Help Playing Solo / Henchmen Lite?

sc2071

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: May 2005

London, UK

18 Apr 2011 at 13:23 - 1

Greetings all,

I own Prophecies and Nightfall. I've been playing on/off since release, but never have completed a campaign... and damnit I'd like too! I do understand Guild Wars is not a solo game, and that it won't play like WoW. However, I've been reading a lot of posts and searching for guides the last week or so, and it sounds like there are plenty of builds out there for solo'ing or at the very least going with only a few heroes/henchmen.

I'm currently playing a Dervish/Warrior at level 7. I'm bringing the Warrior and Monk heroes on quests, and getting slaughtered. Perhaps playing a Dervish is my first mistake, as while I like it, it's a complicated class. Maybe since I'm a born-again-noob, I should play something more straight forward like a Warrior or Ranger.

Ultimately, I'd like to be able to solo the quests / missions with no henchmen or heroes... or at the very least if I have to use them, keep the party small (me + 3). I've seen posts where people are discussing that it is possible, but they don't really give out a step-by-step guide on how to do it... or they are so far ahead in the game they have skills and gear I don't have access to yet at level 7.

I'm not a horrible player, I just don't get Guild Wars yet. Are Dervish only for pros? Is what I'm proposing possible? Or even with a few heroes could I solo the game, and if so what basics should I know or setups for my heroes (professions, skills, etc)?

As I said, I've tried searching these forums and Googling, but I'm not having much luck finding a guide. If you know of any, please post the links!

Thank for any advice!

DeanBB

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jul 2005

Arizona

Wizardry Players Guild, http://4guildwars.7.forumer.com

18 Apr 2011 at 13:29 - 2

The game is designed for the party sizes you see in the outposts. Those solo / small teams are more farming and running things and not meant to take you through all of the content. If you want to beat a campaign, take a full party of heroes and / or henchmen.

Elmindreda Farshaw

Academy Page

Join Date: Feb 2007

Shiverpeak Search and Rescue [Lost]

18 Apr 2011 at 13:59 - 3

Taking less than the allowed amount of heroes is foolish, unless you are running a very specific farming build. That is to say, during regular game play (missions quests ect) you should be filling up your party.

The game was designed to play this way. There is no reason to only take 3 henchmen/heroes when you can take more.

Venganza

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Feb 2011

Fire

18 Apr 2011 at 13:59 - 4

Contact me in-game, and if I am free, be happy to help you out a little my friend.

IGN: Venganza Espirito

FoxBat

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Apr 2006

Amazon Basin [AB]

Mo/Me

18 Apr 2011 at 16:57 - 5

You can beat most of the game solo/small party if you work at it, but it's not easy, and few have done it. Really not advised if you haven't even been through a campaign before.

sc2071

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: May 2005

London, UK

18 Apr 2011 at 18:22 - 6

Here's some posts I've found over the weekend... perhaps I'm just misunderstanding what level these guys are at -or- whether they are indeed bring full teams.

Solo Prophecies Completion Challenge - Is this a challenge to do it without henchmen/heroes, or just sans people?
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...t10457013.html

Solo Farming, list of builds - I do see the word 'farm' in here... but why is farming solo possible, and quests/missions not?
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...t10038096.html

Full Southern Shiverpeak Solo Tour INCLUDING MOVIES - Okay, this looks like he is doing it without any henchmen whatsoever. Is he just uber equipped? Is this the equivalent of a WoW 85 Death Knight solo'ing an old raid boss from 2 expansions ago?
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/n...ply&t=10478482

Hero Team for PvE -I keep seeing references to '3 Hero Teams', like 3 necro build. Are these for questing/mission running? Is it just implied that people are bring 4 henchmen + their heroes?
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/h...t10318737.html

Sorry, I know I'm asking for people to spell it out for me a bit... I'm having a hard time digesting all this info as a non-veteran and knowing what these people are really doing or what they mean.

Thanks!

FoxBat

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Apr 2006

Amazon Basin [AB]

Mo/Me

18 Apr 2011 at 19:18 - 7

Quote:

Originally Posted by sc2071 View Post

Solo Prophecies Completion Challenge

Key word: "challenge."

Quote: Solo Farming, list of builds - I do see the word 'farm' in here... but why is farming solo possible, and quests/missions not? It is possible, but it's not easy. Each area requires tweaks to a build or completely different builds, and takes some practice to master. The idea with "farming" is you pick just one particular spot, usually not even an entire mission, just one or a few groups in a certain explorable, and kill them alone. The main advantage of doing this is you get all the drops from monsters, where henchmen/heros take their share of drops just like additional players would. Because it's just one area, you can practice the same one build over and over until you get very good and efficient at clearing the same set of enemies solo. The builds are also often (but not always) highly specialized for playing solo vs the particular type of monster, and not effective in team play.

Quote:

Full Southern Shiverpeak Solo Tour INCLUDING MOVIES - Okay, this looks like he is doing it without any henchmen whatsoever. Is he just uber equipped? No, he's just uber "skilled." He picks the right skills on his bar and executes them with the right tactics. There wouldn't be a thread about that sort of thing if it weren't something to brag about. Also note he is only playing normal mode, there is an additional "hard mode" where more experienced players often spend their time chasing higher rewards. When hard mode can be solo'd the type of builds that work are far more limited.

Max or near max gear is very easy to obtain in this game, there is not a gear treadmill as in WoW. Expensive items are typically so just because they have a rare and desired appearance.

Quote:

Hero Team for PvE -I keep seeing references to '3 Hero Teams', like 3 necro build. Are these for questing/mission running? Is it just implied that people are bring 4 henchmen + their heroes? Exactly. Henchmen vary depending on what area you are in so they aren't specified in 3 hero builds. Typically it is assumed you grab both monk henchmen and then whatever else you want. This was before a very recent update that allows you to run up to 7 heroes. For a new player that has yet to get through the campaigns though, henchmen will work fine, so just fooling around with maybe 1 to 3 heroes while learning how to use them, with the rest as henchies, is OK.

The bottom line is that this game is very different from MMOs, in that average content is not balanced around solo play, it always assumes you have a full team, even if a weak team. Solo play is therefore possible but not easy, and not recommended for new players. Indeed most experienced players do not bother either outside of farming.

Dzjudz

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jun 2005

gwpvx.com/user:dzjudz

18 Apr 2011 at 19:25 - 8

Farm builds are always suited for particular types of enemies. Some builds can farm a higher variety of enemies than others but they always depend on certain conditions that are met in certain areas. They are simply not meant or capable to take on the many different kinds of enemies that most missions have to offer, or the mission requirements will make using a farming build impossible (for example if you have to escort NPCs and keep them alive etc.).

3 hero builds were all we had before the 7 hero update. 3 heroes + 4 henchmen, the henchmen depending on the area.

Solo 'tours' and such are usually specific running builds tailored to run through areas without fighting mobs (Shadow Form runners for example). However, such running builds cannot finish most missions because most missions require defeating enemies (or, like above, escorting NPCs or keeping them alive).

Kojima

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Sep 2010

Home

En Caligne Veritas [DARK]

R/Rt

19 Apr 2011 at 01:55 - 9

Basically get you sunspear points higher. It will also open up more skills for free for your heroes. Run around the lower levels first before moving into higher ones. This will level you higher a little before you run the higher ones. For quests that says "master difficulty" or something like that, don't do them yet.

Also, you may need to look at your build and that of your heroes.

wilebill

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Dec 2005

Mt Vernon, Ohio

Band of the Hawk

W/Mo

19 Apr 2011 at 02:51 - 10

Complete both Prophecies and Nightfall with full parties. Right now you do not have the skill sets to run solo or limited party. Once you have full up heroes, lot of areas you can do with a Dervish and two or three heroes.

But there is no point in doing that. Because once you complete a campaign by doing the last mission you get access to Hard Mode. HM with the largest party allowed is sufficiently challenging to keep you entertained.

Solo Farming is fun to do, but really not much point to spending a lot of time and effort on it. Just my two cents, if you really want to run solo then play WoW or some other MMO that is designed for solo play. In WoW every character is a "farming build" by definition. The same will be true in GW 2.

Just take GW 1 for what it is and have fun until GW 2 comes out.

Kojima

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Sep 2010

Home

En Caligne Veritas [DARK]

R/Rt

19 Apr 2011 at 08:31 - 11

Also, you do not need to farm much in GW imo unless you want specific stuffs that only farming a place a lot will give you, like the gifts from nick stuff or ectos. Other than that, playing through the game in normal or hard mode, or doing the titles will gain you tons of weapons, plats, and mats.

I cannot say much about solo missions as I always use henchies and heroes.

sc2071

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: May 2005

London, UK

19 Apr 2011 at 09:07 - 12

Thank you all so much for the replies! That does give me a better understanding of what 'solo' means in GW. I guess I will have to take it for what it is!

Steps_Descending

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Apr 2007

IN my pocket plane. Obviously!

Little Tom's Pocket Plane [THom]

Me/Mo

25 Apr 2011 at 20:24 - 13

Concerning solo play, I personnally also try to use smaller party size (because at 8 every character can feel the same when you can have the 7 others do the job for you). It is just that a challenge, but it works.
For the later parts of the game, I've found that you have to rely on progressively unreliable tactics (more tank&spank-y builds) and Even in the more easy areas (in NM) I can very rarely go below 5-men. And that geenrally use the most powerful builds avaliable (SoS,MM,mes generally)
I just wanted to share that.