The Good Missions Guide: A Heroic Levelling Journey through Story Arcs

[Gulbasaur]

The Good Missions Guide

or 

A heroic journey to 50 without powerleveling

 

The Story is Actually Good

Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s easier to powerlevel up to 50, buy IOs and go back through Ouroboros in Flashback missions, but this creates a jumbled storytelling mess. Also, it creates a feeling of character development and your "oh, it's X again" moments become "hey, I remember this! I helped X do Y in Z!"  as characters appear and reappear later, giving the whole story a sense of continuity and progression.

 

If you want to experience a version of the story organically and fluidly, here’s a guide to levelling.

 

I’ve tried to cherry pick story arcs that meet the following criteria:

• Interesting missions (variety of objectives).
• Missions with unique maps or mechanics.
• Story flow - introducing characters and ideas that’ll show up again later.
• Rewards and unlocks, missions with temporary powers (you'll unlock three summons and a very useful resistance buff if you follow along).
• Things I just think are cool.

 

I do plan on adding to this a bit as there are some points I want to go back to but as it is this will get you to 50 and show you a good time while you get there.

 

Notable omissions are several of the really old story arcs that lack the flair of later arrivals and some "not a story arc BUT" missions (the origin contacts) - I couldn't realistically fit everything in. Also not touched upon are tip or radio missions, although I would say it's worth working through them to unlock your character as a vigilante for a bit more variety (you can cheat with Null the Gull, but the tip missions are all fairly good and so are the alignment shift ones and remember that this is a story guide).

 

I fully admit I've gone for Rule of Cool in a few places, rather than exploring deep lore told only by easily missed contacts. You can still explore that yourself - I encourage it! But that's not what this guide is about.

 

Included below are the names of the contacts, in order, with level bands taken from Paragon Wiki. 

 

Suggested Path

Tutorial > Atlas Park > The Hollows > Kings Row > Faultline > First Ward & Striga > Night Ward & Croatoa > Peregrine Island > Cimerora & Ritki War Zone

 

There are a few story arcs and task forces along the way that I also suggest, either because they contribute to the overall story or just because I think they're good.

 

A Warning about XP

It is very easy to outlevel certain zones and for that reason I recommend you do not use any exp boosts. Other times, you'll get halfway through a zone and not be able to speak to the next contact. Over the course of the game, there was a (near) global XP buff and a reduction in experience debt, so the levelling process is now noticeably quicker than a couple of the early zones were designed for. 

 

You’re deliberately taking the scenic route here. The following macro will create a button that will pause and unpause XP gain, allowing you to more easily control your levelling pace. I've indicated in this guide the points at which you should pause your experience gain to get the most from the story - a general rule of thumb is at levels ending in 4 or 9.  

/macro_image "DayJob_XPBoost" "XP Toggle" "option_toggle noxp"

A Note for Kheldian Archetypes

Both Peacebringers and Warshades have their own contacts in Sunstorm and Shadowstar respectively, each giving you a unique archetype storyline every five levels, starting at level 5. Each storyline is pretty decent, although they suffer from the slightly monotonous missions that many early game story arcs do. If you pick a Kheldian archetype, follow the story along when it comes up, but be really careful about not outlevelling other contacts while you do it. 

 

While Peacebringers and Warshades technically have different sets of story arcs, they're telling the same story just with you working with a different group - they don't differ hugely from one another. The missions aren't anything special, but I think the story is well done and having one story run all the way from level 5 to level 50 is pretty neat. 

 

Levels 1-2: The Tutorials

Okay, there really isn’t much here but you do get a couple of enhancements and inspirations for free and a run through of the basics of mission objectives. 

 

Outbreak runs you through the basics of your standard door missions. 

 

Galaxy City is, in my opinion, less good as a tutorial but more connected to the early story arcs.  

 

Your call, really. When you’re finished, you’ll end up in...

 

Atlas Park

The temptation here is to skip the early levels by running Death From Below. Do not do this! Believe it or not, the zone actually has a nice little story arc that foreshadows later zones and comes to a decent conclusion. You'll get your levels. Don't fret. There is a good variety to the missions and it really does show you a little bit of everything. 

 

All contacts are L1-7.

 

Matthew Habershy > Officer Fields or Sondra Castel > Aaron Thiery 

 

Thanks to Roderick and PatientZero for pointing out you can only do one of the middle contacts - both arcs are actually pretty decent, so pick either. They both introduce Aaron Thiery.

 

Next, talk to Twinshot for an *ahem* endearing and light-hearted introduction to some of the further aspects of the game. It’s basically a glorified tour of the introductory areas, but it's not done enormously well. Don't worry - it gets better. 

 

The game suggests you go to Kings Row next, and but first I suggest you stop over in a hazard zone. 

 

The Hollows

A hazard zone is an area that generally has larger spawns, and they generally reflects the game in its very early state where the missions were a bit less distinct and there was a bit more of a focus on the grind, but I think it’d be a shame to miss the Hollows as it has a decent story and unlocks the Cavern of Transcendence trial. Pause your XP gain at level 9 until you have started Flux's arc.

 

David Wincott (5-9) > Flux (5-9) > (see note) >Julius the Troll (10-14) > Talshak the Mystik (12-14)

 

Meg Mason has repeatable non-story missions if you feel like running those. Be careful with the Frostfire mission - you might want help with this one. 

 

The level bands are fairly slim, so be very careful about out-levelling them, particularly at the end. Use the no-XP clicky with style and panache. 

 

Note: Due to the non-overlapping levels, if you find yourself finished with Flux but not ready for Julius the Troll, now would be a time to go for the Death from Below trial in the sewers with a full team or head over to Kings Row (and come back again). Pause your XP gain at 14 until you have started Talshak the Mystik's arc and Twinshot's arc. 

 

Kings Row

Start off with the next part of Twinshot’s next Shining Stars story arc as it introduces a few characters and concepts you’ll see again later as well as having a nice little crossover to a the City of Villains equivalent tutorial. It introduces more than a few characters you see later in tip missions and other content, so it's worth doing for the story element - the final chapter is surprisingly good.

 

You won’t stay here long, but it’s certainly worth paying it a visit. Sadly, it looks like this story chain was cut short on a cliffhanger when the game went under, but it’s still well done and worth doing. 

 

Shauna Stockwell > Eagle Eye (both 7-20)

 

It’s a short pair of neat arcs ending in a solo mission.

 

Before You Move On

Now would be a good time to do Positron 1 and Positron 2, as well as Death From Below, Drowning in Blood and The Cavern of Transcendence if you haven’t already done them. Your goal is to get to to about level 17 or 18 and have a good time doing it. The Positron task forces are very good storytelling and set up the next zone you’ll go to. The trials are all pretty short and sweet with experienced teammates. If you’re still not there, try out the Synapse Task Force. Save your jetpack from the Positron task force if you can - you'll need it much later in the Shadow Shard. 

 

Montague Castanella (10-50) in the university in Steel Canyon can provide you access to the exclusive Midnighter Club, which you'll need to be part of much later on.

 

When you're ready,  it's time to go to one of my favourite zones. Pause your XP at level 19 until you've started Penelope Yin's Faultline arc. 

 

Faultline

This zone is, in my opinion, where the "modern" game really begins and we see a clear move from "old" style content. It introduces a number of very important characters to the game's plot, has an interesting and unique map and has a huge variety in the missions it gives you. They are almost all stealthable, which is worth noting. A couple of them are defeat-all missions, but when I did it there were only a handful of enemies so it really won't take long. This zone is excellent. 

 

Jim Temblor (15-19) > Penelope Yin (15-19) >  Doc Delilah (20-24) > Agent G (20-24)

 

The last mission of this chain will grant you the Ouroboros Portal, which is a handy tool for time-travel and avoiding public transport. Pause your XP at level 24. 

 

Before you move on or if you want a break from Fautline, go and speak to Laura Lockheart and then Graham Easton (both 15-24) in Steel Canyon for a couple of memorable story arcs. Graham's arc introduces some enemies who you'll see in L50 content and Laura's arc is just very well written with some unusual moments. 

 

The University

Now would be a good time to learn to craft some IOs. If you've been careful, you should have a bit of influence saved up by now. Head to the university in the southern end of Steel Canyon and do the short tutorial there by speaking to Admissions Officer Lenk. 

 

Now would also be a good time to do the Admiral Sutter Task Force that starts in Independence Port. It's a very story-focussed task force, linking Faultline, Praetoria, RWZ and Incarnate content. Keep your XP paused - 20-24 is busy.

 

Next, there are actually several very good, slightly overlapping zones that I suggest you kind of do in tandem if you're careful. Striga has a storyline that starts off a little slow and ends in one of the cooler early game task forces and is definitely worth doing. First Ward has a very strong story that links to a lot of the later Praetorian content. Because of the contact level ranges, I'd start in Striga, do the first two contacts then head over to First Ward and work through there before finishing off in Striga. Keep your XP gain paused at 24 until you've completed the first two Striga arcs, then pause your XP gain again at level 29 until you've started Skipper LeGrange's arc in Croatoa - levels 20-29 have a lot of good content.

 

First Ward

Striga

First Ward is a continuation of the Praetorian Going Rogue storyline to some extent, but it's so well done that I genuinely think it would be a shame to miss out. It has memorable characters, cool story interactions and an element of choice that hasn't really been seen up to this point.    All contacts for this zone are 20-29 and it starts off by talking to Mistress Eva in Talos.    Mistress Eva > The Doorman >  Nadia > Palatine > Noble Savage > Katie Douglas > Blind Makwa > Cerulean > Master Midnight > Vanessa DeVore   There's the Seed of Hamidon raid boss pootling about in the middle of the zone - you can take it down with eight capable heroes quite easily and it's worth doing. It's done so rarely that getting a team together on the LFG isn't hard. It's a somewhat anticlimactic battle, but you get some badges from it.

I think this zone is often overlooked, which is a shame because it ends in a very cool sequence of missions and unlocks a pretty fun task force, as well as giving you a couple of very good temporary powers. The first story arc is arguably a bit boring and generic, but it builds up into something much better. Be very careful with your levels, as always.    Stephenie Peebles (20-24) > Long Jack (20-24) > Tobias Hansen (25-29) > Lars Hansen (25-29)   You can then do the Ernesto Hess task force as a bit of a glory lap. It's nothing super special, but it has unique maps and is well-paced and enjoyable.    There is also the Moonfire task force here, which is part of the Kheldian storyline.

 

 

 

 

Before You Move On

If you're a vigilante you should speak to Shauna Braun in Independence Port to check out her new i26 story arc - it really helps progress the idea of your character as operating in shades of grey. Martin Weintraub in Talos Island has the Freaklympics early game story arc, which is pretty neat. It's also worth heading over to Ouroboros and speaking to Twilight's Son for his Smoke and Mirrors arc, which was formerly a short task force. It's worth doing just to see the unique scenery, but the story isn't bad either.

 

Then, we can continue on in Praetoria's otherworldly Night Ward and visit the nightmarish magical land of Croatoa. Because of level restrictions, I suggest you start in Croatoa being careful of the level bands, then head over to Night Ward. Pause your XP gain at 34 until you've started Buck Salinger's arc, then pause it at 39.

 

Night Ward

Croatoa

Carrying on the story from First Ward, we've got the fairly unique zone of Night Ward, full of gaslamp fantasy world-of-the-dead mystery, knights and magic.    Start off by talking to Mistress Maria  in First Ward for the introduction.    All contacts are 30-39.   Mistress Maria > Montague Castanella > Ward > Sir Bedwyr > The Magician   My only real complaint with Night Ward is that it just sort of stops. A few characters do turn up in later story arcs, though.

This somewhat unique zone is, in many ways, similar to Striga. It has a few clunky missions at the start and then when it gets going becomes something fairly memorable with a decent task force unlock and some neat temporary powers. The storyline is good enough and there are some unique maps along the way.    Gordon Bower (25-29) > Skipper LeGrange (25-29) > Kelly Nemmers (30>34) > Buck Salinger (30-34).   At the end, you'll unlock the Katie Hannon task force, which was historically the quickest task force in the game and has a unique, if slightly unrelenting, first mission. It also has a few giant monsters around, two of which go into battle, which is worth seeing.

 

Before You Move On

Now would be an excellent time to stop by Ouroboros and speak to The Pilgrim (25-50) and then Mender Lazarus (30-39) for your introduction to the joys of time-travel and then a short mission chain that has thematic links to Striga and Cimerora.

 

If you're a vigilante you could speak to The Major (30-40) in Brickstown. This mission is unique because it's one of the very, very few where you explicitly don't just "arrest" your enemies. It has some unusual steps and is worth doing, even if I think the whole thing is slightly bad taste. 

 

Peregrine Island

This is very much the centre of the "old" end game and I consider it something of a right of passage to do the following, as it introduces a lot of archvillains that you'll see again later. Most of this was designed as team content, so now would be a good time to open things up on the LFG if you haven't already been doing so. You can relax on the levelling here, as apart from Tina Macintyre, there's nothing in this guide that you can outlevel any more. 

 

• Tina Macintyre (40-44) The Anti-Matter Collision / The Instant Army
• Unai Kemen (45-50) To Save a Thousand Worlds 
• Maria Jenkins (45-50) A Hero's Epic

 

They'll help you get closer to the Portal Jockey accolade, which gives you a very nice permanent boost to health and endurance. 

 

Before You Move On

Quickly head back to Croatoa and speak to Percy Winkley (30-50) at the University there for a small series of missions that give you some background lore about the world you're in. Now would also be a good time to head over to Atlas Park and talk to the City Representative (20/30-50) in city hall. She has two story arcs that were originally tied to costume unlocks, but they also have some background to later storylines. 

 

The Last Stretch

Still with me? Glad to hear it. Next up, I'm sending you to two more very well-crafted zones, both with the very relaxed level range. Cimerora is accessed by going through the back door of the Midnighter Mansion accessed through Steel Canyon, Croatoa, or Founders' Falls and touching the crystal in the centre of the hallway. The Ritki War Zone can be accessed by going into one of the Vanguard bases and taking the portal. At this point, you can safely remove the XP pause button entirely; it has served its purpose and we thank it for its service. Most lower level content can still be accessed through the Flashback system in Ouroboros, and the small amount that can't can be got at through teaming with a lowbie. 

 

Cimerora

Ritki War Zone

This zone is notable for just being so stylistically unique and making good use of time travel as a plot device, as well as harking back to some Kheldian lore. As you go in, talk to the Midnighter standing in front of you for further instruction.  Personally, I think the story progression is a bit messy, but it's still worth doing if only because the task force is so good.   All contacts are L35-50.   Midnighter > Senator Decimus Aquila > Marcus Valerius    Additionally, there is a Hero-specific contact named Daedelus (40-50) with some missions that send you back to Paragon City and this zone ends with the glorious Imperius task force.

I really like the storytelling in this zone. There's a good sense of progression and you meet up with a few characters we met earlier.    Levantera (35-50) > Serpent Drummer (40-50) > Gaussian (45-50) > The Dark Watcher (45-50)    There are a few task forces here, but for now give the Lady Grey task force a try as it most closely follows the storyline.    Your glory lap here is unquestionably the Ritki Mothership Raid. Look for it on the LFG, head on over and join a league. Range and AoE attacks will help you, but if you don't know what you're doing then watch for instructions, follow the crowd and keep spamming those AoE attacks.

 

 

Nearly there

Either the Imperious task force or the Mothership raid should help you get the last few levels out as you approach 50 and they basically hold you down and breathe XP in your face, and are both absolutely worth doing at least once. 

 

Now would be a good time to revisit missed task forces and trials and follow up any contacts you might have missed. The Signature Story Arc Who Will Die? is worth doing now, if you want some story-centric content. It happens chronologically before some of the in-game stuff we've covered, so I've sort of left it out for that reason until now. Use Paragon Wiki to help you do them in the right order as it's not very obvious in-game if you're not using the Flashback system, but it's run like a series of solo-friendly story task forces so you might as well do it through Ouroboros as it requires time-travel to make sense if you're being a purist.

 

Task Forces and Trials

At this stage, you can access all non-incarnate task forces and trials. Most are pretty popular, although one or two are avoided for being too much of a slog. They're all worth doing, though. 

 

The Freedom Phalanx Task Forces

Completing these will give you the Task Force Commander accolade. They vary between old-skool grindfests and newly refurbished storytelling episodes.

Positron 1 & 2 (10/11-15/16) Rule of Three & Dam Hero - good storytelling with a free jetpack

Synapse (15-20) Fall of the Clockwork King - a bit repetitive with a stronger ending

Penelope Yin (20-25) A Clamor for the People - short and sweet

Citadel (25-30) Citadel's Children - a bit grindy and repetitive

Manticore (30-35) Following Countess Crey - a bit travel-heavy but there's a memorable battle at the end

Numina (35-40) Soul of the Woodsman - use a guide for this one as there are 16 (fairly easy) hunt missions in a row that work best when your whole team is spread out over the relevant zones

 

The Shadow Shard

The four Shadow Shard task forces are, to put it mildly, a thankless grind through repetitive missions with enemies that debuff defence hard and often resist control effects, ending in a moderately cool final battle after hours and hours and hours and I think they're great. For crying out loud, don't do them more that once, but they're a true rite of passage for any high level character. They involve a huge amount of travel, which is nightmarish for non-fliers or teleporters. If you can, grab the mission teleporters from the P2W vendor and coordinate who uses them, as well as the Ouroborous portal and maybe a jetpack temporary power. The scenery, however, is amazing.  They sort of form one giant task force, and they suffer "a little bit" from pacing issues. Find a friendly group you can have a laugh with, put on some music and just surrender yourself to the grind. 

 

Dr. Quarterfield (40-44) > Sara Moore (40-50) > Justin Augustine (44-50) > Faathim the Kind (44-50)

 

The Best of the Rest

I'm not going to list all of them - use Paragon Wiki or the LFG for that, but here are the ones I think are especially worth doing:

 

Moonfire (23-28) The Kheldian War - nothing too special about this one, but it links to later content in Dark Astoria, Ouroboros and Cimerora meaning the lore in those areas won't entirely drop on you out of nowhere.

Katie Hannon (30-24) A Tangled Plot - Croatoa is a strange zone with unique enemies and a unique task force. The first mission is a bossfight marathon and the rest are a short tour of unique and unusual maps.

Imperius (35-50) Time's Arrow - excellently paced and fairly varied in its objectives, this task force is a cathartic end to the Cimerora arc with some awesome set pieces and basically the best task force for hitting 50 quickly.

Dr Khan (45-50) Return of the Reichsman - a decent task force with an interesting final battle with unique mechanics.

Lady Grey (45-50) - the final chapter of the excellent Ritki War Zone arcs and worth doing for the lore and the gameplay.

Ms Liberty (45-50) - often considered the most difficult task force in the game due to the final mission - started in Independence Port, not Atlas Park!

 

Trials

Trials are kind of short task forces and all are worth doing at least once. They vary between "that was it?" and genuine challenge, even for end-game built players. 

 

Death From Below is infamous for helping new characters get a few levels done nice and quickly at the start and therefore not realising that Atlas Park even has story arcs. Drowning in Blood is mechanically a bit more interesting and has a nice change of scenery if you're used to Paragon City. The three Terra Volta trials are the old blueside respec trials and are worth doing. The Abandoned Sewers Trial is surprisingly difficult with a unique vertical map, requiring more team coordination than you might expect at first glance. Eden is unique in its layout and the Cavern of Transcendence was, in my opinion, slightly ruined by the decision to make it soloable meaning one of the most challenging elements has been trivialised.

 

What's next?

Well, it's time for some incarnate-level content, but that's outside of the remit of this guide.

 

Any comments, let me know! I'm a big fan of missions and story arcs and think there's a lot of really great content there that goes almost unplayed due to the "must get moar levelz" mentality, which is fine but not for me. 

 

Thanks!

Edited October 8, 2022 by Gulbasaur
formatting stuff, added more about Kheldians

[Jimmy]

Awesome guide!

[itiger013]

Very nice guide and advice, thanks for this.

I have a remark though: I'm fairly certain that Unai is in the range 45-50 on homecoming. Could you recheck?

 

Thanks again and keep these guides coming.

[Roderick]

It might be worth adding a warning to your section on Striga: This zone never got a revamp. As such, it's an old-style Hazard Zone. Some of the spawns are quite big, and if you're not careful, the various street hunt missions can be dangerous.

 

However, it is among my favorite zones too, and it makes me sad it's often skipped. Also, it is a huge benefit for those trying to get an early start with their Atlas Medallion accolade, especially when the Moonfire TF is included (another gem, IMO).

[Gulbasaur]

1 minute ago, itiger013 said:

Very nice guide and advice, thanks for this.

I have a remark though: I'm fairly certain that Unai is in the range 45-50 on homecoming. Could you recheck?

 

Thanks again and keep these guides coming.

Will do. The while L40-L50 range is a bit of a mess with a strange gap in the number of contacts available outside of Cimerora and RWZ, and some of the low level contacts are almost designed for you to outlevel them... but then you remember that in the early years XP was lower and Debt was higher so you levelled a bit slower. 

 

And thanks!

[itiger013]

6 minutes ago, Roderick said:

Atlas Medallion accolade, especially when the Moonfire TF is included

So true. If I need Vampires I do the first Moonfire Mission solo -1/8... it's easy and very effective.
I soloed the TF a couple of times now. It's not too difficult on Scrappers/Brutes (if you can handle Arrank as an AV solo) and I really like it.

 

Striga is a Storyarc region I wouldn't skip... the Wedding Band (MOG-toggle) and the Werewolf Whistle (strong pet) are really good temps.

[Troo]

excellent

[TinyH]

Thanks for the guide. It’s fantastic!

[Harlequin565]

Really nice guide.

 

My levelling path is mainly DFB > Faultline > Striga > Croatoa > Night Ward > ITF + Jenkins/Mac with a sprinkling of TFs, so it's nice to see the other options.

 

I struggle mostly with repetition. Those hunt missions in Croatoa always set my teeth on edge and the "find a hostage on a boat" minigame in Striga is tedious as hell. I'd forgotten about the RWZ arcs - so thanks for that.

 

A redside guide would be great as we can flip back and forth so easily now it would be good to break the tedium up with some different content. I do enjoy the redside stuff that's not Arachnos map after Arachnos map it's just that there are so few people to team up with.

[Gulbasaur]

31 minutes ago, Harlequin565 said:

Really nice guide.

 

My levelling path is mainly DFB > Faultline > Striga > Croatoa > Night Ward > ITF + Jenkins/Mac with a sprinkling of TFs, so it's nice to see the other options.

Honestly, I was really surprised with how good the Atlas Park story arcs were when I pushed through to the last one. It's a sweet little story that unfolds. 

 

Edit: Also, I'm working on a redside guide but it won't be ready for a few weeks, 

Edited January 7, 2020 by Gulbasaur

[Pbuckley818]

Ooh... Cool this is helpful. I never got pass the Hollows when I played as a kid, beating frostfire was the height of my achievements back then. I did finish the first 20 levels of Praetorian Content during Going Rogue though. So this is a cool guide to play with.

Edited January 7, 2020 by Pbuckley818

[quixoteprog]

17 minutes ago, Harlequin565 said:

A redside guide would be great as we can flip back and forth so easily now it would be good to break the tedium up with some different content. I do enjoy the redside stuff that's not Arachnos map after Arachnos map it's just that there are so few people to team up with.

I second that. I have one character that has made it past lvl 20 on redside, that I have not yet caved in an switched to blue with. Some of the missions are cool but soloing is almost all you can do. There seems to be a red side version of Twin Shot's story arc that, to me at least, is almost, but not quite, as annoying. Other than that it just seems to be fighting a lot of zombies and snake men.

 

Also, a good guide to Praetorian/Gold Side stuff would be cool as well. I find that to be even worse than Red Side. Not only is it very scarce of other players it seems to have just the one primary story arc and every zone looks almost exactly the same.

[Gulbasaur]

1 minute ago, quixoteprog said:

Also, a good guide to Praetorian/Gold Side stuff would be cool as well. I find that to be even worse than Red Side. Not only is it very scarce of other players it seems to have just the one primary story arc and every zone looks almost exactly the same.

I find the Praetorian/Gold stuff a bit tedious if I'm completely honest, mostly because I start a character, get to about level 10 and realise I don't like it then go back and restart, treading through very similar missions again and again. The story is also much better telegraphed - I think that Redlynne wrote a guide here about getting all the alignment switchy badges, which I think covers most of it. 

 

One day, I'll get there! 

[Pbuckley818]

18 minutes ago, quixoteprog said:

I second that. I have one character that has made it past lvl 20 on redside, that I have not yet caved in an switched to blue with. Some of the missions are cool but soloing is almost all you can do. There seems to be a red side version of Twin Shot's story arc that, to me at least, is almost, but not quite, as annoying. Other than that it just seems to be fighting a lot of zombies and snake men.

 

Also, a good guide to Praetorian/Gold Side stuff would be cool as well. I find that to be even worse than Red Side. Not only is it very scarce of other players it seems to have just the one primary story arc and every zone looks almost exactly the same.

I disagree about Goldside a bit. The Zones are more distinct than many of Paragon Cities, it's just their are only 3-4 (If you count the Sewers) of them pre-21. (Unless you mean missions maps in which case you are kind of right, they really loved their shiny new assets in Praetoria). As far as Goldside Story Arcs go they work different you get 3 on each side. One "Good Guy" Arc, one "Bad Guy" Arc and a Central Arc, (for both sides meaning a total of 6 different arcs), you may also swap sides or go "Undercover" by taking jobs from the enemy, In order to weave between story arcs. What's desperately needed is a level guide to make sure you don't out level contacts gutting the story, along with all the drama and moral dilemma's because you never get to the good bit's. Also sense the chance to swap sides tends to be on the last mission in a zone you won't get the chance if you out level it.

 

Praetoria is like a totally different game. That being said a guide would stll be nice.

Edited January 7, 2020 by Pbuckley818

[RabbitUp]

17 minutes ago, quixoteprog said:

I second that. I have one character that has made it past lvl 20 on redside, that I have not yet caved in an switched to blue with. Some of the missions are cool but soloing is almost all you can do. There seems to be a red side version of Twin Shot's story arc that, to me at least, is almost, but not quite, as annoying. Other than that it just seems to be fighting a lot of zombies and snake men.

 

Also, a good guide to Praetorian/Gold Side stuff would be cool as well. I find that to be even worse than Red Side. Not only is it very scarce of other players it seems to have just the one primary story arc and every zone looks almost exactly the same.

There are 4 storylines in Praetoria, 2 for each faction. Resistance was Warden (the "good" guys) and Crusader (the extremists), and Loyalists have Responsibility (the "good" guys) and Power (fame and glory). Each storyline is further divided into 3 chapters (one for each city), so 12 story arcs in total.

 

To access the extremist side of each faction (Crusader/Power), you have to have the corresponding alliance, so if you want to experience the whole story, some alliance-hopping is necessary. Furthermore, because there's some clashing story threads where you end up killing NPCs that serve as contacts for other story arcs, you have to do some stories in a certain order.

 

Here's an excellent guide on goldside: https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Tyger's_Praetoria_Full_Content_Run_Guide

[PatientZero]

I made a character to go through the story based on this post and I'm loving it so far! However, after finishing Officer Fields in Atlas, I can't seem to find or be introduced to Sondra Costel. I went up to her and couldn't get any of her missions. It seems like it went straight from Fields to Thiery. Could it be because I was level 6 when I finished Fields?

 

On another note, I just finished up with Thiery, that was an absolutely fantastic arc! I can't believe I've never played it before! Thanks so much for this. I'm excited to see what's next.

Edited January 8, 2020 by PatientZero

[Roderick]

As far as I know, Habashy introduces you to Fields or Costel, and you can't pick up the other. The only way to do both is to use Ouroboros for the other.

[Gulbasaur]

Edit: Corrected Atlas Park storyline contacts error. Added in a couple of story arcs that give context to Hero One and the Tsoo. Still trying to find a Banished Pantheon and a Orebanga plotline that has actually fun missions and isn't a grindfest as they're pretty relevant. Added some more context to Ouroboros. 

Edited January 8, 2020 by Gulbasaur

[Grouchybeast]

6 hours ago, Gulbasaur said:

Edit: Corrected Atlas Park storyline contacts error. Added in a couple of story arcs that give context to Hero One and the Tsoo. Still trying to find a Banished Pantheon and a Orebanga plotline that has actually fun missions and isn't a grindfest as they're pretty relevant. Added some more context to Ouroboros. 

Awesome guide!

 

For Circle, I just duoed through Cadao Kestrel's Envoy of Shadows arc, which isn't too long and has a ton of Circle backstory in the mission clues.  Paragonwiki tells me there's also a lead-in to that called The Library of Souls, which is where you rescue Akarist in the first place, but I haven't run that for years and remember nothing about it at all.

 

ETA: In the bizarrely crowded 20-29 range, Keith Nance, Jenny Adair and Roy Cooling in Talos all give fun, fairly short arcs.  

Edited January 8, 2020 by Grouchybeast

[mereman]

I've just started to follow your great guide. Rolled a ill/cold troller yes a bit slow but great fun. now in Kings and I'm enjoying every second.

I hate Power levelling and only tried it once on live our SG wanted a certain power set for a master of attempt, never again😉

[Gulbasaur]

On 1/9/2020 at 11:55 PM, mereman said:

I've just started to follow your great guide. Rolled a ill/cold troller yes a bit slow but great fun. now in Kings and I'm enjoying every second.

I hate Power levelling and only tried it once on live our SG wanted a certain power set for a master of attempt, never again😉

Thank you! If you have any feedback for the guide, I'd be really glad to hear it. I don't really see the point in power levelling for "normal" play... it's not like it's hard to level, and you are basically missing half the game if you skip ahead too much, even with flashbacks and exemplaring. People too often get to 50, unlock their incarnates and then just run the same few missions over and over again.

 

I'm currently working my way up redside through story arcs... I have mixed feelings about redside content. The missions have more variety and character, but I have to say I have mixed feelings about the feeling of progression. I know I'm only level 20, but I feel like I'm just doing odd jobs around town a bit.  

Edited January 14, 2020 by Gulbasaur

[Safehouse]

Just wanted to say thanks for this. You’ve shown me some stories I didn’t even know about before (just finished Laura Lockhart) and it has made for a really great experience.

[Gulbasaur]

4 hours ago, Safehouse said:

Just wanted to say thanks for this. You’ve shown me some stories I didn’t even know about before (just finished Laura Lockhart) and it has made for a really great experience.

You're very welcome! That's a satisfying little arc with some interesting flourishes and it definitely stood out as one of the more memorable ones. 

 

I'm currently working on a redside version (it's growing on me now I've got enough to find a narrative I can start stitching together for the guide - it felt a bit scattershot up until now), and then I'll do an at-50 version (where there is a lot of good content). 

[Hellguard]

On 1/7/2020 at 7:30 AM, Gulbasaur said:

Will do. The while L40-L50 range is a bit of a mess with a strange gap in the number of contacts available outside of Cimerora and RWZ, and some of the low level contacts are almost designed for you to outlevel them... but then you remember that in the early years XP was lower and Debt was higher so you levelled a bit slower. 

 

And thanks!

Unai is L45-50 and has been (maybe?) forever. He DOES offer one mission between 40-45 if you've already started doing stuff for Tina, but only the one mission. The rest of his stuff, including To Save a Thousand Worlds is 45-50. (source: https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Unai_Kemen)

 

Fantastic guide! Thanks!

Edited January 28, 2020 by Hellguard

[Safehouse]

On 1/18/2020 at 2:05 PM, Gulbasaur said:

You're very welcome! That's a satisfying little arc with some interesting flourishes and it definitely stood out as one of the more memorable ones. 

 

I'm currently working on a redside version (it's growing on me now I've got enough to find a narrative I can start stitching together for the guide - it felt a bit scattershot up until now), and then I'll do an at-50 version (where there is a lot of good content). 

An at-50 version sounds great! I would say I’ve spent the least time with characters at Endgame. I tend to get to 50  and then roll something new, so I’m sure I’ve missed a lot of good stuff.