The strange, solitary existence of Solo play, and the current Meta for solo play.

[mjo2138]

Hello Everyone,

 

I am trying my first solo run (POTD-upscaled all) and I decided to do a swashbuckler.  It is very strange to not have the usual banter of the party, and I am not sure I enjoyed the 'powerleveling' aspect of early game, where I basically had to level up doing menial quests and ship exploring to become a more powerful character. It was a bit of a grind, compared to a 5 man party, in which you are really playing the game from the inception. I really become more powerful around level 12-14, and now at level 20 I can handle many encounters, but a lack of healing and ability refresh is a bit of an issue. I am doing Nemnok now, and I think I will need to use invis to reset battles after killing the mobs one by one. Is is just me, or is that the 'Meta' for solo play for swashbuckers or rogue types? I dont want to do it every time, but it seems like certain encounter leave little other option. I imagine a monk would just be able to use WoTW to eradicate mobs. In sum it feels like a Swashbuckler loses its utility in the late game. I guess I can spam healing potions, but even then it is not enough depending on the mobs (esp. Arcane dampener!) Other than that, I guess blood mage or priest of skaen are good choices, as I have seen on the Ultimate list! Why do most people choose priest of skaen - to reset battles using Invis?  I think I will try to do a monk solo for the next round. 

What has your recent solo experiences been like? Which classes have you enjoyed? And, what have been some of your successes ,challenges, or anecdotes? 

 

 

Edited October 15, 2021 by mjo2138
I needed some coffee

[abot]

I don't know how much it could be of use as I only played solo in test/study runs preparing for the Ultimate Challenge, so with no Iron Man mode (to avoid restarting from scratch on mistake), all Magran Fires on except Wael challenge (to be able to see the stats) and  Eothas challenge (to be able to try different routes), and the Magran Fires challenges force a play style so different that hardly can compare to play style without them, but I still think my beloved Psion+Troubadour summoner build could be a jack of all trades

Edited October 16, 2021 by abot

[mjo2138]

That is is very interesting; it seems like an Ironman run / or Triple Crown is about studying each encounter carefully, beating it, and then doing an actual 'run' It is quite a challenge indeed. By the way, were you the 12th Ultimate person listed (Psion/Troubadour)? If not that is okay haha. I have a lot of work to do before I even can do an Ironman run , yet alone a game with those challenges enabled. 

 

I think you have a YT channel right? If not, I know the person who did this run had playlist of tests. 

[Not So Clever Hound]

On 10/15/2021 at 6:07 PM, mjo2138 said:

In sum it feels like a Swashbuckler loses its utility in the late game.

Yes, Smoke Veil is the bread and butter for most solo MC rogue builds, and indeed it loses some of its potency in late game where you can't reset encounters. Then you have to resort to Arcana to survive certain fights. SC Assassin can do it without and is arguably the most powerful solo Rogue (and arguably one of the very top solo classes in the game, with SC Bloodmage, SC Monk and a number of Multiclasses).

In my opinion, putting aside The Ultimate which is a very specific challenge requiring a "very specific set of skills"  and putting aside abusing bugs like Strand of Favor god mode.... the big discriminators between classes in their solo-ability will be: can they solo the critical path on Upscaled PotD at all, can they solo the critical path without abusing Arcana all the time (the list becomes much smaller), can they solo ALL optional tough areas including ALL Megabosses (there it boils down to a few classes)... also several classes without renewable resources will only open up to solo if you do the god dialog choices in order to get tier 3 Wit of Death's Herald after Ashen Maw, which gives you a per-rest, on-demand Brilliant.

As to whether Solo play in Deadfire is fun or not, it's really up to personal preferences. Personally I think it is fun - which is fortunate because I've played that way for a 1,000+ hours . It's a different way to enjoy the game, both the storyline and the combat. I find it personally simpler than party play. 

On 10/15/2021 at 6:07 PM, mjo2138 said:

Why do most people choose priest of skaen - to reset battles using Invis?

It just has a very useful mix automatically learnt spells, especially for The Ultimate. Wael is also quite universally useful. You can't reset encounters in The Ultimate.

On 10/15/2021 at 6:07 PM, mjo2138 said:

What has your recent solo experiences been like? Which classes have you enjoyed?

I'm partial to SC Bloodmage, I've loved most of the multiclass Bloodmage variants, SC Assassin is great if you like stealthy play. I've had a ton of fun with Mindstalker, currently I'm having fun with SC Fury Druid. It would be easier to ask what to avoid  like a solo naked SC Mage Slayer for example!

Edited October 16, 2021 by Not So Clever Hound

[thelee]

1 hour ago, Not So Clever Hound said:

It just has a very useful mix automatically learnt spells, especially for The Ultimate. Wael is also quite universally useful. You can't reset encounters in The Ultimate.

To elaborate, invisibility is still useful even if it can’t reset fights (though with tactician you effectively reset a fight with brilliant) but most importantly Skaen gets withdraw as well. Ultimate (and Hylea’s) challenge requires you to protect Vela, and the least RNG way to do that is with casts of withdraw. (Unlike normal solo play Eothas challenge prevents you from resting to refresh vendor inventory for withdraw scrolls). Withdraw/Invis are such immensely useful tools for the Ultimate that I find it hella impressive everyone who did it without access to both (even SC bloodmage, however powerful that is, is gonna have a headache with Vela and no reload option).

[dgray62]

On 10/15/2021 at 9:07 AM, mjo2138 said:

What has your recent solo experiences been like? Which classes have you enjoyed? And, what have been some of your successes ,challenges, or anecdotes? 

I have played solo with SC FF monk, which is overpowered as I know you know once you reach PL 9, SC bloodmage, and also multi classes with mixes of bloodmage, assassin, cipher, druid and chanter. Most of these classes have renewable resources, which help a lot. For the assassin builds I relied heavily on smoke veil as you discuss. I have never tried playing a swashbuckler solo; I imagine that it would be quite a challenge, unless it were an assassin/tactician. That would be fun I'm sure, although I've never tried it.

[NotDumbEnough]

A Devoted Helwalker multiclass can more or less play the game by itself after you reach a high enough level. You have good hit to crit from your perception inspiration and can often chain loads of attacks with Heartbeat Drumming and Swift Flurry. The extra intellect makes Unbending stupidly powerful and completely nullifies the downside of taking extra damage as you effectively become immortal. The only real threat is somehow running out of resources before the fight is over though you do have an inbuilt Brilliant inspiration for particularly long fights. I guess Arcane Dampener can also give you problems by turning off Unbending. That's about it though.

[mjo2138]

22 hours ago, Not So Clever Hound said:

Yes, Smoke Veil is the bread and butter for most solo MC rogue builds, and indeed it loses some of its potency in late game where you can't reset encounters. Then you have to resort to Arcana to survive certain fights. SC Assassin can do it without and is arguably the most powerful solo Rogue (and arguably one of the very top solo classes in the game, with SC Bloodmage, SC Monk and a number of Multiclasses).

In my opinion, putting aside The Ultimate which is a very specific challenge requiring a "very specific set of skills"  and putting aside abusing bugs like Strand of Favor god mode.... the big discriminators between classes in their solo-ability will be: can they solo the critical path on Upscaled PotD at all, can they solo the critical path without abusing Arcana all the time (the list becomes much smaller), can they solo ALL optional tough areas including ALL Megabosses (there it boils down to a few classes)... also several classes without renewable resources will only open up to solo if you do the god dialog choices in order to get tier 3 Wit of Death's Herald after Ashen Maw, which gives you a per-rest, on-demand Brilliant.

As to whether Solo play in Deadfire is fun or not, it's really up to personal preferences. Personally I think it is fun - which is fortunate because I've played that way for a 1,000+ hours . It's a different way to enjoy the game, both the storyline and the combat. I find it personally simpler than party play. 

It just has a very useful mix automatically learnt spells, especially for The Ultimate. Wael is also quite universally useful. You can't reset encounters in The Ultimate.

I'm partial to SC Bloodmage, I've loved most of the multiclass Bloodmage variants, SC Assassin is great if you like stealthy play. I've had a ton of fun with Mindstalker, currently I'm having fun with SC Fury Druid. It would be easier to ask what to avoid  like a solo naked SC Mage Slayer for example!

Yes that confirms what I was thinking about MC rogue builds- resetting the difficult encounters is the way to go - especially I see there are good builds about using SC Assassin (i think you made it)

AH I was not aware you cannot reset encounters Ultimate - which is okay because I have happy with regular solo runs for now  . I forgot about using Arcana- that would help my finish my current run (devoted/streetfighter) 

I do appreciate the simplicity in solo play. It really lets you focus on the items and skills in a unique way. Honestly, I was thinking of SC Bloodmage first, but I decided to be a Swashbuckler. In RPGs , I am always partial to wizards/mages haha. In my other genre of games (FPS) I do not have that luxury.  I will have to check out your Bloodmage guide. 

Nice Taken reference LOL. 

21 hours ago, thelee said:

To elaborate, invisibility is still useful even if it can’t reset fights (though with tactician you effectively reset a fight with brilliant) but most importantly Skaen gets withdraw as well. Ultimate (and Hylea’s) challenge requires you to protect Vela, and the least RNG way to do that is with casts of withdraw. (Unlike normal solo play Eothas challenge prevents you from resting to refresh vendor inventory for withdraw scrolls). Withdraw/Invis are such immensely useful tools for the Ultimate that I find it hella impressive everyone who did it without access to both (even SC bloodmage, however powerful that is, is gonna have a headache with Vela and no reload option).

That is a great point about using withdraw- a really great spell.  I will think about using the scrolls in my current run to make it through some difficult encounters with mages- Arcane Dampener is a really party pooper. 

May I ask which  class you did for the ultimate?  i am always curious about people's approaches. 

19 hours ago, dgray62 said:

I have played solo with SC FF monk, which is overpowered as I know you know once you reach PL 9, SC bloodmage, and also multi classes with mixes of bloodmage, assassin, cipher, druid and chanter. Most of these classes have renewable resources, which help a lot. For the assassin builds I relied heavily on smoke veil as you discuss. I have never tried playing a swashbuckler solo; I imagine that it would be quite a challenge, unless it were an assassin/tactician. That would be fun I'm sure, although I've never tried it.

That sounds like fun for an assassin class. The alpha strike strategy sounds like a really satisfying , stealthy approach.  SC FF monk is so fun too! WoTW is a real treat haha. Monks are just great overall.  Swasbuckler has not been too bad thus far, but late game I am going to need to reset encounters or use Arcana, both of which are viable strats. Honestly, however, the encounters are a bit boring lol, but I guess that is to be expected when you are just one character. 

11 hours ago, NotDumbEnough said:

A Devoted Helwalker multiclass can more or less play the game by itself after you reach a high enough level. You have good hit to crit from your perception inspiration and can often chain loads of attacks with Heartbeat Drumming and Swift Flurry. The extra intellect makes Unbending stupidly powerful and completely nullifies the downside of taking extra damage as you effectively become immortal. The only real threat is somehow running out of resources before the fight is over though you do have an inbuilt Brilliant inspiration for particularly long fights. I guess Arcane Dampener can also give you problems by turning off Unbending. That's about it though.

oh that sounds like a fun build. What weapons would you use for a devoted helwalker? Hand Mortars?  Does unbending always stay up?  I will have to check out this build, too! 

[Not So Clever Hound]

On 10/17/2021 at 5:45 PM, mjo2138 said:

That is a great point about using withdraw- a really great spell. 

Just a note connected to Withdraw and playing solo, regenerating resources etc.

As @thelee illustrated in his Ultimate run IIRC, Withdraw is not just useful to take Vela out of the fight, if you're playing a Tactician/Priest and Withdraw yourself, you will trigger Brilliant (!). So you will regenerate Resources and Health at the same time. Sweet for a "war of attrition" type of strategy (like a true Tactician?).

As we found out in another thread, Withdraw can also be used offensively if the caster is Confused, in which case you can take enemies out of the fight in a pinch with a guaranteed hit. This opens up new tactics in particular against the dreaded Hauani O Whe. A Tactician/Priest can use Withdraw offensively if they are flanked which triggers Tactical Dilemma (Confused + Shaken). They can get flanked in a pinch with Powder Burns and clear it when needed with a PER inspiration. Of course, a Berserker/Priest or Berserker/Blood Mage who used Minor Grimoire Imprint to steal Withdraw permanently or any Berserker or Tactician using Withdraw scrolls can also do it.

So yes I do agree that withdraw is a really great spell .

[thelee]

On 10/17/2021 at 8:45 AM, mjo2138 said:

May I ask which  class you did for the ultimate?  i am always curious about people's approaches. 

tactician + priest of skaen.

 

@Not So Clever Hound nails it. I saved my skin (and sometimes it was a necessary thing) to withdraw vela and myself, to trigger health gen and brilliant.

enemy AI is a little wonky when it comes to berath's and invisibility, so sometimes even invisibility was not enough to de-aggro and trigger brilliant, but withdraw tended to be more foolproof if i could get out of range.

Edited October 18, 2021 by thelee