To all you people soloing stuff....

[bmw]

I have just recently returned from a three year hiatus and not a lot of soloing was going on back then compared to the posts I see now. So I'm curious.....

1. Are you soloing raids or Quests or both?
2. Are you doing this at your max level of 20 and going into lower level quests and raids or level appropriate quests and raids?
3. Are you using Hirelings?
4. Im sure certain toons are better for this than others so what is the prefered class or classes to accomplish this?

Just wondering how this is done.

[FuzzyDuck81]

A couple of the most effective solo builds:

Warforged wizard 18/rogue 2 - 1st level rogue, then 2nd rogue level at level 8 or 9, just dump DEX & make sure to take Insightful Reflexes feat.. you get evasion, plenty of trap skills, self-healing & spellcasting capability, and once you have a few levels (ie Firewall) you'll be able to solo many quests in the approximate appropriate level range

Favoured Soul - tons of SP, and theyre a divine spellcasting class that can fight pretty well & once you get to 20th level, you get damage reduction & unlimited SP-free use of one spell - sovereign host followers get CLW, very effective since metamagics will work on it and this is the class which has soloed VoD & other raids (just check the achievements forum)

Cleric (possibly with 2 or 3 level monk splash) - with the new Radiant Servant prestige line you can get plenty of burst & healing over time that doesnt require SP, meaning more to use on offensive casting.. mix in monk & if centered you'll get 2 points of extra wisdom to boost your DCs (at the cost of a bit of spell penetration) as well as a couple of extra feats.

[Zuldar]

1. Are you soloing raids or Quests or both?
2. Are you doing this at your max level of 20 and going into lower level quests and raids or level appropriate quests and raids?
3. Are you using Hirelings?
4. Im sure certain toons are better for this than others so what is the prefered class or classes to accomplish this?


1. Both
2. A bit of both, I did a lot of level appropriate quests while leveling, but since I'm capped now I'm doing stuff at 20.
3. Nope, I can take care of pretty much any buffs or healing I need, so a hireling would just bog me down.
4. I'm using a fvs myself, but in general the bigger your blue bar the easier time you'll have soloing.

[KillEveryone]

Reavers Fate on my Wiz I'll solo. Actually multi-boxing for a Head of Good Fortune for my Haggle bard but I'm the only real person that is actually doing anything and I'm parking my bard in the corner to die.

Multi-box with a character that has rogue skills. They are properly set up and geared so they can fight if I try something that didn't go as planned and I die on the one I'm running.

For quests that require a certain stat such as Tear for the WIS or INT rune or for the STR level, I'll bring along the necessary hireling.

Higher level stuff tends to go a bit quicker with other players provided they have not used CON as a dump stat. I don't mind people not knowing the quest because we were all new once and I can even accept odd builds and I don't mind people dying because we all occasionally die. I do mind the ranged ranger that doesn't put away the bow or anyone that dies because they used CON as a dump stat.

[Kriogen]

1. Whatever I can
2. Whatever I can
3. Only for pulling levers
4. The most effective char I have, for solo from 1-20, is WF Wizard17/Rogue2/Fighter1. But any build that can do damage and can selfheal good will do.

I don't solo only. I do what I can and take what I get.

[Draccus]

Dungeon Scaling has opened up a LOT of soloing potential that didn't exist when you originally played.

Anyone with some sort of self healing can solo. And with cleric hirelings, everyone has some sort of self healing!

Obviously, the difficulty of quests/raids you can solo depends a lot on your class, build, and gear but everyone can find something to solo.

Soloing the toughest stuff in the game is made far, far easier by having the ability to quickly self heal, the ability to damage while doing something else (like healing yourself), and the ability to control crowds.

Knowing that, WF arcanes are ridiculously good soloists. Being able to do 100-200 hp of damage every few seconds to dozens of mobs at a time while full healing yourself with a single button makes it easy (and completely overpowered, but that's a different discussion).

FvS and Clerics have similar advantages with BB and the Heal spell but it's not, imo, as powerful as the WF caster. It's close, but not as good.

[Phidius]

...1. Are you soloing raids or Quests or both?...
Both, but mostly quests.

...2. Are you doing this at your max level of 20 and going into lower level quests and raids or level appropriate quests and raids?...
Normally running quests 1-3 levels lower, as it's important to conserve higher level quests so you don't run out of gas at level 15+.

I normally start soloing the Reaver at level 14, though.

...3. Are you using Hirelings?...
Just for those quests with levers that 1 person can't hit.

...4. Im sure certain toons are better for this than others so what is the prefered class or classes to accomplish this?...
I prefer arcane WF, clerics, and FvS... but it's just a preference. A lot of soloing can be done by any class with sufficient resources and planning.

[Thelmallen]

I finally decided to copy Precious (Phidius) and TR'd my drow sorc into a WF wiz/rog and have found that to be the best soloable build by far. That is once you get through the early levels as until about lvl 4 or 5 I just cast master's touch and DPS'd everything. Try to solo quests one level below your current on normal, two levels below on hard, etc as you don't take an XP penalty doing it that way.

[bmw]

Thanks for the replies so far.

Back when I left PUG'ing was really a hassle and getting groups were few and far between especially if you were new to the dungeon. It basically became a zergfest when you did get into one. Groups were always healer dependent and fell apart when the healer bailed due to impatience with the zerger or other who died constantly. Also the server population wore thin after a while.

It seems several issues have been done to help. I found out the servers merged which i'm sure helped the population. Hirelings while not ideal at least give you a chance to fill groups that are short or if you want to solo.

I like the prospects of soloing when I don't have time for a group but I do like the grouping aspect. Hopefully all the soloing that people keep mentioning don't put a damper on people looking for a group.

So far I'm having fun starting over even though i'm only level 3 and still in the starter area but it looks like the work they did helped the game a bit.

[Loromir]

I solo with a FVS or Cleric Hireling. As of update 7, the divine hirelings have gotten too good. IMO, the hireling Clerics and FVS are just as good as your avg divine PC (Note...I said Average). Obviously a good player can outperform a hireling.

They will heal you, cure disease, remove curse, remove blindness, and remove paralysis without a second thought. They tend to maintain their mana much longer than a real player can. The hireling FVS will cast their offensive spells without command from the player (At least that has been my experience).

The divine hirelings really need a nerf IMO. Now I don't use other hirelings, so I can't comment on them. But, basically, the hirelings have made it very easy to solo.

[tunabomber]

I have just recently returned from a three year hiatus and not a lot of soloing was going on back then compared to the posts I see now. So I'm curious.....

1. Are you soloing raids or Quests or both?
2. Are you doing this at your max level of 20 and going into lower level quests and raids or level appropriate quests and raids?
3. Are you using Hirelings?
4. Im sure certain toons are better for this than others so what is the prefered class or classes to accomplish this?

Just wondering how this is done.

I just solo what all the folks wana take an hour waitin for a healer,they even do that for the easiest quests in the game,theres betetr things to do than wait around,lower level stuff should be soloable for any char class,higher level stuff works better with self healing but can still be done without.

[Thelmallen]

Thanks for the replies so far.

Back when I left PUG'ing was really a hassle and getting groups were few and far between especially if you were new to the dungeon. It basically became a zergfest when you did get into one. Groups were always healer dependent and fell apart when the healer bailed due to impatience with the zerger or other who died constantly. Also the server population wore thin after a while.

It seems several issues have been done to help. I found out the servers merged which i'm sure helped the population. Hirelings while not ideal at least give you a chance to fill groups that are short or if you want to solo.

I like the prospects of soloing when I don't have time for a group but I do like the grouping aspect. Hopefully all the soloing that people keep mentioning don't put a damper on people looking for a group.

So far I'm having fun starting over even though i'm only level 3 and still in the starter area but it looks like the work they did helped the game a bit.

Dungeon scaling really breathed some life into this game and I'm sure you'll find it much more fun than back in the old days. Also, they've put a lot of thought into the loot that you can get in those low level areas that have helped keep people in the game. Remember when you wouldn't start pulling a +1 weapon until you were level 5 and were in dire need for something with a little more oomph? And of course you'll finally pull the +1 flaming longsword at lvl 10 when what you really needed at that level was a flaming burst of pure good. The item sets you can find in Korthos are really useful and some of the newer content like Red Fens has fantastic stuff available.

Good luck!

[bmw]

While its not my intention to solo as much as possible as I still like the group aspect, I will solo when I don't have the time to get into a group. I found a build that seems to be popular for both solo and group play that I'm following. Its Impaqt's Favored Soul build found here: http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=243539

[Samadhi]

I have just recently returned from a three year hiatus and not a lot of soloing was going on back then compared to the posts I see now. So I'm curious.....

1. Are you soloing raids or Quests or both?
2. Are you doing this at your max level of 20 and going into lower level quests and raids or level appropriate quests and raids?
3. Are you using Hirelings?
4. Im sure certain toons are better for this than others so what is the prefered class or classes to accomplish this?

Just wondering how this is done.

1. Mostly quests for leveling purposes. New raid mechanics make soloing raids kind of pointless.
2. Level appropriate
3. No
4. Thanks to dungeon scaling, any class for Normal will generally work. Otherwise see other posts.

[fuzzy1guy]

I have just recently returned from a three year hiatus and not a lot of soloing was going on back then compared to the posts I see now. So I'm curious.....

1. Are you soloing raids or Quests or both?
2. Are you doing this at your max level of 20 and going into lower level quests and raids or level appropriate quests and raids?
3. Are you using Hirelings?
4. Im sure certain toons are better for this than others so what is the prefered class or classes to accomplish this?

Just wondering how this is done.

1. Both
2. At level and higher level quests for xp and speed/time.
3. Only if i need a lever pulled. Or theres a REAL risk of instant death and i'll want a rez.
4. Anything capable of real self healing. Pots and wands don't cut it.

[Bogenbroom]

I have just recently returned from a three year hiatus and not a lot of soloing was going on back then compared to the posts I see now. So I'm curious.....

1. Are you soloing raids or Quests or both?
2. Are you doing this at your max level of 20 and going into lower level quests and raids or level appropriate quests and raids?
3. Are you using Hirelings?
4. Im sure certain toons are better for this than others so what is the prefered class or classes to accomplish this?

Just wondering how this is done.

1) I solo quests, but I'm certain I could do some of the raids... just haven't.
2) While I will solo for favor, I more solo to level, so mostly I'm doing quests that are +1 to -3.
3) Yes, extensively.
4) I will use either casters or divines. A pure caster who can self heal (even with UMD) can do the job. My favorite, though, is a pale master with 2 lvls of monk. Currently lvl 17.

I should also note that I often multi-box, so it isn't true soloing, but for all intents and purposes I am playing 1 character and piking 2 (other than buffing and switching off when one runs down on SP.) One thing that lets me do is run with 3 hirelings and 3 caster hirelings, if parked, and stuff is dragged back to them, can be quite devastating.