Soloing vs. grouping, once and for all

[stormlord]

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

I've been wondering about group vs. solo exp. At this point in time during Live, I exclusively played classes that had to group, so I don't have a distinctive memory of the difference. What I certainly don't remember was constantly hearing that soloing was vastly better exp than grouping, nor finding a magician in every conceivable solo spot in the entire game, but this is clearly the case here. I can level significantly faster solo than I can in groups, and that's as an enchanter or shaman, not even the true solo-exp kings.

The impact this has on gameplay on this server is extremely obvious, and if this was the case in nineteen ninety-nine, I'll resign myself to the apparent fact that this is how it always worked and that people were just more willing to group back then.

So, to those of you who soloed extensively eleven years ago, was solo exp twice as good back then as well?

I've thought about this some. I really think it depends on the person.

Some people are really good in groups. They're not afk too much and love the thrill. If a group is well functioning and it's in a good zone for groups then experience will come in at a faster pace than most soloers will get.

The probelm is that a lot of groups are pickup and not very good at what they're doing. A lot of them aren't even playing for the experience. They just like it. Some will go afk. Some will have their mind somewhere else. They will spend hour(s) just forming the group. So the hypotheticall 200% with 6 people never takes form. Some of them won't like it. of course. I suppose they'll learn to hate this game.

You can't easily compare a single person to a group because a single person is usually an expert in a particular place when they go there. They press all of hte buttons and at the right time. They have it down to a science. But that's hard to find in groups. I've been in EQ for a long, long time. I've seen a lot of groups. Finding a group that really knows how to play is difficult, and can get boring if you always play with the same guys. Furthermore, since a lot of people do AFK (and often), necros and other classes with FD or CC ability will have an obvious advantage. RL beckons us. Games can't have all of our attention, 24/7.

I played a ranger in 99. I made another one in 2001 and that's all I played, mostly. I think that it was picking a ranger that made me remember EQ so fondly. If I had picked a group-dependent class, I don't think I would have felt the same way. I was able to solo, track, root, snare, kill from a distance, sneak, so on and so forth; I really had a lot of tools in my bag. Without many tools to use, it gets boring fast - you don't feel in control.

I also, strangely, think that soloing is boring. Well, it gets boring because you start to do the same thing over and over again. And there's no one to talk to or to correct. DDO is a fun game if you play it solo. But inevitably, you want to group to stay interested. For me, grouping ruined DDO completely. Everyone rushing, pushing ahead, not being able to absorb everything, etc. But maybe this is just the way I am. In EQ, I grouped a lot with my ranger. I hated camping. I soloed sometimes and it was faster experience, but it was boring. It got boring because I would master a zone and then AA or something. But I always did the same thing. I didn't go to new areas when I was getting experience. For me, the game was in the grouping and in the guild because they pushed me to do new things and to use all of my ranger abilities - ya, I used ranger gate a lot.

[vageta31]

You're right about the quality of groups. If you compared a really well put together group that knows how to play efficiently, then group exp can be pretty good. However most pick up groups are not like this, and even if they are how long will it last before someone leaves, dies or what not?

Soloing you can pick a spot and have at it at your own pace without relying on anyone but yourself. I'm not against grouping at all, however when I want to grind I always roll like Han Solo. If I want to have some other fun, hang out with people or maybe camp something I can't do alone then I'll group. If you know your class well enough then even if you mostly play solo, you can still play your class quite well in a group environment.

Personally I like to solo because I hate relaying and waiting on others. If it's a guild group then that usually solves most of the problems, but there's always someone who's lagging, loses connection, goes afk, etc.. and that slows down the pace of the group. While soloing you are in absolute complete control of your grinding and with Kunark open there are always places to go if your favorite spot is taken.

Besides I get plenty of social interaction with those I run across during my solo time. I meet a lot of random people that way and if I'm on my Shaman then I almost always stop and buff lowbies which makes me their friend for life :P

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

I've thought about this some. I really think it depends on the person.

Some people are really good in groups. They're not afk too much and love the thrill. If a group is well functioning and it's in a good zone for groups then experience will come in at a faster pace than most soloers will get.

The probelm is that a lot of groups are pickup and not very good at what they're doing. A lot of them aren't even playing for the experience. They just like it. Some will go afk. Some will have their mind somewhere else. They will spend hour(s) just forming the group. So the hypotheticall 200% with 6 people never takes form. Some of them won't like it. of course. I suppose they'll learn to hate this game.

You can't easily compare a single person to a group because a single person is usually an expert in a particular place when they go there. They press all of hte buttons and at the right time. They have it down to a science. But that's hard to find in groups. I've been in EQ for a long, long time. I've seen a lot of groups. Finding a group that really knows how to play is difficult, and can get boring if you always play with the same guys. Furthermore, since a lot of people do AFK (and often), necros and other classes with FD or CC ability will have an obvious advantage. RL beckons us. Games can't have all of our attention, 24/7.

I played a ranger in 99. I made another one in 2001 and that's all I played, mostly. I think that it was picking a ranger that made me remember EQ so fondly. If I had picked a group-dependent class, I don't think I would have felt the same way. I was able to solo, track, root, snare, kill from a distance, sneak, so on and so forth; I really had a lot of tools in my bag. Without many tools to use, it gets boring fast - you don't feel in control.

I also, strangely, think that soloing is boring. Well, it gets boring because you start to do the same thing over and over again. And there's no one to talk to or to correct. DDO is a fun game if you play it solo. But inevitably, you want to group to stay interested. For me, grouping ruined DDO completely. Everyone rushing, pushing ahead, not being able to absorb everything, etc. But maybe this is just the way I am. In EQ, I grouped a lot with my ranger. I hated camping. I soloed sometimes and it was faster experience, but it was boring. It got boring because I would master a zone and then AA or something. But I always did the same thing. I didn't go to new areas when I was getting experience. For me, the game was in the grouping and in the guild because they pushed me to do new things and to use all of my ranger abilities - ya, I used ranger gate a lot.

[bakkily]

soloing is good exp, but only so few classes do it so well, my ranger is 33 and i do find that in ot only dark blues, i can solo quite easily, about 3-4 rhinos before i need a mana break, the thing though with that class is depending one on gear you have, your archery, and how much dmg your arrows can do, i stick to these 4 dmg arrows, due to being cheap to make, but then getting your skill 185+ in fletching to make 5+ dmg arrows makes soloing so much easier for the ranger

but only true soloers are the pure arcane casters, mage/ wiz, or druid though not arcane, once you get a pet with the shaman you can solo to 60, just 50+ takes longer, necros id say are the kings of soloing, but it all depends on how you know your class, no pure melee'er can solo, but if you know the good spots, the advantages of the area, you can solo

but i prefer grouping, most often

[vageta31]

Shamans can solo quite well to 60, though obviously not as easy as a necro. It's true that gear plays a major part of it. Twink soloers have a huge advantage that someone playing their first characters do not have. This is why my necro can do what he does, if he didn't have gobs of mana and hps he couldn't kill so many without rest.

Iksar monks can solo, especially if they have a fungi tunic. SK's have always been able to solo with their lifetaps and utility spells(invis, FD, etc..) but give them a fungi or an iksar BP and they can do very well.

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

soloing is good exp, but only so few classes do it so well, my ranger is 33 and i do find that in ot only dark blues, i can solo quite easily, about 3-4 rhinos before i need a mana break, the thing though with that class is depending one on gear you have, your archery, and how much dmg your arrows can do, i stick to these 4 dmg arrows, due to being cheap to make, but then getting your skill 185+ in fletching to make 5+ dmg arrows makes soloing so much easier for the ranger

but only true soloers are the pure arcane casters, mage/ wiz, or druid though not arcane, once you get a pet with the shaman you can solo to 60, just 50+ takes longer, necros id say are the kings of soloing, but it all depends on how you know your class, no pure melee'er can solo, but if you know the good spots, the advantages of the area, you can solo

but i prefer grouping, most often

[Ennoia]

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

I've been wondering about group vs. solo exp. At this point in time during Live, I exclusively played classes that had to group, so I don't have a distinctive memory of the difference. What I certainly don't remember was constantly hearing that soloing was vastly better exp than grouping, nor finding a magician in every conceivable solo spot in the entire game, but this is clearly the case here. I can level significantly faster solo than I can in groups, and that's as an enchanter or shaman, not even the true solo-exp kings.

The impact this has on gameplay on this server is extremely obvious, and if this was the case in nineteen ninety-nine, I'll resign myself to the apparent fact that this is how it always worked and that people were just more willing to group back then.

So, to those of you who soloed extensively eleven years ago, was solo exp twice as good back then as well?

I solo'd extremely fast on my Magician, faster than grouping with my Necromancer was, but that was before pet nerfs and she was twinked to all hell with a ton of gear, all of the SolRo focus items that a close friend from live hooked me up with because I was too lazy to farm them myself (thanks CK!) and I had the Brazier of Elemental Summoning (which was affected by the focus from Torch of Alna). However, I'm an experienced raider and wanted to just get there asap, having already leveled one character through grouping on P99 to the 40s. If you want the full EQ experience, go with a group.

[Doors]

Soloing is and always will be more effective more often than grouping.

[Galanteer]

grouping however is better for loot (not always though)