Game feels really Solo unfiendly

[Rap Tiger.1257]

he problem that guild players wars 2 will become lazy and they just want to click 1,2,3,4,5 and kill all enemies ..... shit, so when those same players jump from PVE to WVW or PVP end up being a loading weight ....

[Vayne.8563]

@Abisha.9028 said:

@Raizel.8175 said:kitten, I'm getting tired of threads like this. This is a Massively

Multiplayer

Online Role Playing Game. You're supposed to play together with other people! This game already is too solo-friendly. Besides meta-events and some HoT-HPs, you can literally do everything solo in OW-content. This is also why this game - against common belief - is so very casual-unfriendly since it doesn't teach you your own class/mechanics, doesn't force you to socialize, doesn't force you to get better. This is one of the main-reasons why the barriers to endgame-content in this game are so insurmountable high.

I have absolute nothing against group content, hack i even play tera for the dungeons contents. and it's a lot of fun and was hoping GW2 also have the same level of content for me in the future. but in guildwars 2 the content which is presented is just done wrong in my opinion. if you already need a group to clean common trash mobs because they are to dangers is wrong no matter how you put it.it also shows why the map teleport people to area's with more people to few people playing on this map and i guess most of them hate HoT.also wanna point out what really irritates me are the difficultly of gaining hero skill points they are next to impossible to do them solo while you need 30+ points to gain a mastery point.

But you don't need other players. Not sure why you're ignoring the posts that are telling you you don't. If you're in a US server I'll show you how to do it. Let me know if you're interested.

[Zaklex.6308]

@Ameepa.6793 said:HoT indeed is group oriented, but PoF returns to roots and is again solo friendly like the vanilla game.

Only certain content and enemies are group oriented...and I play a standard core Ranger have almost no trouble running through HoT or PoF, unlike so many others. I really don't understand the problem, I think some players don't want to take a few seconds to observe their surroundings, get their bearings, find optimal spots to attack enemies from and just go from mob to mob, but then again, that's relaxing to me(it allows me to do the following: murder, death, kill).

[Rauderi.8706]

@Plautze.6290 said:I ventured into Verdant Brink yesterday to grab a part of a collection and I have to say that HoT is indeed harder than PoF. I greatly enjoyed PoF, doing most stuff on my own. But fighting those Mordrem Tormentors who create huge, ever-lasting AoEs which reduce your health by 25% per tick is just insane. Something definitely went wrong with the damage scaling.

This is the sort of thing where I bash ANet for not making enough counter-play. Once those Tormenters start that AoE, they're immune to most of the things that could/would stop it, like proper use of crowd control. It just seems like a lot of HoT mobs violate the designs and game rules that should have been standards.

[Plautze.6290]

@Rauderi.8706 said:

@"Plautze.6290" said:I ventured into Verdant Brink yesterday to grab a part of a collection and I have to say that HoT is indeed harder than PoF. I greatly enjoyed PoF, doing most stuff on my own. But fighting those Mordrem Tormentors who create huge, ever-lasting AoEs which reduce your health by 25% per tick is just insane. Something definitely went wrong with the damage scaling.

This is the sort of thing where I bash ANet for not making enough counter-play. Once those Tormenters start that AoE, they're immune to most of the things that could/would stop it, like proper use of crowd control. It just seems like a lot of HoT mobs violate the designs and game rules that should have been standards.

Indeed.Sure, it was my own fault for not bringing my rifle or longbow, but after 5 seconds of huge AoE of doom and death I stood there, thinking "The NPCs are dying in there, I need to do something! How long can that huge AoE of doom and death last, after all?". Enough to say: It lasted longer than my attempt to finish those mobs. =)

My thoughts on that are, that it's perfectly fine to have high damage AoEs. But to have many overlapping huge (like 600 radius or something) high-damage AoEs that last around 10 seconds is just overkill. All the while I'm hacking away at the enemies in berzerk mode with full ascended marauder's (around 90% crit chance) and they are just not going down!

I do know that I trade quite some DPS for 7k additional health, but it still seems off to me that ultra-DPS-nuke-AoE trashmobs (not even Veteran or Elite, but trash!) keep killing me while face tanking all my damage.

[DarcShriek.5829]

Maybe that’s why it’s considered an MMO.

[Brother.1504]

@Plautze.6290 said:

@Rauderi.8706 said:

@Plautze.6290 said:I ventured into Verdant Brink yesterday to grab a part of a collection and I have to say that HoT is indeed harder than PoF. I greatly enjoyed PoF, doing most stuff on my own. But fighting those Mordrem Tormentors who create huge, ever-lasting AoEs which reduce your health by 25% per tick is just insane. Something definitely went wrong with the damage scaling.

This is the sort of thing where I bash ANet for not making enough counter-play. Once those Tormenters start that AoE, they're immune to most of the things that could/would stop it, like proper use of crowd control. It just seems like a lot of HoT mobs violate the designs and game rules that should have been standards.

Indeed.Sure, it was my own fault for not bringing my rifle or longbow, but after 5 seconds of huge AoE of doom and death I stood there, thinking "The NPCs are dying in there, I need to do something! How long can that huge AoE of doom and death last, after all?". Enough to say: It lasted longer than my attempt to finish those mobs. =)

My thoughts on that are, that it's perfectly fine to have high damage AoEs. But to have many overlapping huge (like 600 radius or something) high-damage AoEs that last around 10 seconds is just overkill. All the while I'm hacking away at the enemies in berzerk mode with full ascended marauder's (around 90% crit chance) and they are just not going down!

I do know that I trade quite some DPS for 7k additional health, but it still seems off to me that ultra-DPS-nuke-AoE trashmobs (not even Veteran or Elite, but trash!) keep killing me while face tanking all my damage.

Play more. Run a few metas. The game gets faceroll easy with familiarity. Honestly the worst villain of HoT is the verticality of the maps, made significantly easier with mounts. Also as a tip, ranged dps is generally more forgiving then melee for pve. Oh and run consumables.

[Ghost.5637]

Couple of buddies and I were talking about this last night. It's great that guild wars 2 is a very group oriented game, but I definitely I think they should repurpose or recreate new dungeons that are scale-able solo or duo challenges. This way people who cannot always pull a big group for raids/fractals or want to deal with pugs can test their pve ability with some challenge and decent rewards without having to deal with the dps counter elitest naziss in raids.

[jinxykat.6519]

Central Tyria and HoT are entirely different on a difficulty scale, but i found that refreshing after soloing to 80 on my own. Sure i died a lot when i first entered the jungle, but it matched the atmosphere of the place, as well as the story. Once you get used to the maps (don't get me wrong, some are better than others) it's much easier to traverse an area without getting mangled by mobs. Pal around over there with a friend or guildmate, laugh when you plunge headfirst off of cliffs and lie dead after a smokescale annihilates you..it makes it a much more enjoyable ride when you don't let it get you down.

[Zohane.7208]

First time I played HoT I had the same opinion, but with every time I play that expansion it just gets easier. I recently ran through it (story and all map completions) on a core mesmer (no elite spec and no really well-planned build), wearing only what had dropped as I was levelling - so a mix of greens, rares, and exos. I barely noticed those mobs this time; guess I learned to avoid them.And no, I'm in no way a pro at this - at best I'm average.

[AliamRationem.5172]

It feels that way initially. I first started playing a few months after HoT release. I enjoyed leveling my first 80 through core Tyria, but I was excited to test my skills against this deadly jungle I kept hearing about! Well, I got my wish and was not disappointed! The core game didn't prepare me for HoT at all! I was dying to trash left and right!

Since then, I've learned and adapted. You have to do that in HoT! I started carrying a ranged weapon swap, started thinking about things like having a stun break on my bar and actually using it, condition cleansing, CC, paying attention to enemy animations - particularly the ones that end up killing me! I also gained all the masteries, which helps open the place up a bit. Now HoT is my playground! I love going there to do the meta or even to just run around fighting, farming, and helping out with events and hero challenges.

Give it a chance, learn and adapt, and maybe it'll become easier. It certainly did for me!

[Echoherb.6528]

I too wish HoT was more solo friendly. Pros who have perfect builds, perfect twitch reflexes and understand the map perfectly like to argue otherwise and post videos of people soloing champions and say the maps are "easy", but that doesn't represent the majority of players, period. I'm all for group content, but core tyria approached that much better with the scaling towards player level and having actual group events on top of the events that could be soloed.

[Ayrilana.1396]

Is PoF really more solo friendly than HoT when ignoring HP’s? Assume that HoT had no metas and everything was it’s own self-contained event. Is it really any different than PoF? Both seem to have just has many events that require groups as there are that can be done solo.

[Vayne.8563]

@Ayrilana.1396 said:Is PoF really more solo friendly than HoT when ignoring HP’s? Assume that HoT had no metas and everything was it’s own self-contained event. Is it really any different than PoF? Both seem to have just has many events that require groups as there are that can be done solo.

It's certainly easier to skip fights while mounted at the very least. lol

[LightofConduct.1693]

Try SPvP even more unfriendly

[Biff.5312]

So far I've played solo, but I have skipped much of HoT and I don't pvp or do fractals. I plan to join a guild to start doing those things. The point is that the game is playable solo, but if you want to participate in those parts of it that are designed for group play, then yeah you kind of have to join a group.

[Haishao.6851]

This is one of the most solo friendly MMO on the market.Many MMO force group content down your throats and sometime give you no option to even attempt that content solo. GW2 doesn't do that.

The only thing stopping you is your own determination.

[AliamRationem.5172]

@"Echoherb.6528" said:I too wish HoT was more solo friendly. Pros who have perfect builds, perfect twitch reflexes and understand the map perfectly like to argue otherwise and post videos of people soloing champions and say the maps are "easy", but that doesn't represent the majority of players, period. I'm all for group content, but core tyria approached that much better with the scaling towards player level and having actual group events on top of the events that could be soloed.

You don't have to be a pro and solo champions to do well in HoT. I shared a video, and before that I explained where I'm coming from. I struggled with HoT initially and I adapted. I don't doubt that I'm well above average at this point and I am using a PoF elite spec with full ascended gear and a meta build (more or less). But if that's all you see, then you aren't paying attention. I'll help you out:

1) I'm using a condi build. My damage against champions is more than adequate, but an average power build could produce stronger burst damage for those normal units and veterans. So, when you see me take down things like mordrem snipers and they barely get to make a move, you don't actually need to be a pro with a meta build and ascended gear to do that. Any power setup should be able to duplicate this with better results because these guys only have a little over 10k health!

Many of the enemies that new players struggle with are like this including pocket raptors, smokescales, shadowleapers, and rolling devils. You don't need to engage in a lot of counter play or gymnastics to handle these guys - just take them down fast and they can't hurt you!

2) The first champion I come across has a small group of players fighting it. Do you need to be a pro to jump into a fight in progress?

3) The champion I did solo is located right next to the northern waypoint. You will never have trouble finding help for this one. Just ask and people will waypoint in.

So, yeah, I don't expect the average players is going to mirror the experience in my video. But the point is that you don't need to. Just give it a chance, learn and adapt, and it should get easier. You might find that with some practice you can at least hold your own against some champions and group events. Once you can do that, things don't seem so impossible anymore.

[Sylvari.2953]

Well, GW2 is a massively multiplayer game. It's not supposed to be 100% soloable. There are single player RPGs for that.

[DearlyMe.5320]

It's a learning curve. You can't jump instantly into an 80 area and expect to do well the first time around. Level and gear isn't the only thing that matters here, it's skill and learning the area. You need to dodge, you need to watch the ground, you need to learn. Things rolling over you? You have plenty of time to dodge them. It took me a month to get used to Verdant Brink with on/off attempts during the game day. I didn't rush in, I took it slow to allow myself to get used to it. I also didn't use a profession with weapons I was uncomfortable with.This is the most solo-friendly MMO I've ever seen, since MMO does not mean single-player in the first place.

[Ayrilana.1396]

If anyone is struggling with any enemy type or mission, I’m sure myself or others would be more than willing to give advice on enemy mechanics.

[MrAptronym.2846]

I'd say GW2 is one of the most solo friendly MMOs I have played. (Though most modern MMOs are all pretty solo friendly) That said, I do kind of dislike some of the HoT areas. I just beat the HoT story with my Deadeye and I can second what the earlier player said about unreliable shadowsteps some places, and I also had a fair bit of trouble with Mark saying there is no LoS on targets I am actively shooting and hitting with my rifle. Neither of these issues were consistent, but they were incredibly frustrating each time they happened. No one wants to lose just because a fight because a mechanic doesn't work. I tended to die quite a few times when entering a zone, but usually by the time I was done in it I was no longer at much risk, which is a cool sense of progression considering my character and gear were largely the same.

Once you get accustomed to the enemies, I think the trash around the zones are perfectly solable, though I was irritated by how many of the Hero points need teams. I'll just be coming back to tangled depths at some point with a hero point train, as trying to get groups for them sucked. Dragon's stand is basically a zone wide group event, so it is clearly not offering much for the solo player either. I have to say I didn't really enjoy my time in tangled depths or dragon stand much, although I did like Aurum and Verdant. The side of Tangled Depths that you first enter has to be my least favorite place in the whole of the game, it just feels a bit tedious to try and get anywhere in.

Also I hate Bristlebacks. I don't carry much CC in my normal build (which, as far as I can tell, you need in order to not be instantly murdered by them) and I literally retrait if I see I will need to fight any. I avoid fighting the vets entirely.

[Ashen.2907]

GW2 is the second most solo friendly game Ive played. Very little content here is not soloable.

[Healix.5819]

GW2 was intended to be very solo friendly, but the game was also designed back when other MMOs weren't, which nowadays they're far more so than GW2. The original idea was based around the fact that most people play MMOs exclusively solo, so events were intended to draw people together to form groups without actually having to group. In other MMOs, the open world is generally like 90% solo content, with what used to be group quests now as public events. GW2 however puts a much larger focus on group events and requiring even larger groups. That isn't a problem however, but only as long as the maps remain legitimately active. As soon as people need to use LFG to participate, it has failed. ArenaNet could easily solve the population problem however by doing what MMOs tend to do nowadays and split the content, essentially making the entire map scale for 1+, while actual large events take place in their own area that you can queue in to at any time.

The funny thing about GW2 is how it was originally intended to be the MMO for those not wanting the tediousness of other MMOs, yet they've gone off in the opposite direction. Just imagine what masteries are going to be like for new players in a few years. Where other MMOs are getting rid of linear leveling, ArenaNet has added it.

[Odinens.5920]

@Plautze.6290 said:

@Rauderi.8706 said:

@Plautze.6290 said:

I do know that I trade quite some DPS for 7k additional health, but it still seems off to me that ultra-DPS-nuke-AoE trashmobs (not even Veteran or Elite, but trash!) keep killing me while face tanking all my damage.

I run full marauder on my DH, with Greatsword/ Sword-Shield, and while there are certain vets I have to be careful with, I have no issues burning anything down.