Hello I have been watching numerous videos and reading as much as I can about the development of this game. In one of the podcasts I believe they mentioned the game will be focused on grouping with other people. I don't know anyone coming into this so I will have to rely on meeting people in game. Will you be able to progress your toon playing solo? Sometimes defeating bosses single handedly can be a very rewarding experience. Also sometimes you might only have 30 min to an hour and want to jump right into something. I just hope they take into account people that want to have a solo experience some of the time. Any thoughts?
There will be solo activity but it is a group-focused game. Don't sweat not knowing anyone too much. This game kind of harkens back to the earlier era where few of us did when starting. Meeting up with random groups is more fun than you think in a game like this.
As for solo content, there will be some. I can't say how much or to what extent but there will be some. In addition to that you'll also have the crafting and some other things to do alone if you want. And while the game is group-focused they won't be actively preventing you from doing so. If you can find a creative way (that's not a glitch or anything) to defeat a group boss alone you can go for it. Some classes in the original EQ like the druid were adept at soloin, so I'm sure Pantheon will have some as well.
As Kratuk said, most content will be tuned toward groups, but there's nothing stopping you from trying to solo it and there will definitely be people that find a way.
From the FAQ:
1.4 Will you be able to solo in Pantheon?
Yes. While most content will be designed for groups, there will typically also be content that is soloable. Some classes may solo better than other classes.
Also watch these clips:
00:40:31 - Soloing in a group-oriented game
Nice work Bazgrim.
I would say, as the 'successor' to games like EQ and Vanguard, soloing was done really well there and I hope it will be the same in Pantheon
You *could* solo, but it was slow progress and dangerous and, yes, not suited to all classes.
Pretty much everything should be designed for groups, but you'll find that you can, with the right class and skills, pick off weak or lonely monsters to give yourself something productive to do while waiting for a group, for example, or keep yourself safe if you are resource gathering, say.
I can't speak for soloing experience in EQ but in Vanguard it was entirely possible.
Granted you would miss out on content and a lot of things were easier with a group even if it was just you and someone else in the same area grouping for 15 minutes.
But I mostly solod in Vanguard and never viewed it as a game where grouping was needed to get to maximum level with decent gear.
I believe the approach here is intended to be similar. Grouping will be encouraged and dungeons at level will require groups. So will some landscape content. But you will be able to explore and adventure solo and get to maximum level albeit not as fast.
Since one of the banes of modern MMOs is that leveling is far too fast, this works for me.
Hopefully it is simply not a dungeon with mobs at the front, and groups storm past a soloing person. It will be much the same as the past MMO's with no concideration. Here we will take care of your mobs for you so we can blow past.... 10 minute spawn timer and we are still waiting. Next group etc...
It's also worth mentioning that even if you go into the game not knowing anybody or you only have a half hour to play, that doesn't mean that your only option will be to solo. There will be plenty of ways to help you meet new people and find groups relatively quickly so that you can make new friends, jump into a group, and feel accomplished without wasting much time.
No. While the world of Terminus will consist of vast landscapes and epic dungeons, there is no reason to require players to play long, contiguous gaming sessions. Players will be able to play a couple of hours, logout, and return later to continue their journey. There will also be mechanics and features to both help people get together and group and also to make lasting friendships. To further facilitate this there will also be ways for players to keep their group together even if some members of the group can play longer than others or at different times.
Plenty of people playing many different classes solo'd a lot in EQ1. I remember running my Paladin through Velks for hours killing spiders for AAs while I waited for guild groups to open up elsewhere. I wasn't going to get any loot worth anything solo, but I was able to make real (albeit small) progress on my character in 5 minutes of playtime if I wanted.
It's probably safe to assume it will be much of the same in Pantheon.
Tyler said:Hello I have been watching numerous videos and reading as much as I can about the development of this game. In one of the podcasts I believe they mentioned the game will be focused on grouping with other people. I don't know anyone coming into this so I will have to rely on meeting people in game. Will you be able to progress your toon playing solo? Sometimes defeating bosses single handedly can be a very rewarding experience. Also sometimes you might only have 30 min to an hour and want to jump right into something. I just hope they take into account people that want to have a solo experience some of the time. Any thoughts?
If I had to guess, people are blowing the "this is a groupin game" out of proportion. You will absolutely be able to solo. A solo warrior is probably going to suck. A solo shaman is probably going to do just fine. A shaman and a warrior together are going to do better than the sum of their parts, which I thinkis the big point of this game, not that people won't be able to solo.
To me, solo content shall be independant an not crossing group's advancement. Not in the sens "you grind in different areas" but "you do something else than Xpgring when alone, and it's only connected by rewards (solo reward bringing good for group content, and group xp making solo reward easier).
I don't especially care if some classes can solo for "average xp", like necros/chanters/druids/necro used to in EQ1. I just mind if it's competitive with group xp rate or allow you to reach the top with no interraction with others. For thoses who plays on P99 I'm pretty sure you see zones lvl 10-50 full of twinks soloing, or non twinks soloing with caster classes. As long as it's like 3/5x less productive and paying than group XP, I think I can deal with it because people won't do it for efficiency but only to kill time while waiting for a group, or as said earlier : different content.
Krixus said:Tyler said:Hello I have been watching numerous videos and reading as much as I can about the development of this game. In one of the podcasts I believe they mentioned the game will be focused on grouping with other people. I don't know anyone coming into this so I will have to rely on meeting people in game. Will you be able to progress your toon playing solo? Sometimes defeating bosses single handedly can be a very rewarding experience. Also sometimes you might only have 30 min to an hour and want to jump right into something. I just hope they take into account people that want to have a solo experience some of the time. Any thoughts?
If I had to guess, people are blowing the "this is a groupin game" out of proportion. You will absolutely be able to solo. A solo warrior is probably going to suck. A solo shaman is probably going to do just fine. A shaman and a warrior together are going to do better than the sum of their parts, which I thinkis the big point of this game, not that people won't be able to solo.
Well said, Krixus. I played a shaman for much of my EQ1 years (and EQ2 and Vanguard, for that matter) and I could solo well enough for my tastes. However, when I grouped up with another class (and usually ended up with this Pally that I can't remember her name) we did much better as a team.
Brad mentioned in one of the streams that you'll be able to solo some overworld mobs and such, but yeah, you won't be going too deap into a dungeon by yourself.
Zeem said:I find soloing borning yet I like to play classes that can solo but never do it lol.
I prefer grouping myself as long as I know I have a few hours to invest. My mains are usually always group centric classes. If I am just jumping on to screw around with a twink or something I just like soloing for a bit.
Nuggie said: Not going to deep in to a dungeon solo? Sounds like a challenge. Never underestimate a neckbeard.
I got pretty deep into sebilis on my wizard solo. I love those types of challenges. With the shaman , same thing if not more challenging locations. The one mistake you are dead situations are what I try to get myself or partners involved in. Risk vs reward.
In EQ1, not all classes could solo generally. You had the God of solo necromancer.....I couldn't believe how overpowered that class was until I played one to max level. The druids, mages, and wizards were pretty strong in solo power. Enchanters with charm were a force as long as it didn't keep breaking. Pallies are clerics could solo against undead mobs. And the shaman sucked at solo initially and then was a God at level 60 with slow and torpor. After expansions added the modified slows to partial or slightly slowed they lost their role at the top of the soloer ranking. But the rest of the classes struggled to solo. With the exception of a high level SK.
MauvaisOeil said:I don't especially care if some classes can solo for "average xp", like necros/chanters/druids/necro used to in EQ1. I just mind if it's competitive with group xp rate or allow you to reach the top with no interraction with others.
The problem here is that "the top" is not only in levels, but also in items you have, access to zones, access to crafting recipes and ingredients...
In EQ you could solo to the top level, but your gear wouldn't be way weaker than even that of people from halfway decent guilds, what to speak about top-end ones. As a consequence, you would be much less useful in serious raids and groups.
Yes, friends might take you anyway, but are you happy with being there as a mercy case?
For anything more than that, you need at least a group, and later you need raids, and then a serious raiding guild, since pickup raids simply aren't organized or consistent enough, nor do they have enough items on people, to do anything past the first tier of raid targets.
I expect pretty much the same from Pantheon, and that's how it should be. That's how this game was advertised for several years already. If someone puts time and effort to organize a group together, it should damn well result in access to bigger stuff than what a single person can do, and thus to better rewards as well. And by the same logic, if someone organizes a raid guild of 50 or 100 people (and believe me, it's not an easy job), and keeps it running for years, it should result in better rewards than what a single group can do.
Aethor said:MauvaisOeil said:I don't especially care if some classes can solo for "average xp", like necros/chanters/druids/necro used to in EQ1. I just mind if it's competitive with group xp rate or allow you to reach the top with no interraction with others.
The problem here is that "the top" is not only in levels, but also in items you have, access to zones, access to crafting recipes and ingredients...
In EQ you could solo to the top level, but your gear wouldn't be way weaker than even that of people from halfway decent guilds, what to speak about top-end ones. As a consequence, you would be much less useful in serious raids and groups.
Yes, friends might take you anyway, but are you happy with being there as a mercy case?For anything more than that, you need at least a group, and later you need raids, and then a serious raiding guild, since pickup raids simply aren't organized or consistent enough, nor do they have enough items on people, to do anything past the first tier of raid targets.
I expect pretty much the same from Pantheon, and that's how it should be. That's how this game was advertised for several years already. If someone puts time and effort to organize a group together, it should damn well result in access to bigger stuff than what a single person can do, and thus to better rewards as well. And by the same logic, if someone organizes a raid guild of 50 or 100 people (and believe me, it's not an easy job), and keeps it running for years, it should result in better rewards than what a single group can do.
Whil I understand your point, I have a hard time understanding your arguments. Grouping or soloing was'not much of a gear factor in EQ, as very few and specific things dropped and weren't compatible with group exp. Some classes, especially casters, could solo withouth any gear. Because gear had no impact on downtimes, as long as you didn't need more than all of your Mana to kill one mob, then you were good.
Aethor said:I expect pretty much the same from Pantheon, and that's how it should be... And by the same logic, if someone organizes a raid guild of 50 or 100 people (and believe me, it's not an easy job), and keeps it running for years, it should result in better rewards than what a single group can do.
This is likely not the case for Pantheon. While I do suspect there will be excellent and/or unique rewards from raiding it won't have a monopoly on the best rewards and likely won't even have the majority of best rewards compared to small group content. I'll see if I can dig up one of the places they've talked about it but they have said time and time again the focus of this game is group content and that if raids held the best rewards it would be a failing of that.
The closer they get to copying EQ1's methodology with soloing v. grouping, the better off the game will be. The closer they get to copying Vanguard, the worse off the game will be. And if soloing is easier than both of those games, Pantheon is dead in the water. You just don't want to make soloing harder than EQ1 (See: EQ2 at launch), nobody wants true forced grouping and restricted zones starting at seemingly Level 1. Too frustrating.
Mathir said:The closer they get to copying EQ1's methodology with soloing v. grouping, the better off the game will be.
Kaen said:
This is pretty much my opinion too. One thing I wasn't fond of though was quadding. It was really slow and obnoxious for other people looking to kill stuff. Took people 15+ minutes because they wouldn't even START to kill the mobs until they had 4. So they would be running around for 10 minutes just letting mobs chase them. Then it would take another 5-10 minutes for them to actually kill the mobs. Then you factor in respawns, and that's another 10 minutes. Really dumb when you have 10+ people in a zone (or even a couple in a certain area) doing this. That's when you start to get people who will tag mobs just to tag them even if they have no mana, and it takes them forever to kill the freakin' mobs because they are running around medding for 30+ minutes just to get the mana to start attacking... Really hope this isn't a thing in Pantheon.
If you found quadding to be objectionable, I'm surprised you didn't mention bard swarm kiting. It's bad enough when one player has 4 mobs. It's another thing altogether when they're very slowly killing 40.