Solo Play

[badson]

I asked over in the WoW forum about solo play and was recommended GW2 and ESO.
I played GW1 solo and had fun until I hit a point I couldn't pass. I liked having computer controlled characters in my group so at least I was being healed.
Is GW2 even more solo friendly?

[lawow74]

Not really, the open world is very solo(or at the least, not forced to join a group)friendly, but Dungeons and Fractals will pretty much require you to group with others to do them, same with sPvP.

[badson]

Thanks for the reply. I'll check out ESO instead.

[Valeron]

ESO will be the same way

I don't think there is an mmo that can be completely done as a solo player

[Kazgrel]

Large portion of the game can be enjoyed solo. Grouping up or helping out happens naturally out in the open world; you don't have to form a party since there is no kill stealing due to someone else hitting a mob first.

Dungeons and ranked pvp are the only things that require proper grouping. There are no henchies/bots/companions to assist you or replace players a la GW1.

Can't comment on ESO, but no MMO will be 100% soloable. For a complete solo experience with comapnions a la GW1, maybe look into Dragon Age Inquisition or (for an old school spin) Pillars of Eternity.

[zito]

90% (random number but you get the idea) of GW2 is solo oriented with groups naturally happening in the world and not spaming LFG. The other 10% is Dungeons, fractals and maybe ranked PvP and only because they are instance and such can not naturally form. No MMO is 100% soloable.

Both GW2 and ESO are probably what you are looking for, it's just deciding what you want. In terms of cost GW2 often goes on sale for 15-20$ and updates besides expansions don't require any more money. ESO B2P will be selling their updates so it's which games theme appeals to you more and how much do you want to invest.

[Christonya]

MMO = Massive multiplayer online.

Yeah. GW2 isn't bad from a solo perspective. But all in all, you'll never find an mmo that is perfect solo play material. Why? Because then it wouldn't be an mmo.

[Littleraven]

MMO = Massive multiplayer online.

Yeah. GW2 isn't bad from a solo perspective. But all in all, you'll never find an mmo that is perfect solo play material. Why? Because then it wouldn't be an mmo.

Pretty much this. Expecting to be able to get the most out of literally any MMO solo is futile. It goes against the nature of the very genre. Some are better than others and some you CAN actually do mostly everything but there is always going to be that wall.

GW2 is a good starting point though. I played a bit of it and had fun. Was turned off by the combat unfortunately though. ESO I have just barely started playing and so far it seems pretty solo friendly but I am not far into it at all.

[Katchii]

GW2 and ESO are good for solo play for the most part, but there comes a point towards at the end where any further progression of your character just requires group play.... which is the same for any MMO out there really.

That said, the leveling experience in almost every MMO (except FFXIV) is entirely solo.

[Kazgrel]

GW2 and ESO are good for solo play for the most part, but there comes a point towards at the end where any further progression of your character just requires group play.... which is the same for any MMO out there really.

That said, the leveling experience in almost every MMO (except FFXIV) is entirely solo.

One can acquire ascended gear in GW2 (best gear stat wise in the game) without ever doing any mandatory group content (dungeons, etc.)

I will say that such gear does take a while to acquire. Exotic gear (next highest stats) is more than sufficient for all gameplay though and is fairly easy to acquire. Ascended is a long term goal.

[zito]

Exotic gear (next highest stats) is more than sufficient for all gameplay though and is fairly easy to acquire. Ascended is a long term goal.

I loved the terminology you did here. No really I did, people believe you need to have exotic to do anything efficient which is a bunch of crap.

Masterwork is sufficient
Exotic is more than sufficient
Ascended is you are pigeon holded into whatever build that requires that specific build because it takes too fucking long to get ascended.

[Sohalia]

I asked over in the WoW forum about solo play and was recommended GW2 and ESO.
I played GW1 solo and had fun until I hit a point I couldn't pass. I liked having computer controlled characters in my group so at least I was being healed.
Is GW2 even more solo friendly?

It would depend on your definition of "solo." In GW2 there aren't any quests, rather there are open-world dynamic events to participate in. Most of these can be done completely on your own, but nothing is going to stop a stranger from swooping in to help you out with the event. You'll have no need to party up with them if you don't want, all buffs, heals, and combos can be done outside of party as well. So, when it comes to exploring the map and playing around in the world in general you can play completely on your own, but events will bring people, so you'll find more often than not there will be random strangers helping you out. (It's an mmo, so nothing can save you from encountering people :/)

The game is highly open-world, and you'll find that it isn't as instanced as some games like GW1 and PSO2.

In terms of dungeons.. generally, of course, those can't be done solo for the most part. You don't need to do dungeons to get the "best" gear, however, so there is absolutely no need to do them if you don't want too. You can get the 'best' gear in game (Exotic/Ascended, depending on what you want) from various sources. Crafting, Karma, (these two can be done completely solo) WvW, sPvp, Dungeons, random drops.

WvW/PvP are also not very solo-friendly. Sure, you can queue on your own and have random team members and random enemies, (similar to LoL, kinda) but you can also queue with friends. WvW tends to support group play, but nothing requires you to be in a party. Whenever I WvW I actually tend to not be in a party at all, and just let my buffs land on whichever random-close-ally they fall too.

[Thelxi]

Yes, GW2 is extremely solo friendly. If you are interested in dungeons and fractals you can easily pug them. Even for high fractals you can find good pugs/semi guild runs pretty easily. You can do pretty much anything in the game without a steady group.

[zito]

Yes, GW2 is extremely solo friendly. If you are interested in dungeons and fractals you can easily pug them. Even for high fractals you can find good pugs/semi guild runs pretty easily. You can do pretty much anything in the game without a steady group.

You can do most dungeons solo if you are good enough. Fractals is the only instance content requiring some sort of coordination with multiple people. I don't know why 5 man dungeons don't just scale per player with a max of 5 since they don't require any sort of team work, just a body.

I really hope with the future defiant changes that dungeons will get a look at to not be so bland.

[Kelimbror]

Is GW2 even more solo friendly?

GW2 is the most solo friendly MMO out there other than perhaps LotRO in terms of gameplay, goal structure, and rewards. To this day I still haven't set foot inside a GW2 dungeon (I have no idea why, just because playing the rest of the game has been so fun I guess). I have full exotic with some ascended across 3 max level characters. Dungeons are not required.

The world content, both in PvE and PvP require little to no communication with other players so it is effectively soloing beside others if that's what you want. It's organic and less burdensome as traditional MMO group play. In regards to ESO, it's the exact same as any other MMO regarding group play. You will need to do dungeons in order to get the best gear, you will need groups for high level content, you need groups for several map objectives.

If this is your primary concern, GW2 is the primary game you should look at.

[Norvak]

I only solo in GW2. Don't know anyone or have a guild. It's a great game to log in for a bit and get some lvls. I jump into WvsWpvp, catch up with the group and get lvls fast.

Great game, amazing graphics and an amazing world to explore.