Overview
There is no doubt that soloing in LiF: MMO is difficult. Really difficult. But it isn’t impossible. In this guide I, Viveltre, provide my thoughts about playing solo in a game built for large guilds.
The necessity of solitude
“Whoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god.” – Aristotle.
I’m not anti-social by nature. I don’t sit on the porch and snarl at local children as they pass by.
I have a life, study, job, friends – wait, who am I trying to convince? – so I don’t have loads of time to spend playing games on the internet. I am what some have termed a “dirty casual”. Because of this, I have never seriously joined any clan, guild, party, corporation or whatever other organisation there is in this or other MMOs. I’m also just terrible at PvP and suck at dungeons/raids and truly wish to spare both myself and others the shame of my ineptitude in these things.
But I love MMOs and I love Vikings (Ragnar, I’m looking at you, babe). Yes, before anyone complains, I know that LiF MMO isn’t strictly about Vikings, but many of the character models do look suspiciously like them. Accordingly, I have fallen in love with the world of LiF MMO, despite its early access faults.
What I’ve written below isn’t exactly a guide but more a series of observations I’ve made based on what has and hasn’t worked for me so far as a solo player. I hope fellow soloists can derive something from my ramblings. Just as those nestled in guilds can gain some insight into the challenges solo players face, while also recognising the opportunities solo players provide to them.
The last thing I would add is that I never played LiF YO and I’ve only played about a hundred hours of MMO. In no way am I an expert, so any feedback or your own tales of what has and hasn’t worked for you is most welcome.
Now, get off my lawn!
Knowing your limitations
Unfortunately, for the solo player, LiF MMO presents some unique challenges that simply don’t occur in other MMOs and won’t register so prominently to players in medium or large guilds. You have a limited amount of skill points and, unless you want to end up throwing a frustration tantrum and rage quitting the game, you have to acknowledge from the outset that you are limited. Fortunately for you, so is everyone else.
Yet your true limitation is self imposed. Your exile is what hinders you, but if you face it openly, it is what lends you resolve. And you should first resolve to devise a plan.
Your plan must pivot around one clear objective: who do I want to be? Oddly enough, this is no different a question many guild players will ask themselves, it’s just that they have more resources and support than you have to enable them to achieve or to alter their objectives quicker than you. But if you know what your limits are and you know who you want to be – assuming you’re pragmatic – you can look first at your specialisations and decide on which of these to focus.
For example, I knew that I wanted to play self-sufficiently as a hunter and trader. I have always enjoyed exploration – the game kind, not the “Well, we’re in college, so we might as well” sort. And I’m learning that as the LiF MMO landscape changes there is always something new to see and someone interesting to speak to.
The key here is that I knew that to be who I wanted to be I needed to hunt and I needed to make my own weapons and ammunition. From there I looked at the LiF wiki, watched a bunch of videos and asked questions of other players to figure out which key basic skills I required. Hunting, artisan and carpentry, slinger… These I knew I needed. Agility. Willpower.
From there, I set myself to the grind and to getting creative.
Trading fluid
Not to be confused with trading fluids, the idea of trading fluid simply means maintaining flexibility. I’ve made many trades with individual players and Kingdoms and the one thing I never do is go into a trade thinking “I must get x.”
I generally have three or four physical items I want to obtain (for example, to make better arrows I’m always on the lookout for quality feathers), but I also always have some creative trades in mind.
Remember how I earlier said that I resigned myself to the grind of skill levelling? Well, this grind also influences some of the trades I’ve made. On one occasion, a lovely man traded me a full set of novice padded armour that he didn’t require for my hides, furs and alchemy ingredients. I wanted to wear this armour early on so that I could more safely hunt larger prey. In order to wear it, I needed to improve my militia skill to 30. But how to improve my militia skill?
My next trade was to a solo player who owned a claim in the woods to the south of the main city; I traded for time on his training dummy. I went through a lot of basic axes, but I got the skill up high enough to enable me to wear my armour. On a later trade I used another kind guild’s archery target. I’m not yet the greatest archer, but levelling archery up only by hunting game would have been nearly impossible. When I get the opportunity, I will ask another guild to let me use their target in exchange for something they want.
None of this is meant to trivialise the real grind that faces the solo player. I simply implore you to keep your plan in mind, remember who you are, and then find creative ways to achieve your objectives.
Your place in the world
Some people aren’t agreeable. You may be surprised to learn that some people on the internet go out of their way to be disagreeable towards others. Yeah, hard to believe, isn’t it? If you don’t want to quickly flame out in your solo adventure, you probably shouldn’t be one of them.
Unless you’re roleplaying the grizzled angry lone-wolf, then all power to you. Which reminds me of my encounter with two warriors who were building an enclosed earth rampart in the middle of a small swamp to the south of Rocky Plains (just north of the central “river”). The surrounding vegetation had been effectively denuded, so I was intrigued to learn how they would build any structures, which seemed to be their intent.
Also, one of them was covered in blood. Both were shirtless, but still carrying the name of a guild that was based in the northern forests more than a kilometre away. There was a backstory here, I knew it.
They were decidedly unfriendly when I first hailed them. After a quick discussion, the most I could get out of the one who was still bleeding was that they, “Hate ppl in this game.” Although I wanted to know more, I graciously bid them good luck and departed. My curiosity wasn’t worth a spear to the face.
With this in mind, I’m going to reveal a secret about solo play in LiF MMO – you’re not playing solo. Unless you’re a masochist who enjoys selling hides to the Crown for a pittance, you’re going to need to trade with and speak to other players. Even the disagreeable ones.
Somebody said this to me. Different people communicate differently and some just want to say silly things. Quite a few others have approached me and asked, “Who the heck are you?” Although, they did not use the word heck.
But for all of the wolves I’ve run from, bears I’ve avoided, game I’ve hunted and ridiculous herb names I’ve mispronounced, the most interesting moments in this game involved human interaction and my realisation of the very small place I inhabit amid the larger game being played out around me.
I’ve therefore realised the importance of courtesy. If you doubt me, then ask yourself the following question the next time you approach a castle hoping to make a trade: why would a person with authority to trade bother speaking to me?
There is a well organised guild named Axeholes (and Axeholes Auxilliary) on my map. They, and their allies, dominate the peninsula in the centre of Telmun. After I managed to make my initial way from my north coast spawn (I spawned in winter – yikes!) and become somewhat organised, theirs was the first guild I sought to trade with. Why would they trade with me?
I suspect it is down to how pathetic I was, but I like to think it was because I always try to use courtesy and keep in mind what I, a solo player, can realistically offer. Allow me to give you an example.
On quite a few occasions I have offered goods for nothing in return. This is not to be obsequious, and I have done so to solo players and to guilds. Sometimes, I am transitioning from trading and am preparing to trek to the snow in the north or southern dry land for good hunting so, rather than waste items, I’d prefer to give them to someone who can use them. It may be that someone in the guild has been kind enough to give me information about surrounding guilds and their dispositions towards solo players, thereby saving me some time I could have wasted. Sometimes it is because I acknowledge that a guild’s influence goes beyond the borders of their claim.
Sometimes it is because someone has showed me courtesy. There are plenty of guilds who do – Beardssons, Inquisition, Myrmidons, Indigo Brotherhood, Rad Army, Northern Guard…just to name a few of the many.
As a solo player, CTRL F4 is your friend. Knowing the borders of a guild claim allows you to avoid inadvertently trespassing or, worse, stealing resources placed by that guild. But the solo player should understand that the influence of a guild often extends beyond the borders of its claim. Life in this game is, after all, feudal.
Do not be surprised if you are hassled for taking resources you thought were free game simply because there is a large guild in the area. Lumber, particularly, can be a problem. I was attacked in northern Sleeper’s Hammer for cutting trees down, despite there being no active guild claim over that land. My attacker – wearing a guild tabard and heavy armour – said two words, “Ours. Leave.” A bare ten points from being knocked unconscious, I left.
Here’s some tips from my experiences with guilds: First, carry bandages. Second, even if two large guild claims adjoin one another, there is a two or so metre strip of land between them that remains unclaimed. If you’re trying to get someone’s attention for a trade without trespassing, standing between the two claims gives you a good chance of being noticed. Third, once you’ve made a trade, ask which people in the guild are authorised to trade on behalf of the guild with outsiders. Finally, write down or remember the names of those you trade with or speak to. Dropping a name (i.e. “The last time I was here I spoke to…”) could save you some time and prevent you from being or remaining unwelcome.
Not everyone loves you. It is a sad fact of life with which you’ll one day have to come to terms.
Similarly, your happy face and kindly offer to chat or trade won’t always be welcome. Sometimes there will be good reason for this. One of the most obvious ones involves you interrupting some person using their crafting booster to power level. Every second spent talking to you is a second wasted. The guild might be preparing for an impending judgment hour. There are many possibilities.
In circumstances where you might not immediately be welcome, there are a few things you can try. Ask if there is someone you can talk to – it’s even more useful if you have a name or two to suggest. Clearly state what it is you have to trade, how many and what the quality is of your goods. If your quality ranges, state the lowest and highest qualities. The person you are speaking to (you’re probably typing furiously into local chat) will be talking to someone over teamspeak/discord to find out if it’s worth someone’s time to come out and see you.
Sometimes you’ll be asked right there what you want in exchange. It’s up to you, but I usually have a lot of options I can potentially pursue (see “Trading fluid”), so I might let them know a couple, but also say that I am open to discussion on other trades. Once an authorised person comes to chat, it means they’re open to exchange, they probably want what you have…and they’re possibly also open to creative trading.
And another small tip: if you are told to follow someone, ask if they are okay with you trespassing on their claim. I’ve waited outside a guild’s city gates for an iron hatchet to be made for me and I asked if, when I left, they wanted someone to escort me out. Not a big deal, but it is a small courtesy that shows that, even as a solo player I acknowledge the huge amount of time and effort people have invested to make their cities.
Interestingly, in this same trade I was asked by way of clarification whether I wanted an axe (which is a weapon) or a hatchet (primarily a tool) to be forged. I knew immediately that I’d be able to trade the axe quite valuably to a few smaller guilds I’d met in the region. This is where pragmatism is handy – why on earth would they arm someone they didn’t know with an axe?
Wanting to keep the trading relationship open I told them as much and was thankful for the hatchet, which I could use both to gather and also for basic self protection.
Bigger plans
As I already mentioned, in order to survive as a solo player in this game it is very important to have a plan. I don’t think you can have a plan without knowing who you want to be.
My plans now include the obvious stuff like levelling up my skills. To do so, I have tried to find the activities that give the most points – for example, one quick and inexpensive way to level artisan that I found early on was to go to forest areas and dig up the hundreds of tree stumps left behind. Not only did this give me quick, easy points but it also frees up space for new trees to grow.
But I also have a plan that involves a trading cart, which will at some point involve some very creative deals to be done. I hope I’m up to it.
The beauty of solitude
There is a great deal to be said for the benefits of being in a guild. You play with your friends and make new friends. Everything you need is there or can be made quickly by a helpful soul with the right skillset. You have better food. You all work towards a common goal. You fend off enemies. You make alliances. You eat nachos and swill Pepsi at your computer until the early hours.
Likewise, there is much to enjoy about solo play in LiF MMO. I know I am missing out on something, but I’ve traded it for something I value much more.
I am always moving. I am always hunting; rabbits, birds, the many deer in the snow or rams in the dry southern plains. I always stop to speak to those who will speak. I always spare what I can for the occasional newbie.
Best of all, I see places that many others don’t. There are oases in the south where the foolhardy have settled. There are clans in the deep northern forest, some of whom chased me on foot at night with torches until I hid inside a withered spruce tree to escape. There is a bear who stalked me across peaks and valleys of the desolate frozen mountains in the far north west. There are untouched green valleys in the hills. There is a guild living in the shattered waste atop the tallest peak. There is a giant causeway, built entirely by a single guild that runs from the south plains into the forested mountains. Its entire length is planted with trees.
Better yet, the land is always changing. As I travel, I get to see those changes and speak to those who have made them. Much of the time I stumble across the makings of change, the creators having long since disappeared leaving only behind a level space or a half built stone wall.
I am not a god and I am not a wild beast, as Aristotle once thought. I am, however, lucky to see and appreciate everything in the feudal world.
Perhaps you and I will meet in game and each share our experiences.