Soloing normal gives lots of xp?

[CircleK]

Hey I have a lot of very solo capable characters, a level 7 tempest, a level 7 fvs, a level 11 arti, a level 16 sorc.

I feel though, as if, they can't solo anymore without DYING at some point in a quest.

See, normally I try to avoid normal difficulty because I don't feel it gives enough xp.

Would I level up much faster if I just soloed everything normal?

Because, none of my characters have leveled in a very very very long time and I feel like I am being left in the dust.

I have a level 19 fighter who has been level 19 for eons.

My level 7 ranger used to solo very easily but now it seems he's just not powerful enough.

So, should I just solo quests on normal? Will that level me much faster than doing a few quests on elite and then stopping altogether?

And since there are so many solo elitists, I can never ever find a group.

[Dwarfo]

Yes, getting some exp + some exp + some exp adds up to more than dying on elite difficulty over and over.

Or you could put up/join a PUG.

[varusso]

Hey I have a lot of very solo capable characters, a level 7 tempest, a level 7 fvs, a level 11 arti, a level 16 sorc.

I feel though, as if, they can't solo anymore without DYING at some point in a quest.

See, normally I try to avoid normal difficulty because I don't feel it gives enough xp.

Would I level up much faster if I just soloed everything normal?

Because, none of my characters have leveled in a very very very long time and I feel like I am being left in the dust.

I have a level 19 fighter who has been level 19 for eons.

My level 7 ranger used to solo very easily but now it seems he's just not powerful enough.

So, should I just solo quests on normal? Will that level me much faster than doing a few quests on elite and then stopping altogether?

And since there are so many solo elitists, I can never ever find a group.

Solo it on the hardest dif you can do in a reasonable amount of time. Hard/Elite provide Streak bonuses, so if you can handle them without dying or taking much longer, its worth it. Dungeon Scaling actually works in your favor here, often making Elite solo as easy as Hard grouped.

If you are in a group that is constantly dying trying to keep an Elite streak going, it mostly negates the whole point of doing it. Most quests are ridiculously easy when soloing, even on elite.

[RandomKeypress]

The thing to bear in mind is exp / min, not just exp. You go through quests much quicker on normal. Time yourself doing a quest you're familiar with - do a run on normal, hard and elite. Compare the exp and see if the BB is really worth it.

If you have specific problems soloing, ask in the forums or check out the very helpful youtube vids that show others doing solo runs. The soloers on the vids tend to be very well specced, but you can still learn a lot from their techniques.

Soloing is harder at higher levels, particularly for a non-raid geared first-life fighter, but a nice healer hireling and a little patience should see you through.

[CircleK]

Thanks for info but this raises more questions.


What is a PUG exactly? I know it stands for Pick-Up Group but I don't understand how it differs from regular groups.


And what is dungeon scaling and how do I access it?

[phillymiket]

Thanks for info but this raises more questions.


What is a PUG exactly? I know it stands for Pick-Up Group but I don't understand how it differs from regular groups.


And what is dungeon scaling and how do I access it?

A PUG is the counter part to a static group (RL friends or guildies).
It's a group that gets together for a few quests but doesn't really know each other.

To address your OP.

Norm is fine.

You will reach cap.

I was just playing a 1st life rogue a little bit ago and was struggling with higher difficulties (I'm really bad at rogues).
Then I realized there is plenty of XP.
I'd have more fun and level faster at a lower setting.

As far a being left in the dust; there is no dust.
New players join the game all the time.
Some people are really fast, others slow.
There will always be people more advanced then you and people who have done less.

Play at a level that provides the most fun.

Soon that level will seem too easy and you will naturally move up.
.

[CircleK]

Norm is fine? That's new....lol.


I always thought I'd reach cap faster if I soloed/grouped only elite or hard quests....but I'm gonna be honest now doing that simply isn't easy and it's actually a pain to do. I don't think I've actually HAD FUN playing ddo in a while....and I've been playing for over 2 years and I've never ever capped a character. Ever. And it makes me feel really insignificant when I see all other players capping in a few months, TRs. I think, "How do they do that?? No one can level that fast!" Then I realize, everyone does. It's basically me who doesn't level fast enough. Also, my friend Ryan who joined the game like 2 weeks ago leveled to 4 from 1 much faster than I ever did. And he hasn't played for over a week lol.


Normal diff has basically been the bane of DDO for me. Like, "Don't ever do normal, there's no xp to it, you will never reach cap anytime soon, only do hard or elite."

But once again, what is dungeon scaling and how do you access it?

[Lleren]

Normal diff has basically been the bane of DDO for me. Like, "Don't ever do normal, there's no xp to it, you will never reach cap anytime soon, only do hard or elite."

I'm not sure where you got this. This may be the feeling in some PuGs since bravery bonus as it is quite helpful, but it only helps if you can actually complete in a reasonable amount of time.

Dungeon Scaling makes it easier to complete the quest when you have less people in the group, and happens automatically. A Hireling theoretically counts as less then 1 player, though not as nothing.

[HalfORCastrator]

Norm is fine? That's new....lol.


I always thought I'd reach cap faster if I soloed/grouped only elite or hard quests....but I'm gonna be honest now doing that simply isn't easy and it's actually a pain to do. I don't think I've actually HAD FUN playing ddo in a while....and I've been playing for over 2 years and I've never ever capped a character. Ever. And it makes me feel really insignificant when I see all other players capping in a few months, TRs. I think, "How do they do that?? No one can level that fast!" Then I realize, everyone does. It's basically me who doesn't level fast enough. Also, my friend Ryan who joined the game like 2 weeks ago leveled to 4 from 1 much faster than I ever did. And he hasn't played for over a week lol.


Normal diff has basically been the bane of DDO for me. Like, "Don't ever do normal, there's no xp to it, you will never reach cap anytime soon, only do hard or elite."

But once again, what is dungeon scaling and how do you access it?
How much do you play in a week, day? That might make up some of the difference.

People do that quick lvling by having a skilled, static group and/or farming the really high xp value quests, usually with well planned builds and definitely equipment. And like I said before, could also be the high amount of time they play daily.

Another thing to keep in mind is that certain classes lvl faster than others(generally casters are faster than melees).

Dungeon scaling is exactly what it sounds like, the stats of traps and mobs and number that spawn changes depending on the number of people in an instance.

[CircleK]

I play several hours every day. Like, 4 hours a day. And a few months ago, all those hours were simply logging on, thinking for long periods of time what quest to do, with a 90 percent chance to simply log out saying "Nothing to do," or a 10 percent chance attempting to solo a quest that gives decent xp and then dying.

And when you say casters level up faster, I simply HAVE to disagree. My level 16 sorcerer took forever just to do level 15-16. And every time he trys to solo a quest at level on like hard difficulty he runs out of sp and dies, or he goes through some sp pots and maybe even a siberys cake. Honestly my caster sucks at leveling and he's not gimped either. I can guarentee that. I got his build from a friend who is a veteran.

[MRMechMan]

Hard is a good medium. But normal is ONE HUNDRED PERCENT FINE if that is the difficulty that is fastest xp/min.

If the spit is hitting the fan too often on a certain difficulty it is almost certainly giving less xp/min.

The most important way to get xp fast is to be out there doing it more of the time you are in game.


Like, right now you are failing doing that as you are posting on the forums. So am I.

[Fecerak]

I have multiple capped toons, and play zerg a lot/do the best xp/min quests for my level most of the time, but I still usually just do normal. I feel like the increased time it takes to complete higher difficulties make it not worth it 90% of the time, even with the bravery bonus system here.

There are some exceptions, like shadow crypt, maraud the mines, etcetcetc. but I don't feel like it's worth having a bravery bonus just for a select few quests when it slows down my overall leveling, even if I don't die just to increased completion times in many quests.

If you are a geared to the teeth multiTR, and especially if you are in a group with other people like that then bravery is a lot quicker, but if you aren't I feel like normal offers a much better xp/min overall, with less stress and lower chance of failure.

[AidanRyuko]

Normal can be great to solo but look at the quest and xp ratio.

for example, the level two quest kobolds new ringleader is easy to solo on normal in two minutes for about 2k xp + opts, on level your characters level (7) the pit is perfectly soloable on normal within 20 minutes if you learn the quest.

But if you look at tear of dhakaan, it gives great xp because all the optionals easily give another 7k to your xp in the beginning, but you need at least enough str, wis and int to get all shards (can be done with 1 more player to fill up either str or int and a cleric hireling for wis), if you split up the quest can be done with full opts in 12-15 minutes and the xp will probably be more then 1k a minute in total.

Same goes for bloody crypt if you are p2p, you could solo it but it's not worth it, get at least 1 more person to take the other side of the dungeon AND to hold the instance so you can repeat it.

one more pro to repeating normal for xp is that you will learn details like monster and trap locations, don't underestimate this because it will make you a LOT more efficient, also in new groups. It's nice to have the gear necesary to survive things, but if you kill that nasty caster right away or jump over that spike trap instead of getting hit you will need less heals and you will complete the quest faster.

ps. if your arti is on argonessen I can level with you for a bit.

~aid

[Lleren]

I play several hours every day. Like, 4 hours a day. And a few months ago, all those hours were simply logging on, thinking for long periods of time what quest to do, with a 90 percent chance to simply log out saying "Nothing to do," or a 10 percent chance attempting to solo a quest that gives decent xp and then dying.


I've been at similar points before. Any exp is better then no exp. Once you know you can get exp you can start trying to get better exp :)

Seriously, if you don't know what to do, or can't decide, you can go do slayers until you see a group advertisement that you like. You don't have to go for the decent exp, you can just go for any, its even ok to level off of slayers. It may not be fast, but that doesn't matter when you're at the point you describe.

[nivarch]

And when you say casters level up faster, I simply HAVE to disagree. My level 16 sorcerer took forever just to do level 15-16. And every time he trys to solo a quest at level on like hard difficulty he runs out of sp and dies, or he goes through some sp pots and maybe even a siberys cake. Honestly my caster sucks at leveling and he's not gimped either. I can guarentee that. I got his build from a friend who is a veteran.

Not trying to be rude or anything, but if you have issues soloing with a level 15 sorc, and if you are sure the character is not gimp, then the issue is definitely with the way you are playing.

Sorcerers are overall the best solo class with FvS, and at 15 a well built sorc with proper gear should have absolutely no issue steamrolling quests on elite.

[Aurora1979]

Yea you have been lied to OP. You can easily cap on normal quests.

Plus if you are not dying, recalling, taking twice as long as you planned due to hit issues etc then you are making progress.

I know getting 40k exp in a 20 min run of monestry is great but in truth, unless you are part of a chat channel, guild or some sort of regular group running together then you won't get that sort of xp often.

I solo lots, I do elite until I'm struggling then go hard then drop to normal. For example, running from, level 18-20 can be a right pain its often easier for me to just run stuff on normal.

Kicking out SOME exp is better then waiting 30 mins for a group to fill, take 10 mins to get everyone out to the quest, lose 10% due to deaths and take 2x as long due to mob HPs etc.

[Nitesco]

Roll a healer and you will get into the best groups and hardly have to think or do anything.

[nivarch]

Roll a healer and you will get into the best groups and hardly have to think or do anything.

This is a common misconception.
Best groups don't need healers...

Divines on the other hand are great at soloing after level 11/12. BB and quickened heal is awesome.

[Nitesco]

This is a common misconception.
Best groups don't need healers...

The best groups don't put up LFM's. OP if you roll a healer your grouping troubles will be over. You will have your pick of good groups. You can focus on building more complex characters once the XP and loot is rolling in.

[Ryan220]

Not trying to be rude or anything, but if you have issues soloing with a level 15 sorc, and if you are sure the character is not gimp, then the issue is definitely with the way you are playing.

Sorcerers are overall the best solo class with FvS, and at 15 a well built sorc with proper gear should have absolutely no issue steamrolling quests on elite.

This ^^

It sounds like youve either built your Sorcerer poorly or you dont know how to run a Sorcerer solo.

You should be able to solo all <soloable> content on Norm without any trouble at all on a 1st life Sorcerer.

If you could post your build and your tactics, someone will be able to help.


Also, if Capping an alt is important to you then choose one and run nothing else till you cap. Spreading your questing across multiple toons really slows your levelling down (I have first hand experience with this issue, but as I have a few at Cap I run multiple alts for the variety)

[Lleren]

Here is a thread from back in the day which may benefit you.

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=214725

[Spoonwelder]

I think much of your levelling problems on your higher level characters is due to lack of quest knowledge....I know my first few passes through the game to cap took a long time (1 year for my first). I was playing other characters testing things, learning. Any quest the first time in it is very challenging.....knowing where is the beholder so you can swap to deathblock item, where is the ambush or trap or even how to pace yourself between shrines (on a caster).

Take your time and do normal as everyone said. Even experienced soloers usually gear down from elite to hard at some point due (usually just after GH for me) to how much slower elite becomes at higher levels.

That or join some groups....unless you have a chance of being pulled away at a moments notice, play with others and you can learn in a safer environment.

[CircleK]

The best groups don't put up LFM's. OP if you roll a healer your grouping troubles will be over. You will have your pick of good groups. You can focus on building more complex characters once the XP and loot is rolling in.

I'm sorry I have to disagree again I have a level 8 fvs. He always solos. I look on the social panel every single day and there is only this: byoh, it's a quest I don't like, its a favor group, or they're asking for something else. Usually it's just complex soloist Maximum DPS Heals Himself Always players just putting up an lfm and asking somebody to tag along and not die. My favored soul never finds groups, my fighter never finds groups, and my sorcerer is rarely even played on because of this. I have 1 friend though, who I quest with occasionally. But that's about it.

[CircleK]

I think much of your levelling problems on your higher level characters is due to lack of quest knowledge....I know my first few passes through the game to cap took a long time (1 year for my first). I was playing other characters testing things, learning. Any quest the first time in it is very challenging.....knowing where is the beholder so you can swap to deathblock item, where is the ambush or trap or even how to pace yourself between shrines (on a caster).

Take your time and do normal as everyone said. Even experienced soloers usually gear down from elite to hard at some point due (usually just after GH for me) to how much slower elite becomes at higher levels.

That or join some groups....unless you have a chance of being pulled away at a moments notice, play with others and you can learn in a safer environment.

It isn't lack of knowledge. I know all the quests, except for the new update ones and the amrath quests, I know all of them.

[CircleK]

This ^^

It sounds like youve either built your Sorcerer poorly or you dont know how to run a Sorcerer solo.

You should be able to solo all <soloable> content on Norm without any trouble at all on a 1st life Sorcerer.

If you could post your build and your tactics, someone will be able to help.


Also, if Capping an alt is important to you then choose one and run nothing else till you cap. Spreading your questing across multiple toons really slows your levelling down (I have first hand experience with this issue, but as I have a few at Cap I run multiple alts for the variety)

I just tried soloing missing on hard (a level 16 quest) and I died once I got to the hounds and renders. Apparently I can't do enough dmg to thaarak hounds...and when I say I can't solo things it was always attempted on elite or hard, because apparently I should be able to do that.


Here's the current stats and build:
level 16 warforged sorc
14 str
7 dex
25 con
6 wis
8 int
30 cha

1800 sp.
254 hp.

Feats: empower, maximize, force of personality, spell focus and greater spell focus on evocation, toughness once.

air savant specced with use of frost lance also.

What am I doing wrong?

[SiliconScout]

Assuiming you have full lightning and say a 7/1/1 enhancement line in Ice then you need to make sure you have a couple of spells.

Ice Storm, Web, Dancing Ball

Basically if you can't DPS them fast enough to drop them you can toss up a Dancing Ball, throw a web into the middle of it and then drop an Ice Storm or two on the whole lot.

This forces anything entering to make 2 different saves, it will generally fail at least 1 and be held as the ice drops. You can then toss in some chain lightning into the held group and watch it all die from the comfort of your own home.

Secondly you don't mention it but if you are soloing a Sorc then you need to make sure you bring a Cleric Hireling with Divine Vitality. He is your battery to keep the SP rolling in. Most are good for 400-600 SP. You also get him healing you and keeping the curse, poison, disease bug off your back. Granted as a WF his healing is not optimal but every HP his blue bar heals is one less that yours has to.

Also I know with my first life sorc I never took off Maximize AND Empower. With average level appropriate gear on a full enhanced Air Savant even your free lightning bolts should be hitting for over 1000 damage. Granted you won't get that for a couple of levels (18) but it's a wonder what you can do when you do have it.

Also don't neglect your free electric loop. This puppy can do decent damage (200+ easily) AND can stun enemies that are coming at you buying to time to take them down.

At your level on a first life Sorc I soloed the entire slayer area of Giant Hold, killed everything (bosses included) on pretty much my Spell Like abilities. 12 SP goes far when 5 (loop) can buy you the time you need to get those SP back, and hold them in place and the 2 Spell Point Shocking Grasp does OK damage when you have it maximized and Empowered. The shocking grap should hit for 100 - 130ish damage and the loop doing the same to a group (with the stun).

As an air savant your main weakness is a lack of Persistent Area of Effect Damage (Firewall, Acid Cloud, Ice Storm, etc). Your main strength is targeted single point damage and decent to strong area of effect burst damage. You need some Crowd Control in there to give you the time you need to fry the little buggers like June Bugs in the bug zapper.

[CircleK]

Assuiming you have full lightning and say a 7/1/1 enhancement line in Ice then you need to make sure you have a couple of spells.

Ice Storm, Web, Dancing Ball

Basically if you can't DPS them fast enough to drop them you can toss up a Dancing Ball, throw a web into the middle of it and then drop an Ice Storm or two on the whole lot.

This forces anything entering to make 2 different saves, it will generally fail at least 1 and be held as the ice drops. You can then toss in some chain lightning into the held group and watch it all die from the comfort of your own home.

Secondly you don't mention it but if you are soloing a Sorc then you need to make sure you bring a Cleric Hireling with Divine Vitality. He is your battery to keep the SP rolling in. Most are good for 400-600 SP. You also get him healing you and keeping the curse, poison, disease bug off your back. Granted as a WF his healing is not optimal but every HP his blue bar heals is one less that yours has to.

Also I know with my first life sorc I never took off Maximize AND Empower. With average level appropriate gear on a full enhanced Air Savant even your free lightning bolts should be hitting for over 1000 damage. Granted you won't get that for a couple of levels (18) but it's a wonder what you can do when you do have it.

Also don't neglect your free electric loop. This puppy can do decent damage (200+ easily) AND can stun enemies that are coming at you buying to time to take them down.

At your level on a first life Sorc I soloed the entire slayer area of Giant Hold, killed everything (bosses included) on pretty much my Spell Like abilities. 12 SP goes far when 5 (loop) can buy you the time you need to get those SP back, and hold them in place and the 2 Spell Point Shocking Grasp does OK damage when you have it maximized and Empowered. The shocking grap should hit for 100 - 130ish damage and the loop doing the same to a group (with the stun).

As an air savant your main weakness is a lack of Persistent Area of Effect Damage (Firewall, Acid Cloud, Ice Storm, etc). Your main strength is targeted single point damage and decent to strong area of effect burst damage. You need some Crowd Control in there to give you the time you need to fry the little buggers like June Bugs in the bug zapper.

Ok thanks but I use my free electric loop more than any other spell and I never thought of caster soloing as using a hireling. I thought the obejective of warforged arcane was to avoid that...and I maximize and empower my free shocking grasp and loop and how the heck does one do 1000 dmg with lightning bolt???

[SiliconScout]

Well that was pre-U14. Let me see what it looks like now.

10d3+30 as a base (say 50 damage as an average)

modifiers as follows

100 Enhancements
150 Maximize
075 Empower
078 Magnetism Item
052 Potency
---------
455 bonus. so 50*4.55 = 228 damage base

Your Crit range should be 9% (enhancements) + 9% (Gear) so 18% chance to crit
Crit does 1.25 + .25 so 1.5 damage = 341 .... ouch that is a hit.

Used to be that max and empower were multipliers not additive and the clicky for a 75% bonus was huge (I didn't even include it here it's like 15 maybe (an extra what 7 or 8 damage).

Crits for 1000 were very common for my old sorc as were forks for double that. With the new system I am doubting you could hit those numbers now.

Sorry man, it's gonna be harder for sure. That said the tactics are still sound.

And again the cleric isn't for healing it's for a boost to SP to allow you to keep your spells maximized and Empowered. Granted it's not as nice a SP spread as it used to be it's still useful enough on a Sorc you are gonna want it.

I am playing my 13 wizard right now and I am finding some of the same problems (DPS is down here as well) but my CC is good enough to compensate.

The added bonus of the cleric is that you keep them parked somewhere safe and in the event of your stone showing up he or she can come in and put things back to right for you.

[DarkForte]

This is a common misconception.
Best groups don't need healers...

I think that's his point: they don't need your hjeals, hence, you pike all the way through! :D

[Ryan220]

I thought you were saying you couldnt solo norm.

My WF Sorc is also L16 and is a Conj specced Fire Savant (secondary Acid)

I use the old Web and Wall technique and spam my SLAs (maybe add an Acid Rain if necessary). I never use a hire and rarely run out of SP (I do have more SP though as I use a Skiver and a Large Guild Slot item)

I cant say where youre going wrong, but maybe you could spam you SLAs some more to save SP. Are the mobs saving against you SLAs often?

I never bother soloing Elite on my Sorc - I always solo on hard as its quicker.

Perseverence is the key - if it doesnt work one way then have a crack at it again using a different technique.

You'll win in the end :-)



I just tried soloing missing on hard (a level 16 quest) and I died once I got to the hounds and renders. Apparently I can't do enough dmg to thaarak hounds...and when I say I can't solo things it was always attempted on elite or hard, because apparently I should be able to do that.


Here's the current stats and build:
level 16 warforged sorc
14 str
7 dex
25 con
6 wis
8 int
30 cha

1800 sp.
254 hp.

Feats: empower, maximize, force of personality, spell focus and greater spell focus on evocation, toughness once.

air savant specced with use of frost lance also.

What am I doing wrong?

[Relan07]

I'm a casual player, but I have been playing DDO infrequently since the game initially launched back in 2006, so i'm pretty knowledgeable about the rules and games mechanics, though i'm no min/maxer.

Anyway after coming back from another long hiatus from the game (I just started playing again last week), I saw this post and just wanted to let the OP know that he isn't the only one struggling to solo this game. I was overjoyed when I came back to DDO when it went F2P, and found that it had much better support for solo players like me. It meant I could enjoy my favorite RPG the way that I wanted to. And I did for about 8 levels of character progression. I got to about level 8 with my Ranger and then I noticed it started to get hard, so I quit playing back in 2010. I came back again last week to see what or if anything had changed, and while there is plenty of cool new content, its still just too difficult to continue to solo as you approach mid level. I just cant seem to make much worthwhile progress unless I group with other players.

When I solo, it seems to be costing me more platinum than i'm making back from the adventures, which is putting my mid level characters on a slow downward spiral once the solo threshold difficulty scale tips. Having to purchase hirelings, make repairs to severely damaged equipment and resupply for each new quest, its leaving me with nothing else left to spend on equipment upgrades, which are necessary to improve survive-ability.

Instead of continuing with my old mid level characters, I found myself creating new characters because the early game is just far more rewarding for solo play. But really, I'd like to continue my level 12 Ranger, but at the mo its just too frustrating and tedious making any sort of progress. The grind just becomes unbearable and is the main reason I keep quitting.

I actually gave up soloing briefly and tried a little grouping with other players and while my character started making some solid progress and was much better off for it, I still didn't enjoy the game as much as I do when I solo the early levels. I guess I just like playing at my own pace and not sharing the experience with other players.

As a solo player, I feel that the game would keep my interest for much longer if I was rewarded as much as I am when I group with other players. So my question to the devs is, why not give bonus XP and /or loot for completing quests in solo mode? The stakes are far higher, so the rewards should be to.

Alternatively allow (solo only) players to earn at least some XP from lower level quests. I did STK the other day and while it wasn't exactly difficult, I did nearly die a couple of times. It would have been nice to get at least some basic XP reward from it, considering I was having difficulty taking on quests of my correct level.

I do realize that this is an MMORPG game, but it might be worthwhile to keep solo, casual players like myself interested in the long term. If we knew we could continue to enjoy the games solo experience then we might want to spend more money on additional content.

[Algulcz]

Soloing is not hard and normal difficulty offers more than enough exp for 1st life. You can check my video diary here (http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=367652) for completely untwinked cleric from L1 to L20(pre u14). I'm also working on bard diary atm.
I have lots of experience soloing content at any level, so I would like to help. What is it that you find hard? Sure there are quest that are incredibly hard to solo for certain classes, but almost never impossible. Best suggestion I can offer is, know the quest, know the enemies and know strengths and weaknesses of your character.

[Relan07]

Cheers, but I’m not really looking for advice on the best methods tbh, I prefer to experiment and find my own solutions in my own time. I do appreciate the offer though.

You guys are so helpful, but really, I don’t want to become a hardcore DDO player and know all the tricks. There is too much conforming to the optimal play-style, rather than role playing for the experience of it, for my tastes. Also I don't really have the time. I just want to enjoy the content a little more without having to play the system. Then hopefully it’ll make me want to invest in the game to extend it.

I know D&D pretty well, the setting, the rules, character builds and strategies are not something I have ever had issue with in prior D&D licensed games like Baldurs Gate, Neverwinter Nights or The Temple of Elemental Evil. The problem comes from this game being a MMORPG and me trying to play it as a single player experience, when its not really designed to be played that way. I’m just saying I agree with the OP, for the casual "solo" player, who doesn’t know how to play the system, it CAN be very hard at times, enough so that it makes them question why they are still playing.

The only reason I personally keep coming back is because I’m a huge D&D fan, and there aren’t too many other choices in the CRPG D&D department right now. :)

PS. I will probably skim some of the solo players advice threads at some point. But ideally if I was a new player to DDO and the game fully supported solo play, then I shouldn't have to.

[Algulcz]

Ah, experimenting, finding ones own solutions, trying to do quests the way you want and learning characters limits. That is the best part of DDO(for me at least). Nothing beats the enjoyment when you finish a quest unprepared, the "I DID IT!" joy is truly great. Then you can come back and try to do it differently, sometimes it will work better, sometimes it wont, almost like evolution. And when you have the perfect solution, there is always the option to try it with different class/build. I respect that and completely support it.

I will also note that Normal is not the only option for new soloers, Casual is much easier and there is no shame in doing quest on that difficulty. 1-2 casual runs and when you feel more confident -> normal.

[Lleren]

Cheers, but I’m not really looking for advice on the best methods tbh, I prefer to experiment and find my own solutions in my own time. I do appreciate the offer though.

You guys are so helpful, but really, I don’t want to become a hardcore DDO player and know all the tricks. There is too much conforming to the optimal play-style, rather than role playing for the experience of it, for my tastes. Also I don't really have the time. I just want to enjoy the content a little more without having to play the system. Then hopefully it’ll make me want to invest in the game to extend it.


Why come into a thread of someone that is asking for advice then. They're just trying to play, and get some value out of their time playing.

[CircleK]

I thought you were saying you couldnt solo norm.

My WF Sorc is also L16 and is a Conj specced Fire Savant (secondary Acid)

I use the old Web and Wall technique and spam my SLAs (maybe add an Acid Rain if necessary). I never use a hire and rarely run out of SP (I do have more SP though as I use a Skiver and a Large Guild Slot item)

I cant say where youre going wrong, but maybe you could spam you SLAs some more to save SP. Are the mobs saving against you SLAs often?

I never bother soloing Elite on my Sorc - I always solo on hard as its quicker.

Perseverence is the key - if it doesnt work one way then have a crack at it again using a different technique.

You'll win in the end :-)


Heh idk if you read my OP because it said "I try to avoid normal difficulty" lol and what is an SLA? I wanna be like u I wanna never use a hireling and rarely run out of sp I always thought this was the objective of a caster soloing. And what's a skiver?

[Relan07]

Why come into a thread of someone that is asking for advice then. They're just trying to play, and get some value out of their time playing.
Do the devs not read this forum section?

I may have posted my thoughts on solo play in the wrong section. Just trying to leave some feedback about my solo experience is all, and this threads title drew me in. No offence to any one, I just don’t know the forum all that well.

I would just like to see solo play be made a little bit more accessible for more casual players like me, without breaking the game for any one else.

Sorry if I derailed the thread. I'll shut up now.

[Nitesco]

Soloing has never been easier.

[Persiflage]

Not trying to be rude or anything, but if you have issues soloing with a level 15 sorc, and if you are sure the character is not gimp, then the issue is definitely with the way you are playing.

I have to agree there... What server are you on, Circle? Are you a member of a guild that has some people willing to show you the ropes? Given the amount of time you spend playing, the number of toons you have, a trusted build and your quest knowledge, the only thing I can imagine is missing is "tactics", and of course those vary according to the toon you're playing. Maybe if you post your server, toons and playing times (including time-zone!) then someone from here could step up and offer to help. If you're free at a time I'm playing, I'll gladly jump on a level-appropriate toon and give you some pointers. :)


Sorcerers are overall the best solo class with FvS, and at 15 a well built sorc with proper gear should have absolutely no issue steamrolling quests on elite.

I agree with the latter point, but not necessarily the former ;) Sorcs sure are good at soloing, and a L15 sorc with the right build and gear should definitely be able to go from 15 to 16 in no time flat on a first life, but my experience is that Artificers are better soloists than either Sorcs or FvS due to their supreme versatility... although admittedly they have to carry a lot of gear to do it well. Their crazy Blade Barrier damage makes up for a LOT. :D Oh, and I find soloing my Wizzy easier than soloing my FvS, though not as plain-sailing as my Arti.

Still, that's just a matter of taste and play-style. Melees are definitely harder to solo than casters (although some monk builds are close) but it's still achievable.

In short, OP:

1) Normal difficulty is just fine, and if you're struggling with SP issues then Normal quests will let you practise your mana conservation and build up your techniques.

2) Lose the hireling allergy. Seriously. If nothing else, just leave 'em standing at the door, then summon them to your side when you're low on SP for a refill. Then leave them standing again until you hit a shrine and get them to rest so they can give you back even more SP. When you get better at mana conservation you won't need to do this any more, but if you're not playing because you're finding it too difficult then you're not learning anything at all! There's no point standing on principle when a helpful mechanic is built right into the game.

Good luck!

[stoerm]

Firstly, yes some people level fast, especially the active forums dwellers, so it may appear to you that "everyone is soloing elite and capping in a week". Many or most don't. Those that do that have probably TR'd their character so they have tons of twink gear (greensteel at level 12 - drool) and resources to help them through. Not to mention skills and knowledge.

Secondly, gear and plat count for a lot. I also took about two years to cap my first character, but once I had him capped things became easier for my other alts. So here's my first piece of advice. Stop playing all characters except one. Once that one character hits 20, you can let yourself play other alts too. Don't TR a character unless you have at least one alt at 20 or higher. Concentrating on one character also helps you learn to play that class.

Thirdly, gear and plat count for a lot. Did I say that already? Now that you have a 20+ character that can churn out greensteel ingredients or other expensive ingredients and sell them for plat, you can feed your lowbies with guild pots. That level 7 character plays very different with 100 each of heroism, haste, rage and cure serious potions. Run the Chronoscope half a dozen times with a high level character and pass the Abishai set down to a lowbie.

Fourth, learn about game mechanics and gear. Read the forums, listen to past DDOCast episodes and consult ddowiki.com. Don't know what a skiver or an SLA is? Check the wiki. Are you carrying potions or scrolls to remove stat damage, curses, diseases etc? Do you have DR breakers on your melees? That marut comes down a lot quicker if you have the right stick to beat him with.

Fifth, check your characters. SLA means Spell Like Ability, it's the almost-zero-cost spells you get from your prestige enhancements. You've chosen those, right? If you don't have maximum charisma, as air savant some mobs might be making their reflex saves and avoiding damage. What about gear? Have you got fortification and deathblock? Greater evocation focus item? When soloing, do you have Expeditious Retreat ticking or striding boots on? Remember, it's about XP/min and you don't want to slouch about.

Sixth, optimize your questing. Make sure you run the right quests at the right level and with the right group, so you don't lose XP. Levels 7 and 16 are about my favourite levels to be at. Run your lvl 7 through Tear of Dhakaan, Gwylan's Stand and the Delera chain. Bam. Your level 16 should be through Gianthold and getting into the Vale. Just Vale slayers are good XP, the quests are fantastic XP - and fun.

Seventh, learn and practice your character and the quests. Again, read and listen, and observe others. If you are running out of spell points on your sorc, perhaps you can try to conserve your SP. Are you spending SP on spells you could use a cheap scroll like for invisibility? Are you killing every perched skeleton archer, when you could just run past? Could you cast invisibility and run through a part of the quest? Are you killing each mob individually when you could run, gather them up and kill them in one blast? Common caster tactics are to web or dance a bunch of mobs, then firewall/acid rain/fireball/wail them in one go. If you are a melee gather some mobs, stand in a corner and cleave them while drinking the occasional cure potion. For quests, are you spending half the time on optionals that only give you 5% extra XP? Think about it.

P.S. If you are not into Cannith crafting yet, it's good to get started. It's slow but soon you can make an invulnerability robe and a (DR/good) blunt weapon of (lesser) undead bane. Those alone will make Delera a piece of cake.

P.P.S. You really are listening too much to others. There's no "objective" to avoid hirelings or always run solo on hard/elite. Do what works for you, not what some veteran tells you "should" do.

[Vargouille]

Do the devs not read this forum section?

Devs do read all forum sections (some do anyway), but not with any kind of guarantee. It's more up to individual preference in most cases.


I may have posted my thoughts on solo play in the wrong section. Just trying to leave some feedback about my solo experience is all, and this threads title drew me in. No offence to any one, I just don’t know the forum all that well.

I would just like to see solo play be made a little bit more accessible for more casual players like me, without breaking the game for any one else.

We appreciate these thoughts getting voiced and they are meaningful. Despite some advice or opinions to the contrary, DDO isn't necessarily simple or easy, and the amount of time players have varies greatly. We really would like to support a broad variety of playstyles. Obviously some few players have little trouble soloing most content on elite, but just as obviously that's not most players.

We recognize that some players really aren't here to learn the ins-and-outs of every quest or get into all of the nitty-gritty details, and players who prefer to play alone vs. with others. It is sometimes challenging to support this great variety of players.

For instance, we want to reward group play while also supporting solo play (which is a meaningful number of players), which is difficult. Were we to add (for example) a straight up bonus to XP for playing alone without thinking too hard about, this would probably break up some existing groups as some players would feel compelled to get the most XP they can. They would suddenly be rewarded for avoiding playing with others, which isn't really something we want to do directly. We may still try various solutions out, but the answers aren't always obvious.

[Gratch]

Not sure how to help solo vs. group players.

For casual players you could give some sort of tiered logon xp bonus to the first character that logs on.

If the account is inactive for:

24 hours - 10% 1 hour xp bonus
4.5 days - Weekend Warrior 20% xp for 2 hours
1 month - Welcome Back 30% xp and +1 loot for 6 hours

[Havok.cry]

Not sure how to help solo vs. group players.

For casual players you could give some sort of tiered logon xp bonus to the first character that logs on.

If the account is inactive for:

24 hours - 10% 1 hour xp bonus
4.5 days - Weekend Warrior 20% xp for 2 hours
1 month - Welcome Back 30% xp and +1 loot for 6 hours


I like this concept

[losian2]

Hey I have a lot of very solo capable characters, a level 7 tempest, a level 7 fvs, a level 11 arti, a level 16 sorc.

I feel though, as if, they can't solo anymore without DYING at some point in a quest.

See, normally I try to avoid normal difficulty because I don't feel it gives enough xp.

Would I level up much faster if I just soloed everything normal?

Because, none of my characters have leveled in a very very very long time and I feel like I am being left in the dust.

I have a level 19 fighter who has been level 19 for eons.

My level 7 ranger used to solo very easily but now it seems he's just not powerful enough.

So, should I just solo quests on normal? Will that level me much faster than doing a few quests on elite and then stopping altogether?

And since there are so many solo elitists, I can never ever find a group.

Howdy, I started a druid with Underdark release. I did heroic elite for the first little bit, but since traps were kinda instant-death, I dropped back to normal hard, and played that mostly up through 16-18 or so. Around then I dropped to normal and also did a bunch of initial Phiarlin Epic runs on casual epic before bumping to normal and occasionally hard. I'm 25 and level 4 in a few desitinies with 2s and 3s in others all over. You'll do much better just doing quests on normal/hard, then spending four times as long trying really hard to finish elite but never actually doing so. But, also to note, I did have the big ol' tome of experience going from the expansion, so that helps.

[Sanadil]

For instance, we want to reward group play while also supporting solo play (which is a meaningful number of players), which is difficult. Were we to add (for example) a straight up bonus to XP for playing alone without thinking too hard about, this would probably break up some existing groups as some players would feel compelled to get the most XP they can. They would suddenly be rewarded for avoiding playing with others, which isn't really something we want to do directly. We may still try various solutions out, but the answers aren't always obvious.

Kind of like what Turbine did with the Raiding scene when they released TR, aka players felt compelled to become better so low level 6 man groups (or less -10p anyone?) reigned while 12 man group/raids diminished greatly at the time, and IMO never really fully recovered to the same participation it was on a daily basis.

Not saying its good or bad, just that it happened.

To not be a complete Troll, I'd say do the hardest difficulty you can for the best XP ratio. Dying just wastes time.

Secondly, making this game any easier than it already is on those low levels is just nuts lol, there is Casual too.

[Algulcz]

Not sure how to help solo vs. group players.

For casual players you could give some sort of tiered logon xp bonus to the first character that logs on.

If the account is inactive for:

24 hours - 10% 1 hour xp bonus
4.5 days - Weekend Warrior 20% xp for 2 hours
1 month - Welcome Back 30% xp and +1 loot for 6 hours


I like this. Every other MMO that I played had some kind of "rest" exp bonus. Implementing something like that into DDO wouldn't be bad idea.

[Ertay]

Not sure how to help solo vs. group players.

For casual players you could give some sort of tiered logon xp bonus to the first character that logs on.

If the account is inactive for:

24 hours - 10% 1 hour xp bonus
4.5 days - Weekend Warrior 20% xp for 2 hours
1 month - Welcome Back 30% xp and +1 loot for 6 hours


So if you are on an evening with 3.5 and just an hour to play anyway, or worst case at 28-29 days you should better not log on? Don't know about this. I mean I know it is a rare case but I wouldn't want to see inactivity rewarded, just saying.

[Fanatic_Guru]

Not sure how to help solo vs. group players.

For casual players you could give some sort of tiered logon xp bonus to the first character that logs on.

If the account is inactive for:

24 hours - 10% 1 hour xp bonus
4.5 days - Weekend Warrior 20% xp for 2 hours
1 month - Welcome Back 30% xp and +1 loot for 6 hours


This type concept of rewarding more xp to casual players is one thing that I did like in WoW that I believe would be a nice addition to DDO.

Basically you build of a reserve of bonus xp when you are not logged in. Then when you earn xp normally you get a matching amount out of your reserve of bonus xp until you have collected all of your reserve of bonus xp.

Your reserve of bonus xp would cap out after about a week of offline time.

I like the system and it provides a lot of flexibility because you can adjust how fast you gain your reserve of bonus xp when offline. You can also adjust the maximum amount that the reserve can hold and you can adjust how fast you can gain xp from the reserve by adjusting the ratio of earned xp to bonus xp from reserve.

You can make it 1 to 1 or what every ratio gives the desired results like every 2 xp gained normally allows 1 xp gained from reserve xp.

Under this system it is not strictly just about how long it has been since you logged on.

The guy that does 1 quest a day will get just about as much bonus xp as the guy that logs on once a week and does 7 quest.

It was on a per character basis in WoW.

On a per character basis makes it favor having alts. You could play an alt that you have not played in awhile and they would get an xp bonus.

I think promoting the playing of alts is a good thing from game design point of view as it increases player longevity without having to supply as much new end game content. Which is similar to what TR does to the game. Any thing that gets players to play the same content over and over AND be happy about doing it really helps extent the longevity of content.

Most games promote that replay now days. Much easier to design a game where you have two different characters play through one content than have one character play though two different contents.

[HungarianRhapsody]

Every quest in the game gives better XP/minute than 0 if you complete it as long as you are an appropriate level and haven't repeated it too many times. Waiting for a group to fill before you step into a quest gives 0 XP/minute.

If you can get a group that will actually run a quest and then follow up by running another quest and then another, then you will have outstanding XP/minute almost no matter what quests you choose. If you get a group that takes 10 minutes to form, runs one quest and then falls apart after everyone says, "Great run everyone! I have to go now," then you'll have terrible XP/minute no matter what quests you choose.

In most cases, you'll have better XP/minute soloing on Normal than you'll get in a PUG on any difficulty just because most PUGs spend an extraordinary amount of time standing around and picking their noses instead of actually jumping into a quest and laying the smack down.

[Dagolar]

We recognize that some players really aren't here to learn the ins-and-outs of every quest or get into all of the nitty-gritty details, and players who prefer to play alone vs. with others. It is sometimes challenging to support this great variety of players.

For instance, we want to reward group play while also supporting solo play (which is a meaningful number of players), which is difficult. Were we to add (for example) a straight up bonus to XP for playing alone without thinking too hard about, this would probably break up some existing groups as some players would feel compelled to get the most XP they can. They would suddenly be rewarded for avoiding playing with others, which isn't really something we want to do directly. We may still try various solutions out, but the answers aren't always obvious.


Not sure how to help solo vs. group players.

For casual players you could give some sort of tiered logon xp bonus to the first character that logs on.

If the account is inactive for:

24 hours - 10% 1 hour xp bonus
4.5 days - Weekend Warrior 20% xp for 2 hours
1 month - Welcome Back 30% xp and +1 loot for 6 hours


I've always thought the addition of more solo-only quests across the levels [eg, one solo quest per base quest level, then an additional per-class solo quest with per-class specialized rewards] would be an excellent way to support solo play, while still supporting all other players [I mean, who doesn't like Raiding the Giant's Vault? ..shh, that's rhetorical!] and without having to worry about balance issues.

The joy of RtGV is that, despite it's short length and ledge-contact-bugs, it's a fun little quest designed specifically to work well for solo play while, unlike the harbor solo quests, still having some measure of challenge.
It's a nice break from the usual.

The only other element in the game that really works well for soloing is wilderness areas- certainly, that's how I generally farm them out. Unfortunately, as xp/time goes, they're typically not 'worth' the time to run in parties, much less at the slower clearing pace of solo play. That is, speaking solely in comparison to the xp/time possible from actual quests.

As entertaining as a solo-only wilderness would be, a better approach would perhaps to make wilderness runs more rewarding for solo play. Unfortunately, there we have to hit into balancing. Still, would a 10% kill bonus for soloing discourage playing with parties? Wouldn't the pace still be faster in a full, coordinated party?
Just something to consider.

In any case, I've been pushing for more solo quests for years, as I do enjoy the feel of them. As far as rebalancing to overall group mechanics in support of soloing, that just promises hassle over gain: DDO already manages to do a fine job of being a group-targeted game, while still supporting solo play. So leaning the overall reward balance in any direction would only compromise the other playstyle.

Still, the Monster Manuals would have offered an interesting approach to it, had they offered rewards for personal kills- yet, as noted, that'd only encourage the players that already obsess over kill count to no meaningful reason or team interaction. Still.. if the solo quests I suggested were all linked together in theme [and monster types], that would offer a way to work that in well.

[SiliconScout]

...
For instance, we want to reward group play while also supporting solo play (which is a meaningful number of players), which is difficult. Were we to add (for example) a straight up bonus to XP for playing alone without thinking too hard about, this would probably break up some existing groups as some players would feel compelled to get the most XP they can. They would suddenly be rewarded for avoiding playing with others, which isn't really something we want to do directly. We may still try various solutions out, but the answers aren't always obvious.

I think there is a fairly obvious one. Don't change the XP change the loot, you have to know that over time the "vets" are going to gravitate to the best XP. That said these same vets are the best teachers of newbs.

So if you reward different XP (above and beyond the difficulty scaling) then you are going to hurt either the solo / 2 man crowd or the full group crowd.

All that is really left to you to play around with is the loot.

What I would suggest is that there be a bonus to loot pulled based on the number of toons in the party.

Essentially I would say ad an additional pull from the table for every 3 players in the party for any non-RAID truncating to the nearest whole number.

1 - 2 humans: 0 extra
3 - 5 humans: 1 extra
6 humans: 2 extra

The obvious problem here is that you have people solo the quest and then toss up an LFM before opening the chest to max the loot return (this already happens occasionally but it would ramp it up significantly).

The way to counter that (as I see it) is to compare the number that started the quest against the number who are in party (and in quest) when the chest opens.

Have it look at something like this.

Loot Pulls = X + (((Y+Z)/2)/3)

X = # of pulls it normally has
Y = # of toons in party and in quest when quest starts
z = # of toons in party and in quest when chest opens

full party completes the quest that normally gives you say 3 pulls (dusting off grade 5 algebra)

pulls = 3 + (((6+6)/2)/3)
pulls = 3 + ((12/2)/3)
pulls = 3 + (6/3)
pulls = 3 +2 = 5

A 4 man crew gets you
3 + (((4+4)/2)/3) = 3 + 1.3333 = 4

The slight exploit can only occur at a solo run that invites 5 friends at chest time

3 +(((1+6)/2)/3) = 3 + 1.16666 = 4


The hassle of waiting for 4-5 others to show up just to get an extra piece of treasure isn't really worth it most of the time. Eliminate the bonus from "End Chests" and there really isn't much incentive to try and game the system at all (though doubtless some will)

In the end you are encouraging grouping without punishing soloing. As things sit now with the way scaling works soloing is the BEST way to run a majority of the content. Soloing is quite easy (so long as you don't want to be running an Elite BB streak) as it stands right now. It would be nice to find more reasons for everyone to play together.

[donblas]

Here's the current stats and build:
level 16 warforged sorc
14 str
7 dex
25 con
6 wis
8 int
30 cha

1800 sp.
254 hp.


What am I doing wrong?

Can you make those stats better by getting more gear? I have a lvl13 first life drow sorc (fire savant ATM) with 248HP and 1764SP, so she should surpass your toon in these stats when she hits lvl14, and I'm sure mine isn't perfectly built and that vets will certainly have better stats than me. Obviously her self healing isn't as good as a robot's.

She also has
STR 18
Dex 23 (probably too high)
Con 24
Wis 13 (dunno why - I was young and naive)
Int10
Cha 35

I've found fire savant SLAs seem pretty good for levelling so far, but am flexible about changing later if necessary.

[Alrik_Fassbauer]

I think there is a fairly obvious one. Don't change the XP change the loot, you have to know that over time the "vets" are going to gravitate to the best XP. That said these same vets are the best teachers of newbs.

But but but - I've read several times in these forums already that vets don't want to teach. One said outright it was "boring".

Besides, just as a side note, I entered The Red Fens with my level 7 Cleric (and on the first of those 2 runs with a Wizard hireling named Blast).

It was tough sometimes, but I was lucky and in the end I got almost 6000 XP (all rares and discoverings and the slayer count together).
But I must also admit that I had my Guild Ship buffs, too (level 62 Guild Ship).
After they had run out, it became considerably harder, but it was still fun and manageable.

So, as a result, my advice is to do wilderness areas at level, if possible.

[mwgarn]

To give you an idea of where I'm coming from, I solo at least 99% of the time, I solo epic normal and epic hard, for raids I solo ADQ on normal and sometimes hard for that completion to get the 20 list of end reward, and echrono up to the CAD for scrolls and seals.

The key is learning the quests and getting the best gear you can. For my first life I soloed Normal to cap and then soloed normal to grind out some gear, second life I soloed hard till vale and normal till cap. Third life elite till vale then hard and normal to cap. Every time you do a quest it gets easier as you learn it. Each piece of better gear makes the quest easier as well.

The idea is to build up your gear and your knowledge over time. At level 15 you should have sloted +6 stat for con, str and your casting stat at the least, gfl, and heavy fort.

For casters its important to know when to kill and when to just web or just run past.. If you spend mana killing every mob you will run out of mana quick..

Also personally I don't mind bringing a hireling along.. On protect missions they can heal the Npc your supposed to protect, grab a cleric with divin vitality and you can get a bit of mana back after buffing at a shrine, leave them at shrines or the start of the quest and use them to Rez you if you mess up and can't make it to a shrine, or call them as a half a second destruction when your killing a boss mob and there is trash around.

[Relan07]

Devs do read all forum sections (some do anyway), but not with any kind of guarantee. It's more up to individual preference in most cases.



We appreciate these thoughts getting voiced and they are meaningful. Despite some advice or opinions to the contrary, DDO isn't necessarily simple or easy, and the amount of time players have varies greatly. We really would like to support a broad variety of playstyles. Obviously some few players have little trouble soloing most content on elite, but just as obviously that's not most players.

We recognize that some players really aren't here to learn the ins-and-outs of every quest or get into all of the nitty-gritty details, and players who prefer to play alone vs. with others. It is sometimes challenging to support this great variety of players.

For instance, we want to reward group play while also supporting solo play (which is a meaningful number of players), which is difficult. Were we to add (for example) a straight up bonus to XP for playing alone without thinking too hard about, this would probably break up some existing groups as some players would feel compelled to get the most XP they can. They would suddenly be rewarded for avoiding playing with others, which isn't really something we want to do directly. We may still try various solutions out, but the answers aren't always obvious.

I can certainly see the dilemma in trying to give incentive for people to play together, but at the same time allow other choices of play. I think many RPG and MMO fans enjoy the social element, but I also think there are a lot of D&D fans out there, that just want the old school D&D solo CRPG experience. I think that is the category of players I fall into. I play when I'm in the mood and don’t really like waiting around for groups, but honestly its difficult finding a reason to come back when your last memory of the experience was a frustrating one.

Anyhow, I'll cross my fingers and hope that you guys can find some solutions at some point, because when this game is working in solo, its really a lot of fun. Its just good to know that its something that you guys do think about.

Cheers for the insight Vargouille. :)

[CircleK]

Not trying to be rude or anything, but if you have issues soloing with a level 15 sorc, and if you are sure the character is not gimp, then the issue is definitely with the way you are playing.

Sorcerers are overall the best solo class with FvS, and at 15 a well built sorc with proper gear should have absolutely no issue steamrolling quests on elite.


HOW? I don't understand why that is not possible for me! I can barely "steamroll" quests on hard and now you say ELITE?

What proper gear? What kind of good build? Tell me.

[CircleK]

Can you make those stats better by getting more gear? I have a lvl13 first life drow sorc (fire savant ATM) with 248HP and 1764SP, so she should surpass your toon in these stats when she hits lvl14, and I'm sure mine isn't perfectly built and that vets will certainly have better stats than me. Obviously her self healing isn't as good as a robot's.

She also has
STR 18
Dex 23 (probably too high)
Con 24
Wis 13 (dunno why - I was young and naive)
Int10
Cha 35

I've found fire savant SLAs seem pretty good for levelling so far, but am flexible about changing later if necessary.


HOW do you do that? How? What gear? Any tomes? Because I swear there is something up when a level 13 first life drow sorc has high numbers in all ability scores except intel and more sp than someone way past her level.

[CircleK]

What gear should a level 17 sorcerer have, then?

Give me a list. Air savant.

[Dagolar]

Oh, and addressing the OP:
Hard difficulty is only a small touch harder than normal, while elite is a great deal harder than hard.
Sort of a (100% difficulty, 150% difficulty, 300% difficulty) type of arrangement.
You should be able to run hard difficulty for bravery bonus without any problems: Saving throws, spell abilities, etc, don't get ramped till Elite difficulty. Hard really just adds a touch more hit points and damage to the mobs, naught else.

If you have access to a wide variety of quest packs, you can make sure to only hit the more difficult quests when you're a full 2 levels above them.

In any case, just because Elite CAN be soloed doesn't mean it's designed with it in mind, as the hover texts on the difficulty levels notes.

Bravery Bonus allows you to skip farming certain quests.. but if it's easier to run that same quest three times on normal, or once on hard and once on normal, you're getting a touch more xp out of it than you would off the single run, and perhaps at a faster speed of progression.


As far as your difficulty with builds.. I'm not sure what to add here, except for you to look at the various build designs on the forums, and to play in some groups with other players to get a feel for how others play. But as far as Donblas goes, for example, that's typical for the level, if a bit curious in stat allocation.

[MrCow]

HOW? I don't understand why that is not possible for me! I can barely "steamroll" quests on hard and now you say ELITE?

Feel free to look through the Diaries of a True Reincarnate (Sorcerer) (http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=364299) for some ideas. It has video footage of a large amount of the quests on Hard and Elite as a solo Sorcerer.

[EustaceTrevelyan]

For instance, we want to reward group play while also supporting solo play (which is a meaningful number of players), which is difficult. Were we to add (for example) a straight up bonus to XP for playing alone without thinking too hard about, this would probably break up some existing groups as some players would feel compelled to get the most XP they can. They would suddenly be rewarded for avoiding playing with others, which isn't really something we want to do directly. We may still try various solutions out, but the answers aren't always obvious.

Yeah, adding a Solo XP bonus would be Very Bad, IMHO. There's already scaling, tho elite (the big xp leveling target for vets, with the BB and all) has less. Adding solo as well would just create pigeonholed solo friendly leveling builds, even moreso than now (sorc splash, i'm looking at you;).)

A lot of people avoid grouping as it is, since the inexperienced often mean -10% for one or more deaths. Adding to that with a penalty (which is how some would see it) for not being solo, and that would actively discourage grouping, begging the question, why is this MULTI anymore?