The Solo disease?

[thedevilsjester]

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.

[sketch]

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 solo players 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, but not one that I enjoy.

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 solo.

fair enough but ur not alone tbh its the same towards partys. 11 had this prob in the past being mostly group stuff peeps who couldnt solo hated it vice a versa

[Shika]

I can see both sides- in FFXI there were often times when I'd be like "Ugh I just want to go out and do x y z by myself". That is part of the reason why I leveled Beastmaster to 85 before I quit; I had so much fun just going out and exploring, beating mobs up and not having to rely on others. If I died then it was through my own stupidity or pushing it a little too close to the wire!

I had other jobs that were for partying, endgame events or helping people out in groups, but with some of the people you come across sometimes you just can't stomach the possibiltiy of encountering stupidity, selfishness or laziness by being in a random group of people you just don't know. Of course not everyone is like that and it is probably unfair for me to put it like that (but I'm sure everyone has come across these type of people at some time or another!), and partying with others and helping random people out is a great way to make friends.

If you want to solo, I don't see the problem with it. Of course there will be things that you will not be able to do just on your own, but if that's good with you or you decide to party with people at that point to get the job done then I see no difference ^^

[Aver]

I can see both sides- in FFXI there were often times when I'd be like "Ugh I just want to go out and do x y z by myself". That is part of the reason why I leveled Beastmaster to 85 before I quit; I had so much fun just going out and exploring, beating mobs up and not having to rely on others. If I died then it was through my own stupidity or pushing it a little too close to the wire!

I had other jobs that were for partying, endgame events or helping people out in groups, but with some of the people you come across sometimes you just can't stomach the possibiltiy of encountering stupidity, selfishness or laziness by being in a random group of people you just don't know. Of course not everyone is like that and it is probably unfair for me to put it like that (but I'm sure everyone has come across these type of people at some time or another!), and partying with others and helping random people out is a great way to make friends.

If you want to solo, I don't see the problem with it. Of course there will be things that you will not be able to do just on your own, but if that's good with you or you decide to party with people at that point to get the job done then I see no difference ^^

This, but with RDM for me. I loved soloing campaign before the cap increase.

[Kailea_Nagisa]

the one thing I never found to make any sense........ if you want to solo..... why in the heck are you playing an MMORPG....and dont give me that "single player RPGs dont hold up to MMORPGs) because I have a whole shelf full of games, spanning decades that will prove that wrong.

[Commat]

the one thing I never found to make any sense........ if you want to solo..... why in the heck are you playing an MMORPG....and dont give me that "single player RPGs dont hold up to MMORPGs) because I have a whole shelf full of games, spanning decades that will prove that wrong.

This argument is brought up often. Yes regular solo rpgs are more fun to play but they lack persistence. I am not going to do the linking for you but many professionals have found that the fact that the game world is eternal is the key emotional draw to MMOs.

The advertising crews have done a great job hyping up the Massive Multiplayer part of it all but what most people love about the games is the sense of accomplishment. Which if you read around these forums you will find is what this game desperately needs. The first step to getting accomplishment is having a game world that saves records and keeps them forever.

I would have to image that even if most people won't admit it, the fact that tons of other people can share/admire achievements with them is why MMO's kept getting made over releasing single player games with hundreds of expansions.

[thedevilsjester]

the one thing I never found to make any sense........ if you want to solo..... why in the heck are you playing an MMORPG....and dont give me that "single player RPGs dont hold up to MMORPGs) because I have a whole shelf full of games, spanning decades that will prove that wrong.

Really? Name one, just one, that has as much content as FFXI (including things like crafting, campaign, etc...), that is updated regularly with new content and expansions, has a large, open, "sand box" world, and a great lore/background story. Of course, it has to have a similar amount of game play time as well. Name one.

Yes, it is solo friendly and will have solo content, but the game isn't going to be 100% soloable.

Why not? Why is the only option a group game that you can solo in, or a solo game that you can group in?

What makes grouping so special that groups should get what soloists shouldn't? If I put in the same amount of effort (or more) as a soloist as you do in a group, shouldn't I be entitled to the same rewards? Is your time or effort more valuable just because you had other people to help you?

This isn't to say that soloist should be handed anything, quite the opposite, I like to be challenged, and if done right, scalable quests and instances can provide an equal challenge to a party or a soloist with equal rewards. It doesn't have to be a game designed for one or the other, we can coexist.

[BruceyBruceyBangBang]

Why not? Why is the only option a group game that you can solo in, or a solo game that you can group in?

What makes grouping so special that groups should get what soloists shouldn't? If I put in the same amount of effort (or more) as a soloist as you do in a group, shouldn't I be entitled to the same rewards? Is your time or effort more valuable just because you had other people to help you?

This isn't to say that soloist should be handed anything, quite the opposite, I like to be challenged, and if done right, scalable quests and instances can provide an equal challenge to a party or a soloist with equal rewards. It doesn't have to be a game designed for one or the other, we can coexist.

MMOs, again, are not designed for soloers and you have to get over it. Solo content is perfectly fine and they know they have to incorporate something to those players, but this isn't for the antisocial. If there is solo content it's directed to people who don't have all the time in the world and if they decided to play for an hour before sleeping and having to get up for a full day of work, they'll have the content there for them.

This type of content is not developed for people who just want to be antisocial. It's not the genre.

[thedevilsjester]

MMOs, again, are not designed for soloers and you have to get over it.

Why? What you have stated is more or less true, but you didnt give any reasoning for the statement. Why should MMO's be group focused?

Your claims that soloists are anti-social is just the sort of backwater thinking that I am talking about. Does that mean that people who don't play MMO's at all are all anti-social? Anyone who plays offline RPGs, they must be anti-social too, because they are choosing to play a single player game over an online game.

Again, the game will (hopefully) have solo content, group content and then group content that can be soloed with the right skill/knowledge, but I doubt that it will be 100% on either side. SE isn't THAT stupid.

I talk mostly of scalable content that can work perfectly for either side. Why would a company choose to make content for one or the other, when they can make it for both?

Why? Because MMOs are, by nature, group games.

Why? Multiplayer doesn't mean that you have to form groups with these other players, just that they exist in the same persistent world as you. So Why are MMO's, by their nature, group games? "It just is." Is not an answer to anything.

[Dubont]

I talk mostly of scalable content that can work perfectly for either side. Why would a company choose to make content for one or the other, when they can make it for both?


Why? Multiplayer doesn't mean that you have to form groups with these other players, just that they exist in the same persistent world as you. So Why are MMO's, by their nature, group games? "It just is." Is not an answer to anything.

Again, there will be content for both players, but you have to understand, if there is content that is challenging for groups (as in you NEED 8 people to do it) why should the soloists get that same content scaled down so that they can kill it? Difficulty should not be scaled down just because you don't want to play in a group. Yes, the content will be open for you and you can attempt it solo if you wish, but if you can't complete it solo, it shouldn't be scaled down just to suit your desires. FFXI (after like...4 years) had content for both types of players and even had group content that SOME (not all) solo players could do. This is acceptable. Having the game 100% soloable will not only turn players away but it will also make the rating on this game sink lower.

MMORPG stands for Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. When you solo, there is no actual multiplayer. Sure, you can interact with other players, but you aren't playing with them (technically you are..but you aren't) so there is no multiplayer. Take the COD franchise for example. It's multiplayer. How many players do you see ONLY doing 1v1 matches? Assassin's Creed Brotherhood is another example. It has multiplayer. How many people do you see ONLY doing 1v1 matches? Finally, Rift, the newest MMO. During the world raids (where there are waves of enemies that raid into a zone and the entire zone full of players is now in a party going at these guys) do you think that a solo only player should be able to destroy 100+ enemies, at the same time, by himself? Do you think that a r50, in FFXIV, should be able to solo 2 r70 mobs that are surrounded by 3 r60's without putting forth the necessary requirements? (This includes gear, stats, abilities, proper macros and proper mob behavior knowledge)