Solo Players Appreciation Thread (Haters keep out please!)

[ImmortalLowlife]

You know they couldn't do a solo players thread without ya boi!

 

 

I play solo 99.9% of the time. Usually just making alts and playing the vanilla-SoR. I may take my force users through KOTFE-KOTET. Been around since launch, always been a sub, and I'll be here till they shut off the servers!

 

 

And if they gave me a blank check to make changes.... you'd see SWTOR completely redesigned to work on a PS4/X-Bone with a new engine & updated graphics.

 

Yes, SoR was great, probably my favorite expansion. I loved most everything about it, including the little class quests you got too.

 

I completely agree Luna

[IoNonSoEVero]

I

 

I have a slightly different take on why people seem so intent on making those of us who prefer our own company come out of our 'shells'. Two of my close family members are extreme extroverts, and my observations of them have lead me to believe that it is not so much for my benefit that they want me to open up, but for theirs. While I require very little social interaction to remain happy in life, they need a near constant flow of it. They don't seem to enjoy life if they are not doing things with other people.

So, I don't think a lot of the people who are trying to make us group are doing it because they think we'll be happier if we are just more like them; they are doing it because they need someone to group with in order to be happy. So, they paint us as oddballs, call us names, and generally try to guilt us into doing what they want, all for our 'own good', but actually just for theirs.

It's the best explanation I can come up with when people I consider to be intelligent seem unable to understand that we are all different, and capable of liking different things.

 

 

I think the whole grouping pressure actually starts out in a good place, TBH. They're having fun, and they want you to share it, to experience it the same way they do. Problem is, the more resistance they encounter, the more they dig their heels in trying to "convert" you. Then punish you for not falling into line. Because the reason you're not participating is due to some weird form of hatred/rejection. "If you just knew me and took a chance with me, you'd have tons of fun just like I do! What, you don't want to? Why don't you want to hang out with me? You hate me, don't you! Well, I hate you too!"

 

I'm probably 85% hermit/15% chatty cathy, so I get a lot of the "come out of your shell" thing from a few friends. What they don't get is that this impetus to share the fun is actually a ton of social pressure to do something you really don't want to do. It's not personal, it's merely enjoying different things. The pressure's destructive, but it's rooted in positive intentions. It's a shame that the pressure usually sends me further into hermit-land-- the exact opposite of what supposed to happen. Probably happens a lot in this community too. The introvert-extrovert divide is real, and hard-wired.

 

Yours truly's Myers-Briggs type: INTP

 

I think there's truth in both of these statements.

 

As an introvert myself, I do think that some people feel that introversion, shyness, and keeping to oneself are faults that need to be 'helped' or 'corrected.' Society often takes a dim view of people who like to keep to themselves in general; case in point all the stories where someone is referred to derisively as a 'loner' or 'antisocial' because they don't like to talk or interact a lot.

 

I also think that some people who are more extroverted do sometimes forget that everyone isn't like them. I remember one bus trip I took where I was actually sleeping and had headphones on, and the woman across the row from me kept talking and talking to me and tapping me on the shoulder to wake me up and talk more. It never dawned on her that not everyone on the bus that night wanted to talk, and that I really would rather sleep than interact with her, and when I finally told her, "look, I need to sleep, I don't want to talk to you," she was offended. I'm sure we've all come across people like that.

 

I do think, though, that a lot of it is also because the person trying to urge you to "come out of your shell" sees a benefit in it for them, not you. They're trying to force you into a sort of interaction that you've told them you find uncomfortable. They know you're not into it. But they don't care because it's what they want, and they get offended that you won't go along with it. A lot of the meanest comments about solo players on this site, as well as pushes for "mandatory group content" and forced PvP, come from people who often complain that others won't group and that they don't have others to play with. It's about them, not about you.

Edited March 3, 2018 by IoNonSoEVero

[MayhemofChaonus]

I think there's truth in both of these statements.

 

As an introvert myself, I do think that some people feel that introversion, shyness, and keeping to oneself are faults that need to be 'helped' or 'corrected.' Society often takes a dim view of people who like to keep to themselves in general; case in point all the stories where someone is referred to derisively as a 'loner' or 'antisocial' because they don't like to talk or interact a lot.

 

I also think that some people who are more extroverted do sometimes forget that everyone isn't like them. I remember one bus trip I took where I was actually sleeping and had headphones on, and the woman across the row from me kept talking and talking to me and tapping me on the shoulder to wake me up and talk more. It never dawned on her that not everyone on the bus that night wanted to talk, and that I really would rather sleep than interact with her, and when I finally told her, "look, I need to sleep, I don't want to talk to you," she was offended. I'm sure we've all come across people like that.

 

I do think, though, that a lot of it is also because the person trying to urge you to "come out of your shell" sees a benefit in it for them, not you. They're trying to force you into a sort of interaction that you've told them you find uncomfortable. They know you're not into it. But they don't care because it's what they want, and they get offended that you won't go along with it. A lot of the meanest comments about solo players on this site, as well as pushes for "mandatory group content" and forced PvP, come from people who often complain that others won't group and that they don't have others to play with. It's about them, not about you.

 

That's why I put up the Tsundere front. I'm typically horribly rude to people right up front, not to mention I have a very acute case of "resting b!tc#face" which tends to make me completely unapproachable. Only ever had to deal with people like that when the person was legit mentally disabled, in which case I just act like they don't exist or shoot back with a much more profanity-laced variant of "your existence disgusts me, stop talking."

 

It may sound horrible but hey, it gets people to leave me the heII alone, which is usually all I want anyway.

[Lunafox]

 

 

 

Have you seen the Quantic Foundry site? https://quanticfoundry.com/ Pretty fascinating stuff. My gamer motivation profile was weirdly enlightening and totally accurate: calm, spontaneous, relaxed, independent, deeply immersed, and creative. I'd be curious to see how every other solo player's profile comes out, since there's a wide diversity of opinions here about what activities we enjoy. I've always suspected that a lot of the Bioware devs' expectations, not to mention other players' perceptions about their weird solo compatriots' motivations might well be shattered by seeing our diversity of motivations.

 

 

That's a neat little site, thanks for sharing that. Here's me: Your Gamer Motivation Profile :

Calm, Spontaneous, Driven, Independent, Deeply Immersed, and Creative

 

And I'm an INFJ for whatever that's worth.

Edited March 3, 2018 by Lunafox

[JennyFlynn]

Hi, I'm Jenny and I'm an absolutely not anonymous solo-player! Proud of it too!

[IoNonSoEVero]

That's why I put up the Tsundere front. I'm typically horribly rude to people right up front, not to mention I have a very acute case of "resting b!tc#face" which tends to make me completely unapproachable. Only ever had to deal with people like that when the person was legit mentally disabled, in which case I just act like they don't exist or shoot back with a much more profanity-laced variant of "your existence disgusts me, stop talking."

 

It may sound horrible but hey, it gets people to leave me the heII alone, which is usually all I want anyway.

 

See, I can't do that. I have worked in jobs where I've been reduced to tears by people who have been nasty to me, and I know what that feels like, so I really try not to be rude or nasty to anyone in return. I don't know that I always succeed but I try.

 

I try to send off as many overt "please don't bother me" signals as I can when I'm in public - I have my headphones in (which helps with sensory overload and sensitivity because it gives me one set of sounds instead of a lot of noise from people talking, etc.), I tend to either have my eyes closed (if it's safe to do so) or I'm reading, I don't make eye contact, if someone strikes up a conversation I'll smile, give a one word answer and then stop talking, etc. If someone asks me, say, for directions (I live in an area that gets a lot of tourists), I will tell them and then go back to what I am doing. Luckily those social cues work a big part of the time.

 

Having said that if someone bothers me, gets in my space, etc. I can and do stand up for myself, and tend to surprise people with that. I had a very fun incident about a year ago where a man started bothering me on the street and started physically intimidating me, and I screamed my head off, got right in his face, started cursing him out and threatening him with physical harm, etc. You never saw someone back up and get out of there so fast as that creepy guy did. He probably thought he was going to scare me and got a very rude awakening.

[zorngodofall]

I'm not a 'solo' player or a 'hater' but i dont think this sycophant thing is a good idea. It's not really healthy for anyone, an echochamber hugbox really doesn't help anyone with anything, even if it makes them 'feel good' right here and now.

 

I'm not going to rag on others for a different way of playing the game from myself though. As someone who played a lot of story early on and switched my playstyle more towards.group content I kind of pieced together a lot of things some people here might not understand.

 

I think what frustrates a lot of people who might want to try group content is how poorly explained many things are in this game are. Take for example stats, they are never explained at all; you aren't told or shown what stats are for what and it takes wiki or googling it to get an idea, at least a more complete one.

 

On the other side of that coin, some people can't be bothered to put in a very tiny amount of effort or cant be bothered to learn very basic things and that's where it probably crosses the line. It's a game, if you can't be bothered to learn even the most basic things about it, even a little, then you really shouldnt be playing it, and this goes for many things in life.

 

Less explained things like augments are another thing group content people get frustrated by, not having them is really an issue and it can hold back an entire group in something lile an operation or even a hardmode flashpoint and for that reason, everyone else has to put in more work to get the same job done, and that can get infuriating at times. That's kind of on tje game for not explaining it to newbies and some on pepple for knowing and not bothering to try, or care sometimes. If you intentionally dont put work into things and expect others to make up for what you wont do, that's where it becomes unacceptable.

 

Some of the group activities in this gamr attract toxic ego people who really get a kick out of belittling others and that's a.general problem, not something solely on people who play 'group content' toxicity is something i am personally against because i see the harm it does to the community and the game itself, but not all people are like that.

 

Hell, i run a nightmare difficulty guild & discord around the concept that that kind of attitude isn't acceptable and i tolerate as little of it as i can. And on the opposite side of that coin are people who cant be bothered to learn anything about the game and just want to be as lazy as they possibly can putting in zero effort and that's also an offensive idea to me. I mean isn't that just a different form of toxicity that in this case comes from 'solo players' in the form of contempt and entitlement. Its just as toxic, imo and no it's not 'harmless' to the game or the community.

 

So let's go over the idea of 'solo operations' real fast. People who bring that idea up often get torn to shreds when they ask for it.

 

Some of it is ego people who want to put those people down and other times it's not. Operations in general (excluding sm these days) are somethin peoplr put a LOT of work into and it's so disrespectful to just wglant the same reward (can be gear, the end of a story or whatever) for little or no effort and that kind of thing usually comes from people who put zero work into the game (entitlement) and that is NOT acceptable at ALL because of how much it tramples on the work of all those people i mentioned and it's really messed up and really disrespectful.

 

I'm not aiming to stir the pot or hurt anyones feelings just merely to provide a more balanced approach to a somewhat complex issue.

Edited March 4, 2018 by zorngodofall

[AlrikFassbauer]

The problem with some they don't understand why some people prefer to play solo instead of grouping up.

 

I blame that extroversion is so much highly regarded for that. I mean, the U.S. seems to be an mostly extrovert oriented country ... - so much that they even begin to mark introversion as an illness, I heard.

 

People who are into getting their self-esteem being fuelled from the outside are rather into group activities.

 

To be more cynical, I wouldn't be surprised if they'd try to ban all introversts to be ill because they don't want to do group content - are dangerous because they get their self-esteem getting fuelled from the INSIDE.

 

Introverts might well be regarded as dangerous because they are basically nothing but a Black Box. An extrovert person really can't understand what's going on on the inside of them, cynically put.

[JainiaDral]

I'm not a 'solo' player or a 'hater' but i dont think this sycophant thing is a good idea. It's not really healthy for anyone, an echochamber hugbox really doesn't help anyone with anything, even if it makes them 'feel good' right here and now.

 

I'm not going to rag on others for a different way of playing the game from myself though. As someone who played a lot of story early on and switched my playstyle more towards.group content I kind of pieced together a lot of things some people here might not understand.

 

I think what frustrates a lot of people who might want to try group content is how poorly explained many things are in this game are. Take for example stats, they are never explained at all; you aren't told or shown what stats are for what and it takes wiki or googling it to get an idea, at least a more complete one.

 

On the other side of that coin, some people can't be bothered to put in a very tiny amount of effort or cant be bothered to learn very basic things and that's where it probably crosses the line. It's a game, if you can't be bothered to learn even the most basic things about it, even a little, then you really shouldnt be playing it, and this goes for many things in life.

 

Less explained things like augments are another thing group content people get frustrated by, not having them is really an issue and it can hold back an entire group in something lile an operation or even a hardmode flashpoint and for that reason, everyone else has to put in more work to get the same job done, and that can get infuriating at times. That's kind of on tje game for not explaining it to newbies and some on pepple for knowing and not bothering to try, or care sometimes. If you intentionally dont put work into things and expect others to make up for what you wont do, that's where it becomes unacceptable.

 

Some of the group activities in this gamr attract toxic ego people who really get a kick out of belittling others and that's a.general problem, not something solely on people who play 'group content' toxicity is something i am personally against because i see the harm it does to the community and the game itself, but not all people are like that.

 

Hell, i run a nightmare difficulty guild & discord around the concept that that kind of attitude isn't acceptable and i tolerate as little of it as i can. And on the opposite side of that coin are people who cant be bothered to learn anything about the game and just want to be as lazy as they possibly can putting in zero effort and that's also an offensive idea to me. I mean isn't that just a different form of toxicity that in this case comes from 'solo players' in the form of contempt and entitlement. Its just as toxic, imo and no it's not 'harmless' to the game or the community.

 

So let's go over the idea of 'solo operations' real fast. People who bring that idea up often get torn to shreds when they ask for it.

 

Some of it is ego people who want to put those people down and other times it's not. Operations in general (excluding sm these days) are somethin peoplr put a LOT of work into and it's so disrespectful to just wglant the same reward (can be gear, the end of a story or whatever) for little or no effort and that kind of thing usually comes from people who put zero work into the game (entitlement) and that is NOT acceptable at ALL because of how much it tramples on the work of all those people i mentioned and it's really messed up and really disrespectful.

 

I'm not aiming to stir the pot or hurt anyones feelings just merely to provide a more balanced approach to a somewhat complex issue.

 

Sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about. Have you been reading this thread at all? Because Ops are probably one of the least discussed topics here. I haven't seen much mentioned about solo ops at all, aside from the general frustration that Bioware loves to either a) make lead-off quests to ops chains like the Iokath one impossible to abandon in your mission log or b) gate the tail end of solo story content like Oricon behind operations.

 

In general, beyond some commiserating and sharing of commonalities, this thread has been mostly about sharing enjoyable experiences inside the game. What we like, what we don't like. Doing a little exploration of self and playstyle, of interests, etc. You know, talking about the game. If that makes this an echo-chamber, so be it. It's nice to have a place where you don't have people jumping down your throat because you dare to be a lone wolf.

 

I think you'll find, though, that a lot of the attitude you're showing in your post turns new people (some of whom seem to be in this thread) off who might actually want to group. Be open. Be welcoming. Stow some of the loaded language you're using. You're destroying another potential pool of recruits with your words-- lurkers who might not actually post on the forums.

Edited March 4, 2018 by JainiaDral

[gargrimuk]

You do understand the irony of focusing on solo content in an MMO though, right?

[JainiaDral]

That's why I put up the Tsundere front. I'm typically horribly rude to people right up front, not to mention I have a very acute case of "resting b!tc#face" which tends to make me completely unapproachable. Only ever had to deal with people like that when the person was legit mentally disabled, in which case I just act like they don't exist or shoot back with a much more profanity-laced variant of "your existence disgusts me, stop talking."

 

It may sound horrible but hey, it gets people to leave me the heII alone, which is usually all I want anyway.

 

Hah! Sometimes I wish I could do that with a straight face, but I think I'd end up busting into guffaws if I tried I tend to use what I think of as "controlled escalation." You know, a polite request that gets less and less polite the more said party isn't taking the hint. Then I verbally bludgeon them until they bleed-- very rare; it takes way too much effort. Plus, beyond finding them annoying, I really don't care about them one way or another. Blabber away-- I'll just ignore you and imagine myself far away in a land of fuzzy kittens or something. No skin off my back.

 

Or, if I'm really tired and I can't keep my "normal" filters up, I'll probably say something really weird off the top of my head that stuns them into silence. Then they think I'm insane and leave me alone. Mission accomplished!

[JainiaDral]

I blame that extroversion is so much highly regarded for that. I mean, the U.S. seems to be an mostly extrovert oriented country ... - so much that they even begin to mark introversion as an illness, I heard.

 

People who are into getting their self-esteem being fuelled from the outside are rather into group activities.

 

To be more cynical, I wouldn't be surprised if they'd try to ban all introversts to be ill because they don't want to do group content - are dangerous because they get their self-esteem getting fuelled from the INSIDE.

 

Introverts might well be regarded as dangerous because they are basically nothing but a Black Box. An extrovert person really can't understand what's going on on the inside of them, cynically put.

 

Luckily, it's not that bad here. If introversion did make the DSM, about 60+% of mental health professionals would be diagnosed and probably lose their licenses Not that the whole extrovert bias doesn't suck here more than in a lot of other parts of the world. What's kind of amusing, though, is that a lot of companies are starting to listen to some of the emerging science that shows that intrinsic motivation results in higher productivity and job satisfaction than external material rewards.

 

I'm curious to see how that bears fruit, especially when that trend begins to spill over into popular consciousness. Hopefully it'll supplant mindfulness and decluttering. I'm cautiously optimistic. /end randomness

[JainiaDral]

I think there's truth in both of these statements.

 

As an introvert myself, I do think that some people feel that introversion, shyness, and keeping to oneself are faults that need to be 'helped' or 'corrected.' Society often takes a dim view of people who like to keep to themselves in general; case in point all the stories where someone is referred to derisively as a 'loner' or 'antisocial' because they don't like to talk or interact a lot.

 

I also think that some people who are more extroverted do sometimes forget that everyone isn't like them. I remember one bus trip I took where I was actually sleeping and had headphones on, and the woman across the row from me kept talking and talking to me and tapping me on the shoulder to wake me up and talk more. It never dawned on her that not everyone on the bus that night wanted to talk, and that I really would rather sleep than interact with her, and when I finally told her, "look, I need to sleep, I don't want to talk to you," she was offended. I'm sure we've all come across people like that.

 

I do think, though, that a lot of it is also because the person trying to urge you to "come out of your shell" sees a benefit in it for them, not you. They're trying to force you into a sort of interaction that you've told them you find uncomfortable. They know you're not into it. But they don't care because it's what they want, and they get offended that you won't go along with it. A lot of the meanest comments about solo players on this site, as well as pushes for "mandatory group content" and forced PvP, come from people who often complain that others won't group and that they don't have others to play with. It's about them, not about you.

 

Which is also true. There are a lot of facets and factors to the truth. I've spent so much time seeing the bad ones that I'm trying to force myself to understand the good sides. Gods, you just have to look at what's happened to a lot of the Western democracies in the wake of the Russian hackers and bots-- I've never seen the social fabric so tattered. We've been manipulated further into fringe opinions. It's almost impossible to engage in any kind of dialog across extremist lines. Zealots shouting at each other has just hardened the lines even more. Emotions run high, and they spill over into every facet of life, from day-to-day meatspace interactions, to our entertainment, to how we speak to those we love.

 

I've been nursing a huge misanthropic grudge against Britain for Brexit, against my fellow Americans for who we have in office, and for those extreme Greenies who helped get him elected. I find I run in extreme skeptical mode 99% of the time. Except we haven't actually changed no matter how easily we've been manipulated. Humans are still the same magnificent, horrible, creative, orderly, chaotic, paradoxical beings we always have been. Wonderful things exist alongside horrors as they always have. We're each a huge mixture of conflicting motives, emotions, biological wiring, and rational thinking.

 

I'm so tired of the fabric falling apart that I want to start seeing the good that's still everywhere. My little effort, I guess.

 

You look at the state of SWTOR these days-- Satele Shan during the APAC hours I typically play is about as populated now as Begeren Colony was a year ago during the same timeframe. Except the population's a bit ruder and a lot more trollish LOL So if you were a social player, hoping that server consolidation would bring you more of what you craved, you're probably frustrated at best, furious at worst that you can't find your fun anymore. Their social fabric has come unraveled both as a result of Bioware's huge emphasis on story, while making it impossible to share the newest story with their friends. <-- A colossally stupid decision dating back to SOR-- ran into it myself in one of my random grouping escapades. I can kind of see their point-- a little.

 

It's really tempting to slip back into seeing only your little slice of the truth as the only correct view. I mean, what introvert hasn't imagined the pushier extroverts in their lives to be an energy vampire or a moray eel sucked onto their guts? And that whole, "why can't they see that I'm different?" need for basic acknowledgement that we never receive. Believe me, I want to. It's easier.

 

A lot if what we don't get is that for them social interaction is a win-win scenario-- and they want you to win too as they have their needs satisfied. I tend to envision a group of extroverts getting together, and as they aim their energy-drain beams at each other, they all open an infinite energy vortex. They all suck energy in, then expel energy back into the vortex. It's a weird perpetual motion machine. If you could just harness their infinitely-renewing social energy, you could probably power the planet for all eternity You'd never hit peak oil!

 

It's weird, because I've had those little social peaks. Those moments when you make that rare connection, where ideas and random blather about crap flow like a glorious river between you and the other person/people. The entire universe seems to settle into a feeling of rightness, and I feel like I have the will and energy to take on anything. It's amazing when it happens. It's what I live for, TBH, along with the quiet space and privacy to process it all in its magnificence. Sometimes the ideas spark a whole universe of ideas in my head in a giant explosion. I can feed off a good ideasplosion for months. I imagine that's what a lot of social interaction is like-- maybe on a smaller scale, dunno-- for extroverts. And I can see why they want to share it-- because, TBH, I felt a little perk of excitement when you liked the site I posted. It feels good to share things you love

 

Then there are the actual jerks LOL But most people I interact with are basically fine. I think my actual meh to like/dislike ratio with individuals is probably 90%/10%. Most of us aren't irredeemable jerks.

 

Then, you add groups to the mixture, and in-grouping, cliquishness, out-grouping, xenophobia, groupthink and all the maladies when we start to see ourselves as defined by a collective-- but that's another issue entirely

[AlrikFassbauer]

You do understand the irony of focusing on solo content in an MMO though, right?

 

I have seen too many people invading solo player forums with repeating the question of "can't you do that as an multiplayer game ?"

And because of that I still do believe that solo play is an "dying race", so to say.

[Keta]

You do understand the irony of focusing on solo content in an MMO though, right?

 

No not at all. An MMO refers to a persistent world with other people in it. There is nothing inherent in that concept which would require players to group as a necessary result of there being other players. The comment you made is a rather worn old comment which makes very little sense and betrays a bias on your part.

 

If you want a game that requires player to group at all times, which would be consistent with your statement, then you might want to look beyond the obvious choices in mmo's. They're out there, they're just not all that popular. This (and almost all the others) isn't the mmo you're looking for.

[GreatRicktator]

I'm mostly a solo player myself I tend to be more introverted and really it's more convinient, I like to take my time and take in the story at my own pace, groups tend to be "OMG JUST MASH THE SPACE BAR I NEEDZ MY LOOT!" , besides solo content just tends to be more fun and story centric.

 

Plus when you have to get up to take care of something you don't have to deal with the groans that come from impatient people.

 

At the end of the day, other people are for RPing, not doing content with

Edited March 4, 2018 by GreatRicktator

[zorngodofall]

Sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about. Have you been reading this thread at all? Because Ops are probably one of the least discussed topics here. I haven't seen much mentioned about solo ops at all, aside from the general frustration that Bioware loves to either a) make lead-off quests to ops chains like the Iokath one impossible to abandon in your mission log or b) gate the tail end of solo story content like Oricon behind operations.

 

In general, beyond some commiserating and sharing of commonalities, this thread has been mostly about sharing enjoyable experiences inside the game. What we like, what we don't like. Doing a little exploration of self and playstyle, of interests, etc. You know, talking about the game. If that makes this an echo-chamber, so be it. It's nice to have a place where you don't have people jumping down your throat because you dare to be a lone wolf.

 

I think you'll find, though, that a lot of the attitude you're showing in your post turns new people (some of whom seem to be in this thread) off who might actually want to group. Be open. Be welcoming. Stow some of the loaded language you're using. You're destroying another potential pool of recruits with your words-- lurkers who might not actually post on the forums.

 

You'll find that your attitude is offensive to some people (with the assumptions you make in previous posts) as much as things you find offensive. Secondly read the majority of my post before you quote me and put words in my mouth. I take a balanced approach and try and explain the different attitudes and how people feel towards different things.

 

I was making a contribution myself (to more solo players) explaining how different parts of things work in this game (sub communities and what not) and why some people have poor experiences with those who run a lot of group content. The idea was to explain why issues occur between two different kinds of people inside the same group. That's what my post was about; I don't honestly think you bothered to read much of it and ended up putting words in my mouth, while I actually read all of your posts on this thread before replying.

 

It's a big issue you know, people isolate themselves even inside a game because of negative experiences with people, I was trying to provide examples and reasons why that happens. As for me not being welcoming and open to people, that's you trying to strawman me. I went out of my way to explain to perhaps newer and/or more reclusive players why these things happen.

[Jdast]

It's a game, if you can't be bothered to learn even the most basic things about it, even a little, then you really shouldnt be playing it, and this goes for many things in life.

 

This is the sentence that is going to stand out in your post -- and in not such a good way.

 

Moreover, why would you want said individuals in your group to begin with? You run a NM guild so have found a group of like-minded players. That's awesome (that's not sarcasm). Why do you care what solo players do? It literally has zero impact on you and what you do in game -- and vice-versa. The good news (for both of us) is -- I'm not burdening your NM progression guild; however, you're taking aim at the wrong target. Solo players by definition aren't applying for your NM PuGs, much less your guild.

 

I work hard enough in real life and just like to chill in the game. I min-max plenty in life and, as it turns out, in other games -- just not this one.

 

Ultimately, though, I neither need nor desire life advice from Dr. Phil types who say I should strive or even learn a certain threshold of mechanics in order to excel / succeed in a video game in order to enjoy it. With that said, your life advice on how this "sycophantic" thread is not "healthy" is -- well -- how shall I say...

 

/duly noted and given the import to which it is due.

 

TL-DR: You are attacking unprepared people who PuG -- not soloers. So ultimately, you and soloers can co-exist.

EVERYONE'S A WINNAH BAYBEE!

 

Dasty

Edited March 5, 2018 by Jdast

[DWho]

Deleted Edited March 6, 2018 by DWho
Deleted

[DragonArt]

I actually enjoy some group content.. but only with people that are like minded. That said.. I rarely find people who are content to go slow, gather things, smell the roses so to speak.. so I solo. As a solo player, I do not have to put up with people's attitudes and rudeness. Sadly, the ones I used to quest with have left the game or passed away. (My sincere condolences to the others here that have lost dear people they used to play with. .. I completely understand.. My usual hunting partner just lost his battle with cancer)

 

What I don't like:

 

I detest flash points and ops. I am not lazy, but I am old and don't need or want the stress.. in fact, some forced encounters have almost landed me in hospital from the stress.(That horrid droid in Traitor among the Chiss) I also have horrible internet (usually 750 to 2k ms), so a lot of content is just a nightmarish ordeal. Its not that I don't know how to interrupt etc, I just can't. Not unusual for my character to be flying through the air or dead BEFORE the enemy cast bar even appears. In some stuff, I can compensate for that.. in ops, that can be a wipe. I don't want to be responsible for that. I used to be a hard core raider.. that was ages ago in WOW.. I have absolutely NO interest in that grind now. It was taking over my life and negatively impacting my already frail health.

 

I also dislike PvP. That is partially due to my connection, but mostly because of the people that frequent battlegrounds. I want NOTHING to do with the rude, obnoxious.. LEET crowd that are generally found there. I used to play DAoC.. the pvp/rvr was tolerable there, but the people were actually polite. Made it almost fun.

 

BioWare.. please stop trying to force people to do content they hate or will never be any good at because of a variety of reasons.. Flash points and PvP need to be one hundred percent optional. The game has fun stuff for everyone.. as long as people are allowed to play it in their own styles.

 

/end rant

 

What I do like:

I love to explore... SWTOR has so much to see and explore. Even though I have been playing since the Chevin event, I am still surprised with new discoveries from time to time.

I love to see the cut scenes and stories. such an immersive feature

I love strongholds. I have 8 completely done SHs on SF alone.. 6 more on SS.

Class stories and interaction with companions is probably one of my fave things in this game.

I love the stability of this game.. It is one of the only ones that plays well with my ISP (satellite sucks)

I love that much of the game is soloable.. The bot was a great boon to those of us with bad internet and/or health problems that slow our reflexes or make fast paced stuff physically painful. Even with it, I still have to be at my best and psych myself to face FPs.

 

A fun suggestion for the future :

 

I do not want or need the rewards from ops.. I do think it would be fun for there to be a solo mode ops, but with alternate rewards such as unusual decorations or cosmetic gear instead of stat gear. I want to see the stories.. couldn't care less about the raid version rewards.

An added bonus would be a version that allowed us to bring several companions.. there is the odd class related mission like that and I love those. If we could choose which companions and their roles, it could add an element of strategy.

[TheLexinator]

Great thread.

 

Solo player here because I only have 1-2 hours/day with tons of interrupts (kids). Can't put a party through the constant interrupts. Love this game because of the solo content, and want everything soloable

[zorngodofall]

The problem was with the way you started your post.

 

 

 

No matter what you said after that you had already defined your opinion by saying this thread was "not healthy for anyone" and was a "hugbox". You then go on to explain that "the reason" people don't group is that "group content is how poorly explained" or that they "cant be bothered to learn anything about the game and just want to be as lazy as they possibly can". I think that pretty much explains the attitude of the most vocal "MMO players" that despise anyone who doesn't play the game their way.

 

This thread was about why people liked playing solo and what they enjoyed most about it not a debate about which play style is "right" or an ecouragement for people not to group if they wanted to. Why the "MMO players" can't just leave those who don't share their zeal for repeating endlessly the same content over and over is beyond me. I understand why they want "everyone" to group, because it increases their ability to play the game the way they want but not everyone shares that desire.

 

You then go on to say how disrespectful it is for people wanting "solo operations" (which by the way is not what they have asked for - what they asked for was an alternative to completing storylines without requiring the operations) right after you have called "solo" players dumb (they can't figure out the group content without it being explained to them) and lazy.

 

Again, you're either not reading what i said or strawmanning me. Not really acceptable either way.

 

You're turning this into a debate, not I. I never once said one style is correct over another, but if you read my post instead of blindly quoting it you'd see that. Notice how it's not called 'talk about what solo aspects of the game you find the most entertaining' and is instead called 'solo players appreciation thread' it'd be like saying operation players appreciation thread or pvp players appreciation thread, see how silly it gets? Seems a bit narcissistic, pretty sure that's what bothers me if anything.

 

And the 'cant be bothered to learn anything about the game' statement is just a fact. I explained why that on a basic level people should at leadt be bothered to learn how things work so that if at some point they do do things with other they aren't a hinderence, that in general an mmo issue and not directed at any specific person or playstyle, solo players included.

 

What i was actually trying to do was to provide some light as to why certain parts of the game can be frustrating for some people, you'd be surprised by how many are turned off because of things like that.

 

You're the one putting words into peoples mouths and assuming peoples intentions. For the life of me, i don't see where this idea of people who do group content are pushing it onto others comes from, that's just honestly weird and pretty insulting.

[Jdast]

And the 'cant be bothered to learn anything about the game' statement is just a fact. I explained why that on a basic level people should at leadt be bothered to learn how things work so that if at some point they do do things with other they aren't a hinderence, that in general an mmo issue and not directed at any specific person or playstyle, solo players included.

 

This statement is true, but in such a vacuous way that it is meaningless to call it a fact. It is easy to explain why...

 

People are going to have different and often competing understandings and criteria for what constitutes a "basic level" of understanding in order not to be a hindrance. Who decides the baseline? You? Me?

 

Fortunately, the game provides individuals with the means to operationalize this variable: you can not accept people to your guild if they don't meet your standards, you can kick them from your guild, you can not group with them, you can vote kick them from a group, etc. For soloers, we establish our standards for us alone as individuals -- with no impact on you.

 

What is incredibly patronizing about your posts, though, is twofold: 1) you imply that if a basic level of competence isn't met, people should not even be playing the game -- which doesn't matter to soloers since you will never be grouped with them; and this is the real kicker,

 

2) you presume to extrapolate soloers approach to this game TO REAL LIFE and evaluate us as sycophants, narcissists, not healthy individuals who live in an echo chamber.

 

I am loathe to make real life comparisons but I shall do so now. Golf. I am arguably the world's worst golfer. I know you swing a club, hit the ball, and eventually try to get it in the hole, preferably in as few strokes as possible. I know I could learn and make the effort to get better, but I don't feel it worth my effort. I find it relaxing to spend time outdoors, by myself, and if I shoot a +10 over par -- it doesn't impact anyone. Ditto with this game. In other aspects of my life (e.g., my rec hockey team where it is not an individual effort) different standards apply.

 

TL-DR: I don't need / want a life coach, I don't need / want a golf coach, I don't need / want you telling me what minimum thresholds I should adhere to in order to play a game I pay for just like you.

 

Dasty

Edited March 5, 2018 by Jdast

[JainiaDral]

I'm not a 'solo' player or a 'hater' but i dont think this sycophant thing is a good idea. It's not really healthy for anyone, an echochamber hugbox really doesn't help anyone with anything, even if it makes them 'feel good' right here and now.

 

I'm not going to rag on others for a different way of playing the game from myself though. As someone who played a lot of story early on and switched my playstyle more towards.group content I kind of pieced together a lot of things some people here might not understand.

 

I think what frustrates a lot of people who might want to try group content is how poorly explained many things are in this game are. Take for example stats, they are never explained at all; you aren't told or shown what stats are for what and it takes wiki or googling it to get an idea, at least a more complete one.

 

On the other side of that coin, some people can't be bothered to put in a very tiny amount of effort or cant be bothered to learn very basic things and that's where it probably crosses the line . It's a game, if you can't be bothered to learn even the most basic things about it, even a little, then you really shouldnt be playing it, and this goes for many things in life.

 

Less explained things like augments are another thing group content people get frustrated by, not having them is really an issue and it can hold back an entire group in something lile an operation or even a hardmode flashpoint and for that reason, everyone else has to put in more work to get the same job done, and that can get infuriating at times. That's kind of on tje game for not explaining it to newbies and some on pepple for knowing and not bothering to try, or care sometimes. If you intentionally dont put work into things and expect others to make up for what you wont do, that's where it becomes unacceptable.

 

Some of the group activities in this gamr attract toxic ego people who really get a kick out of belittling others and that's a.general problem, not something solely on people who play 'group content' toxicity is something i am personally against because i see the harm it does to the community and the game itself, but not all people are like that.

 

Hell, i run a nightmare difficulty guild & discord around the concept that that kind of attitude isn't acceptable and i tolerate as little of it as i can. And on the opposite side of that coin are people who cant be bothered to learn anything about the game and just want to be as lazy as they possibly can putting in zero effort and that's also an offensive idea to me. I mean isn't that just a different form of toxicity that in this case comes from 'solo players' in the form of contempt and entitlement. Its just as toxic, imo and no it's not 'harmless' to the game or the community.

 

So let's go over the idea of 'solo operations' real fast. People who bring that idea up often get torn to shreds when they ask for it.

 

Some of it is ego people who want to put those people down and other times it's not. Operations in general (excluding sm these days) are somethin peoplr put a LOT of work into and it's so disrespectful to just wglant the same reward (can be gear, the end of a story or whatever) for little or no effort and that kind of thing usually comes from people who put zero work into the game (entitlement) and that is NOT acceptable at ALL because of how much it tramples on the work of all those people i mentioned and it's really messed up and really disrespectful.

 

I'm not aiming to stir the pot or hurt anyones feelings just merely to provide a more balanced approach to a somewhat complex issue.

 

Bolded your loaded language.

 

Look, I was trying to give you some advice. Your condescending language does absolutely nothing to make people want to join groups-- if that is your objective. If it isn't, well, that's fine too. But ultimately you're working against your own interests as a group player coming into a solo players' thread to "explain" to us how our impressions of grouping or gameplay are completely wrong. You're reducing a potential pool of recruits. Because what happens when someone reads something like what you've posted, verbiage like that automatically puts them on the defensive. You're seen as condescending and elitist, no matter the disclaimers you've sprinkled throughout your post.

 

That may or may not be true. I don't know you personally. What I do see, though, is someone just reinforcing that gulf between hardcore group players and potentially open solo players because of what reads as thinly disguised contempt. Reading what I've read of your posts, I'd never want to group with you if I had any inclinations in that direction at all.

 

Whether people group or not has absolutely zero impact on how I play my game. On the other hand, it potentially has a huge impact on yours.

[JainiaDral]

Spontaneous, Independent, Grounded, and Expressive

 

Nice What are your favorite parts of the game?

 

That's a neat little site, thanks for sharing that. Here's me: Your Gamer Motivation Profile :

Calm, Spontaneous, Driven, Independent, Deeply Immersed, and Creative

 

And I'm an INFJ for whatever that's worth.

 

Very cool! I'm trying to think if I've ever met an INFJ IRL--maybe? I have a couple of people I think might have been. If so, we've usually gotten along really well I think I met a female ENTP once, and maybe a female INTP. Known a few males of both stripes.