Why I don't like to group

[Braveguard]

Crowding is the only issue I see. It's harder to find a good spot for a group of six. I've been playing a druid with a mage partner and we both gain faster exp together than we do solo (although the edge probably goes to me... might be bigger but I tend to push the envelope more). We almost don't stop when grouped. Her pet and my buffs allow us to pretty much keep going non-stop... IF there are available pulls. I'm familiar enough with the old world zones that we've done well enough so far but I see that changing as we level up and run into more contention.

Fortunately for me, I'm only leveling the druid so I can have a runner. I'll probably switch to a paladin (yeah, Im sick in the head that way). At that point, my grouping priorities change a lot. I have enough exp to solo a pally effectively but I like dungeons and grouping in dungeons and the loot in dungeons. Of course, you don't play a hybrid if leveling is your chief aim. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Messianic]

Solo XP i've found is much better than full-group exp in nearly every circumstance.

Duo XP is better than any 6-man i've found, with the right group and camp.

[azeth]

Not that I assume you all are not considering it, but I find one of the real perks to soloing or duoing goes undermentioned. Not having to look for a group, or grind based on 4-5 other peoples schedules, I have found, is the real bonus to solo/duo experience versus group experience. When we leveled Meepo & Kashi it's not that grouping with 4 other people in a solid SolB Royals group (etc..) would have been that much worse experience per kill, it's that we can drop the same amount of mobs as a full group because we coordinate easily and do not have to wait for anyone.

[Rasterburn]

Some classes are so effective at soloing that it's a hard sell to get them to join a group and take an XP hit. For example: wizards, mages and especially pre-SOE necros (most OP'ed class in the game) have almost no incentive whatsoever to group, since they can quite easily solo their way to the top levels without any outside help. The same can be said for druids. Anybody who has watched a skilled wizzy or a druid quad-kiting in Cobalt Scar... getting four times the solo XP (and money) for roughly the same mana cost as they would expend on a single-mob pull... can easily understand why those classes might prefer to hunt solo. Just as you would understand after watching a pre-nerf necro (like my old main) soloing Lodizal in Iceclad. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[yaeger]

Originally Posted by Patch Notes

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May 27, 2003
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** Experience System Change - Grouping **

We've made some improvements to the way experience is rewarded in all
of EverQuest. At its core, the idea is to positively reinforce
grouping. There should never be any penalty to adding "that sixth
person over there," whatever class they may be, into your group. That
is exactly the type of behavior that should be rewarded.

In a massively multi-player game, any mechanic that penalizes those who
group is one that we need to take a serious look at. While there are
definite benefits to forming "well balanced" groups in terms of damage,
tanking, healing, and support, there shouldn't be an active penalty to
those who cannot find groups of "optimal" balance.

As it stands in EverQuest, groups gain a 2% to 20% experience bonus,
which we refer to as the "group bonus", for having two to six members.
In practice, however, this has never been much of a bonus, even in the
case of a full group, given that the experience was already being
divided six ways.

In the past, we had also attempted to reward people for adventuring in
the more challenging Planes of Power zones by making those zones give a
better rate of experience.

As of this update, groups now gain 20% to 80% "group bonus" experience
for having two to five members.

Full, six-person, groups now see an additional bonus. Their experience
is only divided five ways, yet they still gain the 80% "group bonus."
For those who think in terms of pie charts, it amounts to a larger
piece of a larger pie.

This is the earliest patch note that I could find where it refers to group experience. PoP is where I think they finally got balance down excellently between classes and between group/solo.

Though, it talks about previously having a +2% to +20% experience bonus for groups. Currently we only experience a +10% experience bonus with a full group.

Did I miss a patch note? Are we getting less exp than we should be with full groups?

[Messianic]

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

Anybody who has watched a skilled wizzy or a druid quad-kiting in Cobalt Scar...

That place was kind of an anomaly, though...I did that from 51-55 and it was, as you say, incredible exp and loot. I quad kited in the Scarlet desert after The Cobalt Scar, and although it was really good as well, it wasn't nearly as good xp or as easy as CS.

The problems with wizard quad kiting as a justification that they're uber soloers are as follows:

1) You can't sow yourself. Jboots become a necessity unless you want to waste a lot of time and mana (if you gate somewhere to get it) finding sows every 35 minutes. Jboots are still slower than high level sows.
2) Until 51 (Pillar of Frost), your AE spells are kinda junky in terms of mana efficiency- only a tad over a 1-1 mana-dmg ratio. Pillar of Frost is a sharp break from that and is nearly a 1-3 ratio. Atol's shackles (lvl 51 snare) is also a much better snare than bonds of force (lvl 29 snare).

Quad Kiting is still better solo xp than nearly any other option a wizard has available, but it really doesn't take off until post-50. Necros/Druids/Magi (or a well-geared monk killing blues in a good ZEM dungeon, for that matter) are far more efficient soloers, overall.

[Rasterburn]

It all depends upon your equipment. If you have the gear, as well as the skill to quad as a wizzy, then there are numerous zones where you can have lots of fun.

My alt was a wizzy, back during the Velious days. And the preferred gear was as follows:

(1) J-Boots (easy to get for a wiz).

(2) Staff Of Temperate Flux (insta-clicky from inventory, used for drive-by pulling at full running speed). Solo-able quest reward. Final stage is in Lake Rathe.

(3) Pillar Of Frost or Pillar Of Lightning AoE (depends upon mob resists).

(4) Atols' snare, but the lvl 29 snare works almost as well if you have J-Boots or a SoW pot.

(5) A brain boost buff. Clarity, KEI, whatever.

Procedure:

Pull all four mobs using Rod at full run speed. Run them into a tight circle. Get out ahead of them and then cast snare once (it's an AOE snare and you'll snag all four mobs at the same time). Then just blast them to bits. Lather, rise, repeat.

Favorite zones:

(1) Cobalt Scar (best $$$)
(2) The Grey (Luclin; need fishbone earring due to no air)
(3) Western Wastes

[Messianic]

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

It all depends upon your equipment. If you have the gear, as well as the skill to quad as a wizzy, then there are numerous zones where you can have lots of fun.

My alt was a wizzy, back during the Velious days. And the preferred gear was as follows:

(1) J-Boots (easy to get for a wiz).

(2) Staff Of Temperate Flux (insta-clicky from inventory, used for drive-by pulling at full running speed). Solo-able quest reward. Final stage is in Lake Rathe.

(3) Pillar Of Frost or Pillar Of Lightning AoE (depends upon mob resists).

(4) Atols' snare, but the lvl 29 snare works almost as well if you have J-Boots or a SoW pot.

(5) A brain boost buff. Clarity, KEI, whatever.

Procedure:

Pull all four mobs using Rod at full run speed. Run them into a tight circle. Get out ahead of them and then cast snare once (it's an AOE snare and you'll snag all four mobs at the same time). Then just blast them to bits. Lather, rise, repeat.

Favorite zones:

(1) Cobalt Scar (best $$$)
(2) The Grey (Luclin; need fishbone earring due to no air)
(3) Western Wastes

I'm aware of all this. The point was that until 51, quad kiting is nowhere near Necro/mage solo speeds. Even with Clarity and sow, quad kiting before 51 is slower than a necro/mage, particularly slower than a necro.

[Messianic]

Oh - In Velious - Rangers rival necros in solo efficiency when fighting animals (snare+Animal fear+beatdown).

[Overcast]

And you getting to 50 first because...


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No hate, just sayin'..