[Kacie]

As someone who doesn't buy most of the books or run the game, I find the concept of roles very helpful. I tend to play the wizard, because I like the tactical challenge of picking the best tool for the current situation. I know what my duty is as a generalist; if I choose to deviate from that role due to spell selection or mixing in different classes, I have a better idea of what I need to focus on in the combat. If we have a different mix of classes (ie, toss in a bard or ranger or paladin) - I have a rough idea of what's going to be covered, and I can pick complimentary tactical spells to match.

I doubt the roles are there as more than an aid to people who haven't thoroughly imbibed D&D from 2nd ed on - and as one of those, I appreciate the higher meta-level breakdown. I've had many conversations with my GM (who is one of those guys who knows the system inside & out and can build a char to break it) on how to best use my wizard tactically - and he the new "role" exactly in describing the wizard; battlefield control. My wizard makes sure the fighter/paladin/ranger is free to focus on the real threat, without being swarmed by mooks - whether by webbing the mooks, or fireballing them.

So in that sense, I'm glad they're making roles explicit. There's tons of room for classes/builds that mix'n'match roles, so for the experienced player, roles aren't needed - but for beginners, it's very helpful, MMO'er or not.