Soloability...The Movement Forward.

Yes. I have few to no toons which solo AVs or could solo a TF. Additionally, I am not so motivated as to start TFs. So I do ride on the farmers coat tails and won't be ashamed of that. I usually play buffers/debuffers and I make sure to contribute when I am on a team and think I am usually well received.

Does that mean that I don't recognize that the IOed to the gill scrapper/tank who formed the team is not doing the lions share of the work? No. I know my own skill in the game and it is not at where many of yours likely is. I like harder content, however, will rarely solo it. Throw whatever insults you want.

Bill I'd be far more in favor of your position than the OPs downgrade EBs. It would likely result in fewer teams, but probably not the crash that I would expect from allowing EBs to spawn. I still would like to see it remain as is, but of what I have heard, it would be the best way.

Edit: On a related note, I know this is the internet, but can no one debate without tossing insults?

Well I suppose that's progress.

I mean I suppose I could be all snarky and say. I know why you are in favor of soloing TFs it's just for the merit farming. However, I take it at face value that you want the challenge and reduction in hassle. I would hope you take my position in that I like active teams, and TFs are the best game in town for that. Anything which might rock that boat would likely be negative in my book.

Still, forced spawn size, forced AVs and bosses regardless of team size is probably about as good a compromise as you could get. I'll hold out for no change, but wouldn't cry myself to sleep if that occurred.

Agreed to some extent. There are some TFs that are better than Oro farming because they don't send you to multiple zones.

Tip farming is a simple 30-60 minute exercise if you just want the merit. -1/1 and you are done in as much time as it takes you to track down the clickies or baddies. However, you are capped as to what you can earn. I think most hardcore farmers are playing more than the 30-60 minutes. Which from my experience means they are then rolling over to TFs for their merit needs. ITF particularly although since merits, I see them all advertised all the time.

So, how to allow TFs to soloers with appropriate rewards, while still not killing the number of teams available for TFs?

1. Make rewards better on the teamed side.
2. Make the requirements for solo entry harder.

Items:
1. Don't allow downgrade of AV to EB. This is a TF, not a normal mission.
2. Use the Ouroborous portal, and require soloer level 50.
3. Reduce the rewards just enough so that the TF is not more valuable in drops/XP when soloed. Note that this should not just be below what is earnable to a team, but includes the time spent recruiting a team. In other words, I should not be able to solo a TF so many times in 3 hours that I earn more than the what it takes to recruit an 8-character team and go through the TF in the same amount of time. Changing maximum spawn size to number of players on team might be one way to accomplish this. Capping to 1 TF/day might be another way to accomplish this.

Note: this is all suggestion based on the harshest limits given to soloing TFs I've seen so far.

To throw another wrench in the gears, why stop at simply removing the minimum team requirements? Why not ask for an outright completely offline version of the game. I've discussed this hypothetical situation with some friends, wondering if at the end of the game's lifecycle the devs would be willing to just hand out the source code and let us at her. However now that we're well into year 6, I doubt this will ever happen.

I know enough that do and have their billions to show for it. With tips it might not be as lucrative as it was, but there are enough that do. At least that I've seen. The leader of one of my SGs does 2-3 task forces a day... every day. I can't imagine she does that for the brilliant content, although I could be wrong. I also know that she has soloed AVs and has the builds that put her in the category of people that I am describing.

Dechs, that's the kind of coat tails I'm talking about. I won't door sit, I don't want to be dead weight. I can not solo it on all but perhaps one character and then even if the AT could, I likely can not. Perhaps I should take more initiative and form the TFs. However, most of the time people go through them so fast I don't actually know them all.

I really don't want to waste peoples time, so I don't form. I like to team and play buffers/de-buffers most of the time. Most of those characters need a team to level at any speed that enjoyable. Plowing through radios at 1/1 on my own is just not fun. Plus I really like people.

Regardless. If something were to change, and again I'm still not wild for that concept. The best solution I saw would be:

(1) Forced AV spawns
(2) Forced Boss spaws
(3) Forced team size spawns (if the TF used to require 3 to start it, the spawn size is min 3)

Adding to oro and lvl 50 seems to add back the same restrictions you are advocating against. However, that's just how I see it.

Mmm...

I can see the arguments getting a bit spirited...

For myself given a chance to Team or Solo, I would prefer to team; because I am a social person and I enjoy the interaction.

Said that, it does not mean I do not enjoy soloing, nor that I do not desire to be able to experience the same content from a Solo perspective that I had experienced within a team.

I would also, like to caution some of the posters above, lets not take true exceptions such as I have soloed and defeated a GM, AV, King Kong... Frankly what do you all think the percentage in the server can actually do that? I suspect an incredibly small number, not even one percent. So basing arguments on that 1% is simply inappropriate, and makes for very bad logics and its subsequent conclusions.

I did see a poster indicate, if people could solo more content, that teaming will be more difficult to accomplish. After some consideration, I find myself agreeing with that statement. On the other hand, how valid is that position? Because "I" want to team, "You" can not solo? It seems to me, in a game, where we are supossed to be free to play as we would like to, having players claiming the right to tell others how they should play, strikes me as wrong; it is also wrong, these very same players, demanding that the game be changed to enforce their way of playing preference.

Often too many posters, claim to have empathy with developers, and thru this empathy they can stand before us and tell us "how it is".

I can tell you, as a manager for a very large software development organization, that as software programs and codes are evolved, the law of un-intended consequences often comes into play.

I look at CoX as one who is experiencing such un-intended consequences and like many other respectable organizations are trying to deal with them as best as they can.

As I mentioned in previous post, originally the game was balanced for both solo and team play, and frankly it was awesome. As time transpired, like all other games, CoH became "blah" for lack of better words. So the organization had to evolve the game, not so much as a need to add challenge, but to make it newer. This evolution was successful, but un-intended consequences commenced to occur. From the very beginning, there was content that could only be done on teams, but it had no impact on the playability for those who wanted to solo. But I said the game evolved, the first of these evolutions was the introduction of badges. This introduced the first unintended consequence, now there were badges a soloist could not get; yet the impact was negligeable at this time. The next evolution, since getting badges, was loosing its luster, was the introduction of accolades, with some accolades giving additional powers and game applying benefits. Now the game had another newer direction, and it retained its level of fun. Unfortunately the law of un-intended consequences did decisively strike this time; There were accolades that forced teaming to get the badges required for the accolade. Now the Solo players were hurt by the evolution, yet I do not believe some developer on the background went "muahahaha I screwed the soloers, muahahah...What next can I device, muahahahah" This situation simplyhappened as a natural occurrence and not by device.

Now I could say there is proof, that the devs are addressing the "Solo" options and playability in this game, and are actually trying. Think of the threads in missions for this game, they scale to your level and number of players. Further think, you can "now" choose the difficulty of the mission! Folks, no other game offers this! In a way CoX is the most solo friendly game out there.

I truly believe, the developers knows they "lost the bubble" along the way, but I do strongly believe they are trying to get balance back.

From a balance perspective, it is needed to compensate for those items that are significant to "Soloers" that can now be only acquired through teams. Special heroic Threads given by Positron, etc that upon conclusion gives you the same badge have you done the Task Force would make sense, while also being able to gain merits; the other unintended consequence of evolution, where reasonable merits gained is done by teaming only. Frankly, I would think it would be easier to simply do as it was done with Positron and take the other 5 TFs and put them in Oro.

I must caution us all, as often I remind myself: I must respect other players' right to play as they wish; they are not my personal servants. So when I build my tanks, scrappers and brutes I make them fully self sufficient; thus I never demand the buffs, heals or what not as so many players all to often do. When I play these melee characters, I say the following as a rule "This AT is fully capable of effectively operating with out buffs, if you give me any at your discretion; you will have my gratitude" The same could be said for demanding folks to team with me, frankly while I am a solid player with lots of experience, I sincerely doubt I am God's gift to humanity or this game...

Hugs

Stormy