test content
Logo
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
One reason why only some players have issues in "solo" play.
adinosii
Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 4,294 Arc User
I am hearing very different opinions on how the new content has affected solo play, ranging from "totally unplayable - I die all the time" to "meh, no real change - some fights just take a little bit longer".
I have talked to a few players who claimed they had real issues and found one common factor. Now, I am absolutely not saying this is the only reason, or even that it is the biggest one, but it is something that is reasonably easy to fix in many cases.
The issue: Combat Advantage (CA) - both a failure to maintain CA against opponents and allowing them to have CA against you. Many newer players are simply not used to thinking about CA at all, and they cannot any longer get away with ignoring it. On the other hand, those who are "CA-aware" tend to have significantly fewer issues.
It no longer works for me, and, I suspect, many others. Today, maintaining CA against opponents in solo play is a key factor in killing them fast enough - after all, a dead enemy cannot hurt you, right ?
This is the killer issue for many...the "I get swarmed by zombies" problem. People used to not have to think about opponents having CA against them....just rush at the nearest group of enemies and kill them.
Well, it doesn't work any more. People need to be more careful about not letting enemies get CA against them...and that will probably reduce the damage they receive more than any other single factor. Now, this is easier for some classes than others. Powerful ranged attacks can take down some enemies from a distance, reducing the number that reaches you, but it is harder for those who rely on close melee combat.
For those, well, getting backed up into a corner is not necessarily a bad thing.
In other words, you need to practice using the environment to your benefit, to prevent enemies having CA against you and to limit the number that can reach you at any given time.....keep repositioning.
No, this will absolutely not solve all the problems for everyone, but it does make a big difference.
I have talked to a few players who claimed they had real issues and found one common factor. Now, I am absolutely not saying this is the only reason, or even that it is the biggest one, but it is something that is reasonably easy to fix in many cases.
The issue: Combat Advantage (CA) - both a failure to maintain CA against opponents and allowing them to have CA against you. Many newer players are simply not used to thinking about CA at all, and they cannot any longer get away with ignoring it. On the other hand, those who are "CA-aware" tend to have significantly fewer issues.
Your CA against opponents
I used to pretty much ignore CA in my own solo play. I primarily play a Cleric, which has no class-specific way to obtain CA, so I just ignored it altogether - I ran with an augment companion and did not put anything into CA - in fact, I specifically avoided gear giving CA for my "solo play" loadout, which used to work just fine.It no longer works for me, and, I suspect, many others. Today, maintaining CA against opponents in solo play is a key factor in killing them fast enough - after all, a dead enemy cannot hurt you, right ?
- So, augments companions are out....combat companions are in, and you need to rely on them for CA.
- I can either use a companion like the Black Death Scorpion which grants CA, or one of the high-DPS companions, but then I have to use positioning to have CA against opponents. Just do whatever works for you, just maintain CA.
- I need to rearrange gear to have sufficient CA ratings in solo play, but that means I can now for example use the same companion gear items as I previously used in my "group" loadout, as those pieces actually provide CA.
Opponents having CA against you
This is the killer issue for many...the "I get swarmed by zombies" problem. People used to not have to think about opponents having CA against them....just rush at the nearest group of enemies and kill them.
Well, it doesn't work any more. People need to be more careful about not letting enemies get CA against them...and that will probably reduce the damage they receive more than any other single factor. Now, this is easier for some classes than others. Powerful ranged attacks can take down some enemies from a distance, reducing the number that reaches you, but it is harder for those who rely on close melee combat.
For those, well, getting backed up into a corner is not necessarily a bad thing.
In other words, you need to practice using the environment to your benefit, to prevent enemies having CA against you and to limit the number that can reach you at any given time.....keep repositioning.
No, this will absolutely not solve all the problems for everyone, but it does make a big difference.
Hoping for improvements...
Post edited by adinosii on
12
Comments
Xael De Armadeon: DC
Xane De Armadeon: CW
Zen De Armadeon: OP
Zohar De Armadeon: TR
Chrion De Armadeon: SW
Gosti Big Belly: GWF
Barney McRustbucket: GF
Lt. Thackeray: HR
Lucius De Armadeon: BD
Member of Casual Dailies - XBox
The CA part of the damage formula is something like (1+CA).. which means it goes from 1 to 1.9 if you have CA and the CA stat is maxed.. that is almost a doubling of your dps.
Please don't fix this the way you added CA to bosses. Fix this by using the game to teach people. Posting this info in the forums or twitter is not the answer, you see the same people here all the time, these are mainly not those having these issues. Consider a boss along the leveling journey that ONLY takes CA damage and throws up 0s if you have no CA. Use an NPC in the fight to offer CA to your player, SHOW people what to look for! Putting it in the journal or something isn't the answer either, with the extensive time it takes to get to end game many are chasing the next carrot not reading about combat. Hell I didn't even know there was a battle tactics section of the Journal until I was in game for 4 years.
i come to neverwinter to let off steam by killing orcs and other dark fae i dont come here to do an exersise in "be in this correct spot or you die"
i get enough of that from the wife
i come here relax and unwind by killing dark fae and other bad mobs
i dont come here to do an exersize in "be in this exact spot and do this or you die"
i get more then enough of that from the wife
This was even becoming true of tomm. In the end it was just as quick for me to do a tower as it was a codg. Around 9 Mins.
EDIT: atm tower and zariel master are uncapped IL meaning uncapped damage and HP. We WILL see power creep again, just much slower this time. And at some point we'll see this content become scaled as well stopping that power creep leaving it at a particular difficulty.
What I mean is: A casual player can't expect to run the dungeon when it is new, if he did not commit to the same grind/work or (in relation) money spent as the non-casuals. That is fine. But a non-casual player could expect to be able to run it after a while. For that, he got the rewards - they were still rewarding, but not worth the same as when it was new.
Tomm and Zariel are different - and that is fine. There should be, if possible, content that is exciting to a certain kind of player. There is nothing wrong with it. I also understand that you (or people running it in general) would not want it to be progressively easier for the same net worth of rewards as you (or people) got at launch. (Or BIS weapons in general)
That is fine for me - But I do understand that allowing power creep/ going back in godmode allowed it for casuals to access content, even if it meant waiting for it to become accessable/manageable.
I am not saying I want Tomm to be like that, but that I expect that casual players can (if they are familiar with the basics) run SOME content (FBI, MSVA etc) without others applauding when they die (I know you are not, but others are) so they finally "have" to learn mechanics.
Do I sometimes think its sad that the turtle could slam on me if I was typing and it didn't faze me much? Yes. Am I glad that I can show fbi to friends that didn't get to run it before without a schedule that has to invole several time zones. Yes.
I understand new content being hard, and I do understand why Tomm/Zariel are great for some people. I do not mind. Please don't get this in a wrong way - but power creep made some content easier accessable for newer people, and if done in a good way (as in, they are not able to walk in buttnaked and slam hati in the butt while soaking up dmg like a maxed tank) it allowed for a more mellow learning curve that is easier for a different kind of players.
*spelling
Xael De Armadeon: DC
Xane De Armadeon: CW
Zen De Armadeon: OP
Zohar De Armadeon: TR
Chrion De Armadeon: SW
Gosti Big Belly: GWF
Barney McRustbucket: GF
Lt. Thackeray: HR
Lucius De Armadeon: BD
Member of Casual Dailies - XBox
> there is a reason i dont run tomm i hate the "move to this spot here then move to here then move here and if this happens then move here"
> i come here relax and unwind by killing dark fae and other bad mobs
> i dont come here to do an exersize in "be in this exact spot and do this or you die"
> i get more then enough of that from the wife
I'm new to Neverwinter, but not to MMOs. Early days dungeons were just harder difficulty and fight until everything dies. For the last bunch of years now, fight mechanics have become very popular. Move here at this time or die, jump in the portal and kill the nether creature or it's a party wipe, destroy the crystal ASAP or the boss rages and one shots the entire room, kinda stuff.
I can take it or leave it myself, but a lot of folks hate the fight mechanic concept and I don't really blame them. Party leaders yelling at people for issuing the wrong skill at the wrong time or delaying killing a specific add, "Dammit, who killed the floaty ball too early?!? Wipe!", etc. Remember when games were just fun to unwind and kill monsters? Ah, the good ol days!
It seems to have worked in some small way but my defense is still low and I can take hits in my health fast so in tight areas im VERY vulnerable. I'm sluggishly moving through the content but I am making small progress, however im constantly checking my surroundings and always on alert every second of the game and personally for me that isn't fun all the time because it's more stressful than anything else.
I guess that makes me a casual but that's how I enjoy my games, I don't want to be mentally tested 100% of the time playing a game that's supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable.
I haven't tried out combat companions yet, my main is a tank with an awareness augment, my alts are still using augments as I haven't played them much. With a little over 30% bolster in companions and mounts my alts have not had too much trouble.
Pull less, pay attention and use healing potions. Losing too much health, run. If you have CC, use it. Kill healers and summoners ASAP.
Standing in one spot, while pulling a huge crowd of mobs is not a good plan any more.
Games are supposed to be fun.
I'd like to hear anyone else's feedback.
"You have to do this at this EXACT moment or the WHOLE party dies"
Sorry, my ping can be anywhere between 200 and 350, if I manage to pull that off, it's going to be pure luck! I have to be out of the red before the red is there. I have to be casting the heal before I see that the damage has been taken.
Even if I wanted to play ZC or TOMM, those hair trigger mechanics make it a lot less fun for me, and I'm not interested in the stress and abuse I'd likely receive if/when I fail.
Co-Guild Leader
Ghost Templars L20
Alliance: Tyrs Paladium
Main: Cleric (Heals|DPS)
Alt: Warlock
Helmets would be a great place to may be replace power for awareness. That's where your eyes and ears are, which would play a big role in awareness.
There are a lot of ways power is awarded through bonuses, it would be nice to see that spread around to other ratings.
Used my 47k Tank because she can’t kill anything but can move around for longer than a dps.
Judging by the RQ, a lot of OP players are doing the same (or leaving)
Xael De Armadeon: DC
Xane De Armadeon: CW
Zen De Armadeon: OP
Zohar De Armadeon: TR
Chrion De Armadeon: SW
Gosti Big Belly: GWF
Barney McRustbucket: GF
Lt. Thackeray: HR
Lucius De Armadeon: BD
Member of Casual Dailies - XBox
And funny how enemies always manage to find positions where they can kick us extra hard into our private parts, but our bloody companions only dance around like headless chickens that either pull more enemies to a fight or are dead set on not giving us Combat Advantage at all costs.
In a way it really feels like all mobs are constantly having CA without having to "work" for it, while a player has to speed around like a bullet for even getting a small window of CA in a fight...
Great post
> In this topic with excellent comments, it was necessary to mention the factor of a very important status when playing solo, which is control. If the targets have little chance of moving, they are unable to generate CA against you.
Hard to get when the CC has been nerfed to useless. Let me know when the mobs stand still for 6 seconds. Steal time is slightly better, but still not that great.
Lucky to freeze 1 minion.
Rangers roots work great, but I heard they were having issues.
It’s a mess
Something that has annoyed me quite a lot when I have played from Tank is that I see a lot of CW using ST build against crowd and this includes the use of Repel, which makes me furious since as Tank my job is to pick up and maintain the aggro and generate combat advantage, not least because my tank has to have this active status to give some damage , then when he uses this power a mob always goes after me causing me to take more damage and undo all the work I've had. Not to mention wizard has CA at the fort, which makes it a bland joke to me.
But in this game it is complicated because the players are mostly casual and have almost no perspective of anything other than just damage.
> Control has utilities in all classes and not only in wizard. I use Roar and Not So Fast on my GWF as build aoe. The targets don't have to stand still for an eternity, but only long enough for me to kill a part and not be surrounded. That's my perspective on this problem since I don't see the game as a competition.
>
> Something that has annoyed me quite a lot when I have played from Tank is that I see a lot of CW using ST build against crowd and this includes the use of Repel, which makes me furious since as Tank my job is to pick up and maintain the aggro and generate combat advantage, not least because my tank has to have this active status to give some damage , then when he uses this power a mob always goes after me causing me to take more damage and undo all the work I've had. Not to mention wizard has CA at the fort, which makes it a bland joke to me.
>
> But in this game it is complicated because the players are mostly casual and have almost no perspective of anything other than just damage.
If a CW is using repel it’s usually to get the Ad off of them.
My main is a GF, I don’t do damage, I just keep the Agro so the DPS can. I don’t try to control mobs as they over run and kill quickly. Tanks crab walk slowly and if you don’t have decent dps orCC you’re toast.
My wizard has two cc that work, yes steal time is one of them.
Hopefully you arnt dead by the time it goes off and that enough of the mobs get hit.
For icy terrain to work, they have to be on it for 6 seconds.
If they want us to go back to old mechanics, give us the tools back to do so.