Solo Self-Found Support in 2.6.0

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Laggoz wrote:

While this is a step in the right direction I really don't think this is the mode SSF community is really asking for.

Actually, it is. People championing SSF that are in the current majority (league players) have organized their own ladders. Some are known to drop out and feel that is an acceptable course of action. By separating out the ladders you legitimize the process and offer enforcement, something that was previously unavailable. People that generally play SSF anyway for the most part haven't even asked for an SSF league, because they already play SSF and don't need a league specific for it. The people that have asked for an SSF league with increased drops are generally people like you, that want SSF to be an alternative to trading. I'm still on the fence about it, but as long as the opt out exists I'm standing firmly against it.

I am actually really looking forward to this being implemented. Two questions:

1) Will I still be able to talk in guild chat with members as normal? I would think so.
2) Can I trade between my own SSF characters? As in, if I made a second or third character, is the 'solo' my account, or my character?

I really hope I can to both, and if so, am looking forward to it!

Edit:

Thinking about it... I really would like a Guild Guild Found option, but it would quickly get complicated with people joining and leaving guilds on occasion. I would even be happy to add restrictions if we could ever get a mode like that going (including restricting guild joins to L1 with no invnetory or something if needed).

I really really love this, because I love playing this game solo.
Although I am actually pretty new to this because I haven't actually REALLY gotten into PoE until last weekend, I have always played my RPGs solo. So I feel like this mode would be more rewarding to play in.

I do think it'd be nice to have more incentive for this mode though, like skins (microtransactions) for making it to a certain level, or achievements, and such.

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VarthDaver wrote:

2) Can I trade between my own SSF characters? As in, if I made a second or third character, is the 'solo' my account, or my character?

You can "trade" per stash: Characters in the same league on the same account have the same stash.

Sounds cool. Haven't played for 2 years, planned on coming back for 3.0, but I'll definitely check out 2.6. The way SSF will be implemented sounds perfect, just an optional mode with a separate ladder.

I really don't understand why anyone would want better drops or more currency in a SSF league. Granted, I haven't played for a long time, but from what I've seen the game has only become easier over time. There's really no need for better drops. If you want the best gear immediately you always have the option to trade for it. If not, take it slowly and farm it yourself. Yes, it will take way longer and your progress won't be nearly as fast as someone who trades, but that's exactly why SSF is so much fun!

Let's say I wanna play CoC Trickster with Cyclone or Shield Charge as trigger, in SSF I won't even be able to buy Cyclone or Shield Charge (can't trade, and not available for shadow from NPC) which is bad design, since Trickster is about Movement Skills and you can't buy any useful one by yourself. Another problem are build enabling uniques, increase drop rate or add some way to get them, or fancy builds gone be impossible until you get a item and then create new char (you cannot plan ahead, because you don't know what will drop and when)

This is by far my prefered playstyle, even though I am far from competitive and just play the game however I feel like playing it. Still, this is a great addition and I am glad you went for it.

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viszu wrote:

Let's say I wanna play CoC Trickster with Cyclone or Shield Charge as trigger, in SSF I won't even be able to buy Cyclone or Shield Charge (can't trade, and not available for shadow from NPC) which is bad design, since Trickster is about Movement Skills and you can't buy any useful one by yourself. Another problem are build enabling uniques, increase drop rate or add some way to get them, or fancy builds gone be impossible until you get a item and then create new char (you cannot plan ahead, because you don't know what will drop and when)

You are right on that gem thing. Although you can just mule the gems over with another character, but I know, it is tedious. Then those build enabling uniques: grind them. Yeah, you might not get lucky and get them, but quite many SSF players have gotten shavs and other T1 build enabling uniques. The whole idea of SSF is that you have to find/craft your own gear. Too bad if you dont get to play the one meta build you want play before you find the correct items.

It is odd for me to read comments about making it easier to go SSF and increase drop rates etc. The whole idea of going SSF is to create additional challenge for yourself. Not to get fancy items easier or some kind of preferential treatment so that one could play metabuilds without trading.

If you dont like hardship, dont play SSF and dont expect GGG to nerf the SSF experience for those players who want it to be challenging and play it for that reason.

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You are right on that gem thing. Although you can just mule the gems over with another character, but I know, it is tedious. Then those build enabling uniques: grind them. Yeah, you might not get lucky and get them, but quite many SSF players have gotten shavs and other T1 build enabling uniques. The whole idea of SSF is that you have to find/craft your own gear. Too bad if you dont get to play the one meta build you want play before you find the correct items.

It is odd for me to read comments about making it easier to go SSF and increase drop rates etc. The whole idea of going SSF is to create additional challenge for yourself. Not to get fancy items easier or some kind of preferential treatment so that one could play metabuilds without trading.

If you dont like hardship, dont play SSF and dont expect GGG to nerf the SSF experience for those players who want it to be challenging and play it for that reason.

Actually there is another reason to play SSF: I for example just don't like to interact with anyone in the game. I know, I should probably just play single player games, but I like the whole concept and style of POE (except the whole online thing). So for recluses like me (however weird we might seem to most others) either some built-in trading mechanic or (slightly) improved drop chances in exchange for being kept off the competitve player base would be perfect.

SO yeah, I do understand the people asking for improved drop chances in SSF to make the experience somewhat less tedious for anyone who likes to "beat" the game without having to grind for months.

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Bungeespider wrote:

Actually there is another reason to play SSF: I for example just don't like to interact with anyone in the game. I know, I should probably just play single player games, but I like the whole concept and style of POE (except the whole online thing). So for recluses like me (however weird we might seem to most others) either some built-in trading mechanic or (slightly) improved drop chances in exchange for being kept off the competitve player base would be perfect.

Let me get this straight, you want to be rewarded for being anti-social, when the game was designed to be a social experience? Doesn't this seem to go against the very nature of the game you're asking? That doesn't make much design sense for GGG to do. Although if they were trying to make SSF a popular way to play, it might be the right course of action -- right now it seems like GGG's intention is to provide a ladder for people that want to be recognized, e.g. bragging rights.

That being said, the game is a lot better solo experience than it used to be. Masters make it easy to round out your gear, and a lot of the skills have been buffed to the point that they will carry you into the end game as long as you cap your resistances. Solo doesn't really need a buff to be playable, or even streamlined. You just spend more time.

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Bungeespider wrote:

SO yeah, I do understand the people asking for improved drop chances in SSF to make the experience somewhat less tedious for anyone who likes to "beat" the game without having to grind for months.

Oh people asking for improved drops is very easy to understand. The question is whether or not improving drops is merited. On the surface the answer is "no" because the game can be played to completion without any outside assistance. What do I mean? I mean that you're perfectly capable of succeeding by yourself.

As long as SSF allows players to opt out at will I will stand against improving drops for SSF regardless of the reasoning. My reasoning is simple, as long as SSF remains an opt out mode, it will be possible to exploit SSF to create more currency for the players participating in it. This means that there will be bots in SSF rather than the leagues to exploit the increased drop rates. This kind of ruins the point of SSF.

So on two fronts the answer is "no". Drops don't need to be buffed for the game to be playable, and increasing the drops introduces new problems. If you take out the opt out then maybe the discussion will be more interesting. Because then it will be people that want a more challenging experience, versus those that want an easier experience. In that particular debate, I'm not sure where I stand.