MA22433 - Total Domination
For the illiterate: World domination in 5 not-so-easy steps! Bring lackies!
Rated: 69% Entertainment Value
So, we have another petitioner for my tender attention to their creation. Seems that @Frosty Robot would offer me "Total Domination" for the mere cost of playing their arc. Ever the scientist, I'm willing to experiment with the concept.
Alas, a mere fictional premise but a hologram of Kelly Uqua forms the starting point for the diabolical plan. It would appear that the Rikti telepathic network is the target and the erstwhile Crey employee/spy is your first step.
The lab she was working in was actually filled with Crey Elite - introducing new stealthed covert agents, Paragon Protectors and ABC Scientists who seemed overly fond of throwing around extreme levels of radiation and not much else. That said, even these elite units were easily dispatched and it was not long before I faced Kelly Uqua herself.
Here began the first problem with this arc when you try to solo it - the ambushes. Wave after wave of them. Crey and Rikti. I had to retreat inside of my Personal Forcefield and let my ZR Autonomous Combat Systems take care of Uqua unaided.
Once captured, and suitably blackmailed she directs you to a warehouse at Area 51 in Nevada to acquire a Rikti Organelle - some form of biotechnology that controls the mental network installed in Rikti motherships. As suspected, it turned out to be a trap.
Fronted by a Vanguard HVAS! Immune to almost all my tricks, I was reduced to taking advantage of its poorly designed gyrostablisers and using a Force Bolt to keep it pinned. Time consuming, but effective when faced with a nasty foe.
After acquiring the organelle, I found that the Security Chief needed "convincing" that I was never there. Unfortunately, he was in a modified Rikti Heavy Suit and was accompanied by members of the US Military. Again, this fight was comparatively trivial compared to the ambushes that assaulted me during it - most especially the sheer weight of troops the Commando Colonels called in. However, after a brief setback, it was doable and the organelle was mine.
Next up.... oh, next up. The first time one of these arcs have thrown me against that most... detestable of Arachnos' scientists. Aeon. My personal nemesis, Dr Aeon. The arc scores bonus points for that alone! Alas, it seems that Aeon had been indulging in more experiments in the form of cloning and Aeondroids. His robotic technologies were nothing compared to my own, but his clones were... tougher than he himself.
Again, once fighting Dr Aeon, the ambushes were the issue and I had to retreat into a Personal Forcefield while my Systems completed subduing the real Dr Aeon.
With the machine now built, I set out to an abandoned WEB Control Node to install the machine and then broadcast a mind control signal across the world. It was here that I was brought up short.
The node was protected by Arachnos Cruise Missiles. Untargettable, undestroyable, high-yield explosives. They proceeded to lay waste to wave after wave of my robots that I was forced to send in first to take the collateral damage.
Secondly, the node was protected by Regent Korol. She shrugged off the damage my ZR Autonomous Combat Systems could output without a break in her own psionic onslaught. It was.... infuriating.
And so, I turned to outside contractors. Calling in my lab assistant Dr. Darkespark, we were ably assisted by two of Arachnos' finest in Operative Sicarius and Arachnocon. A Brute named Kaye Vin and a Corruptor with the colourful moniker "Kiss n Hell" rounded out my new field testers.
After wading through the carnage wrought by the Cruise Missiles, Korol dropped from our own heavy onslaught.
On to the final act, where I was glad to retain my contractors. For it seems a mind control system has alerted all the most powerful psychics across the globe. So, it was back to the node to clear out Capes and defend the Total Domination Machine.
And a who's who of the worlds' psychics it was too - the lesser spotted Malaise made an appearance first off (for less than 20 seconds before he was melted under combined firepower) followed by Sister Psyche and that vile traitor to Arachnos, Manticore.
After the good were cleared out, the "evil" came out to play - Seer Kalinda first attempted to assault us, and after she failed then Ghost Widow charged into the fray. What she was doing there without Wretch as well is confusing to me, but it just made her all the easier to subdue.
With that done, well... I ruled the world. Until the simulation, of course, ended. I found the mission challenging for the most part until I reached the unstoppable Korol - it was a shame to have to call in contractors for the last two missions.
MZ's Conclusion: Well, that was certainly a... challenge. Not an arc for the faint of heart, or the soloist
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OOC Mini Review:
Well, that was the first real tough mission that I faced. I had to pull out the stops for the first three when facing some of the toughest EB's the game has. Unfortuantely, for me, the fourth mission made it feel like the arc fell flat on its face - unkillable mobs from which I was only saved as I was a Mastermind and a fixed L52 AV that had more natural health regen than I had damage output. No heavy marking down on this front as the arc was clearly marked as team content but there was a real disconnect with the difficulty level - it didn't ramp, it leapt!
The final mission did feel epic in scale with one running AV battle to the next. Almost a shame Malaise was so weak as it was nice to see one of the not-so-usual suspects!
Suggestions for improvement: Check spelling - caught a couple of errors (such as the description of the Secuirty Chief in Mish 2 being described as the Security Chef!). The Aeon Clone EB's being used in such quantity were infuriating when the */Regen clone kept popping Moment of Glory and then haring off across the map - consider using them only for ambushes and perhaps a single battle for flavour and just leave the Aeondroids as the primary mob in the area. I would remove the Cruise Missiles completely as they feel broken with no way to fight back against them.
My description sucks!