Do you hope to see more Solo Content?

VouxeTheMinotaur

I was playing ESO last night and was running through IA on my magsorc solo, and just loved it. I've been running IA for quite some time when i don't feel like running group content, like dungeons, trials, etc.

IA was a great addition because it scratched that solo content itch for me. After completing Maelstrom and Vateshran when i was first getting heavily into the game, i was really disappointed to see that those were pretty much the only two solo arena's given to players.

Now i know Dragonstar and Blackrose can also be done as solo too, yeah you're right. But the design of Maelstrom and Vateshran was made only for one player, not the possibility of a group.

I'm hoping ZOS is in the works of making more truly solo content. In a game where there's a massive amount of group content, ultimately meaning others can help you achieve the end goal of rewards and such, it's really refreshing to have content where it's just you, and only you.

I know ZOS also has a pretty obvious and repetitive track record of releasing one chapter a year and 2 DLC dungeons a year, and i doubt they're willing to change their repitition, but:

I'd love to see arenas released alongside dungeon DLC's. 2 brand new dungeons + new solo arena. If not every year, then heck, every other year would be nice, something different.

Again, i know IA can be marked as solo content and it's pretty fresh into the game, but something about Maelstrom and Vateshran makes them feel different from IA.

What do you guys think?

Necrotech_Master

archive is more "fresh" than vateshran and maelstrom, because it has variable boss fights, trash fights and stages, and the variable buffs in the form of the verses and visions

maelstrom and vateshran are the same predictable fights every run and never change

VouxeTheMinotaur

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

archive is more "fresh" than vateshran and maelstrom, because it has variable boss fights, trash fights and stages, and the variable buffs in the form of the verses and visions

maelstrom and vateshran are the same predictable fights every run and never change

yeah you're right, i didn't think of it that way. i suppose that's why i enjoy IA so much.

I would say maybe future solo content could be similar in providing different variables as well, but i imagine that would be frowned upon, and may as well be an IA re-mask too.

Necrotech_Master

VouxeTheMinotaur wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

archive is more "fresh" than vateshran and maelstrom, because it has variable boss fights, trash fights and stages, and the variable buffs in the form of the verses and visions

maelstrom and vateshran are the same predictable fights every run and never change

yeah you're right, i didn't think of it that way. i suppose that's why i enjoy IA so much.

I would say maybe future solo content could be similar in providing different variables as well, but i imagine that would be frowned upon, and may as well be an IA re-mask too.

i expect if we get other arenas they will be more structured like maelstrom/vateshran, or they could include solo versions of existing group dungeons

i would be basically OK though if they just kept expanding and improving the archive (more enemy types, arenas, bosses, visions, verses)

colossalvoids

Whilst I want more arenas, as an example, I doubt we'll get any until at least couple of years. IA was probably their attempt to make something to occupy the audience for couple of years and probably lot longer so they can focus on other stuff without our constant moaning for more solo arenas etc. it's easier to just refresh it and add more variety than make whole new arena.

SeaGtGruff

Technically, the Infinite Archive isn't "solo" content, since it can be run by two players grouped together. It's just "instanced" content, and other instanced content-- such as many of the group dungeons-- can be run by solo players if they wish, although some instanced content requires two or more players due to mechanics, and some instanced content is clearly designed for larger groups (12 players).

Edit: But to answer your question, I play solo at least 95% of the time, and would definitely enjoy more of the "challenging" content that is designed to be clearable by solo players. That said, my main characters aren't even powerful enough to consistently clear the first arc of the IA, because they usually get one-shot by some of the cycle bosses, or knocked off of the platform, and I have a personal rule that I just leave the IA as soon as I get killed-- although in rare cases I might make a second attempt at a boss that just killed me. I've gotten past the first Tho'at a mere couple of times, but most of the time I can't even get to the Tho'at. And I'm okay with that, since I do enjoy fighting the "trash" mobs and the bosses which don't one-shot me or knock me off of the platform.

Cooperharley

Id love more solo content. I think the average ESO player uses ESO largely as a solo experience to tide them over until ES6.

Also, the average MMO enthusiast is older. There’s not a lot of young kids playing them and as such we don’t have as much time (generally) due to work, kids, etc etc. Solo content ensures that I can play on my own time and not feel behind or anything and it’s stuff I can log in and play instantly rather than waiting on a team to be put together.

Big reason why I’d love a more rewarding game in general, story mode for dungeons/use of 3 companions for dungeons, etc etc

tsaescishoeshiner

I'm hoping for more solo/duo content! Finding a group of four, with specific roles, is a lot harder than finding a buddy to do content with like the Archive.

I don't find myself doing Archive for other reasons (takes too long to get challenging & rewarding), but it's been super nice to run it solo or with someone, and I do like it sometimes for sure.

Future solo/duo content could look like:

• Expanded heists/stealth missions with mechanics for two people (activating doors for each other, etc)
• Maybe even a heist-style sneak race against another team?
• An arena where you start out without gear or skills, and unlock new ones via choices like Visions as you go on
• Play a dream version of the existing dungeons with random modifiers for a reward
• Weekly co-op puzzles
• A large map to explore, like a forest or abandoned city, that gets more difficult the longer you take to find the secrets

KaosWarMonk

Solo, with or without a companion, content is fine with me.

AzuraFan

I wouldn't be interested in more solo content like the IA or more arenas. I want more from an experience than just combat.

fizzylu

Nah, I get extremely bored of the solo PvE content like arenas and IA in this game for some reason.

DenverRalphy

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

VouxeTheMinotaur wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

archive is more "fresh" than vateshran and maelstrom, because it has variable boss fights, trash fights and stages, and the variable buffs in the form of the verses and visions

maelstrom and vateshran are the same predictable fights every run and never change

yeah you're right, i didn't think of it that way. i suppose that's why i enjoy IA so much.

I would say maybe future solo content could be similar in providing different variables as well, but i imagine that would be frowned upon, and may as well be an IA re-mask too.

i expect if we get other arenas they will be more structured like maelstrom/vateshran, or they could include solo versions of existing group dungeons

i would be basically OK though if they just kept expanding and improving the archive (more enemy types, arenas, bosses, visions, verses)

I don't know that I ever want to see IA expanded again. Even if I could get past the fact that the u43 changes aren't much more than the same content wearing a different dress, there are just too many rewards tied to it now. There are too many leads gated behind IA now, resulting in far more runs than many players would like chasing after them. The rewards you can purchase are just too numerous and at prices that take too long to acrue. Drops from within the Archive are so numerous now, that curated sets now share curation with a 2nd set dragging it out even longer.

I keep trying to like IA, but constantly feeling like I'd have to sacrifice all other ESO activities to farm IA into what looks like perpetuity.

I get that IA is supposed to be Infinite. But it shouldn't be Infinite At The Expense of All Other Activities.

Desiato

Most of the game is designed to be played solo!

I think there's more than enough solo content. I wouldn't mind more 4 player arenas though.

In general, I don't enjoy solo arenas in eso because I don't play an online game to spend my time in a solo instance. There are better single player games.

Even when I play solo overland or in Cyro, at least it's among other players.

I enjoyed vMA when it was new because it was a breathe of fresh air in terms of challenging content. I don't like IA at all. Especially the super easy early stages.

Necrotech_Master

DenverRalphy wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

VouxeTheMinotaur wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

archive is more "fresh" than vateshran and maelstrom, because it has variable boss fights, trash fights and stages, and the variable buffs in the form of the verses and visions

maelstrom and vateshran are the same predictable fights every run and never change

yeah you're right, i didn't think of it that way. i suppose that's why i enjoy IA so much.

I would say maybe future solo content could be similar in providing different variables as well, but i imagine that would be frowned upon, and may as well be an IA re-mask too.

i expect if we get other arenas they will be more structured like maelstrom/vateshran, or they could include solo versions of existing group dungeons

i would be basically OK though if they just kept expanding and improving the archive (more enemy types, arenas, bosses, visions, verses)

I don't know that I ever want to see IA expanded again. Even if I could get past the fact that the u43 changes aren't much more than the same content wearing a different dress, there are just too many rewards tied to it now. There are too many leads gated behind IA now, resulting in far more runs than many players would like chasing after them. The rewards you can purchase are just too numerous and at prices that take too long to acrue. Drops from within the Archive are so numerous now, that curated sets now share curation with a 2nd set dragging it out even longer.

I keep trying to like IA, but constantly feeling like I'd have to sacrifice all other ESO activities to farm IA into what looks like perpetuity.

I get that IA is supposed to be Infinite. But it shouldn't be Infinite At The Expense of All Other Activities.

i agree it doesnt need any more leads

i didnt mention gear either but i could see them adding more class sets in the future though

there really isnt that much you can buy from the archive, i have like over half a million fortunes right now because the only things i buy are some occasional things from the rotation vendor (leads and monster style pages) and provisioning satchels

if your only running arc 1, then yes the fortunes are going to take a really long time to save up, as arc 1 is ~2-3k fortunes (even less if you miss scamps and bonus portals)

Tandor

I'd welcome more solo content, but not simply in terms of more solo combat as is often what players ask for. Personally, I'd welcome more extensive and deeper solo questing, along the lines of the original main story as well as the companion quests and scribing questline.

fizzylu

AzuraFan wrote: »

I wouldn't be interested in more solo content like the IA or more arenas. I want more from an experience than just combat.

Tandor wrote: »

I'd welcome more solo content, but not simply in terms of more solo combat as is often what players ask for. Personally, I'd welcome more extensive and deeper solo questing, along the lines of the original main story as well as the companion quests and scribing questline.

Honestly, this. I'm realizing that ESO becomes more and more of a MMO I mostly play for the RPG fluff features (especially now after this BG update has officially put the final nail in the coffin of PvP for me).... so I think if they're going to add anything to this game, I'd like it to be more casual/chill activities to do at this point. They can just let other MMOs handle the PvP and serious PvE content.

daim

If you mean removing group restriction mechanics from the current dungeon, then yes! Please.

SkaiFaith

Recently I introduced a new player. After the tutorial he did some random overland fights and quickly got bored, so I took him to Alik'r dolmens to get some levels fast - he got to 15 and asked "can we do dungeons?"

I think the point is even a new player quickly realize overland is quite easy and wants something more challenging, not necessarily requiring a big group; the kid would have enjoyed the Archive but had to log out.

Personally I very much prefer Infinite Archive over any other arena, definitely one of my favourite content in the game. I'd take it any time over any Dungeon, even thou I don't like the scenery.

So more soloable content is nice for me, but much depends on how it gets balanced.

AlterBlika

ESO is too solo friendly already. Although it would be nice if we could get rid of some group mechanics in dungeons/trials that make it impossible to complete solo. Can't vote for solo arenas though, their balance is a joke when every patch we get unnecessary buffs to classes that just powercreep pve content. vDLC dungeons (well most of them) aged quite well in terms of soloing, unlike vMA and vVH.

DenverRalphy

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

DenverRalphy wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

VouxeTheMinotaur wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

archive is more "fresh" than vateshran and maelstrom, because it has variable boss fights, trash fights and stages, and the variable buffs in the form of the verses and visions

maelstrom and vateshran are the same predictable fights every run and never change

yeah you're right, i didn't think of it that way. i suppose that's why i enjoy IA so much.

I would say maybe future solo content could be similar in providing different variables as well, but i imagine that would be frowned upon, and may as well be an IA re-mask too.

i expect if we get other arenas they will be more structured like maelstrom/vateshran, or they could include solo versions of existing group dungeons

i would be basically OK though if they just kept expanding and improving the archive (more enemy types, arenas, bosses, visions, verses)

I don't know that I ever want to see IA expanded again. Even if I could get past the fact that the u43 changes aren't much more than the same content wearing a different dress, there are just too many rewards tied to it now. There are too many leads gated behind IA now, resulting in far more runs than many players would like chasing after them. The rewards you can purchase are just too numerous and at prices that take too long to acrue. Drops from within the Archive are so numerous now, that curated sets now share curation with a 2nd set dragging it out even longer.

I keep trying to like IA, but constantly feeling like I'd have to sacrifice all other ESO activities to farm IA into what looks like perpetuity.

I get that IA is supposed to be Infinite. But it shouldn't be Infinite At The Expense of All Other Activities.

i agree it doesnt need any more leads

i didnt mention gear either but i could see them adding more class sets in the future though

there really isnt that much you can buy from the archive, i have like over half a million fortunes right now because the only things i buy are some occasional things from the rotation vendor (leads and monster style pages) and provisioning satchels

if your only running arc 1, then yes the fortunes are going to take a really long time to save up, as arc 1 is ~2-3k fortunes (even less if you miss scamps and bonus portals)

Provisioning boxes from Filer Tezus for the Aetherial Dust, Perfect Roe, and the War Torte primary ingredients. Furnishing materials trunk has some real goodies in it. As well all the others. To name a few.

AcadianPaladin

I love soloing but find Arenas and IA. . . tedious and not enjoyable.

What I would love is a choice when you enter a delve to have a private instance for you (+companion and group if you have a group or duo) just so the delve would not be so darn crowded and truly be the more solo experience delves were designed to be.

Similarly, I'd love to see an option when entering a group dungeon to select scaling for 1-4 players. This would involve adjusting combat mechanics to fit the group size (like dolmens already do) and, of course, fixing any mechanics that require multiple players. And for what it's worth I solo dungeons for fun and could care less if such changes impact loot drops.

Currently, I enjoy soloing about half the alliance zone group dungeons on normal. I ignore all DLC dungeons because I cannot solo them and am not interested in 'grouping' them. The changes I propose to group dungeons would significantly expand the game for this primarily solo player with less investment in new content/overhead than some other options to expand solo play.

Taril

On a base level, I'd really like more solo friendly ways to obtain rewards from certain group activities. Such as WB's and Incursions from older DLC zones. As they're not particularly popular anymore so it can be annoying if say a Lead or other specific reward (Like Motifs, ToT fragments etc) is tied to them

As for actual solo designed content...

More stuff would be nice. Though the question always comes back to how many resources will they put towards it (Versus group content they can slap events around and push FOMO for Crown sales) and how it will be implemented.

In terms of overall "Solo" MMO content I've seen plenty of examples in my time.

- There's the "Endless" dungeons of things like IA here in ESO and Palace of the Dead/Heaven on High in FFXIV. With the latter featuring entirely separate leveling and gear systems from the regular game (I believe GW2 had something similar with its Super Adventure Box though I've not had too much experience with it).

This sort of thing can usually be pretty entertaining. Though it's often tuned so that doing it solo is a complete slog and it's better to party up instead...

The idea of something like this has potential though. Especially if you factor in PotD/SAB style separate systems. It'd allow you to create a Roguelite game mode, where you get a lot of variance through the random generation of items/powerups as well as map layout and enemy/boss spawns.

If implemented well enough, it can be simply fun enough to play for itself much like other popular Roguelite titles such as Binding of Isaac, Enter the Gungeon, Slay the Spire, Darkest Dungeon etc.

- "Legendary" weapons are another type of (Mostly) solo content that appears in a few MMO titles. These are usually some form of long, grindy quest (Literal or metaphorical) to build up to something flashy and cool. Though these often do end up requiring a bunch of group content to acquire (GW2 needs a bunch of WB items to craft theirs, FFXIV have had ones that needed many, many, many dungeons as well as the Eureka WB farming)

But the core of it is typically some long task to acquire materials (Sometimes actually requiring crafting skills) to eventually get what will likely be a shiny transmog because you only get to use it for a few months of BiS before the next tier of loot renders it obsolete (While for GW2 they're entirely just cosmetic because you'd be able to simply craft BiS items if you were actually able to make a Legendary)

Having some massive quest chain to get cool Aedric artifacts could be interesting for solo content. But would most likely end up being stuff like "Do 18 trillion WB's" and "Get 92 decillion AP" and "Run so many dungeons that your eyes literally bleed" because MMO.

- "Base Building" has seen various iterations. From early things like FFXIV's Beast Tribes and WoW's farms, to stuff like WoW's garris-*Eurk* - Sorry, it's hard to think about that without wanting to projectile vomit...

The general premise is pretty simple. You get some sort of camp or area. You do quests and activities and slowly build up said camp with things like more ameneties and upgraded effects and... Then you ignore it because that's all it was there for.

Uhh... Yeah, this sort of thing has never really gone anywhere. Like, it's not even half-baked, it's "You haven't even turned the oven on" content for whatever reason (Perhaps because it's solo focused content? Like, this is the true "Solo only" content as it's unique to your specific character and literally no-one else can interact with it)

The closest ESO has gotten to this sort of thing was the whole "Hollow City" thing in Coldharbour where you populated the city by doing all the quests.

Such things could provide more content though, WoW's Borelords of Draenor version of the content did have some focus on leveling up and equipping companions to send on missions to obtain loot (Both things like crafting materials and also chances for stuff like items from Normal difficulty Raids)

There's more potential too, like having seiges where it's like a solo incursion but you have all your NPC allies assisting you. Heck you could toss in some actual siege equipment to boot. Also things like unique solo dungeons/trials where you go with a team of NPC's from your base to explore (Or attack) some noteworthy place.

Meanwhile, such a thing can go hand-in-hand with like furnishings and the current Companions.

katanagirl1

I’m not a huge fan of the super grindy IA for solo play, I am still getting the first leads of things from there. I am not sure what new solo play I would be interest in, due to the fact that others want more challenging solo content that requires gear from group content, which I usually don’t have. So it is just frustrating for players like me to do those activities.

Erickson9610

I'm personally looking forward to our final Class Set from the Infinite Archive, that goes with the last of our 3 Class skill lines. I hope we get another IA update next year, similar to the update to it we received this year.

SickleCider

Yes, absolutely yes. I thrive in solo content. I like being able to tell buddies, "Look what I did! Me! I did it my way! 😁" The archive is nice because if I'm feeling a little more social I can bring a friend in, too.

BasP

I would definitely like to see another solo Arena like Vateshran Hollows, though the Veteran version could perhaps be a bit more difficult than vVH. Even though that Arena is relatively old and I've done countless of runs already, I still enjoy it more than Infinite Archive (I am looking forward to IA's next Class Sets however, as well as any other new features).

TaSheen

AcadianPaladin wrote: »

I love soloing but find Arenas and IA. . . tedious and not enjoyable.

What I would love is a choice when you enter a delve to have a private instance for you (+companion and group if you have a group or duo) just so the delve would not be so darn crowded and truly be the more solo experience delves were designed to be.

Similarly, I'd love to see an option when entering a group dungeon to select scaling for 1-4 players. This would involve adjusting combat mechanics to fit the group size (like dolmens already do) and, of course, fixing any mechanics that require multiple players. And for what it's worth I solo dungeons for fun and could care less if such changes impact loot drops.

Currently, I enjoy soloing about half the alliance zone group dungeons on normal. I ignore all DLC dungeons because I cannot solo them and am not interested in 'grouping' them. The changes I propose to group dungeons would significantly expand the game for this primarily solo player with less investment in new content/overhead than some other options to expand solo play.

This! This right here.... While I'm not at all interested in dungeons, I would LOVE solo/private delve instances! Loot is of virtually no importance to me either.

Vaqual

Ideally they should release medium difficulty group content that can be soloed (or low-manned) by versed players to gain greater rewards (that doesn't have to be shared with the party). The personalized loot is a bit of an obstacle for that.
It basically trades beginner friendliness and fast clear times for faster grouping times and more loot. On top you get the added feeling of accomplishment. These were always my favourite aspects about soloing content in other games.

Artim_X

More solo content would be nice.

Theist_VII

Definitely would love more Solo arenas.

Part of the thrill of ESO back in the day, was chasing Veteran Maelstrom and Vateshran. Having those clears were a visible way to show your skill at the game, while having Flawless Conquerer and then Spirit Slayer represented mastery.

Lately I feel as though there are far too many tri-fecta titles, for far too much content, to the point where it’s hard to track what means anything, especially after all of the botched patches with exploits and broken mythics.

Understanding this is a 10 year old game, I get it, but nothing will take away that nostalgia I have every time I enter Wrothgar where I would practice animation cancelling on bears and trolls to finally develop the skill needed to push my way through Maelstrom Arena on veteran, and that sense of accomplishment and pride when I finally did it and had an awesome Inferno Staff that everyone recognized and were in awe of.

daim

AcadianPaladin wrote: »

Similarly, I'd love to see an option when entering a group dungeon to select scaling for 1-4 players. This would involve adjusting combat mechanics to fit the group size (like dolmens already do) and, of course, fixing any mechanics that require multiple players. And for what it's worth I solo dungeons for fun and could care less if such changes impact loot drops.

About the dungeon scaling.. I'd rather only want an option to remove the mechanics that make it impossible for you to do the dungeon. It's great fun to try to do and complete dungeons alone but as many of them are designed in the way you can't progress (pressure plates etc) just because there's no possible way to solo is just sad.