Who Will Die Part 2 SSA - Thoughts

Honestly, the Rulu cult is a little sudden. For seven years they didn't exist and poof, now they're a force that can directly confront the Midnighters. No build up or foreshadowing. Regardless of the flavor text, they simply haven't even been seen (even rarely) until now when really they should have.

If it had been one or two rare spawning mobs in Atlas/Mercy spotted since i20, yeah maybe. But this...yeah it doesn't fly.

IMO, it would have been a better take if they were still very small and not even Ruluruu took them seriously. Like, there's this cult fighting in his name to bring him back and he couldn't care less because they're just another snack. And when they summon up a Watcher, Wisp or whatever, it immediately turns on the cultists and they're like "Whyyyy?" and then the survivors bring in a replacement group of faithful.

In short, something that sets them apart from the CoT and BP. Those groups, the dark forces they deal with are usually all too eager to play ball, or at least pretend to. And, 7 times out of 10, the CoT manage to bind/control whatever they bring up.

Ruluruu, I can see him not even considering humans more than bugs, not even bothering to string them along or jerk their chains.


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Since the destruction of Galaxy City, the Rulu-Shin had a lot more recruits from people looking for "answers", which is why they've become more prominent now.

C'mon, Venture. Surely you, of all people, are aware of the Highly Visible Ninja trope.

I enjoyed the arc, but as with the first one, I think it's too short, too quickly completed.

I was trying so hard not to draw attention it didn't even occur to me to tap on the guard's shoulder and try to talk to him. Just tried the file cabinet because it looked like nobody was watching there.

And in my typical, oblivious fashion, I didn't even notice Hamidon; I've never been in the Abyss, so I couldn't recognize it.

Clearly I'll have to look around more next time.

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Originally Posted by Dr_Darkspeed You only list known villains. What if the bad guy is someone we think of as a hero? In fact, what if the bad guy is a member of the Freedom Phalanx? In which case, we may be the one to kill them!

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Originally Posted by Johnny_Butane Good point. But in that case we can narrow down which of the Surviving Eight it's not. It's a good chance Synapse, Numina, Statesman, Manticore, Sister Psyche and Aurora are off that list.

I don't think Statesman is off the list at all. He's clearly a manipulative egomaniac. He'll reveal himself as such, betray everyone, and the last arc will be co-op. We'll all have a hand in eliminating him once and for all. And the lands will erupt with fireworks and ambrosia.

I don't have a problem with the Rulu Shin. They're not soldiers of Rularuu, because we've all seen what the ACTUAL Soldiers of Rularuu look like. The Rulu Shin is a sect worshipping something they don't understand, kind of like what the Geth are to the Reapers of Mass Effect fame. They're mutated humans who have a death wish, and while they may have access to some of Rularuu's toys, they're still just a misguided cult.

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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 took a look at the Rulu-Shin while fighting them the other night- For the most part, their costumes are made of things we have, such as the valkyrie kilt, boots I've seen in the costume editor, and a few other recognizable pieces. However, I also saw some unique gauntlets, chest details, back parts, and some other things.
While I'm not clamoring for those parts like the withheld CoT stuff, they would be welcome additions to the costume creator.

Yeah, I'm pretty much suspecting that'll be the next pack in the store...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the mystery subordinate in the cutscene (the guy in the victorian steampunk vest) say something along the lines of the next target being the one he was built for? (Look, I'm at work right now, I can't check.)

If I'm remembering that correctly, that leads me to one of two options.
1) Automaton - in which case, the Devs are really pushing the idea that this thing is being run by Nemesis.
2) Mystical construct - in which case.... I got no idea.

Played through it. Enjoyed it, but still left with the opinion that it isn't worth the 400 point cost on the Market. First Ward is still a far better deal.

To be fair, the SSA arcs feel more like a perk for VIPs much more so than a meaningful purchase hook for Premium and Free players.

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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 liked this part better than the first. I felt like I had more time to take in the atmosphere, more time to read the story clues. Felt a little mysterious (had music playing in the background from a Flash game [Factory Balls 4] that might have helped...).

Boss fight at the end of mission three was doable on my Ice/Time troller, though I did need to use Return to Battle (Arctic Air failed to take chunks out of the two +1 minions with him and the Natterling...and served to suck my end. Should've just tried to rotate Time Stop better).

The ambush at the end of the first mission was fun, I thought. I was on a support character, and I could help support rather than having to shoulder the entire ambushes myself. At the end of that mish, I *did* wonder where Wade had disappeared to...

Oh, and I thought the splash art was fantastic.

I don't really know how the Super Story Arcs couldn't be seen as an awesome VIP perk.

Once we get more of them (and remember, we aren't stopping at the 7 for 'Who Will Die?') at the speed you can run these things, you can take a character who hasn't yet done any of them and get a month or so worth of Hero/Villain Merits in one day. Beyond that, even if your character has run all of these before, you can still run them on and off along with normal Tips to gain more H/V Merits than you normally would.

An involving, evolving story-line where our characters interact with the game-world on a higher level than they have before, capped off with insane amounts of rewards? I'd buy that for 400 Points.

But since I'm VIP, I don't have to