Greetings.
As much as I like grouping from time to time to kill big bad mobs and loot great shiny booty, soloing still takes a good portion of our game time. What's more, I think that soloing can and should be an integral part of our gameplay and it shouldn't be discouraged, because we have different needs, short- and long-term. Yet, the focus on grouping discourages people to keep playing, if they can't find a group.
Why? Let's take a look:
- after you hit 1-2x40, you need to find groups to pop most eq for 2-4x40
- there are group exp bonuses, while soloing is actually a disadvantage on its own
- t2-t3 gems load only in groups
- kill history is a disvantage to soloers, than groups, because soloers have less areas to hit for their class.
Examples:
1.Eq
- a -0.3 ring is easy to get, but the next -0.4 ring is on a 7mil that takes a group or a 5x40 to kill
-chinchilla boots are 2x40 that 2x40s can't solo. A group or a 7x40 is required.
- a -0.7 warrior prime neck is on a 7-9mil mob in Crypt. A -0.7 non-prme cloak is on a 21mil group mob. An alternative, a cloak of shimmering colors, is on a 20mil mob.
Other ways to get a -0.6 neck:
- -0.6 -mr, on a 40mil mob (used to be 6-9mil) - admittedly, the only -0.6 neck for 20wa
- dragonscale cloaks, on 10m+ mobs
- Sir Galden - a mob that a 1x40 warrior can't solo
- a necklace of hooves: a 15mil+ mob in DWeb
- the only soloable alternative is the enslaved ogre smith.
It's not impossible, but good luck for a warrior to try all the mobs before ending up at the ogre blacksmith
Mana belts:
- most belts are 5-7 mana and aren't soloable, even with the weakest stats (with the exception of the fiery sash)
- a 10ma belt, sub30ma restricted,is on a 4mil mob that a 2x40 mage can't solo, unless he has -10ac
- the next big thing, the sparkling emerald belt, is on a group mob and there's a +15ma belt in hellwell, too.
In short, as a new player, you need to know the mobs like the back of your hand to pop them - if you are lucky. Or you need to rely on others and group.
2. When soloing, you deal one-man damage and have higher chances of corpsing. When grouping, you can kill harder mobs easier. An obvious difference. And yet, the exp bonuses are for groups.
3. Same goes for gems. You can only pop t1s solo, even if you hit 20-30mil mobs for eq.
4. While there are many areas for players to solo into, groups can still cover many more areas, thanks to their versatility and survivability. They pick areas mostly by exp/hr, not whether they'll survive big ones (unless the group is reasonably small).
So, you are moved to group. Even if there are few groups or if you really don't want to group, leaving you gold grinding as the only option to get eq that people pop.
So, what I propose:
- add or move plain intermediate 1-2x40 eq to mobs, soloable by 1-2x40 of respective classes
- reduce kill history % for solo
- allow t2s and t3s load solo, following the same chance there is in groups (i.e., lesser chance, than in groups, thanks to the number of group members: 1, and less chance, given that ppl solo smaller mobs).
I don't know how to solve the exp difference w/o removing exp bonuses for groups, so let's leave it at that for now.
I'm bringing this up for discussion, because I can only see how I feel when soloing, and that lots of new players leave, possibly due to lack of progress or groups (playerbase). Yet, maybe isn't how you feel and that everyone comes here for company.
So, if you want to discuss, answer the following questions:
- is it reasonably comfortable for new 1-2x40 players to progress with eq?
- do you feel a disadvantage, when soloing at 21-2x40?
- do you prefer to solo or to group, why?
- would any of the suggested solutions help you solo?
Thanks.