With the introduction of the new Shadow Lairs, Depth 23 is a very popular place. However, it is frustrating to be assembling a party, only to have two of your friends or guild members "go solo" and restrict your party. Now you are restricted with only half a party for Vanaduke or a Shadow Lair. You can attempt to recover at Depth 24 with Vanaduke, but it's impossible with a Shadow Lair. However, most people are not interested in joining Vanaduke mid-run since the rewards diminish.

Allowing players to "go solo" was an important addition to keep the game fair. It prevents a lot of grief and allows players to recover from many unpleasant situations without loosing their energy investment. However, players who have recently joined at a Clockworks Terminal have not spent energy should not be entitled to a "go solo" option. For these players, returning to Haven leaves them just as well off as they were before. While I'm not arguing to prevent travelers to part ways at a terminal, I don't believe that Three Rings Design should encourage abuse at the expense of an existing party.

I would like to request that knights who join a group at a Clockworks Terminal have the "go solo" option removed and allow parties at the Clockworks Terminal to continue to accept new players. By removing the "go solo" option from knights who have spent no energy, knights looking to join the group can do so without concern, while grifters looking for a quick split will be forced to decide between Haven and the current run. Players who have contributed may split the party according to the current rules and only once each, and all parties formed this way may still be filled by inviting new players.

This doesn't prevent a group from splitting for friends as the party leader can invite and then "go solo." It also doesn't prevent people from leaving after they have invested energy. It even leaves everyone who has spent energy in the position of escaping an awful party, as they can go solo and become a party leader (or someone else will leave and become party leader). It might only push the problem down a level, causing players to split after the Clockworks Terminal. However, provided the boss run is providing diminishing returns, they probably won't.