Concerns About ESO’s Future Direction and Solo Player Experience

noneatza · May 5

@Athory Hey man sorry for the offtopic, i'm noticing you using this character " — " a lot across your forum posts, where are you getting it ? I can't find it on my keyboard

Athory · May 5

noneatza wrote: »

@Athory Hey man sorry for the offtopic, i'm noticing you using this character " — " a lot across your forum posts, where are you getting it ? I can't find it on my keyboard

I believe it comes from ChatGPT, I usually run my messages through it to improve the wording and make sure everything stays within the CoC.
And? What’s your point with that? Proving you have the freedom to go even off-topic while others can’t even stay on topic. Congrats.
Nothing new here!

jad11mumbler · May 5

SilverBride wrote: »

I would gladly do something else if there was some new content for me to do. But there is nothing new offered for the average player. Don't we deserve some new content, too?

The "average player" has ten years of significant content drops where 90% of the content has been overland aimed for them.

You're getting more content later on this year, plenty of it.

Why can't you just wait?

jad11mumbler · May 5

Athory wrote: »

[snip]

They added ONE zone for group play.

That's it.
One simple zone.

Stop being so dramatic about it.

I don't see you making a fuss about Tales of Tribute, a mode that offers nothing to players who have no interest in it.
Weird that.
[edited to remove quote]

frogthroat · May 5

Athory wrote: »

Bguk wrote: »

If a lowering of the skill in the [snip] NM happens, I want all trials to have a solo mode so I can get all the rewards without grouping.

Are rewards in normal dungeons the same as vet?
Are rewards in normal trials the same as vet?
Are rewards in normal arenas the same as vet?
So why should the normal Market give the same rewards as Hardcore? oO?!

You don’t have a single argument.

Yeah, the Night Market does give you normal content rewards. And you are right that there should be different difficulties. This is and was advertised as group content. We don't get dungeons, instead we got this. This is the group content.

And it's only on normal difficulty.

Just like going to a group dungeon on normal difficulty solo, you might struggle, but can do most of it. I have been soloing this a lot and can do up to the low bosses - but even that will be slow.

Yesterday did small scale stuff. 1t 3dd and we could do all the low bosses (what are they called, Brazen?) and even some higher bosses (Ardent?). Some higher bosses gave us a bit of a fight, but were still easily doable.

And I have done large scale in 1-2 full groups. Even with a one single 12 player group all content becomes trivial. There is no real challenge. Even Skirmishes are pretty easy in a full group even with the wandering boss in the mix.

So yeah, in this group content, we only have normal mode. There is no vet mode, little alone hard(core?) mode. And the rewards are what I would expect from normal mode - overland sets mainly.

If they would add difficulty levels, I do hope they would add a veteran and veteran hard mode to Night Market. Now it's still soloable, which I do enjoy, don't get me wrong, but since we can go there with two full trial groups, there should be some challenge. Now it's just bullying when an Ardent dies in seconds.

Athory · May 5

jad11mumbler wrote: »

Athory wrote: »

[snip]

They added ONE zone for group play.

That's it.
One simple zone.

Stop being so dramatic about it.

I don't see you making a fuss about Tales of Tribute, a mode that offers nothing to players who have no interest in it.
Weird that.

"Tales of Tribute"?! Bro…

I really, really don’t give a [snip] about that. At all. If I have any achievements there, it’s only because I completed a quest. I don’t even know if what I'm saying is true, because I simply don’t care about Tales of Tribute. I don’t like it, and I can play the game perfectly fine without it.

Why would I complain about anything related to Tales of Tribute? I don’t care. You do? That’s your fight, not mine.
Go ahead and push to make it better, I’ll even drop a like on your posts.
But don’t count on me to put the same energy into it, because I genuinely don’t care.

Do you see the difference between me and many of you when it comes to the [snip] market?
[edited to remove quote]

Firstmep · May 5

I really don't get the OP's argument. For over a decade we had 2 updates every year for group content, and 2 overland zones mostly for solo play.
The devs clearly stated that NM is experimental, also much of the content like district quests, races and puzzles are soloable.
And on top of that the next update is fully solo friendly with multiple questlines and other solo friendly additions.
Nothing about this screams to me that the game is moving away from solo play.

Athory · May 5

Firstmep wrote: »

I really don't get the OP's argument. For over a decade we had 2 updates every year for group content, and 2 overland zones mostly for solo play.
The devs clearly stated that NM is experimental, also much of the content like district quests, races and puzzles are soloable.
And on top of that the next update is fully solo friendly with multiple questlines and other solo friendly additions.
Nothing about this screams to me that the game is moving away from solo play.

Read the whole topic again, or at least my remaining replies. If you still don’t understand my point, what exactly are you trying to argue?

JiubLeRepenti · May 5

Athory wrote: »

[snip]

About that very last quote you wrote, "You’re all fine with that. I’m not"...

Maybe you should meditate and draw your own conclusions about it.
[edited to remove quote]

frogthroat · May 5

Lexalious wrote: »

[snip]

No, I believe they genuinely want this group content to be solo-friendly. Which it is as much as new group dungeons always are, but instead of group dungeons we got this.

Lexalious wrote: »

by someone who admitted using chatgpt before they post.

It's a tool and I think their points are their own, only the formatting is done with AI. For that, AI is a great tool. If they would ask AI to formulate their arguments, then we would be arguing with a bot, not with a person, but I believe the opinions are OP's. So it's perfectly fine.

Lexalious wrote: »

take a break.

Yes, I doubt OP would have made such a fuzz if we got the two dungeons as usual. But now that we got this event zone instead of the two dungeons, OP wants a solo mode in it. But OP just needs to wait because the rest of the year will be mainly solo-oriented. Even two group dungeons will get a solo mode.
[edited to remove quote]

Ravynmagi · May 5

I'm a solo player and I admit my opinion about the Night Market has been pretty bipolar between love and hate the first few days. But I'm starting to settle in on the loving it side.

I did have to come to terms about my limitations as a solo player in this event. Obviously with a group focused content, there will always be things I can't do. And with the Night Market, when it comes to rewards, I'm really not missing out on much from the activities I can't participate in.

And I have found ways to participate in quite a lot of the Night Market content. I am liking my Dragon Knight character with a two handed ax. I Cauterize myself and launch in with Stampede, hit with Brawler to give myself a good damage shield, then unleash the Dragonfire. And I can clean up the trash mobs and get my daily kill mob task done and get my golden coffer.

And I took advantage of a great build someone posted here for my Nightblade that allows me to run around permanently invisible, this lets me get lots of daily quests done in each zone without having to fight any mobs.

As a casual solo player, I feel like I'm cleaning up pretty well. Already got 4000 faction points and a lot of the splinters. I've managed to jump in on a few zergs taking down bosses and skirmishes.

Only suggestion I really have is to make the zone caps a little bigger to make zergs a little easier to form.
Oh, and I'll have night mares of the dang Nix-Ox spider in the trash mob packs, I still can't seem to find a consistent way of handling those ***.

SolarRune · May 5

I think the content is pitched at a point that is interesting. Have tried to solo and zero surfed and gone in with organised groups, I think it hits the idea of encouraging grouping perfectly.

If you go in as an organised group with tanks, healers and DDs , nothing is particularly difficult, dungeons are easy and trial is pretty straight forward. In fact I would go as far to say for organised groups we need a vet version of this near normal content.

Large zergs are equally overpowered and nothing is really an issue, although you may pickup a few deaths along the way. Its in smaller groups the night market gets a little spicy if you are looking to play it like other content, all bosses etc still doable, but takes some getting used to.

Going solo, I think it is solo-able, but you do have to change from what you do with overland and wbs and encursions. More sneaky sneak and pick your fights.

Where people are asking for a normal version of NM, I would say the current version is pretty close to a normal version - admitedly somewhere between what has traditionally been seen as normal and vet - but in my opinion its definitely not at the vet dlc dungeon level or vet trial level. If it was truely forcing grouping and that was the aim then there is room for them to dial up the difficulty a little more. This is why I think its as close to perfectly positioned as they can do and for those that want it, it is actually a really good gateway into organised group content.

edit: phone auto corrects are stupid!

Callosum · May 5

I’m honestly struggling to understand the criticism.

From what I’ve seen, we’re getting solo/quest-focused content next season, and if I remember correctly, they’ve already announced a new zone next year along with major class reworks that will impact gameplay across the board. That doesn’t sound like solo players are being ignored at all.

It feels like some people are treating the Nightmare content as if it’s replacing solo content, when in reality it seems to be replacing this year’s dungeon-style content. And let’s be honest players who strictly avoid group content probably wouldn’t have engaged with those dungeons anyway.

So I’m a bit confused about where all this backlash is coming from.

Slightly off-topic, but from a personal perspective: I primarily play ESO because there’s so much to do solo. That said, I actually engaged with Nightmarked content far more than I usually do with new group activities. The event seemed to do exactly what it was meant to encourage solo players to at least try group play.

For the first time, I even created my own group using the group finder, and it turned out to be a genuinely positive experience.

frogthroat · May 5

Callosum wrote: »

It feels like some people are treating the Nightmare content as if it’s replacing solo content, when in reality it seems to be replacing this year’s dungeon-style content.

Precisely. The only ones who should be complaining are the group players. They are robbed of two group dungeons with their respective hard modes, and only get this group zone that in a larger group is trivial.

But those who are the only ones who should be complaining are not complaining because they're having too much fun in the replacement content.

ZOS_Icy · May 5

Greetings,

We have recently removed some unnecessary back and forth from this thread. This is a reminder to keep the discussion civil and constructive. Please keep our Community Rules in mind moving forward.

The Elder Scrolls Online Team

twisttop138 · May 5

SilverBride wrote: »

Farming reputation is what pushed me to leave WoW. And why does reputation matter in getting rewards anyway? It's just another thing to keep players busy grinding.

It's almost like some of you forget what an mmorpg is. This is the entire point. Grinding between content drops. For motifs. Gold. Furnishings and plans. Achievements, for the sake of or the reward from. Gear. Leads. Treasure chests for leads. Dailies for plans. Crafting. Questing and grinding for style mats for things I mentioned above. Pvp. Trials. Dungeons. It's all things to keep us busy playing the game and hopefully buying crowns. This is the model of an mmo and somewhere inside of it, we find fun doing different things. But it's always been about some level of grind and will continue to be.

I get that people are upset and people have said it way better than I can but this is it for the year for dungeon folks, not everyone does trials which is the only other group content for the year. You get everything else. It's a little wild. Could they have communicated better? Sure. But they didn't and this is where we are. It's ok, I'll just be over here being an elite even though I'm a super mediocre player.

H3rBie · May 5

First of all, I really like and enjoy the nightmarket. Good job ZOS! .
It's sometimes challenging but imho, faaaaar away from beeing hardcore. Progging newer, or even older trial hardmodes is by far more challenging than the NM.

But... I understand that a part of the community fusttrated about it's difficulty. maybe, especially the achievement hunters.

However, I think, if I want all archivements in the game then I have also to deal with content I don't like.

The game is so extensive that it’s only logical not every piece of (new) content will be for everyone. This is the nature of such a game and everyone needs to be aware of that.

tbh, I really don't see the game moving in the wrong direction or focusing more on group play. with ZOS changing the way of working, I feel it's quite the opposite. Of course, there's still space to do it better, but it was a good start.

Gabriel_H · May 5

SilverBride wrote: »

tomofhyrule wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

The problem isn't that the Night Market is a group zone. It's the difficulty level. I do not enjoy extremely difficult content and dying repeatedly. That is not my idea of a good time.

I am not going to take the time to look up builds or mechanics to prepare for content I have zero interest in.

So if you have zero interest in it... then why is it a problem? Just go do something else.

There's so much to do in this game that there really is something for everyone to do. A lot of people ignore the card game since they are not interested. A lot of people ignore the dungeon queue since they are not interested. A lot of people ignore PvP since they are not interested.

So why is the Night Market suddenly a problem? Just ignore it.

If the issue is "but but but there's a Golden Pursuit for it!" then ask yourself if you need those items. If not, then unpin the tasks and ignore them. I'm sure there are even addons to remove that menu option fully.

I would gladly do something else if there was some new content for me to do. But there is nothing new offered for the average player. Don't we deserve some new content, too?

You mean like all the other solo-orientated content coming later in the year?!

Gabriel_H · May 5

Athory wrote: »

It’s a hardcore‑only event zone inside a game that advertises freedom.

Hardcore? I have no words for the level of "give me stuff for nothing" you are conveying with that description.

Psyphiman · May 5

Such excellent points made by recent posters. I think the argument of the OP has been debunked. Hopefully ZOS considers all feedback but doesn’t try to make a Frankenstein out of future content. I am very proud of them for not nerfing the event.

Athory · May 5

Gabriel_H wrote: »

Athory wrote: »

It’s a hardcore‑only event zone inside a game that advertises freedom.

Hardcore? I have no words for the level of "give me stuff for nothing" you are conveying with that description.

I really, really want to keep engaging with this topic… but for what? Why? Just to give moderator more work so they can come in, remove my replies, and leave yours (and others)?
Fine. Talk to yourself or with others. There’s no reason for me to keep replying.

JiubLeRepenti · May 5

Athory wrote: »

Gabriel_H wrote: »

Athory wrote: »

It’s a hardcore‑only event zone inside a game that advertises freedom.

Hardcore? I have no words for the level of "give me stuff for nothing" you are conveying with that description.

I really, really want to keep engaging with this topic… but for what? Why? Just to give moderator more work so they can come in, remove my replies, and leave yours (and others)?
Fine. Talk to yourself or with others. There’s no reason for me to keep replying.

Maybe there is a reason if your messages are the most moderated here.

You keep provoking/taunting people instead of focusing on their substantive arguments.

So what did you expect?

Gabriel_H · May 5

Athory wrote: »

Gabriel_H wrote: »

Athory wrote: »

It’s a hardcore‑only event zone inside a game that advertises freedom.

Hardcore? I have no words for the level of "give me stuff for nothing" you are conveying with that description.

I really, really want to keep engaging with this topic… but for what? Why? Just to give moderator more work so they can come in, remove my replies, and leave yours (and others)?
Fine. Talk to yourself or with others. There’s no reason for me to keep replying.

Here's a rough summary of content by ascending difficulty:

Overland Mobs/Delve Mobs
Delve Boss
Normal Dungeon Mobs - Base Game
Public Dungeon Mobs
Normal Trial Mobs - Base Game
Normal Dungeon Boss - Base Game
Craglorn Mobs - Group Areas
Veteran Dungeon Mobs - Base Game
Night Market Mobs
Overland World Boss - Base Game
Normal Dungeon Mobs - DLC
Public Dungeon Boss - Base Game
Public Dungeon Group Event - Base Game
Craglorn Boss - Group Areas
Normal Dungeon Boss - DLC
Normal Trial Boss - Base Game
Veteran Dungeon Mobs - DLC
Veteran Trial Mobs - Base Game
Night Market Brazen Boss
Veteran Dungeon Trifecta - Base Game
Public Dungeon Boss - DLC
Public Dungeon Group Event - DLC
Night Market Argent Boss
Veteran Trial Boss - Base Game
Overland World Boss - DLC
Night Market Calamitous Boss
Veteran Trial Mobs - DLC
Veteran Dungeon Boss - DLC
Night Market Skirmish
Veteran Trial Boss - DLC
…
…
A very very very wide gap aka hardcore
…
…
Veteran Dungeon Trifecta - DLC
…
…
A very very very wide gap aka hardcore
…
…
Veteran Trial Trifecta - DLC

Edit: Typos

Koshka · May 5

Firstmep wrote: »

I really don't get the OP's argument. For over a decade we had 2 updates every year for group content, and 2 overland zones mostly for solo play.
The devs clearly stated that NM is experimental, also much of the content like district quests, races and puzzles are soloable.
And on top of that the next update is fully solo friendly with multiple questlines and other solo friendly additions.
Nothing about this screams to me that the game is moving away from solo play.

Same. It's not like they are cancelling any future solo content, there's this new thieves questline and Sheogorath story coming soon. And Q1 dlcs used to be dungeon packs anyway. Unlike those, Night Market does provide some solo content (fetch quests in all 3 areas, puzzles, races).
I also feel like some people on this forum treat their solo player status way too seriously, like it's some kind of monastic silence vow. Boss groups rarely require any communication beyond a simple "hi", it doesn't make any sense to avoid joining them if you want the rewards. I get that there are people who don't wanna use voice chat, but it's not required to do bosses and skirmishes. And while there are people who are completely against any forms of online communication due to psychological issues or bad experiences, I find it hard to believe that they can argue on forums or reddit without any problems while not being able to type "lfg" and "hi" in game.

Deserrick · May 5

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

some of our event/ event zone content will be focused on encouraging group play

This content does not encourage group play, it enforces group play.

Encouraging involves inspiring, which can be done through providing benefits. Enforcing involves force, which can be pushing or by removing other options.

To give an example, consider Heresy of Ignorance. Strange Obelisks are scattered across the map, and you need to disrupt 3 of them and kill the boss. When in a group, you get credit for every Strange Obelisk any member of your group disrupts. This encourages group play because the quest is done more quickly in a group. If 3 Strange Obelisks had to be disrupted within 1 minute, it would be unfeasible for a solo player to do it, and thus this would enforce group play.

Likewise, Night Market does not encourage group play to gain the benefits of faster and smoother progress, it enforces group play by making progress unfeasible for solo play.

Athory · May 5

JiubLeRepenti wrote: »

Athory wrote: »

Gabriel_H wrote: »

Athory wrote: »

It’s a hardcore‑only event zone inside a game that advertises freedom.

Hardcore? I have no words for the level of "give me stuff for nothing" you are conveying with that description.

I really, really want to keep engaging with this topic… but for what? Why? Just to give moderator more work so they can come in, remove my replies, and leave yours (and others)?
Fine. Talk to yourself or with others. There’s no reason for me to keep replying.

Maybe there is a reason if your messages are the most moderated here.

You keep provoking/taunting people instead of focusing on their substantive arguments.

So what did you expect?

Provoking?! I replied to you here:
What did I say? I’m not provoking anyone. Almost all of you have been baiting me from the start, and I never replied, not even once, because I knew exactly what would happen to my account.
off-topic — very useful context for the topic, and useful feedback for the [snip] market.

I’m not allowed to argue anymore. I simply have a different opinion, and that is enough to silence me.

So, why do "you" keep tagging me here? There is absolutely nothing else to argue about. As for me, they could even close the topic, because only one side is valid as feedback.

barney2525 · May 5

I just got done re-rolling 9 times. NOTHING popped that was possible to just solo.

I am disappointed at what the game is turning into. There is a lot of content and zones/DLCs to make a new character and run that solo. But the least they could do is give us the option to make a toggle to set Achievements either Account or per Character. Some of us understand that it is the Character that earned the Master Crafter title.

I also do not care for the " 5000 or NOTHING " approach.

Edit: whats the deal with the emoji change? suddenly they are huge so you get less of an assortment.

shadoza · May 5

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

Athory wrote: »

Does ZoS have plans to turn ESO into something like a Dark Souls-style game?

Do they have any plan to push solo players out of the game?

To answer the core questions asked:

Q: Does ZoS have plans to turn ESO into something like a Dark Souls-style game?
A: No.

Q:Do they have any plan to push solo players out of the game?
A: No.

Just following up here generally. We hear the feedback from solo players about the Night Market content. We want to follow up with just few things.

We have no intention of pushing solo players out of the game. However, we started this year off by noting that we were going to try some new things. Night Market is one of them. While we always provide group players with trials, we also wanted to try something different. This was not to alienate solo players, but rather to add a new way to play. That being said, we do hear the feedback and have passed that on our teams for future consideration, especially for when Night Market comes back later in the year. Remember, part of the ethos of this event is to add to it over time.

As several have noted in this thread as well, we have a roadmap that is publicly available. The point of the roadmap is to showcase the content we have coming throughout the year. As is noted on the roadmap and current PTS testing, we have plenty of solo friendly content as well. Thieves Guild and Sheogorath Questlines, Favors system, Rumors system, Two Solo Dungeons, Sage's Vault, and the list can keep going. And that is all on top of existing content. We also understand that not every piece of content will be for everyone, and that is okay.

We know this may come off as a contentious statement, but it does bear repeating. While we are an Elder Scrolls game, we are also an MMO. Storytelling and the heart of solo adventure will always be an important part of ESO. However, some of our event/ event zone content will be focused on encouraging group play. It is the nature of the genre. Additionally, we know just like there are players who come for solo content, there are also players who come for group content and challenging group content. So we want to make sure we are providing new things for them as well.

We'll close with this. Last year, we saw many threads throughout the year asking us to address content and find new ways of renewing the gameplay experience, both in variety and challenge. We are in the first passes of this now with items like Night Market going live. But we will have content throughout the year to address both solo and group play within the community. The feedback is helpful to steer us on the right track. So thanks to everyone, both solo players and group players, who have given their constructive feedback regarding the Night Market. The team is taking a look at what can be done during this current running and what can be adjusted for the next run of the Night Market.

I just want to remind everyone, anyone, that MMO does NOT mean grouping. It never meant grouping. It meant shared map. It meant socializing. Using the term Massive Multi-player Online to provide an excuse to push grouping and guilds is trying too hard to validate attempting to change the way we play.

Koshka · May 5

Deserrick wrote: »

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

some of our event/ event zone content will be focused on encouraging group play

This content does not encourage group play, it enforces group play.

Encouraging involves inspiring, which can be done through providing benefits. Enforcing involves force, which can be pushing or by removing other options.

To give an example, consider Heresy of Ignorance. Strange Obelisks are scattered across the map, and you need to disrupt 3 of them and kill the boss. When in a group, you get credit for every Strange Obelisk any member of your group disrupts. This encourages group play because the quest is done more quickly in a group. If 3 Strange Obelisks had to be disrupted within 1 minute, it would be unfeasible for a solo player to do it, and thus this would enforce group play.

Likewise, Night Market does not encourage group play to gain the benefits of faster and smoother progress, it enforces group play by making progress unfeasible for solo play.

You can still participate and do some stuff solo, even without fighting. I tested it myself for fun, a thief character can do races, loot hidden chests/heavy sacks (the ones that are counting towards pursuit) and all these "find missing persons/relics/etc" things. And of course, the big prize - Night's Den house - is unlocked automatically. You can also opportunistically join any boss fights and skirmishes.
That is actually more solo content compared to a typical Q1 dlc dungeon pack.

AScarlato · May 5

shadoza wrote: »

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

Athory wrote: »

Does ZoS have plans to turn ESO into something like a Dark Souls-style game?

Do they have any plan to push solo players out of the game?

To answer the core questions asked:

Q: Does ZoS have plans to turn ESO into something like a Dark Souls-style game?
A: No.

Q:Do they have any plan to push solo players out of the game?
A: No.

Just following up here generally. We hear the feedback from solo players about the Night Market content. We want to follow up with just few things.

We have no intention of pushing solo players out of the game. However, we started this year off by noting that we were going to try some new things. Night Market is one of them. While we always provide group players with trials, we also wanted to try something different. This was not to alienate solo players, but rather to add a new way to play. That being said, we do hear the feedback and have passed that on our teams for future consideration, especially for when Night Market comes back later in the year. Remember, part of the ethos of this event is to add to it over time.

As several have noted in this thread as well, we have a roadmap that is publicly available. The point of the roadmap is to showcase the content we have coming throughout the year. As is noted on the roadmap and current PTS testing, we have plenty of solo friendly content as well. Thieves Guild and Sheogorath Questlines, Favors system, Rumors system, Two Solo Dungeons, Sage's Vault, and the list can keep going. And that is all on top of existing content. We also understand that not every piece of content will be for everyone, and that is okay.

We know this may come off as a contentious statement, but it does bear repeating. While we are an Elder Scrolls game, we are also an MMO. Storytelling and the heart of solo adventure will always be an important part of ESO. However, some of our event/ event zone content will be focused on encouraging group play. It is the nature of the genre. Additionally, we know just like there are players who come for solo content, there are also players who come for group content and challenging group content. So we want to make sure we are providing new things for them as well.

We'll close with this. Last year, we saw many threads throughout the year asking us to address content and find new ways of renewing the gameplay experience, both in variety and challenge. We are in the first passes of this now with items like Night Market going live. But we will have content throughout the year to address both solo and group play within the community. The feedback is helpful to steer us on the right track. So thanks to everyone, both solo players and group players, who have given their constructive feedback regarding the Night Market. The team is taking a look at what can be done during this current running and what can be adjusted for the next run of the Night Market.

I just want to remind everyone, anyone, that MMO does NOT mean grouping. It never meant grouping. It meant shared map. It meant socializing. Using the term Massive Multi-player Online to provide an excuse to push grouping and guilds is trying too hard to validate attempting to change the way we play.

It also doesn't mean that only soloable content is released. Every MMO I've ever played had some focus on more difficult content, and sometimes there are patches with things I have no interest in doing in MMOs.

No one is entitled to development of only content they personally are interested in when they have to support diverse interests.