The things you "hate" about I Trials!
If the game's not fun, then why would people be interested in getting rewards from it?
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Still @Shadow Kitty
"I became Archvillain before Statesman nerfed himself!"
For the same reason that you build armored space staions with exposed exhaust ports
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If I were Emperor Cole, and I wanted to keep a bunch of pacification grenades around in case Marauder went off his leash (and it's pretty a long leash, apparently), I wouldn't store them in Marauder's own facility.
Exhaust ports by their very nature must usually be at least to some degree exposed, in order to emit exhaust. Engineers might be forgiven if they ended up too exposed. Military installments have a much lesser need to contain the specific rare weapons and chemicals that uniquely disable their own defenses.
If I were Emperor Cole, and I wanted to keep a bunch of pacification grenades around in case Marauder went off his leash (and it's pretty a long leash, apparently), I wouldn't store them in Marauder's own facility. |
Hm. That's pretty lame. What's the general story behind the LAM anyway? What are we supposed to be doing nesides going in to beat up Marauder?
Eco
MArcs:
The Echo, Arc ID 1688 (5mish, easy, drama)
The Audition, Arc ID 221240 (6 mish, complex mech, comedy)
Storming Citadel, Arc ID 379488 (lowbie, 1mish, 10-min timed)
What, so the grenades are just specifically designed to calm Marauder down? And they're made by Cole's guys? Why? Idon't see him attacking his own guys or doing anything anti-Cole.
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Hm. That's pretty lame. What's the general story behind the LAM anyway? What are we supposed to be doing nesides going in to beat up Marauder? Eco |
Eva Destruction AR/Fire/Munitions Blaster
Darkfire Avenger DM/SD/Body Scrapper
Arc ID#161629 Freaks, Geeks, and Men in Black
Arc ID#431270 Until the End of the World
I despise the feeling of being manipulated by game devs into doing what they want me to do instead of doing what I want to do for fun. Result is I've become the contrarian who refuses to desire their carrots unless I can get them by playing the I want & not paying anything above the basic sub fee.
It is my time and my money and they will not dictate how I spend either. I will continue to pay sub only because it is large enough sandbox where I can continue to do only those things that are fun for me & let me avoid their most obvious attempts at manipulation.
--NT
They all laughed at me when I said I wanted to be a comedian.
But I showed them, and nobody's laughing at me now!
If I became a red name, I would be all "and what would you mere mortals like to entertain me with today, mu hu ha ha ha!" ~Arcanaville
What's the general story behind the LAM anyway? What are we supposed to be doing nesides going in to beat up Marauder?
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The sabotage phase is ostensibly the one and only true objective of the raid, represented by the simple act of destroying Containment Chambers and Weapons Caches. However, knowing what the final act really looks like, the devs cleverly appended an ancillary benefit to the destruction of these MacGuffins. You get "molecular acids" (acids) and "pacification grenades" ('nades) temp powers that are helpful in the stage that follows.
The fight at the end with Marauder occurs, not because that is the league's goal, but because once you breach the interior and start your "sabotage" run, he decides to get directly involved in stopping you. A timer counts down to his arrival, and you get rewarded with extra time (delaying him) with each Containment Chamber/Weapons Cache pair your league destroys (the logic of that is not clear to me though). Finally, after either the timer expires or you've destroyed all the chambers and caches available (10 of each), Marauder appears on the scene to drive the league away. Only at this point does it become clear that defeating him is necessary for trial success, even though engaging him at all was never described as one of the raid's objectives (or was it and I just missed it?)
NOR-RAD - 50 Rad/Rad/Elec Defender - Nikki Stryker - 50 DM/SR/Weap Scrapper - Iron Marauder - 50 Eng/Eng/Pow Blaster
Lion of Might - 50 SS/Inv/Eng Tanker - Darling Nikkee - 50 (+3) StJ/WP/Eng Brute - Ice Giant Kurg - 36 Ice/Storm Controller
The biggest reason I hate iTrials are:
They are endgame content and with level shifts and Incarnate powers your character is very powerful making normal content easier. But you MUST team with others, 7 to 23, in hopes of defeating and passing itrials, while you can die a certain amount of times, which to me is is not very powerful and I does not come off as "god-like". Just another average taskforce but only harder.
I just, for my characters, do not feel very super running iTrials. Hopefully that will change with i22 where I can solo or run with small teams doing Incarnate stuff.
Valaraine: Master Archer & Electricity Whiz.
(Archer - lvl 50, swordswoman - lvl 50, Elec zapper - lvl 35, Ice/DB tank - lvl 50, Arch/En - lvl 26, Lvl 33 Blade wielder, trick archer - lvl 34, flame tank - lvl 30, rad specialist - lvl 44.)
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What, so the grenades are just specifically designed to calm Marauder down? And they're made by Cole's guys? Why? Idon't see him attacking his own guys or doing anything anti-Cole.
Hm. That's pretty lame. What's the general story behind the LAM anyway? What are we supposed to be doing nesides going in to beat up Marauder? |
Located in the heart of Neutropolis, this large military installation is a symbol of Emperor Cole's might to all of Praetoria and the center for military research and development. It is within Lambda Sector that weapons research continues day and night, and where the genetically engineered supersoldiers of the Olympian Guard are brought online from their first moments as an awakened clone. It is here that monstrous experiments are conducted free from prying eyes and where the most powerful materiel in Emperor Cole's arsenal finds its origins. Some have theorized that its labs and storage facilities extend so deep into the earth that it would take weeks to catalogue all of them. No one outside of Emperor Cole's inner circle can be sure, however, because no one who has ever attempted an investigation of the facility has ever been seen again... a trend the Incarnates intend to break. Taken all together, the case for Lambda Sector as a prime military target could not be clearer. The Incarnates must take out Lambda Sector to have the best chance for victory over Emperor Cole. The neutralization of Lambda Sector will give the Incarnates a freer hand to operate in Praetoria, for without that facility, Emperor Cole's military power would be crippled. Taking control of Lambda Sector is easier said than done. Lambda Sector is a secure military fortress on constant alert. Emperor Cole and his lieutenants are not foolish enough to leave their prize military installation undefended. The powerful Praetor White, aka Marauder, the head of Powers Division, has been charged with securing the facility and responding to any attempted assault with lethal force. If the Incarnates are to have a real chance at disabling Emperor Cole's personal army and limiting his military support they must succeed in neutralizing Lambda Sector. |
The Pacification grenades were made on Tyrant's orders to have a way of taking down Marauder if he got out of control - storing them close to him is more effective for taking him down than storing them on the other side of the city - kinda like putting fire extinguishers in a building rather than having to go to the fire department to collect one if you need it.
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
I just, for my characters, do not feel very super running iTrials.
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--NT
They all laughed at me when I said I wanted to be a comedian.
But I showed them, and nobody's laughing at me now!
If I became a red name, I would be all "and what would you mere mortals like to entertain me with today, mu hu ha ha ha!" ~Arcanaville
The Pacification grenades were made on Tyrant's orders to have a way of taking down Marauder if he got out of control...
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Those grenades just don't make much sense to me.
NOR-RAD - 50 Rad/Rad/Elec Defender - Nikki Stryker - 50 DM/SR/Weap Scrapper - Iron Marauder - 50 Eng/Eng/Pow Blaster
Lion of Might - 50 SS/Inv/Eng Tanker - Darling Nikkee - 50 (+3) StJ/WP/Eng Brute - Ice Giant Kurg - 36 Ice/Storm Controller
Which kind of leaves open the question as to why Marauder didn't simply have those weapons caches (or rather the pacification grenades inside them) quietly disposed of. Or are we expected to believe that he isn't keenly aware of every single piece of munitions stored at the facility he is in charge of? And if Tyrant is so concerned with Marauder getting "out of control," why then permit Praetor Berry to give him a super serum that boosts his power even further? And if, as some have boasted, Marauder is defeatable without grenades, why would Tyrant bother with having them made? Marauder hardly represents a potential "problem" Tyrant couldn't solve on his own.
Those grenades just don't make much sense to me. |
Marauder is in a similar position to Anti-matter - both have fallen out of favor with Tyrant, even though they're both still loyal to him - doing anything that could be interpreted as turning against him wouldn't fit their goals.
Tyrant treats people as tools to be used for his project of keeping humanity enslaved - if someone's abilities make them the best for the job, then they get the job - their morality doesn't matter at all, and he's confident enough in his own power to employ dangerous people to work for him.
For example, Mother Mayhem is a monster, but she's also an incredibly powerful psychic, so she gets the job of running the psychic thought police, because her abilities make her the most suitable for the job - just like Chimera is an elite assassin and intelligence operative, so he's the best choice to run the imeprial spy network, even though he's an unstable control freak.
Marauder is a violent thig, but he's also very good at weeding out the "week" elements in the Powers Division, making them a stronger and more efficient force, so Tyrant employs him as head of the powers Division.
All the Praetors are dangrous archvillains, but they serve Tyrant's purposes very well.
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
Here are the full details:
By taking out Lambda Sector, we're able to step up our assault on the loayalists by moving on to take contol of the Keyes Island reactors. The Pacification grenades were made on Tyrant's orders to have a way of taking down Marauder if he got out of control - storing them close to him is more effective for taking him down than storing them on the other side of the city - kinda like putting fire extinguishers in a building rather than having to go to the fire department to collect one if you need it. |
But anyway, if our aim is to destroy the weapons caches at the Lambda facility, and we do so, why do we have to fight Marauder afterwards? Why don't we all just fly over the wall and escape?
Eco
MArcs:
The Echo, Arc ID 1688 (5mish, easy, drama)
The Audition, Arc ID 221240 (6 mish, complex mech, comedy)
Storming Citadel, Arc ID 379488 (lowbie, 1mish, 10-min timed)
The more I know about the Praetorian iTrial 'storyline', the less I wish I knew. The Praetorian content in the normal Praetorian zones struck me as quite enjoyable, apart from First Ward, of course. Did the writers change or something?
Eco
MArcs:
The Echo, Arc ID 1688 (5mish, easy, drama)
The Audition, Arc ID 221240 (6 mish, complex mech, comedy)
Storming Citadel, Arc ID 379488 (lowbie, 1mish, 10-min timed)
NOR-RAD - 50 Rad/Rad/Elec Defender - Nikki Stryker - 50 DM/SR/Weap Scrapper - Iron Marauder - 50 Eng/Eng/Pow Blaster
Lion of Might - 50 SS/Inv/Eng Tanker - Darling Nikkee - 50 (+3) StJ/WP/Eng Brute - Ice Giant Kurg - 36 Ice/Storm Controller
But anyway, if our aim is to destroy the weapons caches at the Lambda facility, and we do so, why do we have to fight Marauder afterwards? Why don't we all just fly over the wall and escape?
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We're not just doing hit and run attacks, or only tyring to teach Tyrant and the loyalists a lesson - the purpose of the war is to totally destroy the dictatorship - the more top loyalists we take out of the picture, the weaker Tyrant's grip on power becomes.
Each Trial deals with aspects of the dictatorship that were revealed in GR - and step by step we're dismantling the fascist state that he's set up, attacking his brain-washing and prison system, his military might, his power supply for creating Warworks, his propaganda network, his thought police, and discovering the truth about his "victory" over the Hamidon, and the lies he's told the people that he claims he's "protecting".
Right now, Tyrant's in a very difficult situation, with his key henchpeople dropping fast, his support amongst the population collapsing, and the various arms of state repression being damage, taken over or outright destroyed - but that makes him all the more dangerous, because he's likely to try just about anything now to try and hold on to his crumbling empire - including forming some kind of alliance with the Hamidon.
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
And how exactly do 'pacification grenades' work? Are they like tranquilizing gas grenades, maybe? I don't think I've noticed any gas effect in a LAM.
Hm, but if they were tranquilizing gas they'd affect some of us too I guess. Unless they were keyed to M's specific DNA or some guff like that (which I'd have no beef with). Are they explained anywhere?
Eco
MArcs:
The Echo, Arc ID 1688 (5mish, easy, drama)
The Audition, Arc ID 221240 (6 mish, complex mech, comedy)
Storming Citadel, Arc ID 379488 (lowbie, 1mish, 10-min timed)
It's possible he could pursue us - plus, we've git a good chance to beat down one of the major loyalists and add to Tyrant's problems.
We're not just doing hit and run attacks, or only tyring to teach Tyrant and the loyalists a lesson - the purpose of the war is to totally destroy the dictatorship - the more top loyalists we take out of the picture, the weaker Tyrant's grip on power becomes. Each Trial deals with aspects of the dictatorship that were revealed in GR - and step by step we're dismantling the fascist state that he's set up, attacking his brain-washing and prison system, his military might, his power supply for creating Warworks, his propaganda network, his thought police, and discovering the truth about his "victory" over the Hamidon, and the lies he's told the people that he claims he's "protecting". Right now, Tyrant's in a very difficult situation, with his key henchpeople dropping fast, his support amongst the population collapsing, and the various arms of state repression being damage, taken over or outright destroyed - but that makes him all the more dangerous, because he's likely to try just about anything now to try and hold on to his crumbling empire - including forming some kind of alliance with the Hamidon. |
I deal with Seige and Nightstar, then minutes later I nip to Keyes and bash up Anti-Matter, then I head back to the BAF cos apparently the two comedy droids are releasing mindwashed again, and then I go bliw up the Lambda sector, having a fight with Marauder, then whaddaya know, Seige and Nightstar are back to their old tricks and Anti-Matter's back on top of his reactors, ranting again.
When the Tyrant iTrial arrives, after I've helped down Tyrant and 'destroy Praetorian war machine' once and for all, I'll be ablevto immediately discovervthat Seige and Nightstar haven't been informed.
MoM SPOILER maybe:
Doesn't Mother Mayhem die in the MoM? Makimg her appearace in my very next BAF cutscene a bit stupid.
Eco
MArcs:
The Echo, Arc ID 1688 (5mish, easy, drama)
The Audition, Arc ID 221240 (6 mish, complex mech, comedy)
Storming Citadel, Arc ID 379488 (lowbie, 1mish, 10-min timed)
Their description calls them an "Electromagnetic Pulse Disruption Device".
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
You didn't source that quote of yours, so I don't k ow how it's delivered in game terms.
But anyway, if our aim is to destroy the weapons caches at the Lambda facility, and we do so, why do we have to fight Marauder afterwards? Why don't we all just fly over the wall and escape? Eco |
Questions about the game, either side? /t @Neuronia or @Neuronium, with your queries!
168760: A Death in the Gish. 3 missions, 1-14. Easy to solo.
Infinity Villains
Champion, Pinnacle, Virtue Heroes
MrCaptainMan, don't bother. You'll just hurt your brain. The story behind the trials is "we went to Praetoria and killed a bunch of stuff to get shinies." Full stop. Everything else is peripherals clumsily tacked on because a bunch of people in i18 Beta were near-sighted enough to demand a story to go with their new powers.
Eva Destruction AR/Fire/Munitions Blaster
Darkfire Avenger DM/SD/Body Scrapper
Arc ID#161629 Freaks, Geeks, and Men in Black
Arc ID#431270 Until the End of the World
MrCaptainMan, don't bother. You'll just hurt your brain. The story behind the trials is "we went to Praetoria and killed a bunch of stuff to get shinies." Full stop. Everything else is peripherals clumsily tacked on because a bunch of people in i18 Beta were near-sighted enough to demand a story to go with their new powers.
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![Stick Out Tongue](images/smilies/tongue.gif)
Or do ou think that they were just planning to give us 3 level shifts for things like the ITF?
![Stick Out Tongue](images/smilies/tongue.gif)
The change in the I18 beta was Mender Ramiel's arc - originally, the Alpha slot could just be unlocked with reward merits, but a lot of players asked for a more story-based unlock, so we got the Incarnate intro arc.
The Praetorian war was always a part of the GR storyline, right form the very first info we got on GR.
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
You do know that the Trials were being designed at the same time as GR, don't you?
![]() Or do ou think that they were just planning to give us 3 level shifts for things like the ITF? ![]() The change in the I18 beta was Mender Ramiel's arc - originally, the Alpha slot could just be unlocked with reward merits, but a lot of players asked for a more story-based unlock, so we got the Incarnate intro arc. The Praetorian war was always a part of the GR storyline, right form the very first info we got on GR. |
With most of the other content in the game, my toon will play it through once from start to finish. Once I've done the striga arcs, I don't get to go speak to Stephanie to find she's lost her wedding ring again with a toon who's already found it for her.
The TFs are repeatable, but the effect of repeating their storylines on the same toon isnt as jarring since they're not often run ten times or more in quick succession.
To get a non-ludicrous PraetoriN Storyline experience, my toon needs to run the Praet zone content, and then run the iTrials just ONCE EACH, in the right order, and then not do any again.
Eco
MArcs:
The Echo, Arc ID 1688 (5mish, easy, drama)
The Audition, Arc ID 221240 (6 mish, complex mech, comedy)
Storming Citadel, Arc ID 379488 (lowbie, 1mish, 10-min timed)
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork