Disappearing Contacts: Bug or WAI?

So I was exploring Praetoria and found myself in Impeial City. I decided to take a look at my contacts and realized I could chat with a certain Mr. Scott. I called him up and he introduced me to Jessica Flores.

I was not done with Tunnel Rat's arc yet, so I went back and did her last mission before continuing on with Jessica's arc. Tunnel Rat introduced me to Dr. Arvin. I did Dr. Arvin's arc... and then he disappeared from both my contact list and the map for me.

I vaguely remember reading something about NPCs disappearing if they're not logically supposed to be somewhere, depending on your character's progression, so I checked through my contact list to see if I could find him that way.

I noticed in the process that Jessica Flores was now also missing from my list in both the active and inactive lists.

Calvin Scott will give me a mission to talk to Hatchet, but Hatchet is already in my contact list.

Did I do something to eliminate Jessica from my list? Is there any way to get back on the 'Warden' arc route?

WAI. In some arcs, you're given the opportunity to something to the contact. Given what you decide, that contact may disappear.

Well, you can also help them escape sometimes too - like Dr. Arvin and Katie Douglas - so they can disappear that way too, but with happy ending

Does any of that explain Jessica's disappearance? Did I do anything in those missions that made her poof?

Once you've spoken to them once they don't go into your contact list until you actually take a mission from them. So you actually have to physically go find them again when you want to continue the arc. The same happened to me with Aaron in Neutropolis but i could remember where he was, so i went and spoke with him after i'd done with other stuff and just carried on.

I don't know if it's a bug or not but i think it's pretty silly if it's actually meant to work like that.

I took Zombie Man and Aurealis' advice and went back to find Jessica physically. She did indeed go into my contact list then and I was able to start her arc.

Some feedback for the devs:

It'd be nice to have the contacts tell you they're GOING to leave in a non-roundabout way to avoid confusion like this. Dr. Arvin hints that he's going to go with his Louis, but doesn't say 'Now we have to leave before the PPD catch up with us.'

Isn't this a feature which can be turned off? I thought I read somewhere in a patch not, or an unofficial list of notes not found in the patch notes. Maybe someone with more knowledge on this issue can chime in on this.

As far as I know, the disappearing contacts feature can't be turned off.

If you change alignment all your missions disappear and you lose your progress in your contacts arc, also sometimes the contacts will disappear from your contact list (active and inactive, they are just gone) even if they are still in the game. Then you just have to talk to them again and you can restart their arc from the beginning.

A warning: Some of the Loyalist/Resistance contacts can be defeated in missions from the other side. If you defeat them there, then you cannot get their arcs later. For example, if you do Imperial City Responsibility, then you CANNOT complete the Imperial City Warden chain after, because one of the contacts is gone.

****SPOILER****







In Jessica's arc, it states that the article that you are helping her publish is her last, and that her and her boyfriend are leaving Praetoria.

Hm, I had the same thing happen to me. Well, in my case I had completed the first mish from flores before completing Dr. Arvin. After the morality choice, both contacts disappeared.. but I could go to Flores, and she offered the first mission again.

Arvin is the same way. In the last mission, once you do what he wants, you are given the choice. I only did the Warden choice, so I don't know what happens on the other one. He and his patient leave praetoria.

Can be removed or can disappear:
Cleopatra
Aaron Walker
Ivy
Interregator Washington
Dr. Hetzfeld
Vagabond
Wardog
Warrant
Dr. Alvin
Dr. Steffard
Seer 1381
Reese
Hatchett
Beholder
Crow

Never really appear in zones:
Dark Watcher
Penelope Yin
Dr. Science
Mother Mayhem

Triumph: White Succubus: 50 Ill/Emp/PF Snow Globe: 50 Ice/FF/Ice Strobe: 50 PB Shi Otomi: 50 Ninja/Ninjistu/GW Stalker My other characters

I thought it was cool that I helped Arvin complete his experiment and flee the city with his nephew. Not finding him in either my contact list or physcally back by the hospital was pure win.

Then I just called Calvin back and he gave me Jessica.

I'm loving the Warden arcs so far. I did force the cop to join his brother and father in exile but it is what he *said* he wanted to begin with. At that point it was too late to back out as far as I was concerned... too much exposure to the Resistance to allow it. No matter how you slice it, even being a Warden, you are operating way outside the law and have to take precautions... makes it so appropriate to explain how a stalker became a hero.