Striga TF is awsome!
By
9783_Dollar_Man,
Posted on: 2005-02-27 19:26 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
Luckily I was leveling through Striga with my scrapper alt at the same time as my friend was with his warshade. We teamed through most of the Striga missions and ended up with the Hess contact at the same time. So one night I RSKed his level 50 down for it and lead the TF. The next night he RSKed my level 50 down for it and lead the TF. Great times both times. Best TF/Trial/Missions/Enemies/anything in this game. That TF is exactly what I hope all future TFs and maybe someday what all past TFs redone become.
Completed this TF earlier today with a pickup group, complete buncha strangers to me. Went surprisingly well considering that 
The devs are without a doubt learning and growing as the game progresses, Striga set a vey high bar for the next zone and its accompanying missions/TFs.
If you haven't done the Hess TF yet, what are you waiting for? Go find a group and do it now!
Umber's Hall of Heroes & Villains
I made sure my alt did all the Striga contacts (mm.. great new content, and fun new temp powers)..
Got my SG (The Debt Junkies) to do the TF... Oh my god was that fun. There's one part where text says "you are awed by such-and-such" and over teamspeak, our tanker replied "hell, I'm awed in real life".
Now, we have 2 or 3 more people out there getting the Striga content done so we can do it again. 
Way to go, Devs! The Robot Factory was my favorite part, without saying anything to spoil it.
Definately the best TF in the game (and I have done them all but Calvin Scott's so far). Unique, suprising and a lot of fun!
This is the best TF currently in the game (not trials mind you, just task forces). Reasons:
1) It Made Total Sense! When he sent you somewhere to do something, it made sense why he was sending you there.
2) Lots of tile setting maps! Much better then the, "Oh look, another Fifth Column tile set".
3) Many aspects that aren't elsewhere in the game! No spoilers here, but expect the unexpected.
4) Totally new tile set!!! Soooo many pictures. If you've been on it, you know what of =)
5) And Finally, IT MADE SENSE! None of this, "I told you Flanders has it! Or Moe... Go kill Moe" mentality. Great TF indeed.
I'd like to think Striga as a whole set a new standard. We're going to try to use it as our goal in future zones and in City of Villains...
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I'd like to think Striga as a whole set a new standard.
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I wholeheartedly agree. If you can get even half as good as Striga (which would be about Hollows level) with future zones, I think you will be doing very well.
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I'd like to think Striga as a whole set a new standard. We're going to try to use it as our goal in future zones and in City of Villains...
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I like hearing that. Striga is awesome to hunt in but sometimes group sizes are small but the next group of baddies can be large which is good.
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I did the Hess TF last weekend, and I totally agree. I started getting burned out on the game in the late teens; I was so sick of Vahz, CoT, and Clocks. Finally, I had a reason to go to Talos, and eventually Striga. For a bit, I actually considered cancelling my subscription. But I have to tell you, the Striga experience has totally renewed my enthusiasm in the game.
The TF is great, the missions were super cool, and occasionally there'd be a really cool surprise. Not to give too much away, but there was a vampire mission that caught me off guard the first time through - I gained some debt, but I enjoyed it because it was the first (solo) mission where I actually had to plan a strategy.
Then there's the map itself - areas crawling with WarWolves (making it easy to get the Atlas Medallion pre-30), the Volcano (and surprise inside), the enemies battling each other for control, etc. This was also where I had my first experience with the "Batcave" mission map - the cave with all the technology, computers, etc. inside.
So, yes, there is some very cool stuff here. Regarding the TF, it's definately what I expect the ultimate TF to be: challenging but easily doable, fits a lot of content in a reasonable time period (roughly 3 hours for my team), it has cool surprises, the story is consistant and the missions make sense, the final mission comes pretty darn close to being "epic".
I know that I have heard States address this in the past... about how at some time in the future they might be remapping some of the older city zones to give them a more unique flavor... I hope this is true. I mean, they kind of do already, but, not like Striga. I mean that was just nothing like what we had seen before. \
The hollows is basically a combination of Perez Park (with less tress) and Faultline (with less... um... depths?) But, this isn't necessarily a slam on the hollows, I thought they did a great job with it - just that striga was much better.
I've often thought they could do more to make the zones a bit more distinct, but I am sure it's WAY down on the priority list...
Anyway... looking forward to more art!
-Vox
"I swear you could fling a man hole cover across the street and hit more notes than 90% of those idiots on American Idol" -Desmodos
"Every time you post I feel like I been hit with a fist full of smart! Thanks." - Volken re: Sucker Punch
Arc #36984 V'kta A'cha Vox'm
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I'd like to think Striga as a whole set a new standard.
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I wholeheartedly agree. If you can get even half as good as Striga (which would be about Hollows level) with future zones, I think you will be doing very well.
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What he said... that goes DOUBLE for me
I absolutley love Striga. The contacts, the missions, the taskforces, just the [i]feel]/i] of the island.. WOW. The whole place seems more alive. If this is what we can expect in future updates... I see a long and prosperous future for you guys.
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I'd like to think Striga as a whole set a new standard. We're going to try to use it as our goal in future zones and in City of Villains...
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I'm with 9783 on this one. Striga has been nothing but cool so far.
Well, I do have one tinsy request...
Could you make it so that either
a) you get a choice of missions to do in new zones, like you do in the main city zones. Sometimes it's really hard for us non-blaster/scrappers to do missions, and it's nice to have a choice of entering a door mission, or just go hunting out on the turf. (Very specific reference: The first door mission for Striga was brutal for my Emp/Psi defender, who simply could not handle all those foes by herself.)
b) Could you make it so that we have more City Zones? While it is cool to have Hazard and Trial Zones (Is there a trial zone? I don't think I've ever seen one), I would occasionally just like to be able to take a stroll around the city without worrying that I am about to be mobbed.
Thank you for listening... if you are out there...
Striga all by itself is an amazing accomplishment. It's by far my favorite zone. I was lucky enough to have invis on my lvl 20 (at the time) scrapper, so I spent a few hours when it went live just hopping around (till I came to the Council Base, the artillery there is deadly and can see through invis)... even got what seems to be a james bond inspired badge 
You guys should be extremely proud of it. Congratulations!
I've said it a dozen times in the past -- but I'll keep saying it as long as it crops up.
Striga is a fantastic zone in toto. As someone who primarily plays solo, I find the zone tremendous fun.
Despite my solo-inclinations, I do like to do TFs, and I joined the Ernesto Hess TF as soon as I could. With a pickup team, even. I loved every moment of it (and it's a brief TF, comparitively speaking). My mantra is "allow me to solo without boredom; make me want to team," and this TF is a prime example. You'll probably have a fantastic time in the game if you never do it, but you'll miss a fantastic experience if you never do it.
Seriously. Three words. Giant. Freaking. Robots.
I concur.. I managed to organize a Hess TF yesterday, and it was a blast. Easily the best TF I've done. Was helped by the fact that everyone worked well together, a well-oiled team if there ever was one... amazing, especially for a completely random pick-up group. I can't say for certain, but I suspect everyone was having too much fun to get bored or restless. Aside from a near-wipe in the final chamber, it went without a hitch.. and even that was fun! It's just about perfect... not too long, only took us about two and a half hours, limited travel time, and what few repetitive missions there were were mercifully short. Definitely has my kudos.
I think the Ernesto Hess Task Force is the *best TF in the game...loved it, did it twice!
*I have not been through the DE(eden) or the FBZ tf's
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the missions were super cool, and occasionally there'd be a really cool surprise. Not to give too much away, but there was a vampire mission that caught me off guard the first time through - I gained some debt, but I enjoyed it because it was the first (solo) mission where I actually had to plan a strategy.
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no kidding, if it's the mission I'm thinking of, (where the Vamps are made), that mission scared me, it was great, the first time I felt creeped out soloing a mission!
The first time I did it, no one on the team knew anything at all about the TF -- that was the best way to be introduced to it. I raved about it to my SG, so I ended up doing it 3 more times after that, each time because people in my SG had complained that they missed the last time I led it (I was the only one in my SG who had actually unlocked Hess). Everyone in my SG just had to do it, even if they had to be exemplared. The last couple of times I had to shush some of the others in the group who were starting to give too much info (its more fun when you known nothing about it).
Bravo to everyone involved in designing this TF -- If this is the new standard for task forces, I can't wait to see what's coming next.
-Haldur
The worst thing about the Hess TF is that it pretty much embodies what a TF -should- be, instead of the 6 hour same old mission marathons the game has now.
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The worst thing about the Hess TF is that it pretty much embodies what a TF -should- be, instead of the 6 hour same old mission marathons the game has now.
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I agree. My Inv/SS alt is going to pretty much skip TFs on her run through the game unless my SG members want to team up or something for them. I don't want to grind through the marathon for hours just to do something I could spend that time doing the same thing without it.
In other news, I am all for livening up the non-Striga zones to be like Striga.
61866 - A Series of Unfortunate Kidnappings - More than a coincidence?
2260 - The Burning of Hearts - A green-eyed monster holds the match.
379248 - The Spider Without Fangs - NEW - Some lessons learned (more or less.)
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I'd like to think Striga as a whole set a new standard. We're going to try to use it as our goal in future zones and in City of Villains...
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My personal, not-so-secret hope is that you'll use Striga as your goal for past zones as well, States. Faultline, Perez, Boomtown, DA... they could all use a little Striga-style attention, even if it's minor (one contact, one TF or trial, etc.).
I must also add my praise for Striga. I was pleasantly surprised with the entire zone.
The Council base "Wolf's Throat" was very well done. I really wish this type of "outdoor indoor-feel" area could be included in future zones. It is refreshing to be able to "street sweep" in a cool looking base area, complete with wall turrets, AA-guns and the like.
And yes, that vamp mission mentioned was extremely cool. Very nice touch on that.
I would also like to comment that after all of the flat labs, caves, warehouses, etc. that more missions built vertically would be really nice. Some ourdoor areas of Striga are built this way (bridge and council base comes to mind), which isn't done much in the rest of the game except maybe TV. That non-Striga tram mission which takes place in a factory or whatever is a good example.
Traps are good. We need more!
My only complaint with Striga was that I found many of the hunt missions extremely difficult to solo with my Defender, and it would be nice to have a few smaller spawns around to help with those.
I want a permanent wolf pet! 
Maybe you could take what you've learned and apply it to Boom and Faultline? I'd love to see new life in those places.
Can't wait to give the Hess TF a try.
I just wanted to let everyone know about the Hess TF in Striga. Well, I don't want to blow anything, but you should find a way to fit it in. Doing the last 2 contacts in Striga will also add a lot to the TF.
The beginning and end are great. The small area in which the mish doors are located make it easy to get around. The pacing is just about perfect and the destinctive maps add a ton of ambiance.
Thanks for a great time devs! The view out of the control room window was another nice touch.