Quote:
Man, how cool it would be if we had NPCs to fight that looked like actual velociraptors?|
Originally Posted by Eryrex
Rogues can fight for money and power alongside the Frostscale Dreadtalons, cold manipulating dinosaur warriors who are fanatically devoted to the will of the primal goddess Seriss.
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I'll definitely check this out with my Rogue tonight. Although, her mutant powers are fire-based. Hope the dinos don't mind.
(Sometimes, I wish there could be a Dev thumbs up button for quality posts, because you pretty much nailed it.) -- Ghost Falcon
Wow, that was...
I ran the Rogue version of the arc. It starts out fun learning the lore of the Frostscales in the first two mission, and the fights are typical fare with the exception of the one big fight, which I found somewhat challenging (though I don't understand the opponent's appearance).
The third mission isn't bad as a change of pace, but it's kind of annoying in that there is no risk, but also no reward.
The fourth mission is just the opposite in that it is ridiculously difficult. I mean seriously, spawns and random patrols that consist of a PAIR of elite bosses? Minons with Unstoppable? Sappers that can also confuse you and then self resurrect?
And the final mission is just plain annoying and anticlimactic as you run around the base for five minutes, then finish the mission in five seconds for a whopping six tickets.
The last mission might have been OK if I wasn't so drained from the fourth mission and all the reading in the earlier missions. There were probably some interesting comments from all the NPCs in the mission, but by then I just wanted it over with so I bypassed all of them and ignored their comments.
In conclusion, the arc has potential, but it's not really something I would recommend to anyone in it's current form. To me, it's too uneven in its pacing, and the fourth mission is just NOT built with casual players in mind. I gave you three stars. I considered rating it lower, but I figured that it might just not fit my playstyle, or the AT I was using might just have been at a disadvantage, and the arc might be perfectly OK for someone else. I do think it needs work though.
(Sometimes, I wish there could be a Dev thumbs up button for quality posts, because you pretty much nailed it.) -- Ghost Falcon
Quote:
The purpose of the non-combat missions is to give players a break between the action. First time players will get lost in them, but thats the whole point, so players can catch up on the story while still interacting with the game and not being distracted by combat. Im no expert on the dramatic structure, but thats the format I used when designing the missions in each story. Even superhero movies dont have the protagonist fighting rooms full of bad guys every single scene.|
Originally Posted by mousedroid
Wow, that was...
I ran the Rogue version of the arc. It starts out fun learning the lore of the Frostscales in the first two mission, and the fights are typical fare with the exception of the one big fight, which I found somewhat challenging (though I don't understand the opponent's appearance). The third mission isn't bad as a change of pace, but it's kind of annoying in that there is no risk, but also no reward. The fourth mission is just the opposite in that it is ridiculously difficult. I mean seriously, spawns and random patrols that consist of a PAIR of elite bosses? Minons with Unstoppable? Sappers that can also confuse you and then self resurrect? And the final mission is just plain annoying and anticlimactic as you run around the base for five minutes, then finish the mission in five seconds for a whopping six tickets. The last mission might have been OK if I wasn't so drained from the fourth mission and all the reading in the earlier missions. There were probably some interesting comments from all the NPCs in the mission, but by then I just wanted it over with so I bypassed all of them and ignored their comments. In conclusion, the arc has potential, but it's not really something I would recommend to anyone in it's current form. To me, it's too uneven in its pacing, and the fourth mission is just NOT built with casual players in mind. I gave you three stars. I considered rating it lower, but I figured that it might just not fit my playstyle, or the AT I was using might just have been at a disadvantage, and the arc might be perfectly OK for someone else. I do think it needs work though. |
As for the enemies in the fourth mission theyre not as difficult as youre making them out to be. None of the minions have unstoppable, there are no ambushes, and they're not doing anything players havent seen before.
Also, considering that players can use IOs and incarnates to steamroll content with virtually no risk this is probably the closest youll get to an accessible challenge for the casual player that isnt a gear/AT check and actually requires that you put some thought into how you approach each enemy.
I get what youre saying about risk vs. reward and I wish they were worth more tickets and xp, but sadly the devs only reward players that trivialize standard content so youll just have to settle for whatever rewards you receive in your in-game email from the Pack or Frostscale.
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Three more stories still need to be finished.
This is tuna with bacon! LETS ROCK!
I did receive your ingame e-mail and thank you. I wrote the following response, but it was too long to send, so I'm posting it here instead. Hope you don't mind...
POTENTIAL SPOILERS FROM HERE UNTIL THE END OF THIS POST
You said it started off fun, but could you elaborate on that? What was so fun about the beginning?
It was fun/interesting to learn the story of the Frostscales and their enemies through the clues, but I thought that those clues were somehow going to be used in future missions. Since they weren't, it seemed kind of like a waste of time trying to find them all. If there was a way you could figure out how to give hints in them to combat the enemies in the later missions, it would really be cool.
You said the third and final missions were annoying. Was it hard finding the objectives or are non-combat missions just not interesting?
It wasn't hard finding the objectives, just time consuming, and when there was no combat, there was no pay-off. It wouldn't have been as bad if there weren't so many clues in the first two missions, and if there were not so many glowies in the third mission. It just started to seem pointless.
As for the final mission, it's like there was no payoff at all. After all the clues about the Frostscales eating their prisoners, and all the difficult combat in the fourth mission, I expected some epic battle against the Frostscale leader who was going to try to kill and eat me or fighting the wolfpack leader to rescue the Frostcale leader, or... something.
Instead after running all through the base looking for the big leadre, I one-shot a couple of Frostlings and the arc is over? Very anticlimactic, and literally unrewarding. Remember, a lot of people play these for tickets and getting like six on the final mission of a five-part arc is kind of a slap in the face.
Did you like the story?
I enjoyed the stroy well enough I suppose. I can't think of anything I really disliked about the story, other than maybe not making it matter in the missions more. It was more the uneven playstyle I objected to.
Did you like the two factions? Which one was your favorite?
The two factions were fine. I can't say I liked one more than the other, but the Fristscale's story seemed more cohesive. Then again, I didn't really learn as much about the wolf creatures.
Did you have a favorite/least favorite custom enemy?
The tactic of having a double of the player's character was interesting, though it was never explained as far as I recall, so while it might have been my favorite if it had been explained, it just sort of came off as a "look what I can do" feature and ended up being my least favorite. If there was a clue as to why I was fighting my doppleganger and I missed it I apologize. If there wasn't, I think you should add one.
What kinds of tactics did you use on the fourth mission?
After about my fifth defeat, I just started buying all defense and breakfree inspirations at the vendor inside the AE building and continued to slog through. As much as possible I avoided enemies that were unnecessary to achieving my objective even though that meant passing up rewards. Since the enemies had such high defense and mez resistance, my normal tactic of holding or putting one to sleep while fighting the other didn't work. Even when domination was up, I wasn't able to hold one and fight the other. Maybe another AT would have more success.
You say above that the minions didn't have Unstoppable, but I could swear they did. If they didn't, then the Lieutenants definitely did. Either way, I was playing at +0 x1, and they were the most difficult minions and lieutenants I can ever recall facing. Even the Malta's Sappers don't resurrect themselves while you're trying to finish off the rest of the spawn!
Anyway, I hope this feedback helps.
(Sometimes, I wish there could be a Dev thumbs up button for quality posts, because you pretty much nailed it.) -- Ghost Falcon
Two new factions have arrived in Paragon City and they'll need some superpowered help if theyre going to survive.
As a vigilante you can bring justice to Paragon City with the ruthless Pack, a battle-hardened collaboration of lycan mercenaries led by the enigmatic Selena Wselwulf.
Rogues can fight for money and power alongside the Frostscale Dreadtalons, cold manipulating dinosaur warriors who are fanatically devoted to the will of the primal goddess Seriss.
Heroes can try to reinforce their alignment and make sure Paragon City remains a city of heroes.
Remember this is the first rogue vs. vigilante conflict in Paragon City if you choose the wrong side you may just lose.
Vigilante Version: #534587
Rogue Version: #529081
Hero Version: #534064
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In other news the goddess Seriss is NOT pleased with the current state of Mission AE and is taking steps to do something about it.
New contact available!
Arc #535977