Mekkanos

I found it. It is indeed a Paragon Times article.

http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Paragon_Times/20050615

It seems like Tielekku was mainly upset at the fact that teaching mortals magic would encourage them to stop worshiping the gods (thus weakening them. Ironically, she's weakened when we actually encounter her, perhaps for this very reason) and apparently stopped pursuing Ermeeth once he was initially defeated and forced to retreat. Hequat was the one who pursued him further by forming the nation of Mu specifically to combat Ermeeth's people, the Oranbegans.

I don't have much else to say that hasn't already been said in this thread, but I will say that I thought the revelation of the Sentinel's true identity was an excellent twist (I also found the personal story that revealed it to be particularly effective).

I believe that when Zombie Man mentions completing the mission, he means completing both the first mission and the second mission where you need the help of the opposite alignment. After you finish both of those missions, then Scratch/Ganymede will offer the mission to talk to DJ Zero.

The funny thing is that I actually forgot about the fact you're referring to, having only heard it offhand at one point since I only read the first book. The way I was able to correctly answer that question (Which, mind you, only comes up blue side) was actually thanks to the fact that I was paying attention during the villain version of the ending cutscene.

As for the arc itself, I'd say it's definitely the best of the four parts out right now. Fun battles, lots of little lore tidbits (The chat with Ms. Liberty in the beginning of the first mission blue side was particularly interesting, showing her reaction to the ending of Part 3 and highlighting exactly how she's different from Statesman. Funny how Longbow actually seems to act contrary to her apparent views on Recluse here, though), and an awesome final mission all add up to make the arc definitely worth playing through. The *spoilers* "asylum" part in both versions of the final mission was definitely my favorite part.

It looks like we're past the halfway point for this particular story. I'm looking forward to seeing how things continue from here!

I talked with Viridian after the summit was over to get a little clarification and it sounds like heroes and villains run the same basic story arcs but your decisions (As in heroic or villainous choices) play a larger role in how they turn out, with things wildly diverging towards the end based on what you decide to do.

Anyway, going back to the panel, both Astral and Empyrian merits (Along with Incarnate XP, threads, and salvage) will be available through the content in Dark Astoria, though it was noted that Empyrians (Maybe Astrals too, it wasn't clear whether they were talking about one or both) will likely have a time lock on them to keep people from getting them too fast.

In addition, they mentioned that the groups that are getting involved in this such as the Banished Pantheon and the Tsoo are getting some more powerful members, with members that were previously bosses being downgraded to Lieutenants and so on. There was some mention of Underlings being part of these group as well but I can't recall what was said. The pre-Incarnate versions of these groups are unaffected.

In terms of characters that are involved in Dark Astoria's storyline, Mot is obviously a major figure, and Diabolique will also play a part that will likely tie in to her trial. The third major character the Devs mentioned is Blue Steel, who it sounds like we may finally get to fight if we choose to (Though the Devs jokingly warned that it may not be a good idea).

Finally, it was mentioned that our incarnate shifts, normally reserved for the incarnate trials, will actually work both indoors and outdoors in Dark Astoria.

I was wondering that as well. I suspect the Warshade powers thing is really just intended for the look, sort of like how Helix has Peacebringer powers but does not appear to actually be a Kheldian. Note that Darrin does not activate the armor (One of the most telling signs of a Warshade) but simply tosses Warshade like bolts. I think they just wanted to make him have a unique dark based set. As for why he's there, there's a number of possibilities...

1) He's a member of the Rulu-Shin and is simply trying to cover his escape with some artifacts.

By pretending to be on the Midnighters side during that fight, it would be easier for him to slip away, which he does at around the same time Mercedes comes in with the news that the skull and baseball cap have been stolen. Rather convenient that he happened to exit then, hm?

2) He's NOT a member of the Rulu-Shin and was there for his own purposes before joining in the fight with the Rulu-Shin and slipping out.

It's possible that Darrin Wade's interests actually conflict with the Rulu-Shin. He may want all the credit for freeing Rularuu and thus, be the only one to gain power and be spared.

3) He's an Aspect of Rularuu in disguise who is pursuing his goals without regard to the safety of his followers. He helped the Midnighters because his own goal (Likely, the procurement of a number of rare artifacts like the Power Amplifier that is mentioned in the villain version of the arc) was more important than the lives of a few of his followers.

This particular rumor has been around for almost as long as Wade himself has been around. Aside from his desire to free Rularuu, he actually happens to have a facial structure that's not unlike the Aspects we've seen already.

4) I really hope this isn't the case but it's entirely possible that the Devs forgot about that particular aspect of the character and just wanted all the Midnight Squad related characters present for that battle.

Ok, thanks! I'll check my points total tomorrow and see if it changed at all.

As a note, Nictus are also notable in that they steal the essence of others, especially other Kheldians, in order to increase their lifespan. Essentially, they've become sort of like energy vampires. This actually leads to my next point.

I don't believe that the Nictus actually ruled the Kheldians. The cause of the war, according to Moonfire, is simply that the Nictus had started preying on other Kheldians to increase their short lifespans. Their method for doing so was particularly effective. In Moonfire's words...

It's implied that the device was destroyed at some point but Arakhn has attempted to create something similar more recently. The Peacebringers have no desire to see such a device come into being again, so they continue to hunt the Nictus wherever they may be.

The info on the Void Hunters has actually been around for a while, but you need to go through some of the earlier Kheldian arcs to find them. Here's the the relevant clue.



Essentially, the Void Hunters are created by altering a number of Nictus fragments and implanting them into a willing host. It's similar to how Galaxies are created except the fragments the Galaxies use are unaltered. It's noted that Requiem purposely picks men that are loyal to him (Former 5th Column members, mostly) for the program so that, if he needs to, he'll have them on his side.

Anyway, great overview of the various alien races in City of Heroes!

While I imagine that the first idea is certainly possible (After all, the Lost get a lot of Rikti hand-me-downs, like the surfboard and old rifles, so I imagine that the ideas they receive are slightly outdated too), I doubt that they consider the Restructurists to be heretics. It's mentioned that Restructurists are much more welcoming towards newly transformed Lost while Traditionalists view them as second class citizens. If the Restructurists were considered heretics by the Lost, we likely wouldn't be seeing any Lost joining them and highlighting that difference. In fact, I believe that the Restructurists rely on the Lost to strengthen their forces by providing a constant flow of new recruits.

I suspect that the Lost are kept in the dark about the Magi in order to keep them from questioning the teachings of their masters. After all, if the masters are allowed to break their own rules, why can't the Lost?

The writer of this story is definitely aware of the connection between the Lost and Rikti but makes sure to never mention the Rikti by name, having the Lost mainly refer to them as "The Masters". Since the level range of this arc is well before we learn about a concrete connection between the Lost and the Rikti (Montague's arc aside), I believe the point was to keep the masters of the Lost hidden in the shadows until the upper 20s/lower 30s when the connection is revealed.

Anyway, the Rikti are definitely opposed to magic, or at least their society on their homeworld is. They went to great pains to destroy nearly everything that couldn't be explained scientifically on their world, so they are not only against magic but in general have little to no understanding of it. It makes sense, then, that they would impose these beliefs on their disciples, the Lost.

The Rikti Magi have come about because the Restructurists, the radical, militaristic faction of Rikti that believes that they need to go against the old rules of their society and create a society that's more appropriate for their current situation, wanted any edge they could get over the people of Primal Earth as well as a method to shatter the magical barrier that separates the Rikti dimension from Primal Earth. Not being limited by their old society's taboos anymore, they no longer feel like magic is something forbidden, so some of the more radical Restructurists began learning magic and some (That I believe are former Lost that are descendants of Mu) became quite adept at it. Considering the Mothership in the War Zone is a key weapon for the Restructurists if they can get it back online, it makes sense that they'd allow their more radical members, the Magi, to help defend it.

Basically, my point is that Rikti Magi are more the exception than the rule for the Rikti.