After taking several minutes to compose myself, because some of your feedback infuriated me with how petty and irrelevant it was, I'll take some time to explain a few things.
[ QUOTE ]
I wonder if you have him set on Defensive or Agressive?
[/ QUOTE ]
Yes, he is on Defensive. All that changes is the aggro-radius of the ally so he still will attack on his own if he gets close. Don't worry, he gets teleported out if he is defeated once freed from the hold spell, as Buck tells you in the briefing.
[ QUOTE ]
The lack of personalized right click info on each of your CoT Mages Sitrix, Polentes, and now Nomaris makes them all seem generic.
[/ QUOTE ]
They ARE generic! They are just three Agony mages with no background whatsoever, with their names pulled from the list at the bottom of this Paragonwiki entry. They are generic names used by the game for CoT bosses who appear in Paper and Scanner missions, where they don't have backgrounds either. I even asked around in the MA Arc Finder channel if anyone thought this was a big deal and no one did.
[ QUOTE ]
Since they are Mages who supposedly are intelligent they all would not delve in the same EXACT powers so I find it odd in the story sense why one would have three that are the same.
[/ QUOTE ]
Because that is the only CoT boss that fits entirely inside the level range of the arc. Of course three Agony Mages are going to have the same powers.
[ QUOTE ]
One ally you rescue happens to be a Living Statue. I know the mechanics of why you placed the Living Armor in there as an Ally to assist. Still I found it odd that CoT would not destroy it - especially since you wander the corridors and there are NO other Living Statues there. It leads you to believe that they destroyed the rest.
[/ QUOTE ]
It is only possible to fit 4 details in that map, period. What happened to the rest of the statues? Heck if I know. Why are they trying to capture this one? Maybe they want to study it. Not everything needs a tidy explanation.
[ QUOTE ]
if the player NEVER LEFT and this is all in the player's head as she states in her dialogue, then why would she need to "possess "Salinger? In the beginning mission 4 dialogue it clearly shows he is first speaking of his own free will.
[/ QUOTE ]
Because it is all part of the huge illusion, consider yourself trapped in some epic Hold/Sleep spell this entire time. Mindskewer probably thought it was a fun way to mess with you and start a monologue. Sounds like it totally flew over your head. I can't account for everything nor do I intend to try to make everything extremely simple to understand.
Buck even says in the debriefing that you were in there for a pretty short time. That fourth mission takes place within a moment of seconds.
[ QUOTE ]
But you also MUST explain clearly in the dialogue that THIS Salinger is nothing more than a manifestation so people do not feel that the Idiot Ball is played.
[/ QUOTE ]
No. I'm tired of dumbing things down more and more and I've hit my limit. If someone is really that dumb then let them be confused.
[ QUOTE ]
Avatar of Balance had what I believe are kinetic powers.
[/ QUOTE ]
Nope, Gravity Control/Dark Miasma with both sets turned down to Standard.
[ QUOTE ]
The physical look of Strength is pretty evident but not sure why Balance and Initiative look the way they do....
[/ QUOTE ]
Well how should they look to you? I'm trying to make things as faceless as possible without resorting to some silly looking Illusion Decoys.
[ QUOTE ]
The allies MIGHT even be a bit overpowered
[/ QUOTE ]
Any weaker and they become useless. Anything less than Boss-rank dies in seconds. They're also optional, that is why the text is a different color for them. Even pohsyb used the blue nav text to denote optional objectives in his MA arc.
[ QUOTE ]
If I recall she was an EB - that might be EB on Solo....on Team Play it might go back up to AV which then would appropriately be a challenge for group play.
[/ QUOTE ]
She's an Archvillain in this fight.
Lazarus, at the beginning of the write-up I did mention I really enjoyed it REGARDLESS of some observations and POSSIBLE areas of improvement. I did give you five stars after all....and I am picky with handing 5 stars out. I had to cut and paste from my original write up which was a creative report from my characters point of view. I didn't thing anyone wanted to read a 2,800 word write-up of what the character said about his/her experience - things were lost in translation and for that I apologize. Lesson learned cut and paste trim doesn't work - Next time it shall be just a straight rewrite.
[ QUOTE ]
Yes, he is on Defensive. All that changes is the aggro-radius of the ally so he still will attack on his own if he gets close. Don't worry, he gets teleported out if he is defeated once freed from the hold spell, as Buck tells you in the briefing
[/ QUOTE ]
I was not worried about him being defeated - it actually added flavor to the game:-) I had wondered what the setting was because I have been having problems with the Defensive setting acting like Aggressive with the Ally running off to do battle - I mearly wondered what you had set it on. Again looking how it was worded it I could have said that better.
[ QUOTE ]
-----The lack of personalized right click info on each of your CoT Mages Sitrix, Polentes, and now Nomaris makes them all seem generic.------
They ARE generic! They are just three Agony mages with no background whatsoever, with their names pulled from the list at the bottom of this Paragonwiki entry. They are generic names used by the game for CoT bosses who appear in Paper and Scanner missions, where they don't have backgrounds either. I even asked around in the MA Arc Finder channel if anyone thought this was a big deal and no one did.
[/ QUOTE ]
Agreed - They are generically provided. HOWEVER, you CAN go into the description and change it IF you so wish. The game mechanics allow that. Can you leave it that way. Yes, absolutely!
BUT would it not FURTHER spice up your story if they did have slightly different descriptions????
What I am saying here is that choosing to do so can add EVEN MORE flavor to the game.
Again, my cut and pasting down from the long glowing review of how your arc played changed the overall tone.
[ QUOTE ]
------Since they are Mages who supposedly are intelligent they all would not delve in the same EXACT powers so I find it odd in the story sense why one would have three that are the same.--------
Because that is the only CoT boss that fits entirely inside the level range of the arc.
[/ QUOTE ]
Agreed. One does not have THAT many options when it comes to choosing within the level limit range. That can be good ....and bad. What I failed to say in that observation is that placing VARIETY would certainly keep a character or team on their toes. Yes? No?
[ QUOTE ]
It is only possible to fit 4 details in that map, period. What happened to the rest of the statues? Heck if I know. Why are they trying to capture this one? Maybe they want to study it. Not everything needs a tidy explanation..
[/ QUOTE ]
I really did not explain well on that one either ...So let us backtrack. The other corridors have no other statues left....having some dialogue there relating to that fact in that encounter further places the character, villains IN THAT particular story map. Use what is IN the map to add a little flare to the story. Just as an example - you go in to rescue a slimy lawyer who is named Chris Jenkins. In office building map you find a flyer advertising his services (which by the way in Steel Canyon right above the Midnighters Club there IS a big billboard advertising his services)
All I am trying to point out is that one CAN use the map environment to further enhance the experience. Am I making any sense with this or am I failing to explain again?
[ QUOTE ]
Because it is all part of the huge illusion, consider yourself trapped in some epic Hold/Sleep spell this entire time. Mindskewer probably thought it was a fun way to mess with you and start a monologue.
[/ QUOTE ]
I understand it is all an illusion....HOWEVER when I read the description of Salinger starting to talk normally, then he stops, and shutters and a voice takes over my first interpretation is that he is being Possessed. Looking back at that portion of dialogue one CAN interpret it that way, yes? If we go with that interpretation, that he is being possessed then some of this illusion is happening in the physical realm. And if so, then it conflicts with this being all in one's head.
The rest of what I said is just suggestions to get around that interpretation - you can take it as a suggestion or file it in the circular file:-) and come up with your own IF you see my observation as a problem. If you do not see my interpretation of a possession happening in the physical realm then, well, moot point. Agree to disagree.
[ QUOTE ]
------The physical look of Strength is pretty evident but not sure why Balance and Initiative look the way they do....-----
Well how should they look to you? I'm trying to make things as faceless as possible without resorting to some silly looking Illusion Decoys.
[/ QUOTE ]
Use costumes to your advantage - like you did straight forward with Strength. The costume is pretty evident in what he represents. As to Balance....is there not some chest symbol that might do - Scales?....Initiative well, I have to admit that is a tough one...
[ QUOTE ]
----The allies MIGHT even be a bit overpowered----
Any weaker and they become useless. Anything less than Boss-rank dies in seconds. They're also optional, that is why the text is a different color for them. Even pohsyb used the blue nav text to denote optional objectives in his MA arc.
[/ QUOTE ]
The emphasis was on the word might. Because of all the variables like player setting (Heroic, Rugged, etc.) and what type the character chooses to play, it affects one's experience with the game. I reported my Tanker on Rugged was able to have the satisfaction of hitting villains. But he once he did free the allies it was a race to get a hit in. And for that, a player MAY feel that he/she is not contributing enough.
Yes, for this mission any lower than boss class and they die. Understood - I am just voicing to you how it played for the Mace/Willpower Tanker. How is plays for a Defender, Controller or even Brute will be quite a different experience. Balancing the game to fit all variables is a tough job and in some cases impossible to do so across the board. At this point let's just file this under an interesting bit of trivia on how it played for this particular character class.
I think I touched on most of your plaints on my write-up. Hopefully I cleared up any misconceptions that came across in my original post.
My Arc: The Power From Out Of Space, ID# 64800
Mrs. Spoon's Arc: Shades of Betrayal, Acts of Salvation, ID# 59147
[ QUOTE ]
Agreed - They are generically provided. HOWEVER, you CAN go into the description and change it IF you so wish. The game mechanics allow that. Can you leave it that way. Yes, absolutely!
BUT would it not FURTHER spice up your story if they did have slightly different descriptions????
[/ QUOTE ]
To me and everyone else I've asked it sounds rather irrelevant. If it had been the same Mage showing up every single time then there would definitely be a point to doing it, but not for three different ones. There is only so much room in the arc files so you have to chose what details are important and which can be discarded. This one goes into the discard bin.
[ QUOTE ]
I really did not explain well on that one either ...So let us backtrack. The other corridors have no other statues left....having some dialogue there relating to that fact in that encounter further places the character, villains IN THAT particular story map. Use what is IN the map to add a little flare to the story. Just as an example - you go in to rescue a slimy lawyer who is named Chris Jenkins. In office building map you find a flyer advertising his services (which by the way in Steel Canyon right above the Midnighters Club there IS a big billboard advertising his services)
All I am trying to point out is that one CAN use the map environment to further enhance the experience. Am I making any sense with this or am I failing to explain again?
[/ QUOTE ]
It was clear in the first place, but does a quick mission in a small map need dozens of glowies around doing nothing (which is what the extra statues would be) that are not used for furthering the plot? Consider it Conservation of Details again.
[ QUOTE ]
I understand it is all an illusion....HOWEVER when I read the description of Salinger starting to talk normally, then he stops, and shutters and a voice takes over my first interpretation is that he is being Possessed.
[/ QUOTE ]
Here is the exact dialog from the arc file.
Buck suddenly stops talking and his face twists into a ghoulish smile before he lets out a terrible laugh. He begins to speak again, with Mindskewer's voice!
I don't see how you get the impression that he is possessed. It's pretty clear that it is Mindskewer giving you some false hope and having a laugh at you.
Mrs. Spoon posting here:
[ QUOTE ]
To me and everyone else I've asked it sounds rather irrelevant. If it had been the same Mage showing up every single time then there would definitely be a point to doing it, but not for three different ones. There is only so much room in the arc files so you have to chose what details are important and which can be discarded. This one goes into the discard bin.
[/ QUOTE ]
This morning my husband and I had a 'debate'. Interestingly, he said pretty much what you said. If it is a generic named boss that shows up more than once AND drives the story - bio. If it is just multiple generic named bosses that does not drive the story - not needed. My husband, who has not played your story, pointed out that he has several of those generic named bosses in his story arc.
I can see the point now, guys, so yeah go ahead and put in the circular bin:-)
[ QUOTE ]
It was clear in the first place, but does a quick mission in a small map need dozens of glowies around doing nothing (which is what the extra statues would be) that are not used for furthering the plot? Consider it Conservation of Details again.
[/ QUOTE ]
Nope, in my original post I should have worded it quite differently. The second post was to rectify that. Not telling you to put more statues in. The suggestion is to play up what one sees in that particular map to further ground one in the story setting - in dialogue. A one line dialogue thing something of the nature 'last one - not destroyed - study magic futher ' Another level of detail - yes. Is it a totally instrumental , oh my god the world is going to explode, needed detail - no:-)
[ QUOTE ]
Here is the exact dialog from the arc file.
Buck suddenly stops talking and his face twists into a ghoulish smile before he lets out a terrible laugh. He begins to speak again, with Mindskewer's voice!
I don't see how you get the impression that he is possessed. It's pretty clear that it is Mindskewer giving you some false hope and having a laugh at you.
[/ QUOTE ]
I have explained as best I can to show that it can be read as a possession in the physical realm. Now that I know what you intended, I just chalk it up to a different interpretation.
Putting those debates to bed, I would like to end it on this note:
Is your arc a overall well-written arc: yes
Is it story-driven: yes
Would I recommend your story arc to others: yes
Is it playable solo: yes
My Arc: The Power From Out Of Space, ID# 64800
Mrs. Spoon's Arc: Shades of Betrayal, Acts of Salvation, ID# 59147
Changes made to "The Portal Bandits": LOTS!
* Nagan Duelist and Nagan Talon are now flight capable.
* Nagan Brawler changed from Martial Arts/Energy Aura to Martial Arts/Archery.
* Nagan Centurion removed. Was too hard to balance and the group didn't really need 2 bosses.
* New Minion, the Nagan Roboticist (Bots/EA).
* All Nagans now have detailed descriptions.
* Naga Obscura removed from mission 1. Replaced with a regular Nagan Engineer boss.
* Kaon removed from mission 1.
* Missions 1 and 3 have more clues now to give background on the Nagan group.
* A few more "setpieces" added to mission 1.
* Vikki Vandale, Anna Nethema, and Iron Samurai reduced to Elite Boss rank.
* Tried to fix up as many plot holes as I could.
* Rewrote the souvenir.
If you have played this arc already I ask you to please run it again. I want to be sure that it's a more enjoyable experience overall.
Hey Lazarus,
So I've seen some of your arcs advertised, and I've been wanting to try them out for a while, so I finally logged on my villain this morning to give McGuffin Delivery Service a go. It was a blast! I tried to send you an email with some minor typo issues, but I'm pretty sure I sent it to a random "Lazarus" on Virtue instead. I have no idea how to send emails to a global handle rather than a character name, so I figured I'd send them to you here.
First off, I like the way the story is structured. You've managed to make the "contact" not a real contact, so there isn't the sense that I'm being made to run around like an errand boy. The flashback style of writing worked well, I thought, and was refreshing.
One thing I'd like to have seen is random amusing writeups for the junk you pick up in the pawn shop in the first mission. You clearly can write funny clues that are tangential to the central plot, as you did in the Oranbega mission glowies, so it would be good reading if you put some here as well. Not crucial, but it couldn't hurt.
In the clue "An Ornate Box", there should be a dash instead of a comma. That is, it should read "Inside was a small statue - a bird of some kind"... I think both ways of writing are grammatically acceptable, but the dash is more strictly correct.
Part 1 subtitle: Maybe the A in "Just A Simple Late Night Robbery" should be in lower-case, to keep it consistent with the way you do the subtitles for the other parts.
Part 1 : There should be commas inserted, thus: "Of course, in a city of villains, you weren't..." in the first line. Also, there should be a comma after "Hopefully" in that last line.
In the clue "Amanita explains", you might want to replace the comma in "Security didn't even hear it apparently since they never came, that bunch is fired today for sure!" with a period or a dash, maybe even a semicolon.
In the clue "The Wolfe talks", I think you want "discreet", not "discrete".
Part 2 mission complete text: comma after "Well" in first line. Also, that last line sounds a little strange to my ear. Maybe, instead of "With little option left", replace that with "With few choices left"? It might just be me.
Part 3 contact dialogue: In the last line, should it be "You had picked up..." instead of "You picked up"?
Part 3 mission entry popup: Replace comma with period, and add a comma after "Hopefully". Or, since you've already used "Hopefully" not so long ago in the mission text, replace it with "You hope that this is one of the less twisty parts."
In the clue "A Book on Unloseable Items", there should be a comma after "Apparently".
Part 4 contact sendoff text: "descend", not "descended".
Part 4 mission complete popup text: "other villains to fight over it" instead of "other villains fight over it".
Part 4 mission success contact dialogue: There should be a comma in, and period after ""Well, that did it." Also, comma after "Probably".
All said, these are minor points, and the bulk of them are tweaks to make the sentences parse better rather than egregious errors. I hope it helps!
I guess it's a pretty good sign when people are spending more time criticizing my spelling and grammar than the actual gameplay and mission design.
Hee, I'd say that means you left only easily-correctable typos!
After sending you three tells (yikes, sorry), I realized I should have left feedback here!
So! Quick summary of my comments on The Amulet of J'gara #1709 since I ain't great at long reviews:
Things I specifically love:
* Great use of clues reminding what characters said.
* Great use of color where you could squeeze it in.
* Perfect maps in length and setting.
* 4 missions of perfect rhythm.
* Love the custom 'nightmare' mobs.
Things that didn't quite work for me:
* The editor has chopped off your Mission Intro text for Mission 3. That's happened to me before in doing an edit!
* The souvenir presumes my character will be haunted by fearful nightmares. That happens to be wholly not true for the character I ended up running through it. Could you reword it to refer to the memory of her nightmarish assault without stating the player has recurring nightmares, and/or is scared? As it is, I just deleted it cause it doesn't fit... 
* The transition of the end of Mission 3 and going into Mission 4 I think was a bit abrupt. I'm trying to think of a concrete suggestion, though -- Maybe something more of a parody of a real closer, "Congratulations, you've won. You can rest now with your victory, go have a beer" sort of thing, and then with the 4th mission intro, the diabolic laughter and new voice congratulating the player for figuring out something was wrong, she thought they'd die in ignorance while she devoured their souls whole, that sort of thing.
Quite muchly a 5-star for me. If you do change the souvenir, please let me know so I can run it again and pick it up!
#28470 - MA & YOU! Quick Tutorial
Poster 1481: Cause of How Some Silly Stealed My Wings
Cultist fun in 3586 Project: Perilous - Into the Chthonian Pit
Formerly of Perils of Paula!
Changes made to "The Amulet of J'gara":
* Totally rewrote the souvenir.
* Fixed the missing parts of the mission 3 briefing.
* Redid the mission 3 debriefing and mission 4 briefing. The nature of the illusion spell should be much clearer now.
* Some minor dialog additions.
Changes made to "MacGuffin Delivery Service":
* Numerous grammar fixes.
* Added some unique wall safes with different contents in mission 1.
I'd like to give dialog to all the battles in mission 4, just having trouble thinking up a line for each side in all 11 battles on that map. I think it'd make that map feel even more alive.
Anyhow, I'd prefer more plays of "The Portal Bandits" right now. It's had so many changes that I need feedback on while my other two arcs are pretty much "final". Not that they're set in stone, but I don't plan any further major revisions of them.
Arc: MacGuffin Delivery Service
Author: @Lazarus
Number of Missions: Missions
Rating: ****
Played by: Ally Khat - 32 SS/WP Brute on Relentless (Diff 5)
Mission 1:
Highly enjoyed the safe contents comments. Dealing with the Tsoo was a piece of cake. Read the clue and saw that Family supposedly were now in the back, despite mission complete, I went back and found this to be true. Nice touch there. Idly curious who Wolfe is, but Ally wouldn't give a fig anyways.
Nit one: Tense Grammar. Mission briefs and debriefs are flipping between past and present tense.
Mission 2:
The commentary from the Freak and Council was nice. Wolfe was, as Ally suspected, a pansy. She laughed at his defeat comment though. Ruby was a fun fight, but Ally like hitting on Carnies. (In both ways) Was somewhat curious as to why I wasn't able to just leave the figurine with Amanita.
Mission 3
Part of the above is sort of explained as I head into the player bases' favorite maps, Orenbaga! Yay! I introduce myself to the Circle in the time honored fashion of my fist to their face.
Mission 4
Vaguely wondering why I would overly care if other believed I did or didn't have the birdie anymore, but that's more due to Ally's nature then to the mission. Anyways! Off to Paragon to take something from the Magi vault! >.> Like every other Tom, Dick and Harriot on the other side of the law. Ah well, it'll be fun!
And fun it was. Several time I just held back and let everyone fight it out for themselves before stepping in and on them. Though the DRM at the end was an unpleasant surprise. That or she just got lucky with her Mask attack.
Exit popup and the debrief had some ugly sentences.
All in all, a fun little arc. Amulet's set for tomorrow.
Pinnacle
Heroes
When in danger, or in doubt; Run in circles, scream and shout.
As I mentioned before, I don't usually focus on the actual combat mechanics when playing missions or MArcs. What I can say for "The Portal Bandits" is that combat seemed to go smoothly, with no obviously-overpower enemies. Even as a Blaster (Fire/Fire) it was fairly balanced.
I was kinda confused with the first mission when Vanguard became involved. I know it's explained later on, but it made me stop and think "Wait... why is the Vanguard guarding Portal Corps?" And later, it was "Why didn't the contact think it was strange at the time?" You might mention early on that Iron Samurai is aligned with Vanguard.
There was also a minor technical thing I noticed, mostly in regards to your use of commas. Some of your sentences seemed to run when they could easily be separated by a semi-colon. Or even a new sentence. That might just be my personal preference, though.
I liked your custom critters. As I said, I like the way they're organized into a hierarchy with corresponding names and powersets. I also liked the variety of the mobs -- enough to make them interesting, but they still had a recognizable theme.
The Clue contrasting them with the Rikti was also a nice touch.
As for your final boss, this is the kind of character I want to see more of. While not a terribly interesting personality, I do appreciate her intent. After so many "I want to take over the world!" angles, it's refreshing to see a misguided antagonist now and then. That is, someone with good intentions but skewed methods.
Oh, and Vikki Vandale's interactions with her allies were amusing, too. 
Final opinion: 4 stars (balanced challenge, good custom group, slightly tedious mission text/dialog)
Rise of the Copper Legion (#60280; with soundtrack)
The Fractured Dreamer (#498588; with musical theme)
"Now Leaving: Paragon City": original composition for the end of CoH
i just ran the amulet one, #1709. here are my thoughts...
in the opening, the contact says i hope the red caps have not gotten them (as best i recall), but then the enemies are tuatha. is this on purpose?
the first ally is pretty squishy, i think he was one shotted by a minion. maybe upping the guards to hard? if they are not already... maybe midnighters are just squishy in general... he was not really essential, though...
i like the idea of trying to read the obelisk but having to take a picture instead. nice touch.
the 2nd mission is to find clues as part of the goals. for me these usually mean a blinky hunt. i was surpised when i finished with out having to do that.
no clue in the 3rd mission? ah i see once i get to the 4th mission...
well i liked this story arc. nice, simple and straight forward story-telling. nothing wrong with simple, makes it approachable and enjoyable. decent midnighter story arc... something about the transition between mission 3 and 4 fell a little flat with me. personally, i think, sticking a diversionary mission that clues you that something is not all that it seems might work. but for sake of simplicity and brevity, there is nothing inherantly wrong with your story device.
ok, quid pro quo...
well, i will say before you rewiew my hero therapy, (#119228)that great minds think alike. you will understand why once you try my arc. though our approaches differ... i even contemplated using that last map for one of my missions before i decided on another. if you do my dohnut world after the hero therapy you might find some more similarities. i guess i will have to do another one of your missions to get you to do that one... 
global: ridiculous girl
Hero Therapy! (TM) - 119228
welcome to donut world - 1233
In "MacGuffin":
* The reason you want all the villains to see you leave the Emerald Parakeet in the box is so that they will stop coming after you as they'll see that you no longer have it. Then the idea is that the next one to pick it up will have the curse on them instead. (However the souvenir shows that it didn't quite work, but that was for laughs.)
In "Portal Bandits":
* The Vanguard guys show up mostly to lock the level of the missions to be 35-50. I didn't have to do that with mission 2 as I could make a custom Crey group instead to do the trick. The contact did mention the guy being inside in mission 1 and Sgt. Witting does have dialog mentioning that he was there to observe Doc Kryten's experiment for reasons I didn't think were important to the plot. It's more like he just happened to be there at the wrong time and got his rear handed to him.
In "The Amulet":
* The Red Caps are a complete red herring. Buck has no idea who the Midnighters may have run into out there.
* Midnighters only come in minion and LT classes, the only Bosses in MA are the Living Armors. Any how, I didn't think it'd make sense for Luis to just run off and abandon Jeremiah and Jeremiah would want to get some more answers before returning to the Club. Anyhow, this is why Buck tells you that they can teleport them out but some spell is masking their location so they need to be freed first for the teleport spell to work again.
* There is a clue in mission 2 but I made it optional as it could drag out the mission since it often spawned in odd places and people kept missing it. It's nothing essential to the story but does provide a bit of foreshadowing if you do find it.
* There is no mission between 3 and 4 as it would drag out the plot unnecessarily. There is a time factor here, it may be slowed down for you but Mindskewer is devouring her victims in the meantime (probably why Nomaris and McNeil run off, they're already extremely weak as they were first on the menu). I didn't want to make it a timed mission though as then people would get angry if somehow they did lose and got a "Congratulations, you're dead!" speech at the end of the arc.
[ QUOTE ]
In "The Amulet":
* The Red Caps are a complete red herring. Buck has no idea who the Midnighters may have run into out there.
* Midnighters only come in minion and LT classes, the only Bosses in MA are the Living Armors. Any how, I didn't think it'd make sense for Luis to just run off and abandon Jeremiah and Jeremiah would want to get some more answers before returning to the Club. Anyhow, this is why Buck tells you that they can teleport them out but some spell is masking their location so they need to be freed first for the teleport spell to work again.
* There is a clue in mission 2 but I made it optional as it could drag out the mission since it often spawned in odd places and people kept missing it. It's nothing essential to the story but does provide a bit of foreshadowing if you do find it.
* There is no mission between 3 and 4 as it would drag out the plot unnecessarily. There is a time factor here, it may be slowed down for you but Mindskewer is devouring her victims in the meantime (probably why Nomaris and McNeil run off, they're already extremely weak as they were first on the menu). I didn't want to make it a timed mission though as then people would get angry if somehow they did lose and got a "Congratulations, you're dead!" speech at the end of the arc.
[/ QUOTE ]
ok, thank you, that makes a lot of sense. they were mostly questions that popped in my head and i was curious. but it seems like you got it all worked out. i am not sure i can suggest ideas that might make things clearer. not simplify, but expand and deepen.
sorry, i could not offer a better review. i figured that you have had heard most of it all before by how anyways. i was not in the in-depth critiquing mood at the time...
global: ridiculous girl
Hero Therapy! (TM) - 119228
welcome to donut world - 1233
Here's my (Dr. Spoon, not Mrs. Spoon) review of the MacGuffin Delivery Service.
tl;dr - **** - A good, solid arc. Enjoyable, with good descriptions and injections of humor. Recommended. Lacking just a little "oomph" to move it into the 5-star range.
If I could have given it 4.5, I would have. Can't say exactly what would get it up to five. Maybe a sense that the MacGuffin really was worth fighting over. Still, I'll be recommending it to my friends as a "quick read" that's fun.
This arc I definitely enjoyed. I used my level 47 Stalker, Iron Pincer, on Vicious. He's pretty well decked out with set IOs and accolades, and this is, as advertised, a solo-friendly arc with no EBs/AVs. Thus difficulty wasn't really a factor for this character. Since I had to be mal-ed to do it, I wasn't getting xps, and so some encounters I completely bypassed, but I made it a point to take out LTs or better.
The "past tense" of the briefings threw me a little, as did the contact. Very different, that's for sure, but it made me think in circles. As in "if I already did this, why am I doing this again?" But I got over it. Now for some mission-specific bits.
Missions 1 and 2: Good use of the changing objectives mechanic. Rarely in the game does one have to fight your way in, then fight your way back out again. If you had used it a third time, it would have been overkill, but smartly you didn't. The setting in mish 1 had me looking for the "search beams" that are always there in the Mayhems.
Mission 3: Thankfully a not-too-convoluted Oranbega map. I did get a red crystal in a bad spot, but worked around it. The results from clicking the glowies were amusing.
Mission 4: Wow that's a lot of battles! Still, considering the briefing, entirely appropriate. One of them was buggy, though, as a Freakshow took out another Freakshow. Again, as a Stalker I could avoid anything I wanted. Had the bad luck to catch a Mask of Vitiation (hate those), but it didn't save her 
.
And the final debriefing with it's little twist was a good way to end it.
My Arc: The Power From Out Of Space, ID# 64800
Mrs. Spoon's Arc: Shades of Betrayal, Acts of Salvation, ID# 59147
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Maybe a sense that the MacGuffin really was worth fighting over.
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It wouldn't be a true MacGuffin if you really knew what it did. In fact nobody seems to be sure what it does and that becomes most apparent in the dialogs of the final mission. Really it's of no worth to you, it's sole purpose is to drive the plot.
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I did get a red crystal in a bad spot, but worked around it.
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WHAT? I picked that map because it didn't have any crystals in it and suddenly crystals do spawn inside it? ARRRGG!!
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Wow that's a lot of battles! Still, considering the briefing, entirely appropriate. One of them was buggy, though, as a Freakshow took out another Freakshow.
[/ QUOTE ]
It is a bug, an unfortunate side-effect of battles is that it sometimes happens and the more groups involved the greater the chance. I'm going to handwave it as a case of friendly fire and Freaks being overly violent to begin with.
It appears that all Oranbega maps have a chance of crystals spawning in them. Anyhow...
Changes made to "MacGuffin Delivery Service":
* Changed the objective in mission 3 to indicate how many books you have to look at rather than saying "just find something!"
* Added an Inventory Computer to the front of the warehouse map in mission 4 and a mention about it in the mission entry pop-up. Clicking this glowie will give you a clue as to which part of the warehouse that the Containment Case is located in.
Arc Name: The Portal Bandits
Arc ID: 3326
Faction: Crey, Rikti, Nagan Hegemony
Morality: Heroic
Difficulty Level: Medium-Hard
Synopsis: A mysterious group has invaded a Portal Corp lab and sealed themselves within. The PPD has been unable to get inside and a hero is needed to enter the lab, defeat the invaders, and discover their intentions. (AVs are present, an Ally is given each time. May be challenging.)
Estimated Time to Play: 45-60 minutes
This review experience turned out to be more interesting that I thought it was going to be, primarily because am stuck at home on meds for a cold. Played through the arc once on Challenge Level 4, solo with my primary hero, then lost my notes on the first mission, and decided I needed to play through the first mission again to recap what had happened. Wound up playing through the whole arc again, this time on Challenge Level 4, with 2 other teammates, with my primary villian (yes, I know its suppose to be a heroic arc, that's just how things turned out the second time around.) This was enough to spawn Bosses in mob groups and make the End Boss an actual even-level AV. This I think gave me a better overview of the Nagan Hegemony Custom Group.
The Portal Bandits Part 1: The Portal Corp
Solo: The Story Arc starts out with standard mission fair for...Portal Corporation, which is just fine for me. That's how I like it. Start out basic, lay down the foundation, work the plot up from there. I'm always a bit cautious when encountering custom groups because you never know what the group's capabilities are. I did happen to have a Power Analyzer MK-3 I had picked up from Wentworth's and used it later on to find out that all of the Custom Group (Minions, LTs, and Boss) all had 100% Status Resistance to all Mezzing and Knock effects, with the sole exception of the Nagan Archer (LT) which wasn't a whole lot of comfort. As a Blaster, this severely impacted my ablility to defend myself, but fortunately control effects are only my secondary arsenal and not my primary, so I was able to work around that. IF I was playing a solo Controler, this first mission would have gone down hill really fast and I would have probably one starred it for Killer GMing. In my own opinion, the Mez/KB resistance needs to come off the minions or at least severely downgraded (if possible), as it may greatly disenfranchise Control oriented builds from being able to do their thing.
Just as a note: The Power Analyzer MK-3 doesn't tell me what their powers actually are, it just tells me what their bonus numbers are.
Team of Three: Started the mission playing my Mastermind solo, but picked up two of my friend well before the mission was over. This allowed me to encounter the Nagan Engineer for the first time, which is much like the Nagan Roboticist, except she has all three tiers of robots, which may be overkill. Add to the fact that she also had 100% Status Resistance and some inherent defensive powers, and then got bubbled by the Protector Bots, she became really annoyingly hard to defeat as she would just mostly run around or away with her high Defense after dropping the bots and occasionally fire the Pulse Rifle as she then didn't really have anything else to do. This wasn't too much problem form my Mastermind, but I wonder how other teams would fair against that in bulk.
In review, the Named Boss for the first mission IS a Nagan Engineer, but I didn't know that at the time, and when she dropped all those bots when I was solo, she was on the catwalk above the room entrance so I didn't see her when I entered the room and was basically wasted before knowing where the attack was coming from. Not being in the best frame of mind, being sick and on cold meds, respawned in the AE medical ward, went back into the mission, Build Up+Aim+Reds+Thunderous Blasted the boss and her entire complement of henchmen, minions and the like, and then proceeded to "Arrest" her with little remorse.
All in all, just part of the learning curve when dealing with unfamiliar custom groups.
The Portal Bandits Part 2: Chasing the Serpents
Solo: For the most part, the Nagan forces pretty much dominated most (90%) of the Nagan vs. Crey battles. I thought the Crey Scorpinoid Trooper was an interesting addition, as I am not familiar with that particular type. Nothing else to note other than I feel that all the flavor text for the missions is holding up pretty well.
Team of Three: This was the reverse of the solo mission, Crey forces pretty much dominated most of the Nagan vs. Crey battles. Just goes to show that balancing these out is hard and mostly out of the control of the author's hands. I think a lot of it has to do with the timing of when the battle actually starts, and the make up of either side, as that will change with group sizes and Challenge Level rating.
The Portal Bandits Part 3: Vikki's Safehouse
Solo: This is the first mission with an Ally: Anna Nethema, Elite Boss. I think if I wanted to, she could have just soloed the entire mission on her own if the A.I. was up to it, as she was typically one-shotting everying before I could really open up with my Blaster. I don't think she needs to be that high for this mission (or the next), and I personally consider her OverPowered for the mission. Standard settings at Boss level would probably be enough to keep her alive and assist the Player without stealing the Player's thunder. I don't know how that would contrast with her current settings, but I would be interested to find out. The battle with the End Boss, Vikki Vandale (Elite Boss) went overly fast too, really didn't know what was going on because Anna jumped ahead of me, and it was only after reading the flavor text did I know what was going on, which by that time Anna already had Vikki halfway down.
Team of Three: This pretty much played the same way as it did Solo. Anna Nethema was noticeably still OverPowered, but that observation was subdued by the team's superior numbers and larger enemy group size complement. Having a less powerful Ally in a Team setting would probably not be too much of a problem as the group can usually manage on thier own and the Ally provides mission flavoring, in which case the Ally only needs to be tough enough to get through the mission without hitting the floor. Same as in the solo mission, almost missed out completely on the battle with Vikki Vandale, as I was fighting a Nagan Engineer in the final room's floor cavity.
I need to note that there is no mention of the fact that Vikki is expected to be an Elite Boss in this mission, and that I know will be a turn off for some players, despite the fact that you are given an Ally with the ample capacity to deal with Vikki. You don't have to spell it outright in the mission intro, but at least give a fair warning that the Vikki is suppose to be extra challenging or at least not a normal boss, preferablely by color highlighting the relevant text to call attention to the fact that something important is being said that the player needs to pay attention to and not gloss over.
The Portal Bandits Part 4: Stopping Naga
Solo: It's a big, maze-like map, but that's okay by me, and it is the last mission. For some reason, my graphics on the last room spazzed out when I entered, but after that it was okay. At this point I am handling the mission by-the-book. This time, two Elite Bosses accompany you as Allies, and they pretty much dominated as much as the previous mission. By the time I found the EB Version of Naga Obscura, one of the Ally EBs was handling her on his own and I was just clearing out the static of the Minions and LTs for my own protection. I can't recall due to the cold meds if I actually did fight Naga Obscura or not, I just remember the Mission Accomplished ending.
Team of Three: Pretty much the same as Solo, except this time Naga Obscura is a true Arch-Villain. We actually lost one of the Ally EBs inside one of the map's Rikti Air Duct passages, so we only fought Naga Obscura with Anna. It was no contest, and I actually wonder if Anna the Elite Boss could solo Naga the Arch-Villain on her own. I had more trouble with the Minions, LTs, and Bosses than I did with the AV.
I noted in the inital mission synopsis that there was to be AVs and EBs present. A color highlighted warning in the Mission Intro Text really needs to be present to put that point home. Finding AVs lurking in dark corners of mission maps unexpectedly isn't something that thrills most players, even with two EBs in tow.
Final Overview:
Overall, I thought the story was strong, reasonable, and not overblown. I felt that my character was a contributer to the story's narrative and not just some tag-a-long, or worse. The custom group had good flavor. The plot made good sense and proceeded in a logical fashion supported by clues. The plot also parallels the real-world example of A.Q. Khan, in my own opinion, which lends further credibility to it's strength. In my own opinion, there is some power balance issues in the enemy/ally characters, but it is not game-breaking or potentially irresolvable.
I give it 4 stars, but this could really become a five star story arc.
This is another one of those times when I really feel like smacking the player over some of their comments.
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I need to note that there is no mention of the fact that Vikki is expected to be an Elite Boss in this mission, and that I know will be a turn off for some players, despite the fact that you are given an Ally with the ample capacity to deal with Vikki. You don't have to spell it outright in the mission intro, but at least give a fair warning that the Vikki is suppose to be extra challenging or at least not a normal boss, preferablely by color highlighting the relevant text to call attention to the fact that something important is being said that the player needs to pay attention to and not gloss over.
[/ QUOTE ]
There is an entire line of bright red text saying "Vikki is quite a brute, you might want to bring friends."
[ QUOTE ]
I noted in the inital mission synopsis that there was to be AVs and EBs present. A color highlighted warning in the Mission Intro Text really needs to be present to put that point home. Finding AVs lurking in dark corners of mission maps unexpectedly isn't something that thrills most players, even with two EBs in tow.
[/ QUOTE ]
Once again, you were warned to "Get whatever friends and equipment you need" before entering the mission.
Add those two warnings with the AV warning in the description, that is three warnings. I don't know how many more damn warnings people need, and why it is any fault of mine that some people keep missing them somehow.
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all of the Custom Group (Minions, LTs, and Boss) all had 100% Status Resistance to all Mezzing and Knock effects, with the sole exception of the Nagan Archer (LT) which wasn't a whole lot of comfort.
[/ QUOTE ]
The Brawler doesn't have mezz protection either. The Archer doesn't have it as it is honestly the most dangerous thing for a team to ignore since it is a Trick Arrow user.
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IF I was playing a solo Controler, this first mission would have gone down hill really fast and I would have probably one starred it for Killer GMing.
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Funny thing is that many Controllers have soloed this arc already, and not on Heroic. It's hard to decide whether or not to put another warning on and any more warnings and there will be no room for the description anymore.
There is a good reason why this is set up as a high-level arc.
[ QUOTE ]
This allowed me to encounter the Nagan Engineer for the first time, which is much like the Nagan Roboticist, except she has all three tiers of robots, which may be overkill. Add to the fact that she also had 100% Status Resistance and some inherent defensive powers, and then got bubbled by the Protector Bots, she became really annoyingly hard to defeat as she would just mostly run around or away with her high Defense after dropping the bots and occasionally fire the Pulse Rifle as she then didn't really have anything else to do.
[/ QUOTE ]
Usually people complain that this boss is too weak, actually. Also, the mezz resist is actually critical on both her and the Roboticist. Otherwise you can simply run up, knock them down one or two times, and their AI switches to the Pulse Rifle and never bothers to summon the bots. If they summoned the moment they spawned instead then it'd be a different story.
[ QUOTE ]
This is the first mission with an Ally: Anna Nethema, Elite Boss. I think if I wanted to, she could have just soloed the entire mission on her own if the A.I. was up to it, as she was typically one-shotting everying before I could really open up with my Blaster. I don't think she needs to be that high for this mission (or the next), and I personally consider her OverPowered for the mission.
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It's necessary, as a Boss she died easily all the time and would be smashed to death by Vikki. Generally she should not be able to dominate the battle unless you're playing some really low-damage character.
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I actually wonder if Anna the Elite Boss could solo Naga the Arch-Villain on her own.
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I rather doubt it. Anna doesn't have a strong heal and is resistance based, plus has weak resistance to Naga's damage type. It'd be like when she tried to face Vikki as a Boss instead of EB.
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I had more trouble with the Minions, LTs, and Bosses than I did with the AV.
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Your mileage may vary. I know that none of the regular critters can come even close to two-shotting a Scrapper like the AV can.
There is another thing that people seem to keep missing or outright ignoring: all of the allies are OPTIONAL. They're in place so that if someone decides to solo the arc but cannot solo the EB/AVs they will still have a way to complete the missions. If you don't want the allies, then don't use them. It's that simple and it's making any complaints about them very wearing.
And of course if I just made everyone bosses instead and had no EBs people would just complain that the arc was not climatic enough or something.
Well enjoy "The Portal Bandits" while you can, I took a look at the big patch on the Test Server and if that goes live then this arc will be effectively destroyed.
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There is an entire line of bright red text saying "Vikki is quite a brute, you might want to bring friends."
[/ QUOTE ]
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Once again, you were warned to "Get whatever friends and equipment you need" before entering the mission.
[/ QUOTE ]
Okay, that being the case. I owe you an explanation and an apology on what happened. As I went through the mission arc, I was copying and pasting the text (Mission Intro, Send Off Text, Return Text, NPC Chatter, and Clues] into a notepad file so I could keep a coherent framework around what was going on. The text copied fine, but the color did not, and when I went back to review my notes, it was ALL black and white, and I erroneously made my statement based off of that, and couldn't tell whether it was a fair warning statement or just flavor text hype I've seen in so many standard CoX mission.
[ QUOTE ]
Usually people complain that this boss is too weak, actually. Also, the mezz resist is actually critical on both her and the Roboticist. Otherwise you can simply run up, knock them down one or two times, and their AI switches to the Pulse Rifle and never bothers to summon the bots. If they summoned the moment they spawned instead then it'd be a different story.
[/ QUOTE ]
That's interesting to note. That would explain a few other problems I have seen with A.I.s and Summon Powers in Mission Arcs. It is not a complaint, it is just a first time observation after being exposed to a new enemy group. Unit "X" does "Z", which is strange, and not the usual "Y", and Tactic "J" isn't working against it.
[ QUOTE ]
There is another thing that people seem to keep missing or outright ignoring: all of the allies are OPTIONAL. They're in place so that if someone decides to solo the arc but cannot solo the EB/AVs they will still have a way to complete the missions. If you don't want the allies, then don't use them. It's that simple and it's making any complaints about them very wearing.
[/ QUOTE ]
These aren't complaints, its a critique. I am not levying any grievances against yourself, I am simply applying my own value judgment and interpretations to observations I made relative to my own experience and conveying it for whatever potential value it may have. As far as Allies being optional, that is true. The reason for using them is that they are provided by the Author and thus it may be concluded that the Author has intended for them to accompany the Player as part of the story experience. To simply sideline an Ally may be like skipping a chapter in a book.
[ QUOTE ]
As far as Allies being optional, that is true. The reason for using them is that they are provided by the Author and thus it may be concluded that the Author has intended for them to accompany the Player as part of the story experience. To simply sideline an Ally may be like skipping a chapter in a book.
[/ QUOTE ]
I agree with this. I know Laz is not found of "called out" allies, when I get the ally I do feel like I'm kipping pages when I super speed or fly away to loose them.
I do what I think is an interesting way of getting an ally in an unpublished arc of mine, you are told she may be there and to look for her if you need help. If you find the glowie in the floor you get a clue that tells you there may be a spy that likely stealthed right by you on your way in, you walk back to the entrance and you find her there with a broken cloaking device. That, I think, feels more intuitive as far as "optional content" it goes.
Here is the thread containing the lists of changes to how Standard/Hard/Extreme effects powers on critters and discussion on concerns about the issues it creates. Voice your concerns now before it's too late.
Arc Name: The Portal Bandits
Arc ID: 3326
The best thing about the is mission was the custom mobs. There was a wide variety of them, and none were unbalanced. Stacked Flash Arrows may or may not be a problem for large teams, depending on the 5/5 patch. The self-insertion characters were also done well, not overpowered like many 'Mary Sue' characters are. The bosses weren't too hard, although I was on the lowest difficulty level.
The only thing I didn't like was the caves-into-sewers-into-Rikti map on the last level. It's huge, and the final room makes my graphics card asplode. Still, that's just a personal preference.
Overall, definately worth playing.
This is Mrs. Spoon posting the review with Mr. Spoon's permission (this is a shared account).
Arc: The Amulet of J'garra
Author: @Lazarus
Number of Missions: 4 Missions
Rating: *****
Your Story Arc has strong storytelling elements that drive it. Some really good attention to details, but still a few areas that possibly could be improved. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it so much that I initially went creative writing crazy and wrote it up a review from my lvl 40 Mace/Willpower Tanker's point of view. But at 2,800 words it was waaaayyyy too long.
So this is just a condensed version offering insights and pointers :-)
Mission 1
In relatively short time my character came across D'Artier being held captive by the Circle. As I attacked they yelled that they would leave no witnesses behind to report on what they were doing. I pressed my attack, and two decided to run such that I had to chase them down. I don't think if you can change the AI mechanics for them not to run, but it did go against what the CoT said.
My character used his senses to see if he could glean any further information about Sitrix. A good battle commander always should gather information on his enemy strengths and weaknesses before engaging in battle. The battle sense I am talking about is using the right click info box on objects and people. You can enter your own write-up in the ready provided bosses & minions to further flesh out the story by providing individualized info on your villains. Plus, I use this info to come up with strategy and tactics. What I found was the generic description COH has for Agony Mages
Mission 2
Indoor maps seem to suffer from putting the enemy groups too close to one another. From my own experience of creating a story arc the Oranbega maps seem to suffer from this. Solo is fine but on Teams the corridors turn into all out wall bangers for you aggro one group then the other group aggros. The open areas are not that bad but when you have an ally who decides to attack one group then turn and fire on another WHILE still fighting the group he started on, it gets dangerous. This is what Jones did, he ran down the corridor entered the chamber and took on 3 GROUPS before getting himself killed. I wonder if you have him set on Defensive or Agressive? I tried to save him but I could not take out the groups fast enough and he went down.
Polentes was another CoT mage that had a generic description - see observation/critique in mission 1
Mission 3
Salinger tells you to bring help. The character I used pretty much goes it alone (role-playing thing long story). So I was confident he could solo it with his set of skills but bought some defense inspirations just in case. With Mace/Willpower Tanker and Defense inspiration and one heal, I was able to solo. I don't think it will be as easy for other character classes.
Nomaris is the next CoT boss you encounter. The lack of personalized right click info on each of your CoT Mages Sitrix, Polentes, and now Nomaris makes them all seem generic. Also, they all have the same power sets such that the siphon speed power which was absolutely useless against my Tanker who just Teleported right in their face and that was that. Since they are Mages who supposedly are intelligent they all would not delve in the same EXACT powers so I find it odd in the story sense why one would have three that are the same. However, I understand that it is the mechanics of AE that may prevent the variation in that you have various power levels on the premade CoT mages ....and some are EB level thus it would take some of the emphasis away from Mindskewer being the big bad guy to beat. It might be an idea to consider that one mage be a custom build.
One ally you rescue happens to be a Living Statue. I know the mechanics of why you placed the Living Armor in there as an Ally to assist. Still I found it odd that CoT would not destroy it - especially since you wander the corridors and there are NO other Living Statues there. It leads you to believe that they destroyed the rest.
Mission 4
The introduction dialogue to the Finale is where the strength of the story buckles a SMALL bit.
First, if Mindskewer had imprisoned you in the Midnighter's Club battle why would you have been able to defeat her? A)Nomaris states that Mindskewer can keep the Amulet in mission 3 B) The player has been informed that the Amulet is a VERY powerful tool that can be used to control others.
Second, if the player NEVER LEFT and this is all in the player's head as she states in her dialogue, then why would she need to "possess "Salinger? In the beginning mission 4 dialogue it clearly shows he is first speaking of his own free will. Salinger must remain the contact because the game mechanics do not allow you to change the appearance of your contact or change them out to suit the mission.
In the battle encounter with her, she has already hooked into your mind by using the amulet. I think either she 'lets' you believe that you defeated her so she can maintain control over you. The dialogue and exit mission box has you sense that something is not right - something is still wrong. It is that character's 'willpower' sense that things are not right that allows the player to see past SOME of her mental illusions. It is not til the player begins the conversation with Salinger that they final break through the first mental barrier of Mindskewer. All dialogue in the orange or color will be the visual clue that this speech is different But you also MUST explain clearly in the dialogue that THIS Salinger is nothing more than a manifestation so people do not feel that the Idiot Ball is played. It could go something like this:
Laughter echoes. Poor, poor, $name. You truly wanted to believe you defeated me. I got past your feeble defenses and you now lay here at my feet! Do not worry, hero, the real Salinger is fine for the moment. This is just a manafestation in your mind. Still, you are strong in that you continue to struggle. You sensed right that something was amiss. Everything you now see and hear is what I create! You see what I WANT you to see! Oh, trying to fight me still, you have spirit! Very well, try to regain control. Try to break the link but you shall fail! More laughter. ------------and then what follows is the battleground for the players control over their mind.
Loved the bio in the right click info box on your custom monsters. The Soul Eaters and Shadowmen were not exactly cakewalk but solo characters can still take on and defeat them
Loved how you balance, initiative, and strength as Avatars who are allies that help the player. Nice touch on some of the power tie ins - i.e. Avatar of Balance had what I believe are kinetic powers. The physical look of Strength is pretty evident but not sure why Balance and Initiative look the way they do....
Once you have all three Avatar together the player, at least the Tanker class, was unstoppable. The allies MIGHT even be a bit overpowered in that I barely got a hit on some of Soul Eaters and Shadowmen. While Mindskewer was not exactly cakewalk with the 3 avatars, & a defense inspiration for extra defense, we cleaved through her in about a minute. Again the avatars may be a tad too overpowered ....or the Tar Patch which does movement debuff & 30 % damage resist debuff paired with some of the other powers of the Avatars might be the overpowering element. If I recall she was an EB - that might be EB on Solo....on Team Play it might go back up to AV which then would appropriately be a challenge for group play.
Souvenir at the end is appropriate and very creepy. Nightmares- A bad lasting momento like what some war veterans experience.
My Arc: The Power From Out Of Space, ID# 64800
Mrs. Spoon's Arc: Shades of Betrayal, Acts of Salvation, ID# 59147