Forced Into Solo Play – But Solo Play Is Impossible

[Saint_Tan]

I am (happily) addicted to Warframe.  I’ve shown my love and support with my wallet (near $400 on a ‘free’ game) and my time (if I’m PC gaming, then its Warframe.)

 

Yes, the game is still a work in progress.

 

Yes, I have previously voiced my concerns on what I feel should be fixed/addressed. 

 

But now I am experiencing a problem that isn’t just a bug or ‘wish list fix’.

 

Single player play (while online – hoping for others to join in) is becoming more and more of a (forced) reality, while single player play is also becoming more and more impossible to finish a level.

 

Maybe players are all doing the new Void missions.  (I’m still trying to clear out the remaining ‘yellow’ planets/systems.)  Maybe the player base is just migrating to other games/things.  But what I do know is:

 

Recently, going online and clicking on a planet to play co-op with others is a difficult task.  I can click on 10-12 planets before finding one that warps me into a game. (I’m currently trying to round out all the upper missions, so tonight I have been hitting Pluto.  I can’t find a single game with others – or start one that others join).

 

So that leaves me having to play solo.  Okay, no problem.  I like the single ninja theme.

 

But FORGET IT.

 

The levels are clearly NOT set to scale the difficulty to the number of players currently in game.  By map tile 2, not only am I swarmed with 8-10 Infested Chargers (blue dog things), but my uber-moded Gorgon (mini gun) somehow requires at least HALF A CLIP to kill just one Charger!!! Hence, I’m over whelmed and killed by map tile 3.  Um, that is not a challenge, that is frustration.

 

PLEASE, I would love to play with others to work through the levels, BUT if the players are simply not there to join in, then you have got to make the missions possible for a single player. Otherwise I am trapped to never progress beyond Saturn – and am held hostage due to the lack of other players who want to play the EXACT same planet/mission at the EXACT same time as I do.

 

PLEASE SCALE THE DIFFICULTY BY THE AMOUNT OF PLAYERS CURRENTLY IN GAME.

 

***

 

As an aside, it would be oh so handy to have a “join game in this system” button.  You simply click on say, the Jupiter version of this button, and it will automatically warp you to any random game in progress that has room for one more player.  That would certainly save lots of time (and sanity) from ‘planet hopping’ to find a ‘live’ game.  Just a thought.

 

Beyond that – keep up the great work.

 

Tenno

[Namacyst]

Never had any problem doing any mission on any planet with any warframe and any weapon setting. Maybe it's you and not the game difficulty?

[Satwo]

1. there is a scale in difficulty already in place based on number of players. mob spawn rates are very slow in single player compared to multiplayer. if you stand in one place for 2 minutes, obviously you wont notice the difference, but if you were killing mobs and moving through you would notice. kappa is the most obvious sign of this feature, as if you go in alone, end result shows statisticly fewer mobs got slaughtered compared to any multiplayer run.

2. 8-10 chargers rushing at me, my instinct tells me 'theres stuff right in my face, swing mah melee'. i dont rush to my primary when something is biting my ankles personally. you should try that out.

3. im not convinced that your gorgon is 'uber-modded' if it takes 45 bullets to kill a lvl 40 charger.

im sorry to say it, but i believe your cry for help is in vain.

Edited June 13, 2013 by Satwo

[NotBot]

Solo games aren't that hard.

 

I recommend getting Ash or Loki, and using and abusing stealth.

Shade is also very useful for solo games, as are most sentinels.

Also, make sure to level that Damage mod/Multishot, as any weapon tends towards garbage status if you don't have them.

But, the main thing is getting some in-game friends to do missions with, if you have so much trouble.

 

Heck, if you can catch me when I'm on I could try to help you.

[Sumnus]

It greatly depends on your Warframe, but I agree, it should scale at least a little. You could always solo lower difficulty maps, since those scale. They've been busy with E3, and this has been brought up numerous times before. All in good time, i'm sure they'll flesh out some of these types of fixes.

[YummyBubbles]

what's the mod setup on your gorgon? and what rank are said mods?

 

The only reason I ask because just off the top of my head, I'd want a few set mods for it. Easiest to get is whatever element the faction your fighting is weak against, middle few are: fast hands, serration, and piercing hit. Hardest to get would be: metal auger, split chamber and thunderclap.

 

Just a few thoughts

Edited June 13, 2013 by Codekid

[unmog]

I wouldnt mind difficulty in spawns and such being based on amount of people. Sure it could be easier for 1 guy, and maybe MUCH more spawns of higher dudes for a full group of 4. Think of the delicious loot~ :)

[Ghobe]

The problem is with you not the game. Every single mission in the game is possible with the correct load-out. If you're getting taken out by chargers I recommend Dual Ether/Heat Swords with killing blow and reflex coil mods. If you refuse to do this selection and are stubborn in your choice of using a gun, then you MUST learn the weak-point(hint: it's probably not what you're thinking). Second, we all know this is an issue but bolt type weapons are the end-game gun of choice strictly due to enemy armor/resistance values at the higher levels. Gorgon is not a bolt type weapon. Although Gorgon is amazing for boss and elite killing, it's lackluster against trash.

 

I'm going to blame this issue on your load-out/skill level.

 

However, if you want to play with others, I suggest you find the setting in your options limiting your connection to xxx ms and set it to unlimited. This will not completely fix it, but it will open up more options. Though I'll back you on your belief that just about everyone is in the void/playing defense to wave 5/10.

 

P.S. You can not approach a solo-run the same way you approach a 4-man run.

Edited June 13, 2013 by Ghobe

[Carcharias]

Without a detailed load out of your frame the mods you have, weapons and the mods they have, and which system you are on, there is no way for me to tell if you're in over your head or not. I would respectfully suggest you examine your strategies though as I have put over 100 hours into solo play on this game and have not had a problem to date. Yes every now and then I do get stun-locked to death by the infested, but not too often. Then again I almost never shoot the chargers, runners, or anything else that is not an ancient. To me the infested levels are the place when melee shines. Get a hard hitting melee with some reach that doesn't get interrupted too easy. (Gram, Orthos with furry, or even hate with furry and reach) Walk, leap, roll, and jump into the fray mashing your E button, use abilities as needed, kite and shoot ancients.  -Fin-

Edited June 13, 2013 by Carcharias

[Feneckus]

I know what you mean, it's nearly impossible to find a public game right now. I assume it's because everyone is playing within their clan. I suggest you find one if you haven't already. I'm sure you'll find people to help you out.

And solo play is definitely possible. You probably just don't have the right equipment/tactics.

[Pendragon1951]

With my lvl30 Ember I have done Io on Jupiter solo, I have a gorgon-30 fully moded and the type of map that is on all you have to do is stand above the pod on the crates and fire down on the infested from there. There is also a trick to this, don't waste your ammo on the Runners, all they do is explode and do no damage, which is quite comical to watch. Only kill the Chargers and Leapers, normaly the Ancients don't show up till late in wave 4 and early wave 5. You also have to know your limits as well, I have only gone as far as wave 10, because after wave 10 they start throwing Toxic Ancients at you and we all know how fast the pod dies if they get close. Just a thought to keep in mind. My load out for my Gorgon is...Split Chamber 15, Serration 9, Cryo Round 8 Piercing Hit 9 Hellfire 9 for Infested and Stormbringer 9 for everyone else.

[unmog]

My load out for my Gorgon is...Split Chamber 15, Serration 9, Cryo Round 8 Piercing Hit 9 Hellfire 9 for Infested and Stormbringer 9 for everyone else.

Rawr dude... just rawr, Id kill for a split chamber. Sad thing is I need 2, one for my companion cube. *sigh*

[Saint_Tan]

Thanks for the quick replies!  Agree or disagree, I do appreciate hearing what others think/encounter.

 

Okay, no secret – I am not the best Warframer out there! (haha).  But I am loyal!  (And I have $ to pump into the project.)

 

I am still trying to play an (online) game with others tonight, but no one is around, so I end up being the only player.  I get swamped by enemies.  Truly, I can’t make it past map tile 4 tonight on Pluto.  Dumb luck?  Sad skills? 

 

Maybe what I should be asking for is a general game difficulty setting I can adjust to "easy" or something.

 

Honestly, I’m putting 50+ Gorgon rounds directly into a Chargers face, before it even flinches.  Then there are the other 6 or 7 – and that is on map tile 2!! (For the record, my Gorgon is rank 30.  I’m sure I don’t have the "number-crunching perfect combo" of mods, but the slots are full, so that should be more than enough I would think.)

 

If I am going to be pigeon-holed into taking a very (singularly) specific load out just to have a chance at achievement, then I ask: why bother with offering so many different Warframe/weapons? To my mind, it should always be possible to succeed with any combo.

 

Ok, I guess I suck, because I don’t have the skills to deal with the upper levels/planets.  I will have to accept that.  But the frustration sets in.  I know this is a ‘fantasy game’, but honestly – whether you are an accounting geek, or a mixed martial arts fighter – a bullet to the face will still drop you all the same.  Artificially increasing difficulty by allowing enemies to absorb SO MANY rounds before death is just crazy.

 

An no, I don’t want to just run/rush through the level to escape them.  If they are giving us enemies, then I want to take them on.

 

I guess I will bow down to the general consensus that the difficulty is fine, and I am just an old man who isn’t smart/fast enough to beat these upper levels.  I get it.

 

Shame, but I will go with the flow and end my complaint here.

 

Thanks for the feedback!  Truly!

[DAWGUNITALPHA]

The comments here bring up an issue with solo play though. With multiplayer virtually any loadout works. You can play however you want and have fun. But solo you basically require specific mod, weapon and frame setups.

[unmog]

Well I'll send you a friend invite Saint, I dont mind playing with ya and helping you out. :) Lets hope the name is the same as on the game.

[Pendragon1951]

@Saint_Tan just to give you some hope, I am 62 and it was actually I who got my son into playing Warframe as well. Just this evening I used my Mag Lvl 14 with my Gorgon and took on Ambulas and one revive later he was dead, so it is possible for a "old" man to have fun solo. What I do is if I have a new frame or weapon I go straight to Caloris on Mercury to test it out and get myself familiar, there are a set number of bad guys so you can keep track of what your doing. Just keep playing you will get better, trust me I know:)

[TheHeraldXII]

Eh, I've never had an issue with the difficulty of solo play, having done solo runs with an Excal, Loki, Rhino and an Ember all using different loadouts (none with multishot I might add), so it's not an issue of using specific loadouts or mods, I just used what looked cool and what mods I picked up that playthrough. From that I can say that the issue is one of player skill, not mods and that it doesn't require any sort of specific setup. As such I totally agree that there needs to be a difficulty slider so that our good friend, OP, can play the game how he likes while other people, the ones who constantly complain about the game being "too easy" can play it there way. Btw guys, DE said they're working on this so it should be in the pipe.

[Venarge]

Solo play is one of the easiest things....

And infested are best killed with melee.

[Celsious]

This is a real issue. I am surprised at the amount of ignorant posts in reply to this thread, mostly stating 'Oh it's easy for me.' Yea? Post a video or gtfo. Eitherway, learn that varying people have varying playstyles.

But meanwhile, since they have not addressed it, let's see if my way of playing helps you.

Get Energy Siphon.

Get your 100 point skill.

Get Ghost on your Sentinel.

 

 

#1) Get to high ground with a something in front of you, Infested have issues climbing up things.

 

#2) Wait for power to recharge till over 100.

 

#3) Shoot at mobs that you see running away or in a distance, to get their attention.

 

#4) Jump out of the spot, get them all nice and close.

 

#5) 100 point skill.

 

#6) Profit.

 

#7) Go to next map, cloak will allow you to find a nice place to repeat the process.

 

 

 

Now this only works with warframes with AOE 100 point skills that do over 1000 damage, it's a process that gets boring quickly but it gets the job done. Usually I use it when someone decides to leave everything to me (eg, leave game). Just ...if you run into something with more than 1000hp, be prepared to have at least 200 energy.

 

 

 

Still, I agree. Scaling needs to be there. I rermember my first fight on Terminus, I ran out of bullets so quickly.

 

[Vashna]

Getting rushed by Infested? Run in decent sized circle shooting backwards (shotgun usually for me) still looks like it is going to end badly jump on a box. (gogo dethcube, better his infinite ammo than mine) (priority targets while on a box >leapers< 800+ missions solo and counting. (my computer is a toaster.)

 

Gl out there. :)

 

R.e  the energy siphon advice up there ^ I prefer the health regen one personally. but I can see why some people would go that way.

[NessTV]

It's not the difficulty, it's armor which gives insane damage reduction at lvls 35+. I had to switch Braton for Boltor because I was hitting like 4 dmg per bullet... And hp increases too.

[VER1]

I solo most of the time without great difficulty.

 

I'd say it is more an issue with your warframe and weapon mod load outs not being 'uber' modded in the right way.

[BradKing]

Sadly I have to agree with the minority of posters above: 

 

I feel, TS's important point is not the fact that he fails at solo play (sure, there will be people that solo everything and have mad 1337 skillz, and, you can indeed fault his loadout), the point is that he doesn't want to solo play, but is forced to. 

 

I have my ping threshold at 175 and can happily play online solo. I generally only get squad mates on lowbie levels, or, on defense/boss/alert levels. I tried setting it higher to get more of the map done, but I basically have to set it to 300+, which often gives me horrible hosts. Wish there was a way to start a game private/invite/solo then set it as online to make sure I am the host (generally have a 15-30 ping). 

 

So, I have to solo stuff that I'm trying to 'online', which is a pain. I'm still levelling certain frames and weapons and, like mentioned above, it will be fine with squad mates on the higher levels. However, it's almost impossible with high levels: you don't have a fully modded weapon, possibly bad weapons/frame abilities vs the enemies if solo, etc. 

Just to be 'safe' I would have to 'online' using a 20+ frame, weapons with specific mods, meaning high level, not take certain weapons since they don't really support solo play on that level, etc. Fine if I want to solo, but not if I want to online.

 

 

To TS:

- I've found regional/global chat to be the way to get groups. Can generally find some people, makes live a lot easier.

- I also treat certain missions as solo, even if I go in 'online', so I bring a tankier frame (or shade sentinel) with decent, enemy specific weapons. Like not bringing a grakata/gorgon vs infested, taking kunai/despair, specific type of melee and always specific mods.

 

Good luck!

[unmog]

I have my ping threshold at 175 and can happily play online solo. I generally only get squad mates on lowbie levels, or, on defense/boss/alert levels. I tried setting it higher to get more of the map done, but I basically have to set it to 300+, which often gives me horrible hosts. Wish there was a way to start a game private/invite/solo then set it as online to make sure I am the host (generally have a 15-30 ping). 

Wait... what? Wheres the options for ping threshold? Ive never seen this... oh... its a new option. Ill be dammed. :p

[Venus-Venera]

gorgon is very bad.

take a look at hek and bolton ... ( despair )

take good mele weapon with strong charge ... ( hate )