Pro Payne: From 1 to 50 in M.A. (suggest arcs!)
By
airhead,
Posted on: 2009-04-21 21:52 in Mission Architect
In response to some of your comments:
1) "Stop looking at me like that" refers to the fact that setting up a base in a volcano is stupid and cliched, the contact knows this, the player knows this, the villains for some reason don't seem to. (note that my VG base is in fact in a volcano). It's hot, it's stinky, and the one on Striga isn't completely dead either. You're right though, it should be reworded.
2) Burkholder is present because at some point because at some point in my myriad revisions between conception and publication he was far more relevant. I left him in mostly to tie in to the Hess TF, and because your ability to solo him used to be an indication of your ability to solo the end AV. The first mission is the next up for revision, I might take him out entirely, and make the main goal extracting the captive.
3) The Hess reference refers to his thinly veiled (in retrospect) hints as to who he's actually working for, at the end of Burkholder's TF. I don't want that particular group's dirty pawns all over my giant robot, but I felt they might at least deserve a mention.
I'm glad you liked it, thank you for commenting on the parts that could use fixing.
I realized I owe you a play and some feedback, based on an earlier post you made, so I will do that some time in the next few days.
Eva Destruction AR/Fire/Munitions Blaster
Darkfire Avenger DM/SD/Body Scrapper
Arc ID#161629 Freaks, Geeks, and Men in Black
Arc ID#431270 Until the End of the World
[ QUOTE ]
I realized I owe you a play and some feedback, based on an earlier post you made, so I will do that some time in the next few days.
[/ QUOTE ]
I'm honest if anything: I'd be thrilled at any honest playthrough, feedback, and rating of my arcs (although the last two won't be around for much longer), but you do not owe me one for the review. You met the "already been reviewed and did nothing to indicate you were into revenge-rating" criterion. Based on that, I was confident you would not 0-star me had I found lots of problems with your arc and posted a much harsher review.
Oh, as a brief FYI, you did mention that you recommended that I wait for the late 20s to try out the arc (and I would have, in fact, simply quit out, not rated it, and waited to replay it until the late 20s had I found it far too difficult). I thought you'd want to know that I found it scaled just fine at level 23 - at least for a scrapper (even one with fire and its annoying immobilization and knockback holes).
M.A. Arcs
Intended for high level play: The Primus Trilogy (Arc #s 10931, 283821, 283825), "Freakshow U" (Arc #189073), Purification (Arc #352381, Dev's Choice!
)Intended for low level play: "Learning the Ropes" (Arc #100304), "Cracking Skulls" (Arc #115935), "The Lazarus Project" (Arc #124906)
I'm glad both that you enjoyed Fighting Freedom and that it wasn't too difficult at level 23. How was the final fight?
Oh good. The custom group is pretty much all set to Standard, all smash/lethal/energy damage without heavy debuffs or mezzing, they're not meant to be too tough, it's the AV I worry about. The last patch gave him Total Focus, on Standard, at level 25. He does more damage than he used to, my own test Scrapper had to guzzle insps to win.
Ok, I don't owe you, but I'll run it anyway. People who give other people feedback and exposure in these review threads deserve at least something in return, IMO.
Eva Destruction AR/Fire/Munitions Blaster
Darkfire Avenger DM/SD/Body Scrapper
Arc ID#161629 Freaks, Geeks, and Men in Black
Arc ID#431270 Until the End of the World
Actually, a good custom group isn't a put off at all - although early on I did find the preponderance of custom groups in arcs made me miss some of the familiar faces - so don't worry about that.
If you're curious, what I tend to rate down on:
Custom groups where the minions, specifically, have a wide variety of debuffing or control powers. There's nothing like having your damage resistance dumped into the toilet while you've been immobilized and your power recharge tanked to -10 million percent by a bunch of web grenades; not that it matters since you can't use your powers anyway, since you have no endurance thanks to all of the electric attacks, and even if you did have endurance, you couldn't hit anyone because your to-hit rating is 3% thanks to multiple stacking dark miasma powers on top of a radiation infection or two. *Sigh* (For the record, the opposite isn't true - while it *can* get excessive, buffs or heals on the bad guys isn't nearly so bad as my own abilities getting debuffed into uselessness). Although I do recommend avoiding situations where every single lt. in the group has some sort of build up or aim type power.
EDIT: Oh, and I do actually except that people following this thread will realize that I'm a fire/fire scrapper. So I might not respond particularly well to someone asking me to play through a mission that turns out to be filled with mobs decked out with cold attacks and fire armor set to extreme.
M.A. Arcs
Intended for high level play: The Primus Trilogy (Arc #s 10931, 283821, 283825), "Freakshow U" (Arc #189073), Purification (Arc #352381, Dev's Choice!
)Intended for low level play: "Learning the Ropes" (Arc #100304), "Cracking Skulls" (Arc #115935), "The Lazarus Project" (Arc #124906)
[ QUOTE ]
I'm glad both that you enjoyed Fighting Freedom and that it wasn't too difficult at level 23. How was the final fight?
[/ QUOTE ]
Liberty's Son managed to strike me with one of his less damaging attacks, and missed with something that looked like it would have really hurt. He went down after that - not only did my Webmaster ally hit him with something that seemed strangely vicious for a lt (although I do know he was a scaled down boss), I'd popped about three reds and hit build up *and* criticaled him with my most damaging attack.
I can see how with a little less luck it might have been a very different fight, but the way it went, I didn't have any trouble at all.
M.A. Arcs
Intended for high level play: The Primus Trilogy (Arc #s 10931, 283821, 283825), "Freakshow U" (Arc #189073), Purification (Arc #352381, Dev's Choice!
)Intended for low level play: "Learning the Ropes" (Arc #100304), "Cracking Skulls" (Arc #115935), "The Lazarus Project" (Arc #124906)
[ QUOTE ]
Oh good. The custom group is pretty much all set to Standard, all smash/lethal/energy damage without heavy debuffs or mezzing, they're not meant to be too tough, it's the AV I worry about. The last patch gave him Total Focus, on Standard, at level 25. He does more damage than he used to, my own test Scrapper had to guzzle insps to win.
Ok, I don't owe you, but I'll run it anyway. People who give other people feedback and exposure in these review threads deserve at least something in return, IMO.
[/ QUOTE ]
Thanks! I do appreciate it!
I actually did my standard "EB/AV" prep - I hit about 3 reds, ate 2 purples, a break free (in case he could knock me back), and an orange or two. As expected, my opening volley packed quite a whallop, and he quickly decided to run. I cornered him and finished him off.
M.A. Arcs
Intended for high level play: The Primus Trilogy (Arc #s 10931, 283821, 283825), "Freakshow U" (Arc #189073), Purification (Arc #352381, Dev's Choice!
)Intended for low level play: "Learning the Ropes" (Arc #100304), "Cracking Skulls" (Arc #115935), "The Lazarus Project" (Arc #124906)
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'm glad both that you enjoyed Fighting Freedom and that it wasn't too difficult at level 23. How was the final fight?
[/ QUOTE ]
Liberty's Son managed to strike me with one of his less damaging attacks, and missed with something that looked like it would have really hurt. He went down after that - not only did my Webmaster ally hit him with something that seemed strangely vicious for a lt (although I do know he was a scaled down boss), I'd popped about three reds and hit build up *and* criticaled him with my most damaging attack.
I can see how with a little less luck it might have been a very different fight, but the way it went, I didn't have any trouble at all.
[/ QUOTE ]
You see, I've had that ally either be really useful or completely pathetic. It all counts on if Liberty's Son attacks you or the boss first, really. 
Plus, since you were playing on heroic, he was only a boss instead of an elite boss, meaning his damage isn't nearly as high as it would be otherwise. If I could swap out knockout blow for footstomp, I'd do it in a heartbeat.
I just played "Future Imperfect". I'd just like to mention here that the author takes his own advice on custom groups. They're not overpowered, they're varied, and they don't have multiple stacking "annoying" powers. I'll PM you a more detailed critique.
Eva Destruction AR/Fire/Munitions Blaster
Darkfire Avenger DM/SD/Body Scrapper
Arc ID#161629 Freaks, Geeks, and Men in Black
Arc ID#431270 Until the End of the World
This is an interesting project. To add some more arcs for your character to play through, I'd like to suggest some of mine that you are within range of or will be soon.
Title: The Missing
ArcID: 37636
Faction: Heroic
Levels: 1-50 (Levels that one is comfortable soloing an EB is recommended.)
Enemy Groups: Family, Council, a couple of custom bosses.
Synopsis: What starts out as a missing person case turns into something more sinister.
Notes: Story-focused. Mystery. Solo-friendly, only contains one standard-level Elite Boss. An optional Ally is also provided.
Title: Pandas vs. Rikti
ArcID: 68930
Faction: Heroic
Levels: 30-50
Enemy Groups: Custom Group, Rikti
Synopsis: In a parallel universe, Earth is populated by sentient pandas. They've been invaded by Rikti, and they are losing. Using an ancient device to interface with our Architect system... they are asking for your help.
Notes: This one you may wish to wait until you reach level 30, or if you're already comfortable fighting Rikti. Story-focused. Adventure/Sci-fi/Comedy. Solo-friendly. Contains one Elite Boss. Optional Allies are provided.
Eva:
Sounds good! Looking forward to the feedback!
And to Shadowrush:
I've added them to the queue!
M.A. Arcs
Intended for high level play: The Primus Trilogy (Arc #s 10931, 283821, 283825), "Freakshow U" (Arc #189073), Purification (Arc #352381, Dev's Choice!
)Intended for low level play: "Learning the Ropes" (Arc #100304), "Cracking Skulls" (Arc #115935), "The Lazarus Project" (Arc #124906)
[ QUOTE ]
I just played "Future Imperfect". I'd just like to mention here that the author takes his own advice on custom groups. They're not overpowered, they're varied, and they don't have multiple stacking "annoying" powers. I'll PM you a more detailed critique.
[/ QUOTE ]
I tried it earlier on my 38 dual blade/tank, and I agree. The custom enemies were not overpowered with annoying power sets. They were a challenge, but I didn't feel like I was in over my head. The story was very good and I was looking forward to reading all of the clues and character descriptions, because they added a lot to the story.
I do have to beat myself over the head with the idiot stick, though, because I failed to realize that the EB in mission 3 was 'optional'. After I got him almost down, to about 1/4 health, he popped something that made my accuracy go bye-bye and my attacks completely useless. I couldn't touch him after that. Then, he proceeded to polish me off fairly quickly. Wash, rinse, repeat and I quit the mission. After burning through 2 racks of insp (large ones) I decided to call it a day. LOL 
But, that was definitely my own stupid fault for not remembering that he was not required to complete the mission. Chalk it up to my inexperience at higher levels (that mission was 45+) and not paying enough attention to mission objectives. My highest char being only level 38, I have not had enough experience with EBs, I guess. I've only been playing for a year and have never done any TFs due to crashing in teams. Even with MA setting me at 45, he was still a red level 46 EB to me. It was definitely not a match made in Heaven. LOL
I have vowed that I will go back and finish the arc, because I really did like the story, and the characters. I'm certainly looking forward to kicking his butt! In the future I will definitely pay closer attention to the mission contacts and the nav text. Important lessons, learned the (painfully) hard way. I do hope the arc stays up long enough for me to be able to get to the end of the story, because I definitely want to see what happens. I highly recommend it. If you're doing it in a team, all the better. It really is a good story. 
No AV/EBs Deal with The Devil's Pawn-207266 Slash DeMento and the Stolen Weapons-100045 Meet the Demon Spawn-151099 Feedback
When you have some time, feel free to try an arc I recently published.
Title: Fatale Attraction
Arc ID: 181264
Synopsis: This is a story focused arc about a rising gang of female street criminals in Paragon City that Meg Mason is looking to bust. What starts off as a missing persons investigation and the search for a possible witness leads you into a much broader and darker case that requires a hero to resolve.
There are two very short missions, one timed mission, and the remaining two are of medium length. Only one mission has a Defeat All Enemies condition. The missions are for all levels 1-54 and you could solo this one all the way if you had to, but a team would make it more fun. Total play time required should be no longer than one hour.
You're in luck! I just updated Future Imperfect with several feedback-inspired tweaks (thanks for the detailed critique Eva!). Included in them is a nice big red warning that there may be an EB/AV in mission three, and that, while he's optional, you may want to bring a team if you want to fight him. I agreed with Eva that even though he's optional, there should be warning text anyway (she pointed out he might spawn right in front of a required objective - and would be an AV if the diff was set to Inv).
So don't sweat it - you're not the first person to not realize the EB in that mission is optional (Eva did, for the record, but I've gotten other comments that made it clear the player didn't realize its an optional fight).
Argh. That does remind me that there *is* an EB in the fourth mission two. He's also optional, but, for consistency, there should be warning text for him too... I'll fix that on my next editing pass.
Hey Telstar, do you remember the typo you found? I coulda sworn I'd written it down, but I just can't find where I made the note.
M.A. Arcs
Intended for high level play: The Primus Trilogy (Arc #s 10931, 283821, 283825), "Freakshow U" (Arc #189073), Purification (Arc #352381, Dev's Choice!
)Intended for low level play: "Learning the Ropes" (Arc #100304), "Cracking Skulls" (Arc #115935), "The Lazarus Project" (Arc #124906)
Thank you! That EB really was a payne! LOL (sorry, couldn't resist the bad pun) 
I wrote down a few quick notes as I went along. It was mission 2 (pretty sure), in one of the clues it says something like "Terror Attack *Destroyes* City". Get the 'e' out and you're all set. I think I might have noticed a few more minute misspellings/grammar errors, but I didn't write them all down. Sorry. I probably should have.
BTW, just to add to my frustration level (nothing to do with the mission itself) that set me up for #3, I had one of my infamous 'DC'd from mapserver' episodes when I was already near the end of #2. I was just about to go after the boss and collect the last clue. By the time I could get back in, I had to redo the whole thing. What was really odd was that the clues I had already collected were still listed, but I still had to go back clear out the enemies & collect the objects over again. (It was easier to clear them than to have the gang chasing me around. lol) CoH has some rather strange issues, methinks. Not sure if it only happens in MA. 
No AV/EBs Deal with The Devil's Pawn-207266 Slash DeMento and the Stolen Weapons-100045 Meet the Demon Spawn-151099 Feedback
Actually, I like puns.
It's not just MA - if you log off in the middle of any mission that gives you a clue, you'll still have the clue when logging back in, but you'll have to replay the whole thing.
Oh, and here's a nice tip. If you don't ever open your clues between when you log in and when you finish a MA arc, you'll lose all of your Architect Souviners. I've done that one to myself countless times.
M.A. Arcs
Intended for high level play: The Primus Trilogy (Arc #s 10931, 283821, 283825), "Freakshow U" (Arc #189073), Purification (Arc #352381, Dev's Choice!
)Intended for low level play: "Learning the Ropes" (Arc #100304), "Cracking Skulls" (Arc #115935), "The Lazarus Project" (Arc #124906)
Okay, here's a review for Telstar's arc:
#100045: SlashDeMento and the Stolen Weapons! (4 stars; I was teetering between 3 and 4, but went with 4 cause I did have a good time overall in the arc.)
Apparently, a new gang was trying to make its name known. I believe their name was the Demon Spawn, although I might be mistaken (Pro Payne suffered brain damage and temporary amnesia from the generous beating he received at the hands of the gang's leader). The Demon Spawn were evidently mostly ex-Outcasts (although there were ex-Hellions in the mix too) who had not managed to make it very high in their original organization, and were looking for something newer (and more violent). A former Outcast minion - Slash DeMento, and his brother 'The Lacerator,' had splintered away and formed their own gang. Eager to prove themselves the next big thing on the streets of Paragon, they'd stolen some weapons, along with a massive bomb (that probably would have leveled the whole city block).
These guys may have once been mere minions, but they were an object lesson in what a little bit of individual attention from a dedicated gang leader can accomplish - even the ones that were still minions (and likely did include new recruits off the streets in addition to ex-Outcasts) tended to be rougher than any Outcast or Hellion. DeMento had managed to forge his gang into a group as lethal as the Warriors.
Pro Payne managed to arrest DeMento, confiscate the weapons, and take out one of DeMento's chief asides (again, don't remember his name any more. Brain damage.) Unfortunately, the Lacerator remains at large; the gang is weakened, but certainly hasn't been eliminated yet.
Pros: With the exception of the bosses, the custom group is balanced and generally fun to fight (the one exception for me was if a lot of axe wielders would happen to spawn in, which resulted in lots of knockdown - but that was fairly rare, and the occasionally challenging fight is not a mark against a story arc; I only grade down when every single fight is very challenging). The custom character descriptions, when present, actually tell the story of how the gang was put together, which is a neat touch. The custom group combines very good variety without resorting to the common technique of giving lots of the minions a debuff - this group didn't get boring (or particularly frustrating) to fight. And I didn't notice typos, grammer, or awkward-sounding phrasing: in short, the writing is good writing. And good use of color and text formatting. Finally, I like the idea of using MA to add minor 'custom gangs' to the low and mid level game - the up and comers trying to become the next big thing, and just might succeed if not nipped in the bud.
Cons: As a one-mission intro arc, there isn't much of a plot (beyond the option to learn about the gang's history through the bios). I did notice something odd: the "objective" text had a formatted color, but seemed to be the generic text (e.g. 5 Stolen Weapons, Slash DeMento - or something like that - rather than 5 Racks of stolen weapons to recover, Arrest Slash DeMento); I'm definately one of those folks who likes "custom formatted" mission objectives - it adds a feel of polish (IMO) above and beyond the generic text. But here are my biggest three bits of constructive criticism:
1. I did think there needed to be more variety in the appearance of the gang members. They certainly should look similar to each other, but minor changes in costume pieces from one to the other would definately improve the custom group as a whole (they didn't all have the same face, hair style, and hair color - but a little bit of variety in what they're wearing will make them seem more like a street gang, and less like "mad supervillain Slash DeMento's nameless, faceless - not literally - army of underlings and minions.")
2. The sluggers, Fire bugs, and Tiger Paw minions had no descriptive text at all (well, other than the default). Everyone else had very individual descriptive text, which worked great to tell the gang's story, but gave the odd impression that I was fighting an army of clones. In other words, it didn't feel like "Chills" was a class a minion just learning to use their ice powers. It felt like I was battling clones of the character Chills over and over again. My suggestion: use copy-paste to "capture" your 'long' descriptions to something like a word document (or whatever). Then redo the 'generic' gang members with short, generic descriptions (e.g. 'The Chill Spawn are former outcasts with cold powers who joined the Demon Spawn.'), and, where needed, more generic names. Then scatter a bunch of boss encounters (they should NOT be required objectives) through the mission, using everybody who has a more individual description as a boss (takes advantage of the fact that, among a custom group, you can use even minions as a "boss" - they don't scale up or anything - you just get a "boss fight" where you're fighting a minion or a lt. instead.) In the 'description' in the boss detail, then paste in the more complete description for that character. Viola! You now have a mission filled mostly with the 'standard' minions and lts, but you also get to run across a specific 'Chill Spawn' (or whatever) named Chills who has his own unique bio. You can even give him flavor text to say when you fight him in combat. That way, all of that hard work on individual character descriptions gets used, but doesn't make it seem like Slash DeMento managed to steal some sort of advanced cloning vat. Well, unless he did.
3. My suggestion: be very, very leery of giving bosses access to build up (or lt's for that matter). It's just my opinion, but if there are mobs in the mission that are capable of using build up, that's pretty much an automatic give the players full fledged red or orange warning text recommending a team for the mission (I don't *think* you had that - I do think you had some text that hinted that a team would work well in the mission, but that's a far cry from bright, lurid text actually recommending a team.) It's not that I would have gotten a team, but that's a clear warning there's going to be a very hard mob in this mission, and I should be prepared.
Oh, and why is buildup so hard to deal with? Bosses already do lots of damage - when you set them to hard, you get a boss that has higher damage scale attacks than most of the standard bosses, coupled with an 80% damage boost. You quickly go from a "typical" boss whose "heavy hitter" attack might knock of one half to one third of your hit points, to a boss that can practically one shot you. (To give you an idea, Slash actually hit me with a single attack for 660 damage - that's at least 90% of my hit points at max).
Think of it as your revenge on Pro Payne for Vandal beating you over and over again in my arc
M.A. Arcs
Intended for high level play: The Primus Trilogy (Arc #s 10931, 283821, 283825), "Freakshow U" (Arc #189073), Purification (Arc #352381, Dev's Choice!
)Intended for low level play: "Learning the Ropes" (Arc #100304), "Cracking Skulls" (Arc #115935), "The Lazarus Project" (Arc #124906)
[ QUOTE ]
Okay, here's a review for Telstar's arc:
#100045: SlashDeMento and the Stolen Weapons! (4 stars; I was teetering between 3 and 4, but went with 4 cause I did have a good time overall in the arc.)
Apparently, a new gang was trying to make its name known. I believe their name was the Demon Spawn, although I might be mistaken (Pro Payne suffered brain damage and temporary amnesia from the generous beating he received at the hands of the gang's leader). The Demon Spawn were evidently mostly ex-Outcasts (although there were ex-Hellions in the mix too) who had not managed to make it very high in their original organization, and were looking for something newer (and more violent). A former Outcast minion - Slash DeMento, and his brother 'The Lacerator,' had splintered away and formed their own gang. Eager to prove themselves the next big thing on the streets of Paragon, they'd stolen some weapons, along with a massive bomb (that probably would have leveled the whole city block).
These guys may have once been mere minions, but they were an object lesson in what a little bit of individual attention from a dedicated gang leader can accomplish - even the ones that were still minions (and likely did include new recruits off the streets in addition to ex-Outcasts) tended to be rougher than any Outcast or Hellion. DeMento had managed to forge his gang into a group as lethal as the Warriors.
Pro Payne managed to arrest DeMento, confiscate the weapons, and take out one of DeMento's chief asides (again, don't remember his name any more. Brain damage.) Unfortunately, the Lacerator remains at large; the gang is weakened, but certainly hasn't been eliminated yet.
Pros: With the exception of the bosses, the custom group is balanced and generally fun to fight (the one exception for me was if a lot of axe wielders would happen to spawn in, which resulted in lots of knockdown - but that was fairly rare, and the occasionally challenging fight is not a mark against a story arc; I only grade down when every single fight is very challenging). The custom character descriptions, when present, actually tell the story of how the gang was put together, which is a neat touch. The custom group combines very good variety without resorting to the common technique of giving lots of the minions a debuff - this group didn't get boring (or particularly frustrating) to fight. And I didn't notice typos, grammer, or awkward-sounding phrasing: in short, the writing is good writing. And good use of color and text formatting. Finally, I like the idea of using MA to add minor 'custom gangs' to the low and mid level game - the up and comers trying to become the next big thing, and just might succeed if not nipped in the bud.
Cons: As a one-mission intro arc, there isn't much of a plot (beyond the option to learn about the gang's history through the bios). I did notice something odd: the "objective" text had a formatted color, but seemed to be the generic text (e.g. 5 Stolen Weapons, Slash DeMento - or something like that - rather than 5 Racks of stolen weapons to recover, Arrest Slash DeMento); I'm definately one of those folks who likes "custom formatted" mission objectives - it adds a feel of polish (IMO) above and beyond the generic text. But here are my biggest three bits of constructive criticism:
1. I did think there needed to be more variety in the appearance of the gang members. They certainly should look similar to each other, but minor changes in costume pieces from one to the other would definately improve the custom group as a whole (they didn't all have the same face, hair style, and hair color - but a little bit of variety in what they're wearing will make them seem more like a street gang, and less like "mad supervillain Slash DeMento's nameless, faceless - not literally - army of underlings and minions.")
2. The sluggers, Fire bugs, and Tiger Paw minions had no descriptive text at all (well, other than the default). Everyone else had very individual descriptive text, which worked great to tell the gang's story, but gave the odd impression that I was fighting an army of clones. In other words, it didn't feel like "Chills" was a class a minion just learning to use their ice powers. It felt like I was battling clones of the character Chills over and over again. My suggestion: use copy-paste to "capture" your 'long' descriptions to something like a word document (or whatever). Then redo the 'generic' gang members with short, generic descriptions (e.g. 'The Chill Spawn are former outcasts with cold powers who joined the Demon Spawn.'), and, where needed, more generic names. Then scatter a bunch of boss encounters (they should NOT be required objectives) through the mission, using everybody who has a more individual description as a boss (takes advantage of the fact that, among a custom group, you can use even minions as a "boss" - they don't scale up or anything - you just get a "boss fight" where you're fighting a minion or a lt. instead.) In the 'description' in the boss detail, then paste in the more complete description for that character. Viola! You now have a mission filled mostly with the 'standard' minions and lts, but you also get to run across a specific 'Chill Spawn' (or whatever) named Chills who has his own unique bio. You can even give him flavor text to say when you fight him in combat. That way, all of that hard work on individual character descriptions gets used, but doesn't make it seem like Slash DeMento managed to steal some sort of advanced cloning vat. Well, unless he did.
3. My suggestion: be very, very leery of giving bosses access to build up (or lt's for that matter). It's just my opinion, but if there are mobs in the mission that are capable of using build up, that's pretty much an automatic give the players full fledged red or orange warning text recommending a team for the mission (I don't *think* you had that - I do think you had some text that hinted that a team would work well in the mission, but that's a far cry from bright, lurid text actually recommending a team.) It's not that I would have gotten a team, but that's a clear warning there's going to be a very hard mob in this mission, and I should be prepared.
Oh, and why is buildup so hard to deal with? Bosses already do lots of damage - when you set them to hard, you get a boss that has higher damage scale attacks than most of the standard bosses, coupled with an 80% damage boost. You quickly go from a "typical" boss whose "heavy hitter" attack might knock of one half to one third of your hit points, to a boss that can practically one shot you. (To give you an idea, Slash actually hit me with a single attack for 660 damage - that's at least 90% of my hit points at max).
Think of it as your revenge on Pro Payne for Vandal beating you over and over again in my arc
[/ QUOTE ]
First of all, thank you so much for giving such a detailed review! I really didn't expect it to be so thorough. I do appreciate it, very much. This is the type of feedback that I have been hoping for, so I can get a better feel of how other players fare against my custom group. This is extremely helpful to me. I really want people to enjoy my arcs and not just be frustrated and 'put off' by overpowered enemies. My main focus is that I want these stories to be fun to play. I hate dieing in missions and I don't want to set people up for that kind of thing happening to them. I prefer that they have a good time and want to try my other arcs because of the stories.
I notice that you chose to do the shorter 'intro' version of my custom group. It was my first attempt at using that particular enemy. My first published mission was a single one featuring the Circle of Thorns. After doing that one, the bug really bit me to get a little more creative. I was smitten by the possibilities in taking it to the next level. I've really been enjoying the whole process of developing characters and missions.
I have been thinking that the minions and lieutenants needed a bit of tweaking to make them seem more 'generic' as far as names & descriptions go. I do like the idea of using some of the more specific ones as minor 'bosses' and making a new version of them with a more common title rather than a name. I think I will take your advice about the costumes, too. They do tend to look a bit too 'upscale' for common street thugs. I guess I was trying to use a common color scheme to tie them together, like 'gang colors', but I might want to do a little adjustment there.
I really am sorry that Slash turned out to be so overpowered. Since most of my characters are tanks, I really needed to have an objective eye look at this gang from another perspective. My tanks don't usually have any trouble with him. I guess I tend to forget that my gals tend to be pretty tough. I will definitely remove his build-up power. I'm not sure exactly what to choose as an alternative, but I will take a look at him. I am always open to suggestions.
I have already tried to tone him down a bit, but I will have to see if I can tweak him a bit more. I originally had him set on hard/hard, but, then I realized that he was definitely stronger than I wanted him to be. I'm pretty sure I scaled him back to standard, but I will double check that, too. I found out just how tough he was when I tried to do this mission on my n00b tank, at level 4. Yeah, that was not a good plan. LOL I thought it was just the fact that I was so small, but I guess he was just too strong, after all. I might also change his bio a tad, to indicate that he had moved up quickly in the ranks of the Outcasts, so it doesn't seem so implausible that he now has a gang that is more powerful than they are. (BTW, the other boss was Hatchet McGee. )
Since this was one of my first tries at creating a mission, I agree that it is still a bit rough around the edges as far as nav text, etc., goes. I might have to go back and recheck it, and do a bit more work on that kind of stuff. Since then I have gotten a little better (I hope) at that type of detail. It took a little trial & error to figure out exactly what all of that text actually did. I had noticed it when I played it on my new character the other day, but I have been working on another custom group and a new storyline that I want to use in my next arc, so I'm not sure how long this one will remain up.
Again, thank you so much for all the time you spent on this review. I will work on making those changes. I do hope that you will consider my other missions in the future. And, even though that little 'payback' was unintentional, it is duly noted. I guess that really does make us 'even'. LOL
No AV/EBs Deal with The Devil's Pawn-207266 Slash DeMento and the Stolen Weapons-100045 Meet the Demon Spawn-151099 Feedback
Worry not - your other missions are most certainly on Pro Payne's list!
(Sorry I'm being terse here - I feel like I've been spending more time on the forums lately than in the game. I'll be back to my old, verbose self once I've had a little break )
M.A. Arcs
Intended for high level play: The Primus Trilogy (Arc #s 10931, 283821, 283825), "Freakshow U" (Arc #189073), Purification (Arc #352381, Dev's Choice!
)Intended for low level play: "Learning the Ropes" (Arc #100304), "Cracking Skulls" (Arc #115935), "The Lazarus Project" (Arc #124906)
[ QUOTE ]
Worry not - your other missions are most certainly on Pro Payne's list!
(Sorry I'm being terse here - I feel like I've been spending more time on the forums lately than in the game. I'll be back to my old, verbose self once I've had a little break )
[/ QUOTE ]
No problem, I understand completely. I have only recently started visiting the forum (mostly due to MA) and it's like crack. LOL
Thanks for considering my other missions.
No AV/EBs Deal with The Devil's Pawn-207266 Slash DeMento and the Stolen Weapons-100045 Meet the Demon Spawn-151099 Feedback
Pro Paynes continuing adventures have brought him to the cusp of level 25, and finally earned him a knockback protection IO. Hes sure to actually reach level 25 today.
Pro Paynes latest adventures have led to a rematch with Slash DeMento (in a much improved version of Slash DeMento and the Stolen Weapons that I can heartily recommend; in my opinions the improvements made the one-mission mini-arc worth a rerate as 5-stars.) He also helped save Panda Earth from a Rikti Invasion (a very well done and fun arc; my only gripe: too many mission goals set to spawn in the final room, which made the final battle a frustrating death fest.), and helped a hero named Shadowrush hunt down his missing mentor (with, unfortunately, tragic results). He also wrested a dangerous magical scroll from the clutches of the circle of thorns (in addition to a few other adventures that hes likely not remembering off the top of his head).
Now, naturally, I do have a few reviews to post, that were solicited by the authors of some of the arcs in Pro Paynes queue.
#51728 Speeding Through Time. (5 stars)
It started with Pro Payne being contacted by a hero called the Red Blur. Blur claimed to be a member of the Freedom Phalanx, although nobody knew anything about him, and even claimed that this was not the first time wed met. Obviously, Pro Payne was a bit skeptical, but Blur was expecting that, and asked for patience, and the chance to prove his story was true.
The Red Blur transported Pro Payne into the past (the 60s, specifically) in order to rescue his past self from a might have been mission where he had been captured by the 5th Column. By rescuing him, Pro Payne not only prevented what might have been the end of the Red Blurs career, he also established a bond of trust (at least on Red Blurs side; Pro Payne wasnt yet sure if he trusted the speedster or his story). But future Red Blurs instructions were a bit on the strange side: Pro Payne was to escort the past Red Blur to the entrance to the base, and then transport him forward into the present.
It was quickly clear that the Red Blur was up to something he was trying to prevent a tragedy from occurring, or rather, trying to prevent a tragedy that had already occurred (it had already been prevented, which is why the present was fine or at least that what Pro Payne thought was going on). Red Blur knew Pro Payne would have some trouble believing the story, so he wanted to show Pro Payne the past future we were fighting to prevent. He actually took Pro Payne into the past, but it was an alternate past that would have occurred if the Red Blur didnt succeed in his mission: it was a post-apocalyptic version of Paragon City. It appeared to be the victim of a massive nuclear strike, and was populated by the radioactive zombies, including a reanimated Miss Liberty. Pro Paynes task was simple: rescue the one remaining, living hero in this time: Statesman. Red Blur made it clear that that was all he needed to accomplish (beyond simply taking in what we were fighting to prevent), but Pro Payne couldnt resist exploring. He battled the atomic zombies, and even made an ill-advised attempt to defeat the zombie Miss Liberty (which resulted in a very fast trip back to a present-day AE hospital, and a resolution that there were some foes Pro Payne just isnt ready to face). After rescuing Statesman, Pro Payne was ready to believe Red Blur, having seen what would have become of Paragon City if he failed.
It was now that Pro Payne found out the truth about what Red Blur was trying to prevent: apparently the 5th Column had obtained a super-nuke (from a source Red Blur had yet to figure out), and were going to set it off. Even they had no idea just how powerful the weapon was. All of this had occurred in the past (not long after initially rescuing Red Blur, actually). Of the members of the Freedom Phalanx, Red Blur was the only one who discovered the plan, and even then, he didnt discover it in time to stop it: so he made time. Running so fast that he broke through the time barrier, Red Blur spent a lifetime snatching up past versions of himself, and depositing them at the moment in time just before the 5th Column attack. Although he claimed he needed me to turn the tide of the coming battle, Pro Payne was amazed at the firepower Red Blur had gathered to prevent the attack: an army of perhaps twenty or more Red Blurs had been deposited where the Column was about to detonate the bomb. Pro Payne rounded them up, also finding the old version of Red Blur hed been working with all along.
As an aside, it was quite something seeing an army of powerful superheroes cut a swath through the 5th Column, but the real reason we needed the Red Blur Army became very clear when we tracked down the bomb, for the bomb had been supplied to the 5th Column by Dr. Aeon himself.
Normally, an army of heroes would have been more than a match for Aeon, but Aeon had, essentially, picked up the same track as Red Blur he escaped into time, gathering up future versions of himself that had been hiding out in various parts of the world, waiting for the chance to fulfill this master scheme of his. Before long, Pro Payne and the Blurs were facing an army of Aeons through time trying to keep us from destroying the bomb and saving the city.
We prevailed, but at a terrible cost. In effect, by transporting past and future versions of himself to the moment in time when the bomb went off, Red Blur had effectively removed himself from history. Hed spent a lifetime focusing himself into a single moment in time, and then preventing that moment from ever happening: in effect, wiping himself out in the process. So thorough was the foiling of the plan, that nobody knew Red Blur even existed, or that there had ever been a 5th Column plan to set off a nuclear bomb.
Truthfully, Pro Payne was not needed at all in that battle. But he came to realize that he served another purpose. There was a critical difference between Red Blur, and Dr. Aeon: Red Blur was essentially pulled from the past, but Dr. Aeon was effectively from the future. So, even though Red Blur had vanished without a trace, Dr. Aeon still existed, and there was still the threat that he would one day conceive of his plan to equip the 5th Column with an overpowered nuke in a mad attempt to destroy the worlds heroes.
So Pro Payne went to Aeons lab, alone, for a final showdown. The Dr. Aeon he met was not the hardened, murderous, time fugitive hed fought in the past and if fact, had no idea why Pro Payne was on such a rampage: destroying this research base while hunting the mad scientist down. But he got the point: in lieu of any further beat downs by Pro Payne, Dr. Aeon agreed to never pursue any more experiments with radiation (and, presumably, nuclear bombs).
Pros: Frankly, I loved the story. I actually found it a little hard to follow exactly what was going on, but, in an odd way, the very fast pacing kind of put me in an along for the ride feel. It was a very rare instance of me not totally following whats going on, but I didnt really care because it was a lot of fun getting to the conclusion and I was at least following it well enough to find it very interesting and entertaining. Also on the Pros side youve got an example of an overpowered (EB class) ally actually done really well (again, IMO). In a very odd way, where one overpowered ally would have been annoying, twenty of them pushed it right past the envelope into ludicrously entertaining: the spectacle of the army of Red Blurs cutting a swath of destruction through the 5th Column more than made up for the massive experience and ticket loss (and, for the record, I actually did gain about a bubble and a half of XP and about 80 tickets or so in that mission anyway in a strange way, having that much help meant I could clear the map with exceptional speed, and being able to run into the next group and fire off a fire sword circle before the rain of red electric death slaughtered them would get me nips and bits of XP at a relatively rapid pace and ultimately it did add up). And, of course, because you had to collect the heroes from all around the map, the mission design actually encouraged you to use your growing firepower to clear the map.
Cons: I really only had two complaints. First, the one place were the army of Red Blurs was a problem was in the actual fight with Aeon the author actually appeared to design Aeons around the world as massive reinforcements to spawn in a save the bomb. The problem is I barely got to see or enjoy them in the massive sea of Red Blurs taking them down almost as fast as they appeared. It presented an odd Catch-22: to fully enjoy that aspect of the story, Id either need to recruit a team (and teams tend to want to rush through anyway, also keeping you from really sitting back and taking in the story), or not recruit very many Red Blurs, which would have left me open to rapid defeat by the powerful Aeon clones. Not sure if theres a workable solution.
Also, although the version of Dr. Aeon you take on alone at the end of the arc is a standard game model its apparently a version that uses heavy radiation powers (I even commented to the author that this was the hardest version of Aeon Ive even faced: I thought I was pretty familiar with the game, but I dont remember ever facing down this version before most of my previous encounters with Aeon have involved battling the power suited, energy and shield throwing version). Even though it makes perfect sense for Aeon to be using radiation powers, the debuffs you end up getting saddled with make the fight hard to the point of frustration. It didnt cause the arc to lose a star (in part because the author warned that this arc might be better suited for a higher level than when I played it, so I resolved that if I was unable to finish the arc, Id quit out without rating and wait to gain a few levels), but it definitely was something I noted and jotted down as something I didnt like about the arc.
Overall, very well done!
M.A. Arcs
Intended for high level play: The Primus Trilogy (Arc #s 10931, 283821, 283825), "Freakshow U" (Arc #189073), Purification (Arc #352381, Dev's Choice!
)Intended for low level play: "Learning the Ropes" (Arc #100304), "Cracking Skulls" (Arc #115935), "The Lazarus Project" (Arc #124906)
Okay, the next review request was for:
#113615: Deal with the Devils Pawn (4 stars)
A young lady by the name of Angelique Pio approached Pro Payne with dire news: a Circle of Thorns mage named the Devils Pawn had stolen an artifact called Lucifers Scroll, with the intent of performing a ritual with it that would unleash the forces of evil and darkness on Paragon City and even the world. But these forces of darkness would be more than mere demon hordes the scroll could plant the seeds of evil in the whole of humanity, twisted the whole human race into darkness, and making us all slaves to evil.
Pro Payne quickly infiltrated the lair of the Devils Pawn a section of Orenbega. There he retrieved Lucifers Scroll, and defeated the Devils Pawn.
Pros: This is a single mission arc, which is a pro if youre looking for quick action without getting involved in a long arc (and I have a special appreciation for one or two mission arcs that are not farms. Personally, I like variety in arc length, and the fact I get to intersperse epic 5 mission arcs with much shorter single mission ones is a good thing. Also, the mission itself is well done the text is good, the mission goals clear, and nice use of color formatting. Make no mistake: the mission is well done, and fun. So why four stars?
Cons: Well, before I answer that, let me first list a few things that had no bearing on my rating. First, its worth mentioning that some folks may get a little leery of such direct references to the devil and satanic artifacts. Personally, I dont see a problem at all, and Im not suggesting a change to something more sanitized (I think that gets done too often anyway), but its worth mentioning so the author can get a bit of a head start on thinking of how to handle the situation in the event you do see a complaint show up under the mission (I sincerely hope it wont). Second, personally, the Circle of Thorns (and Orenbega) are not my favorite villain group, especially pre-30, when the spectrals can get to be such a huge pain in the butt (especially if you are resistance-based, rather than defense-based, which makes it easier for them to stack those irritating to-hit debuffs on you). Im not at all sure if the map was a chosen one, or a random map (e.g. random medium, random large, etc.) the teleport portals on the map I got were only mildly obnoxious: not bad enough to really raise my hackles, but enough to delay mission completion. Yeah, it sucks, since, as the author, you didnt get to design the faction or the map, but I list it as a con because youre certain to run across folks who will poorly rate the mission just based on the choice of the Circle of Thorns, and Orenbega. (Yes, you can make that arguments for any villain group and map you cant please everyone but youre probably going to draw slightly more than average in this case.)
Also, another minor nit (again, not related to the rating at all) the use of the Circle here is a little non-canon: not egregious, but just as an FYI. Specifically, the mission set up treats the Circle as a cabal of mages (which they are), but implies that they are modern day folks dabbling in the black arts. Theyre not: (warning, spoiler coming: the Circle are mostly the discorporated spirits of the ancient Orenbegans literally the original Circle of Thorns possessing the bodies of modern day folks who were either lured into or forced into a ritual that effectively kills them and allows the Orenbegan spirit to possess the body. So, most of the Circle are not modern-day people who have been inducted into the Circle and taught the magical arcs: theyre actually long-dead mages possessing the bodies of the living. (And this does violate the description given for the Devils Pawn.) Now, to be fair, there game does at least hint that some Circle members are modern-day mages, and, for reasons that were convenient to the Circle, were allowed to keep their souls and bodies rather than becoming a vessel to house a reborn Orenbegan mage but these are evidently so rare that I cant think of any main named characters in the game that fall into this category. But the net result is that if you treat a Circle mage as anything other than a long-dead Orenbegan possessing a hijacked modern-day body, then people who are familiar with the games canon are very likely to see that as non-canonical.
Okay, though, so why 4 stars? Well, I have to be completely honest it has to do with the fundamentals of how I decide on a rating (which is useful to list here, since most of the people who are reviewing arcs at least make a mention of their criteria). This isnt exhaustive, by the way:
My baseline for any arc is 3 stars, and my base expectation is that it should be as good as a newspaper or police scanner mission. So if you write an arc with a fairly short, but coherent, briefing and send-off, is one mission long, has objectives similar to what is found in paper missions (for example, get the glowie, and defeat the boss guarding it), and minimal text (a clue for the glowie, and dialog for the boss), thats three stars (or at least what Id rate it other reviews certainly have differing criteria). Okay, now do that really well: add a patrol or two, with some text. Add formatting and coloring. Expand a bit what the boss says well, thats a definitely improvement, and that bumps the arc up to four stars.
So, for a single mission arc, what would I suggest to bump it up even more? Well, honestly, there are probably several things: multiple interesting characters, possibly part of a custom group (Slash DeMento did this well), is one. But, in my opinion, the easiest one is just to use mission objects to tell a more substantial story that unfolds as you play through the mission.
Of course, I cant write that story for you, but I can tell you theres a lot of potential for one built into your idea for the mission: youve got a deranged Circle mage in possession of a powerful magical artifact (apparently one that belongs to or was made by the devil himself). Perhaps clues in the mission could tell us more about how he came to acquire it, or what the ritual entails perhaps theres a sub-boss, a demon or something (or another Circle mage) whose been summoned in and has filled the Devils Pawn with promises of glory and power if hell just complete the ritual. Honestly, I dont want to brainstorm too many, because your other arcs make it clear youve got good creative potential for writing interesting, character-driven stories, and Id like to see where you can take this.
So, the bottom line: as is, its a jazzed up newspaper mission (which Id typically rate 4 stars, which is exactly what I did) the next step would be fleshing out and expanding the story, which really boils down to giving the player more to do in the mission to drive an expanded story forward.
(Note, Im certainly not suggesting it needs to be spread out over multiple missions but, to me, a 5-star single mission arc actually needs to tell an unfolding, mini-story-arc as the mission progresses.
Finally, just a few typos and notes: very minor.
One, one of your patrols makes a statement to the effect of enter our Circle when referring to my invasion of their lair. It just struck me as a little weird, because it made it sound like I was trying to actually join them itd probably make a little more sense for them to refer to me as entering their lair or invading their lair (or something similar).
Also, Devils Pawn (whose dialog I really liked good job of evil archmage over the top blustering) accuses me of an interuption of my work. (the typo being that there are two rs in interruption.)
Whew! And now, back to the game! Pro Payne will probably take a short break from posting reviews for a very simple reason theyre very time consuming, and as he gets to higher and higher levels, Ive got to sink more and more time into playing him to keep his advancement reasonably fast. That doesnt mean that Im not taking any new review requests. Im still looking for arc suggestions, and if youd like a review, as opposed to a simple playthrough, feel free to ask. But Im probably going to limit myself to one per week, which means either I might post a review for you after a delay (as happened with Geek Boy) or I might shuffle your arc around in my queue to try to have only about one review request per week.
M.A. Arcs
Intended for high level play: The Primus Trilogy (Arc #s 10931, 283821, 283825), "Freakshow U" (Arc #189073), Purification (Arc #352381, Dev's Choice!
)Intended for low level play: "Learning the Ropes" (Arc #100304), "Cracking Skulls" (Arc #115935), "The Lazarus Project" (Arc #124906)
What level is Pro Payne now? I'm curious to see how lower level people fare in my Drakule arcs, as I've only tested them with 50s so far and designed them around such characters.
He's level 24, about to be 25. I'm going to play the "expanded" version of the Slash DeMento arc next, and then I'll play the Drakule arcs after that - I'll let you know about what I found the challenge to be (although you won't see the number of plays change, since I've already played them on my level 50 brute. Just for the record, I gave both five stars, and don't intend to chance the rating based on how Pro Payne does - if the arcs are giving him trouble, I'll just let you know)
M.A. Arcs
Intended for high level play: The Primus Trilogy (Arc #s 10931, 283821, 283825), "Freakshow U" (Arc #189073), Purification (Arc #352381, Dev's Choice!
)Intended for low level play: "Learning the Ropes" (Arc #100304), "Cracking Skulls" (Arc #115935), "The Lazarus Project" (Arc #124906)
Since you are looking for story based arcs that will be possible to do in your level range, I'll submit these for you. The first one is strictly CoT, ranged for 5-54 (I think, maybe 50). The other 2 are a strictly custom group, so I'm not sure how you will feel about trying them based on what you've said about custom groups not being amongst your favorite arcs. All I can say is that I tried to create these characters so that they would not be over the top in difficulty. I have played them on my new ax/tank and they can be tough at under level 10, but since she is now level 10, they are not as bad. The Bosses are usually scaled down to Lts for me, since I have all my chars set on Heroic. I have played them on a variety of tanks (I have to solo due to connection issues) and most of them can hold their own pretty well. I have also tried them on my dual scrapper. With some use of inspirations, I haven't had a lot of trouble on any of my chars. (Although, I tried 100045 on level 4 with my n00b and died a couple of times....lol) I think in good teams, any of these could be easily handled by low levels.
Arc Name: Deal with The Devil's Pawn
Arc ID: 113615 (Single Mission)
Story Arc Name: Slash DeMento and the Stolen Weapons
Arc ID: 100045 (Single Mission)
Arc Name: Meet the Demon Spawn
Arc ID: 151099 (4 Missions)
Feel free to review if you like. I don't mind constructive criticism at all. I would rather know if there are any problems that I can fix, to make them better for people to enjoy. Totally up to your discretion.
No AV/EBs Deal with The Devil's Pawn-207266 Slash DeMento and the Stolen Weapons-100045 Meet the Demon Spawn-151099 Feedback