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SOLOING - The good and the bad
City of Heroes/Villains (CoX) is sometimes described as a massively MULTIPLAYER (MMORPG) online role playing game, so why go solo? Some would say that you are missing one of the best bits of the game, others would disagree arguing the exact opposite! Whatever the truth, there are many guides to being an good team player so I thought I would write one on being an effective solo player.
Why solo?
- Does it fit your character conception? Many superheroes team only irregularly and perhaps this is you. Eg. Spiderman, Iron Man, The Punisher etc.
- Are you avoiding bad teams? Many players once they get some experience of the game groan about n00b (stupid) mistakes. Of course you could try to help these newbie players to get a better grasp on tactics etc. but many do not care and seem to refuse to learn, all the while getting perverse enjoyment out of getting the party killed repeatedly (griefing). If you are in a team with a few players like this then XP will plummet and fun along with it (usually - of course after dying a certain number of times it can start to be amusing).
- Looking for better XP? Wait, did he say better XP? In a rush to get your first level 50 toon? Well, if you download a program like Herostats and actually look at your XP per hour in a bad team you will be truly saddened. Of course in a good team XP rates will always be better, especially if you are following "X's" latest guide to power-levelling... Yet, overall XP rates for soloing compare favourably with teaming unless you are lucky and only ever get "good" teams. ;) This is certainly the case up until the early/mid 40s.
- Maybe you are just antisocial? This is OK too ;) Maybe you only have 30 minutes until you have to log anyway. By the time you have got onto a team and arrived at the mission you would need to leave after killing only three mobs.
- Wanting to see the "whole game". If you team frequently it may be the case that your own story arcs are being neglected. Soloing is an effective method to ensure that you explore all the relevant arcs for badges, temporary powers etc. Of course you could choose to lead and only select your own missions but that wouldn't be a guide about soloing would it? :)
There are many more reasons to solo than this but I hope that this covers the major ones.
(to be continued...)
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