I usually like teams, but on more than one occasion I have been kicked from parties because I refused to revive people that were dying nonstop and just finished the level myself. I've also been kicked by someone that thought it was fun to kill me a few times while saying "umad." He kicked me at the end of the level, costing me my heat.

Aside from those rare occasions teams are fun.

So, what are the disadvantages of solo play?

Mmm well, you'll loose the social aspect of the game, repetitive grinding will be more boring, you'll become obsessed with making in-game $$ & that will become the only value you play Spiral Knights for. As well as when you start doing party runs your team play will be totally off & will come off as a jerkish player to most people, you're tolerance level will highly decrease to the point of using profanity & leaving the party to solo, you'll start becoming irritated when you don't get rare mats & they go to other players, you'll then become obsessed with UV & PvP only, and then finally you'll go on the forums & start complaining that SK is too easy & that you demand more content or you will quit.

* You get all the mats.
* No idiotic teammates with [special] gear, eh, like calibur, sudaruska or polaris.
* You can wear whatever you like.
* Challenge (Shock fiend arena at D28 in full skolver? sure thing!).
* No problem going AFK for a while or waiting a long time for the elevator to switch.
* Tons of pills and vitapods.

All I have to say is that those missions better live up to their names.

Or something bad is gonna happen...

It leaves you in almost complete control of the situation.

No allied Knockback forcing you to take evasive/defensive action, or turn your attack elsewhere. No others aggroing monsters away from you/into you, kiting monsters will be easier...

But you'll lose the support of allies should you not be able to handle on your own. And sometimes, that's all it takes for your HP to take a steep dive.

@Kitty-Softpaws
Why do I get the sense that your post was based off of the Direct TV Ad?

Basically

Pros
- No one to annoy you by being stupid. (Mist bomb/Polaris spam)
- Monsters have less HP. They die faster.
- They are also more predictable, because they are always targeting you.
- All the items (equipment included) go to YOU!

Cons
- You get killed, you gotta CE revive.
- Again, you are the target all of the time.
- If you get locked down via freeze-trap,
or something of the like, you're effectively dead.

All in all, I really do like soloing more than team-play.
This is more because of my playstyle's idea of defense being
"It's dead. It can't hurt you."

Then again, having two players means that you won't have to CE rev
on death. Actually yeah I like that more. Two players is nice.

Advantages

- Good way to practice (the more you solo the more likely you are to be able to hold your own in a party of 4)
- Enemies are easy to kill (they have less attack power and less health)
- Predictable enemies (you have all the aggro)
- More health for you (you don't have to share pills with teammates)
- Antisocial weapons (you can use Leviathan, Polaris, or Nitronome without pissing everyone off)
- Dependence on skill, and only skill (soloing is very consistent, you don't have to worry about teammates or anything)
- You get everything (materials and the occasional equipment drop)

Disadvantages

- Less heat (nobody else to donate anything)
- Less overall efficiency (a team utilizing a large variety of swords, guns, and bombs will have an advantage over a one-man army)
- You have all the aggro (if you're good then enemies should be predictable, but if you're not experienced then large mobs will be difficult to manage)
- Trojans are somewhat harder to kill (in a team, one guy can aggro while another kills it from behind)

Thats actually an interesting topic.

When you're in a party, your potential scales with how well you can cooperate. 2 people of the same skill level working in harmony will always be better than 1 person working alone; but 2 people working against each other is far worse than 1 person working alone.

So who works well together? Players of around the same skill level. As a T3 knight, I would have problems with being told how to play from a T1 knight, but when told a tip by a T3 players whom I respect, I'd be very likely to try what they were saying, especially on a run that was new to me. Similarly, T1 knights may get annoyed by me yelling at them to use their shield correctly.

I played CoD's multiplayer a while ago. It reminded me why I stick to SK.
I don't solo except when I want to test myself against a boss (Still have to beat Vana V_V I always die on the 5th stage!)

But many people have stated why solo is good/bad so I won't repeat any, I will say it's better just for mat grinding or giving yourself a challenge.

~The Mighty Cheese Knight; WeeGee

As a gunner it can be huge, as in my Sentenza now requires 2 clips or 9-10 shots to kill the same thing as one clip 5 shots only (no reload).

One fine day my right hand pointer finger is going to look like Chuck Norris on steroids hanging out with 4 other bums right off of the street.

Also @ above You get 4x as many crowns and heat.
You don't have to share hearts.

Both false, they already share. With the exception being the heat which is giftable in most situations anyhow and doesnt hold any static value.

You MAY wanna check Shoe's subject line...

In hindsight, thats a great idea!.

~Luke

You MAY wanna check Shoe's subject line...

I choose solo a lot of times. Its often quicker and easier to do it alone than having 3 "meh" people with you. I have no interest in carrying 3 4*'s trough Vanaduke, and i'd rather solo him than have 3 people flying off everything and aggroing everything the wrong way.

I do prefer duo/trio/full party with people i know and work well with and i know the party is effective.

@Tersakaff: LOL @the last one. Happened to me once the other week. *That moment when you know you're #%!ed*