I almost always solo.
The only times I play with someone else are when:
1. A new player needs help with missions or the arcade
2. I'm farming RT - I can never kill the boss on my own
So, why shouldn't I play solo? Besides the two things listed above, why shouldn't I play with a party?
Solo gets pretty boring for me. Yeah, it's better than incompetent randoms but I'd rather play with friends or guild members, makes it a bit more enjoyable (and tolerable doing the same things all the time)
Splitting the cost of shadow lairs (or making friends with rich people who will take you for free.. oh I didn't say that lol)
When more difficult content is around and it makes more sense for people to actually team up (ok, even if you can solo them, there are still good players who can't/don't want to and are worth teaming up with). I made the most new friends when Apocrea and Grinchlin Assault were first around.
1. I don't really care.
2. I am too. So?
3. They don't drop more loot, but they are more difficult.
4. AFKers everywhere = Less crowns. There's always someone who only loads several minutes after I reach a party button or AFKs. (And sometimes I have to AFK, and when I'm solo, nobody is bothered or slowed down)
5. This isn't saying why parties are better than solos, it says why one kind of party is better than another kind of party.
6. This is relating to my reasons for me to party in the OP. Skipping this.
7. People randomly spinning and generating SoL Energy Blasts are only fun to watch for so long.
You should play in a party if you have friends. If you have no friends than play solo.
If you play this game solo at this point just for the sake of money, you are doing something wrong with your life. Work a job, spend $100 (like 12 hrs total), and get all the stuff you need that way. Don't waste countless hours farming vanaduke for some useless item. Unless you really like being lonely
Read the wiki article Party --- especially the last section. The main advantage is more minerals. A smaller advantage (to me) is more chance to reach the elevator. And there's a huge psychological advantage of fun, if you find other people fun.
No, larger parties do not earn more crowns. And you can no longer revive your teammates with health. There have been a lot of complaints about that.
More minerals?
Most people take a mineral I don't need. I already have several hundred Dark Matter and Luminite, and nobody else seems to need sprite food...
Really? I usually can get quite a price for sprite food. The key is not to use the AH, but rather trade chat. That way, the buyer will tell you what tier of sprite food they need, and are more likely to buy it in bulk.
...That's exactly what I do, I use trade chat.
Nobody really cares.
For making sprite food, it helps to be in a guild with other players of a similar level. You make whatever star-level of food you need, in all three colors. Then you execute in-kind trades with your guildmates. This is much better than just saying, "I have a seraphynx, so I'm going to ignore all non-yellow minerals."
In practice things are a little more complicated, because you want 3-star food and they want 4-star food, etc. But if they're close friends or guildmates then you can sort it out quickly.
My guildmates aren't interested in Sprite Food either.
(And yes, I always take minerals, even if there isn't the kind I need.)
Vana do you solo about every boss dungeon? (Except RT)
Do you do Danger Missions and solo them?
Yes, I solo bosses (besides RT).
From a purely winning perspective, the reason you play with others is to screen for the one or two other people that don't suck at the game. With them, you can just about double if not triple your profits in the arcade, and make even the toughest of situations farmable.
Tbh, if you're going to be playing SK for the single player experience, then go play something like YS or just about any Legend of Zelda game for a better experience.
Not to sound rude but... get a friend. I don't mean this as some sort of insult. I genuinely mean, get a friend. SK becomes a lot more fun with at least one reliable person at your side.
From a pure damage standpoint it's more efficient to run with more players. If my understanding is correct enemy health increases 33% for each player after the first, bosses included. Assuming everyone is playing offensively with similar gear, it would be fair to expect roughly the same DPS from each of them.
Group damage : Enemy health = Relative efficiency
100:100 = 1x
200:133 = 1.5x
300:166 = 1.8x
400:200 = 2x
Playing with other players of similar ability and gear is straight more efficient than soloing. This is where the friends list or guild comes in most handy.
I agree with what Kneeanderthal has said above.
Who plays solo? ( unless you find FSC fun on solo after the first 9999+ runs ) If you're farming by yourself, it's boring, it's lonely and it's a waste of time. 150ce/hour avg ( 1.5 runs ). Work a job, lets use Kneeanderthal's example, 12 hours roughly translates to $100 on minimum wage. 12 hours farming on solo, doing repetitve things for 12 hours, just like what working requires, gets you 1800ce, and that's not minimum farming wages, that's max at FSC, right?
At least when you're playing with someone else ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°), it's fun. Games aren't jobs, so stop treating it like one. Play them for fun.
Because MMOs are not a good source of self-achievement and there's no reason to play otherwise.
I already figured, without merchanting and just farming you don't earn much over minimum wage. This game is about fun, not loot. At least, most of the time.
this can be interpreted either way, but my experience with SK can be trimmed down to three chronological points:
-Learn basics, tutorial and such
-Spend a considerable amount of time grinding for shiny stuff
-Eventually run out of stuff to grind for and get involved with community
It's all about whether or not you decide to be extrovertive. Soloing missions is a good way of training yourself, while joining a party is good for community involvement, maybe guidance of newer members and such. Also a good excuse to heat lower-level weapons.
Social acceptance?
I figure that would be a reason. I'm not capable of soloing yet, so I can't understand your strength.
I like to play with others because it makes the job easier and faster to me. More people killing mobs faster and in multiple locations...or dividing up the damage over 4 people.
But then there are those connection issues and lag as well...
Whether or not it's actually a good enough reason for you is quite frankly your ideals.
You find others annoying as hell? There's that solo meta.
You need friendship power? There's that group to do...things...to one specific person. *Ahem*...
To be honest, I just want to know which way pays the most in crowns.
solo runs or Group assaults.
Because if you're going to play single-player, there are thousands of other superior single-player experiences out there with subtiantially less lag and grinding.
If you're lucky you might make amazing friends like that one guy who always goes afk without saying so and that one chick who has really poor english and can't hold a proper conversation with you.
you forgot the guy who dies every 2 minutes and complains for sparks!
I usually only do group runs if its a guild run, otherwise I run solo.
-Witelite
When you're party leader you can troll with Nitronome spam...
Why not to solo:
1. Honestly I hate soloing, because it's lonely
2. 100% of the time I am at 1 bar with lag (I fell in love with SK before I realized. I can't stop now)
3. I heard a rumor about enemies dropping more loot and being more difficult. (Could totally be false though, don't hurt me)
4. More people attacking, faster runs for crowns if everyone is skilled to a certain degree
5. Guild runs are like, the best thing invented. I mean everyone knows each other and what weapons you have and how terrible you are, so you don't have to explain yourself all day to strangers.
6. C'mon it's fun to watch newbies struggle a little bit. "What does this key do?" *stands around for 10 minutes trying to figure it out* *Vanguard dies of laughter*
7. Parties aren't called parties for nothing.
Why to solo and not play in a party:
1. Faster speed runs because you only have to wait for yourself
2. You won't be embarrassed if you die a lot (That chronic 1 bar death though)
3. People who solo tend to be amazing (Well...)
Parties for life. Also this list is more geared towards me and my internet.