Are solo players getting the hint?

damsel1988 · May 2015

I get the feeling that the game is trying to give us a hint that they don't really want solo players any longer. I am struggling to get to lvl 70 and am now 65, however wherever I look are the heroic areas and as a solo player there is really no area you CAN play.

Or you will be playing a bit and next thing the area switches to heroic and you get killed anyway. I sit and wait for like 15 minutes for the heroic event to be over, only to find that a minute or so later a new heroic event starts there. (not only is it bad enough that you have to do quests of "kill 40 of this" kill 40 of that"!)

Is it getting any better next levels or is this how the game now goes, group or die? or die of boredom killing 40 of something.

suicidalgodot · May 2015

Heroics simply are not meant to be tackled solo. End of story.

Wait until somebody else (or more people for larger HEs) arrive. Then tackle the HE with that ad hoc group. That's the plan, the idea, and currently the only way for 98+ percent of players/characters. And this is not a design flaw, IMHO, but really WAI, it had been underperforming before Mod 6, and flawed then. You don't need to party up for that, it helps, but it's completely sufficient to just participate. Also, apart from that one daily Heroic Encounter in IwD it's completely optional to participate in HEs.

lirithiel · May 2015

Aye you should not be tackling heroic encounters on your own in Mod 6. They were always meant to be group content. Mechanics in previous mods made it totally possible but not anymore. Once you are lvl 70 and geared you will have less problems doing your dailies solo.

naicalus · May 2015

I think they're referring to the possibility in certain areas for vigilance quests to become impossible when certain HEs are on the map - The one for the giant scorpion in Firey Pit, for example, prevents you from getting geyser samples when it's up. Killing Slaad in Reclamation becomes difficult when the nearly always up major HE in their area turns all of them there unkillable by a solo player(and there are never enough people there to tackle the HE), leaving only a tiny area with no more than six at a time elsewhere on the map to try to farm those 40 kills.

Spinward has a similarly interfering HE by the Slaad in Windcall Temple, but it's less a mess and more an irritant, and not as irritating as the tendency of the quest itself to bug and stop giving your credit for slaad after two or three groups of them.

You can of course try to change instances, but there's no guarantee you won't get another instance where the HE is still up but with even more time remaining.

silverkelt · May 2015

Well that area with the slaads, you can do if you just are careful.

I agree the fiery pit one is stupid design.. but SO isnt putting HEs in the leveling zones.. wasnt needed.

lirithiel · May 2015

naicalus wrote: »

I think they're referring to the possibility in certain areas for vigilance quests to become impossible when certain HEs are on the map - The one for the giant scorpion in Firey Pit, for example, prevents you from getting geyser samples when it's up. Killing Slaad in Reclamation becomes difficult when the nearly always up major HE in their area turns all of them there unkillable by a solo player(and there are never enough people there to tackle the HE), leaving only a tiny area with no more than six at a time elsewhere on the map to try to farm those 40 kills.

Spinward has a similarly interfering HE by the Slaad in Windcall Temple, but it's less a mess and more an irritant, and not as irritating as the tendency of the quest itself to bug and stop giving your credit for slaad after two or three groups of them.

You can of course try to change instances, but there's no guarantee you won't get another instance where the HE is still up but with even more time remaining.

Can be solved with one post in zone asking for an instance where those encounters aren't up.

naicalus · May 2015

lirithiel wrote: »

Can be solved with one post in zone asking for an instance where those encounters aren't up.

If people are even paying attention. There's frequently either nobody or people spamming looking for other people for instanced quests. It's not a perfect solution at all.

And the point remains that they really shouldn't have designed it that way in the first place. :P

blackxxwolf3 · May 2015

naicalus wrote: »

I think they're referring to the possibility in certain areas for vigilance quests to become impossible when certain HEs are on the map - The one for the giant scorpion in Firey Pit, for example, prevents you from getting geyser samples when it's up. Killing Slaad in Reclamation becomes difficult when the nearly always up major HE in their area turns all of them there unkillable by a solo player(and there are never enough people there to tackle the HE), leaving only a tiny area with no more than six at a time elsewhere on the map to try to farm those 40 kills.

Spinward has a similarly interfering HE by the Slaad in Windcall Temple, but it's less a mess and more an irritant, and not as irritating as the tendency of the quest itself to bug and stop giving your credit for slaad after two or three groups of them.

You can of course try to change instances, but there's no guarantee you won't get another instance where the HE is still up but with even more time remaining.

me and a random gwf did the slaad heroic encounter just us 2. it was hard fun and we were both undergeared with no enchants and just blues of our level. it was amazing.but the scorpion i have yet to see completed by any size group.

silverkelt · May 2015

blackxxwolf3 wrote: »

me and a random gwf did the slaad heroic encounter just us 2. it was hard fun and we were both undergeared with no enchants and just blues of our level. it was amazing.but the scorpion i have yet to see completed by any size group.

I did the scorp one once, you need healer/tank to drag to active springs.

Its the only way to do it and it takes some time and you need about 5-6 actives really above that.

And.... AND its not worth the time. Which is what the real discussion should be, there IS zero reason to do these hes.

Unknown · May 2015

This content has been removed.

hustin1 · May 2015

Even without nearby HE's, some "solo" quests are unreasonably hard. Case in point: Nimbus Tower. That is just a travesty.

plasticbat · May 2015

The HE is not meant to be solo as mentioned. That is why it states how many players are recommended to tackle with that. And HE is optional in the new area. You don't have to pick the HE quest.

My GWF only does solo (so far). Never party with anyone (except doing HE with a group of people happens to be there) in the new area. He only wore (and is still wearing) blue (the level 61 WoD set) and mod 6 new green. Mod 5 AE, no mod 6 main hand or off hand at that time. Did he die? Yes. A lot? No. Only a few times? No.

He finished new area including Nimbus Tower by himself (only one try) except HE stuff.

Killed the scorpion in Fire pit once with a group of people.

However, I can imagine there is problem for new players who were not in mod 5 and did not obtain certain gear such as mod 5 AE and level 61 set from WoD.

I did not bite the bullet to get the level 61 set to replace the AoW set until my GWF was level 67. That was the time I decided "Need for Health".

instynctive · May 2015

If you're finding yourself getting wiped out, perhaps you just shouldn't be there, regardless if you were the one doing the wiping before Mod 6.

It took some time, but I'm back up to almost where I was pre-Mod 6 on both my main characters.. my GWF handles WoD just fine, and my DC can handle it, but struggles. That's exactly where I was before Mod 6.

Please understand that I'm not telling anyone to l2p or do anything really different... but if an area is too hard, seriously, do something else. It's like the parable where the guy goes to his doctor and says "doc, it hurts when I do this", and the doctor says "then stop doing that."

beckylunatic · May 2015

hustin1 wrote: »

Even without nearby HE's, some "solo" quests are unreasonably hard. Case in point: Nimbus Tower. That is just a travesty.

Soloed with some challenge with TR, CW, DC, and very easily with two different GWFs (because GWF is apparently my version of ezmode). Didn't bother trying with GF, HR (he struggled a lot with Cult Barracks), or SW. Cloud Giants are jerks.

I have since respecced the SW and might be able to do it now.

Edit: And for the record, I don't have equipment better than Eternal armors. I'm wearing old artifact belts/necks if I have them. Rings are the Dragonslayer one since it scales to 70 and whichever green one from quests has needed stats. Artifacts are all purple, the TR has an orange DC sigil. All my enchants are rank 7 or better though.

fantasycharacter · May 2015

instynctive wrote: »

If you're finding yourself getting wiped out, perhaps you just shouldn't be there, regardless if you were the one doing the wiping before Mod 6.

It took some time, but I'm back up to almost where I was pre-Mod 6 on both my main characters.. my GWF handles WoD just fine, and my DC can handle it, but struggles. That's exactly where I was before Mod 6.

Please understand that I'm not telling anyone to l2p or do anything really different... but if an area is too hard, seriously, do something else. It's like the parable where the guy goes to his doctor and says "doc, it hurts when I do this", and the doctor says "then stop doing that."

That is a joke not a parable.

If something hurts you get it looked at, diagnosed and treated...or you ignore it (just don't move that way) and possibly die.

drkbodhi · May 2015

lirithiel wrote: »

Aye you should not be tackling heroic encounters on your own in Mod 6. They were always meant to be group content. Mechanics in previous mods made it totally possible but not anymore. Once you are lvl 70 and geared you will have less problems doing your dailies solo.

What do you consider geared? My TR is 2.2k and 2 days away from a full Burning Executioner set. I have 3 blue Alliance pieces and one Elemental Alliance purple... for PvE.

-but-

I have had a discussion with some of my guildies, regarding what res they see as easiest for dailies. I think that Shar is the easiest when others feel that DR is way easier than Shar. We all feel that WoD is 2 people minimum as is most of IWD... depending on class of course.

beckylunatic · May 2015

drkbodhi wrote: »

I have had a discussion with some of my guildies, regarding what res they see as easiest for dailies. I think that Shar is the easiest when others feel that DR is way easier than Shar. We all feel that WoD is 2 people minimum as is most of IWD... depending on class of course.

I felt DR mobs were overall less challenging than Shar mobs at their initial launch because they lack the mechanics, and this remains true in spite of a level difference. Some DR mobs have control powers, but there are no healers, the only AP-drainer is rare and slow to activate, and everything is easy to dodge. Redcaps and Fomorians are just plain more interesting than Thayans.

WoD and IWD, you're getting into areas where everything has a big damage buff against you due to being 3 levels higher. Very much proceed with caution.

On a somewhat related note, what makes Cloud Giants such a pain in the <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> (IMO, of course) is that the devs mashed their powers together from the Cyclops Stormshaman (teleport and lightning pirouette), Ogre (club knockback), and Ice Troll (thrown explosion). All of these are easy enough to counter on their own, but in one creature, that usually has friends to deal with as well, there is little margin for error. I'm not saying that there needs to be margin for error, only that the player needs to be aware.

plasticbat · May 2015

drkbodhi wrote: »

I have had a discussion with some of my guildies, regarding what res they see as easiest for dailies. I think that Shar is the easiest when others feel that DR is way easier than Shar. We all feel that WoD is 2 people minimum as is most of IWD... depending on class of course.

The easiest one is ToD.

silverkelt · May 2015

tod is the most time consuming though.. as doing 5 zones a day and running around to each dragon, is.. well time consuming, more then the sharandar and dread ring, I can do those easily in 15 mins apeice (30 mins) a day even now with a fresh 70 with no other boons. They are not hard and you can easily gear to 1.8-2k with just ah blues and r7s.

Doesnt mean you shouldnt do them.. but If I was going to do anything quickly I always start with dread ring and sharandar

twilightwatchman · May 2015

hustin1 wrote: »

Even without nearby HE's, some "solo" quests are unreasonably hard. Case in point: Nimbus Tower. That is just a travesty.

Nimbus Tower is a cakewalk for a Protector OP. And herein lies one of the problems - the content does not have balanced difficulty across classes.

damsel1988 · May 2015

The point was actually that you come home from work to play the game for a few hours. However, you sit there waiting for the Heroic Areas to end so you can do you quests. No friends are on because it is a different time to them. So you sit and wait for all the Heroic areas to end so you can do your 'normal' dailies.
It is not a case of being able/not able to do certain Heroics by yourself, I mean that's not meant to be done, and it is not a matter of your armor/weapons.

It is simply a matter of a solo person daring to venture into Neverwinter and spending their time waiting for Heroics to end so you can play. (changing instances does not work, in fact, they should have created one instance where there are no heroics). Most areas have Heroics back to back, like three or four in same area.

So group players who hate/can't do anything on their own, love the game like it is. They already look for a group to kill one mob in level 1. But there ARE solo type players who like the company to group sometimes, but in general are happy about the challenge to master things solo. Cut out the solo part is cutting off a large segment of NW fans. If that is the intention, then so be it and we'll get the message

beckylunatic · May 2015

The only HE that I've noticed making part of the map 100% inaccessible is Emberclaw, and since the geysers are an integral part of that HE's mechanics, he's not getting moved. Everything else can be skirted. Cornered by Crabs doesn't block the beach. All the objectives are out in the water outside the aggro radius of the heroic crabbies. Just don't be dumb enough to try to run right through the middle of it and you'll be fine.

Can I point out that the Geyser Samples quest is the *only* Mushroom Gardens task available in that particular quest rotation and is therefore usually going to be a waste of your time to pick up at all unless it's convenient to do at that exact moment? Ok? Everything else available at that time sends you to the Crystals half of the map instead. Likewise, there's one Crystals quest that rotates in at the same time as the Mushroom set.

Also, if you're getting offered an elemental aggregate or unified element reward for a quest, that reward appears to stick until whenever you do the quest. The rewards don't seem to be randomized until you've done a quest and it rolls you a new reward.

I personally wish there were more incentive for doing some of these new heroic encounters because some of them are really neat, but since I can solo 90% of them in the Drowned Shore, there's little reason to hope that there are people doing the more challenging ones anywhere.

cheesegromit · May 2015

twilightwatchman wrote: »

Nimbus Tower is a cakewalk for a Protector OP. And herein lies one of the problems - the content does not have balanced difficulty across classes.

I've not tried Nimbus Tower but your comment reflects my overall experience. I've had few problems in any solo content with characters that can tank or have good control powers, i.e. can take or avoid damage. My damage dealers, particularly the ranged ones have struggled. My healers haven't faired well either but I've not played them much.

micky1p00 · May 2015

damsel1988 wrote: »

The point was actually that you come home from work to play the game for a few hours. However, you sit there waiting for the Heroic Areas to end so you can do you quests. No friends are on because it is a different time to them. So you sit and wait for all the Heroic areas to end so you can do your 'normal' dailies.
It is not a case of being able/not able to do certain Heroics by yourself, I mean that's not meant to be done, and it is not a matter of your armor/weapons.

It is simply a matter of a solo person daring to venture into Neverwinter and spending their time waiting for Heroics to end so you can play. (changing instances does not work, in fact, they should have created one instance where there are no heroics). Most areas have Heroics back to back, like three or four in same area.

So group players who hate/can't do anything on their own, love the game like it is. They already look for a group to kill one mob in level 1. But there ARE solo type players who like the company to group sometimes, but in general are happy about the challenge to master things solo. Cut out the solo part is cutting off a large segment of NW fans. If that is the intention, then so be it and we'll get the message

Can you please clarify what are those heroics ?
I don't recall heroics that prevent progress in solo quests (the only one I can think of is the reputation in IWD) and yet, it's soloable and part of a quest and not something that interferes with the quests.
As was said, the vigilance quests come in large batches and you can get more as soon as you return the finished. Also you can pick the zones and quests from a pool so there shouldn't be anything that prevents doing those if you have a problem with some.
If you took a quest you do not like, just discard it and get another instead.

suicidalgodot · May 2015

twilightwatchman wrote: »

Nimbus Tower is a cakewalk for a Protector OP. And herein lies one of the problems - the content does not have balanced difficulty across classes.

Absolutely.

And with the upped difficulty came no accordingly balanced rewards, but quite the opposite.

caewin · May 2015

micky1p00 wrote: »

Can you please clarify what are those heroics ?
I don't recall heroics that prevent progress in solo quests (the only one I can think of is the reputation in IWD) and yet, it's soloable and part of a quest and not something that interferes with the quests.
As was said, the vigilance quests come in large batches and you can get more as soon as you return the finished. Also you can pick the zones and quests from a pool so there shouldn't be anything that prevents doing those if you have a problem with some.
If you took a quest you do not like, just discard it and get another instead.

Spinward Rise. Anything near the glider towers, the Kenku camp, and the balloon docks with that quest to kill that one guy (specific, I know, "one guy"). I've gone straight through, I've gone diagonally, and yesterday I tried going completely around the edge, which worked great until I ran into two Owlbears, a treasure chest, and a dead end. There's no warning. I'm not getting "Heroic Encounter: X, Y, Z", or anything tell-tale on my mini-map. I'm very suddenly going from not dead to very dead. And as far as I can tell -- seriously, please point out what I'm missing if this is incorrect -- the first set of vigilance quests in SR are either heroic encounters or all on that particular earth mote. It doesn't seem to matter how stealthy you are, how long you can keep something dazed, how great your gear is, whatever. As soon as an HE starts on your head, show's over.

So group players who hate/can't do anything on their own, love the game like it is. They already look for a group to kill one mob in level 1. But there ARE solo type players who like the company to group sometimes, but in general are happy about the challenge to master things solo. Cut out the solo part is cutting off a large segment of NW fans. If that is the intention, then so be it and we'll get the message

+1 to this. Exactly.

micky1p00 · May 2015

I think you are just dying, not to any HE.
But just to mobs, iirc the first area have the HE in the middle, near the auren tome marker, and near the bird tents. But I will check later.

Most of the quests are not HE, kill the bird dude, pick up stuff, blow airship baloons, Auren tome, find eggs, find gear in bird tents. Those are from memory and I did it during double XP.

If indeed you are dying from the mobs, try using a non-augment companion, something to take the first strikes. This will give you time to attack and CC, also the companions self resurrect even in combat so if the fight prolongs, dodge few times until the companion up, and you are good to go round two.

Also this is not mod5 pull/agro carefully, for example in the birds eggs / egg nest quests do not dive on the groups, they most likely swarm you and kill you. Focus one, pull if you can, let the companion tank.

I don't know what class you are but I did it with Erinyes and swash, focusing on the kill mini-boss quests (faster than collect X stuff) and actually did most of the HEs if there were 2-3 more people around. (except the big one near the village, mithril something, it was bugged back then and very lagy)

senteriono · May 2015

damsel1988 wrote: »

The point was actually that you come home from work to play the game for a few hours. However, you sit there waiting for the Heroic Areas to end so you can do you quests. No friends are on because it is a different time to them. So you sit and wait for all the Heroic areas to end so you can do your 'normal' dailies.
It is not a case of being able/not able to do certain Heroics by yourself, I mean that's not meant to be done, and it is not a matter of your armor/weapons.

It is simply a matter of a solo person daring to venture into Neverwinter and spending their time waiting for Heroics to end so you can play. (changing instances does not work, in fact, they should have created one instance where there are no heroics). Most areas have Heroics back to back, like three or four in same area.

So group players who hate/can't do anything on their own, love the game like it is. They already look for a group to kill one mob in level 1. But there ARE solo type players who like the company to group sometimes, but in general are happy about the challenge to master things solo. Cut out the solo part is cutting off a large segment of NW fans. If that is the intention, then so be it and we'll get the message

But what u want isn't challenging solo u want mod 5 where everything was ez and my 2 year old kid could do it.

k3ll0 · May 2015

senteriono wrote: »

But what u want isn't challenging solo u want mod 5 where everything was ez and my 2 year old kid could do it.

You sure showed that strawman who's boss.

Unknown · May 2015

This content has been removed.

burkaanc · May 2015

you can do about all solo content solo, there are some classes with issues but for most it is doable

Are solo players getting the hint?

Comments