Want to Play Solo - Can You?

[LordMichaelPrescott]

I would very much like to play DDO, but I prefer to play solo, and only group when ABSOLUTELY necessary. How far can I actually get playing this way...or can I?

Thanks for any and all information.

[Dawnsfire]

I would very much like to play DDO, but I prefer to play solo, and only group when ABSOLUTELY necessary. How far can I actually get playing this way...or can I?

Thanks for any and all information.

I've gotten characters all the way to 25 solo. The 28 level cap is too new for me to be there yet but I see no reason why I can't make it. The problem with all that is that I have been playing for a while and know the quests pretty well. You will probably need to occasionally check DDOwiki.com if/when you get stuck with in a few quests. There are a few quests that are difficult/impossible without help but they are few and far between.

[Soulfurnace]

99% of quests can be solo'd, 1% require more players for levers

[LordPrescott]

Thanks for the replies!

[lyrecono]

some of those switches can be pulled by pets or hirelings


99% of quests can be solo'd, 1% require more players for levers

[khamastus]

gold seal hirelings (store bought) can be summoned on top of your regular hirelings, so you can have more than one or two in a pinch

[Soulfurnace]

some of those switches can be pulled by pets or hirelings
Those quests are the 99%.

Even the 1%, most are doable, just awkward. (and requires hirelings, preferably a pet, etc.)

[psykopeta]

all can be done with 1 hire and wiki use to have the info

there are 3 where u need more than 1 hire:

- fleshmaker laboratory (most toons can hit 3 levers in the time, a bit hard to hit 4 or impossible depending the class)

- xorian cipher, there's 1 point(maybe near half quest) where there are 4 platforms, need to put something over each platform and wait til the door opens

- tomb of burning heart, same as cipher, however the point where u need 3 hires/pets is right at the beginning

rest of quests (at least quests i do every life XD) u don't need pugging

however if u wanna do some raids then prolly u'll need to pug (use to include annoying mechanics to encourage pugging, as example vault of night)

also for learning mechanics/game the better is start pugging, will learn faster and then u can solo stuff easily, if not it will take ages to figure what's going on with ur xp (as example if u do 1st run in norm in quests u're losing some valuable xp)

[Urist]

FWIW, so far the only time I've grouped with anyone was for Mabar a few years ago. Playing solo is the best way to really learn most quests - even when using the wiki.


there are 3 where u need more than 1 hire:

- fleshmaker laboratory (most toons can hit 3 levers in the time, a bit hard to hit 4 or impossible depending the class)
I've managed this on two toons - a gimp AA and a Battlecleric - using only a single hire. The hire takes the two at one end, and I jump around to get the other three. Might take a few attempts, but it's certainly doable with only one hire.


- xorian cipher, there's 1 point(maybe near half quest) where there are 4 platforms, need to put something over each platform and wait til the door opens
Skeleton archers can be herded onto those platforms. A hire is only really needed to pull the downstairs lever (and it's okay if they die immediately afterward), in the segment immediately following the four-platforms part.


- tomb of burning heart, same as cipher, however the point where u need 3 hires/pets is right at the beginning
Wight corpses also count for lighting the runes. You've just got to be quick about it.

[Panpiper]

I too am greatly motivated to be able to play solo. It is not that I dislike pickup groups (PUGs) that much, it is that usually, there is no group doing content that is at my level and of any interest to me. During those frequent down times, it would be nice to just go do something on my own.

The biggest impediment however is that a character needs to be built with soloing capability in mind. Not every character is equally suited to soloing. Yes, once you have lots of experience, know the game and the quests inside out and can twink your toon to ridiculous levels, it is theoretically possible to solo with most characters. However you will not start out that way.

You want a character that first and foremost, can find and disarm traps. Otherwise your enjoyment of the game will be curtailed right fast as quest after quest kills you outright with no warning. This means rogue or artificer in your build (though by no means does it mean you have to build a character that is primarily a rogue or artificer. One level of artificer followed by 19 levels of wizard could do the trick as the first level in artificer would open the rogue skills you need and the high intelligence of a wizard would give you sufficient skill points to keep the trapping skills maxed. However wizard would not be a good choice IMO for a starting character, as they have very low hitpoints and can die easily if caught alone in a large fight, if you don't know what you are doing. The best bet I think for a starting player wanting to solo would be EllisDee's Tempest Trapmonkey for new players (https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/423116-Tempest-Trapmonkey-for-new-players)

The Tempest Trapmonkey starts with rogue to unlock the trapping skills, and ranger gives more skill points than any other class save rogue, which are sufficient to keep the skills maxxed. Rangers are a combat character with good skills necessary for surviving combat. Moreover their ranged combat capabilities are absolutely top notch which gives you huge flexibility when dealing with enemies. It is usually possible for a ranger using a bow to pull one or a few monsters out of a crowd, let them come to him as he strategically retreats back a bit so they can be defeated easily, then go back and pull a few more. Bosses can be dealt with by first taking out their defending underlings, then manyshotting them from a distance and finishing them in hand to hand with dual weapon wielding, assuming they can't otherwise be killed by running backwards while continuing to fire a bow.

Try to join a guild even though you intend to solo. The guild will benefit from your finding heroic deed rewards as you quest and you will benefit from having access to ship buffs, which can be a really big deal, especially when you are just starting out. Try to find a guild with a reasonably high guild level so they will have access to the highest level buffs. Level 70 would be fine.

See if you can't find a crafter, very possibly in your guild, who can craft for you a pair of weapons. Being able to pull out a pair of bodyfeeder/lesser vampiric scimitars or rapiers in a pinch can completely save your butt if you find yourself in big trouble. If you are very low level, just go for lesser vampiric on a pair (nothing else) and add to that as you gain levels. (Those are for emergencies. I am a crafter myself and my standard goto weapons are holy/vampiric.) While you've got them crafting, see if you can't also get them to put invulnerability onto a piece of skirmish chainmail for you. The making of these things does entail a cost to the maker, so either be ready to compensate them somehow or otherwise thank them profusely. A really high level player who has been playing and crafting for years may think the cost to be trivial, but thank them anyway as they are still giving you their time. Don't expect total strangers however to be so generous. Even a soloist can and should be sociable.

[esteban956]

last night i had 2 hirelings stand by and watch me die without a single heal spell coming my way the second was a gold seal bought just afer barely making it to a rez shrine and never will i waste tp on gold seals he stood there like a statue though on aggresive he did nothing and after i died he was attaked by the monster and he proceded to kill it and heal himself unfortunately i could nolonger get to the heal shrine i couldnt beleive the rediculusness i had to release then run back in to finish the quest agravating to no ends but not worth the tp

[Lonnbeimnech]

can do 99% of the game solo
if you count dualboxing as solo, you can do the other 1% aswell

[Panpiper]

last night i had 2 hirelings stand by and watch me die without a single heal spell coming my way the second was a gold seal bought just afer barely making it to a rez shrine and never will i waste tp on gold seals he stood there like a statue though on aggresive he did nothing and after i died he was attaked by the monster and he proceded to kill it and heal himself unfortunately i could nolonger get to the heal shrine i couldnt beleive the rediculusness i had to release then run back in to finish the quest agravating to no ends but not worth the tp

First off, this is an unusual situation. 'Usually' curative hirelings will cast heals. That said, Favored Soul hirelings are usually offensive casters first and only cast heal spells as a second thought. If their AI is in a combat routine, they may not 'think' to cast a heal when it is necessary because they are 'thinking' about attacking. I generally find it better to keep curative hirelings like favored souls and clerics on defend only. This usually keeps them from getting stuck in an offensive mode and 'forgetting' to heal you. Also, I never take a favored soul if I want the hireling to be my healer, I always take clerics. Clerics on defend almost always do an adequate job of keeping not only me, but the rest of any pug I am with alive, as long as they are on defense.

That said, hirelings are notoriously stupid about some things like traps and lava. It is often best to park a hireling away from traps while you deal with them. For lava and other environmental dangers, park them, move well past the danger, and then call them to you. If you are far enough away, they will just Tport to you. Otherwise when you call them, they will run through the environmental danger quickly for minimal damage, rather than stand in it.

[Wendolyn]

last night i had 2 hirelings stand by and watch me die without a single heal spell coming my way the second was a gold seal bought just afer barely making it to a rez shrine and never will i waste tp on gold seals he stood there like a statue though on aggresive he did nothing and after i died he was attaked by the monster and he proceded to kill it and heal himself unfortunately i could nolonger get to the heal shrine i couldnt beleive the rediculusness i had to release then run back in to finish the quest agravating to no ends but not worth the tp

Not to completely derail this thread, but maybe you do not know this: You can have your hireling pick up your soul stone by targeting the stone (right click) and using their "gear" icon. You can then run to a nearby shrine. You hireling will follow you with the soul stone, so you will not get "out of range". If there's a door to be opened along the way, you can have you hireling do that too with the same gears icon. If your hireling is a little sturdy, you could even have them fight through a pack of monsters to a shrine a little further along your way in this manner. Soloing is often about knowing which options are available to you and remembering to use them (such as resurrection cakes your might have won in the daily dice).

Wend