Can You Solo Shadowlands? A Comprehensive Guide
Can you solo Shadowlands? Yes, absolutely! While it might not be a walk in the park for every class and spec, much of the Shadowlands content, including dungeons, can be soloed with relative ease at higher character levels in the Dragonflight expansion. The difficulty of soloing Shadowlands content largely depends on your character’s gear level, class, and spec, as well as your familiarity with boss mechanics. Let’s delve deeper into the specifics and explore how you can conquer the challenges of the Shadowlands solo.
Soloing Shadowlands Dungeons
Easily Achievable with the Right Setup
The good news is that Shadowlands dungeons are designed to be easily soloable for most DPS classes with decent gear in Dragonflight. Tank and healer specs can make the runs even more fail-proof, providing higher survivability and self-healing options. You don’t need to be decked out in the best Mythic raid gear to achieve this. Even with gear around item level 396, many classes can comfortably clear heroic dungeons, and with higher item levels and player skill, even mythic dungeons become accessible.
Dungeon Mechanics and Preparation
While dungeons are less demanding than raids, they still possess mechanics and encounters that require attention. Proper preparation, including understanding the boss fights and having appropriate self-healing and defensive abilities, is key to successful solo runs. This is why understanding your class and its self-healing/survivability options are key.
The Mythic Nighthold Example
Interestingly, some older content like the Mythic Nighthold raid has been soloable since the Battle for Azeroth expansion, showcasing that player power creep often allows for previous raid content to be conquered solo. Nighthold can be completed weekly, demonstrating how much the balance of power changes over time in World of Warcraft.
Soloing Shadowlands Raids
Normal Difficulty Anduin and the Challenges
When it comes to Shadowlands raids, soloing becomes significantly more challenging, especially at the start of a new expansion like Dragonflight. Initially, soloing something like Anduin on normal difficulty might seem insurmountable. One strategy is to get Anduin to 10% in phase 1, which, when this article was initially written, required roughly 190k DPS at the time with early Dragonflight gear. This requirement will likely be reduced over time. The other option is to survive the transitions, which is more about survivability than DPS.
The Impact of Dragonflight
While Dragonflight has introduced many player power enhancements, soloing raids at this point is still not something every player can easily do, even with the solo queue implementation. For instance, early attempts to solo The Jailer in Dragonflight, even with a decent item level, often resulted in very low progress on the boss fight.
Best Classes for Solo Content in Dragonflight
Guardian Druids and Self-Healing
Guardian Druids excel in solo content due to their high survivability and self-healing. Their toolkit is specifically designed to soak up damage and recover, making them ideal for tackling difficult solo challenges. This is a consistent trend that is found in other games.
Other Easy Solo Classes
For beginners, classes such as Hunter, Demon Hunter, Evoker, Warrior, and Paladin are among the easiest to play. They have straightforward mechanics, good damage, and some self-sustain which is perfect for solo adventuring.
Easiest DPS Specs in Dragonflight
The easiest DPS specs to play in Dragonflight include Beast Mastery Hunter, Frost Mage, Devastation Evoker, Fury Warrior, Havoc Demon Hunter, Retribution Paladin, Destruction Warlock, and Outlaw Rogue. These specs often have simpler rotations and are more forgiving, allowing for focus on mechanics rather than intense button mashing.
FAQs About Soloing Shadowlands
1. Can all classes solo Shadowlands dungeons?
Yes, most DPS classes can solo Shadowlands dungeons in Dragonflight with decent gear. Tank and healer specs can also solo them more easily due to their inherent survivability.
2. What gear level is recommended for soloing Shadowlands dungeons?
With gear around item level 396, you can often solo heroic dungeons in Shadowlands, though even lower is possible for some classes and specs. With higher item levels and familiarity with the content, you can then explore mythic dungeons.
3. How hard is it to solo a raid in Shadowlands?
Soloing Shadowlands raids is much more difficult than soloing dungeons, especially at the start of an expansion. Normal raid encounters often require specific DPS checks or significant self-sustain abilities.
4. What about soloing Anduin?
You need to either achieve very high DPS, in the 190k range when the content was current, in order to reach the transition on phase 1 before being overwhelmed or have very high self-sustain to survive the transition. As gear level increases with new patches, the DPS requirement becomes more and more achievable by classes.
5. Can you solo the Jailer in Dragonflight?
Early attempts to solo The Jailer in Dragonflight, even with decent gear, often result in minimal progress, emphasizing the difficult nature of these bosses. However, as your gear improves, this will likely become more achievable in future patches.
6. Which class is best for soloing in Dragonflight?
Guardian Druids are generally considered one of the best classes for soloing due to their self-healing and tanking capabilities. Hunters, Demon Hunters, and Warlocks are also very capable solo classes.
7. What are the easiest classes for beginners to solo?
The easiest classes for beginners in Dragonflight include Hunter, Demon Hunter, Evoker, Warrior, and Paladin due to their straightforward mechanics.
8. Are dungeons faster than questing for leveling?
Questing is generally faster for leveling. However, with a fast and efficient group, dungeons can provide better results, and doing both in a combination is the fastest.
9. Can you level to 60 without doing Shadowlands content?
Yes, you can level to 60 without going through Shadowlands content by questing, doing pet battles, battlegrounds, or dungeons.
10. Is World of Warcraft a solo game?
While WoW is an MMO, it allows you to play solo for much of the game. However, endgame content is often designed with groups in mind, though you can often go back later and solo content from previous expansions.
11. Can you solo mythic Legion dungeons in Shadowlands?
Yes, mythic Legion dungeons are soloable by almost every class, with high player levels and gear.
12. Can you solo raids from previous expansions?
Yes, many raids from previous expansions, such as the Tomb of Sargeras and Antorus, can be soloed, even at lower character levels with decent gear.
13. What is the least played DPS spec in Dragonflight?
Survival Hunters and Assassination Rogues are the least played DPS specs, closely followed by Ret Paladins.
14. Is leveling easier in Dragonflight?
Leveling your alt characters in Dragonflight is easier due to features such as the Dragon Isles Adventuring system, World Quests, and side quests.
15. What makes a class fun to play in Dragonflight?
Fun is subjective, but Druids, Monks, Paladins, and Warriors are often cited as fun to play due to the variety of their playstyles.
Conclusion
Soloing Shadowlands content in Dragonflight is entirely feasible, especially for dungeons. While raids offer a greater challenge, the increase in player power with each patch and the refinement of classes and builds will make them more accessible over time. Choosing the right class, spec, and taking the time to understand the encounters can make a world of difference in your soloing journey in the world of Azeroth.