History Main / SoloClass

Games in which AnAdventurerIsYou usually design ([[FakeBalance or aim to, at any rate]]) their ClassAndLevelSystem so that each class only excels in one particular niche and the whole of a party is always greater than the sum of its parts.

* In ''VideoGame/DeadIsland'', two of the characters are a backstab-focused GlassCannon who dies in a few hits and a gun-wielding SupportPartyMember whose special perks are mostly pointless without teammates, making the two remaining characters (TheMario and a StoneWall) the two most viable solo campaign characters.

* In the first ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' game, Lilith is probably the easiest character to play through the game solo, as her special ability lets her escape from danger when overwhelmed and with the right Elite Tweak to her skills she can regenerate most of her health when phasewalking while having a delay of only a few seconds between phasewalks. The significant movement speed boost she receives from phasewalking also makes her the preferred choice when speedrunning the game. Until certain exploits involving Legendary item synchronizations were discovered, she was also widely considered the only character that could defeat the raid boss solo. This fits with the lore of the game, given that she's basically a Physical God compared to the other 3 original Vault Hunters who are more Badass Normal.

* In ''VideoGame/DeadIsland'', two of the characters are a backstab-focused GlassCannon who dies in a few hits and a gun-wielding SupportClass whose special perks are mostly pointless without teammates, making the two remaining characters (TheMario and a StoneWall) the two most viable solo campaign characters.

* '''{{Stone Wall}}s''', if they have any offensive potential at all, may be able to withstand {{Mook}} assaults and [[DeathOfAThousandCuts whittle down bosses]] without their usual backup, but [[GradualGrinder take an age to complete the encounter]].

* '''{{Gradual Grinder}}s''' can pop a bunch of StatusEffects on a boss or group of enemies and run around until they drop if the game mechanics allow it... [[ObviousRulePatch usually not for long.]]

* '''{{Gradual Grinder}}s''' can pop a bunch of StandardStatusEffects on a boss or group of enemies and run around until they drop if the game mechanics allow it... [[ObviousRulePatch usually not for long.]]

* ''VideoGame/GuildWars'' has the bizarre "55" builds. Using a specific set of items, the character incurs multiple penalties to his maximum HP until it drops to the lowest possible for a maximum level character--55. The character then uses a buff that prevents any single hit from dealing more than 10% of his health bar in damage--meaning all attacks drop to 5 damage or less. This is combined with health regeneration skills, skills that generate energy when struck, and a debuff that causes damage on a foe when attacking. The end result is a nigh-indestructible character that is laughably fragile if enemies just leave it alone for a moment.

* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' lets you do this several ways. First is the rogue. Properly built, a rogue can become essentially immune to melee damage, and resist all but the most powerful spells. Then there's the Arcane Warrior, which you need to unlock during your first playthrough, a heavily armored mage who gets abilities that allow them to seriously reduce or totally nullify all damage and they also have access to heals and powerful offensive spells.
* At one stage in ''VideoGame/{{Dragonica}}'' the Knight job line was notorious for being a ''PVP'' solo class due to the classes' range of defense and damage reflection abilities. DPS classes could literally OneHitKill ''themselves'' on a Paladin or Dragon Knight if a CriticalHit was scored and said Knight classes also had the best aerial mobility despite being tanks.

* In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' some of the classes can do their job on their own (for example an Engineer can set up a sentry nest and a Sniper can find a good vantage point, while a Spy can infiltrate on their own). Of course the game is deliberately designed so that having a team mate back them up always helps (e.g. a Pyro to guard an Engineer or Sniper from a Spy, or a group of offensive classes to rush the enemy when the Spy begins sapping their sentries).

* Several ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' classes have gained and lost this designation due to Creator/BlizzardEntertainment's constant rebalancing, though Hunters, Paladins and Death Knights have been especially persistent examples in players' eyes. The discovery that any class can solo group content at its original recommended level is usually followed by calls for a {{Nerf}}.
* Hunters can solo very efficiently in ''VideoGame/EdenEternal'' due to having most of their DPS come from a powerful tiger companion that can be healed (they are sub-par against bosses that quickly kill or dispel their tiger). The class is exceptionally popular with botters for this reason.

* ''VideoGame/GuildWars'' has the bizarre "55" builds. Using a specific set of items, the character incurs multiple penalties to his maximum HP until it drops to the lowest possible for a maximum level character--55. The character then uses a buff that prevents any single hit from dealing more than 10% of his health bar in damage--meaning all attacks drop to 5 damage or less. This is combined with health regeneration skills, skills that generate energy when struck, and a debuff that causes damage on a foe when attacking. The end result is a nigh-indestructible character that is laughably fragile if enemies just leave it alone for a moment.
* ''VideoGame/DragonsDogma'' can be soloed with any class by a skilled player. However, the Assassin PrestigeClass is notoriously good at lone wolfing. Assassins gain an attack buff when venturing out without their NPC party members (which are actually very effective in this game), which alongside their stat distribution and stealth/mobility skills allows them to OneHitKill challenging bosses in certain situations and make many others a NoDamageRun. Most feats posted on Youtube are performed using Assassins.
* ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline'' features the Warden, which can handle entire screens full of enemy mobs without any kind of support via drain tanking (feeding off of enemy health to replenish their own). By endgame, they're able to replenish both their magic and health bars without the use of items or buffs from other classes, allowing them to (eventually) burn through any opposition that cannot one-shot them.
* In the ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' CoOpMultiplayer, if all three of your squadmates bleed out, it pretty much spells the end of the match on Silver difficulty and higher, unless you have some crazy advanced equipment on you--or are playing an Infiltrator. Thanks to their ability to sprint past enemies undetected, Infiltrators can play cat-and-mouse pretty much indefinitely, running from one end of the map to another and whittling down the remaining enemies until the wave is over.

* A Cleric in ''VideoGame/{{Neverwinter Nights 2}}'' can handle just about anything the game can throw at it by level 7, or Level 5 with the proper Domains. Once he learns the Divine Power buff, a Cleric can fight better than a Fighter or Barbarian, with as-good-or-better armor, more hit points, efficient healing, and a bevy of available buffs, albeit with a ''slightly'' worse weapon selection (which can be remedied by taking better weapon proficiency with a Feat). The only thing a Cleric can't deal with by level 7 is lockpicking, and the game allows the option to smash locked doors and containers. This will cause some items in locked chest to be broken, and deny a stealthy approach, but when you're a combat monster already, stealth is overrated.

* At one stage in ''{{Dragonica}}'' the Knight job line was notorious for being a ''PVP'' solo class due to the classes' range of defense and damage reflection abilities. DPS classes could literally OneHitKill ''themselves'' on a Paladin or Dragon Knight if a CriticalHit was scored and said Knight classes also had the best aerial mobility despite being tanks.

* ''GuildWars'' has the bizarre "55" builds. Using a specific set of items, the character incurs multiple penalties to his maximum HP until it drops to the lowest possible for a maximum level character--55. The character then uses a buff that prevents any single hit from dealing more than 10% of his health bar in damage--meaning all attacks drop to 5 damage or less. This is combined with health regeneration skills, skills that generate energy when struck, and a debuff that causes damage on a foe when attacking. The end result is a nigh-indestructible character that is laughably fragile if enemies just leave it alone for a moment.

A solo class that doesn't need a party in ''any'' situation may be a GameBreaker. Balanced ones may be resented by {{Scrub}}s who feel that they encourage '{{Noob}}-ish' play and are hard to integrate into a team strategy. Classes that can fly solo ''to any extent'' in team or open PVP are often {{Base Breaker}}s. The SoloCharacterRun is usually ''not'' done using one of these as it would be less of a challenge.

* '''{{Mighty Glacier}}s''' with relatively decent attack power may be able to withstand {{Mook}} assaults and whittle down bosses without their usual backup but take an age to complete the encounter.

* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' lets you do this several ways. First is the Arcane Warrior, a heavily armored mage who gets abilities that allow them to seriously reduce or totally nullify all damage and they also have access to heals and powerful offensive spells. Then there's the rogue. Properly built, a rogue can become essentially immune to melee damage, and resist all but the most powerful spells.

* Many classes in ''{{Flyff}}'' can solo due to GoodBadBugs or a Gamebreaker. However, the Billposter is usually considered the purpose built solo class due to high damage output combined with decent endurance and the ability to self heal (as an offshoot of the basic healing class). The Battle Priest (A Priest built for fighting instead of healing and using Billposter equipment) is another 'proper' solo class.
* ''MapleStory'' infamously has the Clerics and their {{Prestige Class}}es being the best solo classes after a certain level as their heals [[ReviveKillsZombie damage undead enemies]] while affecting themselves as well. Their final job gains the ability to nuke several entire platforms at once, which still puts them ahead of other fourth jobs even after a damage {{Nerf}}. \\

* Several WoW classes have gained and lost this designation due to {{Blizzard}}'s constant rebalancing, though Hunters, Paladins and Death Knights have been especially persistent examples in players' eyes. The discovery that any class can solo group content at its original recommended level is usually followed by calls for a {{Nerf}}.
* Hunters can solo very efficiently in ''EdenEternal'' due to having most of their DPS come from a powerful tiger companion that can be healed (they are sub-par against bosses that quickly kill or dispel their tiger). The class is exceptionally popular with botters for this reason.

* In ''CityOfHeroes'', the Scrapper is the local soloist-class -- striking a good balance between absorbing damage and dishing it out, a well-built Scrapper can solo anything short of a full-on Arch-Villain. (And sometimes even that -- depending on the version. Early versions had a few exploits that certain builds of scrappers could use to become virtually immortal at higher levels.)
* In ''CityOfVillains'', the Brute can play pretty much the same role, but the real solo-master there is the pet-centric Mastermind-class, who basically get to bring their own army with them wherever they go. At higher levels, you'll have anywhere from 6 to 8 pets following you around (depending on exact powersets), making it quite possible to handle most bosses on your own -- without even getting your hands dirty.

* ''VideoGame/DragonsDogma'' can arguably be soloed with any class by a skilled player. However, the Assassin PrestigeClass is notoriously good at lone wolfing. Assassins gain an attack buff when venturing out without their NPC party members (which are actually very effective in this game), which alongside their stat distribution and stealth/mobility skills allows them to OneHitKill challenging bosses in certain situations and make many others a NoDamageRun. Most feats posted on Youtube are performed using Assassins.

* '''{{Meat Shield}}s''' with relatively decent attack power may be able to withstand {{Mook}} assaults and whittle down bosses without their usual backup but take an age to complete the encounter.

[[folder:Type I: Classes specializing in solo play:]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Type II: Party-centric specialists whose niches enable solo play]]
''Note: The following list contains just a few of the possible examples as solo ability depends on how a specialist's niche is defined in a given game.''

[[/folder]]