I know it has been suggested already a few years ago (see Online SSF Mode ), but I’d really like to see a “Solo” option on character creation screen, that would restrict it to single player private games.
I’m aware of the existing offline mode, but it doesn’t taste the same. I can’t really explain it, but since I know it’s possible to cheat in various ways (using an hero editor or even just duplicating saved files), it’s like this achievement has no value in my mind.
And it’s the same when playing solo with an online character, since I know this character can trade.
It might just be in my head… The devil is temptation… I probably shouldn’t have embedded that stone in my forehead…
It would also be a way to keep our solo characters in a safe place.
I guess such an option shouldn’t be a so big development, in particular if we don’t care about keeping the maps as in offline mode. Ideally, we should be able to use the /players command in that mode.
We could even imagine leaderboards and ladders for this mode.
In my opinion it is likely coming in the future. I believe D4 has it and I know PoE2 has SSF, so in order for D2RotW to keep gaming market share, Blizz should implement it. If they don’t would show a severe lack of pragmatism on the Blizzard Devs part.
I would definitely be interested as well as a solo player. Like you said, because some players manipulate their save data or system time settings, doing anything in single player feels less “honorable” than doing it in an online mode. Online mode as it exists currently, however, has trade which is also used by some to undermine the seasonal mechanics or to otherwise degrade the gameplay experience. Some form of self-found mode, even one that allows grouping but no trade, would potentially be a good addition to the game. Unfortunately, even in such a game mode, I feel like some players would still bot if nothing else to gain power while they cannot be actively playing. The risk of this happening is probably much higher if there is any potential for there to be PvP.
I would have a couple of concerns with the implementation though. For one, /players would be a hard requirement for me, as its absence in current online modes always ends up being a mid-season frustration. Another would be the shared stash - obviously this also needs to be separate from any other online game modes as well, but it would be needed because in all seriousness, who wants to try and get a torch with a sorceress or farm the keys on a character that can’t teleport? Lastly, specific to Diablo Clone, the requirement to summon it needs to no longer be selling an SoJ and replace that with a consumable similar to one of the new shards, but with a rarity on par with an Ist Rune.
The last question that I think you’ll get multiple competing answers on, unfortunately, is if it should be a seasonal or permanent experience. One of the current benefits of single-player is that you can always come back to it. If something seasonal is implemented, then we also would need longer seasons if we don’t get /players and the post-1.10 experience system is used. Even though it doesn’t work in practice very well, one of the mentalities behind seasons in ladder play is to reset the economy, which is not relevant to a self-found mode, so I’m honestly not sure how seasons would ultimately fit in.
I would absolutely LOVE to see this. The ONLY thing is to make sure there is no way to exploit. For example, if you allow /players 8, then also allow the possibility for these characters to be converted to non SSF (regular online characters), that would be terrible. Maybe once you make a dedicated SSF character you can never change that state for that character?
Anyways, there’s a whole lot of other things that would have to be ironed out. Like, defining what SSF actually means. For example, do your SSF characters get to share stash? Or is this true SSF? I’d say they shouldn’t, but I can see an argument the other way. Dedicated SSF stash.
Also, what’s with these posts? Do I also have to end with “Regards”? Are these bots? Similar post counts… anyways, I just spent my time doing this. Haha
SSF should be a separate game mode (like SC/HC), with completely isolated stash (and games). Otherwise it wouldn’t be SSF if one could twink items from the multiplayer mode.
On top of that, we could also have an even stricter XSF mode (like in Median XL), where you are restricted to only one character, not your entire account - no shared stash (not even between other XSF chars), no game joining.
Thank you guys for your interesting and constructive feedback
You’re right, maybe I underestimate the complexity of this feature since it comes with a few more consequences / decisions
IMO, allowing grouping but no trade wouldn’t be relevent, since it would still mean rushes, loot on ground, etc. A solo mode should just be… solo And it shouldn’t be convertible neither. We should simply assume to play it as an harder mode, the same way we can do hardcore.
Maybe bots could still be an issue in a ladder context, but it’s not even sure since I guess most of them aren’t dedicated to glory but just loot and (illegal) selling on the Internet. So this mode wouldn’t be a target for this bots.
So, as far as I see, the main concerns would be:
Shared stash or not. I agree that both points of view can make sense, but depending on this choice, the mode would be a real “Solo” or just a “Self-found” one. I would personally prefer a real solo, using loot filter to ignore non-relevant stuff. Note that this real solo would open perspective to another type of ladder: the speed run (until Hell Baal or even Ubers).
/players x command or not. I think it would be definitely required so that players could manage the way they progress and loot.
Diablo clone trigger. I wouldn’t mind if it would still require to sell a SoJ, making anni a rare treasure again
Ladder duration. I guess a Solo season should probably stand during 2 multiplayers seasons, or something like that
I am still on the fence about SSF mode. In a perfect world it would be awesome. But ultimately, it will be another bot/RMT infested realm (as we have seen with soulbound items/paragon levels with d3 and beyond) and so in the end what is really the difference from a player who already plays solo online? Slightly bigger epeen?
Yeah people say “why does it bother how others play” but I understand what you mean. I also mostly play solo but it’s about that feeling of being at disadvantage when everyone else trades and gets Enigmas in 1 week. You want a playground with the same rules for all players.
And that balance is completely broken let’s be real.
Looking at best build per class
Blizzard Sorc has trouble with immunities but just skips them with Teleport. She’s the fastest. Gets good items faster than all other classes because of Teleport. Statistics already tell she’s the most picked class each ladder.
Abyss Warlock clears entire Hell easily until Baal waves without any trouble unbothered by immunities or any other game mechanics. He’s the best in clearing overall.
Hammerdin is similar to Warlock but a bit more dangerous from being close range, still does very well.
They are doing too well imo and should be toned down.
Lightning Assassin and Amazon have huge issues in act 3, get swarmed and surrounded quickly and there’s not much to do, try to Tele with Staff and pray.
War Cry Barb is pretty safe and tanky but the slowest of them all, damage dealt is tiny. Barb’s best leveling build should be Whirlwind or Frenzy.
Bone Necro is maybe a bit too slow but it does fine with good crowd control from Bone Prison.
Wind Druid feels the best, not too slow or fast, deals 2 types of damage, got some defense in form of Cyclone Armor and summons.
This is a really silly position to take. Unless you actively cheat yourself, you have no reason to object to this.
Your logic is also flawed: The mere possibility that someone who isn’t you could cheat doesn’t affect your own experience since you’re not playing with them.
Also you can just play online and never join other people’s games. It’s… not hard. Many people already play solo most if not all of the time.
No, the thing most people are asking for is a specific ladder for solo self found. I don’t think it’s needed for reasons already stated but that makes more sense than your proposal.
Multiplayer gives incentive for cheating - RMT. Most bots run for profit, they would not play SSF.
Those that remain for the leaderboard - is that relevant? After all, all games with leaderboards have someone with 999999999 points - be it a bot, a cheater who found a clever exploit, or a no-lifer playing 12 hours a day, living off his parents. Does it mean playing such games is pointless, because you’ll never be the best if playing fair? No! We play for fun; the leaderboard is just an addition. After all, SSF mode could be played like an SP game, with the benefits of the online mode (no cheats, cloud saves).
I can understand that you don’t feel the psychologic aspect that I mean, and I’m happy for you, but it seems excessive to consider it as “silly”.
At the moment, when I play “solo” online and I drop an item which I’m not interested in but that may have some trade value, it’s a bit hard for me to simply ignore it. I feel “forced” to check its price (e.g on Traderie) then to try to sell it… even if this makes me feel I’m wasting my time trying to trade.
Furthermore, it’s hard to farm with the hope of a “good” drop like a Tal Rasha armor when I know I can get one so easily just paying an ist or something like that. The loot value strongly decreases in my eyes as soon as I know my character exists in a world with an open market.
The online solo option that I suggest wouldn’t impact the experience of players that won’t want to play with it. So I don’t really see any reason why those players would refuse it
Ok tell me you haven’t experienced d3 and beyond without telling me.. on paper you might think you’re onto something but humans are the same whether SSF or not. Clown Musk had multiple people leveling his accounts for d4… What is the difference?? Just make cheating more exclusive for those that can afford it?
I did play D3. And yes, I was powerleveled and I powerleveled my friends. It was fun… for a day? Unlike SSF, which was fun for longer (not very much, given D3’s insane drop rate, but still). I wish it was present in D3 from the beginning, not added a decade later for the last season (before maintenance mode).
SSF makes a difference. After all, eliminating all the cheating is not feasible, so eliminating most of it is still an inprovement. And who said account sharing should not be bannable?
I hate to be rude here but either you missing the whole point or are just worried your rmt gear won’t sell well anymore if a lot people move to ssf mode.
D3, D4, PoE all got SSF mode and it’s well received by most of people.
I bet we all know how the rmt websites with items operate. I saw multiple ads like “Don’t have time to play? Buy items cheap at xxx” so no surprise some people would go to extreme manipulations to be against such mode.
Also following this logic why does it affect you that he wants to play on ssf mode that is completely separate?
And it shouldn’t be convertible neither. We should simply assume to play it as an harder mode, the same way we can do hardcore.
