I would say yes and no. For some games, especially the "you're the single one savior" narrative driven ones, being able to solo it sounds more important, at least the parts important to the narrative.
I would like to see games focusing on large scale cooperative MMO gameplay though, necessitating cooperation, but also making it extremely easy to form up and communicate. I'm talking hotkeyed callouts like deep rock galactic, simple grouping etc, flexible roles where everyone contributes meaningfully. This type of game shouldnt focus on the locust style consumption of zones, aka lvl 1-5 this zone, lvl5-8 this one, etc only to never go back there again.
It would have to be an open, changing world, sure with some vertical progression as far as zones go, but with good reason for people to be pretty much anywhere in the world. Aka some zones are for high level characters only, but any lower ranked zones are for all characters, meaningfully so.
Player-driven economy and territory control comes to mind, maybe fighting against other factions in meaningful pvp with a proper crime/punishment system all the way up to executions, or simply against NPC factions controlled by GMs, players working together to stave off invasions, clear dungeons that appear as enemies spread out etc. A back and forth maybe related to what firefall used to do, only without the rather stupid day/night flow of tides, aka enemy recapturing the map at night when player count was low, only to be driven off during the day.
Non-solo gameplay CAN work, though some solo activities should still be included, such as non-combat tasks, diplomacy, player economy participation. Or simple, solo-able tasks for low risk reward.
Above all, coop must be EASY and natural. Lets say player a) picks up a contract to clear an ork encampment, and needs a buddy. It should be virtually automatic to partake in that contract for other people, without having to first pick up the same contract or not getting a share in the rewards etc. The lower the threshold and the more sense it makes for even high level people to contribute, the better this will work.
THe worst outcome would be a vertically progressing world where once it has become top heavy, low level content becomes a drag since lack of players means a lot of content would go un-experienced, with everyone rushing to join all the fun at the top end.
Thus, horizontal progression is important, with a small, yet somewhat significant vertical component. It has to be naturally relevant for experienced players to partake in all areas of the game world, not just in those bleeding edge zones, like in, for example, WoW. Interest in past zones is generally for achievements or collectables, there is no real gameplay reason generally.
Thats just my random stream of ideas on it though.
For any given content, at least one of the following three things will be true:
1) the content is readily soloable,
2) game mechanics make it easy to find an appropriate group for the content, or
3) the content is essentially unplayable and might as well not exist.
If we can agree that (3) is bad, then the choices are (1) or (2). The only game I've ever seen that managed to really pull off (2) is Elsword. GW2, FFXIV, and WoW at least make it so that you generally can get a group, but if you want to, then expect to have to put a large chunk of your time into searching or waiting for groups. But in most MMORPGs, content that isn't soloable usually ends up in (3).
How did Elsword do it?
1) Nearly all content is built for 4-man groups. There is a little bit of soloable content in the non-instanced areas, but it's really just something to do for a moment while waiting for the group finder to pop. So at any given time, basically everyone doing PVE content is either in a group or looking for one, rather than most of the playerbase doing solo content.
2) There is a group finder to automatically match players for groups, and basically everyone uses it. That keeps an ample number of players looking for groups. It is guaranteed to give you a group in 60 seconds or less. If it can't get you a full group in that time, then it will scale the content down for your group size to make it still doable shorthanded. But it only scales the content down like this if you went through the group finder, so if you intentionally solo a dungeon without going through the group finder, you have to do it at 4-man difficulty.
3) No separate server architecture like a lot of games use. Any two players on the international edition can group with each other. This helps to keep the number of players who the group finder can match with you for any particular content up at a healthy level.
4) No trinity design or otherwise required classes. Any four characters of similar levels can make a fine group, regardless of their class.
5) Extremely on-rails design that nearly forces players to do every single dungeon outside of the endgame on the way to the next one. Furthermore, it nearly forces you to do each dungeon some particular number of times that slowly increases as you get higher level. That way, even though more people will do the fifth dungeon in the game than the fiftieth one (because some people quit after completing the fifth and before the fiftieth), they all still have about the same number of players looking to do them. That avoids the problem of most content being ignored because players have figured out that other content of a similar level gives better loot.
6) Short dungeons that typically take on the order of five minutes to clear. This means that if you play for an hour, you might enter the group finder ten times in that time. Lots of people cycling in and out so fast makes it easier for the group finder to get quick matches. It also greatly mitigates the problem of players abandoning the group partway through, as it can't mean that you just wasted an hour only to get stuck and not be able to finish.
Some people dislike some of those design decisions, especially (5). The developers of Elsword came in saying, this is going to be a group combat game and we are going to build everything around that to make it actually work. The alternatives to that are a mostly soloing game or a very small playerbase because there just aren't very many people willing to put in the work to organize groups if you make it painful for them to do so.
Just FYI to the OP, "Massively multiplayer" *did* originally refer to how many people could connect to the same server at the same time. Most MUDs, for example, could only handle a couple of hundred people connecting to it, if that. The idea of having several thousand playing on the same server... you didn't get that until graphical MUDs started showing up, and then someone came along and coined the MMORPG term (which many people thought was silly).
As to the question: I tend to solo almost exclusively, but I do like the ability to group, and depending on the game, I might even enjoy grouping a lot. But being able to do what I want, when I want, is a pretty important consideration for me, and similarly I don't like feeling that I'm keeping others from doing the same thing.
Not sure why it has to be set in stone? How about a system where the number of people directly correlates to the difficulty and rewards? Sure you can defeat the raid boss solo, it might take 20 minutes he might have 2 lackeys and drop The Cod Fillet of Undying Wisdom. But if you take 14 peeps at him then he will have much more health, many more lackeys and drop many Cod Fillets of Undying Wisdom. Same with open world stuff, sure you might not be able to solo baddies 3x your level. But when your friends login you can try. Sometimes you don't want to group up with a bunch of wankers and just do your own thing, that should be rewarded too. That is one thing GW2 got right, that people could drop in and out of any "event" at any time. Worked great. I don't think a game HAS to be soloable, then why play online with other people? Also I don't think the game HAS to force people to suck on a guild.
This is how Persistent Dungeons can work. They can be Dynamic.
If you enter the dungeon solo, then it will be solo-able, but the rewards will be less. If more player characters enter the dungeon, then it will become more difficult, but the rewards will increase. If enough players enter the dungeon, then it will become a raid. There should be wandering monsters and patrols in dungeons. Depending on the exact nature of the dungeon, of course. Mobs should be able to sound alarms and call more mobs to reinforce them if they aren't slain in time. The number of bosses in a dungeon should be able to increase depending on how many players are in the dungeon.
It's a little unrealistic, but I suppose the players could automatically be put into groups as more player characters enter the dungeon. Unless they're of different alignments and/or opposing factions. Then they could choose to refuse the group when prompted. Different alignments and/or factions could even choose to fight each other in the dungeon if the game allows full PVP.
Post edited by Ancient_Exile on
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Hrrm.....checks post date, nope, is current and not from 2010, nor is it April 1st.
Looks to see if stumbled into old sticky thread solo vs grouping....no again.
Scans replies, nope, no beating a dead horse memes.....puzzling.
Either the OP is trolling for clicks, is written by a noob to this forum, or even the entire genre, or has been stranded on a desert island for the last ten years.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
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If this happens, I will stop MMOing. ESO has slowly making healers not needed for high end content. If that happens I will stop playing that game as well.
Personally, for main story instances/dungeons it should be soloable, but have an option to go in with friends/party if you're playing together. Everything else depends on the content, if it's some sort of challenge tower having only single player option is obvious, if it's wave arena or w.e. = group. Dungeons,raids, world events should went accordingly.
Can't understand why people are so bummed and nostalgic about old mmo era, stop looking at the past and work for the future. The current gaming community isn't the same as it was 10-25 years ago when "real" gaming started, video games lost their charm long ago with everyone being able to look at anything with their phones. In the old days you could actually show-off with your hard earned stuff and feel like you live a different life within the game, hence the escapism. Nowdays mmo's are too much involved with real life, where money dictates what you have instead of the amount of playtime you spent, not saying it's the same in every single game, but don't be delusional and deny it, there's no more escapism in mmo's if you're playing to "play", instead of pew-pewing for couple of hours every week jumping in fields and looking into the wall afking in city.
yes the entire story line should be soloable. However there should be elite areas that take groups to finish like raids or whatever. Being an MMO doesnt mean everything is team oriented.
Also, side note, i feel all MMOS should have one major story line. I donmt like mmos where there is a story line in every zone. it takes away from a main story
Yes, future MMOs should be 100% soloable because if they are not then it means that their gameplay plainly sucks. The MMOs failure is in releasing games that are no fun to play and are only held together by the group content. Content in MMOs should require skill and cooperation should be something you do on top of your skillful gameplay and not the only thing you do in an extremely boring environment. You should be able to learn the basics of the game solo and gradually reach content that is harder and harder and harder. As such cooperation should be something you go to when your own individual skills are not enough but if you are insanely skillful then you should be able to solo everything. You don't have to force people into grouping via gameplay gimmicks and enemies that are mathematically impossible to kill solo - just create a situation where grouping is the natural thing to do and most people will group and play together while the stubborn that want excessive challenge will persevere alone.
For the modern world I believe that most content in MMORPGs should be soloable. In the days of all raids and dungeons are instanced, only the very tip of the endgame should be 100% locked behind groups/raids.
I started my lifelong affair with MMORPGs with Everquest. Back then the experience was new to the world. I still have my account from then with my main Barbarian Shaman. These days he is neglected for years at a time. Aragoryn (wonder where that name came from, had he been a Ranger I would have been forced into a name change) Wolvesbane (took my surname late, and my pet's name is Bait. Poor girl died soooo many times as I ran to the zoneline, thus the name) has evolved into Argost with the same surname over many games.
Back in the early days I remember randomly grouping up with people only when I died a few times first (and this was the time of corpse runs, leveling up outside Halas was an experience in and of itself with the "vengeful" skeletons running around and one shotting newbies) and then finding help. I eventually joined a guild that joined a larger guild. These days most games with guild content struggle to get twenty people online at a time to conquer content. On Bertoxxulous we had no issue with that. Order of the Scattered Winds regularly had the max 72 people online for raids with people waiting in the wings all the way through Planes of Power to the Plane of Time. People don't have that kind of time today.
Back to the solo content. In the Ruins of Kunark expansion there was a zone that was absolutely 100% raid content. Veeshan's Peak was a place you could lose everything if you died there without someone to take you back in to loot your corpse. Funny thing about that is one part of the key was camping a single mob on an eight minute spawn. Rare drop from a rare mob for the key. My camp was solo for just over 48 hours. Nobody has that kind of time anymore... Let alone 72 members of a single guild so MMORPGs have adapted and are still adapting.
TLDR version - Story should be soloable and BotB should not (read between the lines)
MMO's that are almost entirely beatable solo generally don't hold a lot of appeal.
In any MMO that I've spent more than six months on, it has always been about the community.
Getting together and going out in groups for fun has been my best experience.
I don't mind raiding, but I don't want to be at it all the time. It stops being interesting and simply becomes a grind. That's not content, that's a damn job! No thanks, already have one.
If I can solo a game, eventually I just fall asleep at the keyboard. Guild Wars 2 was notorious for this. Beautiful world, great things to do, but ultimately I found myself playing solo and I simply stop playing out of boredom.
I'm also not a fan of these group finders that just randomly put people together. At first I was a huge fan of them. Anyone from original EQ would have prayed for this. LFG sometimes sucked, but being put in a group with a bunch of strangers sucks even more. Will it be a good group? Will it suck? Who knows?
MMO's that have had any type of longevity, it has always been about the community. Any mmo that doesn't foster that generally wanes rather quickly.
No. MMORPG's are meant played to be enjoyed with other people and while having necessities such as a party required for certain raids, quests, etc., it adds to the experience at the end of the day opposed to taking away from it. In my opinion, that was what drew me to the MMORPG, while frustrating at the time to find people willing to help you it was what made the experience so.. human? Nowadays a ton of MMORPG's are soloable and I find myself bored with the world despising the fact that I'd rather play a single player game.
I don't need grouping to have a social experience in MMORPG's. Where I do have issue is when they relegate the majority of solo content behind instancing, including instancing for group content. I enjoy exploring and adventuring and running into and interacting with other adventurers in the process. It makes the world feel alive and dynamic while allowing me to enjoy the game the way I want to. I like grouping on occasion, but my preferred style is solo or duo.
It's not a choice as much as it is mandatory for mmo's to survive in today's world.
I live in dungeons, and raids at times, but dungeons hard to keep me out of them.
but... i love questing when in the mood for it and yeah solo, i love reading what's going on in their little worlds, and what troubles they need help with, overall it gives a good sense of the world, and reasons why you are doing what you're doing. You're our hero of Azeroth Champion!!!! now go kill them ten rats!!! lmao
Seriously though, knowing the story and the reasons why you're doing what your doing to me makes all the difference in the world.
My faith is my shield! - Turalyon 2022
Your legend ends here and now! - (Battles Won Long Ago)
It's not a choice as much as it is mandatory for mmo's to survive in today's world.
I live in dungeons, and raids at times, but dungeons hard to keep me out of them.
but... i love questing when in the mood for it and yeah solo, i love reading what's going on in their little worlds, and what troubles they need help with, overall it gives a good sense of the world, and reasons why you are doing what you're doing. You're our hero of Azeroth Champion!!!! now go kill them ten rats!!! lmao
Seriously though, knowing the story and the reasons why you're doing what your doing to me makes all the difference in the world.
I would counter that knowing the people you are playing with and bonding as a group are what makes all the difference in the world and what really sets an MMORPG apart from a singleplayer RPG.
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I think there needs to be a good mix of both content types...
One of the best things about EQ2 for me was, that there was a lot of content - even in the overworld - that required you to at least have 2-3 people. It helps foster relationships between players, helps to make friends on the server, or even find a fitting guild...
Doing the EQ2 Mythical Weapon quests with our guild back then was an accomplishment for us as a group. It was fun, it brought us together and there were regularly groups on off-days to help get friends and alts to those quest...not just guild groups, but people from the whole server came together to advance in those quests... It was fun!
But there also needs to be enough solo content, since there are days, where you really don't feel like grouping up and just want to go do stuff alone at your own pace. And that can't just be gathering...
EQ2 was the chit!!! Best mmorpg i've ever played. 2004 to 2008 i have more stories, more memories, more good times to remember and talk about in those 4 years than the last decade plus of all modern mmo's combined. Mythical Wep good example, we as a guild, not a group, a guild!
My faith is my shield! - Turalyon 2022
Your legend ends here and now! - (Battles Won Long Ago)
It's not a choice as much as it is mandatory for mmo's to survive in today's world.
I live in dungeons, and raids at times, but dungeons hard to keep me out of them.
but... i love questing when in the mood for it and yeah solo, i love reading what's going on in their little worlds, and what troubles they need help with, overall it gives a good sense of the world, and reasons why you are doing what you're doing. You're our hero of Azeroth Champion!!!! now go kill them ten rats!!! lmao
Seriously though, knowing the story and the reasons why you're doing what your doing to me makes all the difference in the world.
I would counter that knowing the people you are playing with and bonding as a group are what makes all the difference in the world and what really sets an MMORPG apart from a singleplayer RPG.
Meh. In recent years I've found it much easier to bond with NPCs, human relarionships are highly overrated.
Next you'll be telling us to play games because our "friends" want to, I mean, why, unless they happen to join a game you intend on playing of course.
Easier just to make new "friends" in whatever game I'm playing now.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
It's not a choice as much as it is mandatory for mmo's to survive in today's world.
I live in dungeons, and raids at times, but dungeons hard to keep me out of them.
but... i love questing when in the mood for it and yeah solo, i love reading what's going on in their little worlds, and what troubles they need help with, overall it gives a good sense of the world, and reasons why you are doing what you're doing. You're our hero of Azeroth Champion!!!! now go kill them ten rats!!! lmao
Seriously though, knowing the story and the reasons why you're doing what your doing to me makes all the difference in the world.
I would counter that knowing the people you are playing with and bonding as a group are what makes all the difference in the world and what really sets an MMORPG apart from a singleplayer RPG.
Meh. In recent years I've found it much easier to bond with NPCs, human relarionships are highly overrated.
Next you'll be telling us to play games because our "friends" want to, I mean, why, unless they happen to join a game you intend on playing of course.
Easier just to make new "friends" in whatever game I'm playing now.
There is some truth to what you say, but again that would point to a preference for a single player game. Or some game that is, in essence, a graphical lobby for a small group/single player one. Back to the point I was making:
The hallmark of a great single-player game is exactly what he describes: Stopping to smell the roses, and exploring in excruciating detail. The "story" in any MMORPG is always going to be deficient because YOU are one of thousands of "heroes". This is why you pass 12 guys coming out of the "secret lair"... Or going to visit the King and having some naked guy afk player dancing on the throne.
Each have strengths. I love both.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
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"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
The MMO moniker is no more a representation of how the game operates than the RPG part. It has become a near-meaningless marketing term.
I've been saying this for years. "MMO" does not mean what older people think it means anymore. Most people can't get past the semantics though so 100-page threads ensue.
Personally, Id like a good mix of group and solo content in any MMO. Sometimes I want to play in that world but just alone, other times I want to group up. It depends on the day and isn't that complicated. People like to make all this MMO stuff complicated but it's really not.
Group content or not, who cares have fun doing it or do something else?
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Comments
Mend and Defend
I would like to see games focusing on large scale cooperative MMO gameplay though, necessitating cooperation, but also making it extremely easy to form up and communicate. I'm talking hotkeyed callouts like deep rock galactic, simple grouping etc, flexible roles where everyone contributes meaningfully. This type of game shouldnt focus on the locust style consumption of zones, aka lvl 1-5 this zone, lvl5-8 this one, etc only to never go back there again.
It would have to be an open, changing world, sure with some vertical progression as far as zones go, but with good reason for people to be pretty much anywhere in the world. Aka some zones are for high level characters only, but any lower ranked zones are for all characters, meaningfully so.
Player-driven economy and territory control comes to mind, maybe fighting against other factions in meaningful pvp with a proper crime/punishment system all the way up to executions, or simply against NPC factions controlled by GMs, players working together to stave off invasions, clear dungeons that appear as enemies spread out etc. A back and forth maybe related to what firefall used to do, only without the rather stupid day/night flow of tides, aka enemy recapturing the map at night when player count was low, only to be driven off during the day.
Non-solo gameplay CAN work, though some solo activities should still be included, such as non-combat tasks, diplomacy, player economy participation. Or simple, solo-able tasks for low risk reward.
Above all, coop must be EASY and natural. Lets say player a) picks up a contract to clear an ork encampment, and needs a buddy. It should be virtually automatic to partake in that contract for other people, without having to first pick up the same contract or not getting a share in the rewards etc. The lower the threshold and the more sense it makes for even high level people to contribute, the better this will work.
THe worst outcome would be a vertically progressing world where once it has become top heavy, low level content becomes a drag since lack of players means a lot of content would go un-experienced, with everyone rushing to join all the fun at the top end.
Thus, horizontal progression is important, with a small, yet somewhat significant vertical component. It has to be naturally relevant for experienced players to partake in all areas of the game world, not just in those bleeding edge zones, like in, for example, WoW. Interest in past zones is generally for achievements or collectables, there is no real gameplay reason generally.
Thats just my random stream of ideas on it though.
2) There is a group finder to automatically match players for groups, and basically everyone uses it. That keeps an ample number of players looking for groups. It is guaranteed to give you a group in 60 seconds or less. If it can't get you a full group in that time, then it will scale the content down for your group size to make it still doable shorthanded. But it only scales the content down like this if you went through the group finder, so if you intentionally solo a dungeon without going through the group finder, you have to do it at 4-man difficulty.
3) No separate server architecture like a lot of games use. Any two players on the international edition can group with each other. This helps to keep the number of players who the group finder can match with you for any particular content up at a healthy level.
4) No trinity design or otherwise required classes. Any four characters of similar levels can make a fine group, regardless of their class.
5) Extremely on-rails design that nearly forces players to do every single dungeon outside of the endgame on the way to the next one. Furthermore, it nearly forces you to do each dungeon some particular number of times that slowly increases as you get higher level. That way, even though more people will do the fifth dungeon in the game than the fiftieth one (because some people quit after completing the fifth and before the fiftieth), they all still have about the same number of players looking to do them. That avoids the problem of most content being ignored because players have figured out that other content of a similar level gives better loot.
6) Short dungeons that typically take on the order of five minutes to clear. This means that if you play for an hour, you might enter the group finder ten times in that time. Lots of people cycling in and out so fast makes it easier for the group finder to get quick matches. It also greatly mitigates the problem of players abandoning the group partway through, as it can't mean that you just wasted an hour only to get stuck and not be able to finish.
Some people dislike some of those design decisions, especially (5). The developers of Elsword came in saying, this is going to be a group combat game and we are going to build everything around that to make it actually work. The alternatives to that are a mostly soloing game or a very small playerbase because there just aren't very many people willing to put in the work to organize groups if you make it painful for them to do so.
Why not
The way most communities are in MMO's today i would rather solo.
As to the question: I tend to solo almost exclusively, but I do like the ability to group, and depending on the game, I might even enjoy grouping a lot. But being able to do what I want, when I want, is a pretty important consideration for me, and similarly I don't like feeling that I'm keeping others from doing the same thing.
Looks to see if stumbled into old sticky thread solo vs grouping....no again.
Scans replies, nope, no beating a dead horse memes.....puzzling.
Either the OP is trolling for clicks, is written by a noob to this forum, or even the entire genre, or has been stranded on a desert island for the last ten years.
Let's all do the time warp again....
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Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
So?
Can't understand why people are so bummed and nostalgic about old mmo era, stop looking at the past and work for the future. The current gaming community isn't the same as it was 10-25 years ago when "real" gaming started, video games lost their charm long ago with everyone being able to look at anything with their phones. In the old days you could actually show-off with your hard earned stuff and feel like you live a different life within the game, hence the escapism. Nowdays mmo's are too much involved with real life, where money dictates what you have instead of the amount of playtime you spent, not saying it's the same in every single game, but don't be delusional and deny it, there's no more escapism in mmo's if you're playing to "play", instead of pew-pewing for couple of hours every week jumping in fields and looking into the wall afking in city.
Also, side note, i feel all MMOS should have one major story line. I donmt like mmos where there is a story line in every zone. it takes away from a main story
I started my lifelong affair with MMORPGs with Everquest. Back then the experience was new to the world. I still have my account from then with my main Barbarian Shaman. These days he is neglected for years at a time. Aragoryn (wonder where that name came from, had he been a Ranger I would have been forced into a name change) Wolvesbane (took my surname late, and my pet's name is Bait. Poor girl died soooo many times as I ran to the zoneline, thus the name) has evolved into Argost with the same surname over many games.
Back in the early days I remember randomly grouping up with people only when I died a few times first (and this was the time of corpse runs, leveling up outside Halas was an experience in and of itself with the "vengeful" skeletons running around and one shotting newbies) and then finding help. I eventually joined a guild that joined a larger guild. These days most games with guild content struggle to get twenty people online at a time to conquer content. On Bertoxxulous we had no issue with that. Order of the Scattered Winds regularly had the max 72 people online for raids with people waiting in the wings all the way through Planes of Power to the Plane of Time. People don't have that kind of time today.
Back to the solo content. In the Ruins of Kunark expansion there was a zone that was absolutely 100% raid content. Veeshan's Peak was a place you could lose everything if you died there without someone to take you back in to loot your corpse. Funny thing about that is one part of the key was camping a single mob on an eight minute spawn. Rare drop from a rare mob for the key. My camp was solo for just over 48 hours. Nobody has that kind of time anymore... Let alone 72 members of a single guild so MMORPGs have adapted and are still adapting.
TLDR version - Story should be soloable and BotB should not (read between the lines)
In any MMO that I've spent more than six months on, it has always been about the community.
Getting together and going out in groups for fun has been my best experience.
I don't mind raiding, but I don't want to be at it all the time. It stops being interesting and simply becomes a grind. That's not content, that's a damn job! No thanks, already have one.
If I can solo a game, eventually I just fall asleep at the keyboard. Guild Wars 2 was notorious for this. Beautiful world, great things to do, but ultimately I found myself playing solo and I simply stop playing out of boredom.
I'm also not a fan of these group finders that just randomly put people together. At first I was a huge fan of them. Anyone from original EQ would have prayed for this. LFG sometimes sucked, but being put in a group with a bunch of strangers sucks even more. Will it be a good group? Will it suck? Who knows?
MMO's that have had any type of longevity, it has always been about the community. Any mmo that doesn't foster that generally wanes rather quickly.
I live in dungeons, and raids at times, but dungeons hard to keep me out of them.
but... i love questing when in the mood for it and yeah solo, i love reading what's going on in their little worlds, and what troubles they need help with, overall it gives a good sense of the world, and reasons why you are doing what you're doing. You're our hero of Azeroth Champion!!!! now go kill them ten rats!!! lmao
Seriously though, knowing the story and the reasons why you're doing what your doing to me makes all the difference in the world.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
EQ2 was the chit!!! Best mmorpg i've ever played. 2004 to 2008 i have more stories, more memories, more good times to remember and talk about in those 4 years than the last decade plus of all modern mmo's combined. Mythical Wep good example, we as a guild, not a group, a guild!
Next you'll be telling us to play games because our "friends" want to, I mean, why, unless they happen to join a game you intend on playing of course.
Easier just to make new "friends" in whatever game I'm playing now.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
The hallmark of a great single-player game is exactly what he describes: Stopping to smell the roses, and exploring in excruciating detail. The "story" in any MMORPG is always going to be deficient because YOU are one of thousands of "heroes". This is why you pass 12 guys coming out of the "secret lair"... Or going to visit the King and having some naked guy afk player dancing on the throne.
Each have strengths. I love both.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
Personally, Id like a good mix of group and solo content in any MMO. Sometimes I want to play in that world but just alone, other times I want to group up. It depends on the day and isn't that complicated. People like to make all this MMO stuff complicated but it's really not.
Group content or not, who cares have fun doing it or do something else?
"The Society that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting by fools."
Currently: Games Audio Engineer, you didn't hear what I heard, you heard what I wanted you to hear.