Originally posted by Mixie

I dont want another solo game, if i want to solo all the time i go and play a singelplayer game. Seriusly when did grouping become so hated? Okey i get ppl that dont want to group all the time, but i think grouping should be rewarded with more xp and faster lvling. But thats just what i think.

Make grouping fun and desirable, and I agree.   Make grouping a pain in the butt and annoying, and it sucks.  For example, look at AoC.  Grouping in that game is horrible (or was when I quit -- not sure now).  The game actually made it hard to group, therefore when grouping was mandatory to complete a task, it sucked. 

I'm all for grouping, but I'm all against FORCED grouping.

coh missions are really only fun if you build teams that can get mobs significantly higher than the average lvl of the group and survive. I would usually recruit at least 1 player 3 or 4 lvls higher than myself and run their missions on invince, with enough heal, buff/debuffs, pets and damage, just about any spawn would fall fairly quickly, but not so quickly that it was boring. Also with mobs being 5 or 6 lvls above the avg lvl of the group, there was a significant threat of wiping if things started to go wrong, but its really the only way to seperate the "men from the mice" in that game, my global friendlist is full because when u run a few hours of tough mishes forcing everyone to play their role well, taking the occassional wipe and being man or woman enough to soldier on, you earn respect from and gain respect for players who show the "courage" to roll with ya. Lotta fun. Played any other way the game is just too boring for me. CO may offer a little more, but I suspect the mediocre "super"hero formula Emmert stayed true to since the nerf thet anded the goldenage of coh will not be so easily abandoned. Sadder still is that even after Jack is gone, they continue to nert ATs, NCSoft can rot in hell.

Unless the OP and his wife picked some incredibly gimped powerset combos at launch - Mace Tank, or Illusions / Grav Controller, for instance - CoH/V plays very well as a solo / small team game. Forced grouping isn't something I've seen outside of hazard zones (which, even then you don't have to), against Giant Monsters or Task Forces (which require a minimum number of players to start).

Also, the Fifth Column are back in CoH/V - you can fight them in some time travelling missions.

Grouping became so hated when you were forced to roll for an item that dropped that everyone needed and that mob popped maybe once an hour.

It has just carried over into other games. I know CoX does not have that type of loot system but I still find myself not willing to group from that mentality.

G4 aired an interview last week where the dev said on camera that you can solo 1-50 in COL.