Solo

ArchivedUser

I've been following this games progression slightly over the course of a few months . Thought i would ask here in the forums before i decide to sink any decent amount of money into the game.

After a few times of browsing over different threads , i didn't find any hard core answers to soloing. It possibly has been answered someplace but i either didn't find it or the answer was Blah.

So with trying to learn how the pvp penalty works and open world , i basically want to know from anyone here that has first hand knowledge of the game , is soloing more on the back burner for these guys and it is almost 90% oriented toward large guilds? Because from some of the things i read , even with the flagging system , the only thing we will have is large guilds controlling and camping most every important or cool places, and solo will be almost un-heard of.

Non instanced dungeons areas will be a real problem and even with harsh flagging , it appears it will be more of a chore to have fun solo then it will be worth.

I like grouping but not all the time and i don't like being forced to drag a small army around with me just to do anything. If the game is even 70% this way , then i would like to know , because i won't spend the money.

I really wanted to purchase the largest founder pack they have and would have to purchase 2 actually , because the wife will want one, but not if the game is this way. I would rather just use the money on another game or something.

Graphically looks great and the combat as well, but i cannot enjoy those things if I'm constantly looking for people to run with me or looking over my shoulder every step of the way. Safe havens are fine but don't matter much if trying to do anything requires a constant shout ( Hey LFG to help do this or that )

MMO doesn't mean i want people attached to my hip 24/7 . If casual solo players have no place in this game or at least even 50% of it , then i would like to know so i don't waste time or money.

If anyone has a good clear answer to this , then i would appreciate it greatly. Would like to know the current status of the game like if or when the permanent test server opens ?

Keep the LTP answers to a minimum lol .  

ArchivedUser

Stopped reading half-way through because you this is an MMO. It is designed from the ground up for several people at all times for almost everything. If you want to play a decent solo game that has open multiplayer thrown in, then go try out Fallout 76 in a month or two after they fix all the massive bugs and glitches. I play it constantly even with all its problems and it is a solid game when playing solo or in a team.

As for an answer for your second to last paragraph, it is looking like MAYBE around 15% of the game will be for solo players (or at least available for solo players), Otherwise this is not looking like it will be a game for you.

ArchivedUser

Well thanks for the information. Sad that you only read half of my thoughts. Maybe you have an attention span issue or get bored easily. I guess i might have rambled on a bit , but to get an informed answer and not a half baked one , that's why i rambled and tried to let anyone that read it , to understand how important the subject felt to me.

The forums are NEVER the best place because they ALWAYS are toxic and usually wind up in a pissing contest for grammar mixed with BS. Anyhow i thought as much about this game and am glad i can stop watching it now that i know.

Cya

ArchivedUser

Well the game is designed around grouping...and a group is 8 people. The balance of classes is also around a group, however; with that said the classes will work similar to rock, paper scissors where you will have certain classes to have a distinct advantage over other classes. So as a solo player you both benefited from that and negatively affected by it.

Now that doesn't mean there won't be solo content. Steven even comments that there will be solo content, and instances will cater more towards solo players than large groups/raids. 
https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Dungeons

It all depends on what you want to get out of the game as a solo player. It sounds like you'll be playing with your wife so playing as a 2 man group will work out for some of the game, but MMORPG's are general designed around group play. On the bright side if you do go solo large groups that hunt together will be more prone to becoming corrupted as your not likely to fight back 1vGroup.

ArchivedUser

It depends on what you want to do in game really. As the game is a MMO group play is part of the deal so it hard to say if solo play is going to be viable for everything.

ArchivedUser

nagash said:

It depends on what you want to do in game really. As the game is a MMO group play is part of the deal so it hard to say if solo play is going to be viable for everything.

This is actually why I wanted a PvP merchant where you could earn some type of PvP currency to buy gear that was equivalent to dungeon/raid gear. You can ALWAYS pvp as a solo player. So being able to earn something like that through pvp  helps the solo player, especially if that same currency is split if you're in a group. They've yet to confirm nor deny the existence of that but that would help out solo players tremendously keep up with people who group and raid.

ArchivedUser

ArchivedUser

McKnightrider said:

nagash said:

It depends on what you want to do in game really. As the game is a MMO group play is part of the deal so it hard to say if solo play is going to be viable for everything.

This is actually why I wanted a PvP merchant where you could earn some type of PvP currency to buy gear that was equivalent to dungeon/raid gear. You can ALWAYS pvp as a solo player. So being able to earn something like that through pvp  helps the solo player, especially if that same currency is split if you're in a group. They've yet to confirm nor deny the existence of that but that would help out solo players tremendously keep up with people who group and raid.

Sounds like a good idea but I was just pointing out that there are some things that you have to do as a group.

ArchivedUser

This might have some relevant info: 
https://forums.ashesofcreation.com/discussion/comment/174119

Overall, of course you can play solo and do a ton of stuff but also, of course you won't be able to do all of the content in game without a group. Depends on what you want to do. Your post is very uninformative about your goals and how you want to play the game which is the most important factor on if you will be able to solo the way you want. IS has explicitly said they don't want people to be gated by guilds so you can still take part in sieges and find groups for dungeons and raids etc without guilds. Maybe comment on what your goals are in game and what specific part of it you are curious you can play solo or not?

Just keep in mind that the crafting system (and therefore the economy) will be far too much for a single player to be self-sufficient in so you need to interact, but again I just don't know what play-style you are looking for.

Now, regarding forums, toxicity and investing into the game or not.

• @whitedude31 does not owe you anything to read your post entirely, and I think he wasn't insulting you when he said he didn't, he was informing you so that you could read his response with the context and understanding that he may have missed some of your thoughts or points. I would do this too if I commented on something but was not sure if my comment was going to be informative or what the author was looking for.
• Similar to the point above, it was not toxicity, it was context. When you come in with expectation of everything being rude and toxic, you will interpret things as such. If your tolerance for "toxicity" is a single honest post you cannot expect to fairly judge the environment we have here. Also, think you'd have a hard time finding any social forum to your liking
• Investing into the game is easy and can be done in many ways. If you are unsure about the investment, you can purchase the most basic support pack and upgrade it in the future. You will receive the cosmetics of the future upgrade though so if there is anything cool you want from the current pack you need to buy it now or forever lose out on the chance (although I'm sure similar stuff may be available later). 
• Edit- link to supporter pack info & upgrade stuff: https://forums.ashesofcreation.com/discussion/39510/package-upgrades-and-pre-order-packages-faqs
• My last point is that the game is still >1 year away from the goal release date and things will change and more information will come out. You don't need to write it off, but you also don't need to follow it daily until it comes out, stay healthy and do what works for you budd.

ArchivedUser

I want to be able to solo everything except raids and dungeons.
Mostly because I hate relying on people and I hate people.
This community is shaping up to one of the worst as it is.

ArchivedUser

Grimseethe said:

I want to be able to solo everything except raids and dungeons.
Mostly because I hate relying on people and I hate people.
This community is shaping up to one of the worst as it is.

The community is fine, you're just a whiny baby who doesn't understand what the purpose of alpha is for then threw a tantrum because you couldn't play and no one supported you being a baby about it.

ArchivedUser

Personally i have never found any forums that wasn't toxic or soon turned that way after a single post. That is my experience with forums so now you know why i come here with that mentality and always will simply because its my belief that the internet gives people anonymity because they can and WILL say anything without real world penalties. forum banning and text scolding doesn't count. Totally different spewing things in a text chat versus saying something to someone within 3ft of arms reach. You get my point I'm sure.

Anyhow , i do appreciate the insight everyone has posted on my thread and i learned quite a lot.

My game play that i look for in an MMORPG , is i want to be able to solo content to get gear or items that are CLOSE to raid/ guild items , BUT don't expect them to be of equal quality or power. I do however judge the quality if they are not capable of helping me defend myself in PVP especially since NO company or game IMO has gotten the balance factor even close.

I know and agree with the paper scissors rock model but anyone that has ever played paper scissors rock , knows that it doesn't matter how big your damn hands are. Now if you can understand what i mean by that , then you know that a cooky cutter look at paper scissors rock Theory will never work because of so many factors in a game, including players skill. That model will always be riddled with problems and nerfs , just to try and always get that balance.

I could care less about being able to solo the entire game content. I like to group but i want to do it on my terms and not because i am forced into it. I would like to be able to build my house or whatever and not have to rely on others unless I'm trying to build such a large structure that its stupid crazy.

Open world pvp is ok with me and if i get jumped by 2 or more then yes i expect to lose. Even if i get blind sided by a single person that plays well , then yeah i probably die and that's ok.

Questing and personal hunting gathering and exploring , should have enough depth AND size to hold a casual player and solo player busy for a long time. I do not and never will like being forced to group/raid just to make my character viable in a game.

If i choose to get to know someone in game its because i really want to.

There are TONS of Douche bags that try to run guilds and raids , like its a real job and are rude and bossy. Sometimes i think they believe its more important then the real world and treat others in game as if they are actually their underlings rofl.

Contrary to the people on the net and games in this day and age, MMORPG doesn't revolve around guilds and group. PLENTY of socializing to be done in just plain old chat or selling items and bartering. This company better think about their game ideas before they reduce or exclude solo/ casual players.

We make up MORE then 50% of your customers AND there are more of us that actually HAVE jobs and money , instead of living in a game world bitching about ways to earn a free month sub, because your poor or don't have the cash this week rofl. (Should insert games here but won't )

I stepped back to the forum long enough to see if anyone gave me more info and in fact they did. Like i said i appreciate it very much . It seems like now you should have a good idea of playstyle and expectations. If not then just leave the rest blank because i know I've played like every decent title of MMo out there from way back to ultima days, and have yet to find one that has these values except for a select few that i won't mention here.

Whatever the case may be , it sounds like your correct and this one won't be on my list for playing.

ArchivedUser

@Blacklotis

• The PvP will be as you expect.
  
• Questing, gathering, hunting should be very large and in-depth and fully solo friendly, although as I mentioned: you may need to buy/barter with others who have things you don't since there is no fast travel and you'll not be likely able to gather everything you need with limited time in game
• In terms of guilds, I don't think that because there is a lot that large guilds can accomplish it means the game is centered around or made for guilds. I have honestly not even given guilds a thought so far.
• In terms of balance, the philosophy was stated but I mean we have literally no idea how it looks (especially given how many "classes" there are so we just need to wait to comment/decide on that imo)
• Gear-wise, your expectations should be realistic but you should consider that it may take you much longer and be more effortful/expensive than if you decided to run some dungeons or raids with a group however you may choose them. 
• In terms of toxicity, I understand your perspective and opinion but just be mindful that even if you perceive something as rude/toxic it may not be intended that way for what it's worth.
• And if you decide not to engage in the game, totally fair. I think most people who play will do so after seeing some gameplay in late beta or after the game is released anyways.

ArchivedUser

McKnightrider said:

Grimseethe said:

I want to be able to solo everything except raids and dungeons.
Mostly because I hate relying on people and I hate people.
This community is shaping up to one of the worst as it is.

The community is fine, you're just a whiny baby who doesn't understand what the purpose of alpha is for then threw a tantrum because you couldn't play and no one supported you being a baby about it.

Wrong kid..I could have tested the game twice and I've been bets testing games before you could walk.
If the community was fine I wouldn't have a problem with it would I.

ArchivedUser

May I ask what is wrong with the comunity and what you would do to fix it?

ArchivedUser

It's an mmo it's pretty damn obvious you won't be able to solo ALL content, but I'm pretty sure you don't need to be part of a guild to experience dungeons/raids (i think IS said we can post group requests in taverns) 

ArchivedUser

Grimseethe said:

I want to be able to solo everything except raids and dungeons.
Mostly because I hate relying on people and I hate people.
This community is shaping up to one of the worst as it is.

Says the guy who is literally the most toxic person on the forums, I mean telling people they should get cancer over in-game behavior is definitely a great example of a community should operate 'w'