The Solo disease?

[BruceyBruceyBangBang]

Just because SE makes it clear that groups are desirable to do leves at higher ranking and reward people more does not mean that soloers are not welcomed in this game.

I mean you make it seem like we should all group up all day everyday if that were the case then you might not be happy with how SE has handled crafting and gathering as a solo jobs

I mean how dare they, you know since your so driven to remind us the exact definition of Guild leves?, how about you go and tell Se how upset you are that crafting and gathering is not group oriented.

I never said soloers are not welcome to the game. I enjoy soloing for the challenge of it, but I understand that by doing this you need to have an eye for design flaws. It's the way it is.

Don't be surprised if solo players are left in the dust with most of a games content. Of course there will be soloable options designed to be that way, but the overall stance with Final Fantasy games and so far in their MMOs have been group focused with optional solo content.

This isn't an argument to me because I play both sides of the fence, but I'm not delusional in the sense that I think MMOs should ultimately cater to both. It doesn't work that way in any socially driven... anything.

[Amage]

Hi, my name is thedevilsjester and I am a soloist.

I see a lot of hate for solo players in almost every MMORPG. I had hoped that FFXIV, being very solo friendly would be a haven for the soloist because we have been officially "accepted", unfortunately even those who defend solo players, do so with the back of their hand.

Solo players, apparently, only solo because they do not have time for larger/group content, or just cannot find a group to play with. It seems as if playing solo is some kind of ailment that we would all love to be cured of.

Its not. I play solo because I like to play solo. I have plenty of time on my hands, and could find a group easily if I wanted one. I don't. In fact, unless friends need help doing something, or I have no choice in the matter, I do not group at all, and will often turn groups down because I simply do not want to play with other people.

Why play an MMO then? Because off-line RPG's do not even come close to the splendour, size, and sheer awesomeness that MMORPG's do, and probably never will. And, even though, as a soloist, I like to play the game by myself, that doesn't mean that I want to play in a lifeless empty world. I want my game world populated, and to feel alive, I just don't want to play with anyone. If I have to put up with an occasional group to play in such a world, its a price I am willing to pay.

Sorry for the...rant, I just ran into too many "hate the soloist" topics today, and needed to vent!

Hopefully those who just cannot understand why someone would play solo (trust me, I feel the same way about groups), can take something from this to better understand a soloists reasons for playing an MMORPG.

My only problem with solo players is that they want same gear that players who group up and take down an HNM for gear and they want it with no effort but faster , if you like to play solo thats cool i dont get it but ok .... But you cant have the same gear i have because you choose not to group up just saying

[Leeloo]

My only problem with solo players is that they want same gear that players who group up and take down an HNM for gear and they want it with no effort but faster , if you like to play solo thats cool i dont get it but ok .... But you cant have the same gear i have because you choose not to group up just saying

Sounds like another thing that's unfairly placed on all soloers when it's more about the type of person. The type that wants progression & shinies with the least amount of effort possible. Those could be people who tend to solo or tend to love grouping more. Not exclusive to soloing.

[Asmeret]

Please tell me what your source is. I'm looking and I can't seem to find that being able to solo is a design flaw. I'm sure I would have read it in the patch notes.

[Chezen]

*Pulls up chair* "I'm Chezen Lightbreak and I am a solo player."

First off, there has been some really nice replies here from all sides. I want to thank everyone who has presented their view in a calm way without purposely insulting anyone (in a subject like this, some accidental ones are bound to come up). I will try to do the same.

Recently, I saw a similar thread about soloing in Rift. The OP was actually rather obnoxious, although his points were generally true, and I expected him to get flamed to the ground. But to my surprise, there were some very sincere replies to it, just like this one, many of which are being echoed here. Solo players aren't a small minority any more. They are growing, rapidly. Interestingly enough, one of the most common replies in that thread, but barely been mentioned in this one, was that many used to group, but got fed up with the (I use the term often used in that thread) "jerks". The irony that people became "antisocial" soloists because of players who don't know how to socialize, didn't escape me.

However, despite the mmo part of an mmorpg, solo players still like to play mmos, effectively debunking the standard "anti-social" stigma. Someone truly as anti-social as the stigma implies wouldn't play an mmo. And yet, I'll even offer for debate, that there are plenty of "social" people who are effectively far more anti-social than many soloers.

What is a community? I think of community as being a group of individuals who share a common sense of concern for the wellbeing of the group in their area, in this case, servers or cities. Some within a community will be more independent than others. Just because they prefer to contribute in a more solitary way, doesn't mean they do not contribute. I think FFXIV has the foundational build to allow a community that can participate in whatever way suits the individual.

The key is... solo, casual, and hardcore play should not interfere with each other. But at the same time, in order to maintain community, they should not be entirely separate from each other either. Crafting, as already brought up in the thread, is one way to accomplish this. I actually loved how detailed each crafting piece was (I'm aware they are downsizing), because I saw how it could either make the community depend on each other, or at least, make a soloer work very hard for his independence, which is as it should be. If you are going to do it on your own, it should be a little harder to do, imo. (This doesn't mean I think there shouldn't be soloable battle content, but as was also stated in the thread, don't overnerf it. Of course, easy and hard varies to the individual.) With the companies and class and job changes coming out, I think there some unique opportunities to have both separate and interacting solo and party missions, should SE seize the idea.

For my own part, my reasons for soloing are many, and both simple and complicated. Many are mentioned in the thread, such as uncomfortable LS conversations, liking to do things myself and on my own time, having to leave at any given moment, etc, etc.

Other reasons... I do enjoy being on my own. I am introverted by nature, meaning I enjoy keeping to myself. It doesn't mean I don't enjoy interaction. As one person stated, more or less, in the Rift thread I mentioned, "An extrovert will enjoy solitude for a time, then go socialize to recharge. An introvert will enjoy socializing for a time, and then go find solitude to recharge." That is me. It is difficult to find people who really understand that. They are offended by the idea that I might not actually want to be in their company every time I log on. I never really want to offend anybody, and I would feel bad if I hurt someone's feelings, although in my old age I'm getting less concerned about that. I guess I came to a point that I thought my feelings should count for something too.

The most important reason is the most personal, and that is... I was part of a group once. A very close-knit group of very good people who either understood or at least tolerated my introversive ways. But even good people, through no real fault on their own, can find ways to hurt each other, and such things can end very, very painfully. We are all, in the end, different people, from different families, and different backgrounds. Maybe someday I might find myself in a permanent group again, but I'm in no hurry. I am honestly very happy in my own little niche of this game. I enjoy my character. I love guildleves. I love cutscenes. I love DoL activities. I tolerate crafting. Occasionally, I'll have some sort of interaction with people, and I love that too. Then when it's said and done, I'll go to my fun, and I'm happy.

(I'm really sorry for the book this became.)

[thedevilsjester]

My only problem with solo players is that they want same gear that players who group up and take down an HNM for gear and they want it with no effort but faster , if you like to play solo thats cool i dont get it but ok .... But you cant have the same gear i have because you choose not to group up just saying

You seem to have two separate views here.

First you claim that you do not want someone, who puts in NO effort to be able to get the same gear (rewards) as you. A feeling that I absolutely agree with. Someone that puts in less effort, should get less rewards, its simple math.

Second, you completely destroy your first view by saying that it doesn't matter if a soloist puts in as much (or more) effort as you do, they should not, simply because they want to solo, get the same gear as you. This is the only critira you put on you second view. Soloers are not entitled to the same gear as groupers for no other reason than they are soloers. This is a horrible elitist view that actually contradicts your first point which is that less effort, should result in less reward (i.e. if you put in less effort in your group, as a soloist does by themselves, then the soloist should, by that merit alone, according to your first view, be awarded better than you in your group)

You do not want someone to be able to get the same gear as you, with no effort and faster, but no soloist I know has ever asked for this. Soloists tend to want things scaled to where that if we put in the SAME EFFORT that you put in in your group, we should, logically, get the same rewards.

You seem to take the view that a soloist does less work, or puts in less effort than someone in a group. You use no logic or valid reasoning to support this view, just your personal opinion. It has been my experience that most soloists put in a tremendous amount of effort which at times can easily surpass the effort one would put in in a group. Even more so on games that are not solo friendly.

@Chezen All I can say is well said. You do an excellent job of putting it all in a nutshell.

Sometimes, with a few of you, I have to double check the name to make sure that I didn't write the post, it echos my thoughts so clearly.

[Amage]

You seem to have two separate views here.

First you claim that you do not want someone, who puts in NO effort to be able to get the same gear (rewards) as you. A feeling that I absolutely agree with. Someone that puts in less effort, should get less rewards, its simple math.

Second, you completely destroy your first view by saying that it doesn't matter if a soloist puts in as much (or more) effort as you do, they should not, simply because they want to solo, get the same gear as you. This is the only critira you put on you second view. Soloers are not entitled to the same gear as groupers for no other reason than they are soloers. This is a horrible elitist view that actually contradicts your first point which is that less effort, should result in less reward (i.e. if you put in less effort in your group, as a soloist does by themselves, then the soloist should, by that merit alone, according to your first view, be awarded better than you in your group)

You do not want someone to be able to get the same gear as you, with no effort and faster, but no soloist I know has ever asked for this. Soloists tend to want things scaled to where that if we put in the SAME EFFORT that you put in in your group, we should, logically, get the same rewards.

You seem to take the view that a soloist does less work, or puts in less effort than someone in a group. You use no logic or valid reasoning to support this view, just your personal opinion. It has been my experience that most soloists put in a tremendous amount of effort which at times can easily surpass the effort one would put in in a group. Even more so on games that are not solo friendly.

@Chezen All I can say is well said. You do an excellent job of putting it all in a nutshell.

Sometimes, with a few of you, I have to double check the name to make sure that I didn't write the post, it echos my thoughts so clearly.

pretty much i was typing then had to go to bbq so w/ewhat se needs to do and yall might hate it but stop listening to causals and stop making games solo friendly if you wanna solo wow is right there so is rift go go play it bet yall like it reasons i loved ffxi was because it was a challenge and those who wanted to be causal and or solo would have to beat their heads against a brick to to solo if you were BST or RDM/NIN you had to be skilled not like here lvl THM and get skills from other jobs without limit and their you go you can solo lessor NM

Now with that said if SE hears me Make Shit HARD!! make it feel like i accomplished something make it so brain dead soloers cant just beat it (sorry soloers but your ruining the genre of MMORPG ) before WoW and games that have completely basically stole WoW style , and that has taken the MMO world to a non fun and generic game style and there are those who will agree and those that will say no im wrong but to be honest even here you have trollers who try to start thing in the gaming community with how 1.18 will be crap and/or just WoW fanboys who are flaming the game or other players who are waitng for guild wars 2 or other mmo which are super super solo friendly mods. need to get rid of those ppl and keep all those who are here FOR SQUARE ENIX the Old SQUARE SOFT

[thedevilsjester]

@Amage Again you shoot and miss. Are you actually reading any of the other posts? Or are you skimming, assuming you know what we are discussing, and then reacting to an imagined attack? Go back, read the posts, possibly for the first time, and then comment. Just a heads up, no one has ever, in this topic, requested that the game be made any easier, or insinuated that the difficulty is an issue. Soloists I know solo, in part, because we love a challenge. We do not like things handed to us, or do we like to have things dumbed down to the point that they are no longer fun.

Your insinuation that soloers want the game to be easier is stupid, inaccurate, and just plain insulting. It is people like you, on your high horse, that many soloers solo to avoid.

[Amage]

@Amage Again you shoot and miss. Are you actually reading any of the other posts? Or are you skimming, assuming you know what we are discussing, and then reacting to an imagined attack? Go back, read the posts, possibly for the first time, and then comment. Just a heads up, no one has ever, in this topic, requested that the game be made any easier, or insinuated that the difficulty is an issue. Soloists I know solo, in part, because we love a challenge. We do not like things handed to us, or do we like to have things dumbed down to the point that they are no longer fun.

Your insinuation that soloers want the game to be easier is stupid, inaccurate, and just plain insulting. It is people like you, on your high horse, that many soloers solo to avoid.

im not replying to original post im just saying you solo players and casuals are ruining the MMORPG genre

[thedevilsjester]

im not replying to original post im just saying you solo players and casuals are ruining the MMORPG genre

It is, in all actuality, people with your attitude, who are ruining the MMORPG genre. It is ironic that someone who is apparently a socialist (because of your preference to group) wishes to cast out a large number (I would argue the majority) of MMORPG players (counting soloists and casual players) by calling them the bane of MMORPG's. Those very same casuals, by the way (as was mentioned earlier), that started the MMORPG genre. You have no (valid) argument to back up your statement, and do nothing but try and pass your own personal opinion off as fact.