Respectfully, I don’t think anything needs to change from where it is now.
I, like some others here, am of the opinion that solo simply means not playing with other players and that if I, as the player, find something it should be available to any of my own characters. I understand the point of view of those to whom it means character found and I respect their opinions. Neither is “real” self found, it’s a matter of perspective and personal preference.
That said, the game as it exists today allows for both types of “solo” players to get what they want. When multiplayer and trade systems are introduced, some may find it difficult to stick to the “player found only” version of solo, but my opinion there is less generous (I personally think that if you can’t resist the urge to party up or trade, then SSF isn’t as important to you as you might claim).
We’re having some kind of confusion here. I know the game is single player only by now, so the only difference that solo means now is: your characters do not interact with any other toon of yours, ok. But the devs want this game to be a multiplayer game in the future.
So my point is, when multiplayer comes, the solo idea gets another meaning, which is you don’t interact with other players (no trades, no help to kill x mob/boss). Let’s say there will be seasonal challenges, you create a solo toon, grind your way with it and at some point you drop an item an think “hmm, I can make a nice build for x class with y spec”. You farmed that item by yourself, what is the difference from farming it with toon x or toon y? I found it SOLO, nobody else did it for me. And so, what’s the point of even having a stash for a completely solo character? stashing old items because… yes?
Trade and playing with other people is a choice. You don’t need to check a box to force it. Solo means something specific right now and will continue to mean that same thing even during multiplayer. It’s like forcing a new league when you start a new character. People like that feeling. That’s why it exists. If you don’t want to trade or play with others… then don’t. Nobody is forcing you. You don’t need a feature to block that stuff.
I don’t need the feature in POE and yet I use it and like using it, because it proves and validates that I’m playing by that challenge. That’s something I like. That’s something a lot of POE players like.
I sense this perspective is getting attacked here beyond opinion, TBH.
I could use that same argument for you. If you don’t want to give any items from your old toon to a new toon just don’t, nobody is forcing you. You don’t need a feature to block that stuff. See?
We need to hear from the devs, what is the plan for the solo challenge when multiplayer comes to the game.
We don’t know if there will be seasonal challenges and many things. I just gave my opinion about the topic, I understand solo as: “I got those items/builds/leaderboards by myself, nobody else did it or helped me”.
I am actually amazed and surprised this topic wis even given attention. This is so niche, I can’t even begin. Curious to see if the devs spend time/resources on something already there, just getting nit picked now. Not being malicious, just amazed.
How is solo account play with shared stash different from playing offline mode? Is there a particular reason to have an online solo mode with shared stash when you could just play offline so you cannot trade, not interact with other people but have shared stash with all your offline characters?
Offline mode will still persist next to multiplayer.
Will we need to have the additional slightly different solo mode for softcore and hardcore, normal and masochist, too?
You’d be able to validate your ladder or endgame achievement positions without hacks and show it to the world. Why does any achievement or badge or even grind matter?
I’ll not keep beating a dead horse from my side, I’m sure the devs will consider the merits of these different preferences.
Deep down, everyone cares what everyone thinks. And they also love everyone, and want us all to get along. But it’s buried deep under everything else that make us human.
But anyway, I agree with ya. I’d wager catfish does as well, with how he signed off. Eloquent imo. Also, a void Godzilla boss would be fantastic as a monolith small-chance encounter. lol
I freely admit that I may well be an outlier. In regard to what catfish said about validating achievements, I just don’t personally feel the need to validate anything about playing a video game to anyone. As long as I know that I did everything without cheating and with no assistance from anyone, that’s enough for me.
Again, though, I may be the odd man out on this one (with which I am perfectly fine)
Personally I’m not familiar with the SSF mode of PoE. And I already recognised that there is some confusion for PoE veterans expecting the same shared stash mechanic.
My first reaction to this topic (when it was raised on another thread some time ago) was “why do people think ‘solo’ would have a shared stash?” But the “solo means my account plays solo, not my character” mindset was new to me.
Currently the SSF mode is used for the community run tournaments where you play a new character from scratch without any additional help from outside (so no gear from other characters, just pure self found stuff on the char). This would not be possible with transforming the current mode into the PoE mechanic. So if there ever is some change, I’d vote for an additional mode.
Maybe we will also get community created cycles. Would be really cool.
You may be right, catfish. As I said, I may be the exception and not the rule. What drives interest for me has absolutely nothing to do with ladders and everything to do with bow much I enjoy the actual game play, and feeling that I am advancing toward the goal of making my character powerful enough to move on to more difficult content.
There are no hard and fast rules about what motivates a player in a game. Enjoyment is a purely subjective concept. You clearly enjoy a side of gaming that means little s to nothing to me. I am not trying to suggest that either of us is right or wrong, just different. If I came across otherwise then you have my apology.
Thanks, I don’t take it personally. I think it’s great that we all have our ways of enjoying the game, and recognition, and I hope people are happy with what they can do. I’m going to enjoy the game, however it’s presented, and I’m trying to unravel my own psychology that may determine how much I enjoy it in the end. So I just am talkative about it!!
For instance, in POE I started playing SSF before SSF was even a thing. I hated trade so much. Then when POE introduced SSF mode, I thought it was cool to try to grind the ladder in that separate mode. A little bit. Maybe in Last Epoch, trade will be appealing to me, and I won’t care about SSF at all!
In Diablo 3, I like starting a season for a fresh power curve and finding stuff for myself. Grinding in a community serves little purpose to me. They have Greater Rift progression which I always dabble in, and I like the idea of seeing how much I can push myself. Then I realize there are not separate Greater Rift ladders for a SSF mode so it’s pointless to spend more time grinding for that particular achievement. Maybe in Last Epoch I will again enjoy a fresh power curve and twists in a new season and not care about any ladder stuff no matter the mode. We shall see!
