LaserJesus

As it is now, the ratings system's on too much of a bell curve. 5 stars is the hardest possible average rating to have, statistically. At least twice as hard as any other average rating. (I'm probably oversimplifying that, but whatever)

What I mean by this, is that since the ratings are rounded to the nearest integer, you can only have a 5 star with 4.5-5 stars. Meanwhile, you can have a 4 star rating with 3.5-4.4 stars, not including more decimal points, i.e., 4.4999999999 is still 4 stars.

An easy way to fix that is to just include half stars in the average rating, so instead of the average rating going 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, it would go 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, etc. Leave it so you only vote 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. Then just round up or down to the nearest half integer, i.e. a 4.2 would be a 4, and a 4.3 would be a 4 and a half average.

Then, you could have hall of fame require a 4 and a half star average rating or a 5 star rating. This would make it less difficult to get into hall of fame and stay there, while still requiring the mission to be good, it would make the 3 and 4 star ratings seem less like punishments, and make it so a 4.4 arc is no longer held to the same standard by the search function as a 3.5 arc. The 4.4 would be a 4 and a half arc and the 3.5 a 3 and a half mission. As it stands currently, both of those arcs would be a 4 star arc, even though their averages are nearly a whole star apart.

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Furthermore, it's not possible on all maps. Some of them have spawn points that can't be replaced by objectives.

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That is true. I forgot to mention that.

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I have found that silver rolls, 30-34 are spiffy. I got this idea from a SG mate so it's not original.

I have been hitting some nice procs in this range...and tons of Obliterations.

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Silver rolls also have some pretty good stuff in them, but bronze has stuff like knockback protection IOs. I forget what level they stop at though, I think it's like 30?

So find out whatever level the karma and aegis KB protection IOs stop at, and get bronze rolls that have a chance of dropping those. Bronze is a pretty good way to go considering their low cost.

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I don't believe this is possible. The normal spawns always show up when the player enters the door.

You can spawn a new objective, including a patrol or ambush, to occur after the initial objective is completed. But you can't fill up an area based on fulfilling a single task.

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Actually it is possible. I've seen it happen.

From my understanding, and this is based solely on observations that I've made while playing peoples' arcs and making my own, when you set up an objective to be triggered, it 'saves' that spawn point for the triggered objective, meaning nothing will spawn there until the objective is triggered. If there is no objective set to spawn there at all, then it will be a normal spawn of a few minions and LTs.

Ever see one of those badge farm maps where ALL the spawns are destructible objects and such? This works off of that principle. You fill all your available objectives with things that are triggered by other objectives, make sure that the chain of triggers starts with a collect object, and it should work. It'll probably take a lot of tinkering to get it to work properly, however.

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Am I just posting in here for no reason other than to show my geeky knowledge of grunge songs from 15 years ago?


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All signs point to yes.

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Just 'cause you're omniscient doesn't mean you can walk around acting like you know everything!

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Silence, knave!

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I seem to recall orange being used for warnings in canon missions as well. I use it because I find it easier to read than red.

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Same here. There's just something about red text that is crazy hard to read.

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Am I just posting in here for no reason other than to show my geeky knowledge of grunge songs from 15 years ago?


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All signs point to yes.

The Consequences of War - Part I
Arc ID: 212069
Author: @Dalghryn
Rating: 3 stars

Quick Version
A decent arc that could be made better with some changes to the plot and writing.

Plot Synopsis
Flash back to the first Rikti invasion and help a supergroup called the SOLUS Collective in their efforts in the war.

Story
The contact's text in the first missions seems a bit heavy handed due to the amount of exposition. Other than that, there are a few issues with the plot. In the second mission, a hero from 2002, only six months after the beginning of the war, shouldn't be able to hack a Rikti computer easily, considering that when modern heroes are confronted with a Rikti computer, they just take the data core and have a specialist get the information from it.

The third mission mentions that the Rikti have human collaborators, specifically Crey, Nemesis, and the Fifth Column. Crey were no allies of the Rikti, as stated by the information on the website, and while long suspected of having shady operations, weren't known by the hero population to be an all out villain organization until long after the war. Nemesis started the Rikti Invasion specifically to save the world from them and make himself look good, so they would be the last villain group to fight them. The Fifth Column didn't resurface until the end of the first Rikti invasion. I know that the Fifth Column's information isn't on the website anymore, but you can read it here. Frankly, I'm not sure if this plot point is even necessary. Couldn't the Rikti just have their own bases where they are keeping the radio jammers instead of having them at the bases of human villain groups?

The Rikti constantly mention that they want to take the heroes as slaves. Rikti are peaceful scientists for pretty much all intents and purposes. Taking slaves is highly out of character for them.

On the note of the allies, the arc felt just a little too much like an NPC showcase. Quite a few of the descriptions of the SOLUS Collective members made them out to be larger than life, and there are at least 2 in every mission. A lot of them are also Boss rank. Perhaps make them all lieutenant rank if there are going to be so many of them in a mission, or since they generally show up again later on, perhaps you could have some of them just not show up until later missions to put the spotlight a bit more on the player.

A minor note almost not worth mentioning, the Rikti didn't speak at all during the first Rikti invasion. However, I can see how none of them having any dialogue would make for less interesting missions. Perhaps just tone down how chatty they are? Perhaps the Rikti guarding the bombs and such don't need dialogue.

However, I do have something positive to say. I'm glad that this arc had a climax of the events. Too many arcs that are split into multiple parts have the last mission of part I simply be more build up and tells you to just play the next part. 5 missions is already a big investment, and this arc's story pays off for going through it all, while still setting up for the next part.

Mechanics
In the mission with the Fifth Column base, the ambush was 5th Column instead of Rikti despite having Rikti style dialogue, and didn't spawn from fighting the Rikti Commander like their dialogue and the dialogue of the Rikti Commander suggested. The 5th Column guarding the radio jammers also had buggy dialogue, the same NPC was saying dialogue both meant for him and dialogue meant for another NPC, as if he were talking to himself. This is because destroy object details only have room for dialogue from one NPC.

Lazon would constantly kill his captors with Hot Feet. Considering that he never fights after rescued, you should just take Hot Feet away from him.

Final Thoughts
This arc is decent, but could be turned into a better one if some of the story issues are resolved.

Regen on an AV pretty much forces a team to bring along debuffers, especially if you jack it up to extreme to give him Revive, as it'll have IH which lasts all the time. Add that to his AV level regen and it can be ridiculous.

Not that I thing self rezzes on an AV are necessarily bad, mind. It's just that as the custom critter powers work right now, you have to make the AV ridiculously hard to kill to give it to them.

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This is something I get mixed comments about, but there has been enough for me to try a change. I put his attacks down to Standard, but left his defenses at Hard. Dropping it to standard losses his mez protection which I feel would make him way too easy.

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Actually, on standard he'll have hold, stun, and sleep protection from the 2 shields.

Hero Therapy! (TM)
Arc ID: 119228
Author: @Ridiculous Girl
Rating: 4 stars

Quick Version
An interesting arc with thoroughly fleshed out missions that should be easy enough for most heroes to solo. Most.

Plot Synopsis
Your hero has recently had trouble sleeping, and has sought out experimental dream therapy to deal with the problem. Journey deep within your subconscious where you must face your deep seated fears and memories, and hopefully win a restful night's sleep.

Story
Found a typo in the first mission's intro text. "Refered" should be "Referred". Didn't notice any other typos. The story itself is pretty solid. A lot of detail in the missions, and a few lines that should elicit a chuckle or two. However, I have to note that the implications that are made by the costume of the Secret Shame in the 3rd mission could be a bit uncomfortable. Maybe I'm looking too much into it. Though considering that it's an arc about psychology, I guess it can't be helped.

Mechanics
Nothing seemed too bad, though I think I saw the Librarian use Aim. If the Librarian did use Aim, then really, all you're getting out of that is Aim and Siren's Song, and since the Librarian also has mind control, another sleep power isn't very necessary. If I am wrong and it was instead Vanity that used aim, then big freaking deal. Archery isn't that strong, and I didn't have any problems with Vanity at all in any case.

Does the Steel You Lack have to be a boss? Seems a bit overkill perhaps, especially considering that in every mission after the first you have him and another boss or elite boss ally. Though, they are optional, so I guess it's not a big deal.

As for Secret Shame, Ridiculous Girl is right to say that you shouldn't bring a fire blaster. In fact, don't bring anyone who uses fire. Secret Shame is Fire Armor, and an Elite Boss. Fire Armor gives bosses and up 90% fire resistance on standard. My only suggestions here are to either just find another secondary for Secret Shame, or to give the Steel You Lack some sort of -res power, possibly Sonic Siphon from Sonic Resonance, so characters with fire damage wouldn't have such an issue.

A minor last note, think about turning down the timers on the glowies. They're not required objectives, but it kind of discourages people from clicking on them to see the little extra bits of flavor text.

Final Thoughts
Worth a run through for most characters. Something should be done about the fire resistance, though.

I did play it, but I didn't do a review of it. I'll play the updated version and give it a review.

Coincidentally, Rise of the Drakule has been updated since you last played it as well.

I still think it's a dick move, personally.

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Set a "free a captive" to single only, and tie an ambush to him... and you get a "Hot Door" (ambush that hits the second the players zone in)

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This should really be in the second section, i.e. don't do this. People with long load times could very well zone into the mission dead.

As for things I've done, I used the thing where you tie ambushes to a boss on a Thugs/WP Elite Boss, where the Thugs was set to extreme, meaning gang war. I gave a couple allies who could help so it wouldn't be murder, but essentially the EB was constantly calling in reinforcements. It made for an incredibly fun battle.

Another interesting thing that I've done, and this is in Return of the Revenge of the Son of Drakule Part 2: First Blood, (I really like typing out that title) I used one of the Cimeroran cave maps, specifically Medium size #8, and on that map all the glowies set to Back spawn in the back room, which is one of the ones with the pool and the bridges over it in the shape of a cross. I have 3 altars you have to activate to spawn the boss, and the boss spawns right there in the room, and usually begins attacking right there. It's even cooler when the glowies spawn in a perfect triangle.

I'll start things off with a review. Which, I dunno, seems like a good way to do it.

Trademark Infringement
Arc ID: 2220
Author: @Wrong Number
Rating: 4 stars

Quick Version
Funny premise, and amusing custom enemies. Unfortunately, a couple of those enemies are too strong.

Plot Synopsis
A trademark lawyer has gone insane, issuing out trademarks to any and every villain who has a cheap knockoff costume. It's your job to bring him to justice and save the workers of the law firm before the impending lawsuit destroys Paragon City.

Story
For a one mission joke arc, it's pretty solid. All of the knockoffs are pretty amusing, and have amusing descriptions. The only thing that really could improve it is more jokes. More jokes is always a good thing.

Mechanics
The weirdos have rage? Footstomp can't be that important. You should put them back on standard. While the +80% damage isn't too bad on a lieutenant, the +20% to hit is bad news for anyone who gets by with defense. Squishies are probably also going to thank you if you change this.

Same with the boss, Copy Cat. He's got Fiery Embrace and I'm pretty sure I saw him use build up. Plus, he's got a fire primary. Fiery Embrace doesn't add any to hit, but +100% damage on a boss hits like a truck, and it lasts for 20 seconds instead of 10. And if he does have build up as well, then it's pretty much pain city for anyone who doesn't have resistance.

Final Thoughts
Pretty good mission. It's definitely amusing, but come in prepared for trouble against the boss and watch out for those Weirdos.

Oh look, a review thread. I was doing reviews before, but I seem to have misplaced my queue. So if you want to get a review by me, either PM me or post in this thread with your arc's title and ID number. This time around I'm going to be a lot less in depth. It created major burnout, especially when I was reviewing an arc that I didn't like.

Just a quick overview of my rating scale:

5 Stars: Highly recommended. Go play this arc now.

4 Stars: Pretty good. I had an enjoyable time. Either just fell short on the writing, or needs a few adjustments for playability.

3 Stars: Not bad, but not great either. Not a complete waste of time to play. The writing may have been mediocre, the missions may have been too repetitive/long, or it may even have had great writing but needs serious work on playability.

2 Stars: Better luck next time. Either the writing was bad, or the writing was ok and accompanied by serious playability issues. Or, the arc may have just been boring.

1 Star: Really bad. It takes a lot for an arc to get a 1 star from me. Having a ton of bosses with build up is an easy way to get this from me. Other than that, the writing has to be atrocious. And I mean ATROCIOUS. Essentially, if I start to see red, it's 1 star territory.

EDIT: I figure I should clarify this, as the issue has come up before and will probably come up again. I usually play all arcs with my main character, a level 50 Katana/Super Reflexes Scrapper who has an HO build and have the difficulty set to +0/x3 Bosses yes, Archvillains no, with the exception for low level missions which will be turned down to x2 or x1. Bosses are always on. If I play with a different character, I will mention it in the review, and it also should be obvious now that I take screenshots.

February 28, 2010: Open to submissions!

FYI This thread's going to become a flamewar. Not your fault.

But, to answer your question, I don't think there's a way to make them all spawn at level 52, since they're standard enemies that spawn from 45-54.

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An altoholic is someone who is addicted to altohol.

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Damn, you beat me to it.

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The official grounds stated for banning the first arc was that it "involved going out to defeat enemies because of their sexual orientation." Which in one sense it was, even if in intent it was more complex and nuanced than that.

Those grounds have been scrupulously avoided in the new one.

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Uh, I'm pretty sure if a crime organization is comprised of only homosexuals, then it's still a crime organization.

But whatever.

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Lately I've started deliberately searching out villainous arcs for my villains. The pickings are rather slim. I think heroes are just easier to write for. I know I personally have been banging my head off my villain arc for weeks.

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<_<

>_>

*cough* Play Fighting Freedom *cough*

To the OP, how many missions was it? If it was shorter, then that might explain it. People seem to be far more willing to jump in and play a random arc they've found if it doesn't require a huge time investment. *Huge* meaning like, 30-45 minutes.

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Actually, there's already a 'Civil War'-esque fight in Paragon's history. The plaques for one of the history badges goes into it. Essentially, before the 'Citizen's Crime Fighting Act' (which is how we register as Heroes) there was the 'Might for Right Act', which essentially said that if you had meta-human abilities, you were automatically drafted. If you had powers, and didn't register, you were classified a Villain and delt with accordingly.

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You've got the timeframe backwards. The Citizen's Crime Fighting Act was introduced in the 30s, to let heroes like Statesman legally deal with organized crime as long as they followed the same restrictions that police officers did. Presumably, it was enacted to prevent crime bosses from getting off on technicalities due to the fact that they were arrested by vigilantes. The Might For Right Act didn't happen until the 60s, where the government decided it needed to use the nation's superheroes to deal with the Soviet's own metahumans.

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Now if a six-month old can do this, then surely more senior vets can do this, as well.

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But it's so fun to shake our canes and yell at kids to get off of our lawns!

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If you really want to avoid AE farms, why not starting in Galaxy ?

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HOLY CRAP, WE HAVE A WINNER LADIES AND GENTLEMAN!

You sir, win the prize of one free functioning brain.

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will not be tolerated by those of us in the community that actually enjoy this game.

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Please provide documentary evidence that people who don't play the game the same way you do aren't enjoying the game.

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Don't you understand how a witch hunt works? Evidence is for fools.

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You burn witches, and you also burn wood.
Witches are therefore made of wood.
You can build a bridge out of wood.
So if a farmer is a bridge, it must be made of wood, thus a witch.

"Perma 46 LFF"

IT'S A BRIDGE!
It must be made of wood!
Witches are made of wood!
BURN THE WITCH!

Am I doing it right?

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Except you can also make bridges out of stone.

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GOD IS ALWAYS WATCHING YOU, JUDADS

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*hides under an umbrella so none of the gods can see her*

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God sees through the eyes of all small children.

And dogs.