Request: I don't want to solo the main scenario

[ShinChuck]

I don't give a rats behind if the quests are solo or not, as long as they aren't all sickeningly easy.

This is it entirely. As a guy who's raided in WoW, Rift, XI, and some others, for all practical purposes, what I do in a raid I could do solo (varies depending on tank/support/dps/healer, but especially related to DPS). DPS in particular is roughly the same: figure out the boss/mob patterns, figure out my best rotation, and go from there. Proper strategy can be a hallmark of both solo and group play, if properly balanced.

Some of the hardest games in history have been - gasp - single player! There's no reason we can't have challenging raid content alongside equally challenging single-player content.

I want to suffer through promyvions. Through airship battles. I want the challenge.

This is going to sound snarkier than I mean it, but it's a genuine bit of advice: if you really "want to suffer" you should pick up a Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden or Civilization and crank up the difficulty to full, because those are real, desirable challenges. When "challenge" is simply reliant on "hoping others don't screw up the strategy", it becomes a bit less so. When triumphing over a challenge is not reliant on your skill, it becomes, to a degree, "fake difficulty", partly defined as "The outcome is not reasonably determined by the player's actions."

Your compatriots are, essentially, fulfilling the roles of intelligent AI, and the outcome is not reasonably determined by your actions.

There is no reason your skills should not be able to be put to the test solo, if it different fashions. Yes, proper strategy can a test of skill, but so is handling yourself when the odds are significantly against you.

Besides all this, your premise is flawed: the idea of "more people = more challenge" isn't quite accurate, because it's all based on the inherent programming and balance of a game. Many games, more people = far less challenge. If you do simply desire challenge, and not an artificial means of forcing people to play together because you prefer to play together, then "more people" doesn't necessarily even come into play.

If your cry for "challenge" is indeed more along the lines of "I want more reasons for people to play together because I prefer to play together and not so much the challenge because I can get challenge solo properly tweaked", then that's fine too! Multiplayer content should be a rewarding experience in itself, and it can be without nerfing or limiting the experiences of those who wish to solo.

[Biggs]

This is going to sound snarkier than I mean it, but it's a genuine bit of advice: if you really "want to suffer" you should pick up a Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden or Civilization and crank up the difficulty to full, because those are real, desirable challenges. When "challenge" is simply reliant on "hoping others don't screw up the strategy", it becomes a bit less so. When triumphing over a challenge is not reliant on your skill, it becomes, to a degree, "fake difficulty", partly defined as "The outcome is not reasonably determined by the player's actions."

Your compatriots are, essentially, fulfilling the roles of intelligent AI, and the outcome is not reasonably determined by your actions.

There is no reason your skills should not be able to be put to the test solo, if it different fashions. Yes, proper strategy can a test of skill, but so is handling yourself when the odds are significantly against you.

Besides all this, your premise is flawed: the idea of "more people = more challenge" isn't quite accurate, because it's all based on the inherent programming and balance of a game. Many games, more people = far less challenge. If you do simply desire challenge, and not an artificial means of forcing people to play together because you prefer to play together, then "more people" doesn't necessarily even come into play.

If your cry for "challenge" is indeed more along the lines of "I want more reasons for people to play together because I prefer to play together and not so much the challenge because I can get challenge solo properly tweaked", then that's fine too! Multiplayer content should be a rewarding experience in itself, and it can be without nerfing or limiting the experiences of those who wish to solo.

There were CoP runs in Xi that were way to complicated to run through with AI. There is every possibility that some of us want the combined challenge of finding a group of people and then overcoming something very challenging with them. I mean, I COULD play basketball with myself in real life, but I find it more challenging and enjoyable to do it with a team, since, you know, its a TEAM sport. THose of you that want to play a solo MMO go jump on the Star Wars bandwagon, thats pretty much who they designed that game for. The rest of us WANT to overcome difficult things in a group so that when we finally do overcome them and are rewarded for it, we have someone to hi-five. Instead of what you proposing, which seems to include just hi-fiving myself or an npc that follows me around and only fakes elation for my benefit. I like forming bonds and friendships, not sitting around playing with myself :P

Edit: A *short* list of aallllllllllll the things you can already do solo in this game:

Craft (forced solo)
Local leves (forced solo)
Gathering DoL (forced solo)
Gathering DoL leves (forced solo)
GC leves (forced solo)
Regular leves
Solo XP
90% of the Side quests


And you want to add another thing to this list?

[Majidah]

There were CoP runs in Xi that were way to complicated to run through with AI. There is every possibility that some of us want the combined challenge of finding a group of people and then overcoming something very challenging with them. I mean, I COULD play basketball with myself in real life, but I find it more challenging and enjoyable to do it with a team, since, you know, its a TEAM sport. THose of you that want to play a solo MMO go jump on the Star Wars bandwagon, thats pretty much who they designed that game for. The rest of us WANT to overcome difficult things in a group so that when we finally do overcome them and are rewarded for it, we have someone to hi-five. Instead of what you proposing, which seems to include just hi-fiving myself or an npc that follows me around and only fakes elation for my benefit. I like forming bonds and friendships, not sitting around playing with myself :P

Edit: A *short* list of aallllllllllll the things you can already do solo in this game:

Craft (forced solo)
Local leves (forced solo)
Gathering DoL (forced solo)
Gathering DoL leves (forced solo)
GC leves (forced solo)
Regular leves
Solo XP
90% of the Side quests


And you want to add another thing to this list?

^^^^^^

This, a thousand times.

By turning a battle into single player fight you lose strategic elements.

Not to mention that having partners doesn't equal an AI. Its completely different. It opens room for more dynamic battles, more elaborate strategies and clockwork coordinated teamwork.

Meanwhile a single player battle on XIV equals to standing in one spot hitting skills. Oh yes. How challenging. How fun.

[Zaaku]

I don't give a rats behind if the quests are solo or not, as long as they aren't all sickeningly easy.

Soloable = Easy as piss

There is no way around this. Unless the instance is tailor made for the job you're going in then they just have to default to kill X number of mobs. There is no wiggle room for strats, tanking, healing priorities, or anything you'd expect for a group instance. How can they do all that when ANYONE has to be able to beat it with a level appropriate Battle Class?

The story line should be primarily group content. Solo has no place in a Final Fantasy STORY! I can't think of a single title in the franchise that nixes your party and tells you to go it alone for a majority of the content. Why should that be striped away for the sake of making it easy for people who can't find a group to do it with? It is just a simple shout for God's sake.

[Platinumstorm]

Soloable = Easy as piss

There is no way around this. Unless the instance is tailor made for the job you're going in then they just have to default to kill X number of mobs. There is no wiggle room for strats, tanking, healing priorities, or anything you'd expect for a group instance. How can they do all that when ANYONE has to be able to beat it with a level appropriate Battle Class?

The story line should be primarily group content. Solo has no place in a Final Fantasy STORY! I can't think of a single title in the franchise that nixes your party and tells you to go it alone for a majority of the content. Why should that be striped away for the sake of making it easy for people who can't find a group to do it with? It is just a simple shout for God's sake.

Crystal Bearers does.

Mechanics and puzzles can be introduced to the story to make things more complicated. For example to prevent a monster from using a move that will destroy you; you could use an incapacitation ability to break off the necessary monster part.

Want to break the protections of a monster? Pay attention to the clues in the story and make sure the obelisks are facing the correct orientations.

Want some strategy? Make the companions commandable via a pet interface and make sure their AI isn't ragged. Now your companion healer can cure and you can control it [or even multiple companions]. You can tank in a position that is most suitable, or you can send your companion into a kiting scenario.

This isn't an insurmountable issue. Challenge is not the essence of a group.

[Estellios]

I think I would prefer if the story content was soloable, too. It's the major draw for many FF players and being unable to even progress in that is frustrating and I can feel for anyone that gets hung up on AF quests or those that suffered through trying to do story missions in FF11. As was brought up, the issue with the current story quests is that they are designed to be do-able by crafters and gatherers so everything is incredibly weak and you rarely fight at all.

It would be nice of them to balance story battles around a single player completing them, they can be used to "test" players on if they have learned their class or not. You can even add battles with NPC allies that change depending on your class to test how you work in a group. Another thing they could do is that each battle could have an alternate Party-oriented version of it with some nice-for-that-level gear, an achievement, or some kind of furniture or doodad for your private home as incentive to do that version if you have the means.

[Cendres]

I'm throwing a fit? You don't see me making a thread asking for everything in the game to be soloable do you? No I want a breathing virtual world with content for everyone and different time tables. I enjoy group content, I enjoy an economy and being part of a greater whole, and I also enjoy doing things on my own time.

Balance people.

[bobbygunz]

I agree with both sides of this argument, and each side has a point. Perhaps some kind of compromise is in order (for example, some group content for the main scenario, but not to the point where it would become a barrier to progression as per FFXI).

[Skies]

I really, really hope that the Main Quest is forced solo, personally. I think this game is almost completely group stuff already, we need so hard and challenging solo content as well, not a LOT but a little, and the main scenario is exactly the right spot for that.

AND, also, I really do wish there is a 'DoL/DoH Main Quest' as well. Despite not beign a crafter myself I think that one of the greatest addition to the MMO genre that XIV has done is all the focus it gives to the crafting and gathering classes, and it would be incredible to see them have their own questlines, as in, full-blown questlines.

[ArngrimValeth]

[...] and the main scenario is exactly the right spot for that.

Oh I see, having to fight Garlean officers, uncover great secrets and save the world can only be done by one person in Eorzea. One person whose ass is always saved by his/her companion or the Circle of Knowing...

I think the issue is the staging of the main scenario quests. First, you feel like being the ONLY one using the echo and moving your ass for the great good of Eorzea (In my opinion you should be one of the people trying to save the world and not The One).

Sure, they should put main quests that you can achieve alone... But with content meant to be done solo (story-wise). And have group quests as conclusion of the story arc for exemple or you could do a parallel quest if you're in a party.

As long as we have the option to choose and logical events in those quests I guess it should be alright. I'm not fond of paying monthly for a great story, solo, in a MMORPG.