New Co-op Newbie Zone: Northcliff Peninsula
By
Alphane,
Posted on: 2008-07-17 17:58 in Suggestions and Ideas
Initial/Repeatable Contact
The hired guard on the harbour area gate - well call him George - would be the initial contact for both new villains and new heroes. He has one task you must do before he offers you repeatable missions (just like Marcus Valerius in Cimerora does), but after that he becomes somewhat like the Scanner/Newspaper: After doing 3 repeatable missions and then a special task (see later) for George he will refer you to zone contacts that have mini story arcs.
Georges initial text could be: How did you get in here? Stowaway on one of the ships? Climbed in over the fence? Although you look like the kind of person I dont want to be messing with, so Ill look the other way and ask no questions if you help me out. My buddy Jake went to the shipping office a while ago to drop off some cargo dockets and get us some coffee - could you pop over there and see whats taking him so long?
The shipping office is being raided - as soon as you enter The Family attack you. After beating all of the gangsters in the room their hostage, Guard Jake, thanks you but then acerbically tells you to get off private property and that Guard George will let you out through the gate (i.e. return to contact). A clue tells you that the gangsters were looking for proof that the harbour guards have been stealing from The Familys smuggled-in cargoes. Jake told them that the street gangs have been stealing from the shipments, but he wasnt believed.
When you return, George says: When I first saw you I figured there was something special about you, just from the way youre dressed; nice to know that you have special abilities and arent just special in the head. Lots of psychos around here like to think theyre something special, but youve proved yourself to me. Oh and dont mind Jake, youre always welcome here while Im on duty. We need all the help we can get keeping these docks secure; The Boss doesnt like it when the wrong shipments go missing. In fact I have a few things you might be able to help me with right now, if youre interested. And if my gratitude wont do then Im sure I can find some kind of reward for you from all the contraband goods weve confiscated lately.
This sets up some ambiguity so youre not really sure if George, Jake and their mysterious Boss are good guys or bad guys, or (most likely) in the grey area in between - both heroes and villains should be able to find some rationale for working for George. This leads to George offering you random repeatable missions from this point forward, somewhat like the newspaper or police band scanner (George gives you his Call button immediately).
When you hit L16, providing you have chosen your final contact/arc referral (see later) from him, George becomes an inactive contact. Whether youve done that or not, George stops offering repeatable missions at L16.
Repeatable Missions
Georges repeatable missions scale from L1-15. These missions are worded to be morally ambiguous to suit both heroes and villains - here are two examples:
Kidnap/Rescue - George tells you that a girlfriend of a leading Skull has been kidnapped by a pack of Hellions for use in one of their demonic ceremonies. George normally wouldnt care, but shes being held in one of the warehouses on the docks and he doesnt want a gang war breaking out during his shift when the Skulls come to get her back. He doesnt care what happens to the girl, whether you let her go free to return to the Skulls, or ransom her back: Heroes get an end-of-mission message saying they let her go free, Villains would be told that they made a nice bit of cash on the side from ransoming her.
Steal/Recover - George tells you that Jake saw some Skulls breaking into one of the warehouses to steal the stock, and asks you to stop them. Heroes get an end-of-mission message saying they stopped the theft and George was grateful for their help, Villains are told that they took some of the shipment for themselves and George assumed that the Skulls smuggled it away before being stopped from taking the rest.
After doing 3 of his repeatable tasks George gives you the option of striking back at the root cause of most of the problems around the dock area: The gang enclaves...
Suppression mission - Mayhem/Safeguard equivalent
After 3 repeatable missions in the new zone George will offer you a suppression mission. This is basically a hybrid version of mayhems/safeguards, but set in an instanced version of one of the gang enclaves in Northcliff (which are like the favelas in Rio de Janeiro in real life - fortified gang-held areas that police are afraid to go into).
At L1-5 you could pick between either a Skulls or Hellions enclave, at L5-10 you could pick between either Trolls or Outcasts, and at L10-15 you could pick between either the Family mansions/estates or the Council outpost/base. The L5-10 and L10-15 ones would also grant the temp travel powers (Raptor Pack & Zero-G Pack) from the equivalent mayhem/safeguard so that newbies here wouldnt miss out on these useful temp powers (and so veterans playing alts wouldnt feel pressured to leave this new zone to go get them).
A suppression mission would be timed, with the clock increasing for damage done to the enclave itself (scenery damage - so heroes get a taste of the fun villains have on Mayhems), but also for defeating members of the gang that owns it (each spawn or gang-leader defeated). After racking up a certain amount of destruction the leaders of the gang would come as ambushes to try and take you down - defeating a gang leader would give you the key to an indoor part of the enclave/base (like mayhem/safeguard side-missions) each with their own mini-objective, such as:
Hellions - taking away magical artefacts from their stash, banishing a demon they have summoned
Skulls - taking out their superadine lab, destroying their stash of weapons
Outcasts - confiscating stolen goods, setting free street children with mutant powers abducted as recruits
Trolls - destroying a stash of superadine, taking down a newly-transformed supa-troll
Council - destroying the communications array, destroying some tanks and their tank factory
Family - destroying their limousines in a parking garage, confiscating smuggled contraband
The main objective - the final one you unlock - would be to take out the highest ranking boss of the enclave in the most fortified part of it (inside a cemetery tomb for Skulls, in their demonic temple for Hellions, inside the mansion for Family, in a bunker for Council, etc). Once that is done the suppression mission completes.
Completing any 5 suppression missions would award the Achievement Badge Law Bringer for heroes and Chaos Bringer for villains.
Referred/Zone Contacts
On completion of a suppression mission George will refer you to a single zone contact. There should probably be about a dozen of these contacts in total (increases variety and replay value for future alts), but George offers you 4 at a time randomly from the full selection so you can choose 1 from them.
All of the zone contacts missions would scale from L1-15 so you could do them in any order and not out-level their story arcs too quickly (which Ive found to be a problem with low-level content in other newbie zones since xp-smoothing was introduced). Each zone contact offers a single mini-arc of 3-4 linked missions:
<ul type="square">[*]a Skulls Girlfriend wants you to stop the Hellions summoning a demon to kill her boyfriend, and shes willing to pay well.
[*]an undercover cop wants you to capture a notorious Family capo - if youre a hero it turns out the cop is PPD and wants to extradite the capo to Paragon for trial, but if villain then hes RIP and the capo will be made an example of for not paying his bribes on time.
[*]a wheelchair-bound ex-Outcast wants justice (heroes) / vengeance (villains) against the Troll that crippled him.
[*]a local survivalist wants you to disrupt The Councils recruiting efforts here, as they have conscripted some of his friends - he also wouldnt mind if you brought back for him some of those big fancy guns they use and he suggests that you get some for yourself as its not safe to go unarmed in Northcliff.
[*]an insane ex-Hellion tells you that evil is stirring beneath the peninsula. He has seen it, several of his friends were taken by it, and he prophecies that the scaled demons will be the death of you too. You investigate - first you face some of his Hellion friends in the cliff top ruins, who are summoning a demon to protect themselves. A clue leads you to face some Circle of Thorns in the caves below, who also fear scaled creatures from the depths, and they too are summoning demons to protect themselves. In the deep caves you confront the scaled demons - a small colony of Snakes who stowed away on a ship from Mercy Island and have since been feasting on the Hellions and Circle mages they have abducted here.
[*]a hero who once lived in Northcliff before the Rikti War has returned and is enraged (villains) / upset (heroes) at what the gangs have done to his hometown - he wants you to arrest (heroes) or kill (villains) certain notorious gang leaders.
[*]an elderly Chinese gentleman pays/asks you to help him make Northcliff safer, first by destroying a warehouse full of guns that is being guarded by The Skulls (under supervision by The Family), then by stealing a cache of artefacts from The Hellions that they are bartering with the Circle of Thorns for, but then while dealing with some Outcasts in the third mission you are ambushed by The Tsoo, trying to tie up a loose end (you) - your contact is a member of The Tsoo and afterwards gloats that you have weakened the opposition nicely so that his masters can move in on Northcliff.
[*]a Hellions girlfriend saw her boyfriend being dragged into the sewers by a gang of homeless people (The Lost) and begs you (heroes) or offers to pay you (villains) to rescue him - but when you eventually find him he has been converted into one of The Lost and doesnt want to return.
[*]a treasure-hunter had an arrangement with The Skulls to plunder the deep tombs in the graveyard they control atop the cliffs, but they met some Circle of Thorns poking around inside and were chased off. He promises to let you have a share of the priceless treasure inside if you can clear out the mages. On this mini-arc you also face Spectral Pirates, spirits that the Circle roused by accident, who are intent on defending the treasure hoard they died with when the caves they were using as a hideout collapsed.
[*]the local union leader has a few tasks for you. First, some of his men went to work on fixing the desalination plant but they saw some men with glowing eyes (Infected) there adding chemicals to the water treatment machinery. More of his men were checking the bridge when they were attacked by robots (Clockwork). Finally, some of his dockworkers were attacked by strange humanoids that came out of the sea (Coralax).
[*]an enforcer from The Skulls offers to pay you to find out why bodies are vanishing from the hospital morgue, instead of going to their graveyard (where The Skulls use the cadavers in their rites). One of the doctors at the hospital actually works for Dr Vahzilok, has been making zombies and abominations for months, and now wants live flesh to experiment with...
[*]the old lady who runs the trading post wants you to make 3 deliveries as she cannot leave the store - you get attacked at the first by Legacy Chain who accuse you of being evil, then by Circle of Thorns who want to take control of your ritual, then lastly by Tsoo who want your artefacts - at the 3rd delivery you check inside the parcel before leaving it and find arcane totems inside. Going back to the old lady for answers, she agrees to meet you in the back room of her store (single room instance), where she thanks you for setting up her ritual by placing the totems. Cackling with laughter she says At last! I break free of The Overseers curse on me and reclaim my true form - she becomes a succubus and attacks you. When you defeat her she screams No! He has undone my ritual! I cannot go back to such an existence! I cannot forget again! Then she turns back into the old lady. In the debrief text she cant recall who you are, asks if youre her son/daughter, and asks you to make her a nice cup of tea.[/list]Final Contacts/Arcs
From L15+ in this zone George will always offer you a single referral to a very specific contact: hero ATs can choose either a Freedom Corps recruiter or a grim vigilante hero from Paragon, while villain ATs can choose an Arachnos recruiter or a freelance mercenary. You can only pick one of these.
The hero contacts will say theyve been watching you and are impressed that you have managed to resist being too brutal in your crime-fighting, while the villain contacts will praise your ruthlessness in putting so many rivals into the hospital/morgue and making a name and a profit for yourself. Each offers a short mini-arc that will get you off the peninsula and establish you as either a hero of Paragon City or a villain of the Rogue Isles:
[u]Freedom Corps recruiter[u] (hero non-epic archetypes only) - sends you to Galaxy City to get your hero registration papers from Freedom Corps HQ, but first you have to prove yourself capable of being a registered hero by defeating holographic Rikti in the Freedom Corps training simulator. Completion grants you the badge Fighting for Freedom.
[u]Vigilante hero[u] (hero non-epic archetypes only) - sends you to Galaxy City to obtain some forged hero registration papers and a hacked security clearance, so that you can fight crime without Freedom Corps watching your every move and knowing everything about you. First you have to rescue both the hacker and the forger from some rogue Outcasts who are trying to achieve the same thing as you. Completion grants the badge Vigilante Justice.
[u]Arachnos recruiter[u] (villain non-epic archetypes only) - sends you to Mercy Island where Fortunata Kalinda reveals that you are on the Destined One list and she has been awaiting your arrival; but as she is talking to you she receives a call about some Longbow attacking an Arachnos base and she asks that you deal with it, to prove your loyalty to Arachnos. (This sets your cape/aura contact to Kalinda too). Completion grants the badge In the Web of Arachnos.
[u]Freelance mercenary[u] (villain non-epic archetypes only) - sends you to Mercy Island where Burke refers you on to Alan Desslock, who owes him a favour. Desslock sends you to hack your way onto the Destined One list (just like how Soldiers of Arachnos do, by raiding a base full of Arachnos), so that Arachnos wont interfere too much with your schemes in the Rogue Isles. (This sets your cape/aura contact to Burke too). Completion grants the badge Mercenary for Hire.
Exploration & History Badges
The newbie zone itself would have Exploration Badges that if visited in SG mode would unlock an SG base teleporter beacon for this zone. One badge would be on the suspension bridge (Highly Strung), one on the Town Hall (Small Town Boy/Girl), one on the cliff top near the Hellion ruins (On Top Of The World) and the last on the roof of a house somewhere (Suburban Nightmare for villains and Suburban Saviour for heroes).
Reading 4 plaques around this zone revealing the history of Northcliff awards the History Badge Streetwise.
The Overseer Task Force (OTF) - L10-15
Guard Georges boss, the owner of the docks, has an office inside the old Town Hall in central Northcliff. Meeting him you realise why the criminal factions havent managed to kill/replace him yet - hes a ghost! Known only as The Overseer, or colloquially as the boss, he was once a powerful rogue mage of the Midnight Club who went into hiding here. When the Rikti came he was astral travelling to divine their purpose when a drop ship bomb destroyed both his house and his body. Despite that he managed to persist in spirit and organised a resistance movement against the Rikti that managed to save at least some civilian lives.
Since then he has become somewhat attached to his role as protector of Northcliff; these days, while he has very few followers of his own, he makes use of freelance vigilantes and mercenaries (like player-characters) and manages to wield enough influence to keep all the gangs in Northcliff sufficiently wary of each other, and of him, to prevent all-out war. That the centre of Northcliff is somewhat safe for civilians is his greatest achievement. But now he can sense terrible powers converging on Northcliff from all sides and if anyone is to survive he needs your help and will pay you well, if necessary.
[u]Mission 1, Time and Tide Wait for No Man:[u] Strange robots have walked out of the sea to the west, begun dismantling the old desalination plant, and seem to be constructing something inside the main building. The Overseer has detected psychic signals coming from Paragon City and thinks they are intended to wake whatever is being built there. You have 30 minutes to fight through the robotic hordes and defeat 4 Clockwork Princes (EB), then go inside the plant and destroy what the Clockwork have constructed - a Clockwork Paladin! (AV)
[u]Mission 2, Trouble at the Docks:[u] The Coralax have become rather bold recently trying to sabotage shipping outside the harbour and kill dockworkers, but they have never come ashore in force. Today they have, and more worryingly The Overseer has sensed something great rising from the ocean depths, sent by the Coralax goddess Merulina herself. You must defeat at least 100 Coralax around the harbour then defeat the sea monster they have brought with them which is attacking a ship outside the harbour; it is one of Luscas offspring, the giant octopus Nautila! (AV, with Boss-level tentacles)
[u]Mission 3, Full Scale Riot:[u] During the Coralax and Clockwork attacks the street gangs have all made a grab for additional territory, perhaps thinking that The Overseer would be too distracted to oppose them. Their fighting has spilled over into the central town district and has become a riot. Defeat the leader (EB) of each warring faction (Skulls, Hellions, Outcasts, Trolls) to quell the riot. Also defeat the renegade Circle of Thorns mage (EB) that The Family have paid to exorcise/bind The Overseer while he is distracted by the riot. Afterwards defend the Town Hall from a full-scale Council offensive trying to take control - several waves of ambushes come, the final one led by a Council Tank (AV).
[u]Mission 4, A Bridge Too Far:[u] The Overseer suspects that the Coralax, the Clockwork and all of the gangs were magically manipulated into their simultaneous assaults on Northcliff. Some of the gang prisoners taken during the riot have claimed to be cultists of terrible gods. Also there are scattered reports that the dead bodies of gang members slain during the riot are rising to attack the living. The Overseer has detected a build up of arcane power across the bridge and asks you to investigate. You discover that the dead are indeed walking the streets - the Banished Pantheon have come to Northcliff! There are 6 cultist ceremonies to disrupt on the way to the bridge, each led by an Elder Shaman (EB) of the Banished Pantheon. Once that is done you head to the bridge in time to see the gate to Dark Astoria magically forced open (cut-scene) so that reinforcements can be brought through. Leading them is a giant BP Totem (3 times as big as boss-level BP totems), Onka, the Hand of Rambetu (AV).
Completing The Overseer Task Force would award the Accomplishment Badge Protector of Northcliff to heroes and Scourge of Northcliff to villains.
[END]
This is all brilliant. Except the TF. Why would level 10-15 be fighting AVs on every mission? That's a little bit to tough isn't it? The States/LR TFs have 5 AVs, and this is only trailing behind with 4 AVs and a few EBs.
Other than that, completly and utterly /signed.
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This is all brilliant. Except the TF. Why would level 10-15 be fighting AVs on every mission? That's a little bit to tough isn't it? The States/LR TFs have 5 AVs, and this is only trailing behind with 4 AVs and a few EBs.
Other than that, completly and utterly /signed.
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Well the arcs in Faultline have two AVs at L15-20, and 6 more AVs at L20-25 (3 AVs faced individually througout, then all 3 AVs at once in the very last mission) - plus the Caverns of Transcendence Trial (L12+) in the Hollows has an AV at the end, as does the Virgil Tarikoss TF in CoV. As long as they're scaled properly an AV really won't be that difficult for a full TF team, even at L10-15. And on my TF you only face one per mission, pretty much on its own.
Btw on the LRSF the 3rd mission has 4 AVs together, 4th has 5 AVs together then another in following room, and last mission has 8 AVs all together at once - my TF is hardly that bad 
Oh and thanks for the compliments
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This is all brilliant. Except the TF. Why would level 10-15 be fighting AVs on every mission? That's a little bit to tough isn't it? The States/LR TFs have 5 AVs, and this is only trailing behind with 4 AVs and a few EBs.
Other than that, completly and utterly /signed.
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Well the arcs in Faultline have two AVs at L15-20, and 6 more AVs at L20-25 (3 AVs faced individually througout, then all 3 AVs at once in the very last mission) - plus the Caverns of Transcendence Trial (L12+) in the Hollows has an AV at the end, as does the Virgil Tarikoss TF in CoV. As long as they're scaled properly an AV really won't be that difficult for a full TF team, even at L10-15. And on my TF you only face one per mission, pretty much on its own.
Btw the LRSF has at least one AV in each mission, 3rd mission has 4 AVs together, 4th has 5 AVs together then another in following room, and last mission has 8 AVs all together at once - my TF is hardly that bad
Oh and thanks for the compliments
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Yes - but this is 10-15, where you can only get basic IOs and no SOs. So it would be very hard still.
Also can you tell me which one is the 20-25 one, never seen it.
Well thought-through, I like it 
@Lukas
/signed
Happy to be on Defiant.
Global name @mereman
Member of P.E.R.C. Representing Defiant
Alts http://cit.cohtitan.com/profile/4488
CoH faces http://faces.cohtitan.com/profile/mereman
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Yes - but this is 10-15, where you can only get basic IOs and no SOs. So it would be very hard still.
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Not if they're scaled for that level, which they would be. Have you seen how fast EBs die to a full team at L10-15, or even at L5-10? Heck, EBs go down fast enough solo at those levels. An AV wouldn't be too much to handle for a full team if scaled properly.
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Also can you tell me which one is the 20-25 one, never seen it.
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Agent G in Faultline dam - Doc Delilah refers you to him. Admittedly the 3 AVs together bit is not as bad as it sounds because obviously the AVs scale down to EBs if you're solo or at low rep in a team, and the AVs are kinda pre-occupied with killing each other (if you just wait then you'd only have to face one injured AV/EB, but I always jump in anyway and try to get xp from all 3).
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Devs have inferred that most content will be co-op from now on
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Welcome to the City of Moral Indifference 
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Devs have inferred that most content will be co-op from now on
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Welcome to the City of Moral Indifference
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When did the devs say that? If you can provide a link, then I am going to leave this game 'cos co-op can be overdone and frankly it would be sickening.
Bye Phantoms.
On-topic, another superb suggestion Valk. I think someone needs to have a good long cup of tea with War Witch.
Very well thought through.
/signed
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Devs have inferred that most content will be co-op from now on
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Welcome to the City of Moral Indifference
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That'll never happen 
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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Devs have inferred that most content will be co-op from now on
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Welcome to the City of Moral Indifference
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When did the devs say that? If you can provide a link, then I am going to leave this game 'cos co-op can be overdone and frankly it would be sickening.
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Iirc it was in one of the interviews/podcasts the Devs did in the PR frenzy after the NC take-over of CoH - I have a very vague recollection that Positron said it. Umm, can't remember which site it was for. Maybe someone else remembers. I've already wasted half an hour looking around for it and I need to go to bed
You may hate co-op zones, but you have to admit that they help solve the problem of the redside/blueside split that is partly at fault for so many people moaning that the servers are empty. In retrospect I bet the Devs regret splitting the playerbase like that.
What do you find so sickening about co-op that you'd leave the game over it?
This is an excellent, original, well thought out idea that would really add something new to the game.
I really should do something about this signature.
Great ideas beautifully detailed. I'm tempted to click Notify Moderator just so GR in the US can go "hey guys, look at this" (hopefully he will anyway)
I'd love this to be added to the game, especially now the CoH/CoV divide is weakening.
(Edit : Oooh, and a giant oversized Totem AV. Are you deliberately trying to scare the pants off me Valk? I hate them things!)
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(Edit : Oooh, and a giant oversized Totem AV. Are you deliberately trying to scare the pants off me Valk? I hate them things!)
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I absolutely adore those totems, but we don't get to fight them enough. I want more totems - BIGGER totems! And can you imagine how cool it would be to fight one of those things on a suspension bridge that was really high up? The totem could have crazy knockback powers just to make things even more fun!
At the moment I'm trying to resist writing up a co-op DA revamp, as hinted at in the original post(s), just so I could have a TF with even more huge totems and some of the BP gods at the end.
Oh and thanks for the compliments, guys - keep the comments coming, everyone.
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At the moment I'm trying to resist writing up a co-op DA revamp, as hinted at in the original post(s), just so I could have a TF with even more huge totems and some of the BP gods at the end
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*pokes Valk with a stick*
DO IT!! DO IT NOW!!!
I've been wanting that for about 18 months now!
Excellent read and an interesting zone. I am not to fond of the level 1-15 repeatable mission thingie. But a lot of people love them. Sigh.
All that we are missing is a nice GM and some zone events.
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All that we are missing is a nice GM and some zone events.
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I was going to do that, but then I remembered that none of the existing newbie zones have events/GMs so I didn't - I figure the Devs don't want new players getting mown down while they're still new at the game.
Although with this zone skipping the tutorial I guess it could be rationalised. Which faction would provide the GM though? I guess some horrible BP thing could wander out of DA, or perhaps a Rikti could come out of the sewers to cause trouble. Not overly inventive though and I'd still rather avoid a GM if possible, so I guess it would have to be a non-GM event like the IP/Talos Ghost Ship, Skyway's troll raves or Steel's arsons. Hmm I'll have a think. All ideas welcome.
How about Contaminated or Infected and for something slightly different
GM is dying - fast - and the players need to save him - rationalle for Heroes is straightforward but would need some good reason for Villains.
Need to get him up to full health before his Infection can be cured. A bit like a reverse Paladin Construction Site. Healing powers are the obvious way but buffs could slow the degen and other ATs could apply bandages, salves etc given out from a nearby ambulance - a bit like the Fire Chief in Steel, could also have other mobs that need to be kept back - Vahzilok, Infected, Contaminated would be the obvious choices here.
Mind of Gaia lvl 50 Defiant's first Mind/Storm 'troller.
Deadly Doc 50 Dark/Dark Corr
and lots more on Pinnacle,Union and Defiant
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How about Contaminated or Infected and for something slightly different
GM is dying - fast - and the players need to save him - rationalle for Heroes is straightforward but would need some good reason for Villains.
Need to get him up to full health before his Infection can be cured. A bit like a reverse Paladin Construction Site. Healing powers are the obvious way but buffs could slow the degen and other ATs could apply bandages, salves etc given out from a nearby ambulance - a bit like the Fire Chief in Steel, could also have other mobs that need to be kept back - Vahzilok, Infected, Contaminated would be the obvious choices here.
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Doesn't really tie in with the lore I've set up for the zone though.
Best I can think of is outbreaks of minor riots - not as widespread as the one in the TF - but what if one street in the zone at random occasionally had fortified barricades spawning at each end and a couple of gangs having a shoot-out from behind the barricades (like Family and gang spawns in Oakes do from around building corners), with possibly each side led by a boss or even an EB. A hotspot could appear on the minimap to mark where a riot breakout was in the zone.
To quell the trouble you'd have to destroy both barricades (possibly make them take more damage from fire & smashing, but less from everything else) and take down both leaders, but reinforcements could constantly spawn from nearby buildings when you start attacking each boss/leader until he's defeated.
Or alternatively the Council could just land a tank and some soldiers on the beach and have them gradually make their way to the centre of the zone. If you destroy them before they reach the centre then you get a badge for it, otherwise the tank sets up in the main square and tons of Council soldiers spawn around it. This would make the central area with the contacts a bit more dangerous until the "GM" tank was taken down (though I'd probably make it a "Monster" at most rather than a GM).
The shoot-out sounds good, could spawn in the same way the Troll Rave does.
This is rather long - I typed up the original idea over a month ago, bit by bit over the course of a week, but then I decided it wasnt worth posting as it was too long. But then I had my airport zone idea, posted that, and received such a favourable response I started re-working this idea to make it more readable so I could post it. But I keep getting new ideas and this keeps growing, so Im posting it now before it turns into War & Peace
).
The original seed of this idea was that many players would like a new low level zone for fresh content to do with alts, but the Devs have inferred that most content will be co-op from now on - so why not a co-op newbie zone? I have just one concern - newer hero & villain players might make friends with each other in such a zone, but then be forced apart when the zone content ends. There is a solution to this - the Devs could add co-op content for every level range
[u]Northcliff Peninsula[u]
Level 1-15 co-operative zone
Setting
Outside the War Walls of Paragon City the ocean waves batter the coastal cliffs of Northcliff Peninsula; from the top of those cliffs you can just glimpse the distant Rogue Isles on a clear day. Along this coastline the dispossessed and the unlucky fight for survival in the slums of a formerly affluent suburb of Paragon City. Here the lawless thrive among dejected refugees whose lives were shattered the day the Rikti invaded.
That day Northcliff was forgotten, overlooked by the decimated Paragon Police Department and the citys overstretched heroes, left to suffer drop ship bombing runs and the Rikti kill-teams that followed in their wake. When Paragon Citys war walls went up, leaving Northcliff cut off outside, the surviving residents knew they had been abandoned, left to fend for themselves. Neighbouring Dark Astoria being under the control of the Banished Pantheon has just reinforced Northcliffs isolation.
Nowadays Northcliff boasts the biggest slum town on the fringes of Paragon City and is both a haven and a recruiting ground for the lawless gangs of the city. The Skulls, The Hellions, The Trolls, The Outcasts and The Lost all have a major presence here. Larger criminal organisations, most notably The Family and The Council, also exert influence in the area; Northcliff is a traditional stop-off point for their arms smuggling from the Rogue Isles and Striga Isle into Paragon City: From here The Family supplies the Paragon criminal underworlds constant demand for guns and ammunition, while The Council keep their troops inside the city reinforced and well supplied.
Location
Northcliff occupies the peninsula north of Dark Astoria and east of Talos island. In some ways it resembles the Cimeroran Peninsula (the Devs could re-use pieces of art from that map) with high cliffs surrounding the town and its harbour, but of course with modern buildings (albeit in a poor state of repair - think Mercy Island architecture). Shanty towns cling to the coastal cliffs and rubbish piles up in the streets (again, think of Mercy Island).
A suspension bridge spans the gap between the peninsula and the mainland (bridge is located in a similar position to the castles bridge on the Cimerora map) and leads to a closed city gate into Dark Astoria (DA could later be revamped into a L15-30 co-op zone to follow this zone, with story arcs against the Banished Pantheon and a low-to-mid level TF against one of their re-summoned Gods).
Zone Layout
The harbour district is on the east coast and has solo-size spawns of L1-5 Hellions and Skulls, plus George the repeatable contact. L1-10 Coralax sometimes spawn if you get too close to the water. New players begin in this area.
The old town area is in the centre of the peninsula (directly behind the harbour) - all story contacts (referred to you by George - see below) are here, plus a Fortunata/Analyst equivalent (a Town Crier, perhaps), a Trainer (perhaps a double-agent who infiltrated both Arachnos and Longbow and now hides here from the vengeance of both), an old Paragon City hospital (recently tied into the hospital teleporter network) and a store (with TO/DO vendors and a Black Market contact that both heroes/villains can use).
The centre of the old town area has very few spawns and what there are will be solo-size. The hillside slums to the west that overlook it have L1-5 Skulls (with cemetery areas on top of the hills) and the hillside slums to the east that also overlook the old town have L1-5 Hellions (with some old arcane ruins up there too).
West of the old town area is all slums and broken-down buildings, down to the coast which has some old commercial properties such as boarded-up shops, smashed-up cafes, a rotting boardwalk, a dilapidated yacht marina, and a rusting desalination plant nestled against the cliff-face at one end of the bay. This whole region is fought over by L5-10 Skulls, Hellions, Outcasts and Trolls in constant turf wars.
The southernmost area of the zone has the suspension bridge that links the peninsula to the mainland (where the gate to Dark Astoria will be). The Outcasts are in control of the bridge (levying a toll for anyone who wants to cross) and also the land at either end of it, which has some suburban homes nominally under their protection from the other gangs - L5-10 Outcasts spawn here. Beneath the bridge (in its shadow) a slum town spreads along the coast inhabited entirely by L5-10 Trolls (Trolls under the bridge - that good old fantasy cliché
At the northernmost end of the peninsula the Family have some beachfront and cliff top mansions in well-fortified estates (L10-15 Family spawn here). Off the tip of the peninsula is a small island, upon which The Council have built an outpost (L10-15 Council spawn here) - a small rocky cove on the north side of this islet has two Council landing craft that are being loaded with tanks and troops, as if preparing for an amphibious offensive.
Underneath the peninsula is a small sewer instance that connects to different points across the zone (just like the troll tunnels do in The Hollows) - it is mostly inhabited by The Lost, increasing in level from L1-15 the deeper inside you go. At the very centre of the sewers are some L15 Rikti - whether they are the last survivors of the invasion force assigned to Northcliff, or members of The Lost who have undergone full conversion, is anyones guess - there are certainly not enough of them to pose a significant threat to Northcliff on their own.
Initial Access
You know that pop-up you get after creating a character that asks if you want to do the tutorial? Then, if you skip, iirc you get the subsequent decision of Atlas/Galaxy (CoH) or Kalinda/Burke (CoV) - the Devs could add a third option to that skip box to take heroes/villains to this new co-op newbie zone. This would not be an option for Epic ATs, as they are somewhat tied to their story contacts in the 3 existing newbie zones (WS = Galaxy, PB = Atlas, SoA = Mercy).
Ethos for bypassing tutorials
Some CoV players have complained about having their character bio/story dictated by starting off in Zigursky Prison and then being an Arachnos pawn. To a lesser extent CoH characters are tied to being registered heroes initially trained by Freedom Corps. This new zone bypasses both of those starting options, giving a much more open beginning for role-players - villains could truly start as freelance mercs with no debt to Arachnos, while heroes could be vigilantes with forged hero registration papers.
Zone Connections
The new zone could link to Mercy Isle, Port Oakes and Cap au Diable via one of the many small ships dotted around those zones. As no low level hero zones have a coastline the Devs could add a truckstop to Galaxy City; from there a trucker would offer to drop you at the docks (Talos or IP) to catch a boat to the new area (but really just clicking his trucks door would zone you to Northcliff). Then Independence Port and Talos Island would also both have a direct connection to Northcliff via one of the small ships there. An overland connection to the north side of Dark Astoria would be added too.
Arrival Point
Whether appearing here after character creation, travelling here from Paragon City or the Rogue Isles, or using an SG teleport, the entry point would always be at the gate between Northcliffs harbour area and central town area. Nearby the main harbour quay would have two ships - clicking on one would let heroes zone to Galaxy, Indy Port or Talos, clicking the other would take villains to Mercy, Port Oakes or Cap au Diable.