Heroes, Your Gaming Experience Requested!

Recently, I have been working on a complete Hero Zones page for my site Skies over Atlas, which is a guide for new players. I want to have a list of each zone's features, hazards in each zone, and the good things about playing in each zone, as well as the zone's gates to other areas.

Problem: Since I haven't been playing in a lot of higher-level areas yet (my highest-level toon is 30), I don't have personal experience in the Shadow Shard or the other higher-level zones. Thus, I can't write much about the hazards and perks of each zone.

This is where you come in! I would love to hear from heroes who have played in the following zones and have experience they wish to impart to new players about each zone. Anything you can think of that people new to each zone need to be aware of (like large spawn points for higher-level bad guys, places where you might need travel powers to cover a lot of ground, and that kind of thing), feel free to post it here! I will be much appreciative, and your nickname will be added to a Contributors page on the website.

Zones I'm needing info on:

Terra Volta
Dark Astoria
Brickstown
Crey's Folly
Abandoned Sewer Network
Eden
Founders' Falls
Cimerora
Peregrine Island
Rikti Crash Site
The Hive
Firebase Zulu
Cascade Archipelago
The Chantry
The Storm Palace
Bloody Bay
Siren's Call
Warburg
Recluse's Victory
Rikti War Zone

Again, your contributions, no matter how small, will be much appreciated! I want to make my Hero Zones guide different from Paragon Wiki in that it's based more on player experiences in each zone than the technical details of each zone. Thank you in advance!

Have you looked over the info provided by vidiotmaps.com?

Austara, have you considered mining the http://www.vidiotmaps.com/ site for a lot of the more "dry" information (such as spawn points, connecting zones, etc.)?

You will get some great "color" information also by asking in this manner, and I will try to add some of my own comments later on, but I think if you use the vidiotmaps site in conjunction with the wiki (http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Main_Page, as I'm sure you know) you will get answers to most of the questions you're asking from a pure data perspective.

Well from a players perspective of the Shadow Shard Zones I will say spend some time one day mapping out the zones without using Flight/Raptor Pack. Once you get the hang of it Geyser Jumping is generally faster and a lot more fun than getting around the zone using flight. There are exceptions and you do need to map the routes out (hint: Vidiot maps is your friend here) but if you enjoy using Super Jump as your travel power and jumping off ledges and roofs in the city then geyser jumping is an enjoyable sport.

I'll give you a quick write-up of two of the shadow shard zones. I'm quite familiar with these two.



Firebase Zulu - Don't rush. If you just hurl yourself at top speed around the zone, you're bound to fling yourself into the abyss sooner or later. Take it easy, and keep the map open and zoomed in so you can keep track of where the jump geysers are.

Teleport and Fly take all the fun out of this zone unless you only use them to catch yourself after a mistake- they do help you get to missions more reliably, though.

The entrance to Firebase Zulu has teleporters to the other Shard zones. If your mission is at the far end of this zone, you can take a portal to the Cascade Archipelago, and then head back to FZ through the normal between-zones path. Very quick if you don't have horrible load times.

--- A little info on Gravity Geysers ---
Gravity Geysers (marked on the map with a dot and a line pointing out the direction and distance it sends you) are tricky things to use, but can send you across the Shard zones quite quickly if you get the hang of them.

To use one "properly", turn off Super Jump, Flight, and/or Super Speed (Swift, Hurdle, Sprint and Combat Jumping are fine), step into the groove in the rock leading up to the geyser, then run forward. Holding down Forward, backward, or the strafe keys in mid-air can send your path askew after you have been in the air for a little while, but with some geysers it is necessary to correct your course with these.


Cascade Archipelago - You cannot travel the entirety of this zone without Flight or Teleport. Its central island is vertically enormous, with land mass after land mass stacked on top of each other. The gravity geysers, even with super-jump, can not actually propel you all the way up each tier.

You *can* travel the outer ring of the zone without flight/teleport, but it is extremely difficult. Great if you enjoy hard platforming games, but very bad if you don't like having to start over a couple times.

This zone would really benefit from a 3-D map. The two-dimensional one is garbled and nearly useless for the center portion.

Cascade Archipelago connects to Firebase Zulu on the west side, and The Chantry on the east.

-----
That should be a little handy info for now.

For quick travel in the Shard (say you have a TF that needs to hurry along), you can just fall of the edge of any island and it will port you to the gate at either the beginning or ending of the zone, whichever is closest to where you fell. From there, you have easy access to zone gates in and out.

Orobouros isn't always the easiest way to travel between two zones. Sometimes, it pays to use Pocket D teleport or SG base teleport instead.

There is a small park in the northeast corner of Dark Astoria that spawns masks pretty reliably and you don't have to wait for nightfall. Just keep clearing spawns and working in a loop around, and you will get a pretty high ratio of masks for the badge.

Just immediately inside the door of Crey's Folly to your right is a warehouse. When you are hunting for your level 30 aura, this is often the best place to go for your Rikti requirement. Usually there are spawns of Rikti monkeys on the roof of the warehouse that are low enough level to be fairly easy to handle for a solo player at level 30. Be aware that sometimes higher level Crey sharpshooters will spawn either in the pipes to the left of the door or on the roof of the warehouse you want to use for Rikti-hunting. There are also sometimes Fake Nemesis on top of the warehouse so explore carefully.

Supposedly, a Vanguard heavy (purchased with Vanguard merits earned for killing Rikti after you run the intro missions in the RWZ) and a hero can farm the inside ring of the Storm Palace for both arcane salvage and recipes fairly easily. I haven't tested it, but I've heard people talk about it who have.

Make you run the intro missions in the RWZ as soon as you can enter the zone. From then on you can earn Vanguard merits for killing Rikti anytime you do it whether you are talking in a mission, in a zone hunt, whatever.

When you have a hunt mission without a specific zone, running a mission with that enemy type in it will fulfill both requirements. (not zone info, but useful to know if you haven't learned it yet regardless)

When running a respec, the SG base beacon to TV is the most convenient way to get to the reactor door.

Paragon Protectors spawn fairly regularly in the Gaspee area of Founder's Falls. They sometimes spawn along the south wall of Brickstown in the Dark Waters zone, too, but not with any regularity although they will be lower level.

Brickstown is the only place where you will find prisoners.

When hunting for the Numina TF and you need to clear out both Tsoo and Family, one run down the length of the bridge in Indy Port will usually net you all but enough of each.

The Striga ferry is a quick way to duck out of Talos to Indy Port or vice versa ... not that the tram is all that far away from the Striga ferry in Indy Port.

Don't know how much help these will be...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Austara Zones I'm needing info on: Terra Volta - You will hate having just superspeed when trying to get to the respec trial gate - and at other times, too. Dark Astoria - Watch the citizens carefully. Also, COT on the rooftops, Adamastor by Moth Cemetery - you'll see his glow a ways off. Brickstown - If you haven't managed to get your Ouroboros portal by 30, do the Science store contact's mission. Crey's Folly - One stop shopping for the level 30 Aura mission. Monkeys for the Rikti, Swarms for the DE, both near the door. Freaks, of course, are everywhere. Just watch for snipers. Abandoned Sewer Network - Look for the plaque. Eden - Be sure to try the Eden task force. Unique maps and fun - no need to rush. Rikti Crash Site - No longer exists. It's now the Rikti War Zone. The only people in the RCS are those high levels who have been logged out a long, long time. Bloody Bay - Lower level PVP, you'll find people with everything from TOs to IO'd out builds. The shivan run isn't all that difficult. It's also the only zone that directly sells inspirations. Good source for masks for villain badge-hunters, if you don't mind risking PVP. Siren's Call - Often one of the more populated zones. Warburg - Open PVP - if you're not teamed, you're a target, unlike the other zones which are segregated by side. All four are generally empty on most servers.

See my Guides and Tutorials

Thank you for all the helpful hints and in-depth replies so far! I have the Hero Zones page up for viewing now, as well as a Contributors page that lists all of the people who have helped with the content. Everyone from this thread so far is listed, as are the people from the original Skies Over Atlas thread.

Even though the Hero Zones page is up, I know it is still quite incomplete in places, so I am still on the lookout for hints and tips, especially about upper-level zones. Please post if you have a hint that could help a new player!

Link to site: Skies over Atlas

Just wanted to share that I've added some more new pages to the site, discussing how to edit costumes, get new costume slots, and change between costumes in-game. I also posted a wonderful article by a contributor, which details the PvP Zones very well for the PvP newbie as well as those who have a little more experience playing in them.

Sure! I'm bored...

Terra Volta: This mid-level zone-within-a-zone (IP) exists for only one reason: The Terra Volta respec trial. It's intentionally designed to be hazardous to get through, and it's a right-of passage for any super speedster (or worse, anyone with no travel power) to successfully make it from one end to the other.

Aside from the trial, it's a good place to farm Lost, Freakshow, and Sky Raider bosses.

My personal beef with the zone is that the power plant which power Paragon's war walls and the entire city is not only impossible to get to for a normal human, but is surrounded by the most dangerous foes at that point in the game... No one should be able to get there to man it! I mean, can you imagine THAT commute every day? "Drive off a bridge, avoid sky raider missiles, go two miles around the outside of the zone just to look for a parking space, hoof it to climb over the wall..." and here's hoping your car is still THERE when you leave at the end of the day!


Dark Astoria This zone, accessible only from Talos Island, is covered in perpetual fog, making it hard to see any further than a few feet ahead of you, and has a very NOT mild zombie infestation problem. There are npc ghosts who wander around, giving the place a nice, eerie touch.

Enemies include Banished Pantheon (and a BP Giant Monster called Adamastor), Circle of Thorns, and Tsoo.

Overall, it's an "interesting" zone to navigate. Even without the fog, a super speeder would have to go pretty far out of their way just to get to where they're going.


Brickstown: This zone is home to Zigarsky Penitentiary, aka The Zig. It takes up a full fourth of the zone, making a sizable obstacle (Gordon Stacy, one of the more prolific contacts in the game, is located directly opposite the train station on the other side of the zig... running to see him is always a pain). A new player will notice many prison escapees, and the reason they're all free is quite simple: The front gate is wide open!

This "green" zone also has other annoying features, not the least of which is that some missions appear UNDER the main map. Even expert players sometimes have trouble finding their way into the underground labyrinth.

Brickstown is accessible via Green Line, Independence Port, and has the only entrance to Crey's Folly. It is also home to Manticore's Task Force


Crey's Folly: Formally called New Venice, this once beautiful, though industrialized, area became a polluted wasteland during the Rikti invasion, due to an accident or two at Crey's chemical plants. Crey, Rikti, Freakshow, and Devouring Earth are highly present here, including a GM named Jurassik (fun fact, he uses a freakin CAR on the end of a TREE as a club. Try not to get hit!). The Nemesis also make their first zone appearance here.

In addition to the water-logged and half destroyed geometry, snipers are abundant in this zone, making navigating the zone "interesting". This zone is good for farming Ritki monkeys, who appear in abundance on the roofs of the first several buildings. Also, there's a great area in the back of the zone called "The Circus", home to the freakshow, with appropriately techno clown music as a motif.

New players may be confused by a CLOSED zone door at the end of the zone. This used to be the only way into the former "Rikti Crash Site" (short of a portal in Peregrine Island), but when the Vanguard took over the area and renamed it the "Ritki War Zone" on the advent of the second Ritki invasion, they closed the door. They did this because they didn't want the villains in their employ to have access to the rest of Paragon City... or the Rikti, for that matter.


Abandoned Sewer Network An exact replica of the existing Sewer system, only lower down, this is a trial zone accessible by heroes over level 39 via a door to your right when you first enter the sewers. To start the trial, there's a contact standing outside the Atlas Park sewer entrance, which for a while threw off veteran players because the contact used to be in Founder's Falls.

The ASN features loads and loads of Rikti, trying to siphon the power of the Hydra, a giant, sentient booger. It's difficult to get through, which makes it an annoying trial to accomplish.


Founder's Falls: Founder's Falls is home to a University/Midnighter Club, a Pocket D entrance, a Vanguard DPO, and is one of the exit options you're given when in Ouroboros, and of course a Green Line train, making FF a decent travel cross point (The Talos entrance is out of the way, making it virtually unused). It's also the only entrance into Eden. There's also an Icon tailor, and two TFs to be done: Numina and the higher level Kahn/5th Column TF. It's also a common spawning point for the Malta's Chronos Titan (as the mission that spawns its ambush is set in FF and takes extra effort by the player to make it spawn elsewhere). Enemies include some Council, but Crey, Rikti, Circle of Thorns and Devouring Earth are far more prolific.

Overall, the Devs have done their best to make this water-logged zone important to mid and high level players alike. It's an interesting zone, but largely ignored for actual gameplay purposes for one major reason: No enhancement stores! Depending on your origin, you have to do a special mission for one of five contacts, three of which are in Brickstown. Also, at that level range, there are far more interesting and lucrative options, such as Cimerora and the RWZ. Also, the contacts in the zone are few, and often send you out-of-zone to do their missions.

Eagle eyed players will also notice that the "Red River" from the Hollows also goes through here.


Eden Accessible only from Founder's Falls, this zone is over-run with trees, trees, and... Devouring Earth, who've made this area their home. All evidence that man was ever there is slowly being erased by nature gone wild. The huge mountain in the middle of this formally urban area is a clue that you're wandering into really warped territory. There's also Crey and Nemesis, but they're largely a secondary concern. This zone is notable for the "Eden Trial", with one of the more interesting maps in the game. Also, the last mission of the Numina Task Force sends you here, and forces you to run through a maze of trees to find the entrance... guarded by powerful D-E monsters.

Finally, this zone contains the ONLY entrance to "The Hive" (not to be confused with the small chunk of this zone also called The Hive...).

Cimerora Welcome to thousands of years ago! Literally. Acquired through less than honest means, the Midnighter Club has attuned a Crystal of Ice and Flame to send you back here to deal with a threat stemming from our own time. It should be noted that you can also get here via Ouroboros or the Crystal of Ice and Flame base detail by selecting Deadalus's arc, having the crystal teleport you to contact, and quiting the mission.

The zone is small, but highly, beautifully, detailed. The only thing to do here is some repeatable missions, a couple of faction-dependent arcs, and the ever awesome Imperious Task Force, which contains the bulk of the zone's story. You'll find many 35-50 level characters here, if they're not in AE.


Peregrine Island: The only "green" high level zone, this area is notable for not having a war wall, so if you swim/fly too far south, you're kicked to Talos island, so be careful! There's no real zone story, but is home to some of the most notable non-tf content in the game, pitting you against soul-sucking Carnies, evil counterparts of the Freedom Phalanx, and the Malta.

Relatively easy and safe to make your way around, still beware of snipers at night or large groups of foes. One odd feature is the legions of Devouring Earth around the portal corp building... who con at level 39, well below the level for the zone. Of course, a trip to the north will reveal islands full of DE GMs, if you and your team are looking for a challenge. This zone offers no TFs, but is the only entrance to the Shadow Shard.

It's also home to Ghost Falcon, a supposed "alternate reality" version of the hero Red Falcon, who, according to game lore, was killed by the Crey, who used his DNA to make Paragon Protectors. So don't begrudge him too much when he buys your SOs for about half of their actual worth at a normal store.


Rikti Crash Site: The former name of the now "Rikti War Zone", this place was almost never used. It was the area of the city where Statesman single-handily downed a Rikti Mothership... but seeing the damage he caused, he had to change his plan of attack and toss the ships into the ocean. He was then cited by an agent of the Environmental Protection Agency for polluting the water and causing an explosion.

Yes your honor, it's true. This man has no dick.

Sorry, I was kidding about that last part. This zone, as it was, no longer exists, so it's hardly worth the write-up.

Rikti War Zone: The former "Rikti Crash site" was revamped following the second invasion into a far more interesting and story-centric zone. The UN-backed "Vanguard" have taken command of the zone, setting up multiple bases to repel the Rikti threat. They've even made a deal with Lord Recluse to use some of his "Destined Ones" to repel the invasion, so expect to see some "friendly" faces. The Devouring Earth have set up a small encampment for themselves, and the Council have also made a cozy little base for themselves, giving the zone some life. Arachnos, Crey, and Malta are also around to give you no end of grief.

The zone is notable for multiple firefights between factions. You can't cross the zone without seeing some kind of action, making the zone truly feel alive. The downed Ritki mothership, once just a decoration, is now surrounded by a forcefield powered by multiple pylons placed throughout the zone. Several teams can work together to take out the pylons, then attack the ship directly.

Doing this will grant you a large number of "Vanguard Merits", which can be used to buy costume pieces, emotes, and temp powers. The zone is also home to some very tight story arcs and an epic TF... so epic that the badge you get for completing it is called "Saved The World!" if that means anything to you. The zone also provides a set of fresh "radio" missions which you can do over and over again, meaning you can stick around for a while if you wish and always have something to do.

The only "negative" is the recent inclusion of an AE building, which looks rather out of place... and you gotta wonder how/why the Rikti allowed it to go up. But ah well, it's currently the only avenue for AE cross-teaming, so it's not all bad.


The Hive There's only a few features of this mostly barren zone. First, hordes and hordes of DE GMs. There's also a Portal Corp building to the North West, which, if i remember correctly, was where Dr. Webb breached the dimensional barrier, thus making way for the Rikti invasion, the Praetorian war, and other messed up events. THANKS DOC.

Anyway, there's one more thing... can't rememebr what... it's probably not important... oh, right. If you defeat a random number of the GMs, the uber-monster Hamidon spawns in the middle of the zone! This over-sized, single cell monstrosity takes multiple teams using strategy and cohesion to defeat... because how dare he just stand there harmlessly!


Firebase Zulu
Cascade Archipelago
The Chantry
The Storm Palace

^Don't feel like doing these^

Bloody Bay
Siren's Call
Warburg
Recluse's Victory

^Tired, will do these later if no one else does^

Thank you so much for posting these summaries, EmperorSteele! I have read through some and will continue to read through and see what needs to be added to the Hero Zones page from this list. I appreciate your insights on the Abandoned Sewer Network and Eden, as well as Founders' Falls and the Rikti War Zone, and I'm sure I can use your hints on Crey's Folly, Terra Volta, and Dark Astoria as well.

Gonna do the PvP zones here in a new post =)

The level range is such: Players can Enter starting at A, but all players are Sk'd/Exemped to level B. So if the level range is 15/25, that means you must be 15 to enter, and all players are auto'd to 25.

Bloody Bay 15/25
WARNING: This is a PvP Zone. You... may... probably.. get attacked by other players.

Accessible via a helicopter parked in Skyway City, Bloody Bay is actually part of the Rogue Isles (i think?), and is a -mostly- abandoned, small island where several radioactive meteors struck not long ago. As if that wasn't bad enough, the dead began to rise from their graves, covered in large amounts of ectoplasm, becoming the creatures known as Shivans.

This time, you are not in direct conflict with the forces of Arachnos, however, both sides are sent on the same mission, and invariably, conflict will ensue: Collect meteor samples from each of the landing sites, then take them to an armed base whose defenses must be destroyed to analyze the samples. Doing this successfully will earn you the Shivan shard, a power that lets you summon one of the fierce Shivans to fight by your side for five minutes, and has five uses. Be careful! If a player defeats you while you have samples, one or more may be taken away, robbing you of your progress! However, even on Virtue, it's rare to find another player there, and if you do, they're more than likely just after a Shivan Shard and will give you no trouble.

This zone is home to Freakshow, Circle of Thorns, Banished Pantheon, pirate ghosts (?), and of course, Shivans.

Siren's Call 20/30
WARNING: This is a PvP zone! You WILL be attacked by other players!

Accessible via Steel Canyon, Siren's Call is a section of the City that's been sealed off after a tragic accident; a radioactive hero's powers went berserk, destroying half the neighborhood, the war wall, and killing the hero himself. Arachnos has used this as an opportunity to infiltrate Paragon City. They've set up a small base just off the coast, and from there they send villains to fight heroes so that Arachnos forces may make their way into Paragon.

The zone has two main mini games: Hotspots and Bounties. Hotspots are areas where Longbow and Arachnos forces are about to clash. When one side wins (either with or without player assistance), then heroes or villains gain better control of the zone, and the players who belong to the controlling faction can buy special items from a vendor in their base.

Bounties are called on players who have been successful at defeating other Players. A message will appear, and a marker will appear on the map with that player's last known location. The more bounty you collect, the more inspirations you can buy from the main zone contact.

The zone has a unique feel and look, and would probably be a much more popular zone if not for the forced PvP (or the anti PvP sentiment among the playerbase, take your pick). Tsoo, Warriors, and a few Sky Raiders can also be found here.

WARBURG 30/38
WARNING: Free-Fire PvP Zone! You WILL be attacked by other players... even other heroes!

Hopping aboard the Helicopter atop Police HQ in Kings Row will take you to this hotly contested area. Here, Nuclear powered orbital weapon delivery systems are fought over. So dangerous this technology is that even those you fight along side may not trust you to own it! (Anyone NOT on your team will be an enemy, unless you're on the boat)

That's not all. This island was part of the Rogue Isles until they ceded, and they've "acquired" some help in the form of Malta Titans, which con as +3 bosses to you. There's also the Arachnids who scamper around in the underground warhead production facility who've taken scientists hostage. If you free a scientist and take them back to their bunker, they'll give you part of a launch code. Collect three launch codes, and you'll be able to procure the launch key for one of three "nukes": A straight up damage nuke, a debuff nuke, or a team buff nuke. Collect all three and impress your friends!

Watch yourself. This is one of the more popular PvP zones, so it's best to try and procure the nukes during off-peak hours.

Recluses Victory 40/50
PvP warning, blah blah...

THE high level PvP zone. The background of this zone is such: the future of Atlas Park is in quantum flux, and so Heroes and Villains must fight and secure temporal "pillboxes" so that "their" future comes to pass. But you can forget about that; unlike Warburg and Bloody Bay, people come here to fight. The prize for "winning" takes either a long time or a concerted effort to win many, many fights, so most people don't bother (The prize, FYI, is a giant Longbow mech which can only be used once.)

There's no extra foes in this zone, just Longbow and Arachnos and other players. Unless you count the pillbox defense systems. The way here is via a portal in City Hall's basement via an elevator in DATA's office.

I just noticed that on your links page, you're linking to (LOL) SHERKSILVER (LOL) ... for the love of Pete and everything else, get rid of that link, that thing hasn't been updated since Issue 7.

Update your link to point to http://www.cohplanner.com - which houses Mids Hero Designer (up-to-date as of Issue 13) and SuckerPunch's online planner (up-to-date as of Issue 9), both of which are getting an overhaul to be completely updated sometime in the next little while (no promises on dates).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dispari I don't know why Dink thinks she's not as sexy as Jay was. In 5 posts she's already upstaged his entire career.

@ EmperorSteele: Thank you for your additional post! I will add your PvP hints to the PvP Zone Primer, which is available now on my site. I appreciate your thoroughness!

@ Aggelakis: Thank you for the tip about the old link! I have now updated it to reflect the more up-to-date hero builders. (I had no idea it was not the most up-to-date builder out there until you posted--shows how often I comb through CoH links across the Internet! XD)