MA Arc 233720 - A Close Encounter

If you have a bit of time to run a fairly short arc, I'd love to hear your thoughts, good, bad or indifferent.

Thanks in advance

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Any hints as to what the arc is like...?

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And for a while things were cold,
They were scared down in their holes
The forest that once was green
Was colored black by those killing machines

Synopsis - An under-staffed and under-funded Intergovermental agency needs your help at a classified crash site.

Heroic orientation

Length - 4 missions (including one defeat all) on small maps.

Level 20 and up recommended for anything above Heroic difficulty setting.

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Doh! I ran your arc and sent you a PM without realizing you had a thread. Here's what I said in the PM:

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Here's my basically stream of consciousness feedback while I was playing it. Soloed on a 50 EM/Elec brute (who likes pretending to be a hero, don't ask)

There could be a bit more of an introduction, basically who is this contact? And who are the Special Investigations Unit? I think with having a non-cannon contact, it takes more work to hook people on the story. Not saying it's bad, just that it's an additional hurdle.

Mission 1
I was a little confused by the Eagle Talon guys at first, since I didn't know they were mercenaries. I think I saw a Trooper and assumed that they were like evil boy scouts. Other than that they looked good, and were quite easy for my brute.

The alien Squeeg doesn't seem to say anything. It's too bad you can't actually make the alien disapper in a blink like the clue said.

Search the site for evidence - I'm not sure what kind of evidence I'm looking for, could maybe clarify in the clues.

Mission end text - "wannabes" sounds a bit immature for a military/paramilitary person.

Overall good quick mission.

Mission 2
On the mission still busy text "Have you had a chance" sounds maybe a bit too tentative for a military type as well. Sorry nitpicky.

Objectives were good, and I'm glad it was a small map. You still might reconsider the necessity of a defeat all. By the time I'd finished with the glowies I'd just about defeated everyone anyway. And since some people hate defeat alls and will avoid arcs with them, and because it doesn't seem like a necessary objective, I'd say you don't need it.

Note that the Eagles Talons were very easy for my brute. I pretty much just rushed it and picked up several groups of them with ease. This is not a complaint, as they may very well be difficult for a squishie, but I thought I'd let you know.


Mission 3

I think I missed the coffee reference... or was that just an aside on her part?

At first I was confused as to why I was beating up the aliens. They seemed rather non-threatening before. After I found the lab tech it made more sense. Maybe figure out a way to trigger their spawn after you have the information?

Again, small mission which was cool. Also, these custom mobs seemed a tad more challenging. I even fought a few bosses.


Mission 4

Intro text - Some of it seems a bit awkward. "the information you brought back from that last mission answered a lot of questions our analysts still had" could be "the information you brought back from that last mission answered a lot of our analysts' questions." Also the sentence starting with "But a second lab has been revealed..." sounds maybe a bit passive, like what they are doing gets a bit lost behind where they are doing it. Didn't know where you want the emphasis to be.

Mission and objectives are good, very playable. Again, thanks for sticking with a small map. One thing I'm wondering though is Spaal Emt supposed to be a single individual? Because now I'm realizing that the bosses I fought in mission 3 may not have been intentional.

Overall
The arc has a good mission flow and is very playable. The objectives are good and the map sizes are good. The story is good, though I admit confusion in a few places. The only other thing I will say is that I kind of regret that I never got to beat up any Earth for Humans guys in Mission 3. I almost envision them being there, but being mind controlled by the aliens, and saying silly things.

Well put together arc. I gave it 4 stars.

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Thanks. Since I hadn't given you a link to this thread the PM was actually more than I had expected.

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