The Lazarus Arcs
Just published a new arc. Here is the actual sequel to "The Portal Bandits", as such it assumes that you played that arc and are already familiar with the events of that arc and the Nagan Hegemony custom group.
Arc ID: 347029
Arc Title: Breaking The Barrier (And Putting It Back Together)
Factions:Soldiers of Rularuu, Malta Operatives, Nagans
Morality: Heroic
Length: 5 Missions
Level Range: 40-54
Description: A group of aliens may have bit off more than they can chew when an experiment with stolen portal technology threatens the stability of the Universe itself, allowing the soldiers of Rularuu free access to our dimension. (Sequel to arc# 3326 "The Portal Bandits")
Not many plays so far, but sounds like I might need to find an alternative objective for mission 4 as players are reporting problems with it being too easy to fail.
Changes made to "Breaking the Barrier (And Putting it Back Together)":
* Found a replacement map for mission 1 that had similar spawn placements to the ones that I required but didn't have a massive amount of enemies right at the front door.
* Beefed up some spawns in the 2nd mission that seemed too small and weak.
* Changed the Nagan Roboticist and Takala to have Willpower instead of Regen as their secondary. This makes them a bit tougher and more similar to Suziku. All other arcs using these critters have also been updated.
Still working on a replacement for mission 4.
Changes made to "Breaking the Barrier (And Putting it Back Together)":
* Corrected some typos and grammatical errors.
* Overhauled the 4th mission, it is no longer possible to fail it.
Changes made to "Breaking the Barrier (And Putting it Back Together)":
* Rewrote nearly the whole damn plot.
* Malta have been replaced in the story by Arachnos.
* Arc level range is now 45-54.
* Nagan Assassin LT removed from arc, room was tight and something had to go.
* Mission 1 intro rewritten.
* "Previously on..." clue recapping "The Portal Bandits" added to the start of mission 1 for those who hadn't played it recently/at all.
* Head Engineer Takala removed from mission 2, you now follow Field Tech Suziku back to the Nagan Lair instead.
* Nagans background info clue added to the start of mission 2.
* Mission 3 completely replaced.
* Mission 4 completely replaced.
* Mission 5 completely replaced.
* Dr. Aeon is now present in the arc as a recurring Elite Boss.
* Arc souvenir completely replaced.
I hope that those who have already played this arc play it again and see it's new and vastly improved form.
Changes made to "The Amulet of J'gara":
* Rewrites made to briefings and debriefings for the first three missions, story intro should have a stronger "hook" now.
* Abyzou and Render minions given Flight powers.
* Description of all customs modified in preparation for future arcs.
"Breaking the Barrier (And Putting it Back Together)" is a Best New Arc nominee for the January Players Choice Awards. Please play it and consider voting.
Changes made to "Breaking the Barrier (And Putting it Back Together)":
* Fixed a transient chained objectives bug in mission 3. Couldn't track down the exact cause so I reworked it a bit so it didn't need to be chained at all.
Posted my entry for Dr. Aeon's 2nd Architect Challenge.
Arc ID: 373846
Arc Title: Unfair Trade
Factions: Paragon Heroes, Paragon Police, Security Guards, Longbow, Strange Officeworkers
Morality: Villainous
Length: 4 Missions
Level Range: 5-10
Description: A friend you had made during your time in the Zig calls in a favor, leading to a quest to regain his powers while getting payback on the heroes who caused him to lose them.
I PM'ed some feedback on Unfair Trade. Good luck with the contest!
Arc: 379017: Outbroken See all your old friends in the Outbreak Tutorial sequel!
Arc: Coming Soon: The Incarnate Shadow Shard of Fire and Ice Mender Rednem needs you!
Massively.com opinion poll: Please Help Save CoH!
Changes made to "Unfair Trade": (spoiler free)
* Fixed the issue with the Defeat All objective in mission 1 not working properly.
* Added another plot detail to mission 1 to lead into mission 2 better.
* Rewrote some of the briefings, send offs, and debriefings for each mission to make the story flow smoother and clear up some plot holes.
* Toned down the allies in the 2nd half of the arc, they may have been making things a bit too easy.
* The escape from the lab in mission 4 should be a bit more challenging now.
* Added a few more "gifts" from Max's mysterious friend.
Changes made to "Unfair Trade":
* Some adjustments made to the contact's dialog to convey his mood better.
* Arc now marked as 'Final'.
* Arc officially submitted to Aeon's 2nd Challenge.
Changes made to "The Amulet of J'gara":
* Added new Void Demon LT, the Lasher.
* Fixed some dialog in mission 4.
Changes made to "All Consuming":
* Replaced the 5th mission map with one of the new Masoleum to Cave maps.
* Took out the two Spirit Masks, replaced them with a pair of altars in the last room.
* Removed a couple battles, added some Pantheon ambushes in their place.
* Lughebu now has a much more impressive avatar to fight you with.
Changes made to "MacGuffin Delivery Service":
* Added an optional escort to the 3rd mission. If you find and rescue Raikou Shingai she will be happy to show you the way to the Circle's library.
* Reduced difficulty of the ambush in mission 1.
Changes made to "Of Futures Past":
* Added the Clockwork Paladin as an optional battle to mission 2.
* Cobalt Stinger now has a new look.
Changes made to "A Show of Hands":
* Updated with the expanded Nagans roster.
Changes made to "Breaking the Barrier (And Putting it Back Together)":
* Updated with the expanded Nagans roster.
Changes made to "The Portal Bandits":
* Updated with the expanded Nagans roster.
* Added an extra (optional) boss to the 3rd mission, meet Vikki's twin sister Tami.
Changes made to the Void Demons custom group:
* New LT, the Lasher (Whip/Dark Melee).
* All Minions and LTs give 100% XP.
Changes made to the Nagan Hegemony custom group:
* Nagan Jaeger (AR/MA boss) now part of the regular roster.
* Nagan Samurai (Katana/EA boss) now part of the regular roster.
* Nagan Incinerator (FireControl/FireAssault LT) now part of the regular roster.
* Nagan Assassin (DB/Nin) now part of the regular roster.
* Nagan Brawler changed from MA/Archery to MA/DP.
* New Minion: Nagan Infiltrator (Katana/Nin).
* New Minion: Nagan Ranger (AR/WP).
* New Minion: Nagan Mentalist (PsiAssault/Pain).
* New LT: Nagan Gunslinger (DP/WP).
* New Boss: Nagan Dreadnought (SS/WP).
* New Boss: Nagan Cryogenicist (IceControl/IceAssault).
* Many critter costumes updated.
* All Minions and LTs give 100% XP, all Bosses give at least 90% XP.
Changes made to the Nagan Hegemony custom group:
* Various changes to specific critter difficulty and overall group difficulty. Certain problematic powers have been removed or replaced while trying best to keep XP as close to 100% as possible.
* Nagan Gravitists no longer have the ability to Hold.
* Nagan Incinerators no longer have the ability to Hold.
* Nagan Incinerators have traded Blaze for Combustion.
* Nagan Brawlers no longer have Cobra Strike.
* Nagan Archers have traded Acid Arrow for Disruption Arrow.
* Nagan Entropists no longer have Ice Blast.
* Nagan Jaegers have traded Crippling Axe Kick for Ignite.
* Nagan Rangers have gained M30 Grenade.
The Portal Bandits - Redux
I've started work on the long-awaited (for myself at least) revamp of "The Portal Bandits". With so much extra space and new features to work with, imagine this as the new Director's Cut version.
Completed so far:
* Revamp of Mission 1 mechanics and internal dialog.
* Total overhaul of Mission 2 (mechanics and internal dialog finished).
* Revamp of Mission 3 mechanics and internal dialog.
* Mission 4 moved to Mission 5.
* New Mission 4!
* Rewrote Mission 3 debriefing to accommodate new Mission 4.
* Rewrote Mission 1 Briefing and Debriefing.
* Rewrote Mission 2 Briefing and Debriefing.
* Rewrote Mission 3 Briefing.
* Rewrote Mission 5 Briefing.
* Preliminary rewrite of overall storyline.
* Slight revamp of Mission 5 (previously Mission 4).
The Directors Cut is ready for play!
Changes made to "Of Futures Past":
* Chose a more suitable map for the first mission.
* Replaced some of the allies in the first mission with ones that ought to be more useful.
* Addressed the stacking spawns issues in the tech lab maps used in missions 1 and 5 as best as I could.
* Iron Samurai now appears as an optional combatant in mission 3.
* Cobalt Stinger now accompanies you in mission 5.
* Mission 5 is no longer failable and has no backtracking.
Some delayed change notes.
Changes made to Nagan Hegemony group:
* Removed Flashfire from the Nagan Incinerator. Replaced with Bonefire.
* New LT added: Nagan Ravager (Claws/Ninjitsu).
* All arcs featuring this group have been updated.
Changes made to "Of Futures Past":
* Created a second model for Cobalt Stinger. When seen as a contact she wears non-combat clothing.
* Updated Alina Ivanov's outfit.
Changes made to "The Amulet of J'gara":
* Changed the level range of the arc from levels 25-33 to levels 25-30. This means that Mindskewer will now only use Mass Confusion if they player deliberately increases their difficulty level to spawn level 32 enemies.
Thanks for the good review, Coulomb2! Now for some changes.
Changes made to the Nagan Hegemony group:
* Nagan Specters no longer have Smoke Flash.
* Nagan Infiltrators no longer have Smoke Flash.
Changes made to "The Portal Bandits":
* Slightly reduced the difficulty of Takala's group and attached ambush in mission 2.
* The Nagan death squads in mission 2 now trigger off of the Dimensional Stabilizer glowie, which in turn is now only clickable after Takala's defeat in order to preserve the order of events and avoid a situation where the player may have to fight their way back to the glowie after a hospital trip.
* Removed the erroneous reference to Naga Obscura from the mission 3 send off.
* Added the optional "Find Ally" objectives for Iron Samurai and Anna Nethema to the objectives window in mission 5.
* Moved Iron Samurai to the front region of the map in mission 5. Anna is still in a random location in the middle region.
* Naga Obscura no longer has Overload.
Changes made to "All Consuming":
* Added some extra Shivan patrols to mission 1 to make it feel a bit less empty.
* Switched the SWAT allies in mission 2 from "Fight Defensive" back to "Aggressive" as they were often standing around doing nothing on the other setting, even when you were under attack.
* Fixed the front room in mission 3 to be a bit less crowded.
* Mission 5 now requires you to speak with Investigator Olafson at the front of the map in order to learn how to stop the ritual, rather than you simply "knowing" how to do it the moment you enter the mission. The contact send off reflects this change.
My critters never fail to give me cool screenshots, I just need to be quicker on the printscreen key.
Double Eagle Claw just before Kathode could deliver her Havoc Punch. A Burnt Matchstick was there to witness the event.
Arc #261148, "All Consuming", it currently impossible to complete due to a problem with the 6/8/2010 patch that has made Adamastor spawn at no lower than level 40 despite the arc having a maximum level of 25. I'm awaiting an explanation from the Devs before making any changes, so for now just don't play that arc.
Changes made to "All Consuming":
* Had to replace the Avatar of Lughebu in mission 5 since Adamastor is no longer feasible for this level range. Lughebu has now taken the form of a Shivan Decimator instead.
* Changes to mission 5 made mission 3 somewhat irrelevant. Mission 3 has been rewritten from the ground up to provide a new interlude in the story. Also cleans up the loose end with the Sky Raiders.
* Adjusted the mission 2 debriefing and mission 4 briefing to correspond with the rewritten mission 3.
* Downgraded the Corrupted Husk from Boss rank to Lieutenant rank. He was a bit too powerful for level 20-25 and I just could not make him any easier without cutting out half of his XP. This was the better option.
Changes made to "All Consuming":
* Fixed some dialog in mission 2.
* Fixed some of the triggers in mission 4.
* Fixed a trigger that caused a stacking ambush situation in mission 5.
* Fixed the groups surrounding the allies in mission 5 so that Shamans are always present to do the talking.
Changes made to "MacGuffin Delivery Service":
* Story Alignment changed to Rogue.
Changes made to "A Show of Hands":
* Story Alignment changed to Rogue.
Changes made to "Of Futures Past":
* Story Alignment changed to Rogue.
Changes made to "The Portal Bandits":
* Changed mission 5 map from "Portal Cavern" to "The Seer".
* Both Iron Samurai and Anna Nethema are easily found on the first floor of mission 5.
* Takala is now always on the first floor of mission 5 and a required battle to spawn Naga Obscura.
* Ambush triggers redone for mission 5.
* Battle placements redone for mission 5.
Changes made to "MacGuffin Delivery Service":
* Tried to address some plot holes in the mission briefings.
* Added some Longbow and Security Guards to the 4th mission to dilute the PPD presence. Also added a few more bosses and villain groups to the fray.
* Added some fun clues to the bosses in mission 4, a bit of speculation on just what the macguffin actually does.