Soloability...The Movement Forward.

I realize now I shouldn't have started the thread with the mention of the Incarnate system, as many will only read the first line before responding. Read first, then post if necessary. Please.

I think it's time the Devs started making all TFs/Trials solo accessible. Not saying they need to be solo friendly, but there should be the option to solo like the ones in Ouroborous. I'm sure that even the min player req spawn (ex: 4 min spawn for Posi) would be an acceptable challenge to a "Soloist" such as myself. Maybe tweak the AV to a red/purple EB, but that's it.
Forced teaming has been an unpalatable requirement for a long time in this game. Give solo players the option to continue to be left alone to enjoy the game in their own fashion too.

While I understand there can be explanations as to why a spuer hero/villain might have to team sometimes in comic books. Not all of then do. Aside from that, this isn;t a comic book, and players who have the option to team should also have the option NOT to team.
It's understood that some content/badges will be missed as such, but it seems that particular piece of the pie is perhaps larger then necessary. Would it really impact the game more to open these options to soloing?
I'd even be happy if SOME of the other TFs/Trials were available. If some are needed for forced teaming then so be it, but I can;t imagine they all are needed.
Plus, while it may be stated that story arcs, safeguards/mayhems/tips are solo friendly, and also give the necessary "event" feel for a character, I think taking a page from WOW in this ase might be more apt. They have "Instances" that can be accessed by players but are only soloable once those players are past the specified levels (usually about 5 levels above does the trick from my experience. They have that "event" type feel of TFs/Trials provide for grouped players. Story arcs, Mayhems/Safeguards, Tips mishes only tease at for solo players.

One thought of note too, if the respec trial is a concern, then make that a team requirement to access the respec. That way the playability is still there.

The reason I post this is that I've been a long time player (with a few vacations), and have done the whole SG thing many times/many ways. I don't think it's asking for much, or asking for something game-changing/unacceptable. It just makes the game more interesting/fun for me since I have ZERO interest anymore in teaming. We all get burned out, and it's been 2 years since I've wanted to team at all.
This option would definitely hold my interest more, and hopefully the Incarante system will continue along that course as well (if soloable).

I'm just posting this so it is stated, and not really looking for a response to my query. More just stating an opinion, and hoping it gets recognized/implemented. As I said, "instances" would be ideal, but opeing the TFs/Trials to soloing in any fashion is a "go" for me.

Hopefully, the ability to unlock the Incarnate power(s) isn't decided by forcing teaming (like so many other TFs/Trials).
Thank you.

If you only solo, what need do you have for the Alpha slot?

I believe that in order to get the Alpha slot, you may be 'forced' to do some teaming. Since this is an MMO, there should be some things that require teaming, IMO. And I run mostly solo/very small teams most of the time. I don't mind that there is some content out there that requires a bit more teaming to do.

Well, for the option of PvP as well in certain zones, plus with the new content on the rise then why shouldn't it be solo-available as well?
As I stated, and the reason I made a long post was so it was understood that there are arguments for forced teaming in SOME fashions.
I'm simply stating that it would be great if MORE options were available for soloing.

The Incarnate system really should be given it's based on each individual's improvement in powers. If it's really broken down we all only play our own character anyway. And any improvement to that character is singular.

In comics, Heroes/Villains are actually able to attain greater powers without a team, just as often as with one, and moreso in fact. I didn;t see Thor, Thanos, Superman...ect. becoming more powerful/changing powers through a team effort. While that is also a feaible option, all avenues should be available.

ALSO, it's more a thread for ALL availab e TFs/Trials too.

Some things should be forced team, but those should be a minority. Making it more challenging is the correct balance.
So it's said, I truly enjoy this game, and it does alot of thing right (and has corrected alot of things that weren't), but I wanted to offer a persepctive of something I really enjoyed from that other MMO is all.

BTW, any Trolling, Flames, or whatever can just head out now. Just saying. If you want to be dumb then just go. Not needed. Not wanted.

There's nothing unfair about what I'm asking, and actually it would greatly balance the game with more options. If it's something that was overly difficult (I admit I have no idea what's involed to make the change available, but imagine it may not be), then that's understood.
Just looking for the eyes in the sky to look, consider, and give it a fair shot.
The solo vote is underrated.

Also, I probably won't be reading too many replies on here as there have been many bad experiences with trolls, close-minded replies in the past to ideas/topics that should have open discussion/consideration.
Again, just getting the word out. More features are always more preferrable then less. You never know when you might be in a similar situation.

Superman sometimes works with the Justice League to defeat enemies that are too powerful for him to take alone. Same with Thor and the Avengers. They were certainly able to take down larger threats than they would have been able to alone, in most of the stories.

With the new content that came with GR, we got a lot of content that you could do either solo or with a team, so you've got that. But for some people, teaming is the better part of this game. Why not give them some content to do, too? The soloers can do about 90-95% of the game. Why isn't that enough?

Some people can already start most TFs with a team, then do them solo anyways, so it can be done. Just because you need to start with a team doesn't mean you need a team all the way through. Certainly, they are tougher to do without the team, but if you've built your character to do them solo, you can.

Items that require forced teaming are already a minority of things in this game. The Alpha slot will not change that.

Yes, that's true. And that's the same old argument that needs to be understood, and then left alone. We have Hamidon which effectively covers that argument. Again, SOME of the TFs/Trials can be that way, but right now almost ALL of them are that way except for the Ouroborous ones. I think 3/4 should be soloable to be fair.

Did Thanos find the Infinity gems in a group?
How about the various hosts of the Captain Universe entity?
Or the Cosmic Cube?
Did Thor get the powers of Odin in a group?
How about when Superman spilt into Red and Blue?
How about origins: Did Capt. America, SPiderman, or Batman become who they are because of a team?

My point is there are many more SOLO activities in comics where a hero/villain becomes more powerful. It's the norm.
Teams becoming more powerful as a whole is actually the a rarity, nigh unlikelyhood.
While it has cache, it shouldn't be the norm/expectation.
To have that requirement shows that teaming is to be the premier concept, and I find that ideal to be a failure on many levels.

You can get from level 1-50 completely solo, if you want. That is you gaining power.

Doing a TF, except for possibly the new Incarnate stuff, does not make you any more powerful than if you were to solo through different content.

So you can get just as powerful solo as you can by running team content. How is that not fair?

Aett...learn to read thoroughly not summarize. You EXACT responses are because you're skimming.

I mentioned things as I did to cover as many bases as possible, and I explained myslef well enough.
Any opinions are obviously fine. That's what this is for, but I don;t want to take up valuable time explaining things like this when it shouldn't be necessary.

I just have an idea/desier I'd like to get noticed without needless explanations beyond the original posting (unless it is undully misunderstood). Too many back/forth "chatting" hijacks the purpose and content of the thread.
I'm all for well thought out replies (be it pro or con), so I'd hope that's what would be posted in the effort that a Dev (GM..ect/whatever) takes notice/interest. They have alot of posts to skim. If there's more to the point conversation, and the points made are valid enough, then it has a chance for success is all.
So that's why I posted this. I rolled the snowball and we'll see if there's a big enough hill to make it get seen.

Also, taking the party line is fine if that's your interest, but is it really neede to be restated again? From this point forward how about everyone just assumes allthe usual pros/cons have been stated and are understood.

Make a majority of TFs/Trials like Instances from WoW. It would work better for everyone. Though while I mentioning it doing a similar method for GMs would be nice too but I digress.
There.

To simplify: Make a mjaority of the TFs/Trials soloable. Saying going to 50 is challenge alone shows lack of perspective/consideration for play styles different then your own. I'm asking for balanced options that don't aversely affect anyone's gameplay.
Here is the list. There's no reason not to make many of these soloable, unless there are technical issues, and to argue otherwise for any other reason is just...well dumb.

http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Taskforce

No it's not.

Again, making this content soloable will actually do more to restricting it than open it up. To make it worth merits, they have to make it a challenge. Which means that many toons will not be able to solo it or solo it at any acceptable speed. The people forming and running them now are typically the hardcore merit grinders. They need the rest of us to make the TF/SF run.

If you doubt this, head to PI and see if you can get into a farming team. A few issues back, I could head to PI and the area was saturated with tells for people forming teams. Why? A fire/Kin could take his 4 buddies and wipe the map. It was no sweat for him and he needed the door sitters/players to bump numbers. Add in the difficulty settings and bam those teams are gone.

Now, I don't really bemoan the loss of the farming/PL teams. However, it does illustrate what will happen. All of those team slots disappeared of which many cycled over to the TF/SF teams which are now grinding merits.

Make that solo, and those teams will disappear too. The hard core will do it themselves now, some others will manage and lots will just not be able to do it and have little avenue to get there.

The_Britisher,

I must start my reply with the following statement: I spent years requesting the removal of the minimum team size requirement for TFs. It's an arbitrary design decision that has no real meaning behind it considering the fact that we are able to solo these events as long as we can get enough people to start the thing and then keep one teammate on the team but logged off.

However, after many years of fighting this fight and covering every angle I and anyone else could come up with there remained a simple truth: The developers are avoiding idiots.

I'll repeat this statement so that it sinks in: The developers are avoiding idiots.

Explanation: The moment they remove minimum team size requirements, some mindless special snowflake will start the tf/sf without reading the big red letters stating "While you can start this event solo, it is designed for a team and there is a high likelihood that you will fail when attempting it solo" and then this twit will come to the boards whining up a storm that he's unable to complete said task and that this is unacceptable.

Make no mistake here: There is NO other reason to keep TF/SFs min team size locked. It is ONLY in place so that the devs can avoid the crying from those types of players.

It is no different than the reason that kheldians are blocked from the flight and teleport power pools. Some moron would choose tport twice on a warshade and then gripe about it.

So, as much as I back you in spirit, give up now. Save your energy for other things.

Aett I'm done responding to you. I don't think you are reading/understanding what I'm saying clearly enough, and I get the impression you've taken this post personal. You exact posts are, IMO, hijacking the thread into the usual vein that denegrates into flame warss, bickering, ect.
I'm not for it. I wrote what I wrote, and it was clear enough.
One thing I did need to comment on. Just because an option doesn;t affect everyone doesn;t mean it isn't valid, acceptable, or even preferable. The very option of haveing SOME options opened to soloing can appeal to everyone.
At the least there will be marked interest for even hardcore teamers to see what's available (especially at a time when no one else is online).
The issue is forced teaming...and it shouldn't even be a thought.

This post is intended to provied options to fix it. If one can't see the possibilities/benefits among the non-exisitent negatives, then one might want to go read another posting.
It's just common sense. Sorry.
Ok, this is exactly what I wanted to avoid, but I always have trouble ignoring responses that don't seem to be thinking beyond a tunnel perspective.

Open Mind. Open possibilities. Don't take it personal. Maybe one day if they open some of them up you'll get curious and try it for yourself. Who knows...it might be addictive.
Good Day.

I have two super helpful ideas for the OP:

1) You could multi-box the game with several accounts, granting your wish to not interact with others. That might be a lot of fun for such a gung-ho soloist.

2) Play a game that's not part of a genre containing the word "multiplayer".

Seeing the OP's attitude through his posts, it's no wonder he doesn't team often.

You should expect a multiplayer game to include some content that requires multiple players.

no. Find a team slacker.