Summer 2016 Ethereals Begin!

I didn't see any quests...just the merchant for this event

Solo players can still get the runes through the key quests just the same. So they are available to Solo players still.

However there are perks to doing heroic content, and this is now one of them.

To comment on why people solo, people play solo in mmos for a variety of reasons I imagine. Some like being in an ever changing world that feels more alive than a single player game and like seeing real people running around. Some used to group/raid but rl happened and thier physical abilities changed so they can't react fast enough any more to group well. I'm sure there's tons of reasons. I solo/molo ( or on rare occasions group with my rl husband ) mostly now.

When I first started playing mmos that's all you heard that mmos are only for people who group but over time things changed and most mmos made some solo friendly content so there must be enough of us to warrent that.

Its not so much about needing them. If you play at any level or any play style its about having cool stuff. Simple as that.

You used to have a chance to get ethereals from the solo instances...such as Dread Cutter instance. To make them totally unavailable, except by auction, just seems wrong. I was hoping we would hear that they are available..if you try over and over and over, as in the bow from the keys I still havent gotten

There really needs to be a way for solo players to earn Ethereal Coins. It was ok when the ethereal gear dropped off boss mobs in certain zones. Gotta group to do it, so be it. But when the devs do something cool and add the vendor so players can pick the gear they want after collecting enough coins there is no reason to leave it heroic only. Even if you have to grind multiple solos to get the same amount of coin(s) from a single heroic, the option needs to be there.

There is an amazing amount of stuff available to solo players. Items with hundreds of potency, my nifty duck helm, mythical ranged weapons and collection jewelry that puts group drops to shame.

I can also work the key quests to get ethereal runes, though i gave up on that long ago.

I have to say I am HAPPY these are from heroic content. I've spent too long seeing guild members that formerly grouped choose to quietly hack away at solo key quests, search for the duck portal, shiny hunt, etc because that's where the good stuff can be found. I am very much looking forward to logging in and finding people excited to group.

We'll be extending this first double Ethereal coin promo on Thurgadin. On Thurgadin, the first double Ethereal Coin event for members will be extended until 1:59PM Pacific time on Tuesday, June 14, 2016.

Much appreciated, thank you

when does the event start ? cant see a date for thurgadin in this post

Assume with the patch 5am tomorrow morning.

As a player who mostly solos or duos with a friend, I have to disagree with this.

We see the results of "soloers get the cool stuff too" every single beta - everything, even the solo content, is balanced under the assumption that solo players have the "cool stuff." So those of us who don't grind for the cool stuff, who don't min/max, who don't have mental charts of all the stats and how they balance each other, who don't strategize out the wazoo, can't even do the easy, solo content. AoM was almost impossible for my friend and I, and we both gave up on Thalumbra entirely. Not worth it.

And you want them to balance the next xpac on the assumption that even soloers will have at least one Ethereal? No thank you. I'll keep my "cool stuff" griping to appearances and house items. (I still want a copy of the Chelsith stone!)

so just 1 item dicovered? will there be 3 waves of it? and this is the first wave? cant find any info about that.

I will say this: Ignore Jarek because he/she obviously has no clue what MMO means. I been an MMO gamer for over 15 years on various MMO's and ALL have solo content and it is meant to tailor to each individuals play style(s)...To exclude those that prefer to play solo is a slap in the face for those that pay to play. If those that pay to play solo as their personal preference is excluded from gaining the rewards then this game company should have a reduced monthly subscription exclusively for solo players. How is it right that only those that prefer o group and/or raid get special treatment over those that don't? (rhetorical) While on that note it is similar to the Vesspyr quest line Shades of Drinal and can be soloed only to find out that the very last event is an epic and can't be soloed so all that time is wasted to try to get the last rewards from this quest line only to learn you can't get it unless you form a group. How is that fair? I know this I will let my bill fold collect dust and keep my credit card tucked away and not spend anymore money until some equality is shown for the solo players. This thus far is the only MMO I know of that separates who gets what according to their play style. Way to go EQ II you just hit #1 on the all time list of how to cheat customers.

If all the best stuff is able to be acquired solo why would people group? In what environment can 1 person accomplish more than 6 all working together, or 24?

I really don't understand why the strength of an entire group working together should not be able to loot stronger items than 1 person by themself.

As far as the currency, I suppose a solo weekly by itself with a chance at an ethereal could work.

I agree that the ethereals really encourage people to group. Problem is, as I saw in general chat tonite, people attempting
to form groups who aren't "the cool kids", or just folks wanting to give it a shot to get the ethereals, i.e. not necessarily experienced at groups but want to do so...... get ridiculed in chat.

For example, tonite someone asked for a second healer, and was shouted at basically by 3 other people in chat, that if they knew the "strats", they wouldn't NEED a second healer.

Ok well, how are they supposed to learn? It's this kind of stuff that discourages a lot of folks from grouping. You are putting yourself out there to be hazed, if you aren't an experienced raider type, not by all, but by enough to make it discouraging.
Some people have enough daily stress so they hide heads in sand, and I don't blame them.

That being said, I agree with the solo weekly as above.

Silk

That was about 30 min ago...guess you forgot to take down the servers? gj...

PS: Sometimes I think we need "newb" group zones, and you could earn 1/4 of an ethereal (or whatever) LOL. If I'm in the newb group, I'm saying hey other newbs, come practice! Thus no stomping on chat channel necessary.

Silk

Jeez do you solo players want them to change your diapers too? You wanna solo? Go play Xbox

I have to agree with this..and not only becuse my wife was SUPER PISSED when she found out she can't even earn 1 coin solo. She solo's ALL the time due to her schedule, but she is a die hard grinder and will put in any amount of effort to get what she wants. . I rarely group anymore, mostly due to RL schedule as well and I think most people are idiots anyways...but both my wife and I have had subs since EQ2 left Beta.

We don't mind content gated through a sub fee, that's resonable, play to play should have benefits over FTP, but to exclude our chosen play style and gate these through heroic group content only, tells us our monthly subscription fee as solo'ers just isn't as important and frankly, pushed her over the edge. /shrug. She canceled both subs today.

Regards.

Jaenis