Soloing Heroics, Are you mad?

As I've written the past week or two there is going to be a lot of transition for everyone - developers included. With the launch of the Desert of Flames and the necessary combat changes, life for everyone has changed dramatically, from the formerly gimped scouts to the over-powered fighters. But now everyone is balanced.

Arguably the hardest part of this transition, and I can sympathize with everyone is what you could solo versus what you can't.

Quite simply, for a lot of people, [some] heroics used to be no problem at all, namely in the form of blue and greens. Others were used to taking on oranges, and heaven forbid reds and there'd be no issue at all.

Well you can't do that anymore.

I am not here to rag on people for complaining about these very issues, whether they are for it or against it. I am here to reinforce Moorgard's comments and emphasize why things need to be this way.

It should be best, however, to start off by quoting Moorgard.

"I said some players may be able to, but I made no guarantee of it. The ability to solo green heroics at any level was not a criteria for balancing combat.

Not only are player tactics crucial in such situations, but bear in mind that your character's damage output varies from level to level. You may gain a level and obtain a new or upgraded ability or two that can raise your relative damage output considerably, or you might get new weapons or armor or spell upgrades that improve your ability to survive such fights. Conversely, you may go through a few levels where you get other types of upgrades that don't have as much direct impact on your damage or survivability. In short, there are a lot of factors to consider, and by no means are such fights a sure thing for anyone."

Well that's a whole mouthful but to sum: green heroics are not meant to be soloed. I suppose you could expand the argument to blue heroics as well, as some classes, namely Warlocks, were able to take them on as well before the expansion launched. But there is also one other important aspect as well: if you have the best equipment then it's possible. I'll get to that second comment a bit later in this editorial.

Making it so that heroics are not meant to be soloed is something that is absolutely essential not only for EverQuest II but any game out there. The reasoning for this is simple: if heroics are soloable it either means that all classes are over-powered or a small handful are.

We know what EverQuest II's problem was: a handful were over-powered and the rest (scouts) were not. I've even played games (Asheron's Call) where everyone was over-powered and groups were nothing more then "social conveniences."

Both of these cases results in a very unhealthy game. There needs to be a substantial challenge for players and making it so green heroics are incredibly difficult to solo if the right equipment is owned is necessary, and this is what the developers have done, and this ensures the challenge is there [for everyone else]. In addition, there is a great number of solo content (I am a die hard soloer so I speak from experience) for players to go through and not feel that everyone is grouped.

So yes, just because you can't solo green heroics anymore it doesn't mean the world ends at midnight.

When it comes to the idea of the best and rarest equipment will yield success over green heroics, well, that's very interesting to say the least.

If I were in charge of EverQuest II I would make it so that no heroic mob is soloable, at all. When this is the case it becomes much easier to balance classes and design content for soloers and group players alike.

Not surprisingly this is very close to what the developers are doing.

Call me crazy? OK. I know that Moorgard said it was "possible" -- but far more elaborate then that - but we have to put the comments into perspective and for that I would like to reference history.

In the late stages of beta and the time after launch one common question was asked: is the game soloable? A very simple, basic question but one that was incredible hard to answer. Many players, including myself said no, it is not soloable. Moorgard on the other hand said the game could be soloable, it was definitely possible.

So which way was it?

The game was soloable but it was not "viable" and that was the key word in all the discussions. If you really wanted to get anywhere past the starting cities you needed to group. The experience points that you accumulated just were not substantial enough to warrant the time that had to be put in.

I can see parallels jumping out at me today when I read Moorgard's comments. Can you solo green heroics? Yes you can. Is it viable? Absolutely not.

Oh and ladies and gentlemen this isn't necessarily a bad thing either.

As I have already expressed, a game is healthy if classes aren't over-powered and heroic (or group) mobs are taken down by the players they are designed for: those who group. No more, no less.

I often wonder too why this item was even brought up. But then I realize why: it is because players were used to be able to do it and are no longer able.

What my fellow players need to realize is that the game changed for the better, first of all, and there are tons of mobs that you can solo for "viable experience gain." Not only experience, as in experience points, but the enjoyment factor as well.

So go on, get out there and take on some of that solo content that is designed for you. Leave the group content for the groups. The game is better that way.

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Posted by Ktok at 2005-09-21 13:23:00

I use to as a Guardian solo blue and white heroic encounters. My guilds eldest Templar Swashie and I use to trio Epic x2s. We did it yes but we were well aware that we were far over powered and it wouldnt last. That time has come. We cant anymore. We are *glad* that we cant. Were happy to be balanced again. Thank you SOE.

Posted by Mewse at 2005-09-21 14:20:50

Under the new system my 41 Templar with a mix of crafted tier 4 5 armor and an imbued feysteel hammer can solo a green con 31 heroic still. 5 power and 75 health left. A 35 heroic still green con wipes me every time after a very long fight. BTW I use tier 5 food and drink. My chest and legs are imbued. Even my accessories are crafted tier 4. As you can see my gear is considered superior for my level. If I had lesser gear I couldnt even handle the 31. I am not complaining. I am simply giving an example of what Moorguard considers superior. It so happens I am in a tradeskill happy guild.

Posted by Alyza at 2005-09-21 17:51:11

I as a 49 Zerker pre-expansion could solo heroics at ease. In fact the majority of my leveling into the forties was solo with grouping as a must. I cant say I dont miss the days of soloing everything but the game will continue to swing from balancing one class to overpowering another until people either quit or rekindle the joy they first experienced when they found some people and barely lived through a fight only to see a big beautiful chest sitting there for all their glory... I solo DoF quests on the Sinking Sands still and avoid heroics like the plague. Then I group with my spouse 46 Inquisitor and they fall too... just slower... So yes thank you SOE for making the game challenging and giving me a reason to roll up a nuker again

Posted by Protious at 2005-09-21 18:21:07

I have to agree with Alyza My first toon was a zerker which i got up to 48 before i switched to my alt now a 43 warden. With my zerker i was able to solo fine but was better used as a dps in a group. I must say I miss a few things about what my zerker used to do but realize that changes happen and you just gotta deal with them. For my Warden on the other hand I must say I love the changes. Yes they linked alot of my heal spells but if used correctly my HOTs work just fine to keep my group alive. As for soloing before the patch life as a soloer was diffucult if i wanted to kill anything that would give me a decent reward i better find a group or spend many hours in the harclave but now since i have a root that actually roots instead of what it was before a agility debuff I have a better time soloing and can actually make some decent loot and exp. We all need to realize that the changes may be tweaked but will never be reverted back to the good ol days just unlearn what you have learned and begin again. The game is as fun as you make it and if negativity rules your thoughts you might as well quit while your ahead

Posted by polt at 2005-09-22 12:57:02

I have a 50 fury and a 52 mystic. I use to solo heroics with both toons since both are in full fabled and prismatics with all master spells. With changes my mystic has problems soloing white solo mobs. My fury on the other hand can solo yellow heroics now. If I am feeling really lucky I sometimes try orange heroics on my fury but lose those more then I win.

Posted by Sharil at 2005-09-24 08:14:24

At the lower levels it seems one does not need good gear to kill barely green heroics. As a brigand 28 I killed the dervish commander level 20 heroic without too much of a problem and thats with mediocre gear.

Posted by Cronus at 2005-09-26 01:21:05

I pla*beep* a Coercer before and after the changes and while the methods have changed drastically my ability to solo content really hasnt changed much. As far as soloing for exp goes Coercers will never even come close to most other classes in terms of efficiency. However I can kill any heroic encounter Ive ever come across. It takes a large amount of time and isnt remotely efficient but its almost without fail. I can even solo almost any epic x2 or higher encounter as long as the constituent mobs are not classified as epic pre-expansion. I agree with the original post entirely however that this shouldnt be possible. A deep green maybe. But named loot dropping red con heroics Multiple group content No. This still needs work but theyre heading in the right direction.

Posted by Sarrow at 2005-12-21 11:00:08

I used to be able to solo Heroic mobs exactly 4 levels below me if I was at least 60 into next level. I did this with my assassin all through my 30s. This was mainly due to my HIGH agility and simply would not get hit. Not anymore I am now level 49 and get killed soloing 41 heroic greens. And this is with my agility at 326.... go figure.