Soloing

Remove all ads!

When you solo, do you level faster or at the same pace as with a party? I wasn't sure how XP was divided in this game.

 

XP is not really divided and everyone gets roughly the same amount. NPCs level with you. It has been reported that there may be a minor bonus to XP for the character who actually lands the killing blow. If that is indeed correct then it would mean soloing the game would net a little more XP.

I haven't so I can't really tell. One could try monitoring the XP bars of party members and find out how it works exactly. To be honest I haven't bothered doing it.

In game the only part in which you solo the game is in the Fade and your character gets all the XP and ends up ahead considering other characters but NPCs still get to level up with the main character no matter what.

 

I've done some soloing and never saw any real change between soloing my PC and running with a party. I have noticed that every so often, those who are not grouped with you do not tend to gather xp as swiftly, but they only end up a level behind at most.

To be honest, Omni, you really don't want to solo too much mainly because you get a good idea of what builds work best with which party member, how to best play them (an absolute must when boss fights come about and you need to think of battle strategies), to have good game play. Plus, having them around nets some pretty interesting party banter that really helps to flesh out the game and some of the conversations are just downright hilarious (i.e. Wynne's and Alistair's conversations when my warden and Alistair are having a romance).

Spoiler

Here's one convo that almost had me spitting out my drink it had me laughing so hard...

* Alistair: Why are you smiling like that? You look suspiciously like the cat who swallowed the pigeon.
* Wynne: Canary.
* Alistair: What?
* Wynne: I look like the cat that swallowed the canary.
* Alistair: I once had a very large cat, but that's not my point. My point is why are you smirking?
* Wynne: (Chuckles) You were watching her. With great interest, I might add. In fact, I believe you were...enraptured.
* Alistair: She's our leader. I look to her for guidance.
* Wynne: Oh, I see. So what guidance did you find in those swaying hips, hmm?
* Alistair: No no no, I wasn't looking at...you know her...hind-quarters
* Wynne: Certainly.
* Alistair: I gazed...glanced, in that direction, maybe, but I wasn't staring...or really seeing anything even.
* Wynne: Of course.
* Alistair: I hate you. You're a bad person.

Here's another hilarious one too that has me laughing quite a bit.

* Wynne: Alistair, may I have a word?
* Alistair: Of course, anything for my favouritest mage ever. ("second favorite mage" if warden is a mage)
* Wynne: It seems you and our fearless leader are inseparable these days. Joined at the hip, almost.
* Alistair: That's a bit of an overstatement, don't you think?
* Wynne: Well then, now that you're in an intimate relationship, you should learn about where babies really come from.
* Alistair: Pardon?
* Wynne: I know the Chantry says you dream about your babies and the good Fade spirits take them out of the Fade and leave them in your arms...but that's not true. Actually what happens is that when a girl and a boy really love each other --
* Alistair: Andraste's flaming sword! I know where babies come from!
* Wynne: Do you? Do you really?
* Alistair: I certainly hope so.
* Wynne: Oh, all right then. Aww, look, you're all red and mottled. How cute.
* Alistair: You did that on purpose!
* Wynne: Now, now Alistair, why would I do such a thing?
* Alistair: Because you're wicked. That frail old lady act? I'm so not fooled. I'm on to you now.

 

You do get a slight XP bonus if you deliver the last blow. My nuker does most of the killing up until the trip to Lothering, and he has a slight edge in XP over my other builds. Nothing significant, around half a bar or so. Not sure if this improves past Lothering.

As long as you solo for the challenge then I see no harm in it. It's when someone uses soloing to justify that x > y that it becomes a mere fireworks display. Sure you can use a solo to prove that something is powerful, just remember that no amount of soloing will ever change the fact that Spirit Healer > anything else in a party setting. Soloing involves a completely different type of gameplay.

 

soloing would be insane. you have to have a party for some of the boss battles. i fought the high dragon just today with a well equipped part and we got wiped the first try. second try, my main who I outfitted with the best accessorys (using the 360 infinite gold cheat) dies in the first 30 seconds. (got eaten)

Seems like you'd need to be ranged to even have a chance.

 

In this game soloing is clearly a challenge. In others games you could solo and grind so much XP that encounters would end up actually being easier with a high level solo character than with a lower level party.

I'm pretty sure this can be done (some players have done it already, Olimikrig has posted some pictures of his Nightmare solo in his album).

Having a slightly different character build for a solo is of course a necessity.

A Dexterity based Rogue (Dwarf preferably for magic resistance) would probably work out, grab can be a real pain though. For a Warrior a Sword and Shield type would probably have enough staying power to survive although a Two Handed weapon specialist would avoid being stunned thanks to Indomitable. Mages would have to focus on certain lines for damaging spells and crowd control but after getting a few levels it would probably get easier (no need to worry too much about friendly fire when you're on your own).

Rogues can use Stealth and that is a huge advantage over other classes for a solo run. Especially if you're not going to use other characters to craft bombs, traps or potions for your main.

 

Rogues are the best bet because they can go into stealth and you gain 2 skill points each level which can be used to help create bombs, posions, etc...

 

You get one skill point every two levels with a Rogue and every three levels with a Warrior or a Mage.

 

I was actually thinking of soloing more for RP experience of a character that's pissed off at everyone (screwed over by friends, family and even Loghain). At the very most I would take Alistair (and I would probably be a human noble warrior or dwarf noble warrior - the game seems to have been built for nobles, and dwarves even moreso (biggest origin, biggest quest to get an army).

Also, my favorite party banter is Morrigan and Sten... "Qunari teeth can bite through leather..." you know how it goes I'm sure.

 

That is what I meant.. I every two level...

 

I've soloed an Arcane warrior, an archer rogue and a DW rogue on nightmare, and I didn't find it that difficult (though there are a few really tough fights). Haven't done a warrior, but can't see why it shouldn't be doable.

But rogues get beaten to a bloody pulp if they get overwhelmed or grabbed. Besides warriors who go the Templar route can easily achieve 100% spell resistance.

 

I don't know #'s in this game very well since they are pretty much hidden from me (no specifics in the tooltips), thus I won't likely find myself becoming immune to magic unless I randomly stumble upon it. But most of the fights aren't hard and this is a purely RP trip, I may end up duo-ing it with allistair (dual sword and boarders champions/tamplars). Should be interesting.

 

That much is true. Having a maxed out defence doesn't help when it comes to grab and the lower HP makes it hard for a Rogue to survive these attacks.

A solo Rogue would probably have to resort to devious almost cheesy tactics to survive (not that it wouldn't be out of character though as a Rogue should use devious tactics to survive).

Check the modlist, the detailed tooltips may help you out and there is a mod that lists the bonus from item sets.

If you intend to play with Alistair then having other characters in the camp to craft items for you will save you from investing too much in traps, poisons or herbalism. A Rogue would complement Alistair's skills very nicely.

 

Actually expecting a pretty empty camp, if I go human noble, me allistair and bodhan/army + dog, if dwarf, no dog.

The fights might be slightly dull being twin sword and boarders, but honestly, I kinda want to see if I can screw around with some NPC's pushing them around (shield bashes) for laughs .