Zombieluvr

Inasfar as the 20th level "leave Praetoria" mission goes, yes. Notwithstanding that, I think there were/are a couple of ways they could have gone with it.

First Ward would have been a perfect place to continue the Resistance vs. Loyalists storyline in ever so awesome Shades of Grey fashion as the characters either work to grind the Warders into the dust, or help them stand against the Resistance. That could have been made to either work in conjunction with or independent of the current First Ward storyline (which I mostly think is awesome).

Even now, I think it could be done in a post-Trial world, just continuing the storyline as the Loyalists and Resistance (what's left of them) scramble for control of the new world order, whatever it may be.

True enough, and yet another reason why Praetoria has been my preferred starting point ever since GR came out (I love the new Atlas, it might eventually overtake Praetoria if it only had more content than the two throughlines and Twinshot's arc; and I really, really, *reallllly* still hope- though it's unlikely- that the Resistance/Loyalist storylines get continued beyond level 20 one day, and that First Ward gets some more content, and... )

The writing has been doing a lot of this thing over the past couple of issues, which I agree is nice to see. It really makes the CoHverse seem more like a living thing than previously where (as you note) it was pretty much "one and done" with the contacts, with a few notable exceptions here and there.

I also really liked the symmetry within the storyline, as I've mentioned before, particularly with how the whole Warburg plot actually turned into something other than just giving us a glimpse of the mysterious Marshall Blitz and a kickoff murder scene. (Though I have to agree with another poster who said it would have been really cool to see the missiles launched at Rulu-Wade's island, or even just the missile launch scene from Warburg that currently exists.)

So, you're the one who kidnapped Marshall Blitz.

You do realize he's nothing without all his missiles, right?

(emphasis mine)

Pretty big obstacle to overcome, though, innit?

*!%&! You, City of Heroes Auto-Correct!!!!

I was half-expecting that the SSA would end with Rularuu free in Primal Earth, the way SSA #7 was developing.

Yeah- in a recent Posi interview (I think it was there), he mentioned they've plotted ahead as far as issue 32 or something like that. Obviously, it's probably not completely written, but they've at least got the broad strokes.

Which could tie in with (Silos'?) narrative at the conclusion of DD's personal story-

(Bolding mine)

Maybe the DD/Ouroboros clash is ultimately caused by a misunderstanding and miscommunication on the parts of Silos and DD (and their mutual egos?), and Ouroboros' destruction is brought about by DD after all, but in a "aw, crud" kind of way?

Another note about the final story- maybe I missed it (tried scrolling back and didn't see anything), but I'd have liked to see some acknowledgement of how/why the Patrons other than Recluse disappeared before the final battle. I assume Wade did it, teleporting them back to Earth or something, but it just kind of abruptly happens, and I didn't see an in-game acknowledgement of why (I vaguely recall one or more patrons saying something like "what the...?" but am not certain if I just mentally shorthanded it or not.)

Given how everyone pretty much defers to your character by the end of the arc, I'm guessing the Phalanx didn't offer because they figured it was beneath you.

Anyway, just finished Blue Side. Thoughts:

Definitely a very epic conclusion to the storyline, and it tied things up nicely. I especially liked the throwback to the Warburg story with the missiles. Nice symmetry that I wasn't expecting to see.

The spelling and grammar errors still bug, but the story was enough to make me not mind quite so much this time around.

Moon. So awesome. When I saw that zone, I was ecstatic. Plus- and I haven't seen anyone mention this- the graphics for Rulu-Wade (hate that name). Granted, I've only seen Rularuu in the Orobouros Incarnate mission, but I don't recall him having all the sparkly-shiny goodness to him.

Ghost Widow was tougher than Rulu-Wade- or pretty much anything else in this one. She killed me two or three times. Recluse and I wiped out Rulu-Wade in no time flat. I guess Wade was easier in this episode than the last because two incarnates double-teamed him?

All in all, pretty satisfied.

Questions that the ending raises, though:

1) Lady Grey was pretty surprised that both Statesman's and Psyche's powers left Wade and disappeared. States, I could see- went back to the Well. Psyche's? Maybe she isn't dead after all?

2) Who broke Marshall Blitz out of jail? First thought was Malta, but I suspect they'd have said it was Malta if so. Some new mysterious group. Who, and what do they want him for.

2a) No Blitz, no missiles in Warburg. Will it become Happy Fun Land Zone now?

3) Haven't done redside yet, but I'm wondering if Wade gets phased out after you run it? (Probably not, since the spot he occupies in your contacts in Sharkhead is supposed to- timelinewise- take place well before you run this mish.)

Great job, devs! (Let's just tighten up those spelling issues). I expect the lessons learned and tools built developing this arc will only serve to make the next SSA even tighter!

Also, Golden Girl- those are some nice pics! I especially love the flying with the Earth in the background ones.

Or it is either a past, future, or alternate version of Nemesis and the other versions are unaware of this. Wouldn't it be ironic if Mender Silos was inadvertently subverting his own designs through Ouroboros (even if their long-term goal- the defeat of the Battalion- is one and the same?)

Thing is, Maelstrom has always thought of himself as heroic. As he sees things, he's doing the right thing, and everyone else is the villain. While we- as players and player characters- might view Maelstrom as evil, or misguided, or murderous, or deranged- in his mind, and in the minds of many others (if only due to Praetoria's misinformation network) he is a hero. So whether he is meant to represent the side-switching "Hero to Villain" aspect of Going Rogue, or just meant to represent the shades of grey mentality that expansion brought into the game, he is certainly supposed to be heroic from someone's point of view.

As to the other Praetorians (redirect #2), I'm hoping that we see some more of Chimera going forward. Perhaps Chimera will step in when Cole inevitably goes down (and he- I suspect- will be a for certain death). Maybe a power struggle between Chimera and Provost Marchand?