Sign me up for Linna Baresi, my 50 mastermind (bots/dark)! Used to run these with you on my heroes, now the villains get a shot. Rawr.
**edit** Signing up for all the TFs, of course.
=)
@Linna
Matt Miller: The Patron Powers are stronger and more powerful than the �equivalent� powers in City of Heroes (the Ancillary Power Pools), because there is less diversification and the fact that Patron choices are permanent alterations to your character.
Eddie, we've already discussed it. Luv you. It wouldn't be a holiday if I weren't inside playing CoH with you.
J-Man- Lieran, if you were Paris Hilton, I'd be the chihuahua in your purse.
@makerian, Dr. Quaterfield Task Force [Portal Smasher] and Faathim the Kind Task Force [Slayer of Madness]. I'll bring my 51 Fortunata, Apophenia Prime.
Thanks for hosting.
I made it on for the Lunaru, thanks again for running them.
Because fighting aliens on Independence Day has been tradition since 1996! Anyhow, on July 2nd, 3rd, & 4th, Independence Day weekend, I am going to be leading all four Shadow Shard Task Forces on the Freedom server. I'll be playing a mix of characters this time around. Dates and times are up first (and PLEASE, read the stuff in red; I won't invite you if you can't follow simple instructions):
- Saturday, July 2nd, 2011, 12:00pm (noon) EDT: Dr. Quaterfield Task Force. I won't lie; Explorers and Exploiters is one [insert female dog reference here] of a task force. It auto-exemps to 44, almost none of it can be stealthed, there's plenty of killall missions, later on there's those annoying simultaneous glowie-clicks, and the second half of the task force takes place all over the game map. The good news is there's no AVs, but rest assured, it's a looonnnggg task force. Those of you who tough it out will be awarded the Portal Smasher badge. This is one of two Shard TFs I'm running that will allow level 40-43 characters. Merits awarded: 122.
- Saturday, July 2nd, 2011, 10:00pm EDT: The Lady Grey Task Force. The Rikti War Zone arcs end with A Book of Revelations. It's all Rikti, all the time (okay, plus a cameo by the Clockwork). By the end of this Task Force, you'll have fought The Seer (a fully powered Clockwork King), The Horsemen: Four (The Riders: War, Famine, Pestilence, & Death), The Dragon (Dra'Gon), The Beast of the Sea (a weakened Hamidon), and The Apocalypse (Hro'Dtohz and some guy named The Honoree, spoilery anagrams FTW). The badge for finishing is called Apocalyptic. We'll be meeting in the Research & Development department of the Vanguard Compound in the Rikti War Zone before we start. You'll also need to be level 45 or higher to participate. Merits awarded: 37.
- Sunday, July 3rd, 2011, 12:00pm (noon) EDT: Sara Moore Task Force. Weighing in at 15 missions, The Legend of Ruladak takes place mostly in Cascade Archipelago, with a couple trips to Paragon. At the end is a rather large AV named Ruladak the Strong. Upon completion, the Destroyer of Strength badge will be awarded. This is the other Shard TF I'm running that will allow level 40-43 characters. Merits awarded: 64.
- Sunday, July 3rd, 2011, 8:00pm EDT: Justin Augustine Task Force. People say The Saga of Faathim is a very long TF, but what they usually don't know is that the majority of it is defeat X and visit location missions (it has the largest mission count of any TF in the game, yet is one of the shortest time wise). All but the penultimate mission are in the Shadow Shard, and there are no AVs that you have to fight. This one is my favorite for socializing, and you'll get the Protector of Kindness badge for finishing. Merits awarded: 42.
- Monday, July 4th, 2011, 12:00pm (noon) EDT: Faathim the Kind Task Force. The last of the Shadow Shard TFs (and the original endgame TF before Statesman came in and took its thunder...), The Saga of Lanaru is pleasantly challenging without being too hard. This one is a bit on the longish side, but that's due to a lot of kill all missions and 5 AVs. The first 2/3 of the TF is in the Shadow Shard, then there's three missions and two deliveries back in Paragon, then the visit locations in the Storm Palace, and then the finale. You'll also come face to face with Malaise, Mother Mayhem, Nemesis?, Baphomet, and Lanaru the Mad. Upon completion, you'll be awarded the Slayer of Madness badge, and they'll even toss in the Demon Slayer badge (complete with Behemoth Overlord gladiator) for defeating Baphomet. Merits awarded: 73.
- Monday, July 4th, 2011, 8:00pm EDT: Statesman Task Force. Our grand finale has us running through A Gauntlet of Evil. This is supposed to be the ultimate, end-game task force, and it acts like it. There are 16 AVs total, plus the Arachnos Flier. It won't be easy, but once it's over, you'll all get the Diplomat, Heat Seeker, Peerless, and Saved the World badges. You'll also get a shiny Synthetic Hamidon Enhancement if you so choose. We'll be meeting on top of the monorail station in Independence Port for this. You'll also need to be level 45 or higher to participate. Merits awarded in lieu of the Hamidon Enhancement: 37.
Those are the basics. But here's a brief FAQ with more specifics:- What do I have to do to join?
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- What is this "Shadow Shard" that you speak of?
- What rewards are available?
- I've heard that these TFs are looonnnggg... Is it true they can take upwards of 12 hours?
).
- What level do I have to be?
- Sounds cool. How quick am I going to get my merits?
- Why aren't you running [insert favorite TF here]?
).
Now, assuming one of our good friends from across the pond doesn't try to gank me for that last remark, there will be plenty of fireworks to go around this weekend.If you are interested in joining, either post here with your global name plus the TF(s) you intend to join, or send me a global tell/email (@Electric Eddie) with said information. Those people who do so will be put on a list (special note for the Statesman TF: I'll only put on the list those that have signed up/participated in one of the Shard TFs). A half hour before each TF's start time, for the 4 Shard TFs, I'll be in Firebase Zulu by the portals to the other shard zones (for the others, I'll be in the gathering places mentioned in each TF's description up top). If you're on the list, just send me a tell at that time, and I'll simply send the invite. About five minutes later, for about fifteen minutes, I'll send tells/invites to the people on the list in order of signup (in case of overbooking, it's first come, first served). After those fifteen minutes, I'll put up an announcement on the regular Freedom global channels. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE AT LEAST SIX HOURS SET ASIDE FOR THE TASK FORCE YOU'RE SIGNING UP FOR (or in the case of Dr. Quaterfield, make sure you have at least ten hours set aside)! That's my standard disclaimer; they never actually take that long, but my legal department requires me to put that in (read: I like assurances that all 8 players are going to be there for the duration). If you sign up for a TF and don't show up or at least send me a tell/unsign, I'm putting you at the bottom of my list for the rest of the weekend (nothing personal, but I've had a couple issues before which I'd like to avoid). My only other rule is that every two hours, we'll take a 10-minute break. The breaks help alleviate stress and I feel makes for a more refreshing experience. (apologies for having to spell things out like this, but unfortunately, I've had to deal with idiots before; on the upside, if you've read this far, you're probably not an idiot
Go to Peregrine Island and open up your map. You'll find the entrance to the Shard at the north end of the island. The Shadow Shard is a pocket dimension created by the Midnight Squad to contain a really powerful entity. It's now a broken world, with the land now bunches of floating islands. Not much is known beyond that, but there are some excellent threads with theories, some good information at Paragon Wiki, and the clues in the Sara, Justin, and Faathim TFs are good reads. Also, play my AE arc (#315097) for my own little contribution. </cheap plug>
XP (if you're under level 50, of course), inf(luence/amy), and prestige are the obvious ones, followed by the badges and reward merits for finishing each TF. You'll run into a lot of Overseers for the Visionary badge, plus Crey, Nemesis, & the Circle are all a predominant faction in one TF each (plenty of fakes, protectors, & mages for those badges). In my opinion though, the coolest reward is for the characters with weapons and/or shields (minus any gun-toters); you automatically unlock your corresponding Rularuu weapon upon completion of any of the 4 Shard TFs. It's worth it just for the moving eyes.
I suppose, if you have a completely incompetent pickup group, then yeah, it can take that long. But those large numbers tend to come from a combination of uneducated hearsay and longer travel times that existed in the game a very long time ago. The only TF I consider "long" is Dr. Quaterfield, and even then, it's unlikely to be longer than 6 hours (though my disclaimer above still applies
Unless otherwise noted, anybody level 44 and above can join. In the case of the Dr. Quaterfield TF and the Sara Moore TF, anybody level 40 and above can join. For the Dr. Quaterfield TF, anybody above level 44 will be auto-exemplared to level 44 (which means no incarnate powers), but for the others, there is no auto-exemplar, so level 50s will stay level 50.
These aren't speed runs. We're here to have fun. This means we generally fight to our objectives, and our pacing is a bit more casual than usual (though I may employ a couple speed-up tactics on the second half of Quaterfield). That being said, we don't lallygag around, and most of your time spent with me will be actually playing the game.
These Extravaganzas are for the level 40-50 TFs. I'll probably never run any of the Incarnate TFs/Trials here due to their special requirements. And of the remaining upper-end TFs, I figured Statesman and The Lady Grey fit this weekend's theme best (one has you working for a guy who wears the American flag, and the other has you beating up a guy wearing the Union Jack
Keep flying,
-Eddie
MA Arc #315097: Reflections of Your Desire (custom characters, canon related, drama, story-driven arc): The Reflections are starting to do things... odd things. This takes place entirely in the Shadow Shard, ending in the bizarre Garden of Memories.