Opinions differ about solo content in MMORPGs. Some say they’re responsible for their deaths, others say they’re saving the genre. We at MeinMMO summarize.
MMORPG stands for Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game – Yet many of you play alone. That’s what our previous surveys on the subject have shown, one in 2020, another in 2022.
In older MMORPGs you were lost without a party, or at least progressed very slowly. Today, the content can often just as easily be completed on your own. Whether this development is viewed positively or negatively for the genre as a whole varies greatly.
In this article, we refer to testimonies from various YouTubers as well as player comments. It’s important to know that it’s not about attacking someone personally for their playing style, it’s just about highlighting the arguments for and against solo content in MMORPGs.
“Solo players are killing MMORPGs”
For Youtuber NoblePlayers, it’s clear that solo players are responsible for the demise of the MMORPG genre. But not only the players, but also the developers, who are guided by their wishes.
According to NoblePlayer’s arguments, solo MMORPG players can just as easily switch to single player games like Skyrim and it wouldn’t change their experience. MMORPGs were not originally developed for solo players.
Meeting other players, going out together to face new challenges and exchanging ideas in guilds or groups are the actual core concept of MMORPGs.
For the YouTuber, the genre thrives on social aspects within guilds and groups that create a community that keeps players in the MMORPG. Players who are traveling alone, on the other hand, drop a game more quickly.
He blames solo players for the fact that, for example, his favorite MMORPG, Star Wars: The Old Republic, has “deteriorated” over the years as the developers increasingly bring the desired solo content instead of focusing on group content.
In the comments below the video, however, there is more contradiction than approval. Solo content would have changed the genre but not ruined it.
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“Solo players saved the genre”
The YouTuber Lucky Ghost comments extensively on the subject in a video. For him, solo players didn’t kill the genre, they saved it: “Solo content didn’t ruin MMORPGs, it keeps them relevant.”
According to our 2020 survey, a common reason for playing MMORPGs alone is that players want to explore the MMO worlds and content at their own pace and not have to coordinate with others.
If you then find people to gamble with, you can quickly lose them again due to different progress rates. “I was level 60 and everyone else was level 42 or something,” says Twitch streamer Asmongold, responding to Lucky Ghost’s video.
For many players, according to Lucky Ghost, the focus is on the main story, which is constantly being continued in MMORPGs when they receive updates. In a solo RPG, the story is over after a few hours and the game is over, which is why it is also worth playing MMORPGs for solo players to have more content. Thus, MMORPGs become an RPG that takes place online.
In addition, it used to be a big problem for some players to find groups. In games with a holy trinity of tank, healer, and damage dealer, the tank and healer could choose the best DDs for their groups and leave the others as most played a DD. Poorer DDs did not find a group. “While I was often preferred as a DPS and invited into groups, it wasn’t the case at other times,” confirms Asmongold.
Dungeon finders in modern MMORPGs solve this problem. Nobody has to deal too much with other players and nobody is left out. Now, friends without friends have an easier time finding groups for content and “no longer spend hours around town looking for fellow players.”
In general, MMORPGs with a lot of solo content are more successful, explains Lucky Ghost. He cites Lost Ark, New World and Final Fantasy XIV as examples. Thanks to this content, there are more players in MMORPGs because most prefer to play alone, as our poll results suggest.
So there are relevant arguments for both views. Which side would you join? Do you think solo players in MMORPGs will save the genre? Or are they responsible for her death? Are you currently playing MMORPGs and are you there alone or together with others? Do you generally prefer to play alone or with friends? Write it to us in the comments here on MeinMMO!
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