Zhym

I'm not saying not to take Super Inspirations. I'm saying that if you want Super Inspirations, you may get more of them (and won't get any fewer) if you select incarnate components first. The table for each category of incarnate components also offers Super Inspirations, and the number of Super Inspirations you get goes up with the rarity. IIRC, it's 2 for a common, 3 for uncommon, 4 for rare, and...well, I'm not sure how many Super Inspirations you can get instead of a Very Rare because I never looked when a VR popped up. But if you just click "Super Inspirations" as your reward at the first screen, you may be missing out on as many Super Inspirations as you can get by rolling the dice for components first. For example, I just did a Heather Townshend run, and here's the rewards table, which offers two Super Inspirations as an option. But I selected Incarnate Components instead, which gave me the option of getting an Uncommon component or three Super Inspirations: So there's no reason (other than not wanting to click an extra button) not to pick Incarnate Components at the first screen even if what you really want is Super Inspirations.

Side note, that's probably obvious: never ever take the "Two Super Inspirations" reward at the first rewards screen. Super Inspirations are always offered as "consolation prizes" for incarnate components, and the rarer the component, the more Super Inspirations you'd get as an alternative. The worst you can do is get offered two Super Inspirations instead of a common. So there's no downside to trying the component lottery to see if you can get more than just the two Super Inspirations.

Not only do you not need shards, you don't really need to farm threads, either. Instead, farm components. It takes 20 threads to make even a common component, so it's far more efficient to go for the components directly. You can do that by running iTrials or Dark Astoria content. By far the quickest way, if you're just farming, is to run Heather Townshend's "Burden of the Past" arc over and over. Once you're used to the arc, it takes about 10-15 minutes, depending on the character. Not only does it reward an incarnate component as part of its rewards table, but you also get an emp merit and another random incarnate component. And the XP for the arc isn't too bad, either, which helps you get those emp merits for leveling the first few veteran levels. Oh, and you'll also get a few threads, too.

I hear that Lord Recluse is recruiting some of the Isles' more notable citizens to "negotiate" with Ms. Liberty directly.

But not snakes. Snakes can just eff right off.

You mean the “colorful local characters?” Tourists eat that stuff up!

Also, with so many mad scientists and mad-scientist-wannabes running around the Rogue Isles, you never know what a "purse" may turn out to contain—or be. Is it full of poisonous clockwork bees? Is it a handy travel-sized trans-dimensional portal to a world full of hungry, cranky demons? The result of experimentation in genetics, materials, and fashion trends that will eat anyone unlucky enough to open it? I mean...probably not. But why risk it?

Sure, why not. Every Dec. 23, we could have a single thread for Airing of Grievances. It would be a Festivus Miracle! (But a zero-moderation "say what you're really thinking" day (like we don't do that already?) seems like it would...not end up great.)

You know, I don’t think I’ve seen even a single purse stolen in the Rogue Isles. And most of the contacts give four or five missions, tops, before giving you your reward. Very respectful of your time! Nothing like some of those hero-side contacts who think you have nothing to do but spend hours running mission after mission just clearing every last villain out of a building. Janet Kellum and Indigo wouldn’t last 45 minutes with Efficiency Expert Pither.

One of my favorite uses for trip mines is when opening presents during the winter event. Plant mine, click on present—if you’ve been naughty, the mine will clear out the snow beasts. And because you can click the present while you’re laying down the mine, it doesn’t really add any time to the process, either.

So is this been changed? If so, is the change just for the holidays or permanent? I see 2 others mentioned it but one implied no and the other implied yes and you liked both so.... I just tested it, and it looks like it's still set at three days. So no Festivus miracle here just yet...

Huh. You're right—you can delete them in the Powers window. I was trying (and failing) to find a way to cancel them through the status icons. Well. That would have saved some time a while ago. :)

The parts I never really got about ITF until you explained them are the bits about being told to "Consult the Oracle" (because that's part of the dialogue that Imperious has with only the TF leader?) and why they're involved. I honestly had no idea until now, for example, that the reason we take out the cyst crystals is to de-power Romulus. But you're right that none of those nuances are really necessary to get (or enjoy) the gist of the story. BTW, I think one of the best TFs in terms to laying out the story for the whole team is the Miss Liberty TF. Here's what I know about the plot in that one: Lord Recluse is building something that will buff him to an even greater power level. Dr. Aeon has a "brilliant" plan that will trap the TF in a future where Lord Recluse has conquered the world. Unfortunately for Aeon, he really needs to record his gloating victory monologues in advance. There's some stuff about the thorn tree and having to beat Dr. Aeon again, but it's not important to the plot. Mostly it's a chance to beat down some B-roll archvillains. Despite the heroes' efforts, including defeating his top lieutenants, Lord Recluse's Web is completed! Bow down before his POWER! Or, y'know, take down two or three of the towers, put the hurt on Recluse, and save the world (again). Whichever. The plot is straightforward, and most of it is conveyed through cutscenes. I mean, we all know where Arbiter Sands goes to get a decent cup of coffee, right?

I agree that ITF's story is a little more suited to team play than ASF is, but I've played ITF I don't know how many times now and this is still all I know of the plot: Imperious needs our help! (I know this because his name is on the TF). A bunch of scantily clad Sybils need to be rescued! (Despite their profuse expressions of gratitude, my heterosexual male character just lets them...run off?) And Sister Solaris needs to get to the altar (and we've only just met)! Okay, now there's something with Kheldians and cyst crystals that we need to destroy and the traitors don't want us to destroy for...reasons? There's a whole mess of Cimeroran traitors that need to be walloped, including lots of cyclopes and minotaurs. Hey! The 5th Column are involved in this somehow with a BIG DAMN MECH (that, alas, never gets out of its scaffolding). And, hey, Romulus Augustus is in this too, and—Requiem? We beat Romulus Augustus down, and he has failed. But wait! He is...NICTUS! The champions will be a feast laid before him! (I know this because of the cutscene. Also...no; no they will not. Romulus will go down. Frequently, in some runs.) I guess I do know a lot about ITF, but I wouldn't say I've really grasped the story except that it has something to do with the 5th Column building a big damn mech and buffing Romulus with nictus power-ups. Which, to be fair, is still probably fairly close to the full plot, which is a lot simpler than ASF's story.

They do count. But you cannot make another one if you have one of that type. I think... Empowerment buffs are the cheap way to craft more inventions, but @KaizenSoze is right that once you have one, you can't make it again until the previous one expires. There are 25 of them and they expire after 90 minutes of in-game time. I found them to be a pretty good way to make progress towards the Master Craftsman and Fabricator badges while still playing the game instead of spending lots of time crafting. If you make a list of the salvage you need for a complete set of 25 empowerments and get into the habit of stopping by a base to fill up again when the last set expires, the badge progress is pretty steady if you play the toon a lot. Plus, most of the enhancements themselves are pretty handy (with the exception of Increase Knockback and, if you think you'll end up with any escort missions, Grant Invisibility).

I don't know, but I'm so glad we have them around to tell us we're playing the game wrong. Here I was, having tons of fun, not realizing that I wasn't supposed to be! Sorry not sorry.

Here’s how I understand it. The Knives of Artemis are a mercenary group operating as an independent wing of Malta. They mostly appear in Malta missions, and have an annoying perception boost that lets them see right through stealth. They also like to carpet the floor with caltrops. During the Dark Astoria arc, you learn that the Knives of Artemis are being converted into the Knives of Vengeance (losing their caltrops and perception bonus in the process, it seems). Then you destroy the Knives of Vengeance, bringing both the Knives of Vengeance and the Knives of Artemis to an end. The Talons of Vengeance are a Praetorian Earth group led by Sorceress Serene and encountered in the First Ward series of arcs. It’s Serene and the Talons that have the whole Furies thing going on. If your character has encountered the Talons in First Ward (specifically, if you’ve done Master Midnight’s arc), a dialog option will appear with Heather Townshend where you speculate that the Knives of Vengeance have something to do with the Talons of Vengeance. Later (regardless of whether you’ve fought the Talons before) you learn from Praetor Duncan that the Talons had been recruiting the Knives of Vengeance to “purge the world of injustice.” The Talons show up as enemies in the Dark Astoria arc from that point on.

I managed to join a PUG badge run last night, so the Winter Event may indeed have been partly responsible for the lower ASF activity last week. BTW, this particular PUG badge run went amazingly well. I forget the exact composition, but IIRC it had a tank, a controller, and at least four blasters. On Malicious, it took a little under an hour (including the optional AVs) and we burned through pretty much everything. Still plenty of deaths, of course, but not to the extent that it was frustrating. Once you know the SF's tricks, a good team shouldn't have any problem getting the badges. I still want a Tourist/Squishy-Solo Mode, though, so I can click on all the things without slowing the team down (because there are so many things to click on).

Or a Defender. 😜 I've basically sworn off MSRs unless I'm badging or leveling, except for two ATs: (1) Tankers, because the Rikti pulling game is fun (especially for an Invuln tanker with the Psi hole), and (2) an Empathy Defender who can sit in the bowl and autofire Healing Aura (plus the occasional Vengeance, if I'm quick enough) while I chat. With blasters, it's just spamming attacks (the only minigame is timing the AoEs right when more Rikti TP in), and it's actively frustrating with melee toons (oh, hey, there's a Rikti! I'll just run over there and...oh, dead already. Hey, there's another one! I'll—nope, invalid target. Repeat for 30 minutes). I may have poured myself a drink in celebration when my Blaster badger did his 10th MSR for the Master at Arms and Demolitionist badges and so would never have to MSR again.

I'd really like to be able to make suggestions to NPCs. Not commands, because they're fully realized individuals with hopes and dreams of their own, but suggestions. Like, "Would you please come here?" or "Maybe think about not running off and attacking every hostile in your perception radius, if death isn't a thing you're actively seeking?" Polite requests like that. Oh, and I'd like a Portable Leash temp power for escort missions.

I really want to play @TheZag's version of the MSR Trial described above. Holy heck that sounds like fun.

I guess it depends on what you mean by PUGs and "connected." I've done all of the iTrial badge runs done as PUGs—MoBAF and MoLambda most often, but also MoDD and MoMag (on Excelsior, @Oklahoman leads all of these on rotation and seems to have them down to a science). MoUnderground, MoTPN, and MoKeyes are a little harder to find, but badge runs come up often enough—and with Keyes, the main risk seems to be fixed by having enough people with Incan. Other non-incarnate trials were even easier to do as badge runs—no temp powers and no deaths wasn't that high a bar, really. But the ASF badges are a lot more like the iTrial badges in that you need to do specific things to get them. But I imagine some of those PUGs may have come from a certain chat channel which I thought was at least semi-public, but maybe not. Anyway, as someone with a badger who has all the Mo badges except the new ASF ones, I hope getting them doesn't require being better connected.

Is anyone seeing PUGs for this since the initial flurry of activity last week? I was hoping to glom onto a group doing badge runs, but the only call I’ve seen so far was a group doing a Vicious run (I think) looking for a particular AT. That may be an issue with a SF mode that requires strategy and a balanced team: people might be less willing to run the SF with PUGs. Whatever problems folks have with TFs and SFs that can be burned down by whatever few randos show up, they do have the advantage of letting people form PUGs quickly and accept whoever asks to join, without too much worry that the whole thing will go off the rails (@Snarky’s experiences notwithstanding). Or maybe it’s just that everyone is doing Winter Event runs instead and ASF badge runs will resume after the new year.

I'm really curious whether these three ran the Sister Solaris arc 100 times to get the Legatus badge. If so...yikes.

Television brings everyone together!