BackFire
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Posts
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Joined
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Two great franchises that taste great together! I approve!
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Quote:Aww Zam, thanks. It's good to know someone thinks I know what I'm doingOriginally Posted by Zamuel
Wait...you didn't know that Backfire? I thought you were asking specifcally because 2xp didn't affect AE and thus you wanted the most enjoyable run despite that.
And yeah, 2XP or not, that was my intent: to highlight enjoyable, legit arcs that give great rewards, too. -
It's back!! Double Caffeine Weekend returns this Thursday thru Sunday!!
Come get your caffeine and crafting fix at the Crafter's Cafe, arc #487283 all weekend long and enter to win 2 Alignment Merits! Simply send a comment via the arc completion pop-up window to qualify.
Remember, you must send a comment so we receive your global handle to enter into the drawing. You can enter once per day, per global handle from Aug 11-14. Winner will be announced Aug 15th and prizes sent via global email.
Good luck, have fun, and enjoy Double Caffiene Weekend II!
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See how little I know about XP & AE?
Still, there's going to be a lot more players on this weekend and 2XP or not, they could enjoy some AE arcs that have nice rewards. This list isn't limited to just this weekend. -
I probably should have done this a week ago so we'd have a list already tested for this weekend, but with Double XP Weekend fast approaching, I was thinking it'd be nice to have a list of non-farm story arcs that are also designed for high rewards. Like the story arc alternative to farming.
Sure, I could load up almost any arc from PoliceWoman's, the AE Storyteam's, or ArrowRose's list and get XP, but I'm looking for arcs that maximize rewards in particular.
I'm not exactly sure on the requirements of each arc but here's what I was thinking (can update with your suggestions.)
2XP arcs would be ones that:-have a real story
What I'd like to accomplish here is to provide players who are looking to maximize their rewards during 2XP weekend with a legit alternative to farming. A list of arcs where they can simply go down the list, enjoy great stories, and get great XP/Rewards without having to grind a plot of land over and over.
-have enemies that give full rewards
-have enemies that are not overpowered
-are not too time consuming
-are lowbie/mid-level friendly
-are pug-friendly for a team of 4-8
-come close to the ticket cap for each map/arc on a full team
Suggestions for arcs and/or requirements/settings listed above would be appreciated!
Submitted arcs:#416951 "The Ms Manners Task Force" by @Wrong Number
4 missions/?? alignment
#322480 "Day Job Hell: A Villain's First Day Job" by @Clave_Dark_5
?? missions/?? alignment
#?????? "Evolve Or Die" by @FredrikSvanberg
?? missions/?? alignment
#271637 "Welcome to M.A.G.I." by @Doctor Gemini
5 missions/Heroic
#12285 "Small Fears" by TeCameleon
3 missions/Heroic
#363366 "Attack of the 50 Foot Villain" by @PW
1 mission/?? alignment
#366083 "Another Nemesis Plot?" by Necrotech_Master
5 missions/?? alignment -
That's great news WN!
*Speed boosts @Kinetic Jaunt's recovery* -
What do heroes & villains do when they're not duking it out for world domination? When they're not getting tied up in Nemesis plots and Arachnos' schemes? When they just need a break from the extraordinary? This week the AE Storyteam went on the hunt for arcs that explored this oft-forgotten aspect of super-powerdom and found these: Tales of the MundÆne!
#202959 "Ghost in the Washing Machine" by @Blue Fury
1 mish/Neutral
#4562 "Household Chores of the Damned" by @TwoFlower
5 mish/Villainous
#345414 "CostClub Catastrophe" by @Ryanthius
1 mish/Neutral (Honorable Mention)
Our non-adventures begin, quaintly enough, in an encounter with the Ghost in the Washing Machine! Ever wonder how that 1 sock always seems to get lost in the laundry? Or how your favorite shirt mysteriously goes missing on occasion? This arc explores the sinister group involved with the disappearance of your unmentionables and a plot to take over the city where your dirty laundry could be the key to saving or destroying us all.
Despite a few technical glitches it was a fun run this weekend with a full group (+2) of Storyteamers! Next week is Double XP Weekend so I'm not expecting a huge turnout, plus I'll be unavailable due to some real life mundane adventures, so we'll keep the theme TBD by whomever shows up! Hope you all have fun w/o me and find some good stories I can play when I get back.
The arc is actually a bit light on story but the custom enemies, bios, and humor make this a fun, quick arc to brighten up any dull day you're having. BEST EXPLANATION OF MISSING SOCKS!
Next, we load up a classic tale of derring don't! In the Household Chores of the Damned your villain finds out just how much work goes into running a successful evil empire. It's not easy when your minions aren't available and you have to get your own hands dirty with tasks like depositing checks and picking up groceries!! DAAHH DAAHH DAAHH DUUNNNNN!! Luckily, you have the world's best evil assistant to help you through the ordeal and ensure your plans for world domination are kept on track. The devil truly IS in the details, y'know?
The dialog, details, and laugh out loud funny humor in this arc make the mundane tasks of running your empire even more exciting than monologing a hapless hero. And you won't believe how satisfying it is to beat the pants off the custom enemy in the final mission!! BEST OVERALL!! BEST CUSTOMS!!
The clock ran out before we could make a run to CostClub Catastrophe, but this quickie 1 mission arc is chock-full of stockboy-insider humor and some of the best bulk item bargains in the city! Give it a spin, and don't forget your membership card. HONORABLE MENTION! BEST BARGAINS!
Next meeting: 8/14/11, Triumph Server. Theme: "TBA/General Teaming" Join us on Triumph at the AE building in RWZ, all levels and ATs are welcome! -
What do heroes & villains do when they're not duking it out for world domination? When they're not getting tied up in Nemesis plots and Arachnos' schemes? When they just need a break from the extraordinary? This week the AE Storyteam went on the hunt for arcs that explored this oft-forgotten aspect of super-powerdom and found these: Tales of the MundÆne!
#202959 "Ghost in the Washing Machine" by @Blue Fury
1 mish/Neutral
#4562 "Household Chores of the Damned" by @TwoFlower
5 mish/Villainous
#345414 "CostClub Catastrophe" by @Ryanthius
1 mish/Neutral (Honorable Mention)
Our non-adventures begin, quaintly enough, in an encounter with the Ghost in the Washing Machine! Ever wonder how that 1 sock always seems to get lost in the laundry? Or how your favorite shirt mysteriously goes missing on occasion? This arc explores the sinister group involved with the disappearance of your unmentionables and a plot to take over the city where your dirty laundry could be the key to saving or destroying us all.
Despite a few technical glitches it was a fun run this weekend with a full group (+2) of Storyteamers! Next week is Double XP Weekend so I'm not expecting a huge turnout, plus I'll be unavailable due to some real life mundane adventures, so we'll keep the theme TBD by whomever shows up! Hope you all have fun w/o me and find some good stories I can play when I get back.
The arc is actually a bit light on story but the custom enemies, bios, and humor make this a fun, quick arc to brighten up any dull day you're having. BEST EXPLANATION OF MISSING SOCKS!
Next, we load up a classic tale of derring don't! In the Household Chores of the Damned your villain finds out just how much work goes into running a successful evil empire. It's not easy when your minions aren't available and you have to get your own hands dirty with tasks like depositing checks and picking up groceries!! DAAHH DAAHH DAAHH DUUNNNNN!! Luckily, you have the world's best evil assistant to help you through the ordeal and ensure your plans for world domination are kept on track. The devil truly IS in the details, y'know?
The dialog, details, and laugh out loud funny humor in this arc make the mundane tasks of running your empire even more exciting than monologing a hapless hero. And you won't believe how satisfying it is to beat the pants off the custom enemy in the final mission!! BEST OVERALL!! BEST CUSTOMS!!
The clock ran out before we could make a run to CostClub Catastrophe, but this quickie 1 mission arc is chock-full of stockboy-insider humor and some of the best bulk item bargains in the city! Give it a spin, and don't forget your membership card. HONORABLE MENTION! BEST BARGAINS!
Next meeting: 8/14/11, Triumph Server. Theme: "TBA/General Teaming" Join us on Triumph at the AE building in RWZ, all levels and ATs are welcome! -
What's Black Widow doing in a Batman film? o.O
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Oh! And I almost forgot...this week's submission:
#322373 "Dead Fellas" by @Sand Sultan
5 mission arc -
Quote:Did you ever stop to consider that maybe they skipped hers and the others because they've already added them to the DC bank?Originally Posted by Jail_Bird
You mean a person that already has a DC and the other arc that is already in HoF?
Maybe that's too 'glass half full' but I don't see the doom here. -
Quote:Though the arcs were picked by the community, they were all presented by one person in this thread. Bubba did say they were from the Player's Choice contest, but you're assuming the community team fully understands what that means. Remember: they're not neck-deep in our sub-community like we are.Originally Posted by Jail_Bird
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the PC Awards were picked by the MA community of players and not one person. Clearly they should have all been played first. I feel very bad for her as she deserves much better treatment from the devs and the community.
I can understand them mixing up the order; they need to be sensitive to the perspective of the general community player (which is who they are trying to attract with this event). And to them, it looks like they've only picked suggestions from 2 people so far.
Not to mention, there are already roughly 60 arcs suggested, so people who didn't post in the first week or still want to recommend arcs probably feel like it's a futile endeavor to have their suggestion played at this point.
It sucks that her arc was skipped this week, but WN shouldn't take it personally. Are PW and Igor Blimey taking issue with being skipped, too? Doubtful. It's only seen that way with WN because she already thinks they're avoiding her work.
Relax, her work is top notch and we all know it's deserving of DC. It's just going to take more time. -
Quote:I noticed that, too, but figured it probably had more to do with playing so many arcs recommended from just 1 person than a conspiracy to avoid WN's work.Originally Posted by Bubbawheat
I'm starting to think there's something to Wrong Number's theory that the devs do not like her... or at least her arcs.
Then again, just 'cause you're paranoid doesn't mean they're NOT out to get you... -
I have a feeling the wishlist may be a personal one, not public, as I haven't seen anything which says we can buy things for other players yet.
Zwill recently mentioned they know it's a popular request, but not feasible at this time.
Quote:1. We're not planning on "gifting" functionality at launch. There's about a million Customer Service related nightmares with this functionality, and while we definitely recognize it as an oft requested feature, it will not be available. -
I wasn't aware it was a competition between the arcs played in a month for only 1 possible Dev Choice. Let's look back at Dr. A's quote from the OP:
Quote:I see how you could infer that there will only be 1 DC per month from quote above, but I took it to mean they could mark any number of arcs as a DC once a month. In other words, "once a month" refers to the time they make the choices, not the # of arcs chosen.We will be gathering a number of arcs that will be eligible for Dev Choice and then marking them as such once per month,...
Or it could also mean that they choose 1 a month from the pool of previously qualifying played arcs which includes ones played in previous months.
It would be a complete disservice to arbitrarily eliminate a DC-worthy arc from future consideration simply because they played another DC-worthy arc in the same month but only chose 1 at the time. That's just silly. -
If you see me using 'WTP?!?' in-game, you now know why.
Thanks for the update Mod7
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Now that's a Dev Choice I can get behind! Grats Ronin! And, like, totally get down with your bad self, Becky!
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Gah, been in a 5 hour meeting and didn't know the thread got moded. Sorry 'bout that Mod7 >.<
Anyway, yeah, it doesn't have the same impact as the original letter but at least a few of ya got to read the director's cut. This community rocks btw.
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I just knew the Tangent-Free tag was too good to be true!
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"Hey you. How the pancake you doing??"
This was the /tell I rec'd late last night as I was setting up binds and organizing trays on a new alt in front of Miss Liberty.
I look up from my trays to see before me a nearly 8ft tall, purple-helmeted, level 4, Dual Blade/Willpower Tanker sporting the name of a popular breakfast cereal. I'm guessing his 1st thru 5th name choices were all taken and he probably looked around the room in frustration and picked the first thing he saw to name himself after.
Do I know this "two scooped" hero of justice? Is that why his tell was so forward? A quick global check says, "no."
Badges show he' a 30month vet. So I figure he's either bored or just a foul-mouthed teen lacking tact.
Now, I could have ignored him completely or told him to "Pancake off, I'm busy" but that's just not in my nature. Plus, it was late, I was on Justice (where you expect a bit of crazy,) and at least he wasn't asking me for a PL or to farm AE.
So I casually replied, (in true Justice snark) "Doing good. How the pancake are you?" (note, I did not actually use the filtered word). Then I went back to organizing, figuring he probably wasn't expecting a reply and would be on his way.
To my surprise, he tells me he's new to the game and wants to know where the action is. I come to find out he's on a buddy's account who is trying to get him to join CoH. Of course, his buddy is nowhere to be found so this poor kid is running around Atlas, fending for himself.
I look at the clock; it's around 1am and I need to work in the morning. But what the heck? I invite my high fiber friend to team and spend the next hour or 2 teaching him the ropes; how to enter City Hall, find a contact, get missions, chat in team...and of course, how to beat up bad guys!
It was a blast! There's nothing quite like seeing that spark in a new player as they dive headfirst into a mission, aggro everything in sight, then miraculously survive the encounter with a bit of teamwork and luck! (it was a good thing I'd just rolled an Earth/Thermal troller)
It was surreal to re-experience the game thru his eyes. I couldn't help but smile ear-to-ear when he asked me why he was on fire after his first thermal buff
About 2 missions in he was raving how awesome the game is and we kept on rolling. A couple/few levels later we called it a night in Kings Row after using the Tram and getting a police scanner.
I logged off confident this cereal killer will be dishing out 2 scoops of Justice on his own and won't wind up being level 40 and not knowing where Talos Island is.
So, today I'm dragging my butt at work, but it totally seems worth it for some reason. How the pancake you doing? -
Congratulations to our first Double Caffeine Weekend drawing winner: @Spawn of Santa! Check your global email for details on how to claim your 2 A-Merits.
And a warm, frothy "thank you" to everyone who stopped by the Crafter's Café this weekend. Hope to see you back for our next DCW August 11 to 14.
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Visually, those Scorpinoids by Crey are awesome,
as is Dr. Quatrexin.
Just about anything Freakshow
Anything Fifth Column, besides vamps & wolves
And the PPD hardsuits...so full of win
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Sure thing, Icy_J! I'll update the schedule in the OP and put Virtue down for the 21st.
As for global channels, join the "MA Arc Finder" channel. You'll find most of the AE Storyteam members on there, along with a bevy of AE Authors and players. It's a good place to find help in creating an arc or finding a team to test one out. -
Np, Bubba, we were able to merge teams shortly after so it all worked out well.
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Another week brings another weekend of fun with the AE Storyteam! This week, in honor of the upcoming Signature Story arcs, we ran a "Surviving Æight" theme thru our arc choices:
#1266 "Mission Completed" by @TopDoc
1 mish/Heroic
#351568 "Just Killing Time" by @Silver-Dragon
5 mish/Heroic
#257226 "'Tis Nobler in the Mind" by @LaserJesus
5 mish/
Our first arc, Mission Completed, features Synapse in what could be the closest thing you ever get to an "I WIN!" button in the game. Don't miss the witty dialog in the mission as you speed thru this fun story! MOST CREATIVE!
We actually had 2 teams running for most of today's session and it's great to see everyone still out and supporting the Storyteam. We could use some more support (ie. Tank & Control) ATs, so if you have an idea for an alt, please consider rolling one on a few future servers. But there's still no other group I'd rather eat floor with each week
With that little warm-up out of the way we move on to Just Killing Time, which, with it's rich detail and moral choices, was anything but a time filler. This arc features, or rather is closely tied to the history of Manticore. Fans of the old CoH comic will particularly enjoy the premise of this arc and 1st mission clue.
While the arc is not without its flaws in trying to force the player to make decisions they normally would not make without considering other options, it's still a well-detailed story with some very unique mechanics. Especially the final battle with a moral choice for the player to make (and this time it doesn't involve a timer!!) BEST CONCEPT
Manticore shows up again in our 3rd arc, along with his beautiful love interest Sister Psyche. 'Tis Nobler in the Mind is a story that takes you on a crusade against a heinous plot by Arachnos to control the minds of Paragon City. It's going to take the actions of your hero and 2 of the Surviving 8 to stop it!
The dialog and details in this arc are top notch but be warned, Arachnos is not holding back and the difficultly level may be a bit high if you're playing on a large team. BEST MIND TRIP
Next meeting: 8/7/11, Freedom Server. Our theme will be one that's close to my heart: "Tales of the MundÆne!!" Whether it's doing laundry, some last minute shopping, or making a sandwich, Heroes have mundane chores they need to accomplish every day. And next Sunday we try to find a few that could be fun to do...in AE!
Join us on Freedom at the AE building in RWZ, all levels and ATs are welcome!