Lots of conversation about Group ver Solo play, seeing that many people on Blizzards site do not seem to know how to have a conversation I felt I would attempt to start the conversation here.
I have had Diablo 3 from day one of its release, I had stopped playing for several years due to the state of the game, in particular the auction house and how the game was balanced around it. Towards the end of season 3, I came back to the game and played the old content to see if I wanted to upgrade. I am happy to say I did upgrade and for the most part am happy with the state and direction of the game. However....
I prefer solo play myself, I like being in control of what I do and where I go in the game. However, I noticed very quickly that if I wanted to compete in this game I had ZERO options but play with others, this was because the single player leaderboards were filled with people who were multiplayers that did single player Rift runs, thus polluting the single player boards.
Now to be honest, I have ZERO expectation of ever being on a leaderboard, seeing that the leaderboard is nothing but a display of people who have nothing better to do with time but play. While I would love that opportunity in life, I simply do not have it. As a result I simply understand that I am the casual player.
However, I understand what people who prefer to play single player are feeling. The field is not level, multiplayer people polluting the single player boards is silly and a poor choice on blizzards part.
IMHO the simplest solution to the problem is to prevent multiplayer people from entering the single player leaderboards. I can not imagine that this would be a hard code change and would instantly stop the debate over this very real and persistent issue with Diablo 3.
I am interested in other peoples thoughts and comments.
With the incentive to play in group (more xp, gold and magic find), play solo not worth atm... it's sad, cause like you, i like to play solo, or with my gf, but the xp bonus dont give that option to us, it's just like "play solo = low lvl forever"
With the incentive to play in group (more xp, gold and magic find), play solo not worth atm... it's sad, cause like you, i like to play solo, or with my gf, but the xp bonus dont give that option to us, it's just like "play solo = low lvl forever"
Unless you are wanting to push leaderboards I see no reason to worry about the EXP differential. For me, this is the case, I know I will never be on the leaderboards and have no desire to attempt it. However, I do see how a solo player who does want to push the leaderboards would be unset that multi-players impact the single player leader boards.
seeing that the leaderboard is nothing but a display of people who have nothing better to do with time but play. While I would love that opportunity in life, I simply do not have it.
So you want to be equal to the players who put in more time than you? Is that what you're asking?
IMHO the simplest solution to the problem is to prevent multiplayer people from entering the single player leaderboards. I can not imagine that this would be a hard code change and would instantly stop the debate over this very real and persistent issue with Diablo 3.
LOL Thank god you're not in charge of this game(npot that the current Devs are any better lol)
I also prefer to play Diablo solo, but the group bonuses aren't what I feel are the problem. It's everything else you get from grouping. Want to do bounties? Or would you prefer to do them 4x as fast? Want to farm machines? Or farm machines 3-4x as fast? Want to kill ubers? Or kill them faster and spend 1/4 the machines.
I don't mind multiplayer giving a % bonus to things, I DO mind it being a ridiculous requirement to not feel like you're wasting your time. I feel like a buffoon doing bounties solo, it's simply a stupid way to do it. And it shouldn't be.
seeing that the leaderboard is nothing but a display of people who have nothing better to do with time but play. While I would love that opportunity in life, I simply do not have it.
So you want to be equal to the players who put in more time than you? Is that what you're asking?
IMHO the simplest solution to the problem is to prevent multiplayer people from entering the single player leaderboards. I can not imagine that this would be a hard code change and would instantly stop the debate over this very real and persistent issue with Diablo 3.
LOL Thank god you're not in charge of this game(npot that the current Devs are any better lol)
You must spend time on Blizzards site as you clearly do not see or bother to read what I am saying. On the chance that I did not make myself clear let me take a moment to answer your questions. I will attempt to do so without the same level of disrespect that you showed me.
No, I am not expecting handouts because I can not and will not spend as much time playing as other people do. To be honest, I do not care about the leader boards or any form of competition on a luck and amount of time spent contest.
However, seeing that SOME single player people would like the opportunity to compete I have to ask the simple question. What is wrong with the single player leader boards having just single player people on it? Why is that not fair to only allow single players on the single player leader boards? Why do multi-player people get to infect the single player leader boards? Sorry, when multi players receive so many perks for multi playing it seems un fair to expect single player people to compete.
So let me ask you, why do you think it is fair that people who play multi player, get boosted to high levels of paragon should be allowed on the single player ladder?
Your post seems to think it is ok for people who group up to take over the single player leader board. I personally do not think that is fair or balanced.
Blizzard needs to get rid of single player leader boards, or insure that only single players are on the single player leader boards.
I also prefer to play Diablo solo, but the group bonuses aren't what I feel are the problem. It's everything else you get from grouping. Want to do bounties? Or would you prefer to do them 4x as fast? Want to farm machines? Or farm machines 3-4x as fast? Want to kill ubers? Or kill them faster and spend 1/4 the machines.
I don't mind multiplayer giving a % bonus to things, I DO mind it being a ridiculous requirement to not feel like you're wasting your time. I feel like a buffoon doing bounties solo, it's simply a stupid way to do it. And it shouldn't be.
I do agree that these issues also exist in single player, however I accept that this is a choice I made, I made the choice to play alone, I made the choice to farm alone. Would I like it to be a bit more fair and receive the same rewards for spending the same amount of time in game. Yes, I would.
So while I agree with you I can and will accept this fact of life. However, what I can not accept is people who spend so much time in multi player taking over the single player leader boards. This is not balanced and this is not fair IMHO.
Let me be clear, I do not expect to be at the same level as people who have more time to play, I am simply asking that single player experience reward the person the same for the same amount of time spent. I get it, if you spend 6 hours per day and I only spend 2 hours per day I fully expect you to be doing better and be higher level.
Or add mp levels in the solo one. That way isnt a big deal.
This way you wouldnt have solo leader boards containing just the players who spam mp games all day and at the end of the day use their leeched undeserved xp to rush ahead of hard working solo player's
Xp is not all tho. Also gems. a solo player having a max lvl 60 gem vs a group player with a 74 gem. Guess who wins
I'm not seeing the issue here. The single player leaderboard is simply for showcasing how well a character goes at it alone (single character in the Grift.) If you play multiplayer to level/gear up and and then test yourself against a Grift all by your lonesome, I don't see any problems with that.
I think maybe some are confusing single player with solo player. I play multiplayer a vast majority of the time unless I'm specifically working on something that I'd rather just do alone (like recently I found the Gibbering Gemstone the first day of Season 4 during a bounty and the next day I found the Liquid Rainbow during a bounty so I decided to waste a little time and look for the rest of the pieces of my Staff of Herding.)
I'm sure this has been mentioned before, but maybe Blizz could include a SOLO leaderboard and have it check for characters that have joined a multiplayer game and if so, that character would not show up on the SOLO leaderboard. You character file could have a simple data flag that when checked would designate whether a char has ever joined a multiplayer game.
I'm not seeing the issue here. The single player leaderboard is simply for showcasing how well a character goes at it alone (single character in the Grift.) If you play multiplayer to level/gear up and and then test yourself against a Grift all by your lonesome, I don't see any problems with that.
I think maybe some are confusing single player with solo player. I play multiplayer a vast majority of the time unless I'm specifically working on something that I'd rather just do alone (like recently I found the Gibbering Gemstone the first day of Season 4 during a bounty and the next day I found the Liquid Rainbow during a bounty so I decided to waste a little time and look for the rest of the pieces of my Staff of Herding.)
I'm sure this has been mentioned before, but maybe Blizz could include a SOLO leaderboard and have it check for characters that have joined a multiplayer game and if so, that character would not show up on the SOLO leaderboard. You character file could have a simple data flag that when checked would designate whether a char has ever joined a multiplayer game.
Actually you do see the issue here. Call it bad terminology, call it oversight on blizzards part for not creating a SOLO leader board. I will agree with you that if you look at it from your definition you are correct, there is no problem. However, in a single player game with a multi player component there should be a way for people who play SOLO (single player) to compete with other like minded people. Your solution is not that different then mine, it in effect creates a leader board for SOLO (single players).
The bottom line for me is leader boards are stupid, in a game with so much RNG that much of your progress is dictated by luck or time. Good luck + ability too play massive number of hours is not competition IMHO.
I have also always preferred to play solo, and do so most of the time. The times I do play with others, it is with close friends or family so that we can do our own thing
Personally I never cared much about leader-boards, but I understand there are people that do, and I think it is a little sad that those players need to play with others in order to compete.
The bottom line for me is leader boards are stupid, in a game with so much RNG that much of your progress is dictated by luck or time. Good luck + ability too play massive number of hours is not competition IMHO.
I don't care about leaderboards either (except to get an idea of how the characters are geared and what skills they incorporate which has been educational.) It would be great to be able to base a leaderboard on skill level but what criteria would you use to to accomplish that? Would the game say, "wow look at how fast Timmy kills elites and he's only played this char for xx amount of hours." That would be a huge hit on the servers to monitor and evaluate every player, 24 hours a day and try to calculate who should be "worthy" of the leaderboard. And even then, people would argue about whatever criteria might be used and what constitutes true "skill" vs. luck. A simple criteria like highest Grift completed makes sense even if it is not able to take into account "how much skill" it took to complete.
I've got to be honest and call this out as one of the most ridiculous threads ever. If you're not interested in leaderboards and only wish to play alone don't even look at the leaderboards. Beating your personal best should be enough of a reward for you.
I think to segregate people who never play multiplayer and those who do is just silly. In regards to your statement about bounties and key farming, if you want to do them quicker join a party instead of playing solo just so you can control how you want to play. The public games have tags for exactly that reason, you go into a game called 'rifts' to compete in rifts...
Sorry you feel that it is. Regardless, it is a topic under conversation on Blizzard forums and I felt the need to examine this in better detail with people who would understand why I posted this. Clearly you are not the type of person who I was trying to reach, to have an adult conversation about this topic. I respect your right to feel it is dumb, however it is not a dumb conversation to me.
Yes, I do not care, however others do and as such I wish to discuss the issue. You see, in this day and age it is not just all about me.
With the incentive to play in group (more xp, gold and magic find), play solo not worth atm... it's sad, cause like you, i like to play solo, or with my gf, but the xp bonus dont give that option to us, it's just like "play solo = low lvl forever"
Unless you are wanting to push leaderboards I see no reason to worry about the EXP differential. For me, this is the case, I know I will never be on the leaderboards and have no desire to attempt it. However, I do see how a solo player who does want to push the leaderboards would be unset that multi-players impact the single player leader boards.
The issues with that is the fact that the game is horrible designed when you don't want to play for leaderbords. You get a character t10 speed farm ready in about 20-30 hours (solo play, starting with no paragon). If you don't push for leaderbords then, you experienced everything the game got to give.
Bad itemization, skill balance and a horrible crafting / currency system make this possible.
I have no desire to push leaderboards, it is not for me. I am way to old to care about these types of things anymore. However, from reading threads it is clear that this does impact others that do care. For me, the game is a time killer, something for me to do when I don't have other things to do.
It is always the case, those who have lots of free time will excel in games like this, people like me, it is nothing more then entertainment. However, I do see and understand the point of SOLO (Single player) players and the complaints they have. To me the system does not seem fair or balanced.
Why would anyone play in group if there weren't all those advantages? Why would i waste time playing with strangers that don't want to communicate in party chat, the insane lags, can't understand what the hell is the happening with all those spells spammed together, bad players that can't carry their weight... Would you prefer the game to be like it was on release where people just refused to play with their friends because it was a lost of time?
You just have to realise this is an online co-op game !! (coming from a solo player, played less than an hour in co op this season, i'm only a couple GR from being ranked, i'm not complaining about people playing only in group being so hard to beat because i know the rules of the game and i made my choice, no one will care or will see my name on the leaderboars but i know my achievement and that's what matters).
I am not suggesting that they make any changes to EXP, what I am suggesting is to level and balance the leaderboards and take into account SOLO (single) players. SOLO players should have the right to compete with themselves on the leaderboards. VioletSkye, had it correct and even defined the issue the best. I believe his solution to be the best at fixing this issue.
Why stop there? Why not leaderboards for players who only play 1 hour a day, or two, or four? Should players who have ever played alone be banned from 4 player boards, since playing alone often has advantages over public games? Should we have different public and private boards? Should anyone who has ever joined a 4 player game be banned from a 3 player board? If your suggestion is implemented does that mean that you can't ever join a friend's game to help them no matter what? Would the solo leaderboard ban anyone who has visited these forums because they are still getting assistance from other players, even though it is from outside the game?
I don't think the premise is ludicrous, but I do think it is impractical to implement and not particularly useful. Playing in a group doesn't give any advantage in the solo boards that can't be earned with time. I feel as though your solution would heavily encourage hitting the high paragon levels needed to compete, and result in a board that told more about a person's ability to grind and less about their skill.
Solo rifts are the main event. Everything else is just training. Most golfers, track stars, swimmers, and skiiers all have practice partners to help them get better more quickly. It would seem silly to exclude them from competitions simply because of this fact. I think many view rift leaderboards the same way
HarleyM, you know your reply is off mark and off base. IF you can not see that SOLO players do matter as well as Multi-Players then you are the one with blinders on. People who do not invest time should not ever worry about being on a leader board.
However, a SOLO player should be compensated for putting in the same amount of time with the same or close to same reward. Even with my old eyes and old mentality I can see this clearly, I ask why don't you?
Lets reverse it and ask why even have multi-player leader boards if the end game is single player leader boards? Then fine, lets just have 2 leader boards, Single Player GRIFTS and SOLO Player GRIFTS. Lets cut out all the multi-player bards seeing you feel they are pointless.
You claim SOLO player advantages, please list them as I am more then happy to list the advantages Multi-Player get, Even Blizzard is realizing things are not exactly fair in this department and are finally looking to address the issue. I also do not understand why people are so negative in providing a leader board just for SOLO players, why is that? What harm does it cause you big bad Multi-Players?
Hi i saw your post tjis morning and at firts i was thinknig its true. But while i can understand the frustration about ranking for solo player i think its a multiplayers game first and we need to acept it. Also when you think about thi, if we play as a team of two and tryink to climb the 2 players leaderboeard its the same thing, 4 party players will always have an avantage for 1, 2 and 3 players party on the leaderboard. Now i think they should keep the mf bonus and gold bonus for multiplayer party but they should remove the exp bonus so they will still have an avantage over solo players but it will be a bit harder for them to grind paragon lvl as they do now.
I'm not arguing that playing solo is more advantageous than playing in a group, simply that it has some advantages. Group play, when you have a dedicated and similarly skilled group, is clearly the optimal way to play. As it should be, since blizzard designed this as a multiplayer game. I would, however, agree that the gap might be too large presently.
I'm opposed to separate boards because, as I see it, separate boards only have two effects. One, they discourage those players from playing with other players. If I was at the top of the solo boards it wouldn't matter if a best friend or a girlfriend or family member or the president of the queen started playing... I wouldn't play with them because I would lose my ranking. Two, because it only reveals time spent, not skill, and time spent boards are silly. There is absolutely nothing in this game that requires a group to achieve, and there is no insurmountable solo benefit acquired by playing in a group. To me, hating group play is no different from hating adventure mode or hating the new cube or hating bounties or hating anything else the game was designed around, and I don't see why a different board needs to exist just for players who have chosen to neglect that aspect of the game.
Through all this you have assumed that I'm a multiplayer player primarily. I do play in groups more often than I would prefer due to the many benefits of doing so. However, in about 95% of cases I would rather play alone. I would be part of the target audience of those new boards. That doesn't make them a good idea.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Lots of conversation about Group ver Solo play, seeing that many people on Blizzards site do not seem to know how to have a conversation I felt I would attempt to start the conversation here.
I have had Diablo 3 from day one of its release, I had stopped playing for several years due to the state of the game, in particular the auction house and how the game was balanced around it. Towards the end of season 3, I came back to the game and played the old content to see if I wanted to upgrade. I am happy to say I did upgrade and for the most part am happy with the state and direction of the game. However....
I prefer solo play myself, I like being in control of what I do and where I go in the game. However, I noticed very quickly that if I wanted to compete in this game I had ZERO options but play with others, this was because the single player leaderboards were filled with people who were multiplayers that did single player Rift runs, thus polluting the single player boards.
Now to be honest, I have ZERO expectation of ever being on a leaderboard, seeing that the leaderboard is nothing but a display of people who have nothing better to do with time but play. While I would love that opportunity in life, I simply do not have it. As a result I simply understand that I am the casual player.
However, I understand what people who prefer to play single player are feeling. The field is not level, multiplayer people polluting the single player boards is silly and a poor choice on blizzards part.
IMHO the simplest solution to the problem is to prevent multiplayer people from entering the single player leaderboards. I can not imagine that this would be a hard code change and would instantly stop the debate over this very real and persistent issue with Diablo 3.
I am interested in other peoples thoughts and comments.
With the incentive to play in group (more xp, gold and magic find), play solo not worth atm... it's sad, cause like you, i like to play solo, or with my gf, but the xp bonus dont give that option to us, it's just like "play solo = low lvl forever"
seeing that the leaderboard is nothing but a display of people who have nothing better to do with time but play. While I would love that opportunity in life, I simply do not have it.
So you want to be equal to the players who put in more time than you? Is that what you're asking?
IMHO the simplest solution to the problem is to prevent multiplayer people from entering the single player leaderboards. I can not imagine that this would be a hard code change and would instantly stop the debate over this very real and persistent issue with Diablo 3.
LOL Thank god you're not in charge of this game(npot that the current Devs are any better lol)
I also prefer to play Diablo solo, but the group bonuses aren't what I feel are the problem. It's everything else you get from grouping. Want to do bounties? Or would you prefer to do them 4x as fast? Want to farm machines? Or farm machines 3-4x as fast? Want to kill ubers? Or kill them faster and spend 1/4 the machines.
I don't mind multiplayer giving a % bonus to things, I DO mind it being a ridiculous requirement to not feel like you're wasting your time. I feel like a buffoon doing bounties solo, it's simply a stupid way to do it. And it shouldn't be.
You must spend time on Blizzards site as you clearly do not see or bother to read what I am saying. On the chance that I did not make myself clear let me take a moment to answer your questions. I will attempt to do so without the same level of disrespect that you showed me.
No, I am not expecting handouts because I can not and will not spend as much time playing as other people do. To be honest, I do not care about the leader boards or any form of competition on a luck and amount of time spent contest.
However, seeing that SOME single player people would like the opportunity to compete I have to ask the simple question. What is wrong with the single player leader boards having just single player people on it? Why is that not fair to only allow single players on the single player leader boards? Why do multi-player people get to infect the single player leader boards? Sorry, when multi players receive so many perks for multi playing it seems un fair to expect single player people to compete.
So let me ask you, why do you think it is fair that people who play multi player, get boosted to high levels of paragon should be allowed on the single player ladder?
Your post seems to think it is ok for people who group up to take over the single player leader board. I personally do not think that is fair or balanced.
Blizzard needs to get rid of single player leader boards, or insure that only single players are on the single player leader boards.
So while I agree with you I can and will accept this fact of life. However, what I can not accept is people who spend so much time in multi player taking over the single player leader boards. This is not balanced and this is not fair IMHO.
Let me be clear, I do not expect to be at the same level as people who have more time to play, I am simply asking that single player experience reward the person the same for the same amount of time spent. I get it, if you spend 6 hours per day and I only spend 2 hours per day I fully expect you to be doing better and be higher level.
Solo and group paragon levels. Problem solved.
You play alone, you gain levels for solo play.
When you play MP. you only gain MP levels.
Or add mp levels in the solo one. That way isnt a big deal.
This way you wouldnt have solo leader boards containing just the players who spam mp games all day and at the end of the day use their leeched undeserved xp to rush ahead of hard working solo player's
Xp is not all tho. Also gems. a solo player having a max lvl 60 gem vs a group player with a 74 gem. Guess who wins
I'm not seeing the issue here. The single player leaderboard is simply for showcasing how well a character goes at it alone (single character in the Grift.) If you play multiplayer to level/gear up and and then test yourself against a Grift all by your lonesome, I don't see any problems with that.
I think maybe some are confusing single player with solo player. I play multiplayer a vast majority of the time unless I'm specifically working on something that I'd rather just do alone (like recently I found the Gibbering Gemstone the first day of Season 4 during a bounty and the next day I found the Liquid Rainbow during a bounty so I decided to waste a little time and look for the rest of the pieces of my Staff of Herding.)
I'm sure this has been mentioned before, but maybe Blizz could include a SOLO leaderboard and have it check for characters that have joined a multiplayer game and if so, that character would not show up on the SOLO leaderboard. You character file could have a simple data flag that when checked would designate whether a char has ever joined a multiplayer game.
Check out my Youtube channel: RetroGameClips
Actually you do see the issue here. Call it bad terminology, call it oversight on blizzards part for not creating a SOLO leader board. I will agree with you that if you look at it from your definition you are correct, there is no problem. However, in a single player game with a multi player component there should be a way for people who play SOLO (single player) to compete with other like minded people. Your solution is not that different then mine, it in effect creates a leader board for SOLO (single players).
The bottom line for me is leader boards are stupid, in a game with so much RNG that much of your progress is dictated by luck or time. Good luck + ability too play massive number of hours is not competition IMHO.
I have also always preferred to play solo, and do so most of the time. The times I do play with others, it is with close friends or family so that we can do our own thing
Personally I never cared much about leader-boards, but I understand there are people that do, and I think it is a little sad that those players need to play with others in order to compete.
Check out my Youtube channel: RetroGameClips
Sorry you feel that it is. Regardless, it is a topic under conversation on Blizzard forums and I felt the need to examine this in better detail with people who would understand why I posted this. Clearly you are not the type of person who I was trying to reach, to have an adult conversation about this topic. I respect your right to feel it is dumb, however it is not a dumb conversation to me.
Yes, I do not care, however others do and as such I wish to discuss the issue. You see, in this day and age it is not just all about me.
It is always the case, those who have lots of free time will excel in games like this, people like me, it is nothing more then entertainment. However, I do see and understand the point of SOLO (Single player) players and the complaints they have. To me the system does not seem fair or balanced.
Why stop there? Why not leaderboards for players who only play 1 hour a day, or two, or four? Should players who have ever played alone be banned from 4 player boards, since playing alone often has advantages over public games? Should we have different public and private boards? Should anyone who has ever joined a 4 player game be banned from a 3 player board? If your suggestion is implemented does that mean that you can't ever join a friend's game to help them no matter what? Would the solo leaderboard ban anyone who has visited these forums because they are still getting assistance from other players, even though it is from outside the game?
I don't think the premise is ludicrous, but I do think it is impractical to implement and not particularly useful. Playing in a group doesn't give any advantage in the solo boards that can't be earned with time. I feel as though your solution would heavily encourage hitting the high paragon levels needed to compete, and result in a board that told more about a person's ability to grind and less about their skill.
Solo rifts are the main event. Everything else is just training. Most golfers, track stars, swimmers, and skiiers all have practice partners to help them get better more quickly. It would seem silly to exclude them from competitions simply because of this fact. I think many view rift leaderboards the same way
HarleyM, you know your reply is off mark and off base. IF you can not see that SOLO players do matter as well as Multi-Players then you are the one with blinders on. People who do not invest time should not ever worry about being on a leader board.
However, a SOLO player should be compensated for putting in the same amount of time with the same or close to same reward. Even with my old eyes and old mentality I can see this clearly, I ask why don't you?
Lets reverse it and ask why even have multi-player leader boards if the end game is single player leader boards? Then fine, lets just have 2 leader boards, Single Player GRIFTS and SOLO Player GRIFTS. Lets cut out all the multi-player bards seeing you feel they are pointless.
You claim SOLO player advantages, please list them as I am more then happy to list the advantages Multi-Player get, Even Blizzard is realizing things are not exactly fair in this department and are finally looking to address the issue. I also do not understand why people are so negative in providing a leader board just for SOLO players, why is that? What harm does it cause you big bad Multi-Players?
Hi i saw your post tjis morning and at firts i was thinknig its true. But while i can understand the frustration about ranking for solo player i think its a multiplayers game first and we need to acept it. Also when you think about thi, if we play as a team of two and tryink to climb the 2 players leaderboeard its the same thing, 4 party players will always have an avantage for 1, 2 and 3 players party on the leaderboard. Now i think they should keep the mf bonus and gold bonus for multiplayer party but they should remove the exp bonus so they will still have an avantage over solo players but it will be a bit harder for them to grind paragon lvl as they do now.
I'm not arguing that playing solo is more advantageous than playing in a group, simply that it has some advantages. Group play, when you have a dedicated and similarly skilled group, is clearly the optimal way to play. As it should be, since blizzard designed this as a multiplayer game. I would, however, agree that the gap might be too large presently.
I'm opposed to separate boards because, as I see it, separate boards only have two effects. One, they discourage those players from playing with other players. If I was at the top of the solo boards it wouldn't matter if a best friend or a girlfriend or family member or the president of the queen started playing... I wouldn't play with them because I would lose my ranking. Two, because it only reveals time spent, not skill, and time spent boards are silly. There is absolutely nothing in this game that requires a group to achieve, and there is no insurmountable solo benefit acquired by playing in a group. To me, hating group play is no different from hating adventure mode or hating the new cube or hating bounties or hating anything else the game was designed around, and I don't see why a different board needs to exist just for players who have chosen to neglect that aspect of the game.
Through all this you have assumed that I'm a multiplayer player primarily. I do play in groups more often than I would prefer due to the many benefits of doing so. However, in about 95% of cases I would rather play alone. I would be part of the target audience of those new boards. That doesn't make them a good idea.