Is there as much opportunity for the Solo / Guild-less player ?

Ziu

I've never really been one to join a guild and be social. I like to pave my own experience usually. I don't make many friends and do things on my own. In most MMO's it seems you are forced to join a guild to complete raids or unlock high tier content, "The fun stuff". To get the best gear or even have raid experiences at all I was forced to join a guild.
Does this game offer a balance for the guild-less player(Solo player quest lines) , or is the guild-less player missing out?

Caeryl

Ashes is going to be a social game. If you don’t engage with the community, your options are going to be severely limited. Even crafting will require player cooperation.

Aardvark

Doesn't sound like it

Ziu

From my perspective, a solo player can still do trades and conduct business, just does not have an 'association' with any particular group of people.
I guess my main question is the guild-less player missing out on a huge part of content solely because of not joining a guild? I hope there will be some kind of unique content for people who do not wish to join a guild.

Ziu

like a "i have this because i did this literally all by myself", or " You cant get this thing because you're in a guild"

Samson1

I'm sure there will be many things you can do on your own but this game is highly based on social play... And the main aspects of the game will require you to make friends/enemies and form groups.

BlackBrony

Sure, you can do solo stuff like:

- farm mobs
- farm mats
- do quests

Most of the things will require interaction and social institutions to rely on.
You can't farm you own sword, unless you have 3 characters, each dedicated to processing, gathering and crafting

Jubilum

I am not a fan of huge guilds but I am not antisocial either. Not being in a guild could have some strategic advantages. If the guild v guild war dec mechanic is anything like Eve Online, where a handful of corporations each have 100's of active war dec's at all times to create a target rich environment, I will not be joining a guild.

If the guild v guild mechanic has a high level to declaring and a meaningful mechanic. I will be on the look out for a small to mid size guild (less than 50) in or around an economic or scientific node with a pve and trading mission statement.

Kohl

The way I understand it, you can kill-steal bosses since they aren't instances (most of them).
Unless they set it up as "the party with most damage get's the kill when boss dies".

Samson1

Below you will find a link to the AoC Wiki. This page describes the loot tagging system that is currently in place:

https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Raids#Loot_tagging

wArchAngel

Dont know where you understood that from, but currently the system is a hybrid of tag/damage done, the group with the tag needs to do less damage to secure the loot, while the group without the tag need to overwhelm the damage of the tagging group to get the loot. More precise details will be known later, aka community-gathered numbers in percentage(right now its a vague 40% with tag, 60% without tag), how to stop the tag, how long are the looting rights persist and etc...

I dont know how exactly are you planning to "kill-steal" a boss.

eXsZhen

From listening to the podcasts... pretty much AoC is a group based game and less of a solo game like Black Desert Online. HOWEVER.....

I am sure there will be guilds or families in the game who prefer to play solo but will use each others abilities to stay relevant without much mandatory interactions.

Honestly I wouldn't worry about it, I'm sure your not the only who is wondering about the same sort of thing. These things are solved pretty fast within the game community to stay in tip top shape with minimum player interaction.

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darthaden

My recommendation would be to look for a casual pve guild. There are guilds out there who wont demand you be available Tuesdays and Thursdays between the hours of 7pm to 10pm for hardcore raiding.

Fildydarie

I'm expecting to be a predominantly solo player as well. I always get into these sorts of things with the optimism that I'll find a group of players I want to hang out with, but something always drives me to give up on the playerbase (and often humanity in general). Until that happens, though, I'll be mucking through whatever I can manage to solo.

RE: Kill stealing: Kill the other group's healers. Kill the boss after the wipe.

Ziu

Would like to see some kind of mercenary or lone wolf mechanic instead of joining a guild. Where you are guild-less and kind of do your own thing but will team up with guilds or other players during dungeons/ raids / world interactions if your interests align. Some kind of status that lets people know you are predominantly guild less but will team up for a short time when need be.

leamese

Solo play is definitely possible. You will miss out on buffs and quest from social organizations tho

IllusionTokomi

Like some have said, it seems that on the one hand the solo player demographic is a very small portion of the target market for this game, on the other hand, it won't be a pure lockout of features.

It - like most things in life - will require you understand the consequences of your choice and accept them. You get some of what you want, you don't get other things. Compromise. The question is not will it be "is the guild-less player missing out?" You certainly will miss out of some things, as guild players will miss out of the enjoyment of solo play. As things are now, there is no way to answer that question. It's not pointless, but unanswerable is of no benefit to us or the devs.

But the question is: What are you willing to compromise and give up in order to have what you truly want? I think if you posted the answer to that question, you might find your voice.

[EDIT - corrected direct quote]

Over1ander

The open world dungeons will definitely create some unique situations for solo players, I can imagine a scenario rouges trying to solo stealth through dungeons getting exclusive rewards and a group comes running in either leading to PvP or else.

Haraxa

@Ziu

Ziu wrote: »

I've never really been one to join a guild and be social. I like to pave my own experience usually. I don't make many friends and do things on my own. In most MMO's it seems you are forced to join a guild to complete raids or unlock high tier content, "The fun stuff". To get the best gear or even have raid experiences at all I was forced to join a guild.
Does this game offer a balance for the guild-less player(Solo player quest lines) , or is the guild-less player missing out?

I guess AoC is only the right game for you, if you accept that there are many features, you will miss with your playstyle. This is true for almost every game, though:

To achieve something in a MMO, you have to contribute something in one or more currencies.
In my view the currencies in place right now are:

1. - Money
2. - Time
3. - Social Capital (being part of a group)
4. - Game Knowlegde
5. - Game Skill

Did I miss "currencies" you have to / you can collect to be successful in a game?

If the main currency is money, that can help you to overcome a lack of other currencies, it is called "Pay-to-Win". If it is mainly time, I would call it "grinding to success". As I understand AoC will be a mixture of currencies. You will have to contribute a fixed amount of money (subscription) to be part of the game in the first place. After that, the game offers you different paths to achieve many of the goals, but setting in place a structure that favors a specific playstyle.:

• Some content will be locked, if you don't invest in complex, durable structures (like guild vs guild wars)
• Many parts of the content will be easier, if you have more social capital, game knowledge or skill, but you can substitute it with time.
• Some content (like parts of the artisan system) will only need low level socializing (like trading).
• Some content will need you to socialize for a specific goal (Farming materials or recipies from bosses), but not for a long time.

In short:
If you are fine with the rougher route to success, because you then can claim "I did it on myself", I guess AoC offers you a pathway to many key game features (exploring, leveling, artisanship, trade).

Have a good day,
Haraxa

Hansrutger

BlackBrony wrote: »

Sure, you can do solo stuff like:

- farm mobs
- farm mats
- do quests

Most of the things will require interaction and social institutions to rely on.
You can't farm you own sword, unless you have 3 characters, each dedicated to processing, gathering and crafting

I mean thats kinda same like WoW, sure you can do RDF/LFR but anything else requires at least a bit of social interaction.

I'm sure that solo players will have their role in the entire thing, but if you're expecting something like Torghast or Mage Tower like in WoW for solo players, it seems pretty slim and they seem okay with that.

Mork

Get in PUGs... Tho guilds are endlessly better ...

Or play a single player game?

GrayingGamer

Any MMO that wants broad appeal needs robust solo play. Many players want to game in an organic, evolving multiplayer world, but don't actually want to directly socialize with other players most of the time. Even healthy guild-players just want to log in and do their own thing sometimes.

If I can't be a contributing citizen to a node without being plugged into some guild, meh...

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grisu

Ziu wrote: »

Would like to see some kind of mercenary or lone wolf mechanic instead of joining a guild. Where you are guild-less and kind of do your own thing but will team up with guilds or other players during dungeons/ raids / world interactions if your interests align. Some kind of status that lets people know you are predominantly guild less but will team up for a short time when need be.

That just sounds like being in a guild with extra steps. <insert meme>

daxiongmao87

I am probably going to be a solo player and I believe this game will have PLENTY to do for us. However, I think it'd be unrealistic to believe that we would have the same opportunities as big guilds and hardcore players.

Nor do I think the game should be catered to the casuals in a way that we have the same opportunity as those guilds, as long as guild-play does not suffocate solo play I'm happy.

Juk KO

A solo player can experience everything this game has to offer. Granted you put in the time to master a profession, trade, gear up and try to squeeze into some raids from groups who will take you.

This game is mostly open-world. So your adventures can be with or without others while you do your farming taskes. All group content will be harder to accomplish but by the sounds of it you can seamlessly join other people whether they want you there or not.

You just have to go with the flow. Become a citizen of somewhere. Farm and build it up. Then while going to do dungeons or raids you may have to afk at the entrance for some friends. Or enemies.

You'll be fine. This game is way more player friendly then other mmorpgs where instead you group find into dungeons and everyone leaves.

Yuyukoyay

Good Luck with that. I'd rather have friends so I can do professions. "Be my Friend!".

Elistriell

To some extent, everyone is going to be engaging in solo content at one time or another. It's just not feasible to always be in a group. Throw in the fact that we all have real lives and many of us might only have time to play for an hour or two at most on workdays... there'll be a lot of us running around rather loosely associated with our guilds.

I'm fully intending to play this game with my husband and my best friends. Will we always be logged in at the same time? Hell no. Don't worry. There will be stuff to do as long as you're willing to interact with others when it counts.