The Solo disease?

[Esthar]

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.

I think it's okay. As long as you have fun~!
That's what matters. This is a game.
There is no rule on how to play it.
Except: Get the most fun out of it.
Everybody has their way to reach that.
And it'd be ridiculous if people would start judging here...

But... I think... You never fully solo.
Retainers, Market Wards, Faction NM's (except you waste points)...
Those all are (tiny but existent) interactions with other players. (^,^)

[Bled]

I praised Final Fantasy XI for the heavy requirement for partying just to level up and almost all other content. However now that i have "grown up" and run a 40 hour job and am living with the girlfriend, i find myself with less time for games (call me casual whatever, I'm still hardcore at heart). With that said, now i find that i love the aspect of solo content to level up and run some quests and story missions to get in on the storyline content, but i would never want end game content or the main premise of the game to ever transition to the priority of the soloist. MMORPG's need to remain social and party mechanics are a huge factor in that, and need to be the prominent feature.

I love leveling up, getting in on the story and then teaming up with my linkshell for epic battles! and like i said i don't have much time on my hands and i pull it off! WOOT WOOT.

[Leeloo]

That is one thing XIV has going for it over XI, in my opinion, is that it started in such easy-mode fashion it can only get harder from here. They can build up on that, making the game good for solo & grouping. With XI being so party-dependent on even the smallest things it was a turnoff at times.

Coming into the game later & forever playing catchup I needed help on all kinds of things that didn't piss me off because I wanted to be anti-social or wanted to solo everything, but because 1)I felt like I was constantly bugging people by asking for help on small things(I didn't like doing that) & 2)Rather than feeling I accomplished something it was more like LS friends babysat me through it.

So there's that side of it also. I definitely want SE to keep soloers in mind when it comes to some of that stuff & not go too overboard on the party-dependence.

[Seirra_Lanzce]

Being able to solo doesn't mean that we dont play with Groups you know, we do play, but sometime i would like to be alone most of the time.

[Leeloo]

Adding on to my previous post about the downsides of forced grouping, I still have to agree that some of that forced grouping led to a better community. One of those small, unexpected moments I just thought of was a night when I was slaughtering skeles in Gusgen for bone chips and in comes a trio going after the same mobs. After a little bit of communication in tells it turns out one needed their magicked skull for the subjob quest. So I joined their party, helped get the skull, and lotted the bone chips they didn't care about. Everyone's happy.

And that's just a small example beyond the usual group stuff. Sure that new player may have felt like we babysat him to his subjob, but it brought some new people together who may not have met otherwise. And because people were nice enough to help him out, maybe he paid it forward and helped some noobs out later on when he was big & bad. So I get where people are coming from with wanting a lot more focus on group-dependent stuff too. Though at times it was annoying & perhaps overboard, forcing people to work together led to a stronger community. Something that's also pretty lacking in XIV so far.

[Bled]

Adding on to my previous post about the downsides of forced grouping, I still have to agree that some of that forced grouping led to a better community. One of those small, unexpected moments I just thought of was a night when I was slaughtering skeles in Gusgen for bone chips and in comes a trio going after the same mobs. After a little bit of communication in tells it turns out one needed their magicked skull for the subjob quest. So I joined their party, helped get the skull, and lotted the bone chips they didn't care about. Everyone's happy.

And that's just a small example beyond the usual group stuff. Sure that new player may have felt like we babysat him to his subjob, but it brought some new people together who may not have met otherwise. And because people were nice enough to help him out, maybe he paid it forward and helped some noobs out later on when he was big & bad. So I get where people are coming from with wanting a lot more focus on group-dependent stuff too. Though at times it was annoying & perhaps overboard, forcing people to work together led to a stronger community. Something that's also pretty lacking in XIV so far.

Couldn't agree more with your post. I had multiple occasions like the one you described which led me to my long time (3 years) linkshell were i met great people and all ways had friends to play with. All my "real life" friends played Diablo, and WoW so i had to make friends the old fashioned way, and i had great friendships with people who i still keep in contact with to this day. In Final Fantasy XIV i have yet to make a friend like that...

And i would say its the fact that i haven't needed help on a single thing nor have i needed a party.

[Seif]

I agree with your points why there are good reasons to play an MMO solo.

They just aren't reasons to play XIV which has none of the storytelling nor character progression of offline rpgs.

Why that is I don't know. I swear the best moments I had in XI was the ones when I realized that this game is just like FFIII in a massive, free-to-roam, living breathing world.


If a leve system was made the main feature of ANY offline game people would instantly laugh at it because it so blatantly insults the player's intelligence. But in an MMO people accept it because they're so used to lower level of quality in MMOs than in offline games.

[Punxsutawney]

I like to solo at times over partying as well. But there should be content where solo playing suffices, as well as content that requires teamwork and bodies to accomplish the goal, ie boss mobs and dungeons.

[Kilta_Firelotus]

Thedevilsjester... you really need to understand what multiplayer is in the aspect of rpgs. It does mean grouping. I highly suggest you really read thewhat you wrote and think hard on why people are being negative to you, or soloist in general. Your stance is you do not want to group with people at all. That is against the mindset of mmorpg. You can still group up but perfer to solo. Just do not always say no. It makes you look anti-social. If you want a soloable mmo to play I know several. Infact The new star wars game is supposed to be soloable. But do not join a group based mmo with a long background of group play style games and flat out demand for a soloable mmo. MMo in most cased have solo/group leveling but most high end content is group based. If you want to just solo, then don't do the group based stuff.

And the reson people do not group in a soloable mmo is those players think it is a hassle to find people. That it is better off time wise to just do stuff by yourself.

[thedevilsjester]

Thedevilsjester... you really need to understand what multiplayer is in the aspect of rpgs. It does mean grouping.

You really need to understand the definition of multiplayer. Nowhere (except in the heads of some MMO "groupers") is it defined as grouping. As a quick test, how many multiplayer games can you name off the top of your head that do not include groups or grouping? I can think of thirty easily.

I highly suggest you really read thewhat you wrote and think hard on why people are being negative to you, or soloist in general.

Oh its simple psychology, most everyone feels that the way they do things, or like things done, is, or should be, "the" way that everyone should do them. It just so happens that groupers are more...vocal than soloers on forums, but as the progress of MMORPG's towards favoring soloers shows, they speak more with their wallets.

You can still group up but perfer to solo. Just do not always say no. It makes you look anti-social.

I am anti-social why? I form guilds / linkshells / whatever. I talk with friends, chat while I play, meet new people, participate in discussions on forums (hell I even helped one friend I met in an MMO move IRL!) etc... I just simply choose not to group with them. Quite the anti-socialist arn't I?

But do not join a group based mmo with a long background of group play style games and flat out demand for a soloable mmo.

Wow. Flat out demand? Really? Did you read any of my posts? ANY of them? Or did you simply get past the first line, assume you knew what I was posting, and supplied your canned reply? Do I ever, in any of my posts, request that anything be changed, made different, or cater to one group or another? Any? Let alone "flat out demand" as you say? Really you lost all credibility with that.

I assume your "background" comment is refering to previous FF games? With the exception of FFXI (and in a way CC), every FF game has been a completely solo game with no real options for "group" play. So the reality of this is that its quite the opposite of what you say. Now if you count one person being able to control multiple characters as group play (a stretch by any measurement), well then playing with my FFXI or FFXIV companion, or pet, should count as well? I wonder if I am being anti-social when I dismiss my pet for a bit...

If you want a soloable mmo to play I know several. Infact The new star wars game is supposed to be soloable.

First, let me address that I never said I wanted a "soloable mmo", you just picked that one out of thin air, but I'll humor you. Will Star Wars be available on the PS3, or use a controller based input? (Two of the biggest reasons I play FFXI/FFXIV) No? Its not much of a replacement then.

MMo in most cased have solo/group leveling but most high end content is group based. If you want to just solo, then don't do the group based stuff.

Ok...? Really, read my posts, please.

And the reson people do not group in a soloable mmo is those players think it is a hassle to find people. That it is better off time wise to just do stuff by yourself.

I couldnt disagree more. Even the original poster of that soloable mmo comment was talking about asking ppl to join a party in a soloable mmo and being rejected, in this case "being able to find a party" doesn't even enter into it.

That being said, trying to find a group in an MMORPG, even a party based one, is often a chore, so I wouldn't blame people for soloing for this reason alone, though its hardly the only reason we solo.

Your stance is you do not want to group with people at all. That is against the mindset of mmorpg.

No it is not. It may be against a "groupers" mindset, but there is nothing, other than your opinion, albeit shared by many (but I argue that its even the majority), that says its against the mindset of MMORPG, simply what you feel an MMORPG should be. The only thing that an MMO is, without question, is Massively Multiplayer and Online (and the term Massively is subjective).