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And to bring this discussion down from the arts of writing to the work making missions, I have recently realized one of the things that I dislike about the writing in this game. And it has nothing to do with the stories themselves. It is the process.
When new powersets are deployed to beta server, the developers consider them about 2/3rds or 4/5ths done. Some of the inputs come from feedback, some from bug reports and some from metrics and datamining. But everyone expects the powers to be changed, sometimes significantly, before they can be released.
Whereas for written content, such as arcs and TFs. When they are put into beta, the developer attitude seems to be that they are done and only need to be checked for bugs. The quality or "balance" is not being checked or changed. As I recall, the cases where writing was changed (as opposed to fixed) during beta only happened after huge threadnaughts full of complaints. And SSA1 was not beta tested at all.
So if Paragon do not want to hire an editor, let the players be your editors. Communicate your intent, read the feedback and act on it, when appropriate. -
I like this so far. Some things i would add, in no particular order:
- Rogue Arachnos are lead by Blitz. He went "missing" after SSA1 - Malta "rescued" him and made a deal. They give some of their tech to provide Warburg forces an edge, which explains how they could push to GV. In return Malta keep their lab/factory in Warburg and can use it to do anything that would normally be too hard to hide - giant robots, crazy experiments, maybe Battle Maidens training camp?
- Villains on Mercy aren't Destined Ones. They are simply villainous individuals that the isolated Arachnos forces on Mercy recruit to fight Longbow. And raid(s) on Galaxy were just to grab everything and everyone not nailed down. It is only in Grandville that the Destined One plot starts.
- Move VEAT arcs to Ouro. No big loss. Give them new 1-10 arcs that are basically "foot soldiers going rogue to make it big". By the time they get to 40, they have enough personal power that Arachnos chooses to cooperate. Change to level 50 arc to a Mayhem in Atlas with some grey conning Hero NPCs to beat up and the main objective of toppling Atlas' statue as proof of being bad-***.
- Sirens Call - with Statesman gone Recluse (and therefore Arachnos) are less interested in Paragon City specifically. So they pull back from fighting and maintain their base as an open door that any villain may use - basically to grief the hero population. Change Arachnos in hotspots and repeatables to random villain groups, Longbow stay as is.
- Atlas - instead of invading to conquer, Arachnos are in Atlas to try to "thin out" the hero population. Just a text change, really.
- Bloody Bay, Faultline - no change. The PCM and knowledge of the Coming Storm are valuable enough to keep fighting for.
- In addition to the inter dimensional stuff already noted, Arachnos are also recruiting Praetorians. Specifically, former Loyalists with too much blood on their hands. New mobs - Arachnos with IDF rocket/gun backpacks. In the future issues, some new contacts with arcs.
- Remove Viridian from Praetoria->Rogue Isles portal mission. Or have him make an offer the player character refuses (or tentatively accepts?).
- STF (MLTF?) - as was suggested, Web is already functioning at a low power. But Ms Liberty sends heroes to attack anyway because that is how she rolls. And it is the hero attack(s) that make Recluse turn Web up to 11. -
Quote:Skyraiders were an elite military unit that went rogue with all their gear at the time. Replacement equipment may be stolen or black market, and they probably have some small assembly plants that use stolen/bought components.Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Here's a question to ponder. If Malta and the Skyraiders subsist on stolen technology, what to you think the guys that pay full price are packing?
I would rate their current technology as "high quality mil spec but some years out of date". With all the advances brought by Rikti/Praetorian wars, that "some years" is probably significant.
Malta is a conspiracy within the state structure. They do not "steal" stuff, they "black budget" it. I would rate them as "state of the art, equal to the legit special forces teams". Which is apparently not good enough for the more recent threats and incarnates. But then, Praetorias technological superiority was a plot point and the rise of the incarnates is supposed to be a big deal. -
The talk of coralax reminded me another mess I would like to see sorted out.
The Leviathan in Sharkhead - multiple arcs about it, with different levels of information and no links or level ranges to keep it logical. Currently villains are more likely to steal its power (Ross) before seeking out vague clues that it exists (Kirkland).
Almost as if someone wrote a great arc and then tossed it in with no thought on how it would impact the existing content...
At least this is somewhat easy to fix: by adding some contact dependencies/introductions* and changing the level ranges.
And on the subject of fixes, here is how I would "fix" the "same well for all dimensions" problem:
Each species/world** has its own Well.
But the Wells of Praetorian and Primal earths have merged into one.
This happened because:
-they were similar to start with
-lots of contact between these two worlds, for some time now
-the Praetorian one was greatly weakened by the destruction and deaths caused by Hamidon wars
-(maybe) the Praetorian Well was also greatly weakened by the ascension of Praetorian Hamidon.
The reason Prometheus lied about this: to make us think that The Coming Storm could not be escaped by hopping dimensions so we would stay and fight.
*the number of people that suddenly need to contact you at the magical level of 20 is starting to look silly, to me
**tying Wells to worlds would avoid the whole "warwolves, robots (Siege, Nightstar), nictus - all connected to the human Well" issue -
Quote:Being polite to him at the right time draws a rather interesting reaction from Michael. Prometheus also had quite different opinions of Statesman and Recluse.Originally Posted by Nalrok_AthZim
What is Prometheus really doing here in Primal Earth?
I ask because the air of 'second agenda' hangs around the giant blue jerk like a burrito fart.
-You ask him for information on how to use the Well against Praetoria; he tells you he won't say a word.
-You ask him for information on the well itself; he tells you that you're asking too many questions.
-You ask him about Battalion; he tells you that all he's willing to say is that Battalion is bad and that you should leave him alone.
-You ask how to further draw power from the Well; he tells you that he won't allow it.
-You tell him that either you HAVE to draw more power or you WILL draw more power; he tells you that you're 'like an impetuous child' and that if you do anything of the sort he'll hunt you down and kill you.
What is he even doing here? Why is he hanging out in Ouro if all he's going to do is badmouth the player's character and tell you nothing but "don't ask or do anything or I'll kill you"?
I have a distinct feeling that Prometheus will become an enemy to the players in a future update.
And since all he does is talk, with no game mechanics significance ... perhaps he will go Redside ? Villains can already gain his Flame and his stated goal of helping humanity achieve its potential has some parallels with Recluses darwinism.
My own question, which is not really a question, is to sort out the 5th Column and Council mess. Which AV is where now, which story arcs were 5th and which Council, more distinction between their mob types. -
Quote:As I understand it, Nemesis is racist but it is not his motivation. He does not go out of his way to attack black people, he simply considers them less than human (as did many at his time). Nemesis does not hate african people just like he does not hate trees.Originally Posted by GadgetDon
That mission never sat right with me. Because in both arcs and other missions, race has never come up as a major issue. Nemesis is plenty evil, done terrible things. But from every other mission, Nemesis sees the world a "There's Nemesis, and then there's ants", with no real difference between the ants. If he was that racist, wouldn't it show up more often?
Here's the writeup on it link
"It got me thinking: why didn't he just threaten to use that device here? From the records you found, it looks like he was planning this for some time. I think I figured out why he chose that world too. According to Portal Corporation files, through some twist of fate the population of that world was mostly of African descent. To Nemesis, their skin color alone made the lot of them less than human. That monster probably didn't think twice about murdering them."
Nemesis didn't think twice about starting a highly destructive war against a dimension of peaceful aliens, didn't think twice about overwriting the minds of those aliens, Unai has other missions with worlds that a version of Nemesis wiped out completely or nearly. Outside of this one comment by Maxwell Christopher, Nemesis is depicted as an equal opportunity mass murderer. And even in this comment, Maxwell is making a guess. "They were black, Nemesis used his doomsday device on them, therefore Nemesis killed them because they were black". Which sounds a lot like the "post hoc ergo proper hoc" logical fallacy.
There's another mission with Maxwell where Nemesis has a device to control the mind of anyone he wants, but Maxwell says that Nemesis doesn't use it because he just wants to be loved. That also seems out of character with everything else written about Nemesis.
Nemesis could work as a raging psychotic racist. But based on what we've known he's done, what he's said when confronted or when monologuing, there's no sign of it.
To him, that other dimension was uninhabited. But it was infested by vermin. So Nemesis wiped them out and started setting up colonies.
To the larger point of this thread, it really depends on how one measures evil. By its results (body count) or its morality (sadism is worse than misguided authoritarianism and so on).
By the first measurement, I would say: Cole, Praetorian Hamidon and Nemesis are up there. Mot could be too depending on how the "releasing the devoured" worked out - did they come back to life ? And Recluse, if we count the futures he is building.
By the second, Phipps, Crosscut, Praetor Duncan, Master Midnight. Mother Mayhem if her insanity is not considered an extenuating circumstance. -
To my thinking there are two problems with a "Defeat Hamidon" iTrial:
1) Can Hamidon even be killed ? The primal one always comes back and from my understanding its recovery from defeat is part of the game lore (there is also that weird text in LGTF). Perhaps Hamidon is not just a giant blob but the common "mind" of Will of the Earth, not dependant on any one body ?
2) Even with Hamidon gone, Praetorian Earth is still covered in Devouring Earth, Tellurian plague, nuclear fallout and whatever creatures Hami created to populate its eden. Civilizing it would be an uphill battle, especially when most Primals (especially incarnates) will (have) to turn their full attention towards the Coming Storm. -
Not in the habit of playing a certain song for a mission. But I often choose a playlist/artist that I think fitting for the character being played.
I did try the last mission from Solaris arc with Rage of Poseidon. Was great. -
Quote:Having powerful builds is not a problem. Demanding them from others is what gets people laughed at.Originally Posted by Neuronia
Really weird, because I'm fairly hardcore in that all my builds are useful, accoladed, twinked and 50 in no time yet I never have trouble finding teams or forming them. Must be the water in the Rogue Isles I guess. :-)
To the OP, it's just a casual game...there's nothing to compete for or stress over. Even the hard badges can be had while having a drink and AFK for half the missions.
On a more general note, I agree that this game being far more cooperative than competitive is one of the main reasons why the community here is so friendly.
I find it very interesting that another upcoming MMO, from NCSoft no less, is also implementing similar things: no mob tagging, no competition for resource spawns, flexible team composition. And many call that new and innovative, heh. -
Quote:Looks like Defense tights to me. They were added with the Imperial Defense set, free for VIPs.Originally Posted by Noyjitat
Whats is the costume piece the girl is wearing on the left then? It isn't the same piece as what the guys wearing. It looks more like some sort of tights but it isn't the old spray on body paint texture.
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New request.
New version of existing tails, both animated and static, where the tails are (near) vertical at the base. So that they go under skirts/jackets/coats and clip less with capes and wings.
For the animated tails to work only a part of the tail would move. But then an alternate animation would be a useful addition in itself, especially for people using multiple costumes on a character. -
Soloed it with a 50+3 Rad/Rad/Mace corruptor playing at +0/*1/Bosses on
Between the level shifts, scorpion shield, /rad debuffs, hover, judgment, patron and lore pets and rad/ AoEs it felt unfair. Which was totally appropriate for an incarnate villain. Oh yes. -
Quote:On one hand, I agree that villain zone geo is generally fine. And more/better content is a better use of resourcesOriginally Posted by Xzero45
Port Oakes doesn't need to be remade. None of the villain zones do, to be honest. Although I wouldn't mind if they placed the second Black Helicopter in Nerva in a better, farther spot.
But anyway, villainside zones just need more content. Port Oakes has a lot of really great spots in it I'd hate to see lost. Would be great if they shot out some more content for the zone involving possibly making the Family neutral and you getting involved with them, for better or worse.
On the other hand, I think Oakes would be more interesting if the northern side was made clean/shiny/sunny to contrast the run down south.
On the third hand, such a change would be wasted if there was still little to no content in that area and the existing Oakes content is already more than enough to outlevel it (7-12).
So, my suggestion:
Move Atlas mayhem and level 5-10 newspapers to Mercy. Add an arc in Mercy that introduces the whole broker/mayhem system and gives players one Atlas mayhem for "free" as part of the arc.
Change level range of Oakes to 10-20. Existing contacts should work fine as 10-14 and for 15-20 add new arcs that take place in the northern side of zone. Main themes would be Family, with perhaps some Council. Could also drop hints for the revamped IP content which has 20+ Family.
Bonus points: new level 10-15 SF in Port Oakes.
This would make better use of existing zone assets, provide alternate leveling path at 15-20, count as a redside zone revamp (for equality) and link in to new/revamped Family stories on blueside.
Of course if a PO revamp is in i24 then this suggestion comes too late as stories and levels are already set. -
P2W is far less of a problem in a deeply cooperative game like City, compared to the PvP focused F2Ps where it got its name and negative meaning.
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Quote:One solution to the "raids need co-op for numbers" problem would be cross server teaming.Originally Posted by Ogi
We've crossed the event horizon of raid content so there's no getting away now. Redside doesn't have the numbers to have their own trials and they're pissed off at always being the hero. Though blueside shouldn't be happy with all these villains gaining cosmic powers either. It's bad enough that the Zig is nothing more than a day spa with a tacky dress code. (See, heroes don't get anything at the end of the day either, excluding permanently dead heroes.)
If the Incarnate system was still using the Alpha system redside could have its own SFs that are appropriately red themed but that ship has sailed and was sunk by a U-boat in shark infested waters.
*edit* Oh yes, forgot. Less world exploding "plots". More fool hardy hero or foolish villain could tackle solo content.
The trials are already only available through the teleporter, leagues allow characters on different sides and in TF mode to join, we have had global chat for a very long time and all servers are hosted in the same region/datacenter. So the supporting infrastructure for cross server trials is mostly in place.
Of course the cross server tech is probably hard to implement in itself but it is worth trying for, I think. -
Quote:That would be correct if the APP/PPP were mechanically equal with only thematic differences. They are not. The most obvious case being Mace Mastery for corrs/defs. The only epic pool with a Defense based armor toggle AND Focused accuracy for these ATs. Going red to pick up PPPs is a thing that happens.Originally Posted by Zaloopa
I absolutely agree with everything you said in your post, I just wanted to comment on this part.
I wouldn't count the PPPs as locking character advancement behind villain content because heroes still have the option of taking APPs. However if villains want to make any reasonable advancement past the Alpha incarnate slot they have to participate in heroic content.
It would be like if the entire incarnate system was all about robbing banks and the heroes had to go along with it because they need the money to donate to orphanages or something silly. At least that's the closest analogy that I could think of.
I did not mention it to suggest that both sides have the same (or even remotely similar) amount of cross morality content that they must do to progress.
I mentioned it to preempt the reaction "if you make my hero do anything bad I'll quit" by saying that it has already happened and is still happening now.
The text "sounds" neutral. The objective is still "stop bad guys" and "save people" for "the greater good".Quote:Originally Posted by NaoGal
Thank you all for answering my questions, though I am not sure I completely understand your reasoning on some points... (But that's me, not a reflection of your ability to explain yourselves...)
So it all boils down to a couple of simple things...
-The text isn't really suited for how some villains would play or act.
Honestly, I see this less then is portrayed here, since most of what NPCs say throughout the game seem rather neutral to me. How you interpret the way your character says those words (or even if they actually say them) is up to you.
I already wrote on this once, in this same thread, with some fictional examples.Quote:Originally Posted by NaoGal
-Too many co-op zones geared towards 'Hero' content.
The Rikti Warzone... Where both heroes and villains alike are told point blank when they first arrive to basically stow whatever grudges they have with each other, against an enemy that attacked /everyone/ regardless of which side they were on...
Cimerora and First Ward/Night Ward... Stand alone areas that really have only a loose connection with anything else. Imperious doesn't really care who you are. He just wants his position of authority back. And not to mention Sister Aurelia, who only deals with villains...
Apex and Tin Mage TFs... Again, fighting against an enemy that didn't care which side you fell on. If anything, the Paragon City got the short end of that stick because because they got hit more then the Rogue Isles did.
The iTrials... Striking back against an enemy that has already attacked Primal Earth in the above mentioned TFs. Perhaps more villains would take all that far more personally if they were interrupted by the Praetorian offensive while they were out trying to get a hotdog... (No, don't take that comment too seriously, I'm trying to inject a touch of humor here...)
Fighting against Mot and all of Dark Astoria... Again, dealing with an entity that would basically devour everything and everyone, regardless of whether your a hero, villain, or Joe average civilian. And during which, despite what some might say, allows for some pretty dark, despicable choices to be made
The battle against Emperor Cole... Why would you want to side with somebody that would eventually destroy you and replace you with one of his (much more controllable with much less free will) Olympian Guard? Or at best, keep you around under the control of a very harsh thought police, and Praetor Tillman, who has no issues what so ever with cutting out those problematic, troublesome parts of peoples psyche that lead to silly things like free will.
The problem is not what we are fighting but how and why.
Incarnate content however is 100% of the content needed to gain incarnate progression - the end game system of City.Quote:Originally Posted by NaoGal
(This last part is nothing more then my own point of view As always, take it or leave it as you see fit )
All this (and more) being said... hey... it is, in the end your opinion that matters to you (just like mine matters to me.) If your playing someone that honestly, truly didn't give a damn if the world was destroyed or not, then hey, that's your prerogative. I can't fathom that kind of character. I've tried. It doesn't work for me...
Despite what has been said here, /all/ characters are forced to do things a certain way at times. To point out the Incarnate content is silly to me, because you are pointing at the... what? The last, 5 to 10% of the game as an entire whole? (And even that amount is being generous, I think...)
The problem, for me, is not that heroically written incarnate and first/night ward content exists but that villainously written counterparts of them do not exist. We can choose to ignore the content we do not like. But we cannot create content we would like.Quote:Originally Posted by NaoGal
This game allows players to do more then most other MMOs have ever even pretended to offer. Everything from creating your characters back story, to customizing their appearance, to giving them multiple story-arcs to follow as they progress on their way to level 50, and even beyond with the inclusion of Dark Astoria and the iTrials.
As harsh as this sounds, the reasons people have given as to why they are unhappy about how villains are treated are nothing more then perceived slights against them. Nobody is forcing anyone to play through, and/or acknowledge anything in this game. If someone is absolutely adamant about no longer paying for this game on those grounds Well, nothing I or anybody else says will likely change their minds
And before you mention Architect, it does not support incarnate difficulty and rewards, league sized content and unique mechanics. And AE is explicitly stated to be outside the in game continuity.
It does not have to be a "wrong". Having to act counter of ones normal morality for a greater goal can be a great source of dramatic tension and character development, if it is used sparingly and written well. The existing co-op content for villains fails on that last part, but nowhere did I say that my proposed additions should fail just as hard for the heroes.Quote:Originally Posted by NaoGal
Last, (and most likely, least on this entire subject )
Its been stated that some would love to see co-op content where the heroes are forced to do something despicable for the greater good Really? It has been stated again and again how villains have been forced into doing heroic-type stuff for the greater good, which you say is wrong and not fair So youd want the same thing to happen in the other direction? By that line of thinking, two wrongs somehow make things right? That sounds less like someone wanting to make the game better, and more like they would rather try and spread their unhappiness to others... -
Quote:This already happens. With PPPs, as mentioned by others, and redside badges. And the Vigilante->Villain tips are some of the darkest content in the whole game. So adding evil things to some of the co-op content should not be a big deal for heroes.Originally Posted by Zaloopa
I don't think the hero players would ever accept having to do evil things in order to advance their character or participate in new content.
Actually, psychopaths are the easiest to justify doing any content. Because they enjoy breaking things and hurting people and almost all content involves combat.Quote:Originally Posted by NaoGal
Honestly and without any snark intended, I have to ask two questions...
1) Why are you playing villains that are so vehement against helping defend their home when their very lives and existence is on the line?
Are they really that bat-**** crazy that they don't care of they die? (Which I suppose is a viable answer, but then I have to ask why you do any content at all... aside from just street sweeping and killing everything in sight... And also... why would you really want to play such a character anyway? o.O)
Or, are you ignoring the limitations of the game and saying something along the lines of 'Yeah, my villain is just going to pop into his little pocket dimension and giggle like a school girl as the world burns.' or 'He would never die. He could take on the Battalion on his own with one hand tied behind his back...'
Which kind of leads into my next question...
Some of my villains are that crazy. For others dying merely means going back to hell. One of them wants to die but does not want anyone else to outlive him. I understand that all outliers cannot be catered to by the writing but at least the major themes "to get something out of it" and "because I hate them" should be acknowledged.
Another point: "saving the world" should not mean "being nice about it". If we could assist in the Praetorian War by doing mayhems in the Prae zones, with target-able civilians, (most) my villains would be all over it. If we could say to Townshend "tell me everything you know about what is going on here or get thrown to the zombies" that would have worked fine. If SSA1.7 had dialogue options that said "I am only fighting Wade because he dared to betray me" and contacts acknowledged them, that would have been great.
- I, and many others, enjoy content more when the story is well written.Quote:Originally Posted by NaoGal
2) Why are you insisting on following the lore of the game to the point where it starts to hinder your enjoyment of it?
Yes, there is an overall meta-story to the game. Sure, some people don't like it. But /WHY/ are you insisting that it must all apply to your character in some way, shape or form, if it's hindering your enjoyment of the game?
Why on earth would you get so worked up about the perceived way some words are displayed by an NPC?
CoX gives you, the player, the wonderful ability to pick and choose what story elements actually apply to your character.
For example, you could run the Magisterium trial to unlock your Hybrid Slot, beat up Tyrant, get the badges even... But nowhere does it say you have to acknowledge that you have done it.
That's just one example, and probably not the best one out there, but you get the idea...
- in a videogame, quality of writing cannot be considered in isolation of the characters being played through it.
Therefore, much co-op content when playing a villain is poorly written and less enjoyable.
And I would like the content I play, including co-op/incarnate, to be more enjoyable to me. -
Quote:I think you misunderstood. By "extreme measures" I was suggesting that co-op (and therefore hero) players should have to do things that are evil but necessary in the context of a major crisis/war.Originally Posted by Nalrok_AthZim
That theme has been stale for years now. That's what happened. I want someone to make a comic where a villain looks at new content, is asked to fight a greater power, replies with "You think I'm going to do that AGAIN?!" and just walks away laughing. Then, the next four panels are the same villain saying that phrase and walking away laughing from Imperious, Lady Grey, The Midnighters and Prometheus.
If co-op forces villains to save the world it should also force heroes to kill civilians.
What gets me is that it could have been so EASY to add one more line there.Quote:Originally Posted by Nalrok_AthZim
I'll assume they went into the trash, considering the first dialogue options villains get with Heather Townshend are:
"I'll be playing the role of hero today."
"I'm here to save the day." (or something very, very similar)
Why the hell even bother?
Most of the things players want have a significant cost in time and money (textures, powers). But writing slightly differently really ... doesn't.
The only conclusion I can make is that the villainous options were omitted on purpose.
We really need an "All things writing" thread, with redname participation. -
Quote:Simple, logical and dead wrong. 60/40 blue/red as of 7th anniversary. Not even close to the point that ALL co-op content would need to be hero themed.Originally Posted by Golden Girl
The majority of players in DCUO play heroes, even though the content for both sides is basically the same - and CO didnt even bother with playable villains at all - because, as the CoH devs know too, the kind of people a comicbook game appeals to are way more likely to be interested in being a superhero than a supervillain.
Regarding the incarnate content and villains. With this huge inter dimensional war, what happened to the theme of "extreme measures to achieve victory" ?
What if TPN was about taking Tyrants propaganda machine off line at any cost ? Sure, hijack it to tell everyone about Coles deal with Hamidon. But then they will come back when we leave and turn it into a "they said A we say B". We should have turned the cameras off at the end and bombed the place. And if some heroes don't want to get their hands dirty, then pay villains to click the glowie.
And the iTrials need to be co-op to work from a game mechanics perspective (unless we get cross server teaming). Arcs do not. So where are the villainous incarnate arcs ?
When we got the Belladonna arc, there should have been a Hatchet arc as well. Where the players get to wreak some indiscriminate justice in Neutro/Imperial on the people that did not join the resistance before it won. Thats the kind of thing revolutionaries do after winning. Off with their heads and confiscate their property!
Oh and make both arcs co-op - more content for everyone, right? -
You must all be heroes to forget...
...the cargo ship!
I consider the Oranbega ruins, which are also Mu ruins on redside, different enough to be a separate category from small caves.
There are also transition maps: office-to-cave, cave-to-sewer and so on.
Ruined City outdoor maps. Based on Boomtown, I think, but with so many (re)uses that I would consider them a category.
The same few "hill by the sea" and "forest" outdoor maps get used a lot. Which gets really noticeable on cross-dimension missions as they have war walls.
I don't mind "new" maps being existing geometry with new skins and object placement.
But it would be cool if devs did this for some of the more unique maps. Like making the Golden Giza into an actual pyramid or The Abyss into a volcano crater. -
Black Night taunt cooldown is set to increase, according to beta/test patch notes.
I do agree that downscaling mobs should not downscale helpers. One could post that to Suggestions, but with a 100+ post thread I suppose it has already been noticed.
DA arcs are incarnate, that is endgame, content. They do not need to match the difficulty of non-incarnate content. Having a larger base spawn size in them seems fine to me.
It seems to me that the DA arcs were meant to be completed as a player became more of an incarnate instead of all being played through after unlocking Alpha, though the addition of Gabriel complicates that.
Regarding that mission from Sister Solaris. Judgment does wonders against the large spawns. And it recharges in 90 seconds, unlike the old nukes. Minotaurs and Cyclops have one ranged attack and cannot fly - and jetpacks can be bought for inf. -
The dagger of Jocas is mentioned in Dream Doctors personal story mission. Which, storywise, happens before the DD trial.
And the quills of Jocas are mentioned in one of the Peregrine missions/arcs that deals with Black Swan.
Not exactly foreshadowing, but they were known to exist before the iTrials in question. -
Pillage then burn
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What I expect:
Final Praetoria iTrial, probably against Hamidon.
Changes/rebalancing to some type of ranged powers, probably snipes.
2-4 new story arcs in existing zones, hopefully 30+
1 blueside zone revamp, mostly in content not architecture. Either IP or Kings
Continuation of SSA 2, though that isn't really tied to the issue schedule
Player suggested costume set and powerset from last pummit, probably not on issue release day.
Second random packs, with a new costume set to go along with them.
Water blast, Bio Armor and Nature Affinity to be released on market between i23 and i24 releases. Hami iTrial might be released around same time, in an i23.5 release.
What I would like, in addition to above:
Power Pool customization
New Power Pools
Powerset Proliferation
Stone Armor tweaks, perhaps together with proliferation ?
Stuff from "All things Art" (preferably mine, of course) getting into the game.
Gravity Blast
Second solo incarnate zone, preferably Shadow Shard
New/improved FX added as customization options to old powersets, notably Dark -
It is said that the true challenge of creation lies not in the engineering, but in the ability to control one's project.