Playing Hardcore is a fun and challenging solo experience, but no doubt there will only be so much you can do or will want to do on your own.
You may want to join a dedicated group of players to further your progression or get better loot, in which case here a few points of advice:
The backup
If you find a group of players you really enjoy playing with, and you all play together routinely - roll a second solo HC character and keep it around the same level as your main. This way if the unfortunate happens and your main is killed, you don't have to spend weeks or even longer trying to catch up, while your friends continue to progress and possibly replace you.
Background Check
Know the people you're grouped with. Your group will ultimately end up saving you, or perhaps getting you killed in a long enough time line. We are human, accidents happen, anyone who commutes to work will know this. But like a distracted driver on their cell phone, these accidents can be prevented. Do your group mates have kids? Are they on call for work? Is it a 12 year old pretending to be 24? Asking a few simple questions before you get started can save you months of hard work.
Voice Chat
Simple; no voice chat, no group. Use vent, use Teamspeak, hell, use skype if you want to. Unless in a town, you must be combat ready at all times.
Practice makes perfect
Practice as a group in normal mode before attempting challenging content in HC. Get to know how eachother plays. Practice taking down bosses, get to the point where you never die, then jump over to HC and repeat. You will be nervous, you will make mistakes, practice will minimize this.
Its funny I've seen voice chat implimented very nicely in games made by companies with far less resources that blizz. In my opinion it had less to do with development and more to do with saving a buck. It's something I hope to see patched in sooner than later after release.
You may want to join a dedicated group of players to further your progression or get better loot, in which case here a few points of advice:
The backup
If you find a group of players you really enjoy playing with, and you all play together routinely - roll a second solo HC character and keep it around the same level as your main. This way if the unfortunate happens and your main is killed, you don't have to spend weeks or even longer trying to catch up, while your friends continue to progress and possibly replace you.
Background Check
Know the people you're grouped with. Your group will ultimately end up saving you, or perhaps getting you killed in a long enough time line. We are human, accidents happen, anyone who commutes to work will know this. But like a distracted driver on their cell phone, these accidents can be prevented. Do your group mates have kids? Are they on call for work? Is it a 12 year old pretending to be 24? Asking a few simple questions before you get started can save you months of hard work.
Voice Chat
Simple; no voice chat, no group. Use vent, use Teamspeak, hell, use skype if you want to. Unless in a town, you must be combat ready at all times.
Practice makes perfect
Practice as a group in normal mode before attempting challenging content in HC. Get to know how eachother plays. Practice taking down bosses, get to the point where you never die, then jump over to HC and repeat. You will be nervous, you will make mistakes, practice will minimize this.
These are just a few of my thoughts,
Cya in D3