Making the world respond to VEATs

[Greycat]

I'm ... generally not a fan of VEATs. I like Epic (tied to a storyline) archetypes. Part of what I like about Kheldians are their storylines and that the world reacts to them, at least in the form of Quantums.

 

VEATs... have a forgettable, if not somewhat insulting, storyline, and an annoying forced respec ("pick your path") at level 24. (I know. "I fought statesman/positron!" Yeah. Everyone does that. It's called the LRSF.) But other than those, they may as well be "just another archetype."

 

I want the world to react to them.

 

Now, it doesn't *really* make sense to have something Quantum-like for them. They're not aliens fighting a shadow war. They're Arachnos troops that have broken away from the rest to prove themselves, essentially. So how do we have the world react to them?

 

1. "Easiest" (I say, tempting the gods of COH spaghetti code.) Dialog. Villainside and in missions, have Arachnos troops see you as a traitor and say so (outside of the VEAT specific missions,) or otherwise at least remark on you being there. Same with mobs in general, indicating (as you go up in levels) that maybe there are bounties on your head. This isn't *adding* mobs or ambushes, just adding flavor that "You and your actions have been noticed." Heroside, NPCs and contacts can mention their opinions ranging from "I don't trust him/her" to "Brave to break away like that" and the like (with enemy mobs doing the same dialog as villainside.)

 

2 Specialized tip missions. Maybe you're being called out. Maybe you're being contacted by others who want to escape. Maybe you're being given chances to lay false trails or alter your information to make your life a little easier and throw any hunters another direction. These should be VEAT specific - especially once you pick your path, given the information about widows and banes learned later on. Path specific would be very interesting.

 

3. Open world. Sort of a specialized "tip." You get information you're getting hunted. Activate the tip and - *outside* of a mission - first some scouts, then extra mobs, ending with a boss/eb/AV if you want (and are high enough) come to put you down. If you're not in a legit area for these, they'll kick in when you zone. You need to watch out for and deal with them.

 

Honestly I just want VEATs to feel like they have more of an impact on and ties *to* the world than regular ATs. They're supposed to be epic (story driven,) after all.