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Party inhibtions...Follow

#1 Jun 03 2004 at 12:54 PM Rating: Decent
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342 posts
One of the things that worries me the most about WoW is all the people claiming "You can solo! You can actually solo, you don't need to sit around for hours to find a party"

Now, maybe it's just me, but I'm not paying money every month to play a game by myself. I LIKE parties. I much prefer the social atmosphere in a party, talking and killing in a relaxed manner then soloing monsters to level up. I don't like the powerlevelling parties, but rather the more relaxed parties who don't care if they aren't getting 1000000000 xp/hour.

The problem I see with WoW, everyone is saying how great soloing is, and that it's even better than parties sometimes. I can imagine a vast majority of people would be soloing. Which leaves a bit of a problem.

If it can take an hour or two in FFXI to find a party, when everyone (Except Ninja, Red mages, Beastmasters, or low/high level Summoners) HAS to party, how long will it take me to find a party in WoW? Hours at least, one every few days at worst.

That's a problem with making soloing viable, for those of us (Like me) who would RATHER party, we won't be able to, because everyone is out soloing since it is the fastest experience. But what's really the point of having all that great gear and best levels, if your the only one ever benefiting from it? Why not just play Disgaea or something if you want level 9528 by yourself.
#2 Jun 03 2004 at 2:15 PM Rating: Decent
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526 posts
well, no, actually solo isnt the fastest experience. Yes its fun to solo in the game, but, occasionally you do see people who will want to party. after playing FFXI for over 8 months, yes, im used to being in a party so i will occasionally ask if anyone wants to team up for some exp/farming...

Here is the trick though, unlike FFXI, while waiting for the team, you can actually go do stuff by yourself.

teachers back, have to cut this short. but yea, i made my main point.
#3 Jun 03 2004 at 2:16 PM Rating: Decent
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88 posts
No, I'm not on the beta so take this at face value.

I am assuming (and you know what happens when one assumes) that when people say you do not need to group, it means that for low levels, it's not a priority to group. In EQ, most low level character classes almost NEED to group to survive and level. Example would be an EQ Rogue. You need to have a tank to maximize your ability (backstab) and survival rate (rogues don't tank well).

In this case, it seems that WoW eliminates the need to find a group to get to level 15 (example). For me, the casual player that can't spend hours upon hours of time playing, it's nice to know that I won't have to spend one hour looking for a group for only one hour to play (again, example).

I am sure people share your opinion concerning groups so I wouldn't worry too much. But in any MMORPG, there are those people that pay to play alone. *shrug*
#4 Jun 03 2004 at 5:27 PM Rating: Decent
if you dont like soloing dont play a warlock and probly hunter also.
#5 Jun 08 2004 at 4:53 AM Rating: Decent
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526 posts
dont play warlock? i am a warlock, i only team up for quests, and i just got level 24 today.

Soloing is viable in every class, provided you have the right gear and potions.
#6 Jun 08 2004 at 11:37 AM Rating: Decent
Quote:
dont play warlock? i am a warlock, i only team up for quests, and i just got level 24 today.
umm yeah,thats why i told him/her not to be one since there pretty much made for soloing.
#7 Jun 08 2004 at 2:40 PM Rating: Decent
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526 posts
ooohhh.. i get it now, sorry, missread the post.

It is possible to team as any job. Being a warlock i tend to team up with mages. our combined nuking can drop a mob like lightning and because i actually have a summonable tank (the voidwalker) we dont start getting hit till the monster is already almost dead. or ill actually team up with a tank and get out the nuking summon (imp) and again, the monsters drop like flys.
#8 Jun 09 2004 at 12:00 PM Rating: Decent
i wonder how good warlocks will be at soloing when they get there infernals?
#9 Jun 09 2004 at 12:05 PM Rating: Good
I like the fact that I can solo. I'm a casual gamer so I don't have the time to sit in the game for 6+ hours every day. Being able to solo makes the game just that much more fun for me. If I have a day when I can commit the time, I'll party up then.

Anyone keeping a journal of their character's adventures in the beta? It would be interesting to see something like that.
#10 Jun 09 2004 at 9:19 PM Rating: Decent
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469 posts
I think this'll be the third post I comment about grouping in. Oy.

Like I just said in another thread, putting a group together in WoW is VERY easy. You're always on a quest, so basically you send out a message in general chat "Level xx So and So looking for group for Shadow Magic quest" and then other people who are on that same quest and around your level send you a tell.

So far I've only been unable to get a group together to do a quest once, and that was at 4 AM for a long instanced quest. Every other group I've put together has basically been up and running within 5-20 minutes.

There's almost always people out there willing to group to do quests. Shouldn't be much of a problem when the game goes retail and there's more than just 700 people on the server at one time.

Edited, Wed Jun 9 22:20:47 2004 by JAEFo
#11 Jun 09 2004 at 9:42 PM Rating: Good
When you're questing/grouping, does the composition of the group play a HUGE role?

As an example, in FFXI, in the earlier levels, you're pretty much screwed if you don't have a White Mage, Warrior and Black or Red Mage. You *can* play with with other configurations, but those three people make the party a LOT more efficient.

Are there any glaring situations like that in WoW where you NEED a certain class all the time? Or is it more blanaced than FFXI?
#12 Jun 09 2004 at 10:14 PM Rating: Good
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469 posts
One of the best thing about not having 90 kazillion different classes in WoW is that they can all be balanced at one time, instead of one uberclass every 3 months and having two or three base classes required in each group.

Groups need the following: Damage, maybe some crowd control, healing, and maybe res'ing (res'ing is hardly even necessary, as running back to your corpse is pretty fast. Only required in an instance, really.) Classes do the following:

Warrior: Tanking, minor crowd control (taunting), medium damage, minor buffs (shouts)

Rogue: Heavy damage, medium crowd control (sap), utility (scouting, poisons to slow a monster, etc.)

Paladin: Medium healing, res'ing, medium damage, medium buffs

Shaman: Medium healing, res'ing, medium buffs, lots of utility (totems)

Priest: Heavy healing, medium buff (stamina buff, holy word:shield), minor crowd control (brainwash, mind soothe), minor damage

Druid: A little bit of everything

Mage: Heavy damage, utility (invisibility scouting, food summoning)

Warlock: Medium to heavy damage, utility (pets, health stones), res (soulstones)

Hunter: Unknown. Medium-high damage, utility? Similar to warlock but with ranged attack or melee instead of spells perhaps.

As you can see, you can easily form a solid group out of many different combinations of classes. Hell, I've even been in groups where we've done alright without a healer. The grouping system is much more dynamic than in previous MMORPGs. There are no required classes. You won't spend 5 hours looking for a priest just because you HAVE to have one for your group.

Edited, Wed Jun 9 23:17:06 2004 by JAEFo
#13 Jun 09 2004 at 10:27 PM Rating: Good
Wonderful! Thank you so much for your reply. That was a wealth of information that actually makes me feel better about the game.

I usually like to play a Mage/Warlock type of character as my main character and a Rogue type as the other. In FFXI not having the right party members often would result in either long wait times or just a lack of party invitations. Glad to see the balance in WoW is better.

Hope the beta is going well for you so far. If you have any other pertinent info and you wish to share, make a thread and keep posting!

Thanks again!
#14 Jun 09 2004 at 11:48 PM Rating: Decent
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469 posts
When I'm talking about something and it's not in direct response to something I've been ask, I tend to ramble on and it mostly devolves into incoherrent mumbles. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask and I'll try and answer them.

So far the beta is a delight and I'm enjoying it... TO THE EXTREME!
#15 Jun 10 2004 at 10:19 AM Rating: Good
JAEFo wrote:

So far the beta is a delight and I'm enjoying it... TO THE EXTREME!


Just like Homer...heh.
Well I might make a thread directed specifically at you. Filled with wondrous questions you can choose to answer if you wish :) I just have to compose my thoughts.
#16 Jun 10 2004 at 1:11 PM Rating: Decent
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342 posts
That's very...reassuring to hear, I was very worried that by including the ability for ever class to solo, that no class would be willing to party, which would kill the game for me (I'm already disappointed with the crafting system, but I can cope with that).

Now, though every class CAN solo, are some more inclined towards it then others (aka, BST in FFXI is a perfect soloer, though can party) and are others more inclined to party play? I imagine jobs like Warlock or Hunter ('pet' jobs) are more solo-inclined, whereas Priest or Rogue tend to be more party-inclined?
#17 Jun 10 2004 at 1:42 PM Rating: Decent
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469 posts
Priests don't have too great a time of soloing, though it's quite possible. Warlocks and Rogues make excellent soloers. My 26 Rogue has been soloing for 90% of his levels and enjoying every second of it. I'll be trying a Paladin come next push (Faction vs Faction server, wooo) so I'll be able to comment on them more.

Hunters aren't playable yet, but since they have a pet I would assume it would be easier for them to solo. Warrior soloing might not be too great, but I would assume druids and shamen (that's right, I went there) have a decent time of soloing since they have such balanced all around spells. Mage can solo well if he's careful, but you'd probably die a lot, as any add that you're not prepared for and/or don't have the mana to sleep=dead mage.

Any class can solo if they want, some just have an easier time than others, or need less effort put into it. For example, mage can summon his own food and drink to replenish hit points and mana, while a warrior would have to be purchasing food or taking up cooking or first aid.

I could go on about this game forever, it's what I've been waiting for since I realized Everquest was the tool of satan and was forced to cancel my account in order to save my soul from eternal damnation, but I'm lazy, so I won't.
#18 Jun 10 2004 at 2:58 PM Rating: Decent
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526 posts
JAEFo had a great post. I have been having some trouble getting a team for a quest, only recently was i told that the monsters for the quest are about 5 levels + higher then me, and thats why i cant find a team. But im in class right now so i cant go ramble like i usually do (this would be where you cheer ~_^)
ill be back at the break though.
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