A Solo Player’s Journey through WoW…. Comes to a Close with Dragonflight?
Improvements
Impediments
Nilla
+Hundreds of quests and enemies designed for solo players.
−Most endgame activity centered around raiding.
TBC
+More endgame daily quests and reputation rewards available for solo players.
LK
+Dungeon Finder introduced, offering endgame progression without organized groups.
Cata
+Valor Point and Raid Finder systems introduced, offering further progression without organized groups.
−Raid and Heroic dungeon encounters designed to be too difficult when not in regular organized groups.
MoP
+Legendary cloak questline available through queued and solo instances. +Timeless Isle (5.4) introduces full gearing system through the open world.
WoD
+Garrison introduced with quests, mission tables, and customizable profession features, +Tanaan Jungle (6.2) finally reintroduces full gearing through quests.
−Valor system removed, invalidating PvE progression through queued and solo content. −Apexis Crystal open world objectives (6.0-6.1) favor group grinds. −Mythic dungeons are introduced but require premade groups.
Leg
+World quest system introduced, offering solo progression each season. +Class order halls offer unique questlines and mission tables. +Artifact Power progression accessible to solo players. +Legendary equipment available to solo players at full power. +Mage Tower challenges can be done by solo players with open world gear. +Broken Shore (7.2) and Argus (7.3) reintroduce full gearing systems through solo questing.
−Balance of Power questline not accessible through queued or solo content.
BfA
+Faction assaults (8.1), Manapearls (8.2,) and N'Zoth Invasions (8.3) allow gearing through solo questing. +Corruption system (8.3) accessible through solo content. +Horrific Visions (8.3) scale to solo players and provide competitive gear.
−Some Heart of Azeroth abilities not available through solo content.
SL
+Torghast scales to solo players. +Covenants (9.0), Korthia (9.1), and Zereth Mortis (9.2) offer gear sets through solo questing. +All covenant activities and rewards accessible to solo players. +Legendary gear can be crafted by solo players at full power. +Callings offer unprecedented levels of raw gold through solo content.
−Torghast does not offer gear progression. −Great Vault introduced but offers no rewards for solo content. −Season 4 offers no new content or progression for solo players.
DF
−Currency-based gearing systems, weekly quests, epic world quests, events, and rares in the open world all require or favor parties and raids. −Gear cannot be crafted at full power for solo players. −Professions difficult or impossible to progress without crafting orders; callings, daily world quests, and mission tables removed.
With each new expansion, WoW developers over the years have made efforts to entertain solo players by offering access to group content or progression through automated matchmaking, or by developing content and systems that are completely accessible to solo players.
However, Dragonflight developers not only disdained to offer any feature or system for solo players, but even made efforts to design every endgame currency and form of content to require parties or raids, echoing the design principles behind Shadowlands Season 4. Will Korthia (9.1) and Zereth Mortis (9.2) be the last time that solo WoW players knew endgame progression?
Even as other MMORPGs gain popularity by offering endgame activities at max level, and single-player and matchmade games break sales records, why does Blizzard think that it can find success despite driving away its WoW players that became solo over the years and discouraging new players from starting WoW solo?
I don’t think blizz cares if wow dies. The esports crowd doesn’t have enough ppl to keep this game going. however, blizz has so many games in their pocket that it doesn’t matter. That’s just my cynical opinion though ~shrugs
I gave you a +1 for all that hard work but may I please ask you something? Doesn’t crafting give you access to gear and crafting can be solo levelled, right? Its not at full power but if you’re playing solo, why do you need a 421 item to kill a few mobs by yourself in the normal zones…
Well, I do think there needs to be more world quest or faster cycle for the reknown grind. I don’t really see any other option for rep grinding in groups faster than solo in that respect.
Sure, a lot of DF world content will take longer and can be somewhat challenging solo, but that’s kinda… always been the case. Currency based gearing systems are THE BEST GEARING SYSTEM. Don’t you dare put that in the negative column, I would be so happy if every “pillar” got that, like PvP and open world content. You can complain about the acquisition all you like, I have no reason for open world gear, so I haven’t thought about it. That being said, I’ve done the wrathion stuff every week until last week, now that I’m exalted (whatever) with both I’m done. Never grouped up for it, just murdered the NPCs alongside others doing the quests/rares. Solo’d whatever was left, as a healer so yknow… slow. Same with every other rare I’ve killed this xpac, just seen it show up, gone and attacked it, maybe there’s other people maybe not and it takes 5mins.
“Gear cannot be crafted at full power for solo players” I mean yeah, I guess in the past there’s been some items you could spend enough gold on to buy max level raid quality items… Legendaries in SL, I guess. Kinda the same with mythic BoEs though, they are controversial. And to what limit? Should you be able to get full mythic gear if you spend enough, without doing appropriate content?
“Professions difficult or impossible to progress” is not a solo player specific issue, but I think it’s just a community adjustment required. Some things are meant to take time. Catchup for something that (I think?) is meant to be an evergreen feature is maybe more complex than just “here’s some gear to catchup to the raiders/M+ers”
hey OP, you forgot “almost all solo-casual methods of making gold evaporated” from your list
Seems like everything shifted from solo-casual friendly goldmaking to “only high-end professions can make decent gold” in the transition from SL —> DF… seemed to happen “overnight” and caught casuals off-guard (suddenly gold seems scarce, where it used to be abundant in Shadowlands)
I would like some more challenging solo content like the Mage Tower personally.
I am NOT a solo only player so maybe my PoV isn’t as informed as it can be on this subject but I have a few questions if you don’t mind answering them.
DF offers less world quests which I see as a problem for solo only players but a boon for the admittedly much larger player base. Daily World quests on top of all the other things we have to do feel like an obligation we can never keep up with. What other content would solo only players want?
For context right now I know DF offers bi-weekly world quests, fairly quickly respawning rares/elites that CAN be soloed after gaining the gear available to you as a solo player (392 crafted items, upgraded storms gear that you CAN turn into tier, and Blizz just updated gear to go higher ilvl from world content last week), and 4 new reputations which I can understand you being done with by now but they ARE adding more in 10.0.7 which seems fair.
Gear. Blizzard offers storms gear (which is absolutely soloable but just like with most things in life is more efficient/faster if you group up) which can be catalyzed into tier, world gear from world quests and rares that they just upped the ilvl possible on, and 392 crafted gear. The iLvL on this gear is 110% more than you need to do all solo content in the game with ease, so why do you feel you need higher iLvL gear? I’ve seen this question asked a dozen times to solo players and never once seen it answered, is it just FOMO?
So you can get 385 gear from soloing elemental, can craft, has a crap ton of exploration and renown grinds, etc thats all solo content but theres 0 solo content? really? you can even trade in your elemental gear to get the set bonuses? not seeing the issue. its also a group oriented game and always has been? why wouldnt the content favor grouping? not like joining a open world raid or group means you dont act and behave entirely solo anyways…
