Group play vs solo play

Most people quickly discover that if you are playing PG it pays to be able to solo. If you can easily play solo you get all the xp and all the loot; therefore social advantages aside solo play is better against non elite monsters. We had a good discussion about this a few nights ago on discord. When was the last time you joined a group in the goblin dungeon or wolf cave? Note this is not the same thing as inviting someone for boss runs - but inviting them to xp with you for 30-60 minutes as you grind monsters.

Having the xp split between players means people are less likely to group. I hate this so much. The end result becomes group play = elites only.

For me and several of my friends group play is what makes the game fun.


Could we try a period where grouping does not suck up more xp as you add more players (or maybe at a reduced rate)? At the very least could we try 2 players in a group = no xp reduction?


This would be good for the game while we have limited area space for everyone to fight all the same monsters.
People would be more likely to keep playing if they can do the same content with a friend.

The obvious downside is that people would level up faster - but there is already a mechanism for that as level progress is gated by money unlocks. If you group and level up faster you get less loot so you reach the level gate slower.

Outside of the dayly it is mostly solo, it's mostly those cool little boss kills inside dungeons that people group for, those boss's can curse you and sometimes new people can be heard inside asking for a group, sometimes getting a group in the goblin dungeon to get to that faery that has to do with her sister.

When i did some dungeons with groups the loot was amazing compared to the solo, im not sure if that has been nerfed yet or is currently shadow nerfed because i couldn't find it in the patch notes.
Isn't that the pay off for doing the dungeons? elites and loot with less exp?
If youre an elite outside of a dungeon you get a special name.
What would be the point of solo stuff after this if solo is just everyone in a dungeon, what happens to the lands and critters in the above world where npc's live, like a bleak boring world where the exp is trash and so is the loot now.

It would be nice to see those Layers for dungeons, there could be a number of them and you could hop between them, basically the same dungeon copy pasted that people could use if the other is full of people, i have had strong players come through where i was grinding and straight up take over the area, pushing me out to do something else, like logoff after setting my hangout.
Some barrel through grabbing chests every 3 hours to level their augmenting skills and get gems after they spend the last month unlocking it.smh

My favorite part of MMO's is group hunting. I wish this game had more group hunting. I wish it was more apart of the core experience but alas it is not. This game can be played entirely solo. In fact, I have done most of the levels to 70+ on many different skills entirely solo. I've come to the realization that... it just doesn't compare and how I yearn for engaging group content, mostly group hunts... FR has some of that in the form of the dailies which I do enjoy, the problem is finding groups.. or people who want to group hunt. I was having fun hunting the droaches and war trolls in FR with a little group.. but that is few and far in between. Most people don't have an incentive to group hunt.. especially if they are capped on their combat skills. Why do it? Now hunting as a group in GK can be rewarding in that its a dungeon so more gear drops and gear is fun to hunt after or an easy way to make a quick dollar but out door group hunting? There isn't really much of a reason too outside of a daily.

Anyway I'm not sure my post had anything to do with yours outside of being about groups but... eh.. its about groups so I thought i'd chime in.

tldr; I wish more of PG revolved around group play and there was more incentive to group hunt in the outdoor world of PG...

To be honest I do not even bother logging in anymore unless my close group of friends wants to do something together. Playing Project Gorgon solo tends to put me to sleep lol.

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Originally Posted by Glythe

Having the xp split between players means people are less likely to group. I hate this so much. The end result becomes group play = elites only. ...

Could we try a period where grouping does not suck up more xp as you add more players (or maybe at a reduced rate)? At the very least could we try 2 players in a group = no xp reduction?
...
The obvious downside is that people would level up faster - but there is already a mechanism for that as level progress is gated by money unlocks. If you group and level up faster you get less loot so you reach the level gate slower.

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I'm not sure how many people are aware, but as a group, there is no XP reduction. The XP is being split between party members, and the party members are earning a combined XP value that's higher than if monsters were defeated by a solo player. The numbers may be outdated by now (this was before the reduction in group size), but this is what Citan said the last time someone asked:

1 person: 100% of the monster's XP value
2 people: 125% total (split two ways)
3 people: 133% total
4 people: 150% total
5 people: 166% total
6 people: 175% total
7 people: 190% total
8-10 people: 200% total

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Originally Posted by BetaNotus

I'm not sure how many people are aware, but as a group, there is no XP reduction. The XP is being split between party members, and the party members are earning a combined XP value that's higher than if monsters were defeated by a solo player. The numbers may be outdated by now (this was before the reduction in group size), but this is what Citan said the last time someone asked:

1 person: 100% of the monster's XP value
2 people: 125% total (split two ways)
3 people: 133% total
4 people: 150% total
5 people: 166% total
6 people: 175% total
7 people: 190% total
8-10 people: 200% total

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That's the exp penalty they're talking about. If 2 players split 125% of the exp, that means they only receive 62.5% experience each, compared to the 100% experience they would get playing alone.

Well when you are grouped with people you also go through enemies faster and with less down time than just by yourself.

The reality for PG is that level caps are gated by money more than anything else. Leveling up faster in a group means you will hit that cap faster. Leveling up solo means you have more loot (and skinned/deskulled monsters) so you have more money when you hit the cap.

There are limited areas in this game and a high level in a low area earns lots of xp quickly. Maybe the xp penalty we need is when you have a high level player power leveling a low level character - but if the characters in a group are within 10 levels there is no penalty?

Encouraging grouping helps promote the super awesome social aspect of this game. There are unfortunately not many zones in this game and you can 'ruin' a zone for many people accidently if you are a high level in a low level. It is not your fault the game makes you go there. I would make a lot more friends if randomly inviting people did not take away xp. And everyone would benefit more if there were rolling groups in every dungeon - instead of forcing them to play solo for most of the content.

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Originally Posted by drivendawn

Well when you are grouped with people you also go through enemies faster and with less down time than just by yourself.

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Once you get to a certain point in the game you level up faster solo. I can solo trolls in WN and yea someone else helps me kill them but I get more xp/time alone. Considering I also get more loot alone - if I can solo something easily I should (at least that is what the mechanics currently dictate).