Well, pretty sure making it soloable won't help finding a party.
So hunting suddenly becomes something that by default removes from the social aspect of the MMO, instead of a adding to it.
Ashes will have plenty of content that is not solable.
Players can always create challenges that cannot be successfully completed solo, if that's what they want.
Seems like people should not have much of a problem making friends with other players in their Node who play at the same time and like to do the same things. And, we should know where their housing/freeholds are - which means finding a group (or other player characters to hang out with outside of a group) should be pretty easy.
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DygzMember, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
While this is, yes an MMORPG at it's heart, I fully admit to doing a lot of things solo. Partially for the challenge and in part because of time. Instead of spending the first part of my day LFGing and then maybe not doing exactly what I want, as a solo I can immediately set forth to do whatever in the hell it is I want to do. That could be trying to solo some dungeon meant for a group all the way up to just exploring the world just to explore.
So to that end please do not forget that even in an MMO world, people DO like to solo.
The way I understood Steven and Jeff, you will be able to do exactly that. However, if you want to experience all there is to offer in Ashes, you will have to group up sooner or later.
People who tend to solo probably don't care much about "experiencing all there is to do", but...
While you don't have to join a group to participate in a siege or defend a town from a monster horde attack, it's also not possible to be successful in those activities without help from other players.
Specially when my playmates are still/already in bed, I'm logging into my alts to play around with them.
It should not go as fast like doing dungeons with teammates, but I also love just to grind some dungeons alone and I think it should give the possibility to get the missing exp and piece of armor.
Some people like to play solo and enjoy the fun of the game in solo. Accepting the challenge of the game means that the ability of solo players will also be very strong. If you want to achieve solo, why not make the monster stronger? When a monster becomes powerful, only players with strong enough fighting skills can challenge it solo, while ordinary players cannot challenge and can only team up. In the AOC game, I saw the shadow of Sword Art Online animation. Solo is great in Sword Art Online. Monsters are very powerful. If weak players go to solo, it will be very difficult and even death. Although solo players can play it solo, But it will not be so easy and challenging, which inspires players' challenge. In the 3A game, most players only want to slowly experience the challenging game, increase the difficulty of the game to the highest level, feel the fighting performance of the game, and get fun from the postgraduate entrance examination. Monsters in AOC should be strong and weak, making the wild a dangerous place. Even if the level and equipment are top-notch, they cannot challenge one or more elite monsters solo instead of unbridled blows. Kill, lose the fun of the game
"How far should a player be able to progress as a "lone wolf"?"
The easy answer is, "There should be content for any type of player", but that's not entirely realistic in terms of an initial release. As in, it doesn't make sense to develop a bunch of systems/content that you think the player's will like, only to find that they flop on release. It's usually better to release tried and true content, and then expand on it (carefully) as you receive (legitimate) player feedback (not care bears, lol).
As far as XPing, a lone wolf should be able to hit level-cap without having to group with anyone. Granted, the content available for them might be limited to grinding, or quests, but it should certainly be doable.
As far as equipment progression, I'd advocate for more group oriented activities such as dungeon raids, PvP activities, world bosses, ect. But crafting is certainly another gear-progression that doesn't necessarily require a group (unless you implement gathering in a group-oriented way: multiple people can harvest a node, node profits are split or increased with more people in the group, ect...)
The point of a massively multi-player game is that you get to experience it with thousands of other people, and group-oriented content is really a win/win. You get to be apart of, and give back to, the community -- making it feel more alive and dynamic. Which is why I'm personally not a fan of solo-dungeons. I find they tend to further isolate people from the community who're already inclined to self-isolation. That's not to say you should *force* them to group, but if you make it a quick and easy experience to find a group, and complete group activities, you'll encourage those same people to enrich the game. Conversely, if a solo-dungeon offers the same great rewards as group-dungeons, and there's no wait time, what's the incentive to group up?
TL;DR: Make grouping quick and easy. Make fun group-oriented content and people will group. A great match-making system is key. Even better, make content difficulty/rewards scale with group numbers, giving everyone a challenge no matter how big their group is.
This is my exact thoughts. No need to retype it.
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FuryBladeborneMember, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
If players must have a group to play at all, many people will log when group members are not online. It is best to allow solo players to do something even if it is grinding mobs or gathering.
So, +1 for: solo players should be able to grind out levels to level cap. Group challenges should not be adjusted for solo players. The best gear should be locked behind difficult group content.
Comments
Players can always create challenges that cannot be successfully completed solo, if that's what they want.
Seems like people should not have much of a problem making friends with other players in their Node who play at the same time and like to do the same things. And, we should know where their housing/freeholds are - which means finding a group (or other player characters to hang out with outside of a group) should be pretty easy.
While you don't have to join a group to participate in a siege or defend a town from a monster horde attack, it's also not possible to be successful in those activities without help from other players.
Some people like to play solo and enjoy the fun of the game in solo. Accepting the challenge of the game means that the ability of solo players will also be very strong. If you want to achieve solo, why not make the monster stronger? When a monster becomes powerful, only players with strong enough fighting skills can challenge it solo, while ordinary players cannot challenge and can only team up. In the AOC game, I saw the shadow of Sword Art Online animation. Solo is great in Sword Art Online. Monsters are very powerful. If weak players go to solo, it will be very difficult and even death. Although solo players can play it solo, But it will not be so easy and challenging, which inspires players' challenge. In the 3A game, most players only want to slowly experience the challenging game, increase the difficulty of the game to the highest level, feel the fighting performance of the game, and get fun from the postgraduate entrance examination. Monsters in AOC should be strong and weak, making the wild a dangerous place. Even if the level and equipment are top-notch, they cannot challenge one or more elite monsters solo instead of unbridled blows. Kill, lose the fun of the game
This is my exact thoughts. No need to retype it.
So, +1 for: solo players should be able to grind out levels to level cap. Group challenges should not be adjusted for solo players. The best gear should be locked behind difficult group content.