The person who say "I like to solo" while playing an MMO

[Stevegasm]

This is one of those things that have been bugging me a while now. You're out questing, killing, and what not, and then you come across someone doing all the same quests as you. Rather than fight it all out alone and slow each other down by single killing mobs and waiting for respawns, you offer up to group up and work together. And then get the reply, "I like to solo." So I proceed to quest on my own. But the funny thing is, is that me and this other player end up working on the same quests for a good hour or so later. This hasn't happened just once though, and this has happened in different MMOs, though it's most prevalent in WoW where survival vs multiple mobs is easy.

Why? Why even bother playing an MMO then? What exactly attracts these people to the genre when they are soloists? The first two initials the acronym are massively multiplayer. Why not stick to games like Skyrim, Dragon Age, The Witcher, and other games that are a far superior single player experience than an MMORPG.

When I first got into WoW back in March of 2005, there was no shortage of players who were willing to group. The reason I got into the game, and I assume most of us got into the game was to play with others. Even when my IRL friends were offline, I rarely ever quested alone, and it was a blast. Not only did we group up to quest, but we grouped up for safety, as a 60 couldn't take out a group of 2 or 3 level 30s with ease.

My first guild in Vanilla was formed through grouping like this. Eventually it ended up being that this person had 5 to 10 other IRL friends, while another person had friends as well, and so on. And then boom, a 40 man raiding guild was built upon those other few groups of friends, as well as the 20 or so people that I knew IRL. And then more and more of their friends joined, and we had two 40 man raid groups with about 10 people to spare.

I just don't understand the mentality of the MMO solo player. If you don't like multiplayer, don't play a multiplayer game.

[Clockwork Pinkie]

Easy, if it's a drop rate quest that is not 100%, grouping together is out of the question. If it's just a "kill a few of these" quest, then that wouldn't be so bad. MMO doesn't mean you have to play with someone every single second you're online, it's just called that to know that the game has a lot of players, online, that you can interact with.

[Zao]

Because I have my own pace when doing grindy stuff. I basically play on autopilot while watching a movie on my second screen. Having a partner might make things go faster, but I also have to actually pay attention to what's happening.

And depending on the MMO you play, you also get less XP when grouped than when soloing.

[Essenji]

I usually join people when it's kill quests we're talking about, but as soon as it's some quest drop item I'd rather just solo it, as I usually think I'm able to kill more mobs faster and more efficiently than most other players.
And some people are just simpleminded, of course. They don't realize the difference between speeding up the questing/lvling process and slowing it down.

You should also put into consideration that said person might've been in a dungeon queue (which I usually do whilst questing for the dungeon quests), and didn't want to interrupt it.

[Hedleyazg]

Maybe they don't want to group with a random person? I know I didn't want to. I preferred leveling alone because I got more XP and quests done faster.

[Duruka]

I prefer not to group with strangers for questing for a few reasons. The main one is that I like to move at my own pace. I read all the quest text, and like to take my time. Almost every time I've grouped up with a stranger, they go too fast or don't wait for me.

It's not that I want to play a single player game. When I'm questing alone, I usually talk to my friends over Real ID, or talk in guild chat. I like doing dungeons and quests with friends or guild members too. I'm just not a huge fan of grouping with strangers, unless it's some quick heroics so I can reach valor cap.

[Jolly Duck]

If I happen to find myself out questing, while leveling as your post seems to imply, I strongly prefer not to be grouped up and I have definitely declined groups for doing regular quests and quest chains. Not because I love me some solo questin' goodness, but instead because of how irritating grouping for quests is. Being a courteous player is overwhelmingly frustrating when you have to keep grinding mobs because the rando you grouped with hasn't gotten all of his zherva hooves yet, so to speak. Taking breaks becomes a public hindrance, rarely do you ever gain much speed from having a partner because of the proximity requirements, and of course sharing kill exp takes a pretty significant portion of your net exp gains that having a bump in damage output doesn't really compensate equally for.

tl;dr: probably just didn't want to group, or wanted to experience the lore

[Skelington]

Because the option to play an online-only game alone is lovely. Skelington hates when random morons try to be his friend because we are in the same zone or do the same quest or because we are playing the same game. Just because we can play together doesn't mean he wants to.

[TheWerebison]

Because the option to play an online-only game alone is lovely. Skelington hates when random morons try to be his friend because we are in the same zone or do the same quest or because we are playing the same game. Just because we can play together doesn't mean he wants to.

The Werebison agrees with Skelington entirely. I've made so many stalker "friends" just by not charging for making an item with his own mats, or because we were part of the same guild, or just because I informed him of where something was located. They add me to friends list and talk to me when I log on and don't take the hint and are very hard to shake.

[Restos3]

I have a split reaction.
Sometimes when I'm really lazy and I I'm going on my own pace doing whatever I want to do, I want to be alone.
When I just want to floor everything down quickly to get past some area or some quest chain, I'd happily group with people to do it fast.

Edit: Woah Skellington, you have a new face everyday.

[Jaese]

God. Why does someone always have to complain about another player wanting to do things by themselves.

It's an MMO, so what? Life is massively multiplayer, but I enjoy going and doing things by myself on occasion. Why should I treat WoW any different?

[Shinzai]

This is one of those things that have been bugging me a while now. You're out questing, killing, and what not, and then you come across someone doing all the same quests as you. Rather than fight it all out alone and slow each other down by single killing mobs and waiting for respawns, you offer up to group up and work together. And then get the reply, "I like to solo." So I proceed to quest on my own. But the funny thing is, is that me and this other player end up working on the same quests for a good hour or so later. This hasn't happened just once though, and this has happened in different MMOs, though it's most prevalent in WoW where survival vs multiple mobs is easy.

Why? Why even bother playing an MMO then? What exactly attracts these people to the genre when they are soloists? The first two initials the acronym are massively multiplayer. Why not stick to games like Skyrim, Dragon Age, The Witcher, and other games that are a far superior single player experience than an MMORPG.

When I first got into WoW back in March of 2005, there was no shortage of players who were willing to group. The reason I got into the game, and I assume most of us got into the game was to play with others. Even when my IRL friends were offline, I rarely ever quested alone, and it was a blast. Not only did we group up to quest, but we grouped up for safety, as a 60 couldn't take out a group of 2 or 3 level 30s with ease.

My first guild in Vanilla was formed through grouping like this. Eventually it ended up being that this person had 5 to 10 other IRL friends, while another person had friends as well, and so on. And then boom, a 40 man raiding guild was built upon those other few groups of friends, as well as the 20 or so people that I knew IRL. And then more and more of their friends joined, and we had two 40 man raid groups with about 10 people to spare.

I just don't understand the mentality of the MMO solo player. If you don't like multiplayer, don't play a multiplayer game.

I like working in a city. Doesn't mean I want to interact with every single other human being in that city. Getting away from the noise and the feeling of being hurried along, or as though you're using someone else's time is something that a lot of people enjoy. If I'm with friends, I'm aware we have a time frame in which to do things. Alone, I can take as long as I want. Just because someone enjoys solo'ing things in an MMO, doesn't mean they therefore have nothing to do with anyone else ever in that MMO.

When I solo on WoW, I normally go do quests, read the storylines in full, go back to dungeons I rushed through with other people way back when and pay attention to all the little things I ignored or didn't have time to appreciate back then.

[HeavensDemise]

I solo quite a bit in mmo's just because I enjoy doing things at my own pace. When I do group up for things though it's usually only with friends.

[Wildo]

That person is me. I often refuse offers to group for a variety of reasons.

The main reason is that I AFK a ton when questing. Sometimes I'm at home with family stuff going on, so I'll play for 15 minutes, afk for 5 to let the dogs out, play for 5 more, let the dogs in, play for 7, daughter wants to talk to me about the dance on Friday night, play for 12, wife needs help with the groceries so I afk for 30 minutes since I didn't get a chance to talk to her earlier, log off, eat lunch.......etc.

Do you really want to group with this guy? Nah and I don't want to explain all this.

Also, I like to take my time (read quest text, etc) or sometimes I just want to get something done.

[Flalia4]

If I wanted to level with some one I'd level with a friend not some random guy who's on the same quest as me.That also means you shouldn't steal his kills either there is enough mobs with a fast enough spawn rate to go one way and he the other.Except in TBC and WotLK of course.

[Profyrion]

Ignorance + intolerance leads to threads like this.

It's a game. Some people will play it differently. As long as it's within the rules, the "why" is really inconsequential.

[Kaosbringer]

There is some advantage to Soloing old content, it's how I farmed my Slayer of the Lifeless in only 2 weeks as a posed to the 5+ it could have take if i had grouped up with others.

That being said, and MMO will, and should, be focused on the Multi-player aspect, its what the genre was built for.

[Evil Inside]

Because I can set my own pace, with questing im usually not even paying attention, I have no reason to as I'm likely also doing/watching something else.

[Vysala]

Solo questing also allows for AFKing as long as the person needs and setting their own pace. If I get a phone call, I don't wanna feel pressured to end the call because someone is waiting on me, I'd rather give the caller my full attention. Quests that aren't 100% drop can be lengthy and annoying as well. I don't mind grouping up for certain quests, but in general it feels more efficient to quest alone. Also on occasion I'll start questing and 20 minutes later change my mind and want to do something else because I'm not a huge fan of leveling XD

Everyone has their reasons. I'm sure you'll find some people that would want to quest with you for long periods of time, just not everyone will.

[solari]

- i don't group cause people slow me down, even though i'm not going for realm first anything they always slow me down.
- i don't talk to people in real life cause they slow me down, why would i waste my minutes talking to someone on the street, gosh.
- i never really make friends unless i'm introduced by a friend, why would i do the opposite while i'm playing with strangers? keep it on the down low and be a hermit.
- i don't enjoy sharing or having a laugh with a total stranger, why the HELL would i try to have fun in a game?
- i pay for the game, i don't want people to make my playing experience astray. i have a calculator right by my side to calculate how much i paid for my online minutes.
- i think i'm not average, i'm not an average gamer, i'm special; therefore i do whatever i want and i will not conform to socializing. i will play alone.
- i am a fairly smart person, therefore anything that i do in the game might inspire other people to do the things i enjoy doing. i will not allow this, i will be selfish.
- the last time i had a girlfriend was in 6th grade, and my mom introduced me to her. i probably wouldn't quest with here though, she'd probably distort my gaming experience.