Favorites List

Favorites list

There's a growing consensus that a "favorites list" would be a helpful feature in AE.

This would be much better as a built-in feature of the AE interface, but until the devs get around to adding that, I figure I can maintain my own.

Feel free to add your own favorites here as well. But, I'd like to request that we all follow the same ground rules:


1. You can't list your own arc as a favorite. (Otherwise everyone will.)

2. You must've played through the arc at least 3 times, and at least one of these times should've been purely for fun; i.e., not for review, not because you owe them a play through, and not just because you're trying to satisfy this rule -- honor system on this. (Can't really say an arc is a "favorite" if you only run it once, ever, after all.)

3. The arc can't be a farm. (The most obvious way to get someone to play it 3 times.)


These don't seem like very strict rules, but actually I've played/replayed surprisingly few arcs 3 times.



With those rules in mind, so far on my "favorites" list is:


Nuclear in 90 - The Fusionette TF
Arc Id: 58363
Morality: Heroic
Level range: 1-14

It's admittedly not the deepest, most dramatic story arc I've played, but it IS fun. Fusionette and the other Nuclear 90 are charmingly characterized and the debriefings made me crave for hamburgers. It's designed to be suitable for lowbies, and with my rampant altitis, I find that I keep playing it over and over with newbie characters.


Escalation
Arc ID: 6143
Morality: Heroic
Level range: 21-50

The antagonist has an unusual but neat superpower that is cleverly handled, and the grudge match with the player is very comic booky and fun. I didn't originally rate this arc that high, but over time it's clear that the author has taken every review and bit of feedback as an opportunity to improve the story, and it really shows. The arc is full of little details that make it more cool.

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Consolidated list of other posters' favorites

Bubbawheat's favorites
A Tangle in Time (arc id 2622, level 5-50)

Lazarus's favorites
The Extadine Lab (arc id 2595, level 40-50)

londerwost's favorites
Blight (arc id 140423, level 40-50)
Rick Hall R[EVOL]UTION (Wake up, America!) (arc id 166081, level 41-50)

Eva Destruction's favorites
Ctrl + Alt + Reset (arc id 137561, level 15-30)
The Extadine Lab (arc id 2595, level 40-50)

anarchodragon's favorites
Bricked Electronics (arc id 2180, level 8-20)
Captain Dynamic, the Great, Faces The Great Face (arc id 190069, level 30-50)
Rick Hall R[EVOL]UTION (Wake up, America!) (arc id 166081, level 41-50)

Venture's favorites
Escalation (arc id 6143, level 21-50)

MrCaptainMan's favorites
The Consequences of War, pts 1 and 2 (arc ids 227331 & 241496, level 40-50)
The Tubbius Trilogy (arc id ?, level ?)
Celebrity Kidnapping (arc id 1388, level 30-40)

A Tangle in Time #2622 by @jjac

It was referred to me by someone that played my time travel arc, and I really enjoyed it and have played it a few times, and really the only arc I've played more than once besides my own, and besides some that I've reviewed and felt I needed to go back for more details.

I did have an idea for another thread while I was looking through my completed arcs list though...

... as well as a good reason to go back and play some of my "favorites" that just haven't gotten a second go around yet.

Hm... If I might comment on your rules, PW.

I have two grown children who, though they've allegedly moved out, are still a couple of handfuls; a 7 1/2 month old baby; a house with a large yard desperately in need of mowing and other such stiff; oh, and a full time job. I'm running two super groups (with a website that's criminally behind on updating) and am trying to keep my two arcs as state-of-the-art as I can. I have a list of arcs a page long that I either owe runs to or want to run, and I've seen a dozen others that have interested me. My wife and I *try* to game together, so any time I have to actually play is almost always with her and - as you might note from the aforementioned "stuff" - it is very limited lately.

In short, as much as there are several arcs I've run that I'd *love* to have the leisure to run again... and again... "It ain't a happnin' thang." Heck I've had to stop four times just in the middle of this post.

I can respect, and even understand, your rule for multiple plays, but if you want me to participate - or others in similar boats - then that rule's going to have to be re-thunk. In the mean time, I'll watch your thread and probably add each of the arcs listed to my every-growing list.

"The Extadine Lab" by @Vanden

It's a single fun mission and the only AE that I've played over a dozen times. (Largely because it's so short.)

Blight - arc# 140423
by Witch_Engine

Hands down my favorite. We've taken teams through it a couple of times just for fun.

Ctrl + Alt + Reset by Bubbawheat.
It's shorter than it looks, and a good go-to arc when I'm in that level range and don't feel like looking for something my level. Plus all the optional clues in that one mission are neat, every time I've run it I've caught a referrence I missed before.

That's pretty much the only one I can think of, but there are lots of arcs I've run twice.

Well, at least other people are listing arcs I'd list if I were allowed to...

It is difficult enough for me to find the time to run the arcs in my review queue; I certainly don't have the time to run arcs other than my own more than once. (My own I re-run every issue to look for new bugs.)

Also note all the low- to mid-level arcs being listed.

"The Extadine Lab" is a single mission, the kind of arc I'd replay if I needed half a bar to level and didn't feel like looking for anything new to try, since decent short arcs are hard to find amid a sea of farms and other garbage.

With your restrictions in mind, here's what's on my recommended list so far:

Bricked Electronics - Arc 2180 - by GlaziusF
Probably the lowbie arc I've played most. An interesting story, along with an underused villain group, and great missions. One of my standard arcs for my lowbie alts.

Captain Dynamic, the Great, Faces The Great Face - Arc 190069 - by Airhead
I confess, I actually played this twice for a review... then I might have just happened to play it again on my own. Amusing and absurd.

Rick Hall R[EVOL]UTION (Wake up, America!) - Arc 166081 - by Princess Bubblegum
I kind of regret putting this on this list. It's a seriously guilty pleasure, and blatant political satire. That said, I've played it several times and would gladly play it again (as would any freedom loving American). WE'LL DO IT LIVE!

Also, there's a few threads already you could dig up to post your highly rated one-play arcs.

Escalation
Arc ID: 6143
Morality: Heroic
Level range: 21-50

Actually this is the only arc other than my own I think I've played three times...twice for reviews and once to squishy-test it out of curiosity. And it's a five-star work I'd class as an exemplar.

You are a tough cookie PW! I have played at least a few 100 arcs by now. Early on I would spend an hour a evening playing (often more like attempting to play) unrated/unplayed arcs. Aside from my own arcs and the ones I have replayed for reviews or just helping people fine tune arcs I can't really think of any I have played three times or more.

WN

Introspection

Some musings....

Even on the "MA Stories" forum, where the most rabid fans of story-oriented AE hang out, very few people play any story arc (not written by themselves) more than once. Several people who I know have played 100+ arcs (including myself), could only come up with 0 to 2 arcs they've played 3 times and would recommend as favorites.

For my own part (note: purely anecdotal evidence warning), I know I've played through Azuria's missions, Kalinda's story arc, the Bonefire arc, the Striga story arcs, the Croatoa story arcs, the RWZ story arcs, Westin Phipp's story arc, Seer Marino's story arc, all at least 5 times each. Some of them maybe dozens of times. But for the most part, the PvE content isn't as cool as the best of the AE content. So why do I keep replaying it?

Granted, most of the dev-created content has been around a lot longer than AE, and so naturally would've gotten replayed more times. But is that the only reason?

Thinking about it, the most avid AE fans (or at least the sample that frequent this forum) have played hundreds of story arcs, but re-play almost no story arcs. Could this be a factor in why AE seems to be in decline? Maybe a lot of the people who really like AE have already played most of the content they're interested in, and aren't interested in re-playing it? (Note: Speculation.)

Riddle: what makes a story arc replayable, that would bring someone (other than the author) to come back and play it again and again?

I don't know yet.

But I'd be interested in finding out.

I know I've played through Azuria's missions, Kalinda's story arc, the Bonefire arc, the Striga story arcs, the Croatoa story arcs, the RWZ story arcs, Westin Phipp's story arc, Seer Marino's story arc, all at least 5 times each.

Well, starting arcs are starting arcs, and if you're not the type to just jump to a PL/sewer team (or bank farm on redside), then you'll see those arcs alot. But what you've picked here tend to be some of the better arcs that most people will run into without having to jump through a lot of hoops in order to unlock (or will outlevel without ever having seen them). But in the PVE content, you're sort of on a (often branching) rail on who your Toon gets as a contact and the opportunities to play through storylines. I feel like with the AE story arcs, it's more like you're at a bizaar where you have the opportunity to sample literally thousands of vendors and attractions - but you'll never have the time to try it all out.

I know that I'm rarely replaying a AE Story Arc more than twice because there's simply too much potential content to find on the AE system. I'm frequently coming back here to see what looks good, or just sifting through the (not very helpful) search function to find something interesting. As I've said before, i16's SSK system is opening things up for me so I can take higher toons through lower level arcs and still advance them. So, if I liked it solo on one alt, I might grab some SG/VG-mates to run it on a different (higher or lower) alt. More often than that, it's not to say that the arc doesn't deserve it, but that I feel like there are more opportunities out there that I could be spending my time on.

As for the purposes of "favorites", I think your criteria is fine and I agree with your analogy with bookmarks and playlists. Unfortunately, I just can't contribute to the list of arcs. :/

I know that I'm rarely replaying a AE Story Arc more than twice because there's simply too much potential content to find on the AE system.

We have a winner.

I'm not likely to start replaying many arcs when there's so many I haven't played even once yet.

[QUOTE=PoliceWoman;2283252]The reason for this? Well, this is meant to be a "favorites" thread, and I don't think I can reasonably say something is my "favorite" if I only do it once. Maybe not even if I do it twice. I would never bookmark a web site that I don't expect to revisit over and over, and I would never put a song on my iPod's "My Favorite Music" mix unless I would like to hear it over and over. That's kind of what "favorites" means to me.
[QUOTE]

It takes but a second to revisit a favourite website, and minutes to listen to a favourite song again on an mp3 player. Playing an arc is a different kettle of fish, and takes up far more of my limited time.

I also am prohibited from adding any arcs to your thread because of the 3 plays rule, which is a shame. Starting another thread 'Favourites you don't have to have played 3 times' would be silly, however, so I'm going to willfully break your rule here and put some favourites up anyway.

The Consequences of War, pts 1 and 2 - details are in Dal's sig.

The Tubbius Trilogy by @Tubbius

Celebrity kidnapping, by, er, you, PW.

I have actually played Celebrity Kidnapping 3 times as it happens, but once was for a review. I've also played the Tubbius arcs 2 or 3 times each, again for reviews however. CoW, I've only played once, but...what a play it was! I do intend to play it again at some stage now that the Carnie Tent map's been replaced by an RWZ one, but time is tight unfortunately, and my list is long.

Eco.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow [The Incarnate System is] Jack Emmert all over again, only this time it's not "1 hero = 3 white minions" it's "1 hero = 3 white rocks."