Hopefully this is the last time I am going to have to say this: If you are playing a “Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game” does not mean you have to play in Groups! The mindset that playing a game with thousands, or even millions of other players automatically means that you want to play with others, is patently ridiculous!
Think of it this way: You go to a gym, one that has hundreds of other clients. Does that mean you automatically want to take their Jazzercize or Yoga classes? No, of course not! Some people go to the gym just to work out on their own, or to just use the pool to swim a few times a week.
In short, sometimes people make use of a service that many other people use as well, but choose to use that service alone. More importantly, though, is that this solo activity is considered to be perfectly normal in most of society. But when it comes to an MMORPG… Solo play is considered by some to be “doing it wrong”.
When you think about it, solo play in an MMORPG should be the default activity, including at Endgame. Yep, I said it.
- Dungeons? Should be a minor side-activity.
- Grouped Player vs Player activity? Also a minor side activity.
- Raiding? This should be the rarest, least supported content in an MMORPG!
Why do I say these things, because this is all the antithesis of current development on most MMORPGs? Simple: EVERYONE PLAYS SOLO. Everyone. Whether they want to play solo most/all of the time, or they only play solo when they absolutely must, everyone, without fail, plays solo content.
So with that in mind, solo content should be the most supported type of content, especially at Endgame (where solo play is currently virtually ignored, in most MMOs).
With all this being said, I still, to this day, continue to hear people dragging out the tired old line “Massively Multiplayer Games mean you should be playing with other people in Groups and/or Raids!”. This couldn’t be further from the truth, though, as I have already shown.
When it comes right down to it, Solo players pay just as much as anyone else for their game of choice, including when it comes to MMORPGs. So why should the vast majority of MMO players be denied content, especially at Endgame, just because of a longstanding bias towards Dungeon and Raid content?
It is due to lazy development, and nothing more. But this mindset needs to change. It’s the 21st Century, after all, and people should be able to play games as they see fit, especially ones that they pay a subscription to play, such as “World of Warcraft” or “Final Fantasy XIV”. If that means playing entirely solo, even at Endgame, how does that harm anyone else?
Don’t tell me that is somehow cheapens your play experience, because it doesn’t. What someone else does has absolutely no bearing on your gameplay. None. Stop being an Elitist Prick.
Don’t tell me that they would drain away potential Group or Raid players, who would instead Solo the Endgame content, because that’s bullshit, too. Why? Because if the content is fun and engaging, players will want to do Group/Raid content, even if they otherwise can Solo that content. Why? BETTER FUCKING REWARDS!
Learn how Scaling Content works, before you open your pie-hole to bitch about Solo play at Endgame.
