Debate and Discussion - Solo vs Co-op

[Chopper]

Hey Guys,

In lots of topics recently I have seen discussions regarding whether solo is easier than co-op.

I'd like to give my opinion on this and am very interested in how others see it.

Mainly to me it depends on the map and who you are playing with.

Kiting. 2 very competent players are going to have an easier time in co-op than solo. If they kite in seperate areas they will each have less zombies. On a minus only 1 can have a power weapon but the other can have a crossbow.

In solo on most maps the kite is easy anyway, you rely entirely on yourself and no-one is going to mess with your train. On the flip side as stated above competent players aren't going to mess with your train without sufficient warning.

Resurrection. If you go down in co-op, most of the time I'm estimating at least 90% your partner will get you back up. There really isn't any good reason not to if you are kiting in complementing and accessible areas. Maps with monkeys or Gersch devices should never really fail.

If you look at any high level co-op game you will have at least 10 downs between the team.

Now on solo you have 4 chances, that's it. Recovering from a high level down is also much harder on solo.

The map that is definitely easier in co-op is Nacht for this exact reason. I have a friend on my list who is an adequate player but nothing spectacular. He has been to 40 on Nacht with 3 people.

Time taken. On this solo is easier for sure. Besides having almost 1/2 the total zombies you can pause at will. However on COTD for instance it's quicker to get to high rounds on co-op as the only 'real' power weapon is the upgraded VR-11. This guarantees 24 dead zombies 36 times no matter the level. The scavenger only guarantees 24 zombies 12 times on round 40 or so.

The boredom factor. I get bored playing for 2 hours solo. In co-op with good friends I can play for 10 hours straight no problems. You can be more complacent in co-op if you are confident that the absolute worse case is having to watch your friend clutch a high round. Hey it's a good chance for a break.

Really high rounds. Solo is easier for sure. Pausing ability, sleeping ability...this wins hands down.

Map specific. Moon. With all the glitches and adding the excavators and astrotwat Moon is easier on co-op for sure. If anywhere glitches as long as you are not travelling or too close together you can get by. Oh and the big carrot.....the Easter Egg and unlimited perks.

In summary as much as many people seem to think solo is much easier for the reasons listed above I'm calling co-op easier on the whole.

What do you think?

[Guest xFaTaLx RaMpAgE]

I think it depends on the map and people playing. Take Five as an example. With multiple people it is hard to get far, due to the tight spaces, lack of a power weapon, difficult trap positions, and no flopper. People have been much farther on solo than in Co-Op. For the tight maps-Verruckt, Five, SL, and Nacht I think solo is easier. For the open maps I think Co-op is easier. The ease of revive, Power weapons, good traps and people to talk to as you may lose focus. The only drawback to Co-Op is that you can't pause the game and come back the next day. I will also say that Dead Ops is much easier on co-op.

[Guest Zombieofthedead]

Ability to get to higher rounds faster, as well as getting breaks easily makes solo easier. There really isn't a question about it, if you can get further on one, it is easier.

[Guest ChopperNator]

Ability to get to higher rounds faster, as well as getting breaks easily makes solo easier. There really isn't a question about it, if you can get further on one, it is easier.

Kinda short sighted but fair enough.

[Guest TroubledTurkey]

Depends.

Map with Traps: Solo is easier and faster. Many variables are also removed, such as WonderWeapons. To get far on a trap level, a wonderweapon is completely un-necessary, just a booster.

Map without Traps: Co-Op starts easier, but the drastic jump in zombies, scarcity of Ammo, lack of Boss Rounds make Co-Op a lot more tedious in high rounds. Perk Granting Easter Eggs and George Romero on COTD make Co-Op on high rounds a great deal easier. (George more so in Solo actually...)

Nacht: Co-Op is easier if you have players who can survive. The map is just hard through and through (It has its easy moments, and a team of 3 split up throughout all the rooms can get far a lot easier than a solo runner)

Moon: Overall, Solo is easier in general. Hacker is god. Though if you have a GOOD team (atleast ONE good player in the game) its pretty damn easy to go far on Moon, especially in the Dome. The most overpowered room in all of zombies (Seriousley... Its like one giant ass room with 5 super-easy kiting spots in it...)

[Guest Rissole25]

Yeah I agree that it kinda depends on the map, and some other variables.

Nacht der Untoten - Probably far easier if you have competent people who know the strategy and are generally well good. 2 players halve the amount of zombies per person in general, while 3 players breaks it into a 1/3. 8pp. You have no QR on this map for solo, so no second chances, whereas you can get revived in Co-op.

For this map, I think Co-Op is easier.

Verruckt - Tough. There is no stable wonder weapon to save yourself with, however there are traps. While constantly moving around the map, the zombies always trail behind you. That could be harder to do with more than one person.

Solo on this map for me.

Shi No Numa - Well you've got 5 traps, a stable wonder weapon, and some good areas to kite in. Easy to revive people, even if they're at the other side of the map. The boredom you might get in Solo won't come for ages if you play Co-op.

Co-Op for SNN

Der Riese - A well placed map layout. Several kiting areas, boss rounds and PaP. 3 sets of traps and 3 teleporters which may give a random power-up. Hellhounds appearing during rounds make the map hard, depending on what weapons you have and the area. A person with a Ray Gun may not be able to get rid of them safely if they're in the Thompson room.

Der Riese on Solo.

Kino der Toten - A near symmetrical map. 5 well placed traps, the Thundergun, easy kiting. There are only so many locations in Co-op for kiting though, and most people will only know the stage kite. Syndicate proves how easy this is on Solo.

Solo definetly.

"Five" - Stupidly placed traps, small area, no stable wonder weapon makes this a hard map on Solo and Co-op. If the Pentagon Thief manages to get away with a good gun of yours than it makes it worse. You will not get far with randoms on this map. A good loop in the War Room, and everyone else can stay in the PaP room, though may leave and stuff up everything due to boredom. If they are skilled they can run top floor with traps, or bottom floor with AK74u, however this introduces Gas Zombies. Awful Lawton is a must.

I would pick Solo.

Ascension - Considered the easiest map by most. Well placed traps, Thundergun, free perks, PhD Flopper, easiest kiting positions in history. You can do well with both Solo and Co-op. Since the kiting positions are so far apart, you may not be able to revive in time, however multiple people means you can get free perks easier, until later on when only the Thundergun and traps will be useful. This manageable in Solo however. May take a longer time to get to a certain round due to multiple players. A fun map even on Solo.

Solo Ascension!

Call of the Dead - V-R11 Lazarus. Need I say more? It's Insta-Kill properties and George-going-away abilities make it one of the best weapons in zombies for Co-op. George's health does increase vastly with more players, but if everyone contributes to killing George, than that problem is fixed. DG-2 kills instantly, Scavenger kills till 34, but V-R11 deals with that and any other weapons (especially the AK74u). Ray Gun is also a nice addition to have on this map, great for taking George down. A fun easter egg, good kiting areas and M&S + PhD. Only downside is no traps, but the V-R11 takes some of that problem away.

Co-op by far.

Shangri-La - A small map with some form of a traps. jGB makes it insanely easier with its great ammo. M&S is a must. Some kiting areas only skilled players could probably do, but just like Verruckt, if you move around the whole map, it makes it easy.

Solo.

Moon - The last map of Black Ops. If Ascension isn't considered the easiest map than Moon usually is. With an easily accomplish-able EE that grants all perks permanent, Hacker for easy Max Ammo's, Wave Gun/Zap Gun, Gersch Devices, this map is pretty easy on Solo and Co-op. However the excavators can glitch out and stuff up your routine pretty bad. Anyone going down outside the Biodome is most likely doomed. Area 51/NML with Co-op can be hard if you don't have a good strategy going on with others, but fairly easy on Solo.

Solo!

[Guest Tom852]

Solo is just boring, it's always the same. In coop, you get unpredictable factors, which pimps the game up. Not always to your advantage, but just do not take every game serious.

[Guest BlindBusDrivr]

I never liked solo, I always had trouble setting up because without teammates some little f***** likes to come up behind me and one hit me before round 5 :x

And I also just don't find it as fun, because once I get juggernog in solo, it's almost hard to get downed. I mean your 1 person with a fraction of the zombies in co-op, so you've got the whole map, the whole box, just everything. Nobody to get in your way. And I just feel lonely.

I think co-op was the way zombies was made to be played. It just makes it more interesting. And nothing beats rushing like crazing blasting a thunder gun to revive your idiot friend just for the hell of it because you know dogs are next round compared to just lying there with frozen zombies while the game picks you back up, alone and perk less :(

[Guest Zachjh]

Looking at Boredom Factor, I think we have beaten that through the use of Skype. As way2g00 has said to me many times, he doesn't think he would've made it to 141 on Ascension without the support and chat we gave him through Skype. So maybe just give us a notice when you plan on a longer solo game and we can chat with you on Skype.

Zach

[Guest]

im mainly a solo player because i can pause and chill out and have a ciggerette mid game

[Guest Eddiethehead]

I do solo only on Asension and five.

I do multiplayer sometimes on Kino and usually always On Nacht.

Whenever my friends are around, well usually do split screen. We take a vote and whatever map wins, that's the one we play for the rest of the day.

I agree with most of the posts above; solo gets boring after a while but multiplayer keeps it interesting. But, there's two things I hate about multiplayer:

1.When this guy keeps getting down and you keep revivIng him, by he recuses to revive yOu.

2.That one guy that takes all your kills...

[Guest xFaTaLx RaMpAgE]

But, there's two things I hate about multiplayer:

1.When this guy keeps getting down and you keep revivIng him, by he recuses to revive yOu.

2.That one guy that takes all your kills...

I have never understood this, why does it matter if someone takes your kills? There are an unlimited amount of zombies for you to kill. Besides, it saves you ammo for the time being, and can potentially save your life. For example I was in a game with randoms yesterday on Ascension. One person steals one kill on round 1 so the guy decides to leave. Is it really worth it to leave for that extra 130 points? When it comes to round 5 and you decide to leave, you can have them open the doors because they have the most points. The only time it can be problematic is if one person is downed. If someone kills all the zombies then you may get trapped by spawning zombies, but even then you can just throw a monkey or whatnot. People "stealing" my kills are the least of my worries when I play co-op zombies. Besides, do the zombies really belong to you in the first place?

[Guest Zombieofthedead]

But, there's two things I hate about multiplayer:

1.When this guy keeps getting down and you keep revivIng him, by he recuses to revive yOu.

2.That one guy that takes all your kills...

I have never understood this, why does it matter if someone takes your kills? There are an unlimited amount of zombies for you to kill. Besides, it saves you ammo for the time being, and can potentially save your life. For example I was in a game with randoms yesterday on Ascension. One person steals one kill on round 1 so the guy decides to leave. Is it really worth it to leave for that extra 130 points? When it comes to round 5 and you decide to leave, you can have them open the doors because they have the most points. The only time it can be problematic is if one person is downed. If someone kills all the zombies then you may get trapped by spawning zombies, but even then you can just throw a monkey or whatnot. People "stealing" my kills are the least of my worries when I play co-op zombies. Besides, do the zombies really belong to you in the first place?

You have to build up points early, if someone steals your kills you might not be able to get what is necessary to survive. Plus, most of the people who steal kills anyways aren't team players, they won't open doors bro. Anytime after those first rounds in the spawn it doesn't matter.

[Guest Eddiethehead]

Exactly. I have no problem if they take 1 or 2, as long as they need points more than me, but when theyre taking all of your kills and I have no points, then I have problems.

[Guest aegisknight]

solo is incredibly boring, but also easier, depending on your skill level.

For beginners, solo is easier because you have your choice of guns, fewer zombies, and more points to yourself.

For intermediate players, co-op is easier because you can work together and revive each other, sharing the burden.

For expert players, solo is easiest because you can do whatever you want and at your own pace. You can pause, take a meal, and come back when you feel like it (over the summer I played a 6 hour solo match, with a pause in the middle where I just switched the TV to my PS3 and played final fantasy for an hour or so)

[Guest xFaTaLx RaMpAgE]

I would say for beginners, Co-op is way easier. If you make a mistake, your teammate is there to revive you. You can talk to your teammates to learn more about the game. In co-op you may only get around 6 zombies at a time, depending on the number of players. Also, beginngers can all camp it out and make it to the high 20s.

I remember playing kino, and to be honest I sucked. We all got good guns and camped at the bottom of the stairs next to the alley. We made it to round 28, and that is farther than a lot of people have made it who are more experienced.

Here's another example; after ascension came out, I was still pretty inexperienced. The only kind of kiting I knew about was around the whole map on kino. We were running a 3 player game, so we couldn't camp at flopper. So my buddy says that me and my friend can stand by pack-a-punch while he runs loops right outside. Holding off a window isn't too hard, so we only started to have trouble when our kiter started struggling. At round 35 we had to leave because it was too hectic. So me and my friend bought an mp5 off the wall and run and gunned until we lost on 37. It was one of the most fun games of zombies I have ever had, and we got to 37. Newbs can't make it to 37 solo, but they can co-op, which is why co-op is easier for beginners.

[Guest Zombieofthedead]

I would say for beginners, Co-op is way easier. If you make a mistake, your teammate is there to revive you. You can talk to your teammates to learn more about the game. In co-op you may only get around 6 zombies at a time, depending on the number of players. Also, beginngers can all camp it out and make it to the high 20s.

I remember playing kino, and to be honest I sucked. We all got good guns and camped at the bottom of the stairs next to the alley. We made it to round 28, and that is farther than a lot of people have made it who are more experienced.

Here's another example; after ascension came out, I was still pretty inexperienced. The only kind of kiting I knew about was around the whole map on kino. We were running a 3 player game, so we couldn't camp at flopper. So my buddy says that me and my friend can stand by pack-a-punch while he runs loops right outside. Holding off a window isn't too hard, so we only started to have trouble when our kiter started struggling. At round 35 we had to leave because it was too hectic. So me and my friend bought an mp5 off the wall and run and gunned until we lost on 37. It was one of the most fun games of zombies I have ever had, and we got to 37. Newbs can't make it to 37 solo, but they can co-op, which is why co-op is easier for beginners.

I agree with this, but 37 on Co-Op, and you were a newb... you must have had some BA team mates.

[Guest xFaTaLx RaMpAgE]

We were pretty much all newbs, but we had a great strategy. Anyone can hold off a window with a porters x2, so our job was easy. The guy running loops had done it maybe once before, so he wasn't great. We would help kill his horde as it ran by the hallway. He would go down every couple rounds but we had a plan. Whenever he went down we someone would throw a black hole, then revive him. He would take the window for the rest of the round and I would run loops. Since I had the thundergun I only went down like once there I think, but it wasn't a big deal. At the end of the round whoever needed to could get perks or guns if he needed to. It isn't always the skill level of the players that determines how far you get, it is the strategy employed to get that far. You only need to know enough about the game to get far.

[Guest Superhands]

I voted for 'depends'. Although pretty much all of my highest rounds come from solo play, I'd generally say co-op is easier. With 2 great players in co-op, there's not much limit to how far they can go, because 2 good players with a good strategy can work together to revive eac other each time one goes down.

Also, looking at it from an inexperienced player's perspective, or rather my own perspective when I first got into playing this game; my friend and I could regularly get into the 25+ rounds on any map, both of an equal skill-level. But when we played solo, neither of us could get past round 10. Regardless of what people say, reaching high rounds on solo takes an incredible amount of skill, more so than co-op in many cases.

[Guest way2g00]

my 2 cents.

solo:

----

pros:

Easy to start..

fun in the beginning..

easy to reach high rounds...

very convenient pausing the game at high rounds

Don't have to worry about making crawlers, just pause the game

can always restart the game if you think its a bad start..

don't have to worry about connection problems..

don't need reviving ..

don't have to wait to hit the box..

don't need to co-ordinate with other players to pack a punch or teleport...

don't need to worry about other players messing with game variables

eg: messing with george, throwing monkeys/gersches without notice that ruins your train, using traps constantly without warnings to increase frame lag..

cons:

vr11 is useless against zombies...

frame lag in high rounds but nothing compared to co-op

does not account for leaderboard..

co-op:

-----

cons:

Major connection issues..

matchmaking sucks, needs a filter for rounds...

reviving is challenging..

teleporting and pack a punching needs serious co-ordination from teammates in certain maps like shangrila and moon.

no host migration feature available..so if host ends the game all your progress is lost.

can get annoying with people abusing breaks and leaving crawlers..

too many zombies to kill in high rounds especially in 3-4 player..

can't pause mid game..

frame lag for 3-4 player games past round 30..

pros:

fun to play with your friends or even randoms to mess around..

develops your game quicker.

can rely on your partner to be revived.