Content flow and new players

I teamed with a free player today, who was asking in help if anyone want4ed to help her with a mission. Another free player joined and the three of us had a fun time doing a radio mission in KR. After we did that, I asked her what the next plan was and she picked another radio mission. I enquired why she was doing radios instead of the normal content and she replied that she hadn't been given any. She said her route from the tutorial was to Habashy who then told her to go speak to the detective in KR, and he gave her the radio, and she assumed that she was to do radio missions until told otherwise by the game.

Is this a problem with her understanding, or a problem with how the contacts describe what players are to do to follow the normal arc progress in the game?

Eco.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow [The Incarnate System is] Jack Emmert all over again, only this time it's not "1 hero = 3 white minions" it's "1 hero = 3 white rocks."

Well, after enough Radio missions, she should be told to protect the bank, and when talking to the police contact after that, should be given another contact. So eventually it should put her back on the "right" track.

They should also be given other contacts along the way, I think.

I'm pretty sure that Twinshot pops up in a window as soon as someone hits level 5 - and there's also the "find contact" button in the contacts list which picks up contacts in your level range.

A wild guess would be she was sent to a different contact in KR but when you first enter the zone your waypoint is overwritten and you are sent to the detective for a radio. She probably didn't notice the switch.

Right now, when you finish the Atlas Park missions you're told to go to KR and see a detective. The only other contacts that pop up, even using Find Contacts, are Twinshot and Wincott.

I've found it pretty annoying myself since, if you don't want to do Twinshot, you have to run radios to get back onto a contact track.

Did you help those 2 freebs get their jet packs?

Actually, Matthew Habashi sends you to officer fields after **SPOILERS FOLLOW** you've prevented the Hellions from summoning a giant demon that could accomplish the same thing in Atlas Park that the Shivan meteors are accomplishing in Galaxy City. After introducing you to Officer Fields, your work with Habashi is done. Fields invites you to solve a murder mystery, which leads to your first run-in with Doctor Vahzilok's zombots. Somewhere during your work with Fields, it's likely you'll be contacted by Twinshot.

This is all assuming you're doing the lower level content at a regular pace, and not joining other heroes on too many adventures in-between, and not out-leveling your contacts. If a player wants to experience story content, they will need to learn a few tricks. A new player isn't likely to know that visiting trainers past a certain level will nullify your relationships with contacts (unless they have triggered a story arc, that is).

Sometimes when I'm in the mood for low level content, I'll put a character in /hideall and /unhideall around level 20. Even still, it is not abnormal for my combat level to reach three to four levels above my security level. During those times the Paragon Wiki is an indispensable tool for checking contact levels and planning my training around them. (As an aside, players sometimes ask me why I don't just use Ouroboros to catch up later. I'll reply by asking them why they don't just stop reading a good book and finish reading it a few weeks later. Just, ya'know, for the heck of it.)

I started a new toon just to try and play whats available to a free player and so far the best chain of contacts I've found is...

1) Tutorial
2) Habidashry through Theiry in Atlas
3) Twinshot 1
4) Wincott through Frostfire mission.
5) Twinshot 2
6) Finish out Hollows
7) Twinshot 3
8) Faultine (Temblor and Penelope)
9) Midnight Squad Intro
10) Faultline (Doctor and Agent G)
11) Mercedes Sheridan (through Crown of Glory)
12) Doppelganger arcs
13) Roy Cooling

That's as far along as I've gotten with that toon so far with a toon who's now closing in on level 30. My next step after that will probably be the introductory Oroboros arc and then the two semi-TF arcs Midnight Son and Mender Lazarus offers which should get me to a high enough level that I can start the RWZ arcs.

Throw in some radios/safeguards and that should offer a pretty diverse array of maps, opponents, and mission elements (including a couple of "save the city/world" bits) for a new player to level up with.