Folks do 2 runs, then break stuff. Aka double stacks. Same gons doesn’t mean same damage, a wiz don’t do the same damage as barb, neither sader as dh. You forgot buffs stacks, a barb will increase survival and damage, even not being z. A sader or dh will do the same, because they use buff for themselves. those buffs appears to be minimal, but it’s simple math.
A target has 4 times hp, but receives 25% more damage from all sources. That target in the end will receive 125*4 = 500% from a threatening shout debuff of a barb(savage and z increases it by 50%). Add aspd and maybe 100% crit damage from a sader law, add the pet buff from dh, add other situational buffs/debuffs. And those multipliers stack. 2 folks using buffs will be way more effective than you playing solo, for kill things, if you folks have the same “power”.
That’s why even random groups can clear up 1-5 gr more, at same kind of time. While organized groups can run 10-20 higher. 2 gr runs then break stuff and start again, this can be done in a lower interval than than you said, because 1 minute to break stuff it’s too long for any kind of player in a group(often folks would open a rift to farm key while they wait more than 30-40 seconds. So your ratio would be:
20 seconds(your 2 breaks) against 30-40 sec tops.
Just run with only gems in the inventory and you could at least run 2 gr in a row.
More 30% xp + running at the same time basis with a gap of 10-20 seconds doing up 5 tier higher. It’s clear that even random groups can perform better, if all of them can do that content as speed.
I not against solo or groups, I often play solo. I just saying that on groups if nobody gets carried, they will do higher content, doesn’t matter their class or combinations. Because even if they use the same buffs, their overall uptime on the buffs will become almost 100%, while most of the time that isn’t true playing solo. Take any class with any individual build, if they have any kind of buff, debuff or cc based damage increase the entire team will impact in his damage and he will impact in the team’s damage. Because folks will apply the effect to get the bonus also, so in the end, your “theory” only will hold true, if nobody put passive for damage, don’t use any kind of buff and don’t use trapped gem. Which means utopia.
Most of the passives who improves damage has perks about it, some are based on the target life, others on cc, others on kills and so on. Several folks doing damage will trigger several of those effects.
Dh has group buffs, without being z(pet buff)
Barb has group buffs, without being z(shouts)
Sader has group buffs, without being z(law)
Wd has group buffs, without being z(vodoo and piranhado)
Monk without being z(mantra and damage amplification)
Necro without being z(curses, cc)
Wiz without being z (will use squirt and have some kind of pixel or damage amp, that would work better because more folks and more uptime on squirt)
Add pixel, cc, defensive buffs(means more uptime on squirt for the players using), not even considering ignore pain and sprint that can improve a lot mobility and survival.
The damage will be higher, would be the same or higher, never lower(at the same gr tier). Even considering the worst case scenario, if the damage keep the same as the hp increase and they run the same gr as solo, the 30% xp will kick in and be more effective even if you spend more 10-20(30-40 total) seconds more each 2 runs. Because would mean around 10-20%(12-24 seconds) of the time as xp against 30% per run.
The worst case scenario they would have 10% xp to spare. So yeah, level up and speed gr are easier and often faster with random folks, if those folks can clear the content, solo at almost same time.
Try run solo vs a random party of players at same timeframe, they will level up faster than you doing the same content or higher. If both “parties” do the same stuff, run 2 gr, break stuff, then do it again.
In like 10 to 50 runs you will see the gap become higher.
I ran solo for 2 days, and a friend ran on parties(messing around and not playing optimal). He increased on the first day the gap by ~42 levels, then on the second ended like a ~98 levels gap. Both parties playing the same amount of time and most of his time was having new folks and his party changing a couple of times each 2-3 hours. They done around 3-7 gr tiers above me each run. Keeping the around the same clear time (1:39-2:18). His party didn’t had necro and didn’t played any meta(last season) he done as GoD dh, I played frenzy barb and my average time was 1:47 while his group was 1:55.
The experiment was: both at 800 gons. He set up a party we started. The first day we played bit less than a hour, the second around 2 and a half hours.
First day his gap was 42 levels, the second day was 97. I ended being able to run speeds 90-93 while they done 93-100. When I joined the group we done 105 speeds because I was frenzy barb and their party was (sader/ww/monk[random], god[him], monk/wd/god[friend], sader/wd/wiz[friend]). When we organized we could run 110-112(sub 3min, me as zbarb) or 6min 120runs(him as zdh and me as zbarb)
The idea was play as normal, he had a dynamic group who would be more or less effective based on what folks are on in the party, avoiding using meta or z, always doing 2 runs then break stuff. I done the same as frenzy solo. My runs oscilated more but my overall time was lower than theirs, the time for new folk enter and they trying increase or decrease their gr based on the group, while I done the same based on the gon and gear I got.
The part I highlight it’s that group content will be easier most of the time, because folks would run speeds at same level up to 5(random groups) and 20(optimized). That’s why bs necro with gon enough to clear gr 130 could beat gr 150 in a group with 3 z. The values can change for more or less, based on optimizations but while mobs get increased hp, players get more xp,more buffs from others players and mobs receive more debuffs also. That’s why often debuffs and buffs like zbarb and zdh can increase several gr clears, pixel with ad improve some more and coe rotation shine even more.