Solo leveling VS group leveling

I've been wondering about this for a while and I've done quite a bit of testing on the subject, yet everyone I talk to say the exact same thing: "leveling in groups gives more exp than solo".

However, tonight I did three Dock runs at level 61 with a group and at least three runs solo. I marked my exp at the beginning and at the end of each run and it turned out I was gaining far less (over an entire bar) exp when I was with the group than I did running it solo. I'm running a Ranger right now, so I wasn't right in the middle of the fray, but I made sure I was close enough to watch them all die. I've heard rumors that exp is based off distance to the killing blow as well as who provides the killing blow, but I have yet to find any definitive answer to this theory.

Now, this isn't the first time I've brought this up, but the first time I mentioned it I was met with about 20 angry group fanboys who said I was just upset because I get kicked from groups or some other asinine reasoning that made absolutely no sense. I followed a power leveling guide I found on Youtube when I remade my Ranger which advised against going solo for the most-part, but when I would run The Ledge or Western Forest with a group, I would level so much slower than when I went solo. I started leveling extremely fast the moment I stopped looking for groups to level with and only used a group to bypass a boss or long run to the quest destination.

Feel free to add any input on this matter as it's been bugging me for a long time why people prefer to power level in groups when I've personally seen the exp gains diminish as more people join. I would love to hear some opinions from the veterans (closed beta players) as well as from anyone else.

Oh, and please don't come in here with the sole argument of "its a multyplayar gaem so u have 2 play wit other pepole". For whatever reason, people over at GameFAQs love to use that argument.

Lastly, I'm heading to bed because I have to be up at 2am tomorrow for work (oilfield FTW), so I won't be able to reply for a while. If we have service on location, I'll try to reply but service is almost non-existent where I'm headed tomorrow.

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Stg wrote:

However, tonight I did three Dock runs at level 61 with a group and at least three runs solo. I marked my exp at the beginning and at the end of each run and it turned out I was gaining far less (over an entire bar) exp when I was with the group than I did running it solo. I'm running a Ranger right now, so I wasn't right in the middle of the fray, but I made sure I was close enough to watch them all die. I've heard rumors that exp is based off distance to the killing blow as well as who provides the killing blow, but I have yet to find any definitive answer to this theory.

To get EXP in a party, all you have to do is be within range (around 2 screens away, or about the size of the corner minimap)

If you are in range, you get 100% of the EXP the party member got, and they also get 100% of that kill. There is, however an exception or "penalty" for being lower level with party members who are too far above you. Details can be found in the Mechanics Thread on the Beta General Discussion forum.
http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/11707

That penalty is there to prevent powerleveling (having someone higher lvl do all killing for you while you just stay near) from being the best way to level up, which has been a problem for other ARPG games in the past.

I have an LA crit shadow, and with this char I think you are right. I think the deal is, the other players are very poorly geared relative to me, at least in terms of DPS. This means my kill rate is boat anchored in large groups. That's how it feels anyway.

I did not feel that way with my freezing pulse shadow, however. But his DPS was quite a bit lower.

I wonder if you seem to be getting less due to the enemies having more life, thus it takes longer if your group isn't up to par damage wise.

Group play compared to Solo play is a joke...

Let's do some StinkFinger Pros and Cons....


GROUP PLAY
PROS
1. Can AFK half the time, related to #2.
2. No need to do proportional damage, since it doesn't scale how one would except with more player #'s.
3. Desync buffer of more people eating charges, projectiles, random running mobs that aren't there.
4. More loot drops.
5. It's literally a joke, if you want to be spoon fed, just play in a group. See Cons...

GROUP PLAY
CONS
1. Loot, people will cry like no other if you take their "stuff", like enough tears to crest the Mississippi. The forums will be flooded with posts declaring Jihad on the "ninjas".
2. Some people's computers can't handle the spell/particle effects of more than 1 person.
3. It's literally a joke, if you want to be spoon fed, just play in a group. See Pros...

SOLO PLAY
PROS
1. Loot is all yours.
2. Can fart in the room and no one else will smell it, err....
3. No one knows if you're bad, since you're alone.

SOLO PLAY
CONS
1. Desyncs... No buffer to protect you.
2. Desyncs... It's just you, eat that shit.
3. Armor/Evasion generally garbage, so no buffer to eat damage, if you're, cough-cough-cough, "melee".
4. Less loot drops than in a group.
5. Desyncs... "ALL BY MYSELF, DONT WANNA BE... ALL BY MYSELF."