How much of this game is soloable?

[Vexxil]

I've been playing DDO for a week and a half now I believe, and have just recently purchased VIP because I know I want to sink some time into this game. My preferred play style is being able to solo, however. I've been able to do mostly all the quests up till now (lvl 6) soloing on normal with a cleric hireling with almost no problems, but I'm curious how much longer I can expect to keep this up.

I play as a THF Fighter, so I know my class can solo a little better than some others, but how much of this game can I expect to be able to solo on normal with a hireling? I don't mind partying up once in awhile to do quests/raids that absolutely require parties, but for the most part I want to keep it solo.

Also, any advice suggestions and whatnot would be awesome to hear.

[ninjaeli]

an infinite amount of mana pots = all of it..maybe..

[NaturalHazard]

an infinite amount of mana pots = all of it..maybe..

cept for the ones where you need multiple people to pull levers and do puzzles?

[Baloran]

There are only a very few quests which cannot be soloed (or are very hard to solo) due to the quest design. Since you are VIP you can just skip these quests and get your XP somewhere else. I'm pretty sure that you can get to level 20 all by yourself.

But some quests are rather complicated if you do them the first time and you don't know what to do. So they are technically soloable, but its much easier to do them with a group and learn what you have to do in the quest by watching the more experienced players.

Cheers

Baloran

[Unreliable]

I have leveled multiple characters to level 20 without ever joining a group. (except maybe once for cruicible).

Hope this helps.

[Losercrew]

cept for the ones where you need multiple people to pull levers and do puzzles?

Solution: DDO points - Buy gold seal hirelings

[phillymiket]

I started this game soloing as well.
I came from the PnP side and had never been much of a video game player and some of my first few groups I was in left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. (some rude zerger types)

Do your solo thing.
You will need a bunch of pots for resist, cures etc to solo much beyond where you are.
You may hit a wall around level 9-12 where the lack of proper buffs makes things very difficult.

You are VIP so that means you can make a bunch of characters.

Park your toon and make another (a variation - barb, ranger, monk or something).
After getting a few chracters up to the place where soloing becomes hard for you make another toon and group with that one.
You will be quite familiar with the low-end content at that point and will find you are a considerably better player than many of the puggers you will play with but they will teach you many new tricks and strategies you had not considered. You'll start to level toons in a fraction of the time your first one took.

At that point you can solo your toons to even higher levels with the new insights or maybe you'll decide grouping is more fun (as I did).

In any case you'll have a little fleet of characters in the mid-range.
Soon your fleet will be high-end then capped.

Definitely try some other classes at some point.
All the classes are fun and as others pointed out a class like a FVS can solo most everything much more easily then a straight melee.

[krud]

much of the game can be solo'd. I haven't tried it with hirelings, since I build mostly self-sufficient characters. I started a character on a new server, and found I could solo most content on normal or harder up until level 14 or so. The game becomes more raid focused, and beyond 14 it gets more difficult without the resources and/or twink gear. I started doing more casual runs, and grouping up at that point, though some of the newer content is easier to solo. The pre-raids, and flagging quests are better run in groups if you don't have the twink gear, or resources built up from multiple characters over the years.

[Vexxil]

I might as well ask, is Casual mode worth playing if I am going to solo or are the penalties too dramatic (i.e too much exp loss)? Should I just stick to normal mode?

[callforkills]

I might as well ask, is Casual mode worth playing if I am going to solo or are the penalties too dramatic (i.e too much exp loss)? Should I just stick to normal mode?

Some do a quest once on every difficulity for first time xp.
If you are stuck somewhere with xp you can just do some casual quests for the first time bonus.
It's not the worst xp, but its definitely not the best either.

[Sholia]

Some do a quest once on every difficulity for first time xp.
If you are stuck somewhere with xp you can just do some casual quests for the first time bonus.
It's not the worst xp, but its definitely not the best either.

I do this often when soloing at-level content. Casual XP isn't really that bad, especially when you're not familiar with the quest in the first place. I'll usually repeat it immediately afterward on normal for another bonus to XP. I find that once I get to about level 10 or 12, even normal becomes a challenge and I often run only Casual at-level, then wait a bit before repeating. But I don't like using hirelings so it's only me. Although it's possible to run stuff at a higher level, the cost in clickies and pots becomes prohibitive, so I avoid it.

I've found most quests are soloable if you're willing to skip many of the optionals and just get to the end for the completion. To me, this is acceptable when doing it the first time on Casual and Normal. But on difficulties above this, I *want* to do those optionals for the maximum XP possible on a first run. When repeating, I don't mind missing the XP because I'm probably running it for loot in the first place.

[krud]

I might as well ask, is Casual mode worth playing if I am going to solo or are the penalties too dramatic (i.e too much exp loss)? Should I just stick to normal mode?

I always start off on normal in unfamiliar quests, and only try casual if I keep taking multiple beatings. That usually won't happen until you reach some of the upper level/preraid content. XP progress is going to be slow if you try to solo the upper levels, even if you start on normal rather than casual. You will find it beneficial to group up.

[cdemeritt]

I might as well ask, is Casual mode worth playing if I am going to solo or are the penalties too dramatic (i.e too much exp loss)? Should I just stick to normal mode?

Casual is Very poor XP, and chest loot is worse than normal, and quests that "Always" Drop a specific Item, don't on casual... I rarely run anything on casual... (unless I'm looking for a specific end reward... then it is much faster)...

However, if you are running a quest for the first time, and are not sure much about it... casual can be a good way to learn what to expect...

Now to your original question... There are very few quests that point blank cannot be solo'd... Von5, and the Titan Pre-raid are the only ones that truly come to mind... I'm sure there are a few more...

But there are a number of quests that require a lever pulled, pressure plate to be activated, and other such devices... Most of these can be handled using a single hireling... Some will need creative thinking to make work... I believe 99.9% of this game has been solo'd by someone... With enough resources...


Just keep in mind that as a solo player, there will be optionals you won't be able to get, and a few quests that will be much more difficult no matter what class you choose.

[Angelus_dead]

I play as a THF Fighter, so I know my class can solo a little better than some others, but how much of this game can I expect to be able to solo on normal with a hireling?

Most all of it can be soloed, but being a THF Fighter makes you below average at solo ability.

[Vexxil]

How does being THF lower my solo ability? I figure so long as my cleric hireling isn't dead, stunned, knocked down etc I should be able to keep my health up.

[Demeron]

hmmmmmmm.........just for me i am intrested why play an MMO and solo everything?

[cdemeritt]

hmmmmmmm.........just for me i am intrested why play an MMO and solo everything?

1000 reasons...
Updates,
new content,
the ability to group when/if you want,
the freedom to do what quest I want without waiting for a group,
no need to hear people complain I'm going too fast/Too slow,
If I decide to do optionals, I don't have to worry about upsetting someone else,
If I decide I'm going for Ransack/Conquest No whiners,
If I decide Not to go for Ransack/Conquest No whiners,
No worries AFK...

The list goes on and on... but I think you get the point.

[NinjaNeed]

1000 reasons...
Updates,
new content,
the ability to group when/if you want,
the freedom to do what quest I want without waiting for a group,
no need to hear people complain I'm going too fast/Too slow,
If I decide to do optionals, I don't have to worry about upsetting someone else,
If I decide I'm going for Ransack/Conquest No whiners,
If I decide Not to go for Ransack/Conquest No whiners,
No worries AFK...

The list goes on and on... but I think you get the point.

I think his point was more "why bother with an mmo if your not going to group? The whole point of an mmo is that it is massively MULTI-PLAYER on-line....."

So why your points are all good reasons not to group, why play a game designed for grouping when you could play another game where no grouping is required (Mario, COD, GTA etc etc etc)???

[cdemeritt]

I think his point was more "why bother with an mmo if your not going to group? The whole point of an mmo is that it is massively MULTI-PLAYER on-line....."

So why your points are all good reasons not to group, why play a game designed for grouping when you could play another game where no grouping is required (Mario, COD, GTA etc etc etc)???

Refer to points 1, 2, 3... I love my old Command and Conquer: Red Alert.... Even reload it sometimes... But it hasn't changed in 15 years....


I'm also very certain Every other MMO has solo'rs, in them too...


Oh yeah, this game is Free to play too... So why not...

[krud]

I think his point was more "why bother with an mmo if your not going to group? The whole point of an mmo is that it is massively MULTI-PLAYER on-line....."

So why your points are all good reasons not to group, why play a game designed for grouping when you could play another game where no grouping is required (Mario, COD, GTA etc etc etc)???

I find myself soloing all new content at least once, before grouping up to do it. It's the only way I can be guaranteed to see everything for the very first time, without spoilers, at my own speed, using my own tactics, and not having some twinked out TR blow thru everything. No need to post an lfm waiting for like minded people either, just go solo. First time quests are much more exciting that way.

I group whenever i need to get the mindless repetion/boring grinds out of the way. Solo is for the challenge/excitement.