Weekly Discussion 45: Favorite and Least Favorite Story Lines

[justicebeliever]

1 minute ago, Drakwatch said:

I think this would be the perfect opportunity for a Back Alley Brawler TF. He's still in recovery and can't go after Deadlock himself, so he starts up Task Force Regulators to combat the remaining Skull leadership who have now teamed up with the Trolls. It would be a nice finish to the story threads, BABs would get his revenge on Deadlock, and we could have a sweet AV battle with him at the end.

 

On the flipside, it would also be a good opportunity for a new redside TF. The Trolls and Skulls start hiring Rogue Isle villains as shock troops in Paragon? They need some muscle to keep the 'Dyne flowing, and they need Back Alley Brawler off their back. 

 

Any new TFs for under lvl 20 would be awesome and give some much needed team content variety for lower level characters. The Kings Row story arcs are wide open and well written enough to make them a good jumping off point for new content.

I love this suggestion as a way to tie up the new KR content.  I'm always a little sad to run it, because it's left wide open, and then poor BAB gets the beat down, and you're done.  

[Chris24601]

5 hours ago, justicebeliever said:

I love this suggestion as a way to tie up the new KR content.  I'm always a little sad to run it, because it's left wide open, and then poor BAB gets the beat down, and you're done.  

I’ll second loving the suggestion for a BAB TF to close out the KR content and I think it practically writes itself as a level 10-20 TF.

 

You’ve got Deadlock, Atta and the Lords of Death (for good measure the TW brother should be broken out of prison for the final showdown) as boss fights for each of three missions.

 

So mission one is hitting Deadlock before he can flee Paragon after his attack on BABs; removing him from the board so he can’t hit you from behind.

 

I’m thinking the sewers to Faultline map used at the end of Jim Temblor’s arc would work well. Giving Deadlock some mobility a la Marauder in the Lambda Sector trial so the fight moves from A to B at 75%, B to C at 50% and then back to A at 25%. I’m also thinking air dropping Merc henchmen (at level 10-20 their S/L isn’t quite as gimped) as support when he relocates.

 

Second mission is shutting down Atta, who’s starting buying their supply from the Lords of Death; might be a chance to bring back the Supa’Trolls as part of the mission mechanics. Boulders falling from the ceiling throughout the fight wouldn’t be horrible either.

 

Final mission is assaulting the stronghold of the Lords of Death and take them down once and for all. Perhaps the final battle involving tag-team mechanics; start with two of the three, when one hits 50% they tap out and the third one steps in. Once a second is at 50% the one who taps out returns and all three fight together.

 

Maybe tie in some death ritual the Lords have tied into their version of Superadine; using the life forces of its addicts to fuel a portal to the Netherworld they intend to use to empower themselves or let something they worship out of the Netherworld.

[Worm_Kalpa]

I started with CoV and mainly play there so I've played through most of the redside arcs.  I can't say much about blueside.

 

Favorites:

 

Marshal Brass's arcs deal with Cap, the PTS, and Dr. Aeon.  I like that failing the last mission in the first arc means the truth leaks out and that puts Arachnos in a bind.  For an early villain arc, that can be played as weakening your rival.

 

Bane Spider Ruben being a bureaucrat treating the cult as another job, you taking over said cult, and all this on top of the dialogue choices to play your character in different ways.  5/5 would recommend.

 

Dean MacArthur for all the previously stated reasons.  Leonard might not be as fun as a contact but I like that your character is putting a scheme in motion.

 

Playing through Captain Petrovitch's arc dealing with the Scrapyarders makes the group a lot more sympathetic than when I first played through the game.

 

Technician Naylor for the redside dimension hopping, and Psimon for the temporary powers and working with an overly dramatic psychic. 

 

Johnny Sonata's arc is one of my favorites.  A man signs away his soul for fame and fortune, and then tries to find a loophole is classic.  That same man trying to do that in superhero setting somehow clicks for me.

 

Vincent Ross has a great arc.  I hope however thought to include other contacts for side objectives got a raise.

 

Vernon von Grun has everything I want.  Over the top lab assistant turned mad scientist, weird temporary powers including bees, neat missions.

 

Radio, Slot Machine, and especially Television are great for the weirdness that is left as a mystery.

 

Viridian's arc where you gather the heads of various factions is a nice 'who's who' of the game.  One of the COH devs pointed out that there might be more going on.

Spoiler

Viridian is a double agent in Arachnos and is still working with Indigo and Crimson.  There are a lot of hints like that he says he doesn't like working with villains, Indigo and Crimson working with Longbow, and the last mission where the heads of some of the main villain factions are all gathered together and then ambushed by Longbow.  Inviting Nemesis might have been a plausible way for Longbow to learn about the conference.

 

A lot of the arcs in Imperial City are solid.  Particularly the Crusader arcs where you are crossing that line between freedom fighter and terrorist and lot of those missions have your contacts as allies.  They make a really good 'start of darkness' for anyone going from Resistance to Villain.

 

The Warden and Responsibility Arcs in Neutropolis are nice sendoffs.

 

Least Favorite:

 

Not many for me but Dr. Graves' arcs are bad.  The story and dialogue need a serious overhaul. 

 

Calvin Scott's arc in Praetoria feels underwhelming to me, like it was meant for an earlier contact.

[GM Miss]

You guys have given some seriously great ideas. Can't wait to put a list together for people to try some of these! 

[Safehouse]

I’d like to second the notion of completing out the Kings Row arc. Not only is it one of my favorite arcs in the early game, but KR is my fave early zone. It’s a good early hero arc for your character to “establish fame” in a way.

 

With the investment I personally have in the storyline and its characters, I really want to see it to completion.

 

Laura Lockharts arc is my favorite one bar none. It made me INVESTED in taking down the associated enemy groups, and I spent the levels after seeking them out for destruction. The Striga Isle arc, starting with Stephanie Peebles, is another favorite.

 

I also love the Rikti War Zone story arcs. The game takes on such a different tone when you enter the RWZ that I wish I saw more of - that feeling that you’re going to... well.. war.

 

As far as arcs I don’t like? I’m really not a fan of the Twinshot arc, though it does get better. I agree it should have started at level 1. It’s kind of jarring to get tutorial stuff starting 5 levels in.

[GM Miss]

List of great Story arcs to try:

Lots of people mentioned Faultline, Dark Astoria, Praetoria, First Ward, and Night Ward as a whole.

Signature Story Arcs – Who Will Die & Pandora’s Box

Villains:

• Dean MacArthur (20-29) - Me, Myself, and My Other Selves
• Operative Grillo (45-50) - Snake Fest
• Bane Spider Reuben (15-24) – Destiny Follows
• Marshal Brass (15-19) - The Aeon Conspiracy
• Johnny Sonata (35-39) - A signed glossy of Johnny Sonata
• Captain Petrovitch (20-24) - Iron Widow

Heroes:

• Sgt. Schorr (30-40) - Hammers of Justice
• Roy Cooling (20-29) - Bad People, Good Intentions
• Crimson (45-50) - World Wide Red
• Crimson (45-50) - A Titan Called Joe
• Madeleine Casey (40-44) - To Save a Soul
• Shauna Stockwell (7-20) - The Superadine Ring
• Eagle Eye (7-20) - Lords of Death
• Ginger Yates (35-39) - The Terra Conspiracy