Originally posted by chrisel

I fail to understand why people who loves to group care so much about those who enjoy to solo. I NEVER played any MMO that forces you to solo. I do have played more than enough games that forces players to solo though... and we all see how "popular" they are.

To me, it is a mystery, that people will play with one unknown moron after the other; putting their whole destiny into other peoples hands whether they will leave, or heck, even show up to the group at the right time. Oh and not let us forget all the "leet" attutudes amongs the group players; always urging after someone to replace the groups weakest link...

Well, that is not my flavor. I prefer soloing in a living MMO world, at least to end level. MMO's that forces people to group, are dead, history, finito & nada. If you are so dead keen on grouping, maybe Dungeons & Dragons Online would be the best MMO for you...? Oh, that game is dead, isnt it...? So errr, better find another one then.

Why does groupers care so much about those who like to solo after all? Why cant them who enjoys grouping just, well, group up, and have their happy time together...?

The traditional "pecking order" for rewards in MMO's has previously been Raid > Group > Solo. 
However, over the last few years some players (and devs for that matter) have begun to question this.  For instance, solo'ers sometimes ask for access to the same level of rewards as groups or raids (with necessary adjustments to how / when they are obtained). And some group / raid fans cannot understand the more logical proposals used to argue for such an allowance. I'm not going to get into the details of the justifications because that would REALLY open the metaphorical "can of worms" in this thread.  Suffice it to say that that's where the "Casual vs Hardcore", "Raiders vs Group vs Solo'ers" and "Risk vs Reward" arguments start.

"I understand the necessity of solo. Yes, it's unavoidable, since most people don't want to group with strangers. But why do people... Like it?"

Without a whole bunch of explanation on a subject that has been more than well covered- I like to solo because I can go at my own pace, and have no responsibility to a group. If I want responsibility, I'll head back to work. There, I can be told what to do and be paid for it, instead of paying to be told what to do, and how to enjoy myself.

Originally posted by Irish

"I understand the necessity of solo. Yes, it's unavoidable, since most people don't want to group with strangers. But why do people... Like it?"

Probably they don't, but then some games don't offer any alternative. It's "group to take down mob 123X or don't level - you choose".

Originally posted by frumbert

Originally posted by Irish

"I understand the necessity of solo. Yes, it's unavoidable, since most people don't want to group with strangers. But why do people... Like it?"

Probably they don't, but then some games don't offer any alternative. It's "group to take down mob 123X or don't level - you choose".

Nonsense. People don't pay to do unnecessary things they don't like.

People like what they like. Theres no way to, and no need to, explain further.

Originally posted by Goronian

 I seriously do. Look, this is not a flame thread. This is something, of a big question to the people, who play solo.

Why? What draws you in?

See... Let's be honest here. MMORPG's, as games in themselves... Kinda suck. They're repetetive, drawn-out, barely offer a coherent story and their fighting system is a droll. I can get a bazillion times more enjoyment from about any solid C/JRPG, released in the last 15 years. The point is... They are, in their core, better. Cheaper, even, especially in the long run. The time it takes to solo a char to the cap in a modern MMO is about the same, as the time it would take you to beat, say, Baldur's Gate. But with Baldur's Gate you're at least rewarded with a cutscene and some closure to the story. 

I understand the necessity of solo. Yes, it's unavoidable, since most people don't want to group with strangers. But why do people... Like it?

P.S. Let's try to keep things civil, people. We can have an interesting discussion, if we try to keep our bile from spilling.

 

EDIT: I guess it needs a litle rephrasing at this point.
"Why do people, who prefer to play solo choose MMOs in the first place? What drives them in?"

MMORPG's NOW suck. Sure, in the days of EQ, where I started my MMO adventures WERE repetitive as they are today (As far as quests and combat), but IMO they also had a more open world than today's  linear, funneled pathing MMO's.

But at the same time, the fights were somewhat fun just in the fact that if you lost it meant something. You lost xp, possibly a level if not very far into your current level, and had to run back to your corpse to drag it to a safe area and loot it of all your items. Not just automatically spawn at a safe spot in tact with a measely rezz penalty. Although you COULD solo, it was tough and you actually HAD TO KNOW your class and how to use strategy to do well when doing so.

I enjoy soloing because sometimes you just feel like playing alone, or need a break from raids or groups for awhile.

Originally posted by Bagguns

Originally posted by Frostbite05

To put it simply people like and enjoy playing solo because they don't have to rely on others to get the job done. One of the most dreaded things in MMO's is the pug. They more or less end with someone pissed off halfway through a quest or whatever then break apart. When you solo its all you. You can make sure it gets done with a much higher chance then if you are relying on others to do it.

 

I disagree. 

One of the things I like most about mmos is the PUG.  Most of the time I always have fun in them, even if they do fail.   Unless you get someone in there that is a complete tard, then they do suck.

Agree. Also the point that MMORPG's are for playing WITH and around other players. That is what separates them from console games and single-player PC games. PUG's can be fun...they also are informative....meaning you can learn through the experience of them what players are good and know their respective classes and know you want to remember them for future groups, and those that aren't very good, or are known ninja looters, etc that you blacklist.

Without doing PUG's you never know because you always use the same group..which means waiting for those players to get online, or never getting to really know your server's community very well. Which in turn can make you lose interest in said MMO quicker because you get bored looking for groups from the small list of players you DO know because you aren't taking the time to test the waters and get a large selection of known players to choose from. IMO of course...plus this is a problem I see with today's MMO's. Too many players seem to think it's a rat race to get to "end game", or get any of the "server firsts" to gain e-fame...treating MMO's as console games.

Originally posted by Goatgod76

Originally posted by Bagguns

Originally posted by Frostbite05

To put it simply people like and enjoy playing solo because they don't have to rely on others to get the job done. One of the most dreaded things in MMO's is the pug. They more or less end with someone pissed off halfway through a quest or whatever then break apart. When you solo its all you. You can make sure it gets done with a much higher chance then if you are relying on others to do it.

 

I disagree. 

One of the things I like most about mmos is the PUG.  Most of the time I always have fun in them, even if they do fail.   Unless you get someone in there that is a complete tard, then they do suck.

 

Agree. Also the point that MMORPG's are for playing WITH and around other players. That is what separates them from console games and single-player PC games. PUG's can be fun...they also are informative....meaning you can learn through the experience of them what players are good and know their respective classes and know you want to remember them for future groups, and those that aren't very good, or are known ninja looters, etc that you blacklist.

 

Without doing PUG's you never know because you always use the same group..which means waiting for those players to get online, or never getting to really know your server's community very well. IMO of course.

I solo alot, but I much prefer a PUG to an organized RAID.  PUG's can be a blast.

Originally posted by Toquio3

If you dont like to solo, then you dont need to see the point. ill just say this: its a personal choice. you like certain things, other people like different things. does this sound too hard to compute?

I love this response.

We are NOT all the same. We do not all play games the same way. We do not all ENJOY the same things. Choices....are GOOD.

I personally solo sometimes because it's part of roleplaying for me. I'm also a crafter. If I'm playing a role in a game and I'm a carpenter....how likely is it that my character would take someone with them to work?  Meaning....I have to go harvest a lot of woods and metals in a zone with a lot of aggro. So.....should I GROUP to go to "work?"  That's just not how I "see" my character.

That is only one reason to "solo." There are plenty of good reasons. Another reason I sometimes solo is because it's relaxing "alone time" for me to just enjoy my game of choice, and another....is that I have to play odd hours due to my RL work schedule.

You really shouldn't be so presumptuous as to tell others they "must group," OP. They pay their own monthly gaming bill and they're not breaking any game rules by choosing to do this, ya know?

And....the "reason" that MMOs are my genre of choice (and more precisely mmoRPGs) is because I like the feeling of being a part of a "living, breathing, growing 'world'" in my games. A place where things are "happening" and I can get involved in those "things," or....I can do a cornucopia of OTHER things!  There is variety. I like games with variety that don't FORCE me to solo all the time, but nor do they force me to group ALL the time. There are options to choose from many different things to do at any given time.

Originally posted by Midare

Frostbite had some good points, self-reliance and avoiding unreliable players (basically the same thing) but one could say that self reliance and not needing to rely on others could be fulfilled in a solo RPG that isn't online.

 

While I myself am not a solo-player, I have a close friend who is. I've actually had this discussion with him rather recently. The point we come down to is that a MMOG's "world" extends beyond just the grouping and questing. There is interaction with people in the towns, supporting newer players, chatting with friends while you go about your business, and other social involvement.

 

His big attraction is game economies, he's a business geek, he loves essentially farming for materials and pushing the extremes of the market. Learning how a particular game's market flows is fun for him, and that is what he likes about MMOGs. That is what he enjoys, and something which this genre provides better than a solo game can... since the solo game would be static as he is the only factor in any market a solo game provides. It is far more interesting, for him, to compete against others for resources, to fuck with the economy to make a better profit for himself.

 

That's one reason people who solo "content" may play an MMOG.

Actually....you gave more than one reason. :)

I found myself and one of my friends in your post too.

I'm one of those high levels that enjoys going to the newbie zones, not to "gank" people or be an ass....but to show them what they have to look forward to, to help them find things if they're lost, to show them around if they want some introduction, and to make sure they know that if they have any questions or anything...I'll try to help, and if I can't...I'll try to get someone that can...stuff like that.  I LIKE that big sister social thing. :) I don't force any of it on anyone, of course, but I just simply go to those zones sometimes to just wave and say hi and see if anyone needs anything. To me....that's fun.  And I do it solo, because most people have absolutely less than zero interest in doing it WITH me...lol.

Fact of the matter is, most of us probably play MMOs because there is something about the social aspect of it, or competitive aspect of it (competition is ALSO social), that interests us. BUT.....we don't all have to play the game the SAME WAY.  Like in RL....variety makes virtual life INTERESTING.

I have a friend that loves to play the broker (auction house). She loves doing that...to her, it's competitive and interesting. I...find it terribly boring. But I'm not paying her gaming bills. :) And....when we DO group to quest or run an instance....she's very competent as a teammate. But it certainly doesn't mean she must be a "teammate" 24/7.

Do any of us "group" in real life all the time?  Or do most of us enjoy a little solitude sometimes?  Yeah....simple.

Originally posted by Midare

Frostbite had some good points, self-reliance and avoiding unreliable players (basically the same thing) but one could say that self reliance and not needing to rely on others could be fulfilled in a solo RPG that isn't online.

 

While I myself am not a solo-player, I have a close friend who is. I've actually had this discussion with him rather recently. The point we come down to is that a MMOG's "world" extends beyond just the grouping and questing. There is interaction with people in the towns, supporting newer players, chatting with friends while you go about your business, and other social involvement.

 

His big attraction is game economies, he's a business geek, he loves essentially farming for materials and pushing the extremes of the market. Learning how a particular game's market flows is fun for him, and that is what he likes about MMOGs. That is what he enjoys, and something which this genre provides better than a solo game can... since the solo game would be static as he is the only factor in any market a solo game provides. It is far more interesting, for him, to compete against others for resources, to fuck with the economy to make a better profit for himself.

 

That's one reason people who solo "content" may play an MMOG.

 

 

 I understand where your friend is coming from, mostly, at least.

I play my games solo for the most part, not because I don't like interacting with people (although it feels like I'm finding less and less people I'd want to interact with these days), but because I like going my own pace and doing things my own way. One of the things that I do, is farm/mine/scavenge/explore. In a group, I have a hard time justifying taking my time and wandering off in a random direction because I see what may be a gathering node of one sort or another, but when I'm soloing, I can take my time to do anything I want.

I also _love_ to play with the economics of MMOs. I spend most of my time playing the Auction Houses, buying low and selling high, so to speak, and making money. For a while, I even had a loan service in my guild in WoW, for guildies who were just a little bit short for their mounts.

There's a lot of reasons to prefer soloing, and just because I solo 99% of the time doesn't mean I'm not chatting with people (some of which I've moved from game to game with) or I'm not in a guild, or on vent, it just means I prefer to play by myself until a situation comes up that I need someone's help on. Less competition for scraps, that way.

It's because of the chat system !!!!

All typed chat systems are a model of the same for all mmo's,  WoW's chat system is about the best you can have.  I don't think you could even make it better.

MMO quest are standard for all games, They are riddles and locations are made to use land marks to find them. You also have to type things" like did you kill all 10 rats ? ", or  "did you get all 5 rocks?" or " did you do parts 2 and 3 of the quest ?" This can be very aggravating to type.  People are afraid to add ppl. to their group because they may not know the game well or can't type.

What needs to be done:

Voice chat, not the crappy Wow chat.   But free clear voice chat when you enter a group or guild such as Ventrilo, but someone has to pay for Ventral out of their own pocket coupled with the fact that at random people cant use it because you have to change the IP address. You can't pass the IP address around to everyone anyway because the payer only gets so many slots, you cant give it to every stranger you meet !

I'm guessing WoW does not fix their voice chat because they don't like people using it, because they don't like to pay for more bandwith.

People are screaming for fresh ideas........  Well make an mmo with real voice chat !!

So I just answered the question.

More of the same arguments from people who want everyone to be FORCED to play in groups.

My reasons for playing EXCLUSIVELY SOLO - which I have posted before on other threads.

1.  I have been playing for over three years now and have yet to have any of my troops high enough to where I can generate a Death Knight. Speed in leveling is NOT one of my priorities.

2.   I am a HOPELESS altoholic - I have almost 100 toons under TWO accounts on WOW.  If i want to try some new class, race or talent combination I will generate a new toon - even if I have to delete a mid 40s level toon to do it.

3.   If I want to spend an hour or two grinding up a profession (mining, herbalism, etc) or secondary profession (fishing, cooking, etc.) I can do so without a bunch of idiots bitching at me about holding up THEIR progress. I frankly DO NOT GIVE A CRAP about THEIR progress.

4.   Soloing is the ONLY way a player can REALLY learn how to play a class.  You quickly learn ALL the strengths and weaknesses of the class - something that can NEVER be learned in groups just fulfilling a small predetermined group niche.

5.   I DO NOT buy the argument that Massivly Multiplayer Onilne gaming means that the intent is that players MUST play in groups. I engage with the other players on line thru the Auction House and in other manners.

6.   This game has a far larger world than any single player game.  I play for enjoyment - not to see how fast I can finish the game.

7.  I have played in groups and have been ripped off by people who formed them in order to get the goodies that THEY wanted in a instance - and then hearthed out leaving me in the middle of the mob. when they got what they wanted.

8.   I PAY MY OWN MONTHLY FEES FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF PLAYING THE GAME. If someone else wants me to play THEIR way they can pay my fees for me - until then don't bitch about how I play.

Originally posted by Vendegaar

More of the same arguments from people who want everyone to be FORCED to play in groups.

 

Hypocrisy is bad kids...mmkay?

 

My reasons for playing EXCLUSIVELY SOLO - which I have posted before on other threads.

1.  I have been playing for over three years now and have yet to have any of my troops high enough to where I can generate a Death Knight. Speed in leveling is NOT one of my priorities.

 

Ok then, I suppose you just suck then?  My 12 year old niece got to 60-something inside 3 months and she is limited to an hour of game-time every other day.

Ironically, she plays the game better than I do.

 

2.   I am a HOPELESS altoholic - I have almost 100 toons under TWO accounts on WOW.  If i want to try some new class, race or talent combination I will generate a new toon - even if I have to delete a mid 40s level toon to do it.

 

Ok....

 

3.   If I want to spend an hour or two grinding up a profession (mining, herbalism, etc) or secondary profession (fishing, cooking, etc.) I can do so without a bunch of idiots bitching at me about holding up THEIR progress. I frankly DO NOT GIVE A CRAP about THEIR progress.

 

I am still failing to see why grouping is bad here.  You, like many of the other 'solo' enthusiasts make the assumption that 'grouping'  enthusiasts want to completely eliminate any solo element.  We simply want there to be a reason for grouping to be desirable.  As it is now, games 'allow' grouping.  But the way the games are designed it's counter-productive to group.

 

4.   Soloing is the ONLY way a player can REALLY learn how to play a class.  You quickly learn ALL the strengths and weaknesses of the class - something that can NEVER be learned in groups just fulfilling a small predetermined group niche.

 

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH.

 

Oh...ahah...ehh..eheh...hoo....wait...sh**, you're serious?

I can't count on both hands and feet how many idiots I've ran into in the high level instances that didn't know their class from a hole in the ground.  Largely in-part because they never grouped in their entire career with anyone.

 

5.   I DO NOT buy the argument that Massivly Multiplayer Onilne gaming means that the intent is that players MUST play in groups. I engage with the other players on line thru the Auction House and in other manners.

 

So...by online interaction...you just want the people to be there.  But you don't really want to have to do any nasty, uh what do you call it...INTERACTING.

You want to play a game by yourself, but have a large group of people to support your time playing without having to give anything back to them.  What a selfish mindset.

 

6.   This game has a far larger world than any single player game.  I play for enjoyment - not to see how fast I can finish the game.

 

And why can't this be done with say, 1 or more other people as well?

 

7.  I have played in groups and have been ripped off by people who formed them in order to get the goodies that THEY wanted in a instance - and then hearthed out leaving me in the middle of the mob. when they got what they wanted.

 

Yes, and if there was an emphasis on grouping...those actions would be scorned heavily.   As it stands now people get away with crap like that because they can.  There are no reprocussions, because they can do it, then continue playing the game by themselves without want or worry of what others think.

Whereas in a game like FF11, if the same jackhole did something like that.   They'd be immidiately blacklisted by almost the entire server.  Their progression would come to a dead halt.

 

8.   I PAY MY OWN MONTHLY FEES FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF PLAYING THE GAME. If someone else wants me to play THEIR way they can pay my fees for me - until then don't bitch about how I play.

 

As long as you don't bitch about how I want to play either.  I pay my own monthly fees for my privilege as well.  So what?  Am I SOL, because your 15$ is more important than mine?

 

Again, hypocrisy is bad kids...mmkay?

Originally posted by Goronian

 EDIT: I guess it needs a litle rephrasing at this point.
"Why do people, who prefer to play solo choose MMOs in the first place? What drives them in?"

I havn't read the whole thread, so maybe already mentioned.

But why is it, that everyone seems to assume that MMOs should be about playing WITH each other? 

I don't like to be forced to group. When I get back from work, I like to have a few hours in "peace" doing my stuff. I talk on the phone, in meetings, with colleagues the whole day. When I get home I like silence! In groups there is always some kind of hectic, killing monsters together, paying attention what the others do, typing the same time, answer whispers etc. And I surely do not like coming home, getting on teamspeak, hearing kids 20 youngers than I am talking about chicks etc.

Why can't people understand that I choose MMOs over single player games because I also like playing AGAINST each other? I can't PvP in a singler player game. Period! NPCs are way to predictable, even when I am not pvping. When I get into a large city in an MMO, I simply enjoy people doing all kind of different things. Man, I play computer games for more than 25 years now, I think there is not single NPC reaction I haven't learned about yet.

Play in groups if you like, get in guilds, even meet new friends - I totally understand.

But leave me in peace with this "MMOs are not for soloing"-crap.

Not all MMO players are the same.

The EQ/WoW/Lotro player prefers an element of tactics perhaps even strategy in their game. For me the top class of strategy is the Lotro Captain class. He/she has a skill that allows TWO fallen to be resurrected. So, do you use it the moment someone falls or wait a sec because another member is about to fall and you can use the skill fully? Wait to long and the first player can't be rezzed anymore, or your entire party might not survive both players going down.

You have last stand, and in harms ways, which makes you unable to die for 30 secs and aborb all damage from the group. VERY powerful, but at the end you are near death (you do take damage, you just don't die) and you the cooldown is huge. So do you use it NOW when the shit has hit the fan or risk waiting for when things are even worse.

Champions Online is far simpler, 1 auto-attack that build power, hit special whenever you got power, hit block whenever an icon flashes. Very little thinking required, but lots of action. 

Some players prefer lots of story to immerse them into the game world, others think all dialog is there to be clicked through as fast as possible to get to the killing bits. 

Some think MMO's are about working together, for others it is a way to climb a ranking board or show what goodies they managed to collect, competing with other players for the top spot.

Solo players tend to be the ones who see the game as competition. To them it is the destination that matters, not the journey. It is a valid play form although Solo players as clients tend to be very fickle always chasing the latest and greatest.

Group players tend to take things slower, they play healer or support classes because they want to work with others to overcome a challenge and part of that challenge is finding the group. They enjoy the social interaction needed to organize a group. I do. It is fun to get a huge group together out of nothing and defeat an instance as a well oiled fighting machine.

It is a different way of playing and the difference is nothing new. Solo players preferred FPS multiplayer in deathmatch mode, group players prefer COOP mode. Again, both perfectly valid game formats.

The problem arises when the two groups end up in one game and start pulling in both their directions. As a group player I am of course biased in thinking that a lot of solo players show a lack of social skills and basically will demand everything can be soloed because they nobody wants to play with them.

Imagine if soccer became a solo sport. But hey, there are solo-yacht races and group-yacht races. 

We should just let each other be and accept that some games will just not be right for us. Unfortunally, that is not human nature. 

Originally posted by Kalvasflamm

Originally posted by Goronian

 EDIT: I guess it needs a litle rephrasing at this point.
"Why do people, who prefer to play solo choose MMOs in the first place? What drives them in?"

 

I havn't read the whole thread, so maybe already mentioned.

But why is it, that everyone seems to assume that MMOs should be about playing WITH each other? 

I don't like to be forced to group. When I get back from work, I like to have a few hours in "peace" doing my stuff. I talk on the phone, in meetings, with colleagues the whole day. When I get home I like silence! In groups there is always some kind of hectic, killing monsters together, paying attention what the others do, typing the same time, answer whispers etc. And I surely do not like coming home, getting on teamspeak, hearing kids 20 youngers than I am talking about chicks etc.

Why can't people understand that I choose MMOs over single player games because I also like playing AGAINST each other? I can't PvP in a singler player game. Period! NPCs are way to predictable, even when I am not pvping. When I get into a large city in an MMO, I simply enjoy people doing all kind of different things. Man, I play computer games for more than 25 years now, I think there is not single NPC reaction I haven't learned about yet.

Play in groups if you like, get in guilds, even meet new friends - I totally understand.

But leave me in peace with this "MMOs are not for soloing"-crap.

But then pick the right game, free-for-all PvP. Stay away from the likes of EQ/WoW/Lotro/SWTOR because these are not the games for you. 
 

Would you join a soccer team considering your anti-social desires? No. I wouldn't even recommend tennis. go excersise in a gym with an iPod on.

Originally posted by Goronian

 I seriously do. Look, this is not a flame thread. This is something, of a big question to the people, who play solo.

Why? What draws you in?

See... Let's be honest here. MMORPG's, as games in themselves... Kinda suck. They're repetetive, drawn-out, barely offer a coherent story and their fighting system is a droll. I can get a bazillion times more enjoyment from about any solid C/JRPG, released in the last 15 years. The point is... They are, in their core, better. Cheaper, even, especially in the long run. The time it takes to solo a char to the cap in a modern MMO is about the same, as the time it would take you to beat, say, Baldur's Gate. But with Baldur's Gate you're at least rewarded with a cutscene and some closure to the story. 

I understand the necessity of solo. Yes, it's unavoidable, since most people don't want to group with strangers. But why do people... Like it?

P.S. Let's try to keep things civil, people. We can have an interesting discussion, if we try to keep our bile from spilling.

 

EDIT: I guess it needs a litle rephrasing at this point.
"Why do people, who prefer to play solo choose MMOs in the first place? What drives them in?"

 

I prefer to play mostly solo on my grind to max in any game.  The promise of being an invincible fighter set to help change the course of history is enough for me.  Plus, I like to explore by myself and take my time.

Originally posted by sfc1971

Originally posted by Kalvasflamm

Originally posted by Goronian

 EDIT: I guess it needs a litle rephrasing at this point.
"Why do people, who prefer to play solo choose MMOs in the first place? What drives them in?"

 

I havn't read the whole thread, so maybe already mentioned.

But why is it, that everyone seems to assume that MMOs should be about playing WITH each other? 

I don't like to be forced to group. When I get back from work, I like to have a few hours in "peace" doing my stuff. I talk on the phone, in meetings, with colleagues the whole day. When I get home I like silence! In groups there is always some kind of hectic, killing monsters together, paying attention what the others do, typing the same time, answer whispers etc. And I surely do not like coming home, getting on teamspeak, hearing kids 20 youngers than I am talking about chicks etc.

Why can't people understand that I choose MMOs over single player games because I also like playing AGAINST each other? I can't PvP in a singler player game. Period! NPCs are way to predictable, even when I am not pvping. When I get into a large city in an MMO, I simply enjoy people doing all kind of different things. Man, I play computer games for more than 25 years now, I think there is not single NPC reaction I haven't learned about yet.

Play in groups if you like, get in guilds, even meet new friends - I totally understand.

But leave me in peace with this "MMOs are not for soloing"-crap.

But then pick the right game, free-for-all PvP. Stay away from the likes of EQ/WoW/Lotro/SWTOR because these are not the games for you. 
 

Would you join a soccer team considering your anti-social desires? No. I wouldn't even recommend tennis. go excersise in a gym with an iPod on.

 

Feeble comment.

It's a shame that after all this time there are still plenty of people around who labour under the misapprehension that people who prefer to solo in an MMO are anti-social. It's an especially cretinous point of view when expressed in response to someone who has clearly stated he likes to play against other players. He's grouping just the same as you are, except that he and the other guy are on opposite sides instead of fighting alongside each other. The games you mention are perfectly suited to such a playstyle, but be  aware that if they are the games you enjoy playing you need people with other playstyles to yours in order to keep the populations healthy and the games afloat.

I also cannot understand peoples that pay monthly fee for a game that they play as a standalone game.

Even that for me soloing in MMOs is important aspect as it is the only way to play when have not much time to spend in a game.

Originally posted by iZakaroN

I also cannot understand peoples that pay monthly fee for a game that they play as a standalone game.

So if someone doesn't group for combat in a MMO they are playing it as a standalone game?

That is such an ignorant view, you should try and broaden your mind a tad. There are so many other ways of interracting with other players than simply grouping with them for combat. Equally, there are so many ways in which a MMO differs from a standalone game other than in respect of the opportunity to group with others for combat.