Please Consider Adding a Solo Version of Forged Alliances

[yeldarbnotned]

Funny you should mention that, we are actually going to do that very thing! It is really important as we head into Shadow of Revan that players have seen the Forged Alliances storyline. Although we will certainly never force you through it, we want to make it so that if you haven't played through it, you have an opportunity to see the whole storyline, even by yourself if you choose!

 

-eric

 

So, will we be able to finish the main storyline in 3.0 without having to group with anyone?

[Hudlar]

Woot! Thank you so much for this!

 

I am a very shy person and I don't do groups pickups. I only group with my boyfriend and my guild/friends and I have been able to do all the forged alliance on my sage.

 

I would suggest finding some people you feel comfortable with and grouping with them as then it can be fun if you are grouping with people you know and trust.

 

I agree that grouping with friends can be fun. (Like you, I'm too shy to group with random people.) However, I still prefer to run story-heavy content solo, so I can go at my own pace and make my own decisions. Even my husband sometimes picks an option I don't like when we group together!

[_NovaBlast_]

Funny you should mention that, we are actually going to do that very thing! It is really important as we head into Shadow of Revan that players have seen the Forged Alliances storyline. Although we will certainly never force you through it, we want to make it so that if you haven't played through it, you have an opportunity to see the whole storyline, even by yourself if you choose!

 

-eric

 

This is awesome i hope the trend continues THANK YOU!!! All story content should always be solaoable . I love the story mode you have on most of your games and hope you bring that to swtor as well in the form of more soloable content. With The new discipline system i can't wait for the next expansion

Edited October 7, 2014 by _NovaBlast_

[BlackEyeArtistry]

Why even call it an MMO anymore? Hell why bother being online at all? Lets just shut down the servers and turn this into a single player game!

 

This is pretty sickening, and the applause following this post is even more sickening. First tacticals then this? At least tacticals still needed you to be in a group. This is just a joke. Whats the point of this game being an MMO? I guess this is attributed to the games population itself sadly struggling due to BW's incompetence though.

Really! Most people never get to see the story line. I have been playing for years and yet I haven't finished one single story line. What incentive do I have to continue purchasing expansions that I will never experience. The mode clearly wont drop ops level gear so whats the big deal. I think this is a great idea and I welcome it for people like me who cannot find huge chunks of time to drop on ops.

[MisterBlackJack]

While I would agree with you 95% of the time.

I think this is a valid exception.

The 3 part forged alliances storyline will be critical to the expansion. (most likely) story wise.

Meaning if you don't play it you are missing out on a big part of the story.

 

Once 3.0 launches it may be hard to come by groups to do these flashpoints or everyone will just cry "spacebar".

Think about a year or more from now. When we are talking about 4.0. SWTOR may still be getting new players. It would be even harder for them to get a group for the flashpoints and they will miss out on the story.

 

It is also entirely possible that they first 3 parts will actually be part of the required quest progression with the expansion. Forcing flashpoints as part of a standard quest line is a very bad idea. People could be stuck not being able to do it. . One of the reasons I hate FFXII and FFXIV.

 

If that's the case then you're also saying they should make Karragas Palace and Explosive Conflict solo friendly as its critically tied to ROTHC.

 

This is an mmo and people should be grouping up more at the end game level

[MisterBlackJack]

I love the OP's suggestion, and I am so happy to hear that something like this will be implemented!

 

Mind you, I am not against grouping and it is something I do on occasion. However, if it is story-heavy content, I don't want to do it with other players! For those folks that have trouble understanding why some people want to solo story content, here are some possible reasons:

 

I don't want some random person's character in my story cutscenes.

I want to chose whether I want the light or dark option.

I want all the dialogue options for my character.

I want to be able to hit [esc] and try again if I get one of those "well, that was unexpected" sort of lines.

I want to bring my Companion along.

I want to take my time and enjoy the setting.

 

Etc, etc. Basically, I don't want to be forced to share "my" character's story with other people. Of course, content can have story to it yet tend to be more self contained and/or impersonal -- which is great for groups! But stuff like Forged Alliances, which is THE big story for the game and advances the overall story and introduces your character to interesting new NPC's? Definitely something I'll be glad to be able to do solo.

 

One more thing: I would like to point out that some high level things that are "soloable" can only be solo'd by people with excellent gear (or at the least, very good gear and a higher skill level). And generally speaking, excellent gear comes from, y'know, group content. Which is what people who want to solo things may be avoiding in the first place. xD

 

So your saying you want to omit one of the game's central core systems? Mmk

[_NovaBlast_]

to the few people that are saying "this is a mmo...grouping" Personally I believe All story related content should be Soloable

 

IF that means Heroics , FP and OPs so be it.

 

If I want to group ill group , if i want to socialize ill socialize i should not be forced t o do any of those thing and I applaud once again Bioware for seeing this.

 

 

Wikipedia defines a mmo as

 

A massively multiplayer online game (also called MMO and MMOG) is a multiplayer video game which is capable of supporting large numbers of players simultaneously. By necessity, they are played on the Internet.

 

No where in there does it say that in order for it to be a mmo you have to group pvp or even socialize with other people .

 

That should always be OPTIONAL. At the core a ll a MMO is is Multiple people accessing the same environment at the same time.

Edited October 7, 2014 by _NovaBlast_

[FumikoM]

Perfect, now I can see what the fuss is about and not having to rely on others. As a soloer, I hope you will make future group-content solo-able. Tired of not being able to see all the story simply because I hate to group with people. Only because one can be with a small group of people it should not mean receiving special treatment. Edited October 7, 2014 by FumikoM

[Cawyden]

This is really great, thank you very much Bioware!

[Talahar]

Funny you should mention that, we are actually going to do that very thing! It is really important as we head into Shadow of Revan that players have seen the Forged Alliances storyline. Although we will certainly never force you through it, we want to make it so that if you haven't played through it, you have an opportunity to see the whole storyline, even by yourself if you choose!

 

-eric

Thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

 

I'm not a big group player, except for playing with a good friend of mine, but I really enjoy the levelling

and solo content in SWTOR, still, after all this time. Subbed since launch, too!

So hearing that I won't have to bother other people watching the story bits of this big storyline

is awesome to hear.

Thank you!

[theUndead]

to the few people that are saying "this is a mmo...grouping" Personally I believe All story related content should be Soloable

 

IF that means Heroics , FP and OPs so be it.

 

If I want to group ill group , if i want to socialize ill socialize i should not be forced t o do any of those thing and I applaud once again Bioware for seeing this.

 

 

Wikipedia defines a mmo as

 

 

No where in there does it say that in order for it to be a mmo you have to group pvp or even socialize with other people .

 

That should always be OPTIONAL. At the core a ll a MMO is is Multiple people accessing the same environment at the same time.

 

I do not care what Wikipedia says of what an MMO is defined as. The fact remains that while I am happy for you guys that want more soloable things, a line must be drawn at operations. If you make this soloable it will send a nasty message to the hardcore raiders and pretty much invalidate all their hard work. So again glad there will be some soloable instances but not in a million years should Ops be soloable. Period.

 

That is and will be exclusive to groups only.

[AshlaBoga]

Perfect, now I can see what the fuss is about and not having to rely on others. As a soloer, I hope you will make future group-content solo-able. Tired of not being able to see all the story simply because I hate to group with people. Only because one can be with a small group of people it should not mean receiving special treatment.

 

Aside from Manaan it was already soloable. And at level 60 Manaan would have been solaoble.

[Melever]

to the few people that are saying "this is a mmo...grouping" Personally I believe All story related content should be Soloable

 

IF that means Heroics , FP and OPs so be it.

 

If I want to group ill group , if i want to socialize ill socialize i should not be forced t o do any of those thing and I applaud once again Bioware for seeing this.

 

 

Wikipedia defines a mmo as

 

 

 

No where in there does it say that in order for it to be a mmo you have to group pvp or even socialize with other people .

 

That should always be OPTIONAL. At the core a ll a MMO is is Multiple people accessing the same environment at the same time.

 

No offense, but who cares what wikipedia defines anything as? Wikipedia isn't even allowed as a resource on any serious paper or article, so why should we, as a community, use it for anything serious?

 

The definition and acronym you're looking for is more like:

 

Massively multiplayer online role-playing game: any story-driven online video game in which a player, taking on the persona of a character in a virtual or fantasy world, interacts with a large number of other players.

 

Please note the keyword, interacts. No where does it say that you stick to yourself. As such, forced group content is perfectly fine.

 

Now, while it is nice that they are adding a solo option for these story flashpoints, I see no reason to allow everything to be soloed.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Melever

[_NovaBlast_]

Post deleted decided not to feed a troll. Edited October 7, 2014 by _NovaBlast_

[theUndead]

Post deleted decided not to feed a troll.

 

Too bad. Let me tell you something, it is one thing to disagree with someone but it is entirely different to call someone a troll just because they have a point of view you seriously disagree with. Enlighten me as to how he or I was being a troll? Or how we said that people should be forced to do play our way?

 

If anything it is YOUR reply that was selfish as it seems anyone who ever and I mean disagrees with you and reminds you of exactly what an MMO is, suddenly they are the troll.

 

So why not you read my post again for example instead of going on the offensive just because someone disagreed with you.

[shadow_whisp]

I have no problem with them catering to the Solo players , the more type of players that can enjoy the games story the better... but if they are gonna spend the time and effort on doing this they better be working on making 4 man Nightmare modes also for Flashpoints right...right.

 

Where are the new Lost Islands.

Maybe i should get more ppl to cry on the forum that i can't stand doing easy as a stroll in the park content solo and NEED to have content catered to me = small group challenging content.

 

Might be a loosing battle...

 

^ this.

 

All the new content is too easy. The HM's that came out with 2.0 were a nice welcome. With all these tactical FP's the content is breezed through so quickly. Lately We've been starved of more difficult content. The Czerka HM's were doable straight away evne thought hey were realsed after people were easily able to out gear them.

 

I love the idea behind the tactical flashpoint. It does solve a problem in queue times, but for people with raid teams and guilds that also enjoy small group content with some challenge queuing isn't an issue. It'd be really nice to see some content with an actual challenge.

 

It would be nice to know if the Dev's were considering making Flashpoints reminiscent of the initial release of Lost Island and initial 55 HM FP's. Bring back some challenge!!!

[JattaGin]

I am perplex. When did it happen, that BW started giving us what we want and asked for. This is new and exciting. I remember when they announced their plans for 2014 in January or so and it sounded quite promising, but many players were sceptical. So far I say that they definitely delivered.

 

Solo versions for Forged Alliances is something I greatly appreciate for some of my alts with which I do not play any group content in general. It's nice that they will be able to see this story as well. My other chars did or will do the FP versions as before.

 

And yes, as someone (Penguin?) mentioned: Solo-versions of the final seeker droid missions would be awesome, too. I still haven't found a group for my imperial main until now.

[Nmyownworld]

Funny you should mention that, we are actually going to do that very thing! It is really important as we head into Shadow of Revan that players have seen the Forged Alliances storyline.

 

-eric

This is amazing news. Thank you! I'm looking forward to it. The story is what keeps me playing.

 

As long as the solo-version rewards are not on par with group rewards, I don't see a downside to this addition.

 

-- Solo-players who don't ever want to group were never part of the potential group pool.

-- Sometimes I want to play solo. When I do want to group I often can't because of when I play -- it's the server's low population time. I've been dragging around the HK-51 final HM FP for months because I can't find a group.

-- I hope doing the solo and group versions are not an either/or situation. If not, players may run the solo version and still run the group version for the better rewards. And, they can be better group matches because they've learned something about the fights with the solo version.

 

As far as Ops, if there's important story aspects there, then make a solo-version. Again -- without any of the equipment and rewards that come from running a group Ops. No sweet equipment, no mats, nothing except a few credits. People who want the story get the story. Anyone who wants better equipment, and the mats, needs to run the group Ops.

 

I think this change has the potential to support the game's fiscal health. It's a reason for players who are most interested in the story, or solo play, to keep subscribing, and/or making purchases. That can positively impact both players who do grouped content, as well as players who play solo.

 

Players who enjoy, and regularly do, the current group-focused endgame content want more such content. Imagine garnering the support from solo-players for the same thing because there's a solo version.

 

Keep the best rewards only for group runs. Keep solo players in the game by having something new to do at endgame.

[DomiSotto]

Folks, please, do not try to fight about what was not ever asked for. I never asked for everything to be available solo. I will never have enough player confidence to ask about joining an Ops team (I am just that very bad you are all raging about, asking to never ever queue, so I oblige), so I never even look at it as content.. The only reason Forged Alliances combo were brought to the table by me was because they were widely advertised as a gateway to the new content.

 

The players who are ace at group content will always have an advantage over a solo player in this instance, because you have early access, and far more rewards since in a group setting you can run the content multiple times and have all those incredible drops.

 

Plus, once the Flashpoint is tried solo, I, at least am more likely to try group content after seeing the maps, whats where, how and why, and the bosses in a slow individual play-through. Once you actually know those things (and not through reading the spoilers beforehand), well, at least you can hope to contribute and not be a pathetic noob desperately trying to keep up with everyone.

 

Please, understand, that what's asked for is a poor man's version! You are the have's and we are havenot's. Do not begrudge bread when you are eating cake.

 

Again, the only reason solo was asked for Forged Alliances specifically was that a solo player does not put 20$ towards the soloable part of the expansion and have no clue what is going on, and who on earth those Therons and Lanas are.

 

While I solo some of my toons, I do enjoy certain aspects of the game that are MMO only. I play levelling content with my husband when he has time & I love playing the unranked PvP. I tried and keep trying entering Flashpoints once in a while (I think I ddi about a dozen since subscribing last Feb), but I just do not like it & I have tough times finding time for it. I'd rather be doing my class stories, which I have not finished yet!

Edited October 7, 2014 by DomiSotto

[_NovaBlast_]

Keep the best rewards only for group runs. Keep solo players in the game by having something new to do at endgame.

 

thats sounds an awful like keep the groups in the front of the bus and keep the soloers in the back.......

Edited October 7, 2014 by _NovaBlast_

[DomiSotto]

It's fair. High Risk = High Reward. If you want the rewards, you can then queue for an HM version (or at a level version) in the FP format, as those will be opened by their nature for many runs and re-runs. Edited October 7, 2014 by DomiSotto

[_NovaBlast_]

It's fair. High Risk = High Reward. If you want the rewards, you can then queue for an HM version (or at a level version) in the FP format, as those will be opened by their nature for many runs and re-runs.

 

Its only fair if you like doing groups and hard mode . What about soloists who like story mode ? All you done is prove my point.

Edited October 7, 2014 by _NovaBlast_

[DomiSotto]

Right.. That makes it fair. You want the story and ability to interact with it on your run = that's exactly what you get. You want challenging content with the associated rewards = that's what you get in a FP set-up.

 

In a game as it is now, levelling story content comes with far less of a reward than the hard missions that require grouping and risking your toon a great deal as well as the polished player skill-set. This is exactly the same.

 

The only reason it is the same storyline here is because it was initially designed as a challenge prior to BioWARE continuing the story from there. If the Expansion took in other direction (i.e. like Makeb not having anything to do with Illum Flahpoints) that would not even be an issue.

 

I am very happy with this.That's exactly what I have asked for.

Edited October 7, 2014 by DomiSotto

[Aries_cz]

Funny you should mention that, we are actually going to do that very thing! It is really important as we head into Shadow of Revan that players have seen the Forged Alliances storyline. Although we will certainly never force you through it, we want to make it so that if you haven't played through it, you have an opportunity to see the whole storyline, even by yourself if you choose!

 

-eric

 

Hmm, I wonder how is it going to work.

But, seeing as Eric is very careful to not use anything close to "play through it by yourself", I fully expect something like "Previously, on Star Wars: The Old Republic" montage. Which you be great, if done properly with someone with a good voice to provide the background talking.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Aries_cz

[DomiSotto]

I certainly hope that it is a selection on the terminal that states "Solo" as opposite to "SM" or "HM". If I wanted to see other people playing it, I would go on U-Tube and see other people playing it.

 

I want to experience it with my toon, and prior to starting the expansion, so it is one unbroken play through a story-line centered around my protagonist at my own pace. All it takes is reducing the mobs and nerfing the bosses & gray it out after 1 solo run.

Edited October 7, 2014 by DomiSotto