Which story arcs/missions do you find most emotionally engaging?

Oh man, I spend most of the game in my own little mental rp so I usually have some reaction to the arcs but unfortunately they're not always reactions that sound remotely sensible when written down, but I'll give you the highlights:

Negative reaction: Themari and Phipps! Oh my god. The bit about the hair cutting with Themari? That repulsed me so much. And what you did with Phipps... I've never been able to do their arcs since. But! BUT! On the topic of Phipps, there's a tip mission where you get to set things right and doing that was one of my greatest game triumphs.

Sadmaking reaction: Horrors of War in RWZ. Me and my sister were teaming together and when we found the body, we both shouted in rl: NO!

Other types of reaction: Most of Praetoria. My lord. But the one I'm remembering right now is the bit with Cleo with the first moral choice for the responsibility arc. I was all, Cleo, I thought we was bros. How could you!

Reading through these I remember my first thought on finishing playing through all of the arcs in Praetoria


...They're all crazy here!...

Makes the 'take off and nuke the site from orbit. it's the only way to be sure' option sound really good.

Poor Sefu.
That would be the mission that made my tank wibble...

I was soloing Pally through those arcs, and like a lot of people, he ended up being very fond of Sefu. There was a bit of a twinge when the mission came up that required us to defeat him... It's not something Palrah would have wanted to do, even if Longbow WAS trying to arrest him. You just don't beat the snot out of your friends in his opinion. (My tank, it should probably be noted, is a bit of an innocent. He's about as good-natured and kind-hearted a soul as you're likely to find in Paragon City. The guy's a total boy-scout) But the mission was what the mission was. He finished it, and felt like complete heel afterwards. I doubt he would ever have finished apologizing to his friend for what he'd done if the rest of the story had gone differently.

After the arcs were over, I ended up taking him out to the Shard, sitting him on a rock and leaving him there for a couple of days.

As for Aaron Walker... One of my Praetorian characters actually has a bit of a tribute to him. Rose, my little sixteen year-old DP blaster, thought Aaron was a pretty cool guy. She liked that smart-***, geek-boy thing he did. At the end of that last arc, the ambush would have eaten her alive if it hadn't been for his robots... He saved her butt.

When Rose hit 50 and became an Incarnate, I sat down to think about what I wanted as Lore pets for her. The answer seemed obvious. If she was going to call something out of the mists to defend her, it had to be something that she already knew she could count on... Something like those reprogramed clockworks. So, she always calls a Dismantler.

She named him Aaron.

Seer 1381 (Katie Douglas) always touches my heart. I ran that arc the first time in closed beta for Going Rogue, and I was more interested in changing my morality back to loyalist, so for her morality mission I decided to change back to loyalist. When Katie cries out to me about betraying her it almost brought a tear to my eyes, I found myself saying “I'm sorry Katie.” out loud. After that, I never had the heart to betray her again. Every time I do her arc, I help save her sisters. Which of course caused a big shock for me the first time I left Praetoria thru the Resistance's portal. Being greeted by her and some of the freed Seers really warmed my heart. Superb writing.


Special Agent Jenni Adair's arc is very cool, As told by many people here, yes the part where you double dies is very shocking the first time you go through it. Its, that person you cannot save, no matter how super you are.

Seer Marino's arc, for all the reasons that have been stated and its just that cool.


There are some more, but those have always been some of my favorites. Much of the Praetorian content is very well done. Keep up the good work Devs.

So very many...

Aaron Douglas's finale is of course great, as were many of the praetorian missions. The quality of writing really stepped up with Going Rogue, at least in my humble opinion.

Not to say I don't like the older arcs and whatnot. My favorite used to be the rather obscure "A Path into Darkness", as my first main had a vendetta against requiem, so having the feeling of being on his trail and hunting him down, even while finding out more about him, was quite interesting to me. It's too bad he's taken a bit of a backseat to reichsman, recluse, and cole in recent years ((TOO MANY INCARNATES! :-P))

Other underrated ones-
The Origin of Power- I really like the concept of this mini-arc! The only thing I DON'T like about it is the tacked on final mission. I love that it's a little different for each origin, and I like that you get to interact with some of the NPCs a little more. Even if Science gets represented by synapse >_<.

The Organ grinders- (MASSIVE SPOILERS)



RIKTI! ARE! PEOPLE!

Not really an arc but
-The mender lazarus TF- Both because of my previous stated obsession with the 5th column and their leader (NOT those space clown council >:-( ) and because I'm fascinated by Mender Lazarus himself. I really hope we find out more about him.

And on that, the last bit...
The coming storm. Not really an arc but... MAN STOP TUGGING US AROUND ALREADY! :-P Seriously though, I really want to see how it plays out, who's sending the letters, what will happen with the time stream hits the fan... etc.

While not necessarily the most emotionally vested mission, during the Hero Alignment Mission - where you go to Grandville to rescue an Arachnos agent from execution - when I made my way towards the center of the plaza... and the crowd of citizens standing around all began to shout out my name and cheer me on and such... That was the most amazing touch that I've experienced during this game.

Seriously, I've always loved when NPCs say something to characters as they walk by ("Hey'd, you see Loyal Guardian's new cape?" and so on...), having them all standing around and cheering and shouting out that "The Electric-Knight is here!! You can do it, Electric-Knight!!!"... That was beyond awesome and I'd love to get that into a few more missions.
Seriously, the dynamics of the missions have gotten to some great levels, with the shifting objectives, and some really cool objectives at that, and I absolutely loved that touch.
Having a crowd of onlookers, cheering me on, made me really feel like I was a super hero showing up to do some good for the people.

Quote:

Originally Posted by War Witch Can I just say, I'm LOVING reading this thread. Fine. I'll say it. "I'm loving reading this thread." It brings me back to some of the original writers of the arcs from years gone by as well as the new ones who have come on board and kicked some serious arc hiney. Thanks, everyone! WW

Haha... You said "arc hiney"...

I always enjoy playing through the Faultline series of arcs. It has some of my favourite NPCs in the game (yes, including Fusionette), and it's got a great scaling feel to it, from helping Jim Temblor find out about his father up to saving the world from an Evil Doom Machine. Plus, I love meeting up with Faultline and Fusionette again in the RWZ, because it makes me feel like I took part in the events of the world, not just a story set in the world.

I've been creating more redside ATs recently, and it makes me a little sad that when I can switch sides or my Praetorian characters can get to Primal Earth, they've outlevelled the start of the Faultline arc. Roll on I21!

I also always have fun with 'To Save a Soul'. The briefing dialogue with Madelaine Casey makes me laugh every time -- "So the Carnival is supping on souls, eh? Sweet, delicious souls." -- and I like sneaking around behind my contact's back, trying to save her. I run this arc on flashback every now and then, and I'd run if more often if someone would cut out the ridiculous street hunts.

I guess the first story arc that really grabbed me was Lou the Mechanic. Trying to find out what happened to him and rescuing him, his wife & daughter really made me feel heroic, and gave me a sense that I was a hero. The update where they actually turned the the last room of the warehouse into a garage was outstanding.

I just have to say that you guys keep getting better and better with your stories. Love Croatoa, Cimerora, Going Rogue...wow just keeps getting better.

However... level 30+ blue side needs some love.

So many zones, so much potential...

Oh, man! It's been so long since I first did the RWZ arcs that I had completely forgotten about Sefu. That was a total WTF?/righteous anger moment for me, even though by level 50 I'd become accustomed to bad things happening to good people. I think it's because Longbow is so well staffed with horses arses that meeting an honorable man worthy of respect made it that much more of a tragedy.

(I'm one of the people who considers Longbow to be barely this side of being a government-sanctioned super villain organization. When I think of the average Longbow thug, I think of Dim and Georgie from _A Clockwork Orange_.)

For out and out laughs, the opening mission to the villain "Clone Wars" arc, where you go up against Ajax - "Wow, he really IS utterly invulnerable!"

I don't recall anybody mentioning the Calvin Scott task force except indirectly, so let me get a plug in for that; especially given that it was an experiment in dynamic story-telling that never went anywhere afterwards. I'm hoping that Freedom will revisit this idea.

This will probably sound a little weird, but my strongest emotional attachment in the game comes not from a story arc, but from a particular map in a particular story arc.

The arc is _The Freakshow War_. The map is a unique outdoor map called "Jacaranda Vista". The mission on that map is no great shakes. Just beat up a lot of Freaks and Council to prevent an alliance.

The map, though... The setting is a ruined section of city that has been through some calamity that left it half-sunken beneath the waters of the Atlantic. Maybe it was the War. Maybe it was something else. No backstory is given. No explanation is made for how that much of the city ended up below sea level or if it is even Paragon City at all.

The flavor is distinctly different from Boomtown. Baumton is an active zone. The fires are still burning. The gangs are picking through the ruins. The lights are on. Babbage roams the zone, venting its rage on any living thing it encounters.

Jacaranda Vista, by contrast, is a passive zone. It's quiet; even sepulchral. The only people there are the villains who have chosen it as an out-of-the-way meeting place. The buildings are dark. There's no hint of occupation. Only the Batman-like hero standing sentinel over the center of the zone, unnamed and unknown but still watching silently as the waves lap at what remains of the neighborhood that chose to honor him with a statue.

It's a place to pause and contemplate what it means to be a Hero when you're faced with a disaster that no single Hero or Super Group could possibly contain or rescue everyone.

How many bodies are there under those waves? What was it like on the day the water crashed in, smashing buildings and burying the neighborhood under tons of ocean? Where is the memorial commemorating that tragedy?

I sometimes wonder if that statue IS the memorial - a tribute to some hero who gave his all to try and hold back the waters and allow a few lucky souls to escape the clutches of the waves as they consumed everything and everyone in their path?

When one of my heroes cleanses the place of its Freaks and jack-booted soldiers, it's as much to prevent its defilement as it is to protect the city from the threat of a war between the Freakshow factions.

I suppose that to many people its just another map to beat up Freaks on, but for me it's a living, breathing, example of why my characters become Heroes, and a place to stop and quietly consider just what that committment means.

The only story arc which have made my cry, is the heroic side doppleganger one.
I wept when my doppleganger died in the end, i wanted her to live, i wanted us to live together happily ever after. But i was robbed of my perfect ending. The two of us would've made en excellent duo!

I can't believe I forgot this but

The whole Countess Crey arc. Where end up going (the first time) "Wait... She's? Wha? Who? WTF IS GOING ON!?" in relation to the whole situation.

I have to agree with the Countess Crey one. I actually felt bad for her at the end, and could see what she'd been trying to do. She'd genuinely believed she was trying to save the world... and got lost along the way.

I admit that part of my fondness for that arc is how so, so many people use Crey Corp science experiments as the go-to for Science origins. Crey sometimes seems to be the greatest single supplier of superheroes in Paragon City. Part of me wonders if that wasn't their intention all along. "They'll hate me for it, but if that's what it takes to save the world... I can live with that."

crey is interesting, one villian that could really be written in a more sympathetic light, while still retaining the horror at his methods is dr. vahz. a good writer could make him a really conflicting character. he kind of comes across as a xerox of who people who haven't read the book think of with dr frankenstein and he could be a very compelling as well as revolting character.

Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.

All of the ones posted above, ALL OF THEM!

Especially the Terra arc, Aaron Walker in Prae as well. oh Wretched man is also great, because it comes so early in the Rogue isles and shows that while for a lot fo people Arachnos and Villainy is a choice, for some it's a job and they have lives and relatives and also pay a heavy price for their choices.

I think the one that really got me most of all is part of Crimson's World Wide Red arc (I think). When i found out they'd genetically engineered a child to be the centre of a Zeus Titan and then you have to fight it and the kid inside is screaming out that he can't control it and you have to beat it down, knowing that you're going to kill the child really choked me up, because I have kids of my own. I've only played it a few times because it's about a dozen missions through Crimson's arc but it chokes me up every time as it makes me think about how inhuman Malta are and also makes me think about someone trying to hurt my kids.