A Plethora of Content

I have a one hour commute home from work each day, which gives me lots of time to think. This random thought popped into my head tonight: almost every time the Devs have added new arcs/content recently, it's been in the 20-30 range. The result has been a huge number of options for characters in this range on Blueside. Let's just take a look at what your options are when you ding 20 hero side:

1) Talos original content
2) IP original content
3) Faultline
4) Mercedes Sheldon (3 arcs)
5) 2 Clone Arcs
6) Roy Cooling
7) Striga Isle
8) Croatoa (25-30)

It's extremely easy to go 20-30 and never touch one of the game's original story arcs. You can limit yourself to just things that were added later and cover that level range with no issues at all. In fact, the last few times I've done it I've found myself out leveling contacts I had originally intended on doing.

This focus on adding content in the 20-30 range has resulted in a very noticeable drop in your options when you hit 30. At that point you can go to Brickstown or Founders and do contacts that have been in the game since launch. And that's pretty much it. It picks back up again at 35 (sort of) with access to Cimerora and the RWZ, but I have found those arcs get exhausted very fast and you are left going back to.......Founders and Bricks.

I suppose the Devs have done some sort of data mining that shows adding arcs in that 20-30 range is a bit of a sweet spot in terms of character accessibility or they wouldn't keep doing it. And let's face it, Red Side could sure use some help in that department. I used to like Sharkhead Isle, but now I've done it so much I can't stand the place.

I think for myself this drop off in options at 30 has resulted in a lot of characters getting stalled out. I hit 30 and just sort of lose interest because I've done all that stuff so much. Lately I've been switching over to doing tips at 30 and that seems to help immensely since those missions are by and large so well done. Still, it would seem to me that adding some new arcs in the 30-35 (or maybe even 30-40) range would be a very welcome addition to the game.

Thoughts? Comments?

They're probably going to make Praetorian 30-50 zones with Primal access too.

I've thought the same thing too. Why so many Arc 20-30? I would love to have more arcs 30-40. At the very least can we get a Red side SF 30-35. I still can't believe they don't have one at that level. I mean its been how many issues?

My Characters Deviont Art page Currently-reading Me Skydiving

Also in the 20s, you get access to Oroborous and it's arcs, as well as tip missions that lead to side switching and even more content.

I hadn't actually thought about it, but you have a point. It seems like everything we've gotten since pretty much the Issue after Cimerora has been in that level range. I'd have honestly thought that the 30-40 range would have been a good place to put those, as that used to be when the dead air of 38-40 was once upon a time, even with the War Zone.

And what about the 40-50 range? I know Daedalus and Sister Airlia offer arcs for that range (Sister Airlia's can be started at 35, but the Ballista and ambushes scale to 40 anyway), but it's still been quite a while since anything new was added. The War Zone was a good fit for the 50s, but that was I10.

And what about the 1-10 range? CoV-side it's still just Kalinda or Burke, Moongoose or Creed, just like it's been since... 2005? 2006? And hero-side it's even worse, it's just the same five origin contacts plus assortment. Granted, Praetoria fits those ranges, but not all of our characters make sense to be Praetorians. This gives you different badge titles, for one thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

I'm mostly a street sweeper these days. I took Trip from mid 20s on up to 50 almost without touching a mission. And it's the older story arcs that did that to me. Two and three zone transfers, five minutes travel, just to talk to someone. And by the time anyone allows you to call them on the phone, you're finished their arc and will never speak to them again. It might be a little faster now with the merged transport lines but no less irritating.

Well there's also the fact that I hate messy maps. Like CoT caves, and those split-level offices that bend in around on themselves like an MC Escher painting...

Would you say we have a "plethora" of content?

The focus on 20-30 content would seem to show that they're not planning on adding any 20-30 Praetorian content, and that the escape from Praetoria storyline isn't going to be rewritten, even though the invasion has started.
Once they've added enough new stuff to let players continue 20-30 on Primal Earth with the same quality of content that's in Praetoria, it'll be interesting to see if they then start adding 30+ content to Primal Earth or to Praetoria - with the amount of unanswered questions in the 1-20 content, a return to Praetoria seems totally certain - but it could be at 35+, as that seems to be the level the devs like to add higher level content at, like in Cimerora and the RWZ.
If the return to Praetoria starts at 35+, then I think that might mean Brickstown would get some attention to cover the 30-35 gap - it's pretty underused, and with the Zig being there, it's just asking for lots of cool new storylines.

I've been running 35-40 characters villainside lately, and content-wise that range has been a desert for years. Johnny Sonata, Magus Mu'Drakhan, and Technician Naylor have fine arcs, but you can only do them so many times. Kelly Uqua and Jezebel Jones just give a handful of missions each. Arbiter Leery requires you to have done a respec trial first. Hardcase ... well, is Hardcase. And Basse Croupier just leaves me wondering why my level 35+ villain is still working as a casino legbreaker.

Plus no one ever seems interested in doing Ice Mistral, even though you need her badge for Megalomaniac, and while villains can go to the RWZ, I'm not fond of the missions there from the villain side. I'd say if any area of the villain experience is overdue for some freshening up, it's this.

Yup, I've been so confused when they keep adding to that level range: there is a LOT of stuff to do there (and some of the original arcs are actually pretty good), and we need more in the +30 game for sure, both sides. I'd also put in a plea to unattach contacts from doing newspaper missions redside, as I hate that requirement, but I'd still be yoked into doing them because of the accolade needs there.

Boy, I can't imagine why I prefer blueside, at all. Need to get my villains to Rogue status so they can run around and do other things when they want to.