It's most definitely less than 1% of the the entire player base. Most people who play the game barely know how to play their characters (at least my definition of know how to play their characters). I'd venture a guess at the actual AV soloing population of the game to be somewhere in the range of 500-1000 total players. There are probably more that could, but don't bother to.
My personal experience is that it is not that common in game.
I've had several different occasions where the topic was brought up and people on my team laughed it off. Acting like such a thing was impossible.
One instance that comes to mind. Before MArc I was trying to assemble a team just to get me started on the STF. I wanted to try to solo some of the less common AVs in the game. I had a friend of mine filling who also started inviting people. She brought along a friend of hers. Well, this guy plainly thought I wa an idiot for even attempting this. His comments in team chat were pretty derisive. In the end we had all the team mates gathered in IP except him when he drops team. I sent him a tell asking what was up and his response was that he "didn't want to go to IP and waste his time".
Another time was much more enjoyable. I had put together a team to try the ITF AVs. Once I had it started I thanked everyone and they all dropped team except one guy. He also obviously thought what I was trying was impossible but he wanted to come along if it was ok with me. I told him it was fine and the end result was he watched me solo Rom and I made a friend. 
I think the boards have a slightly more experienced demographic. 
Not common. It is quite expensive to do but really a great challange if you have the time and inf to make a build that can do it.
Honestly, with the exception of only a few Forumites, i don't think [u]anyone[u] does,
Which is what? Maybe a few dozen here at most.
I've currently got six lvl 50 scrappers, and another 12 in the 20-40 range. And of all those, only ONE is able to solo an AV, gauranteed, without using any Temps/Insps.
(and thats with 3 of those scrappers being billion Inf builds)
Why?
Well, AV soloing requires a very specific focus for the build. Often taking powers that are useless for general group play (I'm looking at you Aid Self) and foregoing things such as travel powers or more useful AoE powers.
Whereas most scrappers will be built for more general TFs, group play, Hami Raids etc. All of which has different requirements.
So yeah, AV soloing grants instant bragging rights, but the time commitment? the required Influence? and the very narrow focus of the builds?
Well, that's going to exclude the vast majority of players., from attempting it.
I for one am only working on my second AV soloing scrapper.
It's really hard to not gut my main, but with the state of the market, I may have to do it. (I wonder if the Glad's Armor is going to hit 2 billion :-p)
@Mojo-
Proud Member of Fusion Force.
I think it's more common than you'd think. Most of my friends have soloed AVs ; most don't like doing it, either, so they do it once in a while and stop there.
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I think it's more common than you'd think. Most of my friends have soloed AVs ; most don't like doing it, either, so they do it once in a while and stop there.
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With No Temps/Insps???
Because honestly, this is the IntraWebz, Pics, or it didn't happen.
Like I said, I've got a few expensive Scrappers, but one needs to remember to have a few greens, another needs a few reds, and the third can do it alone.
(and we'll see how the other cope in a few levels time)
Meanwhile I also have a Controller that can Solo Giant Monsters, which honestly tends to be quicker and easier than soloing most AVs.
(GMs don't have self heals and ridiculous high damage)
The mix of high damage & high recharge, enough accuracy and end recovery? And the right attack chain? Along with a self heal for defense based sets?
Don't get me wrong, there are a vast number of very well built scrappers out there, but built for AV soloing? I doubt it.
(are they getting EBs confused with AVs perhaps?)
One character against one archvillain = AV soloing.
Anyone is free to make up their own imaginary rules, but you shouldn't expect everyone to play that way.
Much, much less common than the fetishization of it on the Scrapper forums would lead you to believe.
If we are to die, let us die like men. -- Patrick Cleburne
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The rule is that they must be loved. --Jayne Fynes-Clinton, Death of an Abandoned Dog
RE: Needing a special/expensive build to solo AVs.
My DM/SR was soloing AVs back before IOs existed. Using only SOs and his standard PvE build.
IOs and dual builds just increased the realiability and speed of taking those AVs down for me.
/shrug
The reason I don't see it as very common is that many people just dont think it's possible, or they think that only a select few players with tricked out builds can do it. In other words they've fallen for the urban legends.
When the scrapper forum refers to AV soloing we tend to carry the underlying message of No Temps/Insps.
Having a shivan or HVAS means you're not solo'ing, you're duo'ing. Using Temps or Insps, hell, almost anyone can probably solo an AV.
@Mojo-
Proud Member of Fusion Force.
I did it with my Kat/WP scrapper, to me it is just something to really brag about, and it is kinda boring. I would much rather use this build and shine on a team. But it is good to know that if he rest of the team falls you can take care of business.
Me personally I just like hearing the complements from the other players and the "wow's" and just the stuff you get from other player that you don't get from soloing.
"Yes, winning all the time can be boring."
-Knight_Chill
"It's amazing how well you can put up with endurance issues if you hide them under a large enough pile of bodies."
-Spiritchaser speaking on Dom Revamp
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When the scrapper forum refers to AV soloing we tend to carry the underlying message of No Temps/Insps.
Having a shivan or HVAS means you're not solo'ing, you're duo'ing. Using Temps or Insps, hell, almost anyone can probably solo an AV.
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Last time I've seen this debate, many had different opinions. You can stick your fingers in your ears and pretend yours is the only right one. Meanwhile, I'll stick with the dictionary definition of the words unless "no insps / temps" is specifically mentioned.
I was running with a team last night doing the Dark Watcher arc and we ended up in the last mission to save the world. Team was 1 Troller, 1 Tank, 2 Scrappers(my DM/SR and a DB/Regen). We got to the last room where I had pulled the main AV back to the hallway as to avoid the Nemesis AV ambush. Well the ambush ended up noticing the Troller dropped him. The Rikti AV at this point was about to drop so I swapped to the Nemesis AV.
A few moments later I noticed the other AV on the ground and the team is working on ambushes so I just kept on with the AV. I have a macro to call out targets so I hit it to call attention to the AV I had at half health at this point. No one stopped to help so I typed "This is an AV also". I got this reply "Looks like you got him, the rest of us are going to attack the generators"
I was totally shocked, I didn't mind at all since I made that Scrapper to handle things like that but to have the team be confident enough to just leave the AV up to one person while they spread out to get more objectives was cool. Normally everyone dog piles the AV but they swung by to see Nemesis getting beat up and just kept on walking.
To me beating up an AV solo is fun. I have a few Brutes that can do it but only 1 Scrapper so far. Once the Rouge thing gets introduces my DM/SD Brute will be my next thing to trick out. If the villain market wasnt so dry he would be already
While you're of course technically right, I just don't think anyone considers it a great accomplishment to "solo" an AV w/temps or insps. I used to think insps are "valid", but since the def changes, in all my soloing builds I aim for the no temps/no insps rule. Not sure which the OP had in mind, but to be honest, if you're allowing for any type of soloing where a single toon takes out a single AV, a whole lot more ppl than just the upper X% of forumites would be able to accomplish that.
As for the specialized build concept, yeah, I had to specialize quite a bit for my soloing builds, and exactly because of the no insps/temps rule. If I allowed myself to pop an occasional purp or BF (for my squishies), I wouldn't need to build to the exacting standards I currently do. In fact, it really wouldn't be much of a challenge at all.
An Offensive Guide to Ice Melee
Temps are for sissies
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When the scrapper forum refers to AV soloing we tend to carry the underlying message of No Temps/Insps.
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Wrong!!! I have never seen an underlying message of No Temps/Insps. It is up to the Peason but I'm sorry saying you didn't solo and AV because of Insps is just worng. Now Temps power will make most AVs a joke for a Scrapper.
Edit: Also the no temps/no insps is something I think Werner did to challenge his build now every one thinks that is the rule. It is not a rule it is a challenge.
"All right, they're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time"- Chesty Puller US Marine Corps
I myself took on my first AV solo to see where my build stood.As I found out it was pretty damn good since the only insp I needed were some blues.
Once I got to 50 I made sure my last 2 powers were Conserve Power and Dark Consumption.I have to test it still on an AV,but I think I will be good.
When I took out my first I asked if it "counted" and I got a resounding YES and my next test was no insp.
Monks of Pal'Sidae
Shockmare Lvl 50 E3
Elektra Knight Lvl 50 Dark/Elec/Psi
Back when I started soloing AVs using insps was cool. Then Werner brought his "no temps/no insps" rule forcing the rest of the AV crowd to get with the times and make even more refined builds to be able to match his accomplishments
Today? I still think insps are acceptable in some very specific situations (yellows to overcome Mynx's elude, blues to counter Recluse's recovery shutdown, purples to counter Positron's defense debuffs if you're not /SR, etc). But the majority of the AVs should be soloed with no temps/no insps, in my very own personal opinion that belongs to me and is of my property.
Your opinion may vary, but soloing AVs with temps (Shivans, Nukes) and insps (T3's) isn't exactly an accomplishment.
Just going to respond to both at the same time.
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Last time I've seen this debate, many had different opinions. You can stick your fingers in your ears and pretend yours is the only right one. Meanwhile, I'll stick with the dictionary definition of the words unless "no insps / temps" is specifically mentioned.
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The only point I mentioned it's NOT soloing is with the use of a Temp Shivan or HVAS, you are physically NOT soloing as there are two entities working on the same target. Maybe you should take your own advice as well.
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When the scrapper forum refers to AV soloing we tend to carry the underlying message of No Temps/Insps.
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Wrong!!! I have never seen an underlying message of No Temps/Insps. It is up to the Peason but I'm sorry saying you didn't solo and AV because of Insps is just worng. Now Temps power will make most AVs a joke for a Scrapper.
Edit: Also the no temps/no insps is something I think Werner did to challenge his build now every one thinks that is the rule. It is not a rule it is a challenge.
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If you've never seen someone say "No temps/insps, of course" then I just don't know what to tell you. Shred Monkey started with using a bunch of reds and maybe a purple, yes Werner took it to the next level and since then we kept that metric. Of course it's still a great accomplishment if you solo with a few insps, but you're not yet on the next level of AV soloing.
So while I agree with you two I'm also pointing out that there are two levels of AV soloing, with insps and then without. When people were referring to the upper 1% of builds or so (completely arbitrary percentage, of course), they were referring to the no temps/insps builds.
@Mojo-
Proud Member of Fusion Force.
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The only point I mentioned it's NOT soloing is with the use of a Temp Shivan or HVAS, you are physically NOT soloing as there are two entities working on the same target. Maybe you should take your own advice as well.
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Wait, does that mean MMs with henchmen and Controllers with pets don't count as AV soloers? 
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The only point I mentioned it's NOT soloing is with the use of a Temp Shivan or HVAS, you are physically NOT soloing as there are two entities working on the same target. Maybe you should take your own advice as well.
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Wait, does that mean MMs with henchmen and Controllers with pets don't count as AV soloers?
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Come on now...be serious...you know what (s)he is trying to say.
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The only point I mentioned it's NOT soloing is with the use of a Temp Shivan or HVAS, you are physically NOT soloing as there are two entities working on the same target. Maybe you should take your own advice as well.
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Wait, does that mean MMs with henchmen and Controllers with pets don't count as AV soloers?
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Come on now...be serious...you know what (s)he is trying to say.
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Sorry, I forgot internet message boards were serious business.
Sometimes on the forum it seems like simply EVERYONE is doing it. But yeah, a common topic does not make it a common occurrence. I'd guess maybe 50 players do it no temps, no inspirations. The number would be very low because I suspect that almost nobody introduces artificial constraints just to make the job harder. Maybe 1000 players have soloed AVs using all the tools at their disposal. Many of those wouldn't be scrappers. Both are just wild guesses.
Replying to multiple people in one message to save time:
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When the scrapper forum refers to AV soloing we tend to carry the underlying message of No Temps/Insps.
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Sort of. When someone asks for an AV soloing build, I usually interpret it as a no temps, no inspirations AV soloing build, because with temps and inspirations, you don't need a specific build. But when someone says they soloed an AV, I don't assume it was done with no temps no inspirations unless that is stated explicitly.
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Having a shivan or HVAS means you're not solo'ing, you're duo'ing.
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I'd call it soloing, same as a Mastermind is soloing. Pets are not the same thing as other players, no matter how powerful the pet. To me, soloing is one player, not one in-game entity.
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Using Temps or Insps, hell, almost anyone can probably solo an AV.
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True. But it doesn't mean they have.
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While you're of course technically right, I just don't think anyone considers it a great accomplishment to "solo" an AV w/temps or insps.
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I'll agree with this too. I think you technically soloed an AV even if you burn through all your inspirations, bio nuke him from space, and the Shivan does the rest. I just won't be impressed. At all. But the fewer tools you use, the more I'll be impressed. Pop a few reds to finish off Diabolique when she starts bubbling? I won't think any less of you. I'll be suitably impressed.
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Edit: Also the no temps/no insps is something I think Werner did to challenge his build now every one thinks that is the rule. It is not a rule it is a challenge.
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I doubt I was the first. I did do a couple AVs that way ages ago, maybe a month before Shred Monkey started his AV project that I think kicked off the whole forum thing. I had no idea if others were doing it. I considered posting to ask, but didn't. I did end up posting about it, but it was just a comment in a what did you do this weekend thread that probably almost nobody saw. Basically, I enjoyed the RWZ challenge, and that style of play, so I started applying it to other things in the game.
Me, personally, I'm only counting AVs that I can solo without temps or inspirations. That's how I built my characters, and I enjoy the extra challenge. In a sense, it's kind of stupid, since I'm actually avoiding AVs that would be a challenge with inspirations, and are impossible without.
While I can't speak for everyone, it seems like most of us stay away from temporary powers, since there are a few that can almost trivialize an AV fight. And inspiration use seems to be specific not used if you can get away with it, or using specific inspirations for specific AVs that would be impossible without them.
But I don't think any of that is implied by soloing an AV except when someone is asking for build advice.
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Then Werner brought his "no temps/no insps" rule forcing the rest of the AV crowd to get with the times and make even more refined builds to be able to match his accomplishments
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I think Shred Monkey was the first to post a thread with no temps no inspirations AV soloing, even though he didn't make it a personal rule. I believe most or the majority of his AVs were soloed without temps or inspirations, and he just used inspirations when the AV would otherwise be impossible, which wasn't all that many. But yeah, I suppose I was the one that turned it into a personal rule. But it was just a rule for myself, because I really wanted to test out my builds, and felt that, for instance, popping purples to get to the soft cap wasn't really testing the BUILD. Plus I just like that play style. I like that feeling of having one hand tied behind my back and still beating the odds.
"That's because Werner can't do maths." - BunnyAnomaly
"Four hours in, and I was no longer making mistakes, no longer detoggling. I was a machine." - Werner
Videos of Other Stupid Scrapper Tricks
I know that alot of people here on the boards have Scrappers (or other AT's) that can solo AV's but I'm just curious as to how common everyone here thinks it is in general since forumites only make up a small percentage of the player base (or so I have heard).
Do you think it is something that the average Scrapper can do, providing the person playing the toon knows what they're doing?
Or is it maybe something that is accomplished mostly by the people frequenting these forums?
I'm sure there's no accurate way to judge this, but any opinions or guesses would be great.
Thanks!