1 to 50 in MA: Part II (suggest arcs)

I've come up with a short list of level 20-25 arcs, by searching "My Level," "Looking for Feedback" and "Final," and "SFMA."

I started off by helping out some small businesses:

#258291: Tailor Made

I help the Facemaker protect the Rogue Isles from the horrors of....bad fashion. Arcs like this are inevitable, and the AE is probably full of them, but this one had some cute detail, and told the joke using standard mobs instead of gratuitous overpowered customs with bad outfits.

#163967: Rider's Ribs Restaurant Rescue

Now I find myself in the middle of a restaurant war. The premise was once again silly, but the mission details in this case didn't really support it. The enemies were all custom, and a bit tough at my level; they would have probably been fine if the level range had been set a little bit higher.

I got one. Link/info is in my sig. Be warned, it was made to be difficult.

More from the SFMA search:

#135563: Forever Lost

This has issues with characterization, and bosses named "Random Boss1" It does have a story, just not very well done.

#176460: Just Say "No" to Dihydrogen Monoxide!

The Council's latest diabolical plans involve Dihydrogen Monoxide, a substance that has been linked to tumors, catastrophic brake failure, and That Room. It has the usually dreaded 1-54 level range, but it's Council so it's ok. At three missions it only slightly stretches the joke, and I get a free towel.

From the SFMA search:

#99458: The Unbearable Being of Lightness

Another old arc that hasn't been updated in forever. The Legacy Chain, a group dedicated to preventing the irresponsible use of magic, is about to use magic irresponsibly. Good intentions, road to hell, blah blah. Serafina is involved for some reason, I don't know why because she has no bio and the text is very sparse, as is the mission design. The final mission includes standard critters who have been appropriated into a custom group but still have default bios, and a final EB with rad blast for some reason. My irritation at this EB is possibly due to his powerset dropping my defense from two lucks' worth into the negatives with his first shot, but after all the other problems, it really ticked me off. I could see where the author was going with this, but execution counts. A lot.

#175803: For Love or Monkeys

The first rule of Monkey Fight Club is you do not steal all the monkeys from Monkey Fight Club. Another short-ish, lighthearted arc, with mostly Standard enemies. I seem to be having decent luck with those. I turned up my difficulty to x2 before starting this since x1 was getting boring.

I just dinged 24 (it took another four exploration badges, let's call them ally patch tax, or maybe Monkey Tax), and now have Dull Pain. Two or three more arcs of decent length and without too many allies should get me to 25.

#1444 The Twisted Tongue

Why I chose it: Random search, with the parameters "My level," "Looking for Feedback" or "Final," Freakshow.

t3h fr34k5h0w'5 d14b0l1c4l pl4n 1z t0 m4k3 3v3ryb0dy t4lk l13k th3m. If that hurt your eyes, don't play this arc. Freakshow are always good for a cheap laugh, this has some funny moments.

#350522 Fear and Loathing on Striga

Why I chose it: PoliceWoman's list.

I love Striga, it has a giant robot. This is another of FredrickSvanberg's alternate VEAT arcs, it has me helping Ernesto Hess further Arachnos interests on Striga. A few nitpicks, a few of the canon tie-ins weren't executed quite right in my opinion, but overall a fun ride.

I dinged level 25 around the time I hit my ticket limit. Running on x2 ups the randomly spawning boss quotient, which leads to more tickets. Now I have a LOT of rolling to do.

Looks like you're in range for Matchstick Women #3369, and it's been recently revamped.

Well I've finally rolled over 10,000 tickets in bronze rolls, sold off a bunch of stuff, made a bunch of inf, and I'm back to playing more arcs.

The next two arcs I chose were villainous, and both quite good:

#128109 All in the Family

Why I chose it: recommended in several forum threads

In this arc I am hired by a somewhat squeamish family Capo to pull some hits so he doesn't have to get his hands dirty. The contact is quite well-written, and the arc is engaging, despite all the PPD. PPD at this level SUUUUUUCK.

#29262 Hopeless

Why I chose it: I played it way way back in the day, and a bunch of recommendations reminded me to play it again.

No PPD in this one. I am hired by a wealthy businessman to get revenge for the kidnapping of his granddaughter. It's not that simple of course, and the arc gives the player the option for some truly self-serving cold-blooded villainy (my favorite kind, by the way.) Again, the contact here is very well-written.

#329000 Backwards Day 25-30

Why I chose it: Recommended somewhere.

Another villainous arc, this time I'm working with Diviner Maros, who is to the timey wimey ball as a hyperactive ferret on caffeine is to household pets. As the title suggests, the story is told backwards. It works out pretty well, although a bit confusing (well duh, it's Maros), with some nice custom work, although it isn't really villainous except for some extraneous little comments here and there. This would be a good candidate for the new "Rogue" flag.

#318983 Ignition of the Machine 25-32

Why I chose it: I played it months ago, and wanted to check out what kind of updates it's had.

And now for something completely different....this time I'm a hero. So heroic in fact, that I'm asked to be a good influence on a "baby" android. This arc has excellent characterization, and it's a very sweet story, plus it has robots and robots are cool. The clues and dialogue are all very well written; the story is written to be very personal to the player without making a whole lot of assumptions.

It's been a while since I updated this thread, so here's an update.

From the random search ("Looking for Feedback" and "Final," "My level," "Not completed," Enemy group that I felt like fighting that day. I tried Wyvern and Coralax and didn't get any bites....somebody make some more arcs with Wyvern and Coralax. I've outlevelled them now though.)

#32801 Sharkhead Isle and the Circle of Banished Warriors
#97774 A Simple Misunderstanding
#14030 The Secret of the Curse of Pirate Jefferies' Treasure Island

Nothing too impressive or memorable in those, but nothing overly offensive either.

#25622 Teh Freakshow Artz Klub

Had some cute jokes. Could have used more though.

After that I got tired of slogging through random search results and replayed some arcs I'd already played with other characters:

#1709 Amulet of J'Gara

This is a pretty good arc, has some nice custom work and a neat premise.

#259920 In Poor Taste

Low-brow humor, but it's pretty funny if you pretend you're twelve or have a few beers before you play it. Decently put together for what it is.

So I'm now level 30. I have more inf than I know what to do with (for now), and got my Atlas Medallion. Next up: bronze rolls, bronze rolls and more bronze rolls, dual-box myself the Visionary badge for that sweet sweet eyeball katana, replay "Task Force Mutternacht," run Fredrik Svanberg's Frostfire arc, and more bronze rolls.

#411446 Evolve or Die

Why I chose it: MA Arc Finder channel

Frostfire is out on parole and looking to redeem himself. I'm his parole officer. It's a good premise, a good overall story, but the pacing is a bit off, and it could use a bit more polish.

#343565 A Woman Chromed

Why I chose it: Listed in the author's forum sig. The title sounded cool.

Doc Buzzsaw has an idea, and she wants my help making it happen. What could possibly go wrong? That's a rhetorical question of course. It's a fun and very funny arc, with some great dialogue. And again, Freaks.

According to your last post I think you're in range of my arc "Captain Skylark Shadowfancy and the Tomorrownauts of Today!" #337333. There's one bit where it bumps you up to 40 but that's because of the issue with AV's no longer scaling down - it's really meant to be played in the 30's.

Aaaaand, I'm back. After taking a hiatus to play with new shinies, Dawnrazor is back in business.

Turns out I hadn't updated this thread for a while before GR release, but I can't find my "arcs I've played" document, and the only ones I remember playing are #337333 "Captain Skylark Shadowfancy and the Tomorrownauts of Today" and #344696 "The Golden Age Secret of the Paragon Society." Both are excellent arcs and you should play them.

For my comeback I chose #68930 "Pandas vs. Rikti." It's a very fun arc, the customs are adorable, definitely recommended.

Heya,

I'd like to plug "The Coldest of Wars" (#299972) as a campy Silver Age-style story. The level range says 40+, but it's all Crey and Freaks (along with some easyish customs), so should be playable even at lower levels. Also, ice cream.

If you don't mind exemping just to 25 (you still have access to your level 30 powers at that point, I think?), my two new post-apocalyptic arcs "Kali's Scythe" (heroic, #445456) and "To Reign in Hell" (villainous, #448234) could definitely use more plays and/or feedback; they are also pretty text-heavy, so I hope they're up your alley! Sadly I was pretty much locked into the 20-25 range for these arcs for enemy group reasons. :/

More info on these arcs (and the setting in general) is available in this thread.


-- Z.

Four of my eight arcs are levels 40-50. Take your pick of any of them.

Eva, if you're in the 40 - 50 range, you had to know I'd plug "Consequences of War" and "Casualties of War." I don't have a clue how long it's been since you ran them, but I did make quite a few changes from the days when I was plugging them hard for reviews.

Of course, if you're not there yet, feel free to ignore me.

"Blowback" (#4643), "Chains of Blood" (#4829), "Splintered Shields" (#253991) and "The Christmas We Get" (#356477) are all in the 40-50 range.

"Psychophage" (#283197) is as well but it was designed to be abusive. "Why We Fight" has three of four missions in the 40-50 bracket.

These are all very nice suggestions but I'm about a bar and a half to 33 right now.

Lazarus, that arc with the bird is on the list for the near(ish) future. Everything else will have to wait. I will be going up against space lizard-chicks once I get to that level, and jokes about psi-holes will be made then.

Dalghryn, I'll most likely be playing the Rikti war arcs too. Because there are Rikti, and it's a war, so I have to fight Rikti. I like fighting Rikti.

Venture, you're not going to get me to beat my head off your deliberately overpowered player-killer jerk enemies, no matter how high level I am or how many IOs I slot. I'm allergic to Extreme/Extreme everything. All those other arcs that aren't you being a jerk and trying to kill people, I will take a look at when I get to that level. I think one or two of them I haven't played yet.

#351727: The Hammer and Sickle of Paragon City
Why I chose it: I honestly don't remember.

I'm helping out some former Soviet heroes who have gotten caught up in a 5th Column plot. That means I get to fight Nazis. I even get to fight a Commie Nazi. Some minor nitpicks but it's a good arc overall.

#209473: Standing Within the Mists
Why I chose it: PW's list.

In this arc, I'm a villain trying to play it smart by gassing the place I'm trying to rob rather than just slaughtering everything in my path. It's a good concept, and set up well, unfortunately the execution doesn't seem to work out as intended.