8 way. Five way. Foursome? 3-Some. Duo Teaming. Is it a thing?

[Golden Azrael]

I spent alot of time on Live:

 

Pugging.

8 way team (how was I to get from L40 to L50 back on Live?)

Duo-ing.

 

Do you have a preference?  What the pro's?  Cons?

 

Or do some just like flying solo?

 

Azrael.

 

[SeraphimKensai]

I don't solo too often, I typically will try to help others as my toons pretty much from the moment I roll them come automatically lvl 50 and IO'd to the gills or so it seems. It's also nice to touch base with friends and running lesser done content and TF's anyone up for an Abandoned Sewer trial? If I wanna solo I have a few hundred or so other games for that.

[KC4800]

I love small teams in over their head just a bit.

[Spaghetti Betty]

I'm a lonesome soloer. My schedule doesn't permit me to team often. But when I do group up I much prefer smaller teams. A team of 3-5 makes general content much more interesting.

[Ghost]

Never solo missions or TFs

I enjoy interacting to others, and responding to different play style.

 

If I’m forming, I’m happy with 4 total, but always try for 8.  Same with any team I join.

[Rokkeb]

I like to solo story arcs, 2 box AE farms and pug TFS from 5 to 8 people, whatever it takes for them to be done efficiently. 

 

And then I join Oklahomas raid pugs every once in awhile. 

[Sovera]

I like duo-ing but seldom do so. Even people who like duo-ing with me get tired of it and want to go back to full teams. I like soloing, but barring the very first two TFs near-at-level all other TFs have zero risk at +1x8 and become too slow and grindy at +2x8.

 

I don't like full teams anymore. We blitz against everything and kill everything including AVs in seconds.

[Doomguide2005]

     I prefer teams but size is the least important element of the team.  I am more likely to be familiar with and know the other player on smaller teams such as a duo and far more likely to be a full team of 8 on a PuG or part PuG doing a TF.  I find I'm most likely to solo on a new character leveling up till the late teens early 20's or if I've got a particular goal in mind (either to solo X content or with X character, badging, crafting, and the like).

[cranebump]

Diamond (4) or star(5) teams are fun. Hardly ever actually get on one though.

[biostem]

5 hours ago, Golden Azrael said:

I spent alot of time on Live:

 

Pugging.

8 way team (how was I to get from L40 to L50 back on Live?)

Duo-ing.

 

Do you have a preference?  What the pro's?  Cons?

 

Or do some just like flying solo?

 

Azrael.

Frankly, it boils down to the players;  I've run many PI Council radio teams, and there have been times when a few people left, and the team actually performed better, (missions run at 8-person regardless).  There have also been times when I've been on a team of 4-5 people, and with just another team member, things really picked up.  I don't think there's any hard-and-fast rule...

[fancy ketchup]

Live I was always in a PUG. Lately I solo. I have little ones that can make it tricky to stay in a group for very long.

[Techwright]

Generally, I prefer teams of 4 and up.  I used to duo and even trio a lot back on the original game, but that was with friends in my small supergroup.  I've found pugging with less than 4 to be an awkward experience.  If we can't get 4, I'd likely bow out and just run solo.

 

This thread did remind me though, of my earliest days in the game when I was so green about MMOs I didn't even understand the gaming concept of an exploit.  I stumbled across one, I don't recall how, where you could overload an instance supposedly maxed at 8 with 7 extra players.  I used it to run a 15-man Atta mission.  I guess the game scaled to all 15, so we had wall-to-wall trolls and it was glorious!  Then I found out what a game exploit was and how you were supposed to handle it, and I was greatly embarrassed.  (It still was one of the most interesting things I ever did in the original game.)  I'd love to do that again, but legitimately with a new design for larger teams.

[Clave Dark 5]

I started this game as a solo player, but then I got better and started PUGing and even joined an SG here and there.  My schedule's too wack for SGs these days, but I can still usually PUG.  Not a big fan of solo as it feels slow, unless it's an MM say.  But I will sometimes knock out a Tip or two by myself if it's really dead.

[Stormwalker]

12 hours ago, Golden Azrael said:

I spent alot of time on Live:

 

Pugging.

8 way team (how was I to get from L40 to L50 back on Live?)

Duo-ing.

 

Do you have a preference?  What the pro's?  Cons?

 

Or do some just like flying solo?

 

Azrael.

 

 

I generally solo except for TF's, though sometimes I duo with a friend. 

 

Mostly this is due to sound sensitivity issues - all the AoE's from a team hitting all those targets at once gets unbearably loud even at very low volume settings.  But it's also partly because I just prefer to play at my own pace and not have to worry about whether the team wants to go faster or slower.

[momentarygrace]

I solo most of the time, occasionally duo with my partner (who also solos most of the time when not duoing with me). I used to PUG about 15% of the time on Live. But here's the weird thing (or maybe not): even though I pretty much solo always, I love being in zones and seeing other heroes (or villains) moving around, leave on the chat and "listen" to the chatter (read the general channel, help channel sometimes, glance at LFT) because I don't feel alone.

 

I continue to be very very grateful to have this game back, and get to be back in the world I love with others who do as well.

 

 

[Golden Azrael]

Thank you for the contributions so far.

 

I enjoyed reading them all.

Solo, I guess you're in charge of your own destiny without considering another hero's needs or wants.

Duo, nice and intimate and you get to know the other player reasonable well over a given length of time and they can compensate for your weaknesses and allow you to push the envelope.  The down side is, if you're running a 'dual concept', you've just hit your mid-30/40s and your Duo-Partner decides they want to start again from scratch...  It has 

3-5.  On live, my 'Hamster' PC couldn't handle teams of 8 (lag/stutter/crawl).  I used to actively recruit a 'one of each AT' to give the team balance on a PuG.  PuGs are more relaxed and 'go with the flow' and I usually just run 'Tips' when I PuG.  'Hamburger' missions for casual CoH play.

8 man 'here's how we roll' Incarnate Uber Content.  I generally avoid.  1stly, my i9 cpu gets hot and I find 8 man TF/ITF teaming more sprawling.  Less focused.

 

The good news.  CoH is incredibly customisable to play how you wish.  eg. If a fledgling hero needs help.  Easy enough to side-kick them a few levels higher.

 

I did notice that some Duos were husband and wife teams.  And on Live, I fondly remember a family of four playing a 'family FF' style concept.  Sonic Defender was the Dad.  Mom/Daugter(?)  En Blaster.  (I think her name was Rodeo Rose.  Alot of fun to team with them.  Kick az combat style.  Well done to you, 'Dad' and Rodeo Rose...wherever you are.)

 

Azrael.

[Shred Monkey]

I solo a lot and PUG a lot.  Pretty much always 8-man teams, but I would prefer smaller teams set for 8-man at whatever the highest level difficulty you can handle is.  Not just because the game is "too easy," but because I think it's a more satisfying game when your contribution is actually noticeable. 

 

I often tell myself I should to start forming 3-5 man TF runs... but then I log in and end up doing something else.

 

[Golden Azrael]

3 minutes ago, Shred Monkey said:

I solo a lot and PUG a lot.  Pretty much always 8-man teams, but I would prefer smaller teams set for 8-man at whatever the highest level difficulty you can handle is.  Not just because the game is "too easy," but because I think it's a more satisfying game when your contribution is actually noticeable. 

 

I often tell myself I should to start forming 3-5 man TF runs... but then I log in and end up doing something else.

 

 

Good point.  I often wonder if it would be possible for the devs to put a 'team size' lock eg. 2, 5 in search.  (I guess you could put '1-5 person' teams only in the search for your hero.  So a person knows in advance your team size pref' before they begin asking, 'Can I invite this army of friends...' and you're at a team of 😎 8 and maybe that's not what you wanted but were too polite to say so.)

 

I think that's what I'm probably intimating re: 1-5 team preferences.

 

Often feel 8 ways can be a bit 'meal time at the Simpsons.'

 

Azrael.

[Stormwalker]

27 minutes ago, Golden Azrael said:

 

Good point.  I often wonder if it would be possible for the devs to put a 'team size' lock eg. 2, 5 in search.  (I guess you could put '1-5 person' teams only in the search for your hero.  So a person knows in advance your team size pref' before they begin asking, 'Can I invite this army of friends...' and you're at a team of 😎 8 and maybe that's not what you wanted but were too polite to say so.)

 

I think that's what I'm probably intimating re: 1-5 team preferences.

 

Often feel 8 ways can be a bit 'meal time at the Simpsons.'

 

Azrael.

This would be useful for me as well.  The sound sensitivity issues are proportionate to team size.  A 4 man team is much less hard on me than an 8 man team, because you have half as many AoE's hitting the spawn at once.  But teams inevitably end up at 8, so I end up avoiding them except for TF's (where I just choose to endure it because doing TF's in a full team is traditional even if you don't have to anymore).

[Herotu]

 

20 hours ago, Golden Azrael said:

I spent alot of time on Live:

 

Pugging.

8 way team (how was I to get from L40 to L50 back on Live?)

Duo-ing.

 

Do you have a preference?  What the pro's?  Cons?

 

Or do some just like flying solo?

 

Azrael.

 

I want to duo/quad SO much, but it's weird. I feel like there's nobody interested.

 

Everybody seems to fill teams (8) and whizz through content, even if they've never read the stories.

 

[Golden Azrael]

I guess you have to state your intentions and at least people know what they're signing up to.

 

Azrael.

[Coyotedancer]

I either solo or prefer duo/trio small teams.

A mid-sized 4 or 5 member team isn't bad either, especially if we're all on Discord together to coordinate. (That's the way I run with the family SG on weekends-)

 

I'm not a huge fan of 8-member "full teams" outside of league content.

 

I find huge Leagues entertaining, just from a pure chaos-and-spectacle point of view.

[biostem]

5 minutes ago, Coyotedancer said:

I find huge Leagues entertaining, just from a pure chaos-and-spectacle point of view.

I get a good chuckle out of how folks often seem to follow instructions on leagues better than on single 8-person teams...

[Ghost]

I once put together a 4 man Posi 1 - advertised it as such, and quickly found 3 teammates. 
It’s very possible to put together 4/5/6 man teams, and there are plenty of people out there willing to join up.

[Golden Azrael]

The 'four man' team has that balance of AT contribution and feeling like you are making a difference.  A Tank, Defender, Blaster and Scrapper would be able to cope with most things.

 

Hey, it worked for the Fantastic Four when Ben Grim and Torch weren't falling out.  Well, Ben fell out with everyone...

 

Azrael.

Edited June 23, 2022 by Golden Azrael