Badges

I'm a 6 year noob and ridiculously stupid with numbers, some of you must have come across my recent posts asking obvious but relevant questions to me. I've learnt more in the last 6 months than in the previous 6 years, reading the forums.

Talk to me about badges. I get the ones that will give me an Accolade power, who doesn't want more End or HP? Why i do i want an MoTF? Is it just completing a toon, or is there something so much more that i'm missing?

I wait in haste for your answers

a large majority of the badges are mostly for bragging rights and are a "mini game" of a sort

i know plenty of poeple who only go after badges that are required for accolades then never touch them again unless they randomly happen upon them

Badges as a "mini-game" is a good way to describe it. Once you get past the few dozen "accolade" type badges that give you bonus powers/effects pretty much the rest of them are there just to provide incentives/goals to achieve.

For myself they gave me a motivation to keep playing long after I had leveled up a bunch of level 50 characters and otherwise "finished" the rest of the game. Some of the largest third-party fansites for the game (such as City Info Tracker or Badge-Hunter) are dedicated to badge earning.

Basically beyond that you can make of them what you will.

There are a few non-accolade badges worth getting too. For example, some badges unlock gladiators for the Arena (fun, but sadly rarely used).

Others, like the market badges, allow you to have more slots to buy and sell, very handy. Collecting all the exploration badges in a zone awards merits too! I'm sure there are others I'm not thinking of right now too.

It is may also be fun for a themed toon to have a badge title showing that reflects their back story of costume.

Fleeting Whisper, thanks for the protip for the day! I've been around for 7 years, and still learn new things almost daily. That's a cool little feature, I'll have to give it a try.

[Edit] And my answer to the OP is similar to what was above, it's a type of game for people (particularly OCD, completists, and perfectionists).

Some badges have titles that might be relevant to your character, mentioned above.
Merits and xp, minor, but there anyway for badges and accolades.
Day Jobs also provide benefits that show up as Auto or Temp powers.
Gladiators, mentioned above.

A note about day jobs:

Logging out in a dayjob location without the day job badge usually awards a passive power (markets award a long recharge teleport). If you have the badge you get a better and/or faster accumulating benefit. (markets grant a faster recharging teleport).

Certain pairs award accolades - attacks, heals and other bonuses are accumulated once the dayjob accolade is awarded when you log out in either location of the accolade.

Exploration Badges are fun to go after when none of your friends are on and you have an hour to blow.

If you get all the exploration badges in a zone, you pick up 5 merits. I didnt realize this till just recently. So go collect some merits.

The paragon wiki is the best place I found as an aid to locate the badges. Also, badges that are required for accolades.

Since no one has mentioned it explicitly: MoTF ("Master of ___ Task Force") badges are highly sought-after (mostly by badgers who want to "catch them all") because Master Runs are typically difficult to get going and successfully complete. A Master Run is one where the following challenges are set (the TF contact gives you the option to set them before you start): no temp powers can be used, and nobody can die. If you complete the TF under these circumstances, you get the badge. Because one death can ruin an entire run, some people get antsy about doing them because they don't want to be "that guy".

Current Master TFs that fit these conditions are: Statesman (hero), Lord Recluse (villain Strike Force), Lady Grey (co-op), Imperious (co-op), Barracuda (villain Strike Force), Dr. Kahn (hero). The two Incarnate TFs, Apex and Tin Mage (both co-op), also have Master badges associated with them, but they work differently, instead requiring you to complete specific optional tasks during the TF.

Also note that some badges are necessary before certain contacts will give you missions. Generally if you trip over one of these and talk to them they'll tell you which badge(s) you need.

You also get XP and now Merits with some badges.

They're shiny.

With so many toons and limited time, I can't be bothered to "just" badge hunt or keep trakc of accolades, I just try and find one that fits my toon's nature, like how my MM Rattus Rex has "Plague Carrier".