Solo is possible, just ridiculous grind that it makes no sense. Its so much easier to go through all the grinding with 3+ people than alone, even with a group its painful. There is a lot of stupid decisions made that makes the game seem "bigger" when in the truth its just pointless grinding and time wasting.

Game for the most part is well balanced for solo.
The bosses are not so difficult that you need others to draw aggro or anything <thankfully>

Game honestly feels a lot less of a grind post H&H due to pickax and resource mechanic changes. Food seems less of a grind... drop rates are good and food lasts longer so you don't need as much. They also added more food so you don't need too much of each item before upgrades have you looking for new stuff anyway. <easier to manage unless you are a hoarder>

I would say get the game now and enjoy it for what it has. But remember it is an Early Access game and could change a lot before full release. If they do end up changing it and solo becomes super difficult/ impossible at least you can enjoy it now for what it is.

Originally posted by Semirotta:

Solo is possible, just ridiculous grind that it makes no sense. Its so much easier to go through all the grinding with 3+ people than alone, even with a group its painful. There is a lot of stupid decisions made that makes the game seem "bigger" when in the truth its just pointless grinding and time wasting.

This ^

Solo playing involves grind like you wouldn't believe. Learning how the world works is half the battle/fun.

Tip for playing solo : don't give up! You can get through the game by yourself - but gee, are you in for a rough ride because this game will make you fight for everything. Prepare for boss battles with the best gear you can muster because those fights are hard.

You can play it solo and go at your own pace. Just make sure to watch your back when exploring, and eat the right combination of foods for stamina/health. Co-op just makes it easier, but could also be more of a pain if you play with the wrong people.

Even though the game has multiplayer, ultimately, there aren't enough controls/options that allow tweaking of multiplayer worlds. Also, there is the thing with security and 'cheating', as well as some players going far ahead of others, making the world more difficult for newer players.

Also, another thing. Since the game is in Early Access (EA), the world's fog of war matters in the sense that any new major updates that introduce new world objects, will only appear in places that haven't been explored yet out of the 500 metre radius of sight. So playing solo, you can make it so you explore a bit slower outside of the spawn island and only take on the surrounding islands, until another major update. So on and so forth, if that makes any sense. ^_^

Originally posted by Lecherous Lychee:

You can play it solo and go at your own pace. Just make sure to watch your back when exploring, and eat the right combination of foods for stamina/health. Co-op just makes it easier, but could also be more of a pain if you play with the wrong people.

Even though the game has multiplayer, ultimately, there aren't enough controls/options that allow tweaking of multiplayer worlds. Also, there is the thing with security and 'cheating', as well as some players going far ahead of others, making the world more difficult for newer players.

says it all

yes you can play it solo (playing solo for 700 hours now) - but take your time
set your pace as you like

i must add:
some things may take some time to find out but dont be afraid to try

What the previous posters said, and I'll add my five cents.

I've only played co-op with friends (because I would never play with people I don't actually know) and I can say that the game is super fun solo but even more fun with others.
That especially applies when something silly happens.

Solo feels more rewarding when you accomplish goals, since you do everything yourself.
On the flip side, you need to be more careful as there is no one to help if you, for example, die in a difficult spot.

Solo of course comes with greater freedom.
You also only need to get food and gear and such for yourself, which saves a -lot- of time and work compared to even just two players.

Off the 100s of hours I have played, I say 75% is me solo playing.
It's so damn fun to gather and build stuff!

So, either play alone with close friends.
Don't play with randoms.
Ever.

One thing to also consider when playing co-op, is the difficulty of mobs and bosses will increase with the number of players. I found that some bosses (Moder comes to mind) are actually easier solo than with a group of friends.

I've played this game 90% solo or more solo and it's definitely doable but with friends it's more fun and easier to gather/grind materials (especially for big buildings is exhausting). Exploring with friends is easier and most bosses also, even though so far I beat them solo.

Originally posted by RaleMaximus:

One thing to also consider when playing co-op, is the difficulty of mobs and bosses will increase with the number of players. I found that some bosses (Moder comes to mind) are actually easier solo than with a group of friends.

The amount of hp increase is insignificant compared to the double dps you are doing with 2 players (or more). Or at least I would think so.