ESO not very single player friendy

dbgager

Zacuel wrote: »

I'm not against solo players. I just still don't understand why solo players prefer the MMO over something like Skyrim.

A solo game provides a better solo experience, right?

It provides a different experience but not necessarily better. Even solo players like the occassional group. And like to see other people instead of all game generated NPCs.

Reistr_the_Unbroken

Everyone saying “it’s an MMO” keeps forgetting the fact that this is marketed as an Elder Scrolls game, which are mostly single player regardless

mystkldrgnb14_ESO

twilightwarrick wrote: »

Tabris93 wrote: »

I play solo 99% of the time and have played on and off since launch. I have very little interest in group content like dungeons. I have to say, I don't agree with ESO not being solo-friendly as I am greatly enjoying myself.

- I create at least one char for each alliance to work through the alliance missions
- I create at least one char of each class to experience the classes (and crafting vocations)
- I do the guild questlines with appropriate characters (my mage having finished Mages Guild, my thief Thieves Guild etc)
- I explore for soul shards, discovering areas for xp and crafting mats
- I do bosses, dungeons and dolmens when I see other players are there (more or less the only time I play with other people)
- I craft, explore, quest and steal to get items to sell in guild store
- I join events when I feel like it

There are tons to do! I have just finished Thieves Guild with one char and am in the middle of DB with the same. I haven't finished Summerset with my mage yet, and haven't even started on Mirkmire nor created any char with Warden class. And soon Elsweyr is out, which my Khajiit is eagerly waiting for. Tons to do!

Yes you're correct there are heaps of things to do as a solo player, problem is the rewards are SO terrible, honestly the only way to get decent rewards seems to be in group play, I wish they would even up the drops a bit, I have managed to solo a few world bosses, not easy ,and very time consuming, , and the usual drop a green pair of boots, or gloves great,
sure back a while ago the world rewards were better, often get purple rewards, from anchors, not any more it would seem.

You're also pretty low CP for a NB for solo. Maybe another class, but not NB.


I'm at almost 600 NB and I solo all sorts of group things (not vet dungeons, raid trials etc). I also play this game as a solo player and am 43yo. I'm in some good, friendly, guilds so I could even run the group stuff if I wanted - I just usually don't.

But if you really just want to solo - gonna have to get higher CP.

If you really want that dungeon loot you can't do solo (either now or ever solo) then find a friendly social guild so you will have people willing to run the ones you want to run or for the reward you're looking for.

But yea - this is an MMORPG. It is intentionally designed for the "best" or "highest" stuff to be ONLY group obtainable. This is the nature of the genre. By DESIGN. Its a feature, not a flaw.

So you can deal with the limitations of the system you're playing in - knowing its never going to be fully solo friendly no matter what you play (any MMO) or how high level you are - or you decide the genre isn't your cup of tea based on what you like to do and go back to single player games.

good luck!

Deter1UK

AcadianPaladin wrote: »

Another retired senior here. I came from (several years in each) Diablo II, Baldur's Gate II, Oblivion, Skyrim. The reason I play ESO is for its magnificent mass and scale. The game is beautiful, combat is good and - for the first time in Elder Scrolls history - staves are actually good weapons! Lol. The fact that ESO is multiplayer is a drawback I live with for now.

With so much mass and scale, it is not necessary to 'do it all'. And 'elite' gear that requires groups to get is only required if you're doing 'elite' content - that usually involves groups. So no problem there.

So, I'm 65, perhaps we should start an oldies guild :
Seriously as others have said there is so much to do. I like you have avoided Guilds and groups until quite recently but took the plunge and joined a really casual friendly guild with no expectations. Many play solo all the time and just use it for light chat and advice, some get together each evening and do one of the daily pledges.

I have done a couple of these now and they were quite happy for me to read all the quest conversations and work out what was going on. Most evenings I still solo but when time and domestics and my mood permit will join in with the others and have a most enjoyable time.

@deter1uk if you want to say hello (EU server)

Olauron

Zacuel wrote: »

I'm not against solo players. I just still don't understand why solo players prefer the MMO over something like Skyrim.

A solo game provides a better solo experience, right?

Because you can play Skyrim only so many times. ESO is another story, it is 2nd Era, it is not a replacement of Skyrim and Skyrim is not a replacement of ESO. They complement each other.

Valkysas154

Game is at lest 70% solo with over 1000 Voiced quest
you def do not need monster sets for SOLO - i can do it all with 1 ability only

I don't no what class you are or what role you want but for magic dps you can get
Julianos - crafted and Mother's Sorrow world drop with just these 2 easy sets you should be 20k+ dps

SirAndy

twilightwarrick wrote: »

any advice would be welcome as how to solo some of these missions, I'm cp 290 night blade thanks

Same here, old and bitter, been playing ESO (mostly) solo since early beta. The key to soloing vet dungeons and farming for monster helmets is to find a setup where you can either mitigate damage or heal through the damage (give up dps for resistance/hps) or take some heat off your character (Pet Sorc).

I have 4 main characters, one for each of the base classes, and i found that my Pet Sorc is by far the easiest for soloing vet dungeons (even after all the nerfs).


PS: If you give Pet Sorc a try, here's a little hint: The Clannfear still does a soft taunt *if* you enter a group dungeon solo. Most people don't know that since it doesn't do that anymore when you are in a group. It helps keeping the heat off your character.

Linaleah

it took me years of playing before i got my first monster helm and even then only becasue I decided that I wanted to do group content after all. maybe its just the way that i personaly play, but I never really felt the need to chase gear upgrades while playing solo. crafted gear was perfectly great for me and becasue even when I play solo rpg's i tend to zero in on crafting first and foremost for my gear - i have very organically fell into crafting my gear in ESO as well.

now.. I do wish dungeons had actual genuine solo versions, you know the kind that don't require another person to push a button at the same time as you, and that don't punish you for being less then amazing player. (I cannot solo normal DLC's. I just can't. i cannot even solo half the vanilla dungeons) why? story. there is so much story and too many people rush through it. but. aside from that? so much of the content is genuinely solo. not even "informally do things with other people, while not talking or grouping or anything" actual solo where you are the only person needed.

for me, its actualy one of the appeals of this MMO. I can be social if I choose without being forced into being "social" I find this game to be very solo friendly. personaly.

that said... some classes are easier to play then others. i also started originally as a nighblade and found it to be a frustrating experience. one of the things i would reccomend is to make sure to accept any and all alliance point daily login rewards on your nighblade so that you could eventually unlock vigor (I'm assuming wanting to go solo, also excludes any kind of pvp) between intro to Cyrodil which is entirely solo and has zero pvp involved - and those points, vigor is actualy achievable even if you want to completely avoid pvp - AND it makes an absolutely insane difference to a survival as a solo casual nighblade.

Deter1UK

Zacuel wrote: »

I'm not against solo players. I just still don't understand why solo players prefer the MMO over something like Skyrim.

A solo game provides a better solo experience, right?

Not necessarily, I. have a guild now but soloed my way to CP 599 as of last night, I really enjoy standing in a market place or Public Dungeon people watching, enjoying the crowd, feeling part of a bigger world that is not all computer generated. I enjoyed Oblivion and Skyrim but, for me, ESO provides a BETTER solo experience.

karekiz

Reistr_the_Unbroken wrote: »

Everyone saying “it’s an MMO” keeps forgetting the fact that this is marketed as an Elder Scrolls game, which are mostly single player regardless

Elder scrolls Legends is an "elder scrolls" game. It just plays nothing like any Elder Scrolls game.

Elder scrolls means lore not gameplay. If it did then you might as well Remove Cyrodill and Battlegrounds because I don't remember PvP in "muh elder scrolls skyrim"

To the OP:
Crafting gives you quite nice items.
Some highly sought after gear is overland drops. Mothers sorrow btw if you a Mag DPS <Since you never stated your role in original post>.
If you want a monster set, wait for a pledge for either:

Stam DPS - Fungal Grotto 1 - Que for it. Follow the group. Hit your 1 button. Thats literally how hard that dungeon is
Mag DPS - Que Vaults of Madness vet - Same as above. Incredibly easy.

Tanky set - City of Ash 1 - Same as above. Procs on Shield abilities and does dmg
Healy set - Elden Hollow 1 - Again very easy, just randomly procs.

Play it super safe as DPS and just go full range. Most of the encounters won't hurt you. The others if you die shouldn't be a big deal.

The hardest part will be shoulders. That's a different argument that needs to be addressed as its entirely random and not fun system. Games shouldn't hand hold everyone through everything. Some stuff needs to be a bit out of reach. If it takes too much commitment remember:

Pre-Summerset some mag builds didn't have X2 full monster sets either. They worked out just fine.

r34lian

It discourages group play you get less xp and rewards the more people in your group so how come it's not single player friendly?

dogman

"ESO is not single player friendly"


does the definition of an MMORPG mean something else where you're from?

CMDR_Un1k0rn

I'm glad this game demands group play.

The whole "lone hero" thing for the mainline TES games, and in fact every TES game that isn't ESO... Well it's cool, but you know what?

I like that we need to find allies sometimes. That even with our exceptional abilities, they alone are sometimes just not enough.

ESO is my first proper MMO and as huge fan of the single-player games: I'm glad ESO is different. I relate to the vestige in a whole new light as a result.

vgabor

And why would you expect otherwise??? Have you forgot that the "MM" from the MMO is the shorthand for the "Massively Multiplayer" tag?

Kagukan

This is an extremely solo play friendly MMO. I am in my late 40's and I have played this game for going on 2 years mostly solo. I have done all dungeons on normal that can be done solo. I have done a few on vet solo. I have done maelstrom arena (normal, haven't tried vet yet), I have done many world boss solo, I PVP a ton solo.

Also, I have a few monster sets, all solo.

AlnilamE

Wildberryjack wrote: »

AlnilamE wrote: »

Wildberryjack wrote: »

DaveMoeDee wrote: »

Regarding OP, what do you need monster gear for anyway if you aren't doing group content? Maelstrom is the only single player content that needs good builds..

Speaking of, I tried Maelstrom for the first time the other night and made it to the boss with the spider adds. I got stopped cold there, the poison damage took me down every time. I am in Necro and crafted gear, nothing from dungeons, and have an unconventional build. My DPS is not all that great but still I made it through, I think 4 (5?) bosses it was, before that one. I want the weapon, so, I decided to look up guides cause I want to learn to play better to get better gear and weapons and all those sweet skins and such from Veteran content! I don't see it as a roadblock, it's a challenge!

If that's round 6 (Spiral of Shadows), are you using the pylons to stun the adds/boss?

Nope, I have no clue what the frack I'm doing in there LOL. I'd never been in, never looked up a guide. I hopped in on a whim to see if I could handle it. I believe I can if I just know what to do so I'm looking at guides now and will try again maybe this weekend. Editing to add: I wondered what those pylons were for LOL. Jeez me stupid, could never interact with them when I tried so I just ignored them from that point on.

I'm on an Altmer Vamp MagSorc and may need to alter my build a bit, it is as I said rather unconventional so I'm not getting the DPS I need, it's taking too long to kill things IMO. It works great for overland content and delves but not so much for MA apparently so I'm looking at skill guides now too. I'm going to beat the MA, gonna happen, determined!

That level was a pain until I figured out what to do. It gets much easier after you have some practice.

1. When the little spiders appear, kite them to a glowing pylon and they will scatter.
2. when you see a hoarvor come in from the edge of the map, attract it over to a pylon that is covered in webs. Killing it close to the pylon will uncover it (allowing it to light up). If you kill the hoarvor too far, you have the option to throw the sludge bomb on a pylon instead. Hitting mobs with the sludge will weaken them, so that's also an option.
3. When a medium spider comes into the room, it will go to a pylon and try to cover it. Keep an eye on them and either kill it quickly or plan to uncover that pylon.
4. If all pylons are uncovered, they light up and stun the mobs. This is VERY useful in the boss round as you can throw your ultimate on the boss without worry.
5. In the boss round, the boss will spawn a mini-me that will throw lightning attacks around. Try to kill it first then go back to the boss.


I'm not going to say anything about the other rounds until you've tried them. They all have some sort of mechanic, and mostly it's easy to figure out.

Good luck!

PS: I have an Argonian Magsorc Vamp and she does just fine, even in the fire stage.

CleymenZero

twilightwarrick wrote: »

Him mm yes well I'm a bit fed up, as an older player, I don't really know many people playing and the few I do are usually offline, lately,
been trying to do a couple of undaunted missions to get some monster gear sets, well its almost impossible on my own,
and thinking about it most things in this game seen geared towards group play ,Alliance wars , Battlegrounds, dungeons undaunted.
really the only thing you can do as a single player are basic story missions, and the rewards are crap, I don't know,
I can join a group finder , but its usually not the missions I want to do, and if I post , nobody seems to do my quests, feel like its just a waste of time lately.
any advice would be welcome as how to solo some of these missions, I'm cp 290 night blade thanks

I can solo most content, it IS an MMO but you are right: it would better if things would scale on the number of players so it would cater to more people.

yodased

If you are pc na hit me up same name, I'll get you the gear you want and you can park in my guild to find people when you need them.

You find them by asking, by the way, like you did here

BretonMage

AcadianPaladin wrote: »

Another retired senior here. I came from (several years in each) Diablo II, Baldur's Gate II, Oblivion, Skyrim. The reason I play ESO is for its magnificent mass and scale. The game is beautiful, combat is good and - for the first time in Elder Scrolls history - staves are actually good weapons! Lol.

Omg did the staves in Skyrim suck. I only kept them as house decorations.

Wildberryjack wrote: »

I'm 55 and play very, very casually and honestly I don't think single player quests should give as good rewards as group content.

But are we getting rewarded for harder content or for being social?

I think we should have harder solo content that gives good rewards. We have VMA atm, but honestly I find arena-style content painfully tedious - difficult but boring, which frankly is like torture to have to go through. DIFFICULT dungeons with quests for solo adventuring would be great.

TheTwistedRune

So inevitably the thread gets side-tracked as the "This is an MMORPG" crowd come crawling out of the woodwork stating the obvious and having an issue with anybody who disagrees with them.

To OP, my advice would be to pick another class to make soloing easier, such as a Sorc or Templar. Focus on AOE skills and shields for Sorc and with practice you should be able to clear group dungeons on normal and some vet. Also buy, craft or farm gold gear and purple/gold food.

idk

Olauron wrote: »

idk wrote: »

You still have not said anything that makes our comments about grouping in an MMORPG wrong. Not sure what your point is unless it is just to be argumentative.

My point is that simple "this is an MMORPG" is not an answer. MMO means it allows grouping, not requires grouping. It is even more so if solo play is advertised to encourage single-player gamers to play a game.

That being said, I think that ESO is pretty solid from the single-player perspective, as only dungeon and trial quests require grouping. It is not ideal, it has room for improvement, but it is already in rather good state.

TBF, only one player before your post said this is an MMORPG and did not add more to their opinion. I guess you made that post to call out one individual only.

Others, like myself suggested finding an active guild and find people to run with. It does not take away from OP wanting to play solo as it is just a suggestion for them to get more out of their game. I assume you do not have an issue with that because it would be petty to do so.

Of course, as someone kind of pointed out, pretty much every zone has content that can be done solo even some that is required to be done solo. It is really a small percentage of the game that requires grouping and that even includes the informal grouping and WBs and more.

Blacksmoke

There are a couple of guilds out there with like minded people of the uhm.. advanced age you could see if you want to join them. But yeah its an MMO multiplayer is a MUST especially if you want to do dungeons and harder content there is no need to chat with them well for vet dungeons that is trails it is highly recommended especially on vet

firedrgn

I would suggest joining guilds that you see in zone chat untill u find one that works for you. Also. If you go to craglorn and just watch zone chat and post in zone chat.

Huyen

TheShadowScout wrote: »

Tabris93 wrote: »

I play solo 99% of the time and have played on and off since launch...

Yeah, my playstyle is more like...

(...and the rest of those Solo Play comix!)

Tabris93 wrote: »

I have to say, I don't agree with ESO not being solo-friendly as I am greatly enjoying myself.

Agreed.
Sure, the group content... most of that I leave be, unless I somehow manage to stumble into a group taking me along on a dungeon run which happened exactly -once- in all the time I played.
But that aside... there is great enjoyment to be had with the rest of the game!
Yeah, I might miss out on the monster helm and dungeon set farming... wish those were changed to BoE so people could start trading them (which also would make for far less vexation when someone is looking for a -specific- weapon), but... eh, I can do without and still have fun!

This comic is so me, when I'm playing. I love TES games, but since I got social anxiety, playing with others or even being in a guild is loke trying to climb a mountain for me...

theyancey

I feel you. I am 69 and a solo PvE player. Ignore the people who are throwing shade at you saying that this is an MM and you should either get with that or go elsewhere. They are wrong. Matt Fiiror said, "To answer your question about comparing ESO to other MMOs: ESO is not really a traditional MMO, so we don’t use that term much around the office – and it is this distinction that separates it from other games. If you want to play it solo, like you did with other Elder Scrolls games, you can do that." Indeed the base game not only allowed and encouraged solo play it REQUIRED it throughout much of the way, providing NPCs, solo and in groups, to aid you in your epic battles.

Sadly things have definitely taken a turn for the worse lately with DLCs containing group dungeon content only. Hopefully Matt will fight off the daedra putting these ideas in his dreams and Emric like come to his senses. A simple and elegant solution is to have a cadre of various NPCs that the solo player could choose to fill out their group if they choose to go that route. For example my son and I both have DPS toons. We could choose an NPC tank and healer to fill out our 4 person group. If we are solo we could choose 3.

This returns viability to the solo player. We would be able to actually use the content that we pay for with our subs. We would be able to achieve the same rewards as other 4 person groups. We could take our time and actually enjoy the story and scenery and would not have to put up with the milk drinking skeevers that inhabit group finder.

Zacuel

dogman wrote: »

"ESO is not single player friendly"


does the definition of an MMORPG mean something else where you're from?

Many Men Online Role Playing Girls?

gepe87

I was completly the opposite. I joined groups and guilds both pvp and pve. Now I play solo and i found amusing. Sometimes you might need to group to get some stuff but as long you know what you are doing (dd, tank, or healer) its easy to group up and complete many things.

jarydf

+1 vote for you can solo most normal dungeons and some vet. Crafting and crafted / overland gear sets can be good. If you want a dungeon set, run it on normal and then improve it. Monster sets can be got via the Golden if you are less choosy or get rng. Or you run a bit of pugs to finish off your character / undaunted having done the rest solo. Once you can solo the dungeons pugs are no hassle at all. Noone complains when you can basically carry anything.

rotaugen454

twilightwarrick wrote: »

Androconium wrote: »

I'm old. Like over 40 old. I just dont do that ***.

im 54 what don't you do, undaunted, and yes to Happylittletree I know its a MMO but perhaps they could have an option
or missions that give you better gear for people, that don't know many players, and struggle to find groups,
to do the missions they want to do.

I am “old” (if 54 is old) and I can solo most group dungeons. I joined a casual guild for the rest and trials. I think there is even a guild search function coming, which will make finding something with your wanted parameters even easier.

kathandira

Reistr_the_Unbroken wrote: »

Everyone saying “it’s an MMO” keeps forgetting the fact that this is marketed as an Elder Scrolls game, which are mostly single player regardless

Warcraft was a single player RTS. And World of Warcraft became one of the most important games in MMO history.

Just because a game originated as a singe player experience, doesn't mean the online multiplayer counter part needs to be single player oriented.