Snakespeare
10-28-2011, 12:04 PM
I have been trying to figure out why the game gets so discouraging for solo players like me after a certain level. I made some rash statements in chat, but this morning I did some testing.
GRANTED, this game is not intended for solo play. It's a group game. That's what one of the Ms in MMO stands for. However, I do play solo because PUGs are horrible (a different topic) and I only get about 45 minutes a day, if I choose to use my commute for such frivolity.
So here are some statistics I garnered, feel free to add your own. My conclusion is that, at higher levels, elixirs are required to reflect the play experience of the lower levels.
method: taking my twinks into their "next level" (i.e. a level 20 in fathom crypt I).
level 1 archer in FH1 (armor 3/dodge 1), after 20 hits from a fire axe zombie, 1/3rd of his hp down.
level 10 archer in DF1 (armor 19/dodge 3), after 20 hits his xp is down 1/2
level 15 tank in BC1 (forest chain armor 27/dodge 4), after 20 hits her xp is down 1/3rd
level 20 paladin in FC1 (armor 39/dodge 5), negligible damage after 20 hits
level 25 tank in LE1 (armor w/ vyx 51/dodge 8), negligible damage after 20 hits even from the dude with the big 2-h sword
level 30 tank in AS1 (iceberg armor 74/dodge 10), again negligible after 20 hits
so... that's the lower levels. I have a level 35 mage twink that I took in AO1 but she only had 30 armor and 5 dodge, being a mage. I also didn't count the full onyx level 25 mage in LE1 who dies after 5 hits. full onyx gave only 21 armor. basically, mages have to deal a lot of damage to compensate for taking so much, and I was not hitting back.
so... on to the higher levels where the xp is very slow and the damage you can cause is reduced... amazingly, the damage you take is increased
level 50 paladin in BS1 (armor 72!!!/dodge 10) dies from 3 shots from an archer.
level 52 tank, however, uses BS gear (armor 136/dodge 18) and is down half after 20 hits from an archer
I conclude, therefore, that "next level" players in BS are at a disadvantage until they acquire at least orange gear from the map itself. And non-tanks need 2x tanker ale to have a play experience that is similar to the game as they knew it at lower levels.
level 55 archer in NC1 (BS pink armor 85/dodge 6) dies after 7 hits from a headphone zombie. Again, at least a 2x tanker ale is necessary to simulate the play experience of the previous levels.
Overall, I conclude that FOR SOLO PLAY tanker ale is needed by non-tanks in BS and NC, the free elixir is a 5 minute demonstration of this fact. I have used the gold 1.5x elixirs also and find them adequate for solo play, but have a lot of pots as always.
It's free to play, and you CAN do it with gold elixirs, but the game is certainly set up to encourage elixir usage at higher levels. (As a side note, the XP you need scales as you advance which is also a detriment to solo play since the XP in PUGs comes in about 5 times as fast. This similarly causes a need for xp elixirs which the free elixir effectively demonstrates, too.)
I didn't include boss fights because that's not really the topic. This is about elixir need and armor efficacy versus mobs at high levels.
So that's it. It's not a solo game, but if you want to play solo, expect to use elixirs at the high levels. Otherwise, just play your twinks.
GRANTED, this game is not intended for solo play. It's a group game. That's what one of the Ms in MMO stands for. However, I do play solo because PUGs are horrible (a different topic) and I only get about 45 minutes a day, if I choose to use my commute for such frivolity.
So here are some statistics I garnered, feel free to add your own. My conclusion is that, at higher levels, elixirs are required to reflect the play experience of the lower levels.
method: taking my twinks into their "next level" (i.e. a level 20 in fathom crypt I).
level 1 archer in FH1 (armor 3/dodge 1), after 20 hits from a fire axe zombie, 1/3rd of his hp down.
level 10 archer in DF1 (armor 19/dodge 3), after 20 hits his xp is down 1/2
level 15 tank in BC1 (forest chain armor 27/dodge 4), after 20 hits her xp is down 1/3rd
level 20 paladin in FC1 (armor 39/dodge 5), negligible damage after 20 hits
level 25 tank in LE1 (armor w/ vyx 51/dodge 8), negligible damage after 20 hits even from the dude with the big 2-h sword
level 30 tank in AS1 (iceberg armor 74/dodge 10), again negligible after 20 hits
so... that's the lower levels. I have a level 35 mage twink that I took in AO1 but she only had 30 armor and 5 dodge, being a mage. I also didn't count the full onyx level 25 mage in LE1 who dies after 5 hits. full onyx gave only 21 armor. basically, mages have to deal a lot of damage to compensate for taking so much, and I was not hitting back.
so... on to the higher levels where the xp is very slow and the damage you can cause is reduced... amazingly, the damage you take is increased
level 50 paladin in BS1 (armor 72!!!/dodge 10) dies from 3 shots from an archer.
level 52 tank, however, uses BS gear (armor 136/dodge 18) and is down half after 20 hits from an archer
I conclude, therefore, that "next level" players in BS are at a disadvantage until they acquire at least orange gear from the map itself. And non-tanks need 2x tanker ale to have a play experience that is similar to the game as they knew it at lower levels.
level 55 archer in NC1 (BS pink armor 85/dodge 6) dies after 7 hits from a headphone zombie. Again, at least a 2x tanker ale is necessary to simulate the play experience of the previous levels.
Overall, I conclude that FOR SOLO PLAY tanker ale is needed by non-tanks in BS and NC, the free elixir is a 5 minute demonstration of this fact. I have used the gold 1.5x elixirs also and find them adequate for solo play, but have a lot of pots as always.
It's free to play, and you CAN do it with gold elixirs, but the game is certainly set up to encourage elixir usage at higher levels. (As a side note, the XP you need scales as you advance which is also a detriment to solo play since the XP in PUGs comes in about 5 times as fast. This similarly causes a need for xp elixirs which the free elixir effectively demonstrates, too.)
I didn't include boss fights because that's not really the topic. This is about elixir need and armor efficacy versus mobs at high levels.
So that's it. It's not a solo game, but if you want to play solo, expect to use elixirs at the high levels. Otherwise, just play your twinks.