Group vs. Solo

[webrunner5]

Yeah I have really cut back on playing my Mage since the nerf, but is still faster than most classes to solo with.

But when you get past Unrest, Mistmoore etc there isn't really a lot of groups around. KC maybe. The damn Hybrid XP penality really hurts this server I think groups wise. Most of the mid level Tanks end up being SK's. Throw in a Bard, and God help you a Ranger, and you are doomed lol. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Tecmos Deception]

Originally Posted by Splorf22 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I think the problem here is that people expect EQ to be like Starcraft: log in, put up LFG, warp to well-balanced XP group within 5 minutes. Obviously you can start right away if you are solo.

Its not hard to find xp groups. My monk was in a great Nurga/Droga group last night. If you are L35, for example, you can do /who all 30 40 to find out where people are and /who all 30 40 lfg to find other people lfg. Head to the hot zones, and don't be afraid to form groups or play with 'nonstandard' class mixes. Sure it may not be optimal xp, but some xp is better than no xp and its fun to try and make something a little unorthodox work. For example, I did a warrior/enchanter 2-man group that worked ok once.

P.S. wow what a thread necro

I don't really think anyone is arguing that there are no xp groups, or that some xp isn't better than no xp at all. But you can't help but admit that it just doesn't feel right that 4 times out of 5 a class like a cleric can go solo some undead for better xp than he would get in a group.

[Vicatin]

Were the xp penalties removed as soon as velious came out?

Any gm comments on when we would see it removed?

[Arrisard]

Originally Posted by Vicatin [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Were the xp penalties removed as soon as velious came out?

Any gm comments on when we would see it removed?

Roughly a month and a half after Velious comes out (January 17, 2001 patch)

[falkun]

Originally Posted by Arrisard [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Roughly a month and a half after Velious comes out (January 17, 2001 patch)

I sincerely hope they move it a bit faster, but at least do not drag it out according to some "relative" timeline (like how they are not implementing epic spawned mobs (Undead Bard, Venril Sathir Remains, etc.) because those are post-Velious). The exp-buff to hybrids, assuming its not too late, should greatly affect the mid-level group's access to tanks.

[Cippofra]

Originally Posted by Estu [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Soloing a mage is absolutely an option. Just reclaim your pet once the monster is running and you'll get full EXP.

At my level of 13 and income this isnt really an option.

[falkun]

13? Isn't that a perfect time for Nybright sisters? Money issues solved.

[Houdiny]

I prefer grouping opposed to soloing. I think most do. But it's not always an option. Some nights I wouldn't have to go LFG on my wiz. Some nights I would be LFG all night.

Being a solo class I had the luxury of soloing while waiting for a group. Best of both worlds. It's not really a matter of choice, it's what you are forced to do. Most people don't use the LFG function often. I don't know how many times I ran by a group that wasn't full and got an immediate invite, after sitting LFG for an hour or better.

Lot of circumstances involved. But I think most prefer a group to solo.

[Tecmos Deception]

Originally Posted by Cippofra [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

At my level of 13 and income this isnt really an option.

Even if your pet eats half xp on every kill, you're still a better soloer than basically any other non-twink at your level.

Melee are all terrible untwinked.

Wis-casters can heal and dot and melee a bit but they won't kill half as fast as your pet does once their downtime factors in.

Necros and enchanters also have to compete with their pets for xp like you do, except that their pets are far inferior to yours so they can't just give up on full xp and let the pet do all the work... cause the pet will die. And wizards? You have as good of nukes as the wiz does, so you can just nuke down something for full xp with a bit of help from the pet and then while a wizard would be medding and earning no xp, you can be medding while your pet solos something else and you get half xp.


By the time other classes surpass your xp rate (ench charming, dru/sham root dotting, cle killing undead, melee still terrible without twinking, wiz terrible until tehy can quad, necro still competing with pet but it's not too bad), you'll be able to afford the few silver per mob to reclaim pet to get yourself full xp.


Also, kill wisps, loot GLSs, and then have more than enough money to spend a reagent per mob at level 13.

[Striiker]

Well, remember that everyone now knows all of the little secrets of the game's mechanics. The emphasis on soloing now comes from this understanding. Back when EQ launched, EVERYTHING was new. I remember accidentally walking in to Qeynos Hills from Qeynos and I ran back because it was I didn't know what was there (it was night and raining too).
Soloing on live in 1999 was challenging because nobody know how to do it well. Now, it's fairly trivial.