Official Thread for Mayhem Missions
By
13th_Stranger,
Posted on: 2006-05-01 24:55 in Developers' Corner
When speaking to the broker, you get given the option of taking the mayhem mission or not, you can say 'no thanks' to them. Now, whether saying 'no thanks' then still gives you the contact, I don't know ... You can enter the mission, start the timer, then exit, and continue to do other missions if you want until the timer runs out. Once you 'fail' the mission, you can then go back to your broker to get your contact.
CHAMPION!
I ran two Mayham Missions so far. One with my lvl12 stalker, one with my lvl 33 robot/dark MM.
My stalker had an interesting time completing the mission. It was in KR. I blew up a few cars, cashed in on some parking meters (the coins that pop out pushed me around a bit), stealthed to the vault where I got ambushed, defeated the hero while using the elevator as a method to gain 'hide' when I felt the need. The pace was slow as I only had 3 attacks to cycle and I had nothing to AoE with to make a big mess. The experience was refreshing but not that exciting. I was solo though, so what can I expect?
Then, I used my MM to rob a bank in Talos Island. This was much more fun because my robots would really cause mayham. I just have to walk around and they would follow and blow stuff up. I could destroy 6+ things at once since I constantly had 6+ AoE attacks ready. I felt I had to really pay attention more to what my bots were doing as they would waste time firing off at the millions of immortal beings that live in this city (if any of them were to fight back, we'd all lose). Atleast they are good for kinetic/dark/energy drain/invulnerable Villians. I eventually got owned by the boss that came after me, which was sheer luck. I tried to heal myself from him 5 times and missed. Maybe I should have grasped the energies of the trash can instead as I bet it was less dodgy.
I didn't manage to do any speical side missions or break anything out of jail other then myself. I found it interesting that my contact gave me a new contact even though I failed. This leads me to believe that I work for a bunch of loosers. I look forward to being a contact/broker one day and I'll show them all.
Off topic things I noticed:
- Combat defense popups.
- New bubble colours.
- Buff bar options.
- alt and ctrl hotbar issues if not fully expanded.
- Seen others use new emotes
- Lobbed projectiles act odd. (eg. grenades and poison heal. Insta-travel, invisa-bullet, or arcs that defy gravity)
- Large destructable objects block their own AS LoS.
- Really dark nights in Diablo's Cape.
- Slower then normal performance.
- The cheese in the fridge smells a lot stronger.
- Had a few minions stuck in walls that were targettable and defeatable, but not fight-back-able.
- Mind Control/Confuse activation time shorten (finally!!) but Illusion Control/Decieve wasn't (doh!).
- Only Dominator 'buff' found in PvE was the ability to fire off two abilities in the time I would normally standing around waiting for Confuse to stop. This also increased my end usage/min unfortunately, but a welcome change.
- Bodyguard shows a nice display of how much damage is migrated. Migrated damage is grey ticks on pet.
Freeedom
H: Victra Defile (Rad/Dark) & Hot Hits (Fire/SD)
V: Spike Cream (NW) & Crescent Wind (Nin/Storm)
Sub Hero Inc ARC: 1541
--If you don't like what I have to say, it was probably a typo you are refering to.
[ QUOTE ]
After level 20, engaging in any Mayhem or raising the difficulty guarantees an Elite Boss, so take extra purple and red inspirations.
[/ QUOTE ]
No, it doesn't.
For the third time:
I got a LT on my 33 after tearing the zone up and doing the prison.
Wow, massive thread! =O_O=
Okay, I did my first Mayhem Mission last night with my level 40 brute. I got Brickstown to fight in. I ran around, SMASHing all sorts of containers, and pretty much anything that I could target. Engaged a few Psi cops, as well as the drones (nice that we can fight them), and racked up several minutes worth of time. I started in the mission with about 16 minutes, and after I got to 25 minutes, I went to the bank. But, first, I did a little "side-quest"...
I acquired a key, that lead to a warehouse filled with Council. Beat them up and found a Shotgun. Not an Assault Rifle with the Shotgun power, but an actual Shotgun graphic (with 15 shots in it). Very nice, and something we asked for back when the Holy Shotgun Shells appeared in Strige. 
I liked the layout of the bank now, as it's a little more twisty, and it's nice how the civvies just stand there scared. Put down every guard I found, as well as a couple of Longbow ambushes, and took out the vault door with no interruptions (I got a message that "backup" was coming, but guards didn't bother me until I left the vault room area).
However, my Elite Boss at the end was Infernal! =o_o= Gah, that was a surprise. I mean, I knew I'd get a named hero, but Infernal? Blah. =>_<=
However, Overload, plus a mess of inspirations, meant a downed Hero (as well as his 4 Demon Overlords that he summoned), and a nice bonus at the end (extra health for 24 hours).
I thought that the whole end fight was ridiculously tough for a soloing villain (even though I had Overpower to help, that wouldn't apply if I was, say, a Corruptor or Dominator), until I went to get another mission and noticed that I was on Vicious. >_>
All in all, quite fun to do, and now I want to try a lower level version on my new Elec/Elec brute, just to see how the lowbie Mayhem Missions work out.
Dungeoncleaners! (ID#125715): Slay the Adventurers! Rescue the Monsters! Return the Treasure!
Peppermint Cat-- Lv50 Mewtant Ice/Eng Bls
Hmm... So it sounds like the strength of the 'boss' all depends on how much mayhem/damage you caused on your way to the bank. Is this a solid assumption?
Still find errors with the starting time of the mish. Got the mish, team was waitnig at the ship, entered... with only 11 minutes?! Took me 1 min to super jump there, and 30 seconds to load?!
Also, we took on one of the side mishes, got creamed, rezzed in the prison - and all the ambushes spawned right there in the prison. Waiting for us to break out of the doors.
Fun
This time around we got little or no bonus for destroying things.
Still have trouble getting pet to (A)Attack (B)Go through doors (C) Not focus on civilians they nor I can kill.
Still have loads of fun though. And amazing XP.
Little slow at work so I thought I would read what everyone thinks about Mayhem Missions, so far looks like everyone has a problem with it, or has problems completing these. I am not sure what I did or what I was doing besides smashing everything I could in site and doing tremor in a parking lot full of cars and pretty much destroying the map, I completed this quest with no problems solo, although it took awhile killing that Hero, but I guess I should be lucky I don't encounter anything like you guys did.
Now, I took my wife (she is a Corrupter) into one also, yah I will tell you what, there was a lot of ambushes but damn I love that, that is what makes this so much fun, I actually feel like a villain, put a building on fire, destroying cars, meters, etc. Yes there are a few things that need to be worked out but for the most part, this is one of the best things in this game, I think the Dev's did a great freaking job on this, I have played all those other MMO's but the fact I can destroy stuff, and feel like I am actually causing enough mayhem for more ambushes to come in after me I love it! Without mayhem missions I didn't feel much of a villain, now its something to come home after work with my wife and do, even though I agree its gets pretty hard but what do you expect when you are destroying part of a city cops and ambushes are going to try to stop you.
Besides, before I get mad or frustrated I just remember, hey I am on a test server, before it goes live they will have (hopefully) most of the issues worked out. I am also sure that they get sick of hearing everyone on these boards complain about their work, they do deserve to hear what a great job they are doing, and come on we all know they will fix these issues and Mayhem missions/Issue 7 will rock when on live servers. Anyways that is how I feel, I hope everyone has better luck playing on the Test Server.
[ QUOTE ]
Hmm... So it sounds like the strength of the 'boss' all depends on how much mayhem/damage you caused on your way to the bank. Is this a solid assumption?
[/ QUOTE ]
That's two questions you've asked where the answers were answered SEVERAL times. I know the thread is getting big but please try to at least skim the posts for your answer.
No, it's NOT a safe assumption. It's completely wrong in fact.
For the 4th time:
I laid waste to the zone and whiped out the prison (on a level 33 toon) BEFORE going to the bank. All I got was a lt. I should have at least gotten a boss or EB according to the assumptions of some on how it works.
Also others said they've done lots of damage and only gotten lt's so their assumption is wrong, or maybe even right and the missions are bugged and not reporting damage correctly or some such.
Background
Me: Level 40 MM
Mayhem Experience: First time.
Broker: Grandville, First time filling his bar.
Diff. Level: Villainous (level 1)
Zone: Founders Falls, Misc Villains: Devouring Earth (sometimes boss had key, sometimes minino)
Keys: 4 Keys, but only three waypoint markers (kidnap, arson, theft v. Nemesis). Is fourth key secret mission? Is it for Jail mission? Is it for the bank?
I did all four missions, cleared the streets and headed for the bank.
Signature Hero: a no-named, Holo Man, who was just a Lt. (that's right, after all that damage I did and all that time I spent).
Level of Hero: We know it's not time spent in mission or damage done. It's not strictly based on level. Could it be that if you've gotten your three contacts from your broker, the mission kicks up in difficulty? Does it kick up if you go down a zone level? (e.g., If I went to Nerva or St. Martial to do a mayhem mission, would the boss level increase?).
Clues: I didn't know what the keys were for, or what the nature of each side mission was. Someone above mentioned getting clues. I never thought to look in my clue window.
There are custom select commands, such as: target_cumstom_next enemy
It can take arguments such a object or mypets. Worth looking into.
Prison doors don't fit right. Pets and foes go through them.
Speeding Through New DA Repeatables || Spreadsheet o' Enhancements || Zombie Skins: better skins for these forums || Guide to Guides
I just did my 1st mayhem mission and had alot of fun. I used my lv 31 ss/inv brute on the Talos map.
I entered the police station, after doing a decent amount of damage, and had no real problems, and get a lv 31 lt pet.
The only odd thing was getting a 4th key from the Freakshow in the zone. I had already completed 3 of the side missions where yuo need a key, but the 4th key's mission door did not display on the map, so the 4th one might have been a bug.
Did my second mayhem mission today - Got it in St. Martial... 400 yds from contact... Super jumped in 5 seconds. Entered mission. Had 8 minutes left on the clock.
[censored]?
This issue seriously needs to be addressed.
Also, longbow from side missions once again spawned in prison after being defeating. makes it pointless to break out of cell since door wipes out HALF of your health the longbow finish you off 2 seconds.
I'm really enjoying it - but it's sometime frustrating.
Also, for the side mission in Brickstown - with the hostage. The longbow ambush spawn IMMEDIATELY when you attack PPD. They should spawn when you finally KIDNAP the hostage. When we did kidnap the hostage - no ambush. The absence led me to believe the logbow we encountered in the beginning was for the kidnapping.
After getting the hostage you STILL have to drag them halfway across the map to the exit - this mission should give at LEAST a fifteen minute bonus considering the time it takes. Or remove it.
Ah yes, a suggestion I would like to make about Mayhem Missions (and forgive me if this has been suggested already - don't want to start through a plethora of postings to see if it has)
Since we are experincing problems with the mission time counter - it would be best if the countdown timer did not start UNTIL we entered the mission. Since the timer does not display when we accept it from our contact there is no way to see how much time is lost between accepting it (def. not 11 minutes to travel 400yds and zone) and actually entering the mission.
Also, this would give some more time for someone to recruit (for those who don't want to solo it).
[ QUOTE ]
Did my second mayhem mission today - Got it in St. Martial... 400 yds from contact... Super jumped in 5 seconds. Entered mission. Had 8 minutes left on the clock.
[censored]?
This issue seriously needs to be addressed.
Also, longbow from side missions once again spawned in prison after being defeating. makes it pointless to break out of cell since door wipes out HALF of your health the longbow finish you off 2 seconds.
I'm really enjoying it - but it's sometime frustrating.
Also, for the side mission in Brickstown - with the hostage. The longbow ambush spawn IMMEDIATELY when you attack PPD. They should spawn when you finally KIDNAP the hostage. When we did kidnap the hostage - no ambush. The absence led me to believe the logbow we encountered in the beginning was for the kidnapping.
After getting the hostage you STILL have to drag them halfway across the map to the exit - this mission should give at LEAST a fifteen minute bonus considering the time it takes. Or remove it.
[/ QUOTE ]
Heh, didn't really notice with my level 26 SS/INV brute, but she's a tough as nails character.
But the super-tough-plastic-explosive doors are a bit odd, don't you think?
Still here, even after all this time!
Another thought on what give bonuses:
After a while, I started to assume that bonus times for breaking things were governed by two priniciples:
1. First time I destroyed a type of object. It seemed I got a bonus for my first parking meter, first car, first bus stop etc....
2. The rest of the bonuses for breaking things were hidden in specific items. E.g., if the zone had 40 cars in them, maybe four of those cars were designated as bonus time cars. So, if you were unlucky enough to destroy all but those four cars, you wouldn't get any car bonuses. If you want to make sure you got all the bonues that cars give, you've got to destroy all cars. (Those who know what operant conditioning based on random reinforcement is... you know why this makes mayhem missions so addicting and exciting.)
The other bonuses were for resisting or avoiding arrest. Obviously, they came every time a spawn of PDD or Longbow were defeated. The other times that seemed to happen randomly... I'm guessing that was an ambush I successfully avoided for a certain amount of time. But, that's just my guess.
Speeding Through New DA Repeatables || Spreadsheet o' Enhancements || Zombie Skins: better skins for these forums || Guide to Guides
I think how it works is you get a bonus for the first of each object and then again after a set number.
E.g. you get a time bonus for the first car and then another bonus for every 10 cars after that.
[ QUOTE ]
Since we are experincing problems with the mission time counter - it would be best if the countdown timer did not start UNTIL we entered the mission. Since the timer does not display when we accept it from our contact there is no way to see how much time is lost between accepting it (def. not 11 minutes to travel 400yds and zone) and actually entering the mission.
[/ QUOTE ]
In my experience, the countdown timer -does not- start until you actually enter the zone.
The bug here is that the countdown timer is not starting at 20:00 - it started at 20:00 once, then it's been 15:00 on the two others I've done so far.
What I've noticed is that the zone you get corresponds to the level range you're at. 5-10 is Atlas Park. 11-15 is King's Row. Don't know beyond that.
Dawncaller - The Circle of Dawn
Too many blasted alts to list, but all on Virtue.
[ QUOTE ]
I'm fairly certain I saw Jesus at one point during my Mayhem Mission.
So. Good.
One comment: there is way too much glue flying around. Kudos on everything else! 
[/ QUOTE ]
At one point in my mission tonight, I had:
3xglue
2xflash
2xsmoke
I had used one 50% insights, a 33% insight, and a 25% insight. I also had Rage up, at its base to-hit buff, and I was missing consistently. I had a second 50% drop and used it, at which point I was able to hit things again.
At level 30, on the Talos map. The mission was fun for the most part, except: I would've liked a longer timer. 20 minutes, maybe. At 15, I felt like I just barely had time to rob the bank.
I drew a lot of attention. I found a Freak tank yelling about a kidnappee or stolen jewels or setting things on fire (all three at different times) and picked a fight. As soon as I started fighting, Longbow and SWAT started pouring out from everywhere, and I wasn't really able to handle the incoming damage at all.
I was playing my SS/Inv brute.
Elsegame: Champions Online: @BellaStrega ||| Battle.net: Ashleigh#1834 ||| Bioware Social Network: BellaStrega ||| EA Origin: Bella_Strega ||| Steam: BellaStrega ||| The first Guild Wars: Kali Magdalene ||| The Secret World: BelleStarr (Arcadia)
[ QUOTE ]
Level of Hero: We know it's not time spent in mission or damage done. It's not strictly based on level. Could it be that if you've gotten your three contacts from your broker, the mission kicks up in difficulty? Does it kick up if you go down a zone level? (e.g., If I went to Nerva or St. Martial to do a mayhem mission, would the boss level increase?).
[/ QUOTE ]
Having it scale as you get contacts could make sense. I haven't hit test yet but if they are awesome XP (like people keep saying) then scaling them to be harder as you do more of them could be a way the devs tried to fight farming? Plus it will keep you from nabbing all the content on one villain, which seems to be a goal also. Just ideas, ignore me if you choose.
[ QUOTE ]
This thread is solely for Mayhem Mission discussions.
[/ QUOTE ]
Okay, I did my first Mayhem Mission earlier today with my level 35 brute. I failed. Rather, I quit after my second death because I had to get ready for work. But here's how it went down.
I'm dropped off in Brickstown with fifteen minutes to get to the bank, rob it, defeat whatever hero is sent after me, and then escape. Naturally, the first thing I did was blow up some cars. And man, was it fun! I trashed the [censored] outta' some cars! One-hit a few trucks and smashed the hell out of some fire hydrants. Got a few extra minutes to play around with, so I went hunting for some of those new cops.
These guys are almost as bad as Malta! Not damage-wise, because they barely dented me, but I couldn't hit 'em for [censored]! They debuffed me worse than an eight-man defender team in Siren's Call. I was crawling slower than I have since I faced some Knives of Artemis, and my accuracy was worse than it is fighting Nerva demons. These guys are annoyingly unbalanced, especially considering how there hasn't been a hint of a hint about how the Paragon City Police Department went from sniveling, skipping pansy patrol officers to ex-Marines with robot back-up. They need to be toned down a little, or they need to give much more than a thirty second reward for fighting. It takes at least twice as long to take out three of them.
Still, at this point I'm having a load of fun. Then I get to the bank. First of all, thank you for letting us target and terrorize civilians! That's awesome, but they need to react like they're being attacked and brutalized. No death, no loss of life, just some responsive animations. If I hit a civie with Air Superiority, they should go flying through the air and land hard on their back. They should curl into a ball when I hit 'em with Touch of Fear. Still, this is a good start.
Anyway, I proceed through the bank like a normal heist mission, kill some guards, rip the vault door off its hinges, and then I turn around and wait for my ambush. Well, I was expecting the private security guards. That's how it normally goes. And I was expecting my hero ambush (though I wasn't expecting Malaise for various reasons). I wasn't expecting more Paragon City Police to ambush me. So, they I am, solo, on Villainous, private security with their measly damage, the Paragon City Police Department with their ridiculous debuffs and minimal damage, and Malaise, his three spectral soldiers, and his spectral terror, and their confusion, their debuffs, and their ungodly damage. That was when the fun ended.
I understand that Mayhem Missions are supposed to be crazy. You charge into Paragon City and take all the hits as they throw hero after hero at you, but this was impossible. Even as just an elite boss, Malaise ripped through my plethora of inspirations, immoblized me, confused me into attacking his pets, and then crippled me with fear (despite my liberal use of break-frees), while these wussy rent-a-cops fired pop guns at me and the PCPD pasted me with glue guns like I was an arts and crafts project.
So, I die a horrible, horrible death. I think I killed the cops, but I'm not sure. I either killed them or they disappeared when I went back for Malaise. But after I die, I wind up in a prison (not the Zig) in Brickstown. I bust out of prison, tear apart the cops in their own freakin' station, and run back to the bank to fight Malaise. Now, by this point, I'm completely out of inspirations, so I wing it and try to kill him anyway. I might've stood a chance if I could've landed a single secondary effect on him, but [censored] those little purple triangles, that is impossible. I couldn't even immobilize him with Midnight Grasp, let alone shut him up for a few seconds with Touch of Fear. So, I die again and log off.
In the end, I had fun tearing Paragon City apart. The cops are annoying as hell and need to be tweaked, and the ambush inside the prison needs to be thought out. Maybe the elite boss/arch-villain/hero shouldn't attack you until you get back out into the street? I think that would make Mayhem Missions a lot more fun, and a little easier.
[ QUOTE ]
the PCPD pasted me with glue guns like I was an arts and crafts project.
[/ QUOTE ]
Thats the best way i've heard it put yet. I'd put it in my sig, but i'm lazy.
I seem to have problems doing these in groups. The spawns tend to take much longer to work through, so the 30sec bonus that you get for tearing up the PPD spawns doesn't cover the time you spent killing them. Also, the mayhem bonuses for destroying cars, objects, etc seems to take more to actually effect the timer. The net effect is that Mayhem missions in a group are harder because you wind up having less time from having to kill so many PPD and so much extra stuff to get that time. My elec/elec brute finished with 10 minutes to spare solo at level 6. My thug/dark MM with a group of 7(!) failed, because the hordes of PPD and items we destroyed did nothing to boost the clock at all. We had one meter bonus and 6-ish evaded arrest bonus - no cars, no hydrants, no mailboxes, barrels, anything. Combine that with 2-3min loadin time (for some people), large PPD spawns that took a couple min to fully kill, and a few deaths, it was nigh-impossible.
Also, for some reason after we killed the end mob spawn, we didn't finish the mission; I'm not sure why. Some of our members were in jail, so I'm thinking part of the hero spawn showed up to attack them...but if so, its *highly* annoying.
Oh, and I dunno if they are, but exploding items killing other items should definitely count toward your "timer increase" award (Hopefully, they do).
we had a similar problem where the mission didnt end untll we got the dead person out of jail. and while I am talking about that ambushes in general should not add to the misery of getting out of the jail I had 6-8 suits and 3 psi cops waiting outside my door and I hadnt finished getting my backside handed to me when the longbow showed up and finished the job.
Went into brickstown, solo, level 40 corruptor set to villainous. Went directly to the bank after reading these posts. fight fight fight and then get Swan as an EB! Death death death. So I dont place a great deal of stock in people who post here saying its dependant on not destryoing stuff before you go in casue I didnt and there ya go.
Fun none the less.
High Beam - 50 Blaster Energy/Ice - 1228 Badges
Munitions Mistress - 50 Mercs/Traps
Many Other 50's, Too Many Alts, All On Freedom
Just Because You Can, Doesn't Mean You Should!
[ QUOTE ]
Went into brickstown, solo, level 40 corruptor set to villainous. Went directly to the bank after reading these posts. fight fight fight and then get Swan as an EB! Death death death. So I dont place a great deal of stock in people who post here saying its dependant on not destryoing stuff before you go in casue I didnt and there ya go.
Fun none the less.
[/ QUOTE ]
Level 39 Rad/Therm Corruptor, here (set to lowest level for mishes -- that's villainous, I think) -- during this same mish, which I attempted solo, I hit level 40. I did explore a lot of the map, blowing stuff up, killing longbow, psicops, etc. Had fun, but had a hard time figuring out what REALLY added bonus time to the mission. I thought everything you destroyed would add time, but this was not the case, so there is some kind of formula at work here.
I, too, had Swan (who appeared to be a level 39) at the end of the bank heist. I didn't stand a chance. Died in four or five quick shots (happened very fast, she appeared behind me and got those shots off very quickly), broke out of jail, ran around and got some bonus time, went back, ate inspirations, went for Swan and barely made a dent -- her health bar was at 98%. In less than what seemed like 15 seconds she had killed me again.
I love a tough fight, but this was NO contest at all. While I had no real trouble dealing with ambushes and all the other NPC foes, Swan was impossible for me.
I'll be trying more mayhem missions -- perhaps I was just having a bad night. But based on the one experience, I would say that the difficulty of the ambushes and other NPC action could be kicked up a bit, and the hero at the end toned down just a tad -- enough to feel one has a sporting chance.
Teapot
[ QUOTE ]
After level 20, engaging in any Mayhem or raising the difficulty guarantees an Elite Boss, so take extra purple and red inspirations.
After level 20, taking in a team of 3 or more guarantees a signature Hero at full Hero/AV level.
[/ QUOTE ]
Actually, according to my own experience this is not true. I did a mayhem mission consisting of three people (two at lvl 24, one at lvl 22). We received a named boss at the end, not an Elite Boss, nor a full on Hero.
We did engage in a fair amount of destruction (in Steel Canyon), and did one side mission (rob a jeweler). We went and did the heist with about 4ish minutes to go, and finished it and the named boss (Ms Shock) afterward with about 30 seconds to spare.
Edit: Forgot to mention that all three of us were on Villainous (the lowest) difficulty.