What missions/storyarcs do you recommend NOT skipping?

Hi guys! I need your advice. I just started playing CoH about a week ago and I have a question about the missions. What missions/storyarcs do you recommend NOT skipping? It could be for various reasons like getting a temporary power, salvage, accolade, badge, etc. It could even be a mission that you regard as essential --- which you are almost compelled to complete for all of your characters.

So far, this is some of the missions I got from asking people. What are the perks that your character will get from these?
Please feel free to add more and explain why it shouldn't be skipped. Thanks!!!

- Montague Castanella in Steele Canyon (lvl 10+) ----- Midnighter's Arc
- Stephanie Peebles in Striga (lvl 20-23) ----- Peebles' Ring
- Unai Kemen in PI (lvl 45+)
- Tina McIntyre in PI (lvl 41-44)
- Angus McQueen in FF (lvl 40-44)
- All the contacts in Vanguard (lvl 35+)
- Roy Cooling, Keith Nance, and Jenny Adair arcs in TI (lvl 20-30)

I'd also add the 5-19 tutorial arcs(blueside - Twinshot, redside - Dr. Graves) since they're both a good source of comedy and have a pretty good storyline. I haven't gotten particularly far on either side due to altitis so my arc experience is a bit limited.

Welcome to the game and the forum

There's actually a time travel system in the game that lets you "flashback" to all the major story arcs and badge missions, so even if you miss one, you'll always have the chance to do it again.
The time travel place is called Ouroboros, and it can be accessed from level 14 via a portal.

Laura Lockheart and Graham Easton (sp) in Steel, 15-25, are fun ones.

And about Monty - his arc (along with Ashely's red-side) was "don't skip" because it gates Cimerora - which you can now gain acces to via the House Hunter Badge in Night Ward.

The "Fortune Teller" mission given in Steel Canyon by one of either Haley Philips, Hugo Redding or Dr. Trevor Seaborn. It gives a badge necessary to get the Atlas Medallion Accolade, which gives you +5 End.

Also, on the Safeguards, the first one is level 5 to 10, which is easy to miss since Death From Below will zoom you right past that in two runs. So get to Kings Row ASAP and start missions for your Detective there before too long.

While there's no real "don't skip" missions any more, a Leveling Plan for new folks isn't a bad idea.

1. Start with your intro missions. Visit Ms. Liberty after the tutorial to level up, then Matthew Habashy for your first set of missions.

2. Continue with the contacts Matthew gives out.

3. At level 5, visit Twinshot and do her arc. This is part of an extended tutorial, and a fun arc too.

4. Head over to Kings Row. Locate your detective (he'll appear in your Contacts under Detectives) and start your first Radio missions.

5. After three Radio missions, you'll get a Safeguard. Advertise on Help and LFG for folks to join you, then head in and stop the bank robbery.

6. At this point you've probably exhausted all the new content. Legacy content is available, but I think you should head back to Atlas Park and join the mindless hoards running Death From Below. You'll gain about 5 levels, and it's a darn fun mission and your introduction to the LFG Team-Up Teleporter.

7. Now you should be ready for Twinshot's second arc. Also your second safeguard mission becomes available at level 11, so head to Steel Canyon and do some more Radio missions.

8. Even though it's legacy, you can head to the Hollows and do David Wincott's arcs, then do Flux. Frostfire at the end of Flux's arc is the first "boss" many players encounter. You may have a tough time, but figuring out how to beat Frosty is a bit of a rite of passage for many players in this game.

9. By now you should be close to level 15. You can do a bit of street sweeping, or another Death From Below. It might be useful to explore a bit while you street sweep. I'd recommend head both to Skyway from Atlas Park, and Steel Canyon. From Skyway, you can get to Faultline and do Jim Temblor's arc, and then Penelope Yin and Doc Delilah. Those are older arcs but still good ones. As mentioned, Steel Canyon is popular, and has two brand new arcs. Laura Lockhart and Graham Easton are the contacts for the new arcs in Steel Canyon.

10. At level 15 you'll be ready for Twinshot's third and final arc. Between her, Faultine and Steel Canyon, you should have lots to keep you busy for a while. Do another Death From Below if you get really bored.

11. I'm not much used to blue-side, actually, but after about level 20 I think you should explore Croatoa, First Ward, and Talos Island next. Croatoa has newer arcs and some fun content, First Ward is brand new and probably has the best content at that level, and Talos Island while older tends to be a central hub, so it would be useful to at least explore it and locate the transfer points.

12. The next big bunch of content starts with Night Ward at level 30, and Rikti War Zone at level 35. Striga Isle is also available if you run out of stuff to do. It's level 20-29.


Good luck!

My rule of thumb is New = Good, Old = Bad.
=P

But as a new player, really you ought to just play everything and anything that comes your way- part of my appreciation of the great newer stuff Paragon's done comes from having spent years playing the, ah, less than stellar older content.

And to be honest, there are very few missions/arcs in the game so horrible you wouldn't want to play through them once....even stuff that just bugs me as a longtime vet, like the Hollows, would be fine for someone with fresh eyes.

If you are offered the mission that grants the Cryonite armor (http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Cryonite_Armor includes a list of contacts that might give it to you) I would recommend getting it.

Use it sparingly, turn on before trying a dangerous attack, turn off as soon as the situation is under control to save endurance and temp power runtime. The ugly graphics make sure you don't forget to turn it off. Combine with a purple insp or two for really tough stuff.

The Cryonite armor mission does not grant any badge, so there is no way to earn the power later through Ouroboros. It is most useful while leveling, anyway, not at 50 when anyone can have armor through an epic pool.

I second the recommendation for running the Safeguard missions at appropriate level ranges (if you miss one, try to tag along on team when a lower level friend gets to the right level for that one). The temp power earned from the 5-10 one is nice, but if you miss it 10000 inf would buy the same power if you can get to the vendor across Peregrine Island. The 15-20 safe guard temp power is very nice and lasts for a significant amount of play time, the 20-25 one is also good but will wear out before you can use it much.

While the Cronite Armor is a good idea, I think you can get more Defense and Resistance from two purple Luck inspirations and two orange Sturdy inspirations. They're fairly cheap, and ubiquitously available.

That's a big hint, btw, for new folks on how to beat some of the tougher content in the game.

- Montague Castanella in Steele Canyon (lvl 10+) ----- Midnighter's Arc
VITAL arc. This is the only way to get access to the Midnighter Club, which gives you access to Cimerora (an entire zone). Another vital arc is the Introduction to Vanguard (level 35+). It only takes a few minutes but unlocks your ability to earn Vanguard Merits, which let you buy some cool stuff. I do these two arcs, without fail, on every toon.

- All the contacts in Vanguard (lvl 35+)
- Roy Cooling, Keith Nance, and Jenny Adair arcs in TI (lvl 20-30)
These are newer arcs, so generally better quality content.
Same applies to the new low-level ones from Matthew Habashy, Twinshot and the other low level contacts in Atlas Park.

At some point, you'll want to run through all 4 contacts in the Hollows (level 5+ ? 6+ ?), all 4 contacts in Striga and all 4 contacts in Croatoa. Each of these is a series of arcs set entirely in that zone and with a coherent story. Croatoa is the newer of these and, consequently, generally somewhat higher quality. A lot of people don't like the Hollows so much, and some is kind of repetitive, but there are a couple of classic missions in there.

The list you posted had Tina McIntyre (and I agree). I would also add Maria Jenkins (level 45+ in Peregrine). Their arcs are related.


You don't need to run all this stuff on one character, or at any particular time, but you should eventually get around to running them at least once.

Also, the monty arc can be done at ANY TIME, so it's not vital that you do it asap.

For a new player, I'll add the Invention tutorial given out by the Dean in Steel Canyon university. It's not super-fun or anything but it's not bad, plus it'll give you a heads up on what to do with all those drops filling up your inventory, if you haven't already figured it out. This arc can be done at any time.

At levels 20, 30, and 40, you can visit an Icon tailor for a special mission to unlock a new costume slot. These are mostly hunts that start off with an ambush. At levels 20 and 30 you can also see the City Representative in City Hall for missions to unlock Capes and Auras, respectively.

I'm sure you'll also want to do Task Forces. The older ones (Synapse, Citadel, Numina, Katie Hannon, and whoever gives out the one in Striga Isle) are exercises in drudgery, but they have their moments. A favorite moment of mine in one of those is when a Giant Monster ambushes you and your team; you probably won't be able to take it alone, but with a few calls for help, heroes from all over the city will converge and lend aid, showing just how tight-nit our community of players really is. The newer or revamped task forces (Positron 1 and 2, Peneplopi Yin, Admiral Stutter) offer more interesting stories and game play.

This was noticed early on in beta and never had the devs say it's a bug.

Mayhems are a must to do redside, as they are fun, give temp powers, have an explore badge and can be out leveled.

Blueside, I really like doing the wedding ring arc in striga. Though you can flash back, its a really useful power.

While doing the Safeguard/Mayhem missions are really the only thing 'missable' missions left in CoH, I will point out some personal favorite arcs that you might want to check out at least once. (Whether durring leveling, or via Flashback is up to you.)

Remember, these are arcs I found fun. Your Milage May Vary.

Blue Side:

Be sure to run the Faultline arcs at least once. They aren't easy (three different Elite Bosses/Archvillains) will be encountered, but they do tell an interesting tale. Also, if you don't get it another way, the second arc (IIRC) will give you acess to Ouroboros and the Flashback system, so that's a bonus.

You may want to experience the Hollows, Striga Island, and Croatoa arcs... they are less coherent than Faultline, but not without their high points.

Check out the Mercedes Sheldon arcs. These mark the point where the Devs started really working on their story telling and shouldn't be missed.

As for some old content arcs (these aren't anywhere near as well told as arcs added post Issue 13, but they still have their merits.)

The Bonefire Plot
The Mind of a King
The Vahzilok Plague (Warning! This arc includes getting a nasty debuff for a mission, and an encounter with an EB/AV - Dr. Vahzilok himself.)
A Hand of Iron (An arc where the Freakshow are a credible threat, not just easily led buffons.)
The Wheel of Destruction
The Freaklympics
An Unnatural Order
The Envoy of Shadows (Another Elite Boss/Archvillain arc)
The Organ Grinders
Revenant Hero Project
The Terra Conspiracy (Yep, another EB/AV)
Division: Line
The Eternal Nemesis (2 EB/AV encounters here. One of them is Nosferatu, who can be a particularly challenging fight if you try this solo.)
The Evil Countess Crey (EB/AV)
Missing Melvin and the Mysterious Malta Group
Project: World Wide Red (Not just an EB/AV encounter, this arc includes an ambush by a Giant Monster!)

Well, that's just my Blue Side list of Arcs You Should Check Out At Least Once.

I give an anti-recomendation to the two arcs centered around the Carnival of Shadows. Trust me... your life will be better off IGNORING these arcs.

I'm not as familiar with Red Side arcs, so I'll just leave with the observation that they start actual story arcs right away, but the quality is very debateable in them. Be ready to feel like a hired Thug for most of them, because that's how you are treated.

Several have recommended the croatoa arcs - and that's a good thing.

There is an accolade called Geas of the Kind Ones. It's a fairly useful tool for when you're running low on endurance and your ToHit is debuffed. It decreases your defense, so make sure you have a luck handy to use with it. There are a number of things that you have to do to get it, and they are all in Croatoa. By going through the missions - you will gain credit for the various defeat X requirements. And in this case, X =333, so every bit helps.
Additionally, Buck Salinger is the contact who will unlock access to the Katie Hannon Task Force. (you can ouro that arc if you need to, or tag along on someone elses tf)

Another two contacts you shouldn't miss are Anton Sampson and Maxwell Christopher. You will want to have large teams for these missions so that you can fight the Fake Nemesis bosses to give credit towards the Unveiler badge, part of the requirements for Freedom Phalanx accolade. It's always more fun to clobber the bad guys in missions and get xp for them, than to go back and do it later when you're 8 levels higher.

So I see a theme here that most of the older content is bad, and newer content is good. Do older missions ever get "refreshed" to update them and put them more on the level of newer content? Seems that might be some low hanging fruit for developers.

I think the main difference is that in older missions, all the story telling takes place in contact dialogue. The contact tells you something, you go and beat up some guys, go back to contact, then go beat up some guys, then go to contact, go beat up some guys... So basically, if you ignore or forget what your contact said, you're just beating dudes up for no reason. Not to MENTION cross-zone FedEx missions, a practice the Developers have wisely dropped (Ie, go to the zone that's gonna be a train-ride and a ferry trip away to click that guy, then come back to me). Along that note is having missions spread all across the city. Part of the reason old missions are derided is simply because you spend half your time traveling instead of getting stuff done. And then there's the fact that a lot of older arcs are filled with thin excuses to have you beat up 3 warehouses full of guys when just 1 would get the point across.

The newer missions have things happen WITHIN missions that forward the story. There's interactive dialogue, captions, choices, cutscenes, some fun game mechanics; and even the contact dialogue has been improved to give you choices, ask questions, all with pertinent information highlighted. Not to mention that the writing is better, and that any assets added to the game in the last few years just look better than the old stuff. Also, the Devs have begun embracing the practice of being able to access your mission by just clicking the contact instead of going 3 zones away in some cases.