Solo dungeon mode, please

Stebarnz

Yes to running solo so I don't have to carry turnips in my pockets all day and yes to full loot if I run solo because I don't want to carry turnips all day so they can casually pick up loot as I do all the work.
If you wanna run as a group then option still there, if you wanna run solo then option there so everyone wins.
(might be harder for the turnips to finish any content without carries but they gotta learn man, take the training wheels off.)

p_tsakirisb16_ESO

myskyrim26 wrote: »

A lot of people want to do dungeon stories, and it is impossible to become a team.

Sherman has a lot of solo builds, who are good enough to run all normal (non DLC) dungeons solo.

LiraTaurwen

I didn't mind that dungeons needed grouping before. Maybe a little envious that I would never get to experience those stories but I was resigned to it. The only reason I mind now is because they said the story of these dungeons would tie into the rest of the story.

Is it really just a waste of resources if a lot of players want it? I don't Think they'll do it but all the same... we paid for the game too, you know.[/quote]

As I said there could be easier and better solutions. I was just thinking there could be a mentour system, where players that know the mechanics of dungeons would queue up with players doing it for the first time. Mentours helping new or casual players in dungeons would be rewarded, this could be done in many ways like an achievement or even, something more fun, at the end of the dungeon if a new player completed the quest a chest would spawn with some rewards for the entire group. Now the quality of the rewards I have no idea what should be eheh nothing too powerfull but still worth getting, maybe cosmetics or something cool

Reistr_the_Unbroken

MikaHR wrote: »

It is a necessity now that they decided to put main STORY in them. And no, just like any other MMO, forced grouping for main STORY will make majority of people leave the game instead.

And there is also $$ incentive for ZOS because with solo (story) mode and its rewards (that would be separate/lesser than group modes) many more people would be interested to actually buy DLC(s).

Bolding this because it’s why I regret pre-ordering Elsweyr, and will continue to never touch a damn dungeon

p_tsakirisb16_ESO

macsmooth wrote: »

Too many pugs leave people when they are sat waiting for the story to conclude and then they are kicked out of the dungeon before they can collect the skill point, volenfell, banishing cells, elden root to name a few dungeons

Add DS2. I had my healer twice yesterday not having the "time" to run from the Engine Guardian to the NPC on the other room to hand the quest.
Even if all three times asked multiple times for someone to stay to hand quest. By the time the Engine Guardian was dead, they completely disband the group.

myskyrim26

p_tsakirisb16_ESO wrote: »

myskyrim26 wrote: »

A lot of people want to do dungeon stories, and it is impossible to become a team.

Sherman has a lot of solo builds, who are good enough to run all normal (non DLC) dungeons solo.

NON-DLC. Why should I miss any? For what reason? Especially if DLC dungeons will now be a part of the story? The very beginning of the story!
As for the builds: you know, some people can master playing piano, or cooking, or diving, whatever. Some not. Some can solo dungeons - they are few. All others can't. I tried. I got prepared heavily - sets, rotations, food, potions, etc. I failed. I can't master the combat this game provides. I tried Sorc, DK, Nightblade, Warden. No. Just no, I can't do dunheons solo now except 2 easiest ones

Stebarnz

LiraTaurwen wrote: »

I didn't mind that dungeons needed grouping before. Maybe a little envious that I would never get to experience those stories but I was resigned to it. The only reason I mind now is because they said the story of these dungeons would tie into the rest of the story.

Is it really just a waste of resources if a lot of players want it? I don't Think they'll do it but all the same... we paid for the game too, you know.

As I said there could be easier and better solutions. I was just thinking there could be a mentour system, where players that know the mechanics of dungeons would queue up with players doing it for the first time. Mentours helping new or casual players in dungeons would be rewarded, this could be done in many ways like an achievement or even, something more fun, at the end of the dungeon if a new player completed the quest a chest would spawn with some rewards for the entire group. Now the quality of the rewards I have no idea what should be eheh nothing too powerfull but still worth getting, maybe cosmetics or something cool

[/quote]

Running people through dungeons that actually wanted to learn and improve would be great I used to do this years ago and made some great friends but then there was an attitude shift and if I try to help people now I get told to 'STFU elitist' so I don't carry turnips no more. If someone nice wants help though I always try to help.

Karavis3

LiraTaurwen wrote: »

I didn't mind that dungeons needed grouping before. Maybe a little envious that I would never get to experience those stories but I was resigned to it. The only reason I mind now is because they said the story of these dungeons would tie into the rest of the story.

Is it really just a waste of resources if a lot of players want it? I don't Think they'll do it but all the same... we paid for the game too, you know.

As I said there could be easier and better solutions. I was just thinking there could be a mentour system, where players that know the mechanics of dungeons would queue up with players doing it for the first time. Mentours helping new or casual players in dungeons would be rewarded, this could be done in many ways like an achievement or even, something more fun, at the end of the dungeon if a new player completed the quest a chest would spawn with some rewards for the entire group. Now the quality of the rewards I have no idea what should be eheh nothing too powerfull but still worth getting, maybe cosmetics or something cool

[/quote]

I don't remember if it was this thread or another, but someone suggested something like a meridia/emperor buff. That could be an option that's not as costly. Another one suggested having "mercenaries" spawn to fill the spots on your team.

As for rewards, I'm fine with it just being like an overland delve.

If solo mode, the difficulty could be tougher than a delve but easier than a dungeon. The reward I'm really after is the story and being able to look at the environments.

Maybe a mentor system would work if there was some garantuee that we could hear all the dialogue we wanted and properly finish the quest withoout being kicked from the dungeon. It has to be people that are willing to handle the frustration of playing with people like me. I'm a crap player and I know it. When I play with others I just get performance anxiety and stress which makes me play even worse which will in turn make me feel worse. Especially taking up other players time while continually failing.

myskyrim26

@Karavis3

A buff or mercenaries could be a great option

Olith

LiraTaurwen wrote: »

Wouldn't it be easier to just create a system that would reward people for waiting for players to do their quests? It could be something like repeatable quests for each dungeon for example. I think the problem is the mentality of some players to rush everything, there should be some game mechanics to prevent this.
I disagree with solo mode though, it would just be a waste of resources. The game as sooo much to do, why do casuals always have to beg to have everything.. I have seen this destroying other games, hope ESO0s devs don't listen to this.

No idea if it's easier to implement, but for those who want to rush through the dungeons it would be terrible. They would probably run amok and kick you from the group when you so much as recharge your staff. And honestly, we couldn't blame them. As we want to play the game our way, they should be able to play it their way. That's why a separate solo mode would be great, it would not negatively affect those which don't want to play it.

As for the "waste of resources"... You do realize that part of the main story of the coming DLCs is expected to take place in dungeons? If ZOS don't want to put in these resources, they risk to lose a lot of potential customers, namely us unwashed masses, the casuals, for the whole year.

Elissae

+1 for some kind of Solo Story Mode for group content.

myskyrim26

Information from another post here:

hakan wrote: »

Sooo.. did you guys see the new dungeon? Because it looks like the hardest dungeon yet xD

Hardest! Hardest dungeons locking the story of Dragons and Khajiit!

Here's the post: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/453401/new-dungeons-better-be-normal#latest

tuxon

Beautifully written and explained.

@ZOS better listen to this idea. I was the same in 2015 when I started but now I do dungeons like in MMO not TES and that's unfortunate.

InvictusApollo

When I do dungeons I allways speedrun them, vet or normal, hm or easy - it's allways a speedrun. But I would love to do a dungeon from time to time just for the story and to appreciate my surroundings. This solo mode would be awesome, especially if I could activate the quest every time I enter said dungeon.

Chirru

It appears (still not sure) that the dungeons in the upcoming DLC are indeed 4 player dungeons.

Naturally...as an avid solo player I am greatly disappointed since these Dungeons are tied to the story plot.

I hate Slavery...so I will not be forced into grouping. The Developers crude and infantile attempt of social engineering will not work with me.

Having made this decision I will miss out on Story and hence as far as the story is concerned...this DLC is irrelevant for me.

I can only hope there is enough other content and improvement in the DLC so as to keep me interested in playing the game.

In all of this I remember...it is only a Game that I can drop at any time.

Indeed...I am waiting already for something of similar quality to enter the market. Should that happen...yea...the answer is obvious...is it not...

adriant1978

In case anyone missed it, here is ZOS explanation/justification for the dungeons/story thing:

ZOS_Finn wrote: »

The story is connected to the Season of the Dragon in that, assisting Tharayya in getting both halves of the Wrathstone tablet in Frostvault and Depths of Malatar provides context for how Abnur Tharn has them in the prologue quest. If you do not do the Dungeons, that's fine, some other adventurers helped him... but if you did, its an awesome pay off to see your hard work in the Dungeons with your friends be rewarded with a cool story element, don't you think? It's not something that has happened before and we are excited to finally bring this experience to players who enjoy our group content.

myskyrim26

adriant1978 wrote: »

In case anyone missed it, here is ZOS explanation/justification for the dungeons/story thing:

ZOS_Finn wrote: »

The story is connected to the Season of the Dragon in that, assisting Tharayya in getting both halves of the Wrathstone tablet in Frostvault and Depths of Malatar provides context for how Abnur Tharn has them in the prologue quest. If you do not do the Dungeons, that's fine, some other adventurers helped him... but if you did, its an awesome pay off to see your hard work in the Dungeons with your friends be rewarded with a cool story element, don't you think? It's not something that has happened before and we are excited to finally bring this experience to players who enjoy our group content.

I hardly keep myself from commenting on this "justification"

adriant1978

myskyrim26 wrote: »

adriant1978 wrote: »

In case anyone missed it, here is ZOS explanation/justification for the dungeons/story thing:

ZOS_Finn wrote: »

The story is connected to the Season of the Dragon in that, assisting Tharayya in getting both halves of the Wrathstone tablet in Frostvault and Depths of Malatar provides context for how Abnur Tharn has them in the prologue quest. If you do not do the Dungeons, that's fine, some other adventurers helped him... but if you did, its an awesome pay off to see your hard work in the Dungeons with your friends be rewarded with a cool story element, don't you think? It's not something that has happened before and we are excited to finally bring this experience to players who enjoy our group content.

I hardly keep myself from commenting on this "justification"

IMO you should comment if you feel strongly about it. If nobody calls them out on it, they will assume approval.

Reistr_the_Unbroken

adriant1978 wrote: »

myskyrim26 wrote: »

adriant1978 wrote: »

In case anyone missed it, here is ZOS explanation/justification for the dungeons/story thing:

ZOS_Finn wrote: »

The story is connected to the Season of the Dragon in that, assisting Tharayya in getting both halves of the Wrathstone tablet in Frostvault and Depths of Malatar provides context for how Abnur Tharn has them in the prologue quest. If you do not do the Dungeons, that's fine, some other adventurers helped him... but if you did, its an awesome pay off to see your hard work in the Dungeons with your friends be rewarded with a cool story element, don't you think? It's not something that has happened before and we are excited to finally bring this experience to players who enjoy our group content.

I hardly keep myself from commenting on this "justification"

IMO you should comment if you feel strongly about it. If nobody calls them out on it, they will assume approval.

This is what I told them: “This is a pretty bad idea to lock part of a story behind a dungeon DLC that many of us will never do, especially if “Normal mode” is equivalent to that of Vet mode, or being even more difficult IMO”

myskyrim26

adriant1978 wrote: »

IMO you should comment if you feel strongly about it. If nobody calls them out on it, they will assume approval.

I did. Posted my comment there...
Here's the topic, I think we need to post more comments there https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/5754319#Comment_5754319

Casdha

Here's an idea, Hey ZOS you want more crowns

Create and Sell Story mode in the crown store.

I'd still rather it be a standard difficulty option though.

Like This:

BretonMage

I'd happily pay for a solo dungeon mode. But I think they should do normal mode AND vet mode, for people who like vet level but without being forced to group. With appropriate rewards.

Stebarnz wrote: »

As I said there could be easier and better solutions. I was just thinking there could be a mentour system, where players that know the mechanics of dungeons would queue up with players doing it for the first time. Mentours helping new or casual players in dungeons would be rewarded, this could be done in many ways like an achievement or even, something more fun, at the end of the dungeon if a new player completed the quest a chest would spawn with some rewards for the entire group. Now the quality of the rewards I have no idea what should be eheh nothing too powerfull but still worth getting, maybe cosmetics or something cool

Interesting idea, don't know if there are many charitable souls who will volunteer (there IS a guild who's dedicated to helping players experience dungeon stories, kudos to them).... Though I think that if ZOS is forcing us to group up, then THEY should provide a mentor.

Chirru wrote: »

I hate Slavery...so I will not be forced into grouping. The Developers crude and infantile attempt of social engineering will not work with me.

I hate grouping up too, though I think it's more about money, not social engineering. They probably decided that players stay around for longer if they play with friends, so they're trying to force us to find friends so we'll continue to feed their profits. And it probably works too, because in threads asking forumites what keeps us in the game, about 70% of the time, people respond, "friends".

Mintaka5

Yes, please. Sick of putting up with solos ruining my game experience powering through dungeons.

AlboMalefica

Yeah this is actually a pretty solid idea, although would like some achievements to be added too, would be a nice way to get some undaunted when you can’t get a group

haloufe007

965/5000
personally I buy everything except Summerset
and I visited only 2 or 3 dungeon despite playing 1133 hours
but the impossibility of going solo dungeon and benefited from the story appropriately does not interest me
I buy all DLC dungeon but I had never go to 98% of dungeons, and I do not go there to not spoil the esperience.
the dungeons are not a highway
and I have been waiting for a solution for several years.
I had a stock of 21000 crowns that I use with DLC during promotions. I still have 14950 crowns
with the dragon season
the story is locked with the 4 DLCs of the year
it may also be a trick to force customers to buy dlc dungeon.
force me to do highway dungeons to understand the history of off-dungeon areas go against my expectation
I decided to stop paying a cent until there was no solution to the story of the dungeons.

Chirru

adriant1978 wrote: »

In case anyone missed it, here is ZOS explanation/justification for the dungeons/story thing:

ZOS_Finn wrote: »

The story is connected to the Season of the Dragon in that, assisting Tharayya in getting both halves of the Wrathstone tablet in Frostvault and Depths of Malatar provides context for how Abnur Tharn has them in the prologue quest. If you do not do the Dungeons, that's fine, some other adventurers helped him... but if you did, its an awesome pay off to see your hard work in the Dungeons with your friends be rewarded with a cool story element, don't you think? It's not something that has happened before and we are excited to finally bring this experience to players who enjoy our group content.

"If you do not do the Dungeons, that's fine...."

Haha... if the Dungeons were not locked behind group-play...right...

So what is the pay off?

Missing out on content...right.

Well done Developers. Grrr....

myskyrim26

Casdha wrote: »

Here's an idea, Hey ZOS you want more crowns

Create and Sell Story mode in the crown store.

I'd still rather it be a standard difficulty option though.

Like This:

Actually, there are several ways of making good money of a solo dungeon mode:
1. For a base game, it can be a part of ESO+. As of now I rarely pay for ESO+ as the only real benefit is a Craft Bag. With a solo mode added, ESO+ will become vital for me
2. For dungeon DLCs a solo mode can be a part of a Collectors Edition. How many player actually buy dungeon DLCs? I guess far less than players who buy story DLCs.
3. A solo mode can be a Crown Store Upgrade. Even 2 separate upgrades: regular for a base game and premium for all the dungeons.
4. A solo mode can be a separate subscription - SOLO ESO+.

@ZOS_Finn, a solo mode is a nice way to sell dungeon DLCs to more players.

Chirru

BretonMage wrote: »

I'd happily pay for a solo dungeon mode. But I think they should do normal mode AND vet mode, for people who like vet level but without being forced to group. With appropriate rewards.

Stebarnz wrote: »

As I said there could be easier and better solutions. I was just thinking there could be a mentour system, where players that know the mechanics of dungeons would queue up with players doing it for the first time. Mentours helping new or casual players in dungeons would be rewarded, this could be done in many ways like an achievement or even, something more fun, at the end of the dungeon if a new player completed the quest a chest would spawn with some rewards for the entire group. Now the quality of the rewards I have no idea what should be eheh nothing too powerfull but still worth getting, maybe cosmetics or something cool

Interesting idea, don't know if there are many charitable souls who will volunteer (there IS a guild who's dedicated to helping players experience dungeon stories, kudos to them).... Though I think that if ZOS is forcing us to group up, then THEY should provide a mentor.

Chirru wrote: »

I hate Slavery...so I will not be forced into grouping. The Developers crude and infantile attempt of social engineering will not work with me.

I hate grouping up too, though I think it's more about money, not social engineering. They probably decided that players stay around for longer if they play with friends, so they're trying to force us to find friends so we'll continue to feed their profits. And it probably works too, because in threads asking forumites what keeps us in the game, about 70% of the time, people respond, "friends".

Please do not understand me wrong!

I have nothing against PvP play!

I have nothing against Group Dungeons play!


What I do speak against is this...

Players who do like to play PvP and do like Grouping in dungeons do have access to all of the Game.

Players who prefer to play PvE Solo do not!

PvE Solo players miss out on a huge chunk of the Game's features.

In other words...players with a Herd mentality get it all and Individualism is punished by the Developers (in my opinion). I call this Social Engineering.

Concerning playing with Friends....ah... really? Is anyone really telling me that playing in a Group shuffled together by a random dungeon finder App constitutes 'playing with friends'? The very thought has me roflol.

Good luck to us all

BretonMage

Chirru wrote: »

What I do speak against is this...

Players who do like to play PvP and do like Grouping in dungeons do have access to all of the Game.

Players who prefer to play PvE Solo do not!

PvE Solo players miss out on a huge chunk of the Game's features.

In other words...players with a Herd mentality get it all and Individualism is punished by the Developers (in my opinion). I call this Social Engineering.

Ah, I see. Yes, I agree with you that individualism seems to be discouraged overall in this game, both by the devs and the player base. Coming from the single-player TES, where one plays however one wants, I dislike that herd mentality aspect in ESO enormously.

(I still think they do it for profits though )

Clanbrassil

I really like the idea of mercenaries. I was thinking about how much work would be involved in developing a story mode, and whether each dungeon would need to be reworked. But what a simple solution to allow a player who can't conveniently find a group of humans to avail themselves of three NPCs. Then the dungeon is still played as a group and needs little if any modification. And since NPCs who fight on the player's side already exist, that's easy too. The NPCs won't mind if a player stops to take in dialogue or admire the scenery, or has to answer the phone.

And the rewards don't need changing, either.