Soloing: An Essential Skill on P99?

[Vlak]

Hi all, still pretty new around here but I've started to notice that a lot of talk in the forums focuses on people being able to solo or how to solo with just about every class. It got me wondering, do P99 Blue players prefer to play solo rather than group or is it an issue of population size or even just a lot of people wanting to explore and soloing is just easier to do that?

[SamIamLegend]

More exp if you solo. There are groups everywhere. Some people already experienced the game 1 to 60 and want to rush alta to end game. You'll be fine if you can't solo :)

[Swish]

More downtime if you solo too... unless you're a necro or a shaman that prefers to canni over a few mins afk.

Groups can be great, or they can be terrible... and that's classic :p

[Daldaen]

Soloing generally speaking, is faster leveling.

For me personally, it means I don't have to deal with other people's AFKs / Lag / or sometimes just general stupidity! ALSO it means I can AFK whenever I want to and don't have to worry about people getting annoyed.

There are times I enjoy grouping, just like there are times I prefer to solo or just duo/trio.

It isn't a necessary skill by any means, you just see a lot of talk about it because that's the nature of the average player here:

Started EQ in 1999-2001. Likely in middle school-college range (12-20ish)
Add 10 years. These people are now mid 20s-30s. Have some combination of full time job, bills, wife, kids, etc.

Due to this many people do not have a life that can facilitate an 8 hour grind group. But they still love EQ and wish to play, so they ask ideas for soloing that they may not have done 10 years ago when doing this grind groups was no problem after school or inbetween classes.

There are definitely grind groups here and you can go 4-60 in groups exclusively. But there are definitely plenty of soloers here.

[Nubben]

I think the main reason that a lot of people want to be able to solo, or at least have the ability to solo as an option, just comes down to where we all are now in our lives. Many of us don't have the time to dedicate to EQ that we did 10-15 years ago due to family, work, and various other reasons. Being able to solo allows people the flexibility to AFK if needed without bringing a group to a halt, or the ability to play short sessions and jump right in to doing stuff instead of going LFG for a while, then having to bail soon after finally getting a group.

[rollin5k]

not essential on this server! But try leveling a rogue on red without items ... Lol

[Vlak]

Thanks for the responses! I'm one of those people who started EQ at Kunark release in 8th grade, now I have a wife and kid (got my wife in on the game though!) and chose a druid so I could solo and travel quickly. Pretty cool to know that a lot of others on the server are in a similar place.

That said, I do miss those grind groups that lasted hours with a good rhythm in a good loot spot... rare but really awesome.

[Tecmos Deception]

Soloing generally speaking, is faster leveling.

For me personally, it means I don't have to deal with other people's AFKs / Lag / or sometimes just general stupidity! ALSO it means I can AFK whenever I want to and don't have to worry about people getting annoyed.

There are times I enjoy grouping, just like there are times I prefer to solo or just duo/trio.

It isn't a necessary skill by any means, you just see a lot of talk about it because that's the nature of the average player here:

Started EQ in 1999-2001. Likely in middle school-college range (12-20ish)
Add 10 years. These people are now mid 20s-30s. Have some combination of full time job, bills, wife, kids, etc.

Due to this many people do not have a life that can facilitate an 8 hour grind group. But they still love EQ and wish to play, so they ask ideas for soloing that they may not have done 10 years ago when doing this grind groups was no problem after school or inbetween classes.

There are definitely grind groups here and you can go 4-60 in groups exclusively. But there are definitely plenty of soloers here.

Perfect post.

[HeallunRumblebelly]

EXP group calculation is also 100% fucked. You can PL 1 person four times as fast as a 2 person group same penalties, same mobs. Should be slightly under 2x as fast (halved xp, group bonus). EXP's never been right here though, so...

[webrunner5]

If you are a healer and want to spend 4 to 5 hours of your life every time you join a group have at it. Not easy to find a healer replacement at the drop of a hat. Same pretty much goes for a Tank.

Been there done that. I just don't want the commitment anymore. :(

[mgellan]

The reason I soloed my Shaman a LOT to 60 is that my playtime is very erratic and subject to quick exits with RL intervenes, so it's unfair to get into a group and then bamph on them suddenly, especially when people have travelled to get into the group. Not too bad for the usual KC CY or whatever groups, but it's a big reason to solo. Just park in HS or someplace and pop in to take a few mobs, and save grouping for those WONDERFUL days when you have 4 hour blocks of time with nothing else to do to enjoy a good solid group!

Regards,
Mg

[Tethyr]

It isn't a necessary skill by any means, you just see a lot of talk about it because that's the nature of the average player here:

Started EQ in 1999-2001. Likely in middle school-college range (12-20ish)
Add 10 years. These people are now mid 20s-30s. Have some combination of full time job, bills, wife, kids, etc.


Pretty much this. Soloing is the appropriate play style for most of the p1999 demographic at this point. I usually only have an hour or two to play at a time; by the time a group really gets going I usually have to log off. When that happens I barely get any experience and on top of that I screw over a group of people that were counting on me to tank/heal.

[Fregar]

Soloing usually means you can take a pause whenever you like: you control the game, the game is not controlling your life.

There is no "pause" in MMOs, but beeing solo allows to be quickly available without pissing anyone off RL or ingame.

[Iumuno]

About the same here as other posters. My play time is very erratic, and except for at most 3-4 hours per week, Ì'll be afk 50-75% of the time, and I may need to log off at the drop of a hat. So not much options but a class that can solo.

[beentheredonethat]

I liked group play because that's what this game is about. But it's too hard to do that, you end up spending way too much time tracking down healer,tank, control and leaves you with no time to actually play.

From what I remember, necros and mages were best at going solo with no gear... so that's what I went with.

[BahamutDF]

Thanks for the responses! I'm one of those people who started EQ at Kunark release in 8th grade, now I have a wife and kid (got my wife in on the game though!) and chose a druid so I could solo and travel quickly. Pretty cool to know that a lot of others on the server are in a similar place.

That said, I do miss those grind groups that lasted hours with a good rhythm in a good loot spot... rare but really awesome.

+1

I started EQ in 2000 at 13. Now I'm old and married. :D

[fadetree]

hehe, well I'll be retired soon, so....
LFG

[Yumyums Inmahtumtums]

I solo because I enjoy the challenge.

Also no one wants a 58 Shaman - people are either "too high for my group" or "torpor or gtfo"

[webrunner5]

High end there still is groups that last for hours. KC, CoM, Seb come to mind. Pretty hard to solo those zones unless a real Twink. And lots of fun and good loot if you have the time. :D Even Unrest, MM have long lasting groups a lot.

[Swish]

+1

I started EQ in 2000 at 13. Now I'm old and married. :D

At 26-27? Get outta here! :p