Again - they already said that there WILL be plenty of solo content, even if it isnt a solo focussed game.
Girls, you are both pretty.
Actually, in a recent stream they said they don't create "solo content". The game is designed for groups from the ground up, but they won't artificially prevent players from soloing when it's possible.
They very clearly said "if you login and your friends arent online there will always be something you can do on your own".
He didn't define what that was. So it could be anything... crafting,
gathering, or even going to specific place with a specific class to
solo. Doesn't mean the game is fully solo/catered that way.
Again - they already said that there WILL be plenty of solo content, even if it isnt a solo focussed game.
Girls, you are both pretty.
Actually, in a recent stream they said they don't create "solo content". The game is designed for groups from the ground up, but they won't artificially prevent players from soloing when it's possible.
They very clearly said "if you login and your friends arent online there will always be something you can do on your own".
He didn't define what that was. So it could be anything... crafting, gathering, or even going to specific place with a specific class to solo. Doesn't mean the game is fully solo/catered that way.
Didnt say it was fully solo. Just that there will be something to do if you are solo. And they are expecting that sometimes people will be solo. And thats ok.
Again - they already said that there WILL be plenty of solo content, even if it isnt a solo focussed game.
Girls, you are both pretty.
Actually, in a recent stream they said they don't create "solo content". The game is designed for groups from the ground up, but they won't artificially prevent players from soloing when it's possible.
They very clearly said "if you login and your friends arent online there will always be something you can do on your own".
He didn't define what that was. So it could be anything... crafting, gathering, or even going to specific place with a specific class to solo. Doesn't mean the game is fully solo/catered that way.
Didnt say it was fully solo. Just that there will be something to do if you are solo. And they are expecting that sometimes people will be solo. And thats ok.
Yes that was my mistake.. I realized just after. I'm too used to people arguing the fully solo/anti-social case.. most people want it that way... well; usually.
It's been a long time since I received a tell like this: "hey Amathe, do you have time to help [friend/guild mate/friend of friend] with [killing something] for their [quest/epic/whatever]. I used to do that all the time. And people helped me out too.
Those were back in the days when players were people and not just ilevels.
Earlier this year I was playing on a classic rules DAOC freeshard and have to confess I was a bit taken aback when guild or alliance mates and even "total strangers" would send me private tells asking me to help them with some activity.
Years of anti social MMOs made my first reaction be "fug it, I'm too busy" and I'd beg off with a classic decline like "I'm about to log off" or "my dog ate something dead and is puking everywhere atm."
C'mon, you've all done it too.
But i quickly came around and rediscovered the joy of helping others (it's in my nature) and look forward to once again answering the call for a timely resurrection, or to help kill an epic boss.
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what
it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience
because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in
the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you
playing an MMORPG?"
It will be similar to EQ and VG soloing, definitely possible in a lot of areas but dungeons, bosses/named will all require at the minimum a small group. Class will also play a part, some classes are naturally better equipped to solo than others so if you roll a squishy class and pick the wrong area/mobs then you're going to have a bad day but half the fun if figuring that out
What I'd like to see is your team make grouping up with one or two others easy, viable, and still practically rewarding. In my opinion a lot of solo time comes because people don't want to waste their time trying to find all the right people to fill the slots and then all that entails. Some people do enjoy tackling a lot of "daily adventuring" with a smaller group.
The issue isn't so simple and binary as "always grouped" and "always solo". One of the most frustrating things in mmos is the logistics it takes to group up and engage in content. Fix that and this issue won't be the mountain it appears to be.
This is something we are working hard on, that balance definitely needs to be there. We want easy and friendly grouping without teleporting people to dungeon entrances etc.
The important part of it being "easy" is the getting together and forming something viable.
The lack of teleporting around isn't part of grouping issue in my opinion. While teleporting is a fine solution for some games, that isn't what makes grouping in those games easy. It's the system in place that quickly groups people together. Teleporting to dungeons is more a result of the hurried nature of modern online play where "faster is better". None of that needs to be a part of your game.
Obviously one good major piece of the puzzle is building positive personal connections with other players. It's how players fill in missing pieces to assemble the group that tend to eat up a lot of time, test patience, and detract from gameplay.
Once a viable group is formed then they can take on the game however they want. It's getting to that point that is the speedbump.
Exactly and that is what we are focusing on as I said above. Brad has also said publically that we want to make the "grouping and finding each other part" as fun and user-friendly as possible" from there, it will be up to the players.
While we won;t have portals or teleports everywhere we will provide some form of easier travel between continents so the trip doesn;t take 4 hours just to meet your group, so that is the balance I was talking about. It is obviously a lot more detailed than what I am describing but I can't reveal any more than that just yet, I just wanted you to know it is on our minds and being actively considered as we continue development of the game.
I guess I'll chime in here. I would say the important thing is to have areas where people will naturally gather to look for a group. You don't want to teleport people so you need to try to design the world in such a way that players will tend to concentrate in certain areas when they are looking to do some grouping. And you need to give them some stuff to do solo in the area so they will have something to do if they can't immediately find a group.
So you've heard that <The Deep Dark Hole in the Ground> is a good place to group, good experience and some nice loot drops in there. There is no great difficulty getting there. You don't have to do a stupid long quest to get a key to get in or anything idiotic like that. So great, you go there and start trying to hook up with some people to group.
But, dang it, you're not having any luck getting in a group right away. You think about just logging off...but wait...there are things you can solo in the upper levels. It's not the best experience or loot but at least you have something to do while you look for a group so you hang around. Eventually you either get picked up by an existing group or you form a new group with other people who are hanging around soloing.
So here are the important points to making content that will facilitate grouping:
1. Don't make it a pain to get there.
2. Don't make it a stupid chore to get keyed to get in (remember you want people to gather here to group, you don't want to keep people out).
3. Don't discourage people from going there with stupid design decisions like trapping players there who can't gate or teleport out or any idiotic things like that which make people just not want to go there.
4. The better the rewards are the more people will want to go there (duh).
5. Give players stuff to do solo in the dungeon/zone so they will hang around a while even if they can't immediately find a group.
We have actually already covered this a few times over the years, we can all them POIs and without giving too much away or making them sound forced, they are intentionally built in areas/locations that may draw players together to help with trading, socialisation, finding groups etc.
Finding a group is important to us, after that it is up to the group to play how they want and this design has been kept in mind while creating the game from scratch.
The team is actually very experienced in this area so I wouldn't worry too much
It will be similar to EQ and VG soloing, definitely possible in a lot of areas but dungeons, bosses/named will all require at the minimum a small group. Class will also play a part, some classes are naturally better equipped to solo than others so if you roll a squishy class and pick the wrong area/mobs then you're going to have a bad day but half the fun if figuring that out
What I'd like to see is your team make grouping up with one or two others easy, viable, and still practically rewarding. In my opinion a lot of solo time comes because people don't want to waste their time trying to find all the right people to fill the slots and then all that entails. Some people do enjoy tackling a lot of "daily adventuring" with a smaller group.
The issue isn't so simple and binary as "always grouped" and "always solo". One of the most frustrating things in mmos is the logistics it takes to group up and engage in content. Fix that and this issue won't be the mountain it appears to be.
This is something we are working hard on, that balance definitely needs to be there. We want easy and friendly grouping without teleporting people to dungeon entrances etc.
The important part of it being "easy" is the getting together and forming something viable.
The lack of teleporting around isn't part of grouping issue in my opinion. While teleporting is a fine solution for some games, that isn't what makes grouping in those games easy. It's the system in place that quickly groups people together. Teleporting to dungeons is more a result of the hurried nature of modern online play where "faster is better". None of that needs to be a part of your game.
Obviously one good major piece of the puzzle is building positive personal connections with other players. It's how players fill in missing pieces to assemble the group that tend to eat up a lot of time, test patience, and detract from gameplay.
Once a viable group is formed then they can take on the game however they want. It's getting to that point that is the speedbump.
Exactly and that is what we are focusing on as I said above. Brad has also said publically that we want to make the "grouping and finding each other part" as fun and user-friendly as possible" from there, it will be up to the players.
While we won;t have portals or teleports everywhere we will provide some form of easier travel between continents so the trip doesn;t take 4 hours just to meet your group, so that is the balance I was talking about. It is obviously a lot more detailed than what I am describing but I can't reveal any more than that just yet, I just wanted you to know it is on our minds and being actively considered as we continue development of the game.
I guess I'll chime in here. I would say the important thing is to have areas where people will naturally gather to look for a group. You don't want to teleport people so you need to try to design the world in such a way that players will tend to concentrate in certain areas when they are looking to do some grouping. And you need to give them some stuff to do solo in the area so they will have something to do if they can't immediately find a group.
So you've heard that <The Deep Dark Hole in the Ground> is a good place to group, good experience and some nice loot drops in there. There is no great difficulty getting there. You don't have to do a stupid long quest to get a key to get in or anything idiotic like that. So great, you go there and start trying to hook up with some people to group.
But, dang it, you're not having any luck getting in a group right away. You think about just logging off...but wait...there are things you can solo in the upper levels. It's not the best experience or loot but at least you have something to do while you look for a group so you hang around. Eventually you either get picked up by an existing group or you form a new group with other people who are hanging around soloing.
So here are the important points to making content that will facilitate grouping:
1. Don't make it a pain to get there.
2. Don't make it a stupid chore to get keyed to get in (remember you want people to gather here to group, you don't want to keep people out).
3. Don't discourage people from going there with stupid design decisions like trapping players there who can't gate or teleport out or any idiotic things like that which make people just not want to go there.
4. The better the rewards are the more people will want to go there (duh).
5. Give players stuff to do solo in the dungeon/zone so they will hang around a while even if they can't immediately find a group.
We have actually already covered this a few times over the years, we can all them POIs and without giving too much away or making them sound forced, they are intentionally built in areas/locations that may draw players together to help with trading, socialisation, finding groups etc.
Finding a group is important to us, after that it is up to the group to play how they want and this design has been kept in mind while creating the game from scratch.
The team is actually very experienced in this area so I wouldn't worry too much
This actually sounds great. Especially cause one of the problems I found with Vanguard, there wasn't much in the way of "POI" so people were scattered around in an already very low pop game.
And that is great you aren't changing game design because of one or more groups demand it. I see a lot of MMOs do that and it never works out well for them. Always thought sticking with a game design (for example, a group focused game) works out better than a whole bunch of game modes being possible making others not as happy. I see that with the PvP crowd, demanding PvP in every game they touch. Though that goes with PvE crowd demanding optional PvP or no PvP in every game they touch lol.
While I do solo a lot, its mostly because a lot of MMOs its a pain to get groups lol. And didn't have the best experience at that with Vanguard. Got to level 43 and had no one to group with, and not everyone has friends that play MMOs (all my friends play other genres).
And finally. I'm not sure if this information is elsewhere. Is there going to be a level down mechanic? So anyone (at least that is a higher level) can group with anyone? That was the other problem that showed up in Vanguard is the game got kind of top heavy and was hard to find groups past the beginning levels. I'm not sure if you have anything in place of that, but POIs sound promising.
My Skyrim, Fallout 4, Starbound and WoW + other game mods at MODDB:
From what I've read it's not going to be an enjoyable experience for the solo player. Which I am. So I plan on skipping it personally. Too many choices on the market right now to have to settle.
Plus, Brad McQuaid. The Vision crit hit me already back in EQ. Not playing anything he's a part of again. I also advise everyone who will listen to skip anything by him, or Smedley. As far as I'm concerned they're mmorpg poison.
Again - they already said that there WILL be plenty of solo content, even if it isnt a solo focussed game.
Girls, you are both pretty.
Actually, in a recent stream they said they don't create "solo content". The game is designed for groups from the ground up, but they won't artificially prevent players from soloing when it's possible.
They very clearly said "if you login and your friends arent online there will always be something you can do on your own".
Sure there will be solo content. Faring nodes, crafting, exploring, playing the market. Questing we have seen has all required friends help, maybe something simple like a crafting quest will be done solo. This is not the type of game where you get a kill 10 rats quest. Going into the world to solo exp will be very doable but will be much higher risk and lower reward then teaming. No one will stop you from soloing but there will come a point you will need to team to really play this game. Thats the point.
As many MMORPG.com users know, soloing is by far the most popular activity in an MMO. Even games like League of Legend or Call of Duty you can pretend the players are bots and never talk to anyone at all. Same with WoW, most of the raids you can pretend are just AI playing alongside you and never interact with people at all. This is one reason (of many) WoW became so successful, because even vanilla allowed a soloers game.
Of course, this may be a controversial topic because while many MMORPG.com users know soloing is by far the most popular activity, there is a lot of oldschool gamers here.
But a great example is Vanguard. The problem was, population past low levels (mid game) became VERY scarce. Even low levels eventually became scarce. Anyone trying the game couldn't solo anything because the vast majority of content was group focused, but there was barely anyone to group with, making people leave the game. Its not a problem early on, but for new players as the game ages, its a big problem.
So that leaves the question. How will Pantheon be for the solo players?
I don't KNOW this at all... I have alway's found grouping to be far more beneficial in MMO's and it is necessary for the team based shooters I play, literally thousands of hours in several games. It is pretty obvious when my team fights a team of individuals.
So, no and I would like to see proof of this 'most popular' activity.
As to Pantheon, from what I have read will not be solo-friendly at all. If I were a solo player, I would avoid this title.
If you want a new idea, go read an old book.
In order to be insulted, I must first value your opinion.
Again - they already said that there WILL be plenty of solo content, even if it isnt a solo focussed game.
Girls, you are both pretty.
Actually, in a recent stream they said they don't create "solo content". The game is designed for groups from the ground up, but they won't artificially prevent players from soloing when it's possible.
This is sematics IMO, dont create solo content, but create some classes that can solo some group content.
So yeah....
Come on now, they DO create solo content, they just dont want to say it as it would piss of the current group centric backers.
Games that are designed without any solo content have no classes that can solo period.
You should probably rewatch the streams. Content is not designed for soloing. You can probably find lower level mobs that you can get solo and have some success, but clearly it isn't intended for you to go it alone.
Soloability to cap was not the reason why Vanguard suffered as far as playerbase goes.
Technical issues, performance on med to low end PCs, bad word of mounth after launch... these are the reasons.
Technical issues don't account for why the people like me and my guild stopped playing and why the game never became popular once those issues were resolved. Until nearly max level, the game was just easy. Leveling was trivial, especially once quest progression was fully implemented. It just didn't feel as rewarding as it's predecessor, and I contend that this was as much of a problem in the long run as the early tech issues.
It's been a long time since I received a tell like this: "hey Amathe, do you have time to help [friend/guild mate/friend of friend] with [killing something] for their [quest/epic/whatever]. I used to do that all the time. And people helped me out too.
Those were back in the days when players were people and not just ilevels.
Earlier this year I was playing on a classic rules DAOC freeshard and have to confess I was a bit taken aback when guild or alliance mates and even "total strangers" would send me private tells asking me to help them with some activity.
Years of anti social MMOs made my first reaction be "fug it, I'm too busy" and I'd beg off with a classic decline like "I'm about to log off" or "my dog ate something dead and is puking everywhere atm."
C'mon, you've all done it too.
But i quickly came around and rediscovered the joy of helping others (it's in my nature) and look forward to once again answering the call for a timely resurrection, or to help kill an epic boss.
It's rare today but it still happens.
This is why playing in a guild of people you've been playing with for years helps a TON - as you help each other all the time naturally.
The only better thing is a playing with a guild of RL friends
I have a set group I occasionally play with.
My wife and two daughters.
Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do. Benjamin Franklin
For those saying VG was easy. 1. If your goal was to level to max then that was easy. You could easily find grind camps to do that. 2. If you wanted more of a challenge then there were always things to do that were tougher if you were willing to take a risk. Tougher meaning not easy.
Basically if it was easy for you that just means you werent tackling the harder content. That's on you.
For those saying VG was easy. 1. If your goal was to level to max then that was easy. You could easily find grind camps to do that. 2. If you wanted more of a challenge then there were always things to do that were tougher if you were willing to take a risk. Tougher meaning not easy.
Basically if it was easy for you that just means you werent tackling the harder content. That's on you.
That is a strawman. Even WoW has "hard" content. Yet it would be foolish to argue that the game as a whole hasn't been trivialized to the point it's no longer fun for mmorpg enthusiasts.
For those saying VG was easy. 1. If your goal was to level to max then that was easy. You could easily find grind camps to do that. 2. If you wanted more of a challenge then there were always things to do that were tougher if you were willing to take a risk. Tougher meaning not easy.
Basically if it was easy for you that just means you werent tackling the harder content. That's on you.
That is a strawman. Even WoW has "hard" content. Yet it would be foolish to argue that the game as a whole hasn't been trivialized to the point it's no longer fun for mmorpg enthusiasts.
Only if you define "mmorpg enthusiasts" as everyone that agrees with you. Their players certainly do have fun playing it or they wouldnt pay for it.
As to VG, people died and just as often or moreso than in EQ. There were raids that most guilds had a tough time beating. There was group content that groups wiped on. That means the content was not trivial.
The measure of difficulty of a game is NOT how hard it is to reach max level. Do you seriously disagree with THAT statement? What a boring way to look at life that is, focusing so totally on leveling.
Everyone loves soloing except that is what everyone complains about other games as being an online game but having no need to group.
People want to group but not be forced to because you cant make me do anything!
People don't want death penalties because its not right then complain when mobs can be zerged.
Raids should be accessible to everyone and shouldn't offer any rewards better than what a solo player can obtain? Think that's the way it suppose to work.
Oh and on the vanguard note, it didn't fail for any grouping/non grouping reason. It was purely because of the bugs and the fact at that time it was aimed at higher end computers but had bad fps and you fell through the map every 50 feet. Add in missing mobs, broken quest lines, empty dungeons and you have a recipe for disaster.
Everyone loves soloing except that is what everyone complains about other games as being an online game but having no need to group.
People want to group but not be forced to because you cant make me do anything!
People don't want death penalties because its not right then complain when mobs can be zerged.
Raids should be accessible to everyone and shouldn't offer any rewards better than what a solo player can obtain? Think that's the way it suppose to work.
Oh and on the vanguard note, it didn't fail for any grouping/non grouping reason. It was purely because of the bugs and the fact at that time it was aimed at higher end computers but had bad fps and you fell through the map every 50 feet. Add in missing mobs, broken quest lines, empty dungeons and you have a recipe for disaster.
Well Wow had the broken quest liners and they were the top quests not the trivial ones,it had map glitches/bugs,it was so bad during that one expansion that Blizzard shut down the forums because of all the negativity but claimed other bullcrap reasons.
I would bet that if Blizzard forced the same kind of bugs,problems onto Wow right now,they would not lose hardly any of the die hard players.My point is people THINK they know the reasons for success but they do not.There is a whole pile of reasons,one of which is correct VG was aimed at higher end machines,at least appeared to be and that definitely forced a lot of players out.
I did not quit for ANY of the reasons mentioned,i quit when i saw rampant cheating in the crafting market.I thought ,ok i am working my ass off to be a legit crafter and others are just using rmt to buy rares and sell the best stuff faster,ahead of everyone else.So for example,the early cheats are selling a bag for 80 gold,then by time we can make those same rare bags"legit" the price drops to 8 gold.I figured i am a legit gamer,i am not playing to compete with cheats and quit.Now there were a few other small ideas that irked me but cheating was the most bothersome.
As to the soloist,i saw both sides in the best most true MMO+rpg FFXI.I saw the lonely soloer's,i never got the indication they wanted to solo,i always felt they were simply shy and relied on being asked instead of being a starter/leader. i have a gut feeling about those that WANT to solo,they are imo the more selfish gamer,the type that will guild hop and ask for help but never offer it.You can disagree but that is my 35 years of gaming and seeing all sorts of personalities/people and drawing conclusions from it all.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Everyone loves soloing except that is what everyone complains about other games as being an online game but having no need to group.
People want to group but not be forced to because you cant make me do anything!
People don't want death penalties because its not right then complain when mobs can be zerged.
Raids should be accessible to everyone and shouldn't offer any rewards better than what a solo player can obtain? Think that's the way it suppose to work.
Oh and on the vanguard note, it didn't fail for any grouping/non grouping reason. It was purely because of the bugs and the fact at that time it was aimed at higher end computers but had bad fps and you fell through the map every 50 feet. Add in missing mobs, broken quest lines, empty dungeons and you have a recipe for disaster.
"everyone" does not love soloing. I absolutely despised it, especially in WoW. I'd much rather have leveled via running dungeons with other players. Soloing is the main reason I don't play "modern" mmos anymore, if I wanted to solo I'd play a single player RPG.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
Everyone loves soloing except that is what everyone complains about other games as being an online game but having no need to group.
People want to group but not be forced to because you cant make me do anything!
People don't want death penalties because its not right then complain when mobs can be zerged.
Raids should be accessible to everyone and shouldn't offer any rewards better than what a solo player can obtain? Think that's the way it suppose to work.
Oh and on the vanguard note, it didn't fail for any grouping/non grouping reason. It was purely because of the bugs and the fact at that time it was aimed at higher end computers but had bad fps and you fell through the map every 50 feet. Add in missing mobs, broken quest lines, empty dungeons and you have a recipe for disaster.
"everyone" does not love soloing. I absolutely despised it, especially in WoW. I'd much rather have leveled via running dungeons with other players. Soloing is the main reason I don't play "modern" mmos anymore, if I wanted to solo I'd play a single player RPG.
Forgot to add the *sarcastic* to my comment. But I agree, cant get into any new mmos and I feel like a hermit now in games cause I only play solo and when I see other players its like "Ugh go away!" cause there is 0 need for them to be around me when before I use to hope people were in the area I wanted to go to lol.
As many MMORPG.com users know, soloing is by far the most popular activity in an MMO. Even games like League of Legend or Call of Duty you can pretend the players are bots and never talk to anyone at all. Same with WoW, most of the raids you can pretend are just AI playing alongside you and never interact with people at all. This is one reason (of many) WoW became so successful, because even vanilla allowed a soloers game.
Of course, this may be a controversial topic because while many MMORPG.com users know soloing is by far the most popular activity, there is a lot of oldschool gamers here.
But a great example is Vanguard. The problem was, population past low levels (mid game) became VERY scarce. Even low levels eventually became scarce. Anyone trying the game couldn't solo anything because the vast majority of content was group focused, but there was barely anyone to group with, making people leave the game. Its not a problem early on, but for new players as the game ages, its a big problem.
So that leaves the question. How will Pantheon be for the solo players?
I seriously think you have your facts wrong. It might be the case in LoL or CoD that you can pretend the players are bots, since noone really enjoys toxic behavior splashing towards their way, but in WoW this was NOT definitely one of the reasons that WoW became so successful. Every whining post in the forums that Vanilla was better and this and that and blah blah, is about that the game back then forced you to be social. I have no idea how the game will be for the solo players but then again who would want to play solo in a game that keeps advertising its key points about grouping up with people in order to achieve something? You either trolling or you are missing the point and I don't think you're trolling with such heavy activity you have in this website.
If I have to group in an mmo, rest assured, I have no interest in communicating with you. To me .. you are a statball. Hopefully you don't suck so bad that i'll have to kick you, but I wont hesitate if you show any weakness at all. Random pugs are always a dice roll, and it's not a problem to roll those dice again. Grouping is great, when I want to play with my friends, but they aren't always on, and I still want to progress. So while you may be a necessity for the moment, you might as well be an npc.
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Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you playing an MMORPG?"
Finding a group is important to us, after that it is up to the group to play how they want and this design has been kept in mind while creating the game from scratch.
The team is actually very experienced in this area so I wouldn't worry too much
And that is great you aren't changing game design because of one or more groups demand it. I see a lot of MMOs do that and it never works out well for them. Always thought sticking with a game design (for example, a group focused game) works out better than a whole bunch of game modes being possible making others not as happy. I see that with the PvP crowd, demanding PvP in every game they touch. Though that goes with PvE crowd demanding optional PvP or no PvP in every game they touch lol.
While I do solo a lot, its mostly because a lot of MMOs its a pain to get groups lol. And didn't have the best experience at that with Vanguard. Got to level 43 and had no one to group with, and not everyone has friends that play MMOs (all my friends play other genres).
And finally. I'm not sure if this information is elsewhere. Is there going to be a level down mechanic? So anyone (at least that is a higher level) can group with anyone? That was the other problem that showed up in Vanguard is the game got kind of top heavy and was hard to find groups past the beginning levels. I'm not sure if you have anything in place of that, but POIs sound promising.
My Skyrim, Fallout 4, Starbound and WoW + other game mods at MODDB:
https://www.moddb.com/mods/skyrim-anime-overhaul
Plus, Brad McQuaid. The Vision crit hit me already back in EQ. Not playing anything he's a part of again. I also advise everyone who will listen to skip anything by him, or Smedley. As far as I'm concerned they're mmorpg poison.
So, no and I would like to see proof of this 'most popular' activity.
As to Pantheon, from what I have read will not be solo-friendly at all. If I were a solo player, I would avoid this title.
If you want a new idea, go read an old book.
In order to be insulted, I must first value your opinion.
Technical issues don't account for why the people like me and my guild stopped playing and why the game never became popular once those issues were resolved. Until nearly max level, the game was just easy. Leveling was trivial, especially once quest progression was fully implemented. It just didn't feel as rewarding as it's predecessor, and I contend that this was as much of a problem in the long run as the early tech issues.
I have a set group I occasionally play with.
My wife and two daughters.
Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.
Benjamin Franklin
1. If your goal was to level to max then that was easy. You could easily find grind camps to do that.
2. If you wanted more of a challenge then there were always things to do that were tougher if you were willing to take a risk. Tougher meaning not easy.
Basically if it was easy for you that just means you werent tackling the harder content. That's on you.
As to VG, people died and just as often or moreso than in EQ. There were raids that most guilds had a tough time beating. There was group content that groups wiped on. That means the content was not trivial.
The measure of difficulty of a game is NOT how hard it is to reach max level. Do you seriously disagree with THAT statement? What a boring way to look at life that is, focusing so totally on leveling.
People want to group but not be forced to because you cant make me do anything!
People don't want death penalties because its not right then complain when mobs can be zerged.
Raids should be accessible to everyone and shouldn't offer any rewards better than what a solo player can obtain? Think that's the way it suppose to work.
Oh and on the vanguard note, it didn't fail for any grouping/non grouping reason. It was purely because of the bugs and the fact at that time it was aimed at higher end computers but had bad fps and you fell through the map every 50 feet. Add in missing mobs, broken quest lines, empty dungeons and you have a recipe for disaster.
I would bet that if Blizzard forced the same kind of bugs,problems onto Wow right now,they would not lose hardly any of the die hard players.My point is people THINK they know the reasons for success but they do not.There is a whole pile of reasons,one of which is correct VG was aimed at higher end machines,at least appeared to be and that definitely forced a lot of players out.
I did not quit for ANY of the reasons mentioned,i quit when i saw rampant cheating in the crafting market.I thought ,ok i am working my ass off to be a legit crafter and others are just using rmt to buy rares and sell the best stuff faster,ahead of everyone else.So for example,the early cheats are selling a bag for 80 gold,then by time we can make those same rare bags"legit" the price drops to 8 gold.I figured i am a legit gamer,i am not playing to compete with cheats and quit.Now there were a few other small ideas that irked me but cheating was the most bothersome.
As to the soloist,i saw both sides in the best most true MMO+rpg FFXI.I saw the lonely soloer's,i never got the indication they wanted to solo,i always felt they were simply shy and relied on being asked instead of being a starter/leader. i have a gut feeling about those that WANT to solo,they are imo the more selfish gamer,the type that will guild hop and ask for help but never offer it.You can disagree but that is my 35 years of gaming and seeing all sorts of personalities/people and drawing conclusions from it all.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
"everyone" does not love soloing. I absolutely despised it, especially in WoW. I'd much rather have leveled via running dungeons with other players. Soloing is the main reason I don't play "modern" mmos anymore, if I wanted to solo I'd play a single player RPG.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Forgot to add the *sarcastic* to my comment. But I agree, cant get into any new mmos and I feel like a hermit now in games cause I only play solo and when I see other players its like "Ugh go away!" cause there is 0 need for them to be around me when before I use to hope people were in the area I wanted to go to lol.
A real mmo should be LARGE !............. Large enough to have both.
In Pantheons case ( advertised as group based ). Should have way more group content to give the game what was promised..... But should have some solo.
Infact if the game is to be a real gem, it should be LARGE enough to have solo to end game. Even if its 10%.
That's it in a nut shell
I have no idea how the game will be for the solo players but then again who would want to play solo in a game that keeps advertising its key points about grouping up with people in order to achieve something?
You either trolling or you are missing the point and I don't think you're trolling with such heavy activity you have in this website.