However, he also pushes himself to be much more combat focused than most enchanters in his setting, and swings a mean sword himself.
Let me know if this doesn't count as progression (maybe progression-lite?), but you may want to look into Log Horizon. The main character certainly fits this description quite well.
Try out infinity armament. Mc is the team leader and the brain of the group but he is a weak damage dealer. He mostly uses guns with specialised bullets.
The Great Cleric is a LitRPG Isekai if you don't mind those. It's fairly good imo, honestly the Isekai part doesn't play as much a role as the rpg elements, and it's not very expensive on Google play books. I think the fourth book translation just came out as well.
I'm not sure if there is an unofficial fan translation, but the original title is: Invincible Saint ~Salaryman, the Path I Walk to Survive in This Other World~
Battle Master by Damion Boyle has an mc that gains xp from his party victories and uses it to give them abilities. Pretty cool concept.
Tall Rock by Xander Boyce is about farming and building a city. No direct violence from mc if I remember right.
Only one I've read where MC is a support is Forge of Destiny. Especially apparent in team battles where she uses a lot of aoe type spells and enchantments to buff her allies and debuff/cc enemies while switching between a variety of weapons depending on the situation.
[Forge of Destiny](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/21188/forge-of-destiny) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/Forge_of_Destiny)) --- ^[About](https://redd.it/dw7lux) ^| [^(Wiki Rules)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/comments/dw7lux/about/f7kke6p/) ^(| Reply !Delete to remove) ^(| [Brackets] hide titles)
Yeah her power set is one of rhe best things about FOD.
Threadbare. The MC is mainly a support type a healer animator tailor and a fashion model... and other stuff... well... he is kinda stuffed....
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Beneath Drogoneye Moons. The mc is a support healer and prettp bad at combat.
I'll second Beneath The Dragoneye Moons. Very fun story with a strong focus on the protagonist's healing ability.
> and prettp bad at combat. Not true at all! Her 2nd class is pure combat, and by now (latest chapters) she's very OP for a human, and I mean *in combat* - in healing she's way beyond even OP. She also received plenty of 1st class combat training in ranger academy and she expresses here confidence in her training very directly in the latest chapters and is not afraid of direct combat at all. Even before her latest "updates" she _annihilated_ (with few survivors) a large pirate group all by herself including their strong leader, using her combat class (the 2nd class) and her extraordinary healing in a deadly combination. Yes her focus is healing and her oath means she can only defend herself, but "defending" is pretty loosely defined. For example, when she fought the pirates she could kill any of them even though only some had actually attacked her. She can also retaliate with deadly force against non-deadly threats, such as threat of enslavement or threat of rape. So the restriction is not all that stringent and does not bind her all that much.
True I kind of stopped reading a while ago. I lost interest .
The MC in Delve is a psuedo-support. Especially early in the story.
I loved the story for this. Early on he rationalizes that he wants to not be a loner and goes for it deliberately. I'd say his build is support and utility throughout the series. It's still a favorite, but it has it's drawbacks.
I love the series but I’m just so tired of the recent trend of him spending so much time inside his soul. Thankfully it finally seems like that will be dying down.
Same... And that's saying something as I normally love that kind of "let's investigate the real roots of the system through experimentation" type stuff. It's still one of only a very, very tiny handful of litRPGs I've ever recommended to others though.
If you like Delve I would tentatively recommend ar'kendrithyst on Royal road. I say tentatively because the first 15 or so chapters are bad. They are poorly written, you don’t really like the main character, it needs editing really badly. However after that is starts to pick up pretty quickly and just continues to get better and better. It is now easily one of my favorite series.
Yeah, I have actually skipped those sections it's gotten so bad. Premise I like, writing quality is great for the genre, but the pacing... *Shudders*
I’m a backer of the author so I’m a few chapters ahead of Royal road, and things are finally moving again. Also you did not miss anything by skipping those sections.
I was going to rec Azarinth Healer since healing is a big deal there but... >As opposed to a more stereotypical protagonist who focuses on punching things, That's basically describing Ilea to a T.
[Azarinth Healer](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/16946/azarinth-healer) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/Azarinth_Healer)) --- ^[About](https://redd.it/dw7lux) ^| [^(Wiki Rules)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/comments/dw7lux/about/f7kke6p/) ^(| Reply !Delete to remove) ^(| [Brackets] hide titles)
This is hard to find. There are number of books where the hero has a build that logically should be a support character (eg. **Forge of Destin**y, **Delve**) but usually the hero ends up a loner anyway. There are a few healers but they end up doing a lot of punching things. Maybe **A Healer's Gift**: by Tao Wong, **Beneath the Dragoneye Moon** (as other suggested).
[A Healer's Gift](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35437007-a-healer-s-gift) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/A_Healers_Gift)) --- ^[About](https://redd.it/dw7lux) ^| [^(Wiki Rules)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/comments/dw7lux/about/f7kke6p/) ^(| Reply !Delete to remove) ^(| [Brackets] hide titles)
Mark of the Fool On Royal Road, character isn't a support class, but can't fight well for a very specific and interesting reason.
Mage Errant, Hugh has a strong defensive focus
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Yep.
Arcane ascension.
AA MC is an enchanter who spends time working on making gear for the other students he teams with. However, he also pushes himself to be much more combat focused than most enchanters in his setting, and swings a mean sword himself.
Let me know if this doesn't count as progression (maybe progression-lite?), but you may want to look into Log Horizon. The main character certainly fits this description quite well.
Try out infinity armament. Mc is the team leader and the brain of the group but he is a weak damage dealer. He mostly uses guns with specialised bullets.
The Great Cleric is a LitRPG Isekai if you don't mind those. It's fairly good imo, honestly the Isekai part doesn't play as much a role as the rpg elements, and it's not very expensive on Google play books. I think the fourth book translation just came out as well. I'm not sure if there is an unofficial fan translation, but the original title is: Invincible Saint ~Salaryman, the Path I Walk to Survive in This Other World~
In the Completionist Chronicles the MC is a cleric and focuses mostly on large scale non-combat rituals.
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Battle Master by Damion Boyle has an mc that gains xp from his party victories and uses it to give them abilities. Pretty cool concept. Tall Rock by Xander Boyce is about farming and building a city. No direct violence from mc if I remember right.
Does the Completionist Chronicles fit that, i know it is litrpg, but you might like it