One thing popping up in the forums all the time is questions regarding the amount of game that will be solo-able. Big fans of MMOs are afraid it will kill community if you can perform everything by yourself and not need to rely on others. I'm here to try and bring a glimmer of hope for people in this camp.
For my argument I will use World of Warcraft as that game has had the largest following and most of us are familiar with it. If you have never played it, the same facts can work with most other games in the genre as well.
Playing the game solo has to be present for players because there are times when there is nobody else around that is willing/able to help you. Just as many are speculating about The Old Republic, WoW could be soloed the entire game. If you choose this path it just is not the most fulfilling or practical way to reach the top. Instances along the way have to be skipped because they are tough to attempt solo unless you are a level well above the recommended position. (This is how I first was able to go to Maraudon) Group quests are also a thing you need to tough it or skip it, because going solo is another challenge that presents itself.
Now lets assume you have done it, you went from 1-max without ever even talking to another living being. (Bots do this all the time) After all that leveling we then have endgame. PvP is possible if your in world PvP or 1v1, otherwise your going to be thrown into some form of a group and we cant have that. Raids are a definite no no because a monster that needs 10 guys to kill it will squash a solo guy, unless you go to the rule about going in way over the recommended level. That leaves you with non combat forms of endgame, such as crafting and playing the auction house. Great ways to make money that never need direct human contact.
The Old Republic knows some people will fit into this mold. That is why I have the feeling your main story will always be solo-able. Just think about 4 years from now when your one of the only guys in your lvl bracket (hopefully on an alt, but you can also be new to the game) and none of your high level friends want to run you through everything. You need a solo way to go. In this game you may not ever truly be alone. You always have your handy dandy NPC companion to come help you kill. Going solo does give one advantage over grouping. Your the only one that makes choices in dialogue, leaving nothing up to another.
Now that you have seen my 2 cents (more likely about $3.50) I want you to throw in yours. Will you be a solo only, a mix of the two, or always using the buddy system?
- View User Profile
- View Posts
- Send Message
Posted 7/27/2009 6:46:05 PM- View User Profile
- View Posts
- Send Message
Posted 7/27/2009 6:21:58 AM(I keep bringing this up sorry, but it seems to always fit in well when making comparisons to TOR)
In SWG I excelled at what I did because jedi would try to avoid Bounty Hunters by playing in the off hours while leveling. I was usually the only Bounty Hunter up and being a Bounty Hunter I was a solo-gameplayer. This was like the perfect storm and a jedi's worse nightmare.
If I had to group to hunt, I would not have been able to and would have quite out of boredom. So for people like me, solo-play has to be in game or I'm screwed trying to have fun.
I would also like to say, leveling up with a group is not really an option either, in CoX I could not level efficiently enough past level 30 solo. After a certain level it because impossible to find groups, and to add insult to injury, my play hours tripled the group finding difficulty. I had to quite because I could never find a group fast enough.
Sure I could put a group together, but that alone would take hours. On top of that, if they sucked (and most of the time, they did), I would have to look for a replacement spending more time looking for replacements. After level 30 I would get in a good three missions in before I had to log, if I was able to solo my way through content like I did in WoW, then I could have breezed through 10 to 15 missions.
I may be the weird guy in MMOs, but these are my reasoning's for wanting solo-play.
...and I do enjoy groups, if I can find them during my play hours.
- View User Profile
- View Posts
- Send Message
Posted 7/27/2009 12:04:21 PMThat was the problem I had with the game as well. It had great group mechanics but it was a group grindfest in order to level up.
- View User Profile
- View Posts
- Send Message
Posted 7/27/2009 6:14:34 AM- View User Profile
- View Posts
- Send Message
Posted 7/27/2009 3:31:20 AM- View User Profile
- View Posts
- Send Message
Posted 7/27/2009 6:09:09 AMIf you were on your own, you only increased the difficulty for your own e-peen'ess because you were no doubt going to be dying a lot on your own, haha...