SOLO vs MassiveMultiplayer

When you enter a world of MMORPG there's this inner statement that at some point you have to interact with other human beings through your avatar in some way, to clear a dungeon,maybe a quest specifically ask to party with others, there's this rare spawn that's simply to much for one man to handle, but I think the SOLO experience has so much to offer , like the crafting, the exploration, the jobs, etc etc. What do you prefer? Should the team at Intrepid should focus more in one of the two? Should this be treated like the guild system where you can access certain quirks when you're fewer o something like that?

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Amist

I like the opportunity to do both. I still want to be able to play the game without being in a group of people, but it makes sense to have bigger accomplishments ingame needing larger groups.

The community is exactly what makes MMORPG's worth it for me, as I have gotten quite tired of the toxic mentality in games like MOBA's and FPS's

ralgurashes

The quality of players in MMOs has declined rapidly since WoW came out. Arrogant, loot whores, etc. It's enough to make me NOT want to interact with them.

ShadowVen

I prefer to play with others within the MMO experience. I enjoy the teamwork feeling to bring down just regular mobs to Elite Raid Bosses, as well as using party strategies using each others classes to maximize dps, cc, and healing. I believe when it comes to crafting or gathering artisans, that would be a good time to solo, since you can really enjoy the environment and do some exploration while gathering resources. Fishing will be a great relaxing tool and solo'ing experience as well, though I also prefer to fish with friends.

sikuba

Naturally, there must be a large amount of content that doesn't require another person to complete. If every activity demanded group participation, the game would be irreparably toxic and tiresome. Imagine needing a group to effectively mine or gather. Or perhaps basic kill quests would mandate that you act in a party for some gods-forsaken reason. No. Gods, no.

It's pretty standard for most basic content of that order to be solo-able, and rightly so. That said, I welcome the addition of more player-interaction in regards to professions and crafting. The idea of a distinction between crafters and gatherers is something that few games actually enforce. More often that not, if you want to craft something, it's standard practice in MMO's to level the relevant crafting and gathering skills and just do everything yourself start to finish.

I'll be very interested to see if Intrepid manages to make both roles feel distinct and present in the world as opposed to this conglomeration labeled "Crafting". It is my opinion that in such an instance as this, player-to-player interactions would give the game an added level of realism lacking in most other MMO's.

Combat is another area where the level of solo-able content is often a point of dispute. It is my belief that as the combat of the world increases in both difficulty and reward, the amount of solo-able content (for characters of equal "level" to the enemies) should decrease, to an extent. Granted there should always be places for high strength/level characters to fight enemies solo, but the amount should be greatly reduced in proportion compared to lower strength/levels. I suppose there's no "right" answer for this, but that is what would make the most sense to me.

Varkun

ralgurashes wrote: »

The quality of players in MMOs has declined rapidly since WoW came out. Arrogant, loot whores, etc. It's enough to make me NOT want to interact with them.

Yes, I have come across all types while playing MMO's but honestly if you cut yourself off from content in MMO's because of such players you really are only playing half a game. It is not easy to find people to play with but making an effort to find a guild that shares some of your ideals and is welcoming is not impossible. It does require some effort on your behalf to become part of a guild getting to know people taking the time to interact and find if that group of people is the right fit for you.

I have come across all manner of toxic people in my many years of MMO gaming so much so that I will seldom group with people outside of my own guild anymore. There are good people out there you just need to spend the time and find them.

tarros

No one should ever have to be part of a guild in order to be part of the content.

I love MMOs for what they are being able to play with other people.That is what an MMO is.

I love RPGs because I can do anything I want to do and live in a fantasy world that I am able to create on my own with the given tools that the developers have created.

However if an MMORPG forces me to have to play with a greater community in order to be part of the world content than that freedom that an RPG gives you is lost. That was what Ultima, Everquest, and of course Vanilla WoW was to me. I played by myself and interacted with people when I needed to. I could do 90% of the content on my own granted with extreme difficulty but it was possible. Maybe once in a while I would get one other person to play with me to help out but I strictly played alone because if the current world we lived in was a fantasy world with orcs, dwarfs, dire wolves, dragons, etc. I would imagine I would live as a solo warrior adventurer. (I love Goblin slayer because of how he lives his life in that fantasy world is how I would be also)

I am not against content that requires a large group of players such as siege battles and high lvl mob raids. I would be more than happy to lend a hand if a group needed it. But guilds these days have closed themselves off to the surrounding world players. They only focus within their own guild.

I think i will stop my rambling there because I will end up writing a book.

Dygz

Ashes is designed with both solo content and multiplayer content.

Solo really just means adventuring outside of a formal party/raid.
I can’t defeat a monster coin attack on my own, but I also don’t have to formally join a party or raid to defend a Node from such an attack alongside my fellow citizens or allies.
Same for adventuring in open world dungeons.

We will have to formally join a guild to participate in Castle sieges. And we have to register for attack or defense for caravans and, I think, Node sieges. We will also join social organizations and join Nodes as citizens.
But that won’t force us to join a party or raid, so, soloers will still experience that as soloing.

Morashtak

A nice variety would be ideal;

Solo;
- Gathering (in some cases)
- Processing (can't see a good reason for this step to need more than one person)
- Crafting
- Questing at your characters level.
Duo to small group;
- Gathering in contested areas
- Questing above your level
- Exploring in areas above your level
Party size
Raid size
Siege size

Amist

tarros wrote: »

No one should ever have to be part of a guild in order to be part of the content.

I love MMOs for what they are being able to play with other people.That is what an MMO is.

I love RPGs because I can do anything I want to do and live in a fantasy world that I am able to create on my own with the given tools that the developers have created.

However if an MMORPG forces me to have to play with a greater community in order to be part of the world content than that freedom that an RPG gives you is lost. That was what Ultima, Everquest, and of course Vanilla WoW was to me. I played by myself and interacted with people when I needed to. I could do 90% of the content on my own granted with extreme difficulty but it was possible. Maybe once in a while I would get one other person to play with me to help out but I strictly played alone because if the current world we lived in was a fantasy world with orcs, dwarfs, dire wolves, dragons, etc. I would imagine I would live as a solo warrior adventurer. (I love Goblin slayer because of how he lives his life in that fantasy world is how I would be also)

I am not against content that requires a large group of players such as siege battles and high lvl mob raids. I would be more than happy to lend a hand if a group needed it. But guilds these days have closed themselves off to the surrounding world players. They only focus within their own guild.

I think i will stop my rambling there because I will end up writing a book.

I personally don't see an issue with games nudging you to do content as a larger group. Coordination amongst individuals makes sense to accomplish great things. It makes sense needing a large group to take down a world boss, cause part of the accomplishment is how you worked together as a team.

I don't think you should be unable to do anything as a solo, but it should limit you as MMO's (Massively MULTIPLAYER Online's" are generally meant for playing alongside other people.If you take out the multiplayer aspect it becomes just another single player game.

Bloodless

Obviously, MMORPGs should be focused around the group dynamic. Yes, it's okay to wander off in the world and do things by yourself, but having someone with you should always be more beneficial.

ilisfet

I get the most enjoyment and engagement through exploration -- of the world, systems and lore. Therefore my lot is solo, with group happening as the situation demands it. But if I can solo, I will. The social aspect isn't what draws me to MMORPGs, it's the game aspect.

Bloodless

Ilisfet wrote: »

I get the most enjoyment and engagement through exploration -- of the world, systems and lore. Therefore my lot is solo, with group happening as the situation demands it. But if I can solo, I will. The social aspect isn't what draws me to MMORPGs, it's the game aspect.

But why not make friends with a buddy and explore together?

beardo

Solo players shouldn’t play mmos.. I never understood solo dungeons or people who strictly play solo. Solo content takes away from the game what could be fun group content.. solo quest and dungeons are over simplified and boring. I never have once thought man this solo quest is fun and engaging.. it’s just monotonous crap I do while watching YouTube or listening to music. It then becomes not really a game but a (in most cases mandatory) chore. The whole thing about “it’s punishing to not have a lot of content available for someone to do alone isn’t fair” is lame. It just waters down content so somebody shouldn’t have to interact with people which is what I feel is the downfall of mmos. Sure you get stupid people, exploitive people out for themselves, the know-it-alls, and “that guy” but eventually you start running across people who are good and you add them and find others like them start forming groups a lot, maybe make a guild, and bam 5+ years friendships. You don’t even need to worry about that with watered down easy ass content though. Unfortunately though solo content is a thing and people wonder why mmos are boring and stop becoming interesting after 2 months. Having to put in a little effort to find friends to get to certain content never killed anyone. Go play single player games if you can’t handle being social group content.. they are usually more fun in terms of gameplay anyway.

Azathoth

Some stuff is solo, like crafting. We know IS is trying to make crafting in Ashes important. So some solo play will be necessary for some players. I also think being able to 'go at it alone' should be an option, especially when some players have hours open that are not popular. Just because you're on the same server as your guild there's no guarantee they are on.

Ashes is a mix of both and during the KS live streams they said they will be a lot to do as a solo player, but if you only play solo content you will miss a lot of what the game will have to offer.

Ferryman

I would say that mix of solo and group content is the key for succesful game. MMORPGs should not only focus on groups, because solo players are important part of the world. They are not playing just single player game, they are interacting with other players almost all the time. When you sell or buy items from other players you are interacting, when you are PKing or running away gankers you are interacting.. and so on.

Even those who mostly do group centric activities are doing at least some solo stuff as well. It is hard to see that anybody would do 100% things with groups. I am usually about 50/50 player, and even I like to group up with guildies, there is times when you just want to do things by yourself, you do not have time for longer group sessions or there are not enough other guildies/friends online to group with. And because of these reasons, both contents are important and supports each other.

T Elf

There are days when other things on your side of the screen take you away, like doing laundry, family, phone calls, people at your door, or you're just not feeling well. No one wants to group or play with someone who has to be AFK several times, especially when you're in the middle of things; so people who have schedules like this want to go solo so they don't frustrate other people, but be able to make some progress with the game.

I love to group, but real life often interferes, so when it does, I solo.

bdoelle

teyloune wrote: »

If people want to play Solo then MMORPGs are the wrong type of game for them.

Oh no no no good Sir. I love playing mmorpgs solo. Having all of the players around adds to the game experience. It makes it so that if you need others, they are there, but you can play by yourself and enjoy not interacting with other players as well. I normally play a Hunter/Ranger/Beastmaster and the solo style is my way of life. Well, solo with a pet or two for company. Solo players bring another aspect of the game just like in real life!

-Doellemite, Master of Beasts

Dygz

Right. Playing solo means you don't group to adventure. There are lots of other ways to socialize with other players.
Solo adventuring in an MMORPG is not the same thing as playing a single-player game.

Dygz

aird88 wrote: »

Ilisfet wrote: »

I get the most enjoyment and engagement through exploration -- of the world, systems and lore. Therefore my lot is solo, with group happening as the situation demands it. But if I can solo, I will. The social aspect isn't what draws me to MMORPGs, it's the game aspect.

But why not make friends with a buddy and explore together?

Because buddies aren't always available.
Spending 2 hours to swim around a continent to uncover the fog of war is entertaining enough when the reward is being able to see more of the map. I don't necessarily want to do that again just because a buddy hasn't done that yet.
I'm not going to "LFB to swim around Encarta!"

perseus01

I think the developers should try to target each gamer and their aspect of playing. I don't think it would be to hard to achieve this given all of the previous MMO's to give fruit of passion. Solo and Massive Multiplayer should be very achievable.

If I were to choose one, I would prefer Massive Multiplayer over the Solo experience.

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