Outstanding. Great guide, and now I know what I will be doing this weekend.
Badging in a PvP zone?
If you are treasure hunting on a battlefield wearing an enemy uniform, there is a high probability that you will be attacked.
This is an enjoy-the-ride game. "50" is only a number, not the goal of the game. - Noxilicious
Well done, five stars.
Petey Quick, SL50 Ene/Ene Blapper - Cynapse, SL50 Inv/Ene Tanker
Witchblaze, Fire/Fire Blaster - Lo Ping, MA/Regen Scrapper
Astre, Fire/Kin Controller - Terri Volta, Rad/Rad Defender - Solarkinetic, Peacebringer
Yusaku's Guide to the Energy/Energy BLAPPER
Fantastic guide. Helped me choose my 20-25's tonight. Thank you for your hard work.
*stands up, claps hands like mad, wolf whistles!
@mr-blaze
-The Corporation-
Justice
Well done! I am almost done with 11-14 and basically have doen what you did, but will follow what you suggest for rest of them.
TY
Nice summary. As you said, it's important to know your powers. My hero badger is an Illusion/Rad Controller. Under any challenge setting, I can easily stealth missions using Superior Invis. The Rad toggle (auto-hit) debuffs significantly offset the challenge debuffs. And I can usually hold the mezzers before they mezz me. Melee types with status protection don't need to worry nearly as much as squishies. Blasters probably have it pretty rough when it comes to Flashbacks as they don't have nearly as many tools. As a famous man once said, "A man's got to know his limitations." Most Blasters have an Immob at level 1. When in doubt, Immob, kite, and rest when done.
Rest is your friend. Sprint is a better friend! Slot it with a Run Speed IO. Better yet, slot it with a unique Stealth IO if you can.
Use a Freespec and make sure your build works at all levels. Don't put your travel power off till 30 because you used temp powers till then when you were leveling up. Stoners probably want to take and slot some of their earlier armors, rather than just relying on Stone Skin and Granite Armor. Don't skip that low level attack just because you don't need it in your high level attack chain.
In general I prefer the expansion zone arcs blueside as they have missions all in the same zone.
I prefer only 3 runs through each level range (excluding 40+ where you have to do 4 due to the extra "No Epic" setting). I usually do the first run with No Temp Powers and No Enhancements, just so I can use my movement power and go through it relatively quickly. Or at least as fast as a Controller can, which isn't too bad thanks to Containment. The other 2 missions get one power limitation and either the buff or debuff, and I toss No Inspirations usually on the last run when I'm pretty familiar with the arc.
In the 30-34 range, I'd think the Crossing Over arc would be pretty easy. The final mission has 15 minutes of ambushes, but each ambush spawns after the previous one is defeated. All you need to do is tank, hold, Immob, or play hide and seek with a single minion to run out the timer. I plan to use my debuff toggle, put my heal on auto, and come back in 15 minutes.
Level 35-39 I'll go with the Revenant Hero Project. Hold the Crey Tanks and PPs and they're not a problem. I'd rather not fight Nemesis as their Snipers can see through my Invis, and I'd rather not have to pull and such to avoid their Vengeance.
Goodbye and thanks for all the fish.
I've moved on to Diablo 3, TopDoc-1304
How, a very concise guide for the badgers.
I was overwhelmed with the sheer number of new badges, confused by which was for what, and worried about how I would ever pull any of it off.
Not now 
Well done.
To TopDoc - Absolutely, some power sets are indeed going to do better and can stack more challenges. I tested with a Blaster (Energy/Ice) so really I have only KB as mitigation. Defenders will naturally have to use more tricks. Scrappers and Tanks probably less trick needed. WHen I tested some on the villain side using my MM, things went a lot easier to an extent where I could stack more challenges.
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!
About that Sky Raider's secret arc(20-24), you mention the runs to the contact being a pain.
Did you know you can throw down an ouroboros portal, go to the ouroboros zone, run across the pool to the big crystal and click the band on it to immediately be recalled to the contact?
It's similar to going to the small crystals and selecting "be transported to contact" except that there is no options to choose, it's a one click deal.
My runs went much faster when I realized that.
Now that you are at her of course, you may have a run ahead of you, or a short wait before the <><> portal recharges.
If you've already covered this, my apologies, I didn't see it mentioned...
great guide! 
Battery - That is an excellent regarding using to O-Portal to go to the zone and then Teleport to contact via crystal. I used it to an extent, but I forgot to mention it. Outstanding information that I am sure everyone can use. Cheers!
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 ]
2. Never Set No Enhancements with No Inspirations in same mission.
[/ QUOTE ]
Actually, on my Tanker, I found the player debuff to be the harshest, no Enhancemet AND no Inspirations following, closely tailed by the Villain buff.
After completing the Medalists badges and the limited deat badges I did the missions like this:
Player Debuff + No Travel Powers (although I receive a heavy debuffs, not having travel powers doesn't handicap me in combat).
Villain buff + Only AT Powers (the foes hit more often and they hit stronger, but none of my temporary/pool powers would help that much).
No Enhancements + No Inspirations + No Temporary Powers (almost as tough as the player debuff, but not quite, meaning that I can sacrifice temporary powers).
Just some nitpicks and suggestions:
[ QUOTE ]
4. To Save a Soul 17 Missions (2 Defeat X, 7 Delivery). So with 8 Missions it doesnt sound so bad. But in the final mission you are facing the Madame of Mystery EB and anyone who has done this knows it is damn near impossible to solo, no matter what your build.
[/ QUOTE ]
You may also want to point out, for those who do decide to flashback to this arc (crazy people like me), that the final mission gives a temp power to use against Madame of Mystery to help you out in fighting her. My challenge setting prevented me access to my temp powers, so I had to use drastic measures, like using my Tier 3 red inspirations from my base to solo her. Very hard fight, especially since I was debuffed as well. My suggestion to people flashbacking to this, be sure to have access to your temp powers, especially if you're soloing it.
[ QUOTE ]
9. Project World Wide Red 16 Missions (1 Delivery). Again the killer is that they are Malta. But to top it off the final mission has the Kronos Titan, which will spawn as a GM and you will not solo and if you fail the final mission you get no badges. It is timed so you will very likely fail.
[/ QUOTE ]
There are two Titans in this arc. The GM version of the Kronos Titan spawns outside, a few missions before the final mission. No need to fight the GM if you don't want to, he is optional. The Kronos you have to fight, the one inside the final mission, is an AV and can spawn as an EB (and it should, especially in Heroic). In other words this arc is soloable, but of course I wouldn't recommend it for collecting the new badges.
But all in all, good work on the guide, it should help out a lot of badge hunters out there.
ShadowRush - Point taken on the Chronos that spawns as an ambush. I should have mentioned that it could be bypassed like I did when I mentioned the envoy of Shadows. As for the temp powers, I kind of intentionally left any real mention of any of them. Brad wrote IMO the definative guide regarding Flashbacks so I didnt want to simply rehash his work.
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 ]
2. Revenant Hero Project 10 Missions (5 Delivery, 1 Defeat X). So in effect, 4 missions. And thats why it is number 2 but the fact is the Crey Tanks and the Paragon Protectors will cause you a lot of grief. You could pull it.
[/ QUOTE ]
I just did this one for the No Temps and No Enhs setting and it was actually fairly easy. Two of the missions could be stealthed, the third was basically a Defeat Boss & Guards. The only problematic one was the Defeat 50 Crey. Which could take a while depending upon your sets, but there are green and gray con Crey available for smiting.
The only real problem would be doing this one on the No Travel Powers and AT Only Powers setting. Why? Because of the idiocy of mission placement. (At least) Four of the Deliver missions require running the full length of Skyway City, should you chose to take the Green Line tram. Deliver to Mark Freeman, then run to the other end of Skyway to deliver to his friend, then run all the way back to Freeman again. Later on, you have to deliver to another guy at the opposite end of the zone from the Green Line.
The Crey Tanks and PPs didn't really matter in this mission, at least to me.
A bonus for this one, is that includes the 7th Generation Paragon Protectors, that a person could use to dual box for Infiltrator badge, provided those still count for said badge.
Very nice guide. Before I even got further down, I could see that I'd be able to pick up some badges for free (Dancing Hawk doesn't have a travel power and almost never uses her APP or inspirations). Thorough and informative, exactly what a guide should be.
I'll be bookmarking this one.
Very nice guide High Beam - very informative!
Thanks for putting it together.
Mr E-Man ~ Mr E-Villain
XBL GamerTag: il Radd
A great guide - thank you High Beam.
Gotta agree for the great work!!
5 stars!!
"I'm not scared of anyone or anything Angie. Isn't that the way life should be?"
Jack Hawksmoor, The Authority.
Any chance of a "High Beams Flashback Badging Guide (Villain)" coming out?
Great guide for my heroes! Thanks!
[ QUOTE ]
In the 30-34 range, I'd think the Crossing Over arc would be pretty easy. The final mission has 15 minutes of ambushes, but each ambush spawns after the previous one is defeated. All you need to do is tank, hold, Immob, or play hide and seek with a single minion to run out the timer. I plan to use my debuff toggle, put my heal on auto, and come back in 15 minutes.
[/ QUOTE ]
The ambushes aggro directly to the objectives, so the debuff won't be enough to sustain aggro. Most powers that Immobilize also do damage, as do most holds (except for long-recharging ones that won't be perma). Taunt might work, I guess.
That mission isn't the only problem area, though. As I recall, most of the door missions are hostage rescues, which are invariably annoying, especially with multiple hostages as a couple of these are.
I did it once just to unlock Katie (or so I hear, haven't tried). I left one Ambusher alive, debuffed him with RI, stood next to him with my heal on auto, and after 15 mostly AFK minutes and many wiffs on his part I got Mission Complete. Yes they do agro on the Henges when spawned, but it's not hard to distract them.
The hostage rescues aren't bad. If the hostages want to fight, just let them die. (R.I.P. Waylon McCrane) It won't affect the outcome unless it's the last mission. If the hostages won't fight, then just avoid mobs. The only really annoying hostages are the ones who can get recaptured when you're on an indoor map, so you have to clear out some mobs.
Goodbye and thanks for all the fish.
I've moved on to Diablo 3, TopDoc-1304
Thus far I've certainly found doing the runs in the original specified order work pretty well:
Run 1 Challenges Set: No Travel, Foes Buffed.
Run 2 Challenges Set: No Temp, Player Debuffed.
Run 3 Challenges Set: AT Only, No Inspirations.
Run 4 Challenges Set: No Enhancements.
If you want to, you can also always run one mission first that doesn't have any challenges to get an idea of layout and mission objectives you'll face. Plus the extra run-through contributes to the Ouro badge counter for those badges.
[ QUOTE ]
Any chance of a "High Beams Flashback Badging Guide (Villain)" coming out?
Great guide for my heroes! Thanks!
[/ QUOTE ]
Hear Hear! Grrrrrrrreat Guide!! Any chance of a Villainside Version or a link to one <if High Beam isn't villainy inclined?>
....just wonderin
Greetings! Most of the new badges in Issue 11 are awarded for re-doing Story Arcs and applying certain restrictions (aka challenges) to your selection prior to engaging the missions. Also note that these missions will autoexemplar/automalefactor you to the top level spectrum of the Arc. Also you are in what equates to being in Task/Strike Force mode which means you cant add additional team mates after starting.
For a full walkthrough of the Flashback functions, I highly recommend Infamous Brads "Welcome to Ouroboros" guide.
First are the one-time badges. These are the badges that do NOT require you to do at each level tier. Meaning if you do them once, at any level tier, you dont have to do it again.
The First Group are the ones that set a time limit required to complete the Arc (Time Limit Challenge Setting). These are:
Gold Medalist Completing an Entire Arc in 30 Minutes or less
Silver Medalist Completing an Entire Arc in 60 Minutes or less
Bronze Medalist Completing an Entire Arc in 120 Minutes or less
Next are the ones for total defeats (Limited Lives Challenge Setting). Now weather you are solo or in a team this setting determines the number of total defeats you (or the team) can take before you fail the challenge setting and get no badge. They are:
All For One, One for All Zero Defeats
Divided Mastery 1 Defeat
Proportional Supremacy 3 Defeats
Shared Victory 5 Defeats
So ends the One Time Groupings. Now are the ones that are grouped by level ranges. You can get a badge for each of the Challenge Settings in each level range, this means a lot of badges.
The Power Limits section allows you to set one of the following limits per Arc. You cannot set multiple power limits from this group per Arc. These limits and their badges are:
No Travel Powers
Refrained 1-14
Shut Down 15-19
Desisted 20-24
Barred 25-29
Still 30-24
Stalled 35-39
Stemmed 40-44
Suspended 45-50
No Ancillary/Patron Powers
Cut-Off 40-44
Marginalized 45-50
Only AT Powers
Contributor 1-14
Vocational 15-19
Professional 20-24
All Business 25-29
Archetypical 30-34
Obligated 35-39
Missionary 40-44
Undertaker 45-50
No Temporary Powers
Diminished 1-14
Curtailed 15-19
Capped 20-24
Inhibited 25-29
Hindered 20-24
Bound 35-39
Limited 40-44
Demarcated 45-50
The final section is additional Challenge Settings, all or none of which can be selected at the same time (unlike the other three sections). They are:
Players Are Under Constant Debuff
Venturous 1-14
Headstrong 15-19
Adventurous 20-24
Daredevil 25-29
Rash 30-34
Venturesome 35-39
Reckless 40-44
Temerarious 45-50
Enemies in Mission Are Buffed
Audacious 1-14
Courageous 15-19
Bold 20-24
Valorious 25-29
Valiant 30-34
Stalwart 35-39
Lionhearted 40-44
Intrepid 45-50
Enhancements Have No Effect
Lessened 1-14
Debilitated 25-19
Anemic 20-24
Weakened 25-29
Deflated 30-34
Decreased 35-39
Devalued 40-44
Unenhanced 45-50
Inspirations Cannot Be Used
Cliché 1-14
Unimaginative 15-19
Flat 20-24
Unoriginal 25-29
Dull 30-34
Phoned It In 35-39
Indifferent 40-44
Uninspired 45-50
Finally there are badges awarded for completing a set number of Ouroboros Issues Story Arcs (No matter how you do them, Challenge settings or not). They are:
Troubleshooter Complete 5 Flashback Missions
Adjuster Complete 10 Flashback Missions
Calibrator Complete 15 Flashback Missions
Alterist Complete 20 Flashback Missions
Balancer Complete 25 Flashback Missions
Correctionist Complete 30 Flashback Missions
Repairman/Repairwoman Complete 35 Flashback Missions
Overhauler Complete 40 Flashback Missions
Time Fixer Complete 45 Flashback Missions
Ouroboros Mender Complete 50 Flashback Missions
A couple of notes before you go further!
First is that this is for solo work, if you are teamed a lot of this is moot. EBs are not a real issue with a small team. Missions go faster with a team. Team buffing offsets some of the challenge setting hits. The only downside is that currently there is a bug where only the team mission holder gets the credit towards the Complete X Flashbacks badges. The other challenge setting badges do award to all team members. The devs say the fix is already on internal testing.
Second it is not trying to do as many challenges as possible to lessen the number of repetitions you have to do. After all since you are wanting all of the badges, the number of repetitions gets you the Complete X Flashbacks badges as well. REMEMBER, the missions that award Accomplishment badges, which are usually only one mission long, do not award any challenge setting badges, only the Complete X Flashback progress. If you want those quick, just cycle the shorties.
Thirdly, in the information below I will repeatedly show is my aversion to arcs with EBs in them. For the most part, yes, many EBs can be solod by most ATs (Except maybe Defenders) with the use of purple defense Inspirations. However the challenge setting where you dont have them means you cannot secure that set. Also it is near impossible when the No Enhancements, Player Under Constant Debuff and Foes Buffed settings are selected as well. Most of the time, the EB fight is the last mission of the arc, so it can get frustrating running an arc almost all the way through then get stalled. Since you are operating in a Task Force mode, you cannot drop missions. Additionally if you FAIL a final mission, you technically dont get the souvenier and therefore the Orborus system will not credit you with success. This applies to the Benjamin Deckar Arc and if you did the 45-50 Malta Arc. I tested this with a Blaster who is heavily slotted with IOs and Set IOs.
Yes you can mix and match arcs, that is purely your call, but when you repeat the same Arcs, you will know generally what to expect and what tricks to use (when you can bypass, best places to hunt). Do this if you want.
I will almost always suggest four (4) repetitions. The first Pass should be with No Inspirations and No Travel Powers. You will need the inspirations later and you might as well get the painful slow zone movement out of the way early. Pass 2 should set AT Only and No Enhancements. Again you will lose a lot but you got your Inspirations back. Pass 3 should be Player Under Constant Debuff and No Temp Powers. Face it, with the debuff applied to you, you are not going to hit anything with any regularity with unslotted temp powers. Finally the fourth and last pass should have Foes Are Buffed set. You have all of your tools available to you. If you are doing a 40-44 or a 45-50 Arc, also select No Epic/Patron
Finally lets talk mission strategy.
First off you have to know your limits and know the AT of your toon you are going to do these in. You have to know certain benchmark levels for your characters. When did you get your travel power? When did you get your Mez Protection (if you have any)? When do you get your BEST damaging power? When did you get your Major team support power? You will autoexemplar/Malefactor to the highest level allowed for that arc. That range is told to you when you select the Flashback Mission, so by knowing what you do and do not have, all the better.
Next is Know Your Missions. I cannot stress the value of Red Tomaxs Web Site to get an idea of the Story Arcs, especially how many missions are in them. This knowledge will help you avoid certain pitfalls that will prevent you from getting a badge. Forgot there was an AV? Didnt realize that the Arc would take so long? Forgot that the Arc dragged you to six different zones? See?
For Villains Bookmark:
http://cov.redtomax.com/
For Heroes Bookmark:
http://coh.redtomax.com/
Make them your best friends for planning.
Finally, Set to Heroic/Villainous. Yes I know you may be used to running them at the highest difficulty, but some of the challenge settings can be brutal, even to really great builds. The player debuff is brutal for hitting and you getting hit, I was getting a 50 percent or greater whiff rate against a lot of foes. If you chose the Only AT powers, you lose a lot of your comfort tools, like Stamina and Hasten or Leadership or Aid Self. And then there is the No Enhancements setting, which is by far the hardest (IMO).
With those core rules set, here's the drill. You can maximize your badge earning by selecting multiple challenge settings. Knowing which and when is a key. Dont take a 30 minute time limit and also no Travel Powers. Dont do long arcs with no travel powers. Definitely do not take Enemies Buffed or Players debuffed in missions with AVs or EBs or generally less-resisted damage types (fire, cold, energy, negative, toxic), especially against the Circle of Thorns, the Rikti, Longbow or Arachnos. Never take Enemies buffed and Players Debuffed at the same time and never take either with the no inspirations option selected.
In fact let me walk you through what High Beam did to get all of the level 1-14 range badges, all of the Time Limit Badges, all of the Defeat Limit badges and all of the Power Limit Badges.
First off I stuck with the same mission and repeated it X times. David Wincott, in the Hollows. The mission itself is only three missions long (Red Tomax says 4 but its three). One of those was a street hunt and since I was autoexemped at 14, I blew those 10 kills away quick. I had my Flight at 14 so I didnt lose it. Here was the first run.
Run 1 - Challenges Set: 30 Minutes, Zero Defeats. The fact of the matter was, if I got defeated I would be sent out of zone and I would lose precious time humping it back from Atlas into the zone and back to the door, so since I couldnt afford to be defeated I added that challenge. Completed it in 21 minutes. Earned Gold Medalist, All For One One For all.
Run 2 Challenges Set: 60 Minutes, 1 Defeat, No Travel, Foes Buffed. With the foes buffed I did not want to lose any of my neat toys (Nemesis Staff, Sands of Mu). I didnt die but I came close a couple of times. Completed in 39 minutes. Earned Silver Medalist, Divided Mastery, Refrained, Audacious.
Run 3 Challenges Set: 120 Minutes, 3 Defeats, No Temp, Player Debuffed. With the debuff applied to me, previous tests had shown that I was missing a ton with the temp powers because they cant be slotted with enhancements. Completed in 53 minutes. Earned Bronze Medalist, Venturous, Diminished and Proportional Victory.
Run 4 Challenges Set: AT Only, 5 Defeats, No Inspirations. I went with AT only here because in reality, I didnt have that many combat necessary powers anyways at level 14. The only Pool power I had that helped me in a fight was Hasten. Swift, Hover and Fly were not really needed anyways once in mission and again, I used temp powers to get there. Completed in 58 minutes, but I was afk for like 5 minutes. Earned Cliché, Contributor and Shared Victory.
Run 5 Challenges Set: No Enhancements. Actually tougher than most of the other runs because it was like being debuffed and the enemies being buffed. I chewed through a lot of inspirations . . . a LOT, especially yellows and reds. Completed in 75 minutes, but it was only because I had to restock inspirations a lot. Earned Lessened.
Now there you go. All of the one time badges and all of the 1-14 range badges are cleared. From this point forward, you dont have to worry about the one timers which allows you to stack more challenges in fewer missions.
Personal suggestions once past this frame.
1. Never Set Foe Buff and Player Debuff in same mission.
2. Never Set No Enhancements with No Inspirations in same mission.
3. No Temporary Powers is the Easiest set to collect.
4. Do the 30 minutes badge on short Arcs, which means low levels.
From this point forward your strategy is about getting the badges at the various levels. Yet you can take your time and not sweat dying because you got them out of the way. Using this system you will get all of the badges for each of the level tiers is a fairly reasonable timeframe (solo).
15-19 I Lost My Daddy It is a total of 5 missions but one is a Talk to and one is a Defeat X mission. So in reality only 3 that involve fighting. The street hunt allows you to pop foes several levels below your exemped level, making it go faster. All of the missions are in the same zone, but there will be times when you have to be wary of travelling without travel powers as there are sections where your outdoor foes are above your level.
Why Not:
2. The Mind of a King 5 Missions (2 Defeat X). If you dont like Faultline, this is your second choice. No real threats, its just running around.
3. The Tsoo Shenanigans 8 Missions (3 Delivery, 1 Defeat X). The problem is the mezzers, the healing Sorcerers and the Ancient Spirits. And the fact that you are jogging all over Skyway.
4. Rumblings of the Past Yes it only has three missions but #s 2 and 3 both have EBs in them. Both with Psi damage. You have allies against the one in mission 2 (Kurse) but not against the one in mission 3 (Nocturne).
5. The Vahzilok Plague 5 Missions (1 Defeat X, 1 Delivery). Its not that there is an EB at the end because you can succeed without actually fighting Doctor V. The issue is the Vahzilok Wasting Disease, especially when coupled with several of the challenge settings. Plus the Toxic damage is lethal enough when you have all of your tools.
20-24 The Sky Raider Secret Yes, you heard me. Granted you are looking at a lot of long runs to your contact who is in Independence Port, but essentially it IS your best bet. Five (5) missions with one being a Talk To. The foes are low risk, quick kills with no mezzers or healers and dont deal exotic damage.
Why Not:
2. A Hand of Iron 8 Missions (1 Patrol, 1 Defeat X, 3 Delivery). Not too bad except their rezzing and the Freakshow Stunners. However when the buff or debuff options are selected they can devastate you.
3. The Wheel of Destruction 7 Missions (2 Deliveries, 1 Patrol). Again many mezzers and freaky debuffs.
4. The Tsoo Coup 9 Missions (2 Defeat X and 1 Delivery). Mezzers, healers, stunners and in general a lot of missions.
5. The Buried Past 5 Missions (2 Talk To). You face two (2) EBs in this Arc. What more is there to say.
6. Ring of Peebles 8 Missions (1 Defeat X and one Delivery). The Arc culminates in an EB.
7. Hear and Now 8 Missions (4 Defeat X). The Arc culminates in an EB.
8. A Faultline in the Sands of Time 10 Missions (and they are all Defeat All). Three EBs faced individually and later as a trio (though they will generally kill each other off).
25-29 A Madmans Council Heres why, first off, the level you are exemplared at allows you to roam Striga fairly safely so that you arent getting pounded when you have no travel powers. Second; Of the 7 missions, one is a Talk To and 2 are Defeat X missions (so really only 4 missions). Plus in the end you unlock Ernesto Hess Task Force and you dont have to fight EBs or enormous amounts of Vampyri.
Why Not:
2. Return to Vampyr Mountain 8 Missions (2 Defeat X, 1 Delivery). First off there will be Vampyres and you have some BP to fight as well with their Shaman which for some reason spawn at +2 set on Heroic. It is a close second to the recommended.
3. Piercing the Veil 9 Missions (2 Defeat X, 2 Delivery). Yes less missions, but unlike Striga you are running around at or near the zone lower end. Youre are gonna get hit. And the Tuatha are nasty melee damage punks with Champions spawning +2 to you and having a heal and a hard hitting ranged attack.
4. The Mysterious General Z 8 Missions. They are all fighting, no deliveries and no street hunts. The foes are plain though.
5. Ubelmann the Unknown 8 Missions. Another one that is all missions. Yes the foes are not as much of a pain.
6. The Scroll of Tielekku 9 Missions (2 Deliveries). But in addition to facing the BP, you also have to face CoT in one mission. And in general you have to hump it through Dark Astoria at least twice. A lot of pain here.
7. The Freaklympics 8 Missions. All missions. Freakshow Stunners and the large melee damage and rezzing will cause you some strife.
8. An Unnatural Order 8 Missions. Yet again, nothing but missions. This time you are looking at mezzers and several types of debuffs. I simply ask you this. A Granite puts out his little Cairn, coupled with the challenge setting of Foes are Buffed, or Player is Debuffed. Will you deal damage? This is poison! Second Worst Arc to attempt badging with.
9. War of the Fir Bolg 7 Missions (2 Defeat X, 1 Delivery). The problem with this is the last mission which if you fail gives you no badges. This is the Stop 30 Fir Bolg from passing through the portal mission and its a pain to prevent them solo, even with every tool in your inventory. This is the worst one to attempt badging with. You will FAIL!
30-34 Rise of the Vampyri. This Arc has a total of 9 missions but three of them are Defeat X. You are above the level of the zones you are travelling through plus your foes, less the vamps themselves arent too hard. Watch the last mission, the Vamps, even though Lieutenants have a fairly reliable (like 90%) chance of spawning into a Boss classed Warwolf that will be either +2 or +3 to you on Heroic setting.
Why Not:
2. The Freakshow War 8 Missions. All missions. Pretty much what I mentioned regarding the Freakshow Arc in the 25-29 range applies here as well.
3. Hatreds Hungry Heart 6 Missions (3 Defeat X). Yes this may be an option but you do face Tuatha and Red Caps.
4. Crossing Over 7 Missions (1 Defeat X, 1 Delivery). Not unreasonable because now you are exemped at the high end of the zones level range. The Henge protect final mission is what keeps it from being a serious contender because you are pretty likely to fail.
5. Corporate Culture 8 Missions. They are all missions, but straight up, Crey Tanks, especially the Voltaic Tanks will rip your tail open on most of your challenge settings. When you are debuffed most of the Tank models and the Protectors are just horrid.
6. The Unity Plague 14 Missions (8 Deliveries). So its really 6 missions. Again through I stand on facing the DE with the amount of debuffing they do and that you will incur with Challenge settings.
7. The Library of Souls 12 Missions (4 Deliveries). Do you like Circle of Thorns? Do you like humping it through caves maps, and not the tolerable ones, but the Oranbegan ones? This is the poisoned one of this range.
35-39 Mass Duplicity With this Arc you are fighting just Nemesis, no EBs and they dont have mez in their arsenal. Eight (8) missions and all are missions. Yes other arcs are shorter with regards to missions, but there are mezzers in their mix.
Why Not:
2. Revenant Hero Project 10 Missions (5 Delivery, 1 Defeat X). So in effect, 4 missions. And thats why it is number 2 but the fact is the Crey Tanks and the Paragon Protectors will cause you a lot of grief. You could pull it.
3. A Path Into Darkness 11 Missions (2 Delivery). I tried this one, what a freaking pain. Long is the problem and the +2/+3 Wolf Boss spawn from Lieutenants is here as well.
4. The Organ Grinders 12 Missions (3 Delivery, 2 Defeat X). So in effect, 7 missions. Your foes are Rikti and they have mezzers, and they have stunners and they have those freaking drones with their insane defense. Imaging combating that debuffed, or with no yellows, or accuracy enhancements.
5. The Terra Conspiracy 10 Missions (1 Delivery, 1 Defeat). In addition to my previously stated warnings about DE, there is a pretty tough EB at the end that most cannot solo even when having all their tools.
6. The Envoy of Shadow 8 Missions. Again the CoT are poisonous for badging. All missions, and there is an EB in three missions. Yes you can avoid him in two but the final mission you have to take him out and he can rarely be solod with every tool in you arsenal.
40-44 Division: Line To be blunt it is the only one of two arcs in this range that dont have EBs in them. Yes it is long, and I would save this for last otherwise you will burn out, but its better than the alternatives. There are 13 missions, however 4 of the missions you can blast through by just clicking glowies and killing the mobs around them.
Why Not:
2. On The Run 17 Missions (2 Defeat X, 4 Delivery). So you are looking at 10 missions, against the Crey and my previously mentioned warnings about Tanks. Plus there is an EB at the end (Countess Crey) who is extremely hard to solo due to her damage type (Psi).
3. Melvin and the Mysterious Malta Group 20 Missions (7 Deliveries), so really 13 missions. But lets be blunt . . . its Malta. MEZ CENTRAL! You will not be one-shotting Sappers and you will die, a lot! And even though there is no EB here, I would take an EB arc over this one.
4. To Save a Soul 17 Missions (2 Defeat X, 7 Delivery). So with 8 Missions it doesnt sound so bad. But in the final mission you are facing the Madame of Mystery EB and anyone who has done this knows it is damn near impossible to solo, no matter what your build.
5. The Eternal Nemesis 16 Missions (1 Defeat X). OMG! Stay away. You have two (2) EBs to fight. One is Nemesis at the end, but he is an ameature compared to running into Nosfuratu mid way through. He will destroy you.
6. The Praetorian War 13 Missions. All missions and the following EBs to face: Anti-Matter (Twice), Shadowhunter, Bobcat, Neuron.
45-50 The Strange Case of Benjamin A. Decker First off, the mission is short, only 4 missions long. Second of those four missions, one is simply a Talk To mission. Additionally, mission 2, Rescue BNadek has an interesting trick that allows you to avoid a lot of fighting. Normally, after a few minutes in mission, you will see the escort pip pop up on your nav map because the spawn guarding our boy got popped. 9 times out of 10 its right near the base. Plus the final mission is one that tells you NOT to fight, but rather gather information. The four glowies are almost always one in the square room with the orange walls, one in the 3 cone room and 2 in the largest room with the three catwalks. I have successfully rolled past the Rikti in there, clicked my glowies and rolled out. The only major issue is that every time the mission door is damn close to a Rikti Pylon and those things can whack you. Pop some purples when you have no travel powers challenges set. This leaves only the first mission where you actually have to fight.
Why Not:
2. Welcome to the Vanguard 12 Missions (1 Defeat X, 6 Talks). Slow compared to the recommended. But an option.
3. Dreams of Peace and Acts of War 9 Missions (2 Talk). You are facing a Rikti EB at the end.
4. The Horror of War Cant Remember the number of missions but my memories tell me there was an EB in there.
5. Ouroboros Initiation Cant remember the number of missions, though there arent that many. The problem is that the final mission has a Shivan EB
6. The Red and the Black 6 Missions but all missions. Plus you face 2 EBs. and both Vanguard and Longbow are brutal with their powers and you having challenge settings applied to you.
7. To Save A Thousand Worlds 23 Missions (7 Talk To). Well other than being horribly long, you have to face an EB at the end and during that run you have wolves to deal with.
8. Upon the Psychic Plane 20 Missions (2 Defeat X, 4 Delivery). But lets get to the real rat killing, and EB Carnie at the end that you are not going to be able to solo with challenge settings.
9. Project World Wide Red 16 Missions (1 Delivery). Again the killer is that they are Malta. But to top it off the final mission has the Kronos Titan, which will spawn as a GM and you will not solo and if you fail the final mission you get no badges. It is timed so you will very likely fail.
10. A Heroes Hero I am not even going to explain. Every Praetorian as an EB should be enough. If you take this, you really shouldnt have been reading this.
I hope this guide helps you all out and please feel free to comment. Every bit of information helps us all.
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