Tales of a Loner:
Soloing and Lord of the Rings Online

By Shayalyn

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Once upon a time, a lone wood elf druid made her way down the treacherous ramps and across the swaying bridges of the tree city of Kelethin and ventured out into the wilds of the misty Faydark forest. She quietly and steadily defeated her foes through the clever use of her spells, and as she continued to gain strength, her adventures took her further from home, into the towering Butcherblock Mountains and onward to the Oasis of Marr and the Lake of Ill Omen. She traveled alone, and this was how she liked it. She took pride in her independence, and found joy in using her wits to bring down her enemies against incredible odds.

That druid was named Shayalyn, and she kick-started my MMOG career in EverQuest. Although I’m fully capable of working and playing well with others, I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoy soloing. Don’t get me wrong, I do like groups--some of my best times have revolved around getting together with a few guildmates and taking on some bigger challenges--but I also love having the power to go it alone. My druid excelled at being a loner, and it’s one of the reasons I grew so attached to her. She was scrappy and fiercely independent.

Whether soloing will be a viable option in Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (LotRO) remains a matter of speculation. The game’s current FAQs state: “Our goal is to make the game playable for both solo players and those who choose to form Fellowships. Fellowships will of course provide certain advantages in some situations, but a fastidious solo player can always buff up enough over time to make it through.” From the sound of this, soloing in LotRO will be challenging, but not impossible. Meghan “Patience” Rodberg, Turbine’s LotRO Community Manager, has also stated that, “...the team is trying to make the classes viable for solo play. Just because the [class] description doesn't mention solo play, and gives some info on group dynamics, it doesn't mean you can't solo with a class.”

It would seem that Turbine Inc., the developer of LotRO, has recognized the MMOG gamer’s desire for solo content. The record-shattering success of Blizzard’s World of Warcraft (WoW), a game where players could arguably solo all the way to the top of the food chain, has proven that if you build what gamers want...they will come, and come in droves. (At present, Blizzard boasts more than 5 million open WoW accounts worldwide.)

And yet, one could argue that Lord of the Rings lore isn’t particularly amenable to solo play. After all, even when Frodo attempted to strike out on his own, he ended up in the company of the loyal Samwise. Kinships, fellowships--these are central themes in Tolkien’s trilogy. And for that reason, among others, I believe Turbine will craft LotRO into a game where soloing is an option, but it’s perhaps not the best or quickest option for gaining experience.

In order to remain competitive in a crowded fantasy MMOG market, LotRO will have to strike a delicate balance. In order to foster community building, the best and fastest experience should belong to groups of players (called fellowships in LotRO). But some people enjoy striking out alone. LotRO will need to cater to that crowd as well in order to remain competitive.

Often, when fans bring up the need for solo content in MMOGs, those who prefer group content argue that without group interaction a MMOG is nothing more than a single-player game that happens to be online. That’s true to a certain point, but there’s much more to soloing than running around the game world alone. I remember when a friend of mine turned me on to Morrowind: The Elder Scrolls III, a single-player fantasy role-playing game. I was accustomed to playing EverQuest, and even though I soloed much of the time in EQ, I found myself feeling very lonely in Morrowind. There were no people chatting in /OOC or /shouting “Train to zone!” There was no guild chat. I couldn’t join a group if I was feeling social. I couldn’t raid. It was me against a very empty world with NPCs that said the same old things and either stood stationary or walked the same old paths day in and day out.

Being a soloer doesn’t necessarily make me antisocial. It doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy the company of others. What it means is that I enjoy the gratification of being able to handle my battles alone when I want to. It means that sometimes I have limited play time, and I want to make a little progress with my character without looking for a group. It doesn’t mean I want the rest of the world to go away. (Well, okay, I admit that I do have days where I want the world to go away, but those are few and far between.)

The most successful MMOGs of 2006 will offer a good balance of group to solo content. I don’t want to feel that, in order to play my MMOG, I have to find a group or not play at all. While the best items and the fastest progress should belong to groups, and the elite items should belong to raids, I’m counting on Turbine to realize that there are plenty of independent spirits; players who enjoy going it alone.

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