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Can we get solo-versions of the dungeons?

ladymythosladymythos Member, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild Users Posts: 637 Bounty Hunter
edited January 2014 in PvE Discussion
Here's a fun thought: A lot of us prefer to play solo, and let's face it, there aren't always much point in grouping in dungeons anyway unless it's with friends. I use the dungeon finder frequently, but most of the time people don't talk to each other, and many don't care about boss-strategies ("I didn't know" is a common excuse...), and the need/greed system is too complicated for a lot of people to understand. ("I only need when I need it? But... alts... friends..." geez...)

So! How about this: What if we had a solo-version of every dungeon and/or skirmish at lvl 60? It will mostly be the same version as the group version, but easy enough to be able to do with a solo-player. The loot would of course also be toned down a bit, so there's still plenty of reason to go with a "real" dungeon. But this way we don't have to worry about PUGs, and we can take all the time in the world to really explore every dungeon fully, instead of being forced to rush through every dungeon with a bunch of strangers. And, of course, we won't have to hear "Someone ran into a side-corridor, and I had to make sure they weren't in combat." ever again. The only "someone" in the dungeon is you.

And think about it: We already have the artifact-dungeon, and there are some decent sized solo-instanced already. I, for one, really love those. They have a lot more detail and fun that most solo-quests, and I prefer the solitude. Not that having other players running around isn't fun, but sometimes, you just want to be left alone.

And the best part is we already have the dungeons already, so all we need is a little bit of tuning, then they'll work fine as solo-versions. Maybe for Module 3 or 4? Plus, if you don't want them, just ignore them. No need for three or four pages with rants why it's a bad idea just because *you* don't want it. If they add anything new to the game, it's just a new green or blue companion, some not-quite-awesome gear and stuff like that. Fun for us who wants it, but not exactly required for those who don't. And if PvP is getting a major overhaul anyway, why can't dungeons?
Post edited by ladymythos on
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Comments

  • nornsavantnornsavant Member Posts: 311 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    You, Sir or Madame, are going to get some real hate about asking for solo anything in a mmo. But for what it’s worth I like your idea, I like the concept.

    While the development team has made some tentative moves toward making the PUG experience less painful by gating the needing of loot and the BoE changes, people are still getting boss kicked and in general it’s just a terrible gamble. You never can know if you are getting in with a decent group of people or some parental disappointments looking to pour digital loot into a growing personality disorder.

    But of course the loot and goodies one garners for such an experience could not be comparable to what one might get from a real dungeon experience. Players, being the savage min-maxers that they are, are going to leap at a path to dominance that is more effective than another path. So the dungeons would not provide superior gear or loot. And that brings into question whether or not there is any other reason for them? If you are not going through a dungeon for the stuff, why are you doing it?

    If you are looking to the Devs to deliver loot to you by way of a complex and intensive dungeon experience, what would you be looking for from a less intense and demanding experience? (Please phrase your response in the form of something that would make sense to a developer.)

    Maybe you aren’t after that at all though. Perhaps you just want to see the sights, get the sense of the storyline without enduring the ontological struggle of Sartre’s “No Exit”.

    I think that might be a tough sell. The devs are sprinting keep the cash store brimming with salable items thus monetizing the replay value of the games hierarchical player community toward a more profitable margin.

    So if you were a dollar bill they would be very interested in you and your ideas… wait a minute! Hold the phone! That’s an idea!

    Pay-for Solo Dungeons! Five bucks a go and you get a full team of NPCs that you get to pick going in. Better yet, needs less tuning and none of them can kick you for the loot! See, I think that’s the way you need to go with this. Totally doable!

    …or they could just reskin another tiger mount. Yeah they could go that way too.

    N
  • diogene0diogene0 Member Posts: 2,894 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    There are already too many solo instances in new modules. This is a MMO, which means we aren't here to play alone. More group content is required.
  • beckylunaticbeckylunatic Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 14,231 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    nornsavant wrote: »
    You, Sir or Madame, are going to get some real hate about asking for solo anything in a mmo.

    Have you seen the hate that gets piled on people who are looking to group up for the various solo content already implemented?
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  • charononuscharononus Member Posts: 5,715 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    God no. That eliminates the whole point of an mmo. I'd like to see the difficulty scaled up by 50 to promote grouping everywhere. If you don't want to group in an mmo buy a ps4 or something and play a console game.
  • beckylunaticbeckylunatic Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 14,231 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    I am actually very sympathetic to the desire to actually explore the dungeons. Because saying, "wait, wait, I want to read this lore item here" doesn't go over too well when your party is already trying to go through the door to the next level.

    I made a stealth rogue for that reason.
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  • dkcandydkcandy Member Posts: 1,555 Bounty Hunter
    edited January 2014
    I am actually very sympathetic to the desire to actually explore the dungeons. Because saying, "wait, wait, I want to read this lore item here" doesn't go over too well when your party is already trying to go through the door to the next level.

    I made a stealth rogue for that reason.

    Lore in an MMO, you are kidding right?
  • beckylunaticbeckylunatic Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 14,231 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    dkcandy wrote: »
    Lore in an MMO, you are kidding right?

    Hey, it's there, for the 1-5% of players who actually want to read it.

    And like I said, I came up with my own way of dealing with my own desire to poke in all the corners.
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  • nornsavantnornsavant Member Posts: 311 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    charononus wrote: »
    God no. That eliminates the whole point of an mmo. I'd like to see the difficulty scaled up by 50 to promote grouping everywhere. If you don't want to group in an mmo buy a ps4 or something and play a console game.

    Here we have a relatively civil example of the sort of “play my way or don’t play” ruckus this kind of thread generates. Not that it’s the Ops fault at all. Even if the idea of a bit out there, the desire to see the game seems earnest enough. There isn’t much profit for Cryptic in you seeing the game by yourself though.

    Still this is the sort of grudge communicated whenever anyone says the “S” word. Personally I really hate being forced to group. Having to stand around and cry into the wilderness for someone to pick me up because I can’t do the content is not my idea of a good time. I really enjoy the sense of victory through arms and my own skill and diligence.

    But I also understand that some content is just group content. It’s not meant to be soloed and that’s the end of that. I can respect that.

    But the OP is requesting a wrinkle in that paradigm, a way to see that content without going through the normal channels. It’s like breaking in line, it’s like motorcycling down the center line; madness!

    And provocative. I don’t see it happening but I would like to game in a world where it could.

    N
  • cheesegromitcheesegromit Member Posts: 540 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    I'm interested, depending on the rewards. If they're toned down too much then I'm not sure I'd bother considering the potential time investment.
  • vikingbradvikingbrad Member, Neverwinter Beta Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    Well for normal dungeons you can just enter them solo via the front door. Most lvl 60s should be able to handle Cloak Tower and the lower level dungeons. The higher level dungeons could give a solo & companion a pretty solid test.

    Doesn't work for Epic dungeons but would be impressed if anyone can solo an epic dungeon.
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  • melodywhrmelodywhr Member Posts: 4,220 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    I am actually very sympathetic to the desire to actually explore the dungeons. Because saying, "wait, wait, I want to read this lore item here" doesn't go over too well when your party is already trying to go through the door to the next level.

    I made a stealth rogue for that reason.

    lore? where! O_-
  • ladymythosladymythos Member, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild Users Posts: 637 Bounty Hunter
    edited January 2014
    Sigh... the forum once again deleted most of my post, so instead of retyping everything, I'll just write a quick recap:

    I know this is an MMO, but why does that mean we *have* to play with others? Whatever happened to the option to play alone? If I want to go solo, what does it matter to anyone else?

    A lot of people at lvl 60 don't know the dungeons, or the strategies needed for the bosses. If we had solo-versions of the dungeons, it would mean people can learn the dungeons on their own terms, so we can (in theory) expect more from the PUGs in the epic group dungeons. What I mean is that instead of slowing down the group by trying to learn the dungeons, you can use the solo-dungeons for that. This should *not* be a requirement, though.

    A lot of people don't have the time to try to find a group and run epic dungeons. So why not go with a solo-dungeon on their own terms instead? It would mean a lot more people get to experience the dungeons in the first place, rather than letting the dungeons be yet another part of MMOs they never get to try. Once you have your first kid, you'll appreciate this option. :)

    Solo-dungeons can be a nice additon to the game, and yet it will never take anything away from those who don't want them. More options is always good, right?

    And the best part? All the dungeons are in the game already, so all the developers have to do is clear out the enemies and replace them with solo-friendly versions. In theory, it means we can have a new dungeon ready in less than an hour. Very little work, very much reward. How is that a bad thing? :)
  • ranncoreranncore Member, Moderators, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild Users Posts: 2,508
    edited January 2014
    Can we get group based content of all the solo dungeons? And group based foundries?

    There's already FAR more solo content in the game than group content, and ZERO guild content.
  • diogene0diogene0 Member Posts: 2,894 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    ranncore wrote: »
    Can we get group based content of all the solo dungeons? And group based foundries?

    There's already FAR more solo content in the game than group content, and ZERO guild content.

    This. This game is slowly moving towards the solo game farce. Every module, we get ONE dungeon, one skirmish, 4 solo dungeons (yes, the starting quest), one solo overworld map, and a lot of solo grind.

    I signed up to play with others, so, if a dev is reading, please make this game closer to the good old MMO genre. :)
  • trapublicantrapublican Member Posts: 206 Bounty Hunter
    edited January 2014
    I'd rather solo than be forced to group since the majority of people playing this game are awful to be around.
  • inthefade462inthefade462 Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    These already exist, they are called the adventure zone dungeons, the normal leveling dungeons that the epics are based on. They already scale in difficulty for a solo player from easy (cloak tower) to nearly impossible (dread vault). The rewards from these dungeons (level appropriate blue gear) is already appropriate reward for a solo dungeon. So why should they bother committing resources deleveling epic dungeons for a solo lvl 60 when they already have them?

    Do you think you should get purple drops for solo dungeons? Or even loot worth equipping? The rewards for solo play in the new campaigns is already too good.

    You already have plenty of solo dungeons. And once youre soloing dv like a boss feel free to move up to soloing epics, starting from epic ct and moving on up.
  • eldartheldarth Member Posts: 4,494 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    I'd rather solo than be forced to group since the majority of people playing this game are awful to be around.

    This very much.

    But also, I am on-call which means I could get paged to work at any time. Is it really fair to any group I join if I have to suddenly drop out and leave in the middle of a dungeon? And must I inform them of this possibility with every grouping? How likely do you think it is for a group to say "sure, come on in."
  • abell39abell39 Member Posts: 1,175 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    eldarth wrote: »
    This very much.

    But also, I am on-call which means I could get paged to work at any time. Is it really fair to any group I join if I have to suddenly drop out and leave in the middle of a dungeon? And must I inform them of this possibility with every grouping? How likely do you think it is for a group to say "sure, come on in."

    Similar to this, for me; I do work/school during the day then go home to ailing parents who tend to need me right now when they need me, so it's very hard to group up for a dungeon when I'm gone much of the day and am likely to be forcibly afked every 10-15 minutes when I do play. That's really the main reason I do mostly solo play -- not because I hate people, but because RL takes precedence over my gaming (and it does so very frequently I might add).

    I do like that we can solo non-epic dungeons as it is, but that's hard because it takes so long.
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  • chipsterchipster Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 128 Bounty Hunter
    edited January 2014
    The concept is great!!

    I don't mind to do a solo-Dungeon for 2hrs (Compare to 45min for a group) and get the same reward. It allows me to take my own sweet time, explore the dungeons, fighting cool AI.
  • ladymythosladymythos Member, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild Users Posts: 637 Bounty Hunter
    edited January 2014
    ranncore wrote: »
    Can we get group based content of all the solo dungeons? And group based foundries?

    There's already FAR more solo content in the game than group content, and ZERO guild content.
    Sigh... we already have it. It's called normal and epic dungeons...

    And as for too little group content, that's just BS. There are already tons of group-stuff, and we get more in every module. When you reach max level, there are very little variation in solo content. It's just regular quests, and that's about it. That's why I wanted the solo-dungeons to be max level in the first place. Preferably with a gear score requirement, like the regular dungeons.
  • charononuscharononus Member Posts: 5,715 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    ladymythos wrote: »
    Sigh... the forum once again deleted most of my post, so instead of retyping everything, I'll just write a quick recap:

    I know this is an MMO, but why does that mean we *have* to play with others? Whatever happened to the option to play alone? If I want to go solo, what does it matter to anyone else?

    A lot of people at lvl 60 don't know the dungeons, or the strategies needed for the bosses. If we had solo-versions of the dungeons, it would mean people can learn the dungeons on their own terms, so we can (in theory) expect more from the PUGs in the epic group dungeons. What I mean is that instead of slowing down the group by trying to learn the dungeons, you can use the solo-dungeons for that. This should *not* be a requirement, though.

    A lot of people don't have the time to try to find a group and run epic dungeons. So why not go with a solo-dungeon on their own terms instead? It would mean a lot more people get to experience the dungeons in the first place, rather than letting the dungeons be yet another part of MMOs they never get to try. Once you have your first kid, you'll appreciate this option. :)

    Solo-dungeons can be a nice additon to the game, and yet it will never take anything away from those who don't want them. More options is always good, right?

    And the best part? All the dungeons are in the game already, so all the developers have to do is clear out the enemies and replace them with solo-friendly versions. In theory, it means we can have a new dungeon ready in less than an hour. Very little work, very much reward. How is that a bad thing? :)

    Sorry I do have kids your argument there doesn't hold water. I play once she's in bed for the night and occassionaly while she's in school. This is my entertainment instead of tv. Sadly this game has too much solo content. No raid content, low pvp content. You also can never learn a dungeon solo as you will never understand group mechanics that way. If this game gets any less group content based and more solo based, they might as well just shut it down as it will be done.
  • ladymythosladymythos Member, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild Users Posts: 637 Bounty Hunter
    edited January 2014
    charononus wrote: »
    Sorry I do have kids your argument there doesn't hold water. I play once she's in bed for the night and occassionaly while she's in school.
    Glad you find the time to play, but that does not go for everyone. I have friends who have quit MMOs entirely after they got kids, simply because there isn't enough time. There's a huge difference between having a single kid who is old enough to go to school, and three or four kids who are still less than five.

    And just so we're clear, I haven't said anything about getting or wanting less group content. I want more of it, just like you guys. If we can have 50+ more group dungeons, then yay for us. I'll be first in line to test them. That isn't what this thread is all about. This thread is about having solo-versions of the dungeons. That's it. If you guys want to go on and on about lack of group content, please do that in another thread. Thanks.
  • synslaughtersynslaughter Member Posts: 50 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    I don't see a problem with the idea, but then again I'm of the school of thought where not every bit of content added - group-emphasized or solo - is a portentous omen of an MMO's success or failure. If something isn't my style or difficult to achieve because of the same, I just avoid it or don't focus intently upon it.


    With this solo epic idea - you can offer rewards unique to the experience without impacting the import of the existing group epics. Visual baubles, perhaps new companions of the fun or somewhat solo-useful variety, lore that expands upon the existing dungeons' history, perhaps an artifact whose unique activated ability is a teleport to Protector's Enclave and whose passive stats aren't as momentous as combat (perhaps run speed and gold gain, something of that sort.) One-man (or woman) stuff with one-man/woman rewards.

    More solo content doesn't preclude the possibility of more group content. Inclusiveness tends to be good in my experience (for example, I love doing CN/VT/MC, but I'm perfectly willing to do T1 dungeons with friends and guildspeeps to help them gear out. Result: I'm never bored during a DD event.) More group content also, sure! Why not a bit of both for everyone, those with uninterrupted free time and those like Charononus with kiddos to tend?

    I'm just not sure why that particular argument (solo versus group) keeps generating such malcontent. There's enough between what exists and great ideas to appease fans of both. o.O
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  • maerwinmaerwin Member, Neverwinter Beta Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    A big 'no' for me.
    It's already hard for me to find a group for the dungeons I want to run. If half of those players start soloing their dungeons instead (and that will happen), it will be pretty much impossible for me to get a good group. And if I want to play a solo game, there are much better choices out there than Neverwinter.
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  • kap273kap273 Member Posts: 28 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    If the solo instances didn't award the same gear as group instances, instead offered nothing higher than blues, I may be okay with it. Besides, there's always the Foundry for people who refuse to group. D&D has always been about grouping, although I know the trend the past few years is for people to play games that are designed to be multiplayer and just decide they don't ever want to play with others. I never understood that.
  • charononuscharononus Member Posts: 5,715 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    kap273 wrote: »
    If the solo instances didn't award the same gear as group instances, instead offered nothing higher than blues, I may be okay with it. Besides, there's always the Foundry for people who refuse to group. D&D has always been about grouping, although I know the trend the past few years is for people to play games that are designed to be multiplayer and just decide they don't ever want to play with others. I never understood that.

    The only way this could even potentially be ok is if it doesn't drop any loot. No gold, no items, no enchants, not even procing fey blessings.
  • cheesegromitcheesegromit Member Posts: 540 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    maerwin wrote: »
    A big 'no' for me.
    It's already hard for me to find a group for the dungeons I want to run. If half of those players start soloing their dungeons instead (and that will happen), it will be pretty much impossible for me to get a good group. And if I want to play a solo game, there are much better choices out there than Neverwinter.
    I guess that depends on how many are grouping when they'd rather be soloing, or at least would happily solo if they could. I'd be surprised if it was a lot, but I'm open to being surprised I guess.

    Please elaborate on the solo choices that are better than Neverwinter. I can't quickly think of a good single player rpg, from the last few years at least.
  • oronessoroness Member Posts: 378 Arc User
    edited January 2014
    Many mmos have solo versions of their content and yet they are still mmos.
    There's a big misconception related to the mmos. It is not required to constantly group in a mmo, just fyi.
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  • kattefjaeskattefjaes Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users Posts: 2,270 Bounty Hunter
    edited January 2014
    ranncore wrote: »
    Can we get group based content of all the solo dungeons? And group based foundries?

    There's already FAR more solo content in the game than group content, and ZERO guild content.

    Oh, a thousand times time, what he said, uh-huh, roger that (etc.).

    If you like PvE, the game is effectively dead outside of DDs right now. This is an MMO, that second "M" is essential to the entire enterprise. People who opt to play an MMO and start complaining about the lack of solo content are missing the point in an astoundingly comprehensive manner. Pick up a GOTY Skyrim/Oblivion and lose yourself in the wonderful DLCs if that's what you want. Complaining that an MMO doesn't pander to your single player urges is a bit like going to a stationers and complaining that they don't stock enough strawberries.

    This game needs more fun multiplayer content, not less.
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