Arc 307732, Uninvited, @Lazarillo
This is a very well written arc. It is of a the quality of a very careful canon-guided hero-side arc, only it's a villain arc. That means it is a villain arc with a plot! It's not the player's plot, so a lackey plot, but that's fine for levels 10-14. It follows some of the action of the dev-content Hollows arcs from a villain perspective. The pace, dialog, story and customs are Very well done. There is an EB warning, but play it on difficulty one and you shouldn't have too many problems. For me this was easily 5-stars, and I'd recommended to others. I'm glad I got to play this. Detailed play, "comic page" and finally typos below.
I tried to solo this with a level 9 DB/WP brute. It's a complex mechanics, canon arc with magic. It's "very long" (not really, in the end), villainous, with consistent levels of 10-15. My villain "Meshacre" is pretty close to level 10 now, so hopefully the Elite Bosses mentioned are not in the first mission. The first mission is a Unique map, and defeat-all, which would deter some people. Also having an EB at this low level. But I'm on level 1 difficulty, so it may be just a Boss. My goal is to stop a band of interfering heroes. Sounds good!
I'm doing this for Arachnos, contact is Operative Castillian. His authorized investigation team never returned - does that mean I'm unauthorized? No problem really, as a villain, but my first contact was Kalinda. Mission 1 has no title, might be nice. I like the Operative's personality. He cares - that I remain useful.
Mission 1 - and it's the wonderful Minions of Igneous! Definitely underused. And they're speaking their language, cool. I get taken out trying to take pictures. The patrols provide some good complexity to the battles. I finally find an ally, but in the last place I go. His rescue completes my mission. For a Defeat All, the map was fine.
Mission 2 follows in a perfectly logical way, to talk to the Legacy Chain. Not much dialog inside, but what there is, is spot on. I find the Lorekeeper in charge. He's got imps! I run like mad. Coming back, we take each other out simultaneously. I'm not able to check his description. Returning from hospital, I seek out the information to complete the mission. And as seems to happen more and more, I get stuck in a permanent jumping mode and have to exit, re-enter to fix the bug. I find a desk with information, yet I still have the objective to Find information on the Igneous. Do I need to get all the bookshelves? Yes, I did (a little anticlimactic as I'd overlooked one and had to search all over).
Mission 3 looks interesting, combats setup inside-out. My allies prove to be marginally useful before they go down. I take down the hero troublemaker and it's a quick one!
And Mission 4 looks like the finale. We get to go after the Cavern of Transcendence. Only, this looks more like a Rikti cave... I guess the Atta Troll Cave (Unique maps) is too big for this arc, but this isn't really what I expected. I see Legacy, and hear Wyvern. Looks like fun!
Looooong caverns. Not Rikti after all, despite the introductory graphic (very odd). Eventually I find my way to Talshak and his Phantom, along with some Legacy Chain. The portal is a... cauldron? Not sure if that's based on canon somewhere. Alternatively, you could have the portal be a Storm Elemental captive in a CoT magical hold animation, just to be a pile of flashing lights. At least the cauldron has a grate covering it. I manage to pull Talshak's guard, and then take on the magician himself. And win! He was actually an easier battle than the Lorekeeper, as he had no pets.
Cheers, airhead
Typos:
M1 intro: third sentence is a question, should end with ?
M1 busy: valueable -> valuable
Lorekeeper Kinsolving dialog: menaingless -> meaningless
M2 Evidence of Involvement Clue: sieged -> besieged
M2 The Igneous and the Cavern Clue: these, the -> these books, the
M3 intro: targetted -> targeted
M4 patrol dialog: I hear $name got Agent Dobie. [no active player when text given]
Arc: 379017: Outbroken See all your old friends in the Outbreak Tutorial sequel!
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Thanks a lot for taking the time to look over my arc, airhead! I made a couple changes based on your comments, though they were pretty minor (thanks for catching those typos, too! I thought I'd looked pretty carefully, but I'm only one man).
The problem in mission 2 was that the book case wasn't supposed to appear until AFTER the boss was beaten. It's SUPPOSED to spawn right near him, but I've found about 50/50 odds for that actually happening. I realized too that that was confusing due to the meaningless bookcases that I'd tossed in for verisimilitude, and, for the sake of functionality, have removed them, to hopefully make it a bit clearer.
The portal in mission 4 still eludes me somewhat. I wanted to use a destructible object, but there are few options available, and that cauldron was actually the closest thing I could find. You mentioned using a Storm Elemental or similar boss, but would that work in a low level arc? And if so, is it possible to keep an enemy from fighting back while you destroy it?
Quote:
The Rikti Alteration Pod (1-54) is perhaps a really strange option. It just looks really unusual. But it lacks any aura typical of a portal in the game.|
Originally Posted by Lazarillo
The portal in mission 4 still eludes me somewhat. I wanted to use a destructible object, but there are few options available, and that cauldron was actually the closest thing I could find. You mentioned using a Storm Elemental or similar boss, but would that work in a low level arc? And if so, is it possible to keep an enemy from fighting back while you destroy it?
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A more traditional portal is the Rikti Portal Stabilizer (35-54) but it does tend to look more tech than magic. Despite the levels given, it should still level-down to your arc's range just fine. However it leaves an annoying message indicating this happened: "Higher level villains appearing at a level lower than design intent!"
I guess my lunatic idea I had was to have the portal be an enemy. A living portal, of a kind. You can put a Squall Elemental in your arc and it will level down. Make it a boss, protect it with Wyvern or Legacy Chain. Rename it Living Portal, give it a better description (including why it might not like the player). I tried this, as a Boss it has to be a Boss-level (Cyclone). Scare the willies out of players though when the portal actually attacks them. It produces that annoying "Higher Level Villains" message - but it would be true, this time. And it looks (and behaves) really cool! It's attacks aren't that devastating, its holds aren't very long, it actually makes for a cool enemy at low level. You could try it in a test arc. For me, it did level down.
It's a huge pity the electricity glitches from the transformer stations on Villains side are not an available group.
Arc: 379017: Outbroken See all your old friends in the Outbreak Tutorial sequel!
Arc: Coming Soon: The Incarnate Shadow Shard of Fire and Ice Mender Rednem needs you!
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Shame that the Cavern of Transcendence map is not available, the MA version wouldn't likely have that door with the 8 keystones which must be clicked simultaneously.
Hey all, just finished working out all the kinks out my first real story-based arc, and I'm curious as to what people think of it. If you have time, check it out and let me know what you think!
Uninvited
Arc ID: 307732
Keywords: Complex mechanics, Canon-related, Magic
Morality: Villainous
Primary enemies: Legacy Chain, Wyvern, Minions of Igneous
# of missions: 4
I've designed this arc for lowbie villains (intended for levels 10-15). There are a couple of points that might be a bit challenging, but I was able to solo it on a Dark/Pain Corruptor, so I don't think it should be too hard, given the level range.