cranebump

Same. 🙂 Though Bane sounds interesting. I’ve never been drawn to the Crab route.

Being a fan of guns and such, I've played a couple SoA's. Never got one to 50. But there's a whole summer ahead...MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

That's just crazy! I'd have thought things would crash well before that. My issues with file size are well-documented. I've had crash issues with nowhere near as many critters. That's on my poor lil laptop though.

I usually get Echo: Galaxy after AP. Or zip into RWZ to grab the easy one, then use the free jetpack to get two quick ones from KR (the one on the ground between the buildings where the clocks hang out, then the one on the Helipad with the CoT).

Red Gold: A Sharkhead Story [ID: 39802 ] by @FourthSurvivor Touted as a sequel to Diviner Maros's arc, this L20-30ish (it varies on the high end--most are 20-29) arc drops you back into the Coral trade, working for the pleasantly named Death Master. You start out as part of wide-ranging hit on Cage assets (DM wants 'em ALL). This somehow places you at Villa Requin, where, as you're gettin' dat bag, some Spiders, THEN some RIPPERS show up yelling, Hail Lord Recluse (or some such). Weird...You're told that "Mako's Marines" showed up, but I didn't see anything that looked sharky for some reason. A buyer for the coral is on the list, but DM has better things for you to do, namely hit Mako's favorite haunt and steal some of HIS shit (I'm too big for my britches, sure, but, c'mon -- why am I poking MAKO?). The Chum Bucket is a quick hitter. You find yourself a fence in there, after a short spat with the Fam. The Hunt for Red Coral (-tober) sends you to The Pit next, where slags roam (or rather, UNDER it). Clever little mish follows here, involving your Slaggies and some Scrapyarders. We get a lead from Crazy Jim that takes us to Potter's Field (ahhhh...nice --I wrote an arc using that as a backdrop). Collection for your pains isn't as simple as it seems, sending you on a walk down "Succubus Alley" (and I'll leave it at that). The finale has you securing your smuggler ship against some familiar faces (including a lil boss cameo I'll leave for you to discover). All in all, a well-crafted, fast-paced, mean mission (seriously...I just felt like a mean ol' bastard the whole time [which is the point, I'm thinking -- this IS the Isles). A sliced-up seal of approval (thanks to our finale bosss) [wink]. PLAY IF: you want a neat little "tour around Shark," complete with the zone's usual suspects. P.S. Nothing is quite so satisfying as rifle-butting someone in the face, followed by the word DOMINATION popping up on the screen:-)

What I've seen are more regular mission teams forming, but that may be because I've been on Everlasting more, and this is just something they do. I know I didn't see a lot of straight story mish teams on Excel or Torch.

/em holdtorch

It can be a bit much, but you get used to it on regular teams. For Zone events and such I just accept that I'm not going to see much of anything clearly and go with it. What actually does bug me is when people have their shinies on next to trainers for extended periods. I sometimes wish we had a power suppression zone around the area. Those instances are pretty rare, however.

I'm trying not to be impressed by the fact they took the time to make macros for this sort of thing. (straining...straining...phew...yeah, that's next level douchey).

Indeed. Now, cutting it is another story...

That TF has been a pain in the Yang lately. You must've been running with the same "CLICK EVERYTHING NOW!" teams I've been on.

Excellent. My next toon will be called Propser! (it will NOT live long, I assure you)

Sticking to the back pages, where we find a lot of material with not near enough plays. Obviously, it's a mixed bag back here, but, of the ones I ran today, all of them are competently executed, and one of them is an out-and-out gem. Without any further ado (yes...what is and why do we need any further of it?). ENJOY ME HEARTIES! (or Harties, if you have antlers?) Two Earths Devoured [ID: 55072] by @Dr. Clockwerk A 2023 entry for L25-30, with no plays [boo, community…boo], your task is to keep Praetoria Hami from uniting with Primal DE. Praet Marchand is your contact, issuing orders on behalf of “the Emperor” (I’m assuming NOT Palpatine). You’re sent beyond the sonic fence to rescue a scientist named Naylor. “Infested” Praet troops abound on the woodland map (so if you like those Heavy Troopers, Scryers and assorted Clocks, you’re in luck – there are plenty). You move from there to a DE-infested facility (a no frills defeat all set in a Praet underground map). Another “clear the infestation” follows, this one with several rescues (superheroes all, none of whom have fleshed out bios, or give much [if anything] in the way of clues). As you delve into Prime Hami’s aims against Praetoria, you’re aided by a Seer who’s inept at reading human minds, but an expert with “inhuman” ones (and has some pretty neat dialogue to accentuate this condition–but no original bio, alas). Mission 4: I COULD NOT FIND what I was supposed to lead the Seer to. Something didn’t spawn. So I rebooted, went back in, found nothing again, so I let her die at the hands of a patrol, just so I could go on to the finale. Not sure what I may have missed, since AE failures are cosmetic at best. As for the ending, no spoilers, but will say that it harks back to an earlier mish. It also uses one of my favorite maps (that leads to a bit of close quarter work, depending on how you approach it). Couple of small issues: (1) you CAN fail mishes on this one (though, if you play with any sort of competence, you won’t), and (2) bios on the supers you rescue in an early mish are disappointingly sparse. Which makes me wonder whether this arc would work better using stock supers from Primal Earth who already have writeups. In any case, it’s overall cleanly written. Plot is fast-paced, and unadorned – there’s no mystery here (though there is a bit of a twist at the end). Variety of maps, and a few interesting customs mixed in with the Praets (like the beamweapon-firing clockwork critter–I liked that one).:-) A Seal of Approval, tagged with a small sigh for the missing bios (which, if you play this, you’ll see why they’d be a good addition. PLAY IF: You like mixing it up with Praeties and DE in the L25-30 range (where you ain’t a stone cold killer as you’re gonna be). Gang Problems [ID: 209] by @Wolfbeast @Wolfbeast A 2019 entry for lowbies, ranging from 5-15, featuring the usual suspects. In this 3-piece suite you delve into a possible alliance between the Hellions and Skulls.Arc description suggest a team of 3, so I put on 3 pairs of socks and head in. Our contact is once again a Mekman, labeled Paragon City Representative, which tells me this is a glitch in the AE, probably brought about through updates between the publish date and now. In any case, “Mekrep” is wordy and cheerful in giving us a “check out Skull activity the cops somehow missed” task. Of note: the Mayor asked specifically for me (need to give my PR guy a raise, I guess). You do indeed find out that the Hellions are working with the Skulls in some sort of pact NOT involving drugs (WHA...?).:-) The rep tells me the Mayor is “unsurprised” (which, for some reason make me immediately suspect him of being involved in the whole thing). You do indeed find shenanigans – a new faction (using the same gd name I used for a similar idea with my Ordinary People arc). By the time I get to mish 3, my suspicions about the Mayor are confirmed. He’s involved! (but not the way my paranoid brain originally thought). Short version: the whole nascent Skullion mixology is nipped in the bud, and you end up a big damned hero. One the whole, it’s got good enough bones for a lowbie arc. Any sort of plot intricacy is put aside, mainly due to the “3-act structure” (you just can’t develop much background, unless you want to bombard the player with clue-age). A few typos, and format would be improved by use of colored text to differentiate dialogue from action [which appears in brackets, like this]. Felt a bit like a first attempt, and not an awful one. Usual pitfalls are avoided by keeping things nice and simple. A competent Seal of Approval. PLAY IF: You want a lowbie arc that presents Skulls and Hellies in a different context. The Great American Skull Fry [ID: 25805] by @Sappho II Another 3-mish lowbie arc with a truly-effective description: The Skulls have kidnapped Statesman (probably pretty easy, since the guy’s dead and all).:-) Time for a jaunt back in time (so to speak--this is obviouslt pre-Darrin f*****g Wade). Your contact is Uncle Sam (yeah…that guy). Fits, as the tone is less than serious (as evidenced by the first mish objective: "Free Statesman from his shameful captivity with the Skulls!" Sure enough, we find a depowered Statesman (except he’s AWFUL short…like maybe 5’ tall).There’s an appearance from Flower Knight, which is pretty cool (SHE seems the right height).:-) Some nice jokes in the pop dialogue (including one where a Skull notes that “Justin actually got the purse today”). You find a plausible (and “dangerous to the world!”) explanation for the sudden Skull ascendency, and off you go to put a stop to it. Lots of humor. Winks, nods and nudges at familiar elements of our game (including the strange, but frequent phenomenon of lowbies saving the world instead of the big guns), and the best Azuria appearance I’ve ever seen (or at least the funniest). Extra points for the Nav text on the finale-like a million extra points. Seriously. It’s worth a run just for that. A solid gold Seal of Approval (in the shape of a smiling Drama mask). PLAY IF: You want a well-written arc with a humorous slant. WELL WORTH YOUR TIME. The Skull Girlfriends’ dialogue is excellent: Here’s a small taste: I wanted to go to Galaxy City to do some shopping. But nooo... we had to go to Hell.):-) Priceless...:-)

So…you’ve met them, too, I see.:_)

This description fits a particular player I've played with (till I learned better) and seen recruiting fairly regularly. They run missions only. They ask for a specific level range (or a level minimum). They gather everyone outside the mish door (because WHAT ARE YOU DOING GOING IN BEFORE ME?). Before heading in (behind our fearless leader), you get a rundown on how the mish will be approached. They always play a tank (er, I mean, THE tank). They always herd to a corner (they take pains to point out the spot--because we're all pretty stupid). If there is ANY perceived deviation from this plan, they'll stop everything to type out their hissy fit. In short, this person is a colossal douche bag (a descriptive nugget that never appears in the recruiting pitch).:-) That said, their expectations are pretty clear once you're on the team -- I'm going to play like it's 2009, and no one's going to stop me. I'm also going to bang on how people play these days while I do it. Because I'm a sour, sour, sour sack of birdsh*t.

Ah. We've run into Ilyana. Interested to see if she proves to be any challenge at all to the illustrious Enigneria.

Sky King’s Ransom [ID: 530] by @von Boomslang. A 2-mission, Sky Raider focused arc composed in 2019, this short stack delves into the doings of a scarred Rikti war vet who’s turned “hero-hunting criminal vulnerable.” One Major Ransom has turned from protecting the populace to endangering them as a member of the Raiders. Your contact is Justin Greene, but is represented by a MekMan avatar for reasons never explained. Right off the bat, I just flat out fail the first mish. I find and free my escort, but we’re set on by an ambush, which totally pummels my shortlived alliance with the warrior prisoner I’m there to rescue (perils of setting on x5 and aggroing captor group, plus a group nearby, plus the arriving ambush). The beat-up bad guy reveals the location of Ransom, where I’m sent with an admonition not to let him get away (which means I probably have a second failible mish to undertake). There’s a tangential rescue early on (from a perp who’s standing in the midst of a Raider throng, sipping coffee). Tight quarters turns this into a bit of a farming experience, which works well with my tank. Good thing, too, since, as expected, there is a chase scene with the end boss. I thankfully do not fail this time. What’s here is well-constructed. Story-wise, it introduces a Sky Raider plot involving other scarred vets (and a vow of revenge by the bad guy, whom you actually find twice in the finale [it makes sense when you run it]). On the whole, though, it felt like a story that had just started when it ended. So, for me, it felt unfinished. Plus there’s that Justin Greene in a Mek Suit thing that’s just never explained. Well-constructed, and obviously well-edited. But just a half Seal of Approval, seeking its concluding mate. PLAY IF: You want something ultra quick in the 20-24 range. Set it on x8 for tight quarters massacre-age. (and Booms, I hope you return to this story someday). NOTE: I was on my way to producing a second arc in this review, a full 5-mish one. Unfortunately, ran into a mish I couldn't complete. Literally couldn't. Problem with an objective spawn in M3. Whatever I was supposed to find just wasn't there. After trundling around a large cave map for what seemed like 6 and a half years, I finally bailed out. Will attempt it again soon.

That really is the smartest way to do it, but I've never been on a team that clears steps before 4th hostage. Been on plenty that clear steps before triggering on the top step, Speaking of Pos1: We had a player take a hard right to the back area when we got inside city hall. Is Rollister hanging out there with Azuria prior to triggering the Dops? I always assumed we had to clear those initial interior mobs (specifically the one with Tarses [and the 2nd one to avoid double aggro]).

Looks like it. Last one I popped gave me "Sturdy." Somewhere along the line I picked up a temp Manticore ally/pet, though I don't know how.

I've been cleaning them up as I go, but it's slowwwwww going with my lowbies. I did notice, though, that those things lurk on the rooftops in KR. Got to scrap with some OS Rikti, bit of Family, Sky Raiders, OS CoT, and some Skulls on an AP capsule.

This was NOT us. We had good support, but not a great deal of DPS. Nor did we have a bulletproof tank. Had a decent Brute, but that Brute often needed our heals and Trolls. It was slow, and fairly smooth, but not the usual cakewalk. Leaders were on point to ask that glowies be left alone.

Was on two YIn teams last night. On BOTH teams, the leader instructed the team NOT to click the glowies in the reactor room until the room was cleared from Clamor's first appearance. The leader had to do this to stop someone (never found out who) who'd already started the process. BOTH times. Now, after receiving said instruction, someone clicked the last glowie anyway. On BOTH teams. (sigh) I rarely get upset by this kind of thing. But, by the second run, I was a bit tired of my poor little Arse/Arse Dom getting ganked by the next wave. Didn't quit, though. And, thanks to some big insps, I'm pretty sure I was one of 2 people actually targeting a "I'm hidden in waves of Freaksh*t" Clamor during her return (that beeyotch hits hard, man). (Probably good for me, though. I'd been cruising on that character all the way through her current level before being reminded just how squishy I still am).

Finally built an Arse/Arse Dom. Went with "The Dysh." Her pet tri-cannon is named "Spoon." They run away together... For my first ever demon MM, I did a serious name (Kamadme, another name for Lamashtu), but all her pets are words from different languages, each essentially meaning "idiot.":-) Forgot lore pets of older toons: KR Devil's drone thingees are "Matt " and "Foggy"

As in real life, I would like my characters to feel they're being effective (even when they're totally not). Some level of delusion is just a necessity.:-)

Retired X-COM, looking for something new perhaps?:-)