Badging Praetoria through Ouro only....how? No really, how the...

[Snarky]

I badged Goldside a couple (three tops) times on live.  Long ago.  Doing the weird alignment badges and stuff.  It was long ago.  My memory is not great on it.

 

Now I have a level 29 that I want to badge 1-20 Praetoria in Ourro with.  Then fo First Ward.  Experience is shut off.

 

Does anyone have a guide or suggestions on how to go about this?  What contacts/choices etc?  I have all the location/plawues/river rat etc.  Just need the mission and alignment badges.  errr, i think.

 

Thanks.

[Zhym]

I think you can just run through all the arcs in Ouro.  If you do it starting at level 1 without Ouro, you run the risk of some contacts getting killed off before you can run their missions, but I'm pretty sure Ouro makes them all available when you need them.  The alignment choices at the end of the arcs count, too—so as long as you choose Loyalist at least once and Resistance at least once, you'll have gotten Loyalist, Resistance Member, and Moral High Ground by the time you've done all the arcs (which you'll need to do to get all the badges anyway).

 

The only thing you can't do in Ouro is check in with your "real" faction at times.  IMO, that's the biggest reason to do Praetoria as a Praetorian instead of going back through Ouro.  But I don't think any badges are tied to that.

Edited August 22, 2021 by Zhym

[Sovera]

As an aside Praetoria has... so... much... content... I tried to do it once by Ouro. My god, it never ended. So... many... arcs... Which would have been fine if I was not locked at level 10 for most of it and with access to minimal AoE.

 

I completely burned out by the time I got to the level 14-19 ones. That said I ought to have run them at x1 just for the sake of experiencing it.

[Zhym]

2 minutes ago, Sovera said:

As an aside Praetoria has... so... much... content... I tried to do it once by Ouro. My god, it never ended. So... many... arcs...

That's the best reason to do it through Ouro.  You can do a few Praetorian arcs at a time, then go on to other things.  You don't have to spend quite so much time stuck at low levels that way.

 

OTOH, Praetoria is all about the (excellent) story, and the best way to experience that story is by immersion, IMO.  Spending levels 1-20 going through all the Praetorian story, limited in powers though your character may be, gives you a feel for being a Praetorian that running the arcs through Ouro doesn't quite duplicate. 

[Darmian]

Using ouro you CAN check in with your Loyalist contacts if you go to the Loyalist Lounge in person.  Marchand is always there.  There's difficulty doing that with Resistance and Scott because if you get to a certain point then even if you go in person he is gone. Now, the trouble is if you're a Blue sider doing Loyalist stuff, you're not getting in to the Lounge.* 

 

*Update below.

Edited August 23, 2021 by Darmian

[Zhym]

35 minutes ago, Darmian said:

Using ouro you CAN check in with your Loyalist contacts if you go to the Loyalist Lounge in person.  Marchand is always there.  There's difficulty doing that with Resistance and Scott because if you get to a certain point then even if you go in person he is gone. Now, the trouble is if you're a Blue sider doing Loyalist stuff, you're not getting in to the Lounge.

Huh.  I had no idea that original Praetorians could still access their contacts in person after going red or blue.  That will make running some missions in Ouro much more interesting for my Loyalist former Praetorian.  Thanks! 

[Darmian]

Update!  Just tested this with a Bluesider.  As long as you are doing a Loyalist arc you can access the Loyalist lounge. Not fine-tuned it yet regarding in mission checks.

[huang3721]

I think Ouro will  let you access your contact to run a flashback, regardless of your current alignment. I tried it with a loyalist to run resistance arc via Ouro. So, don't worry out leveling or locked out from your contact. 

 

 

[Huron]

I went from 40-50 on my Goldsider just by flashing back through Ouro the 1-20 content I missed.

[Darmian]

1 minute ago, Huron said:

I went from 40-50 on my Goldsider just by flashing back through Ouro the 1-20 content I missed.

AWESOME!

 

What shard are you on?  And if it's the same as me, doh, sorry!

[Huron]

Right now she's on Excelsior

[Darmian]

19 minutes ago, huang3721 said:

I think Ouro will  let you access your contact to run a flashback, regardless of your current alignment. I tried it with a loyalist to run resistance arc via Ouro. So, don't worry out leveling or locked out from your contact. 

 

 

Oh excellent!

 

Only caveat is: If you started off as Resistance Praetorian and went all the way through then there's a chance that Calvin Scott simply isn't there for you to check stuff. Sometimes he is - just checked that - but it may depend on the "when" of the  ouro arc. Curiously Crow is nearly always missing if you've done his arc, no matter when you flash back.

[Darmian]

2 minutes ago, Huron said:

Right now she's on Excelsior

Not enough of us 24 carat Golds out there!

 

(Shameless plug time! Check sig for 2 trilogies of AE Gold arcs (1 Loyalist and 1 Resistance) set just after Neutropolis but before the Rift Mission/First Ward)

[Snarky]

Hmmm.  Good conversation.  I am still lost somewhat though

 

i was hoping for a clear path to get all Goldside badges available for doing missions in the LEAST number of steps.  Most of the responses here seem to discuss doing ALL Praetorian content 1-20 that is in Ouro.  Is that necessary?

[huang3721]

Yes. If you want Magistrate, Tyrant, Obliterator and Survivor badge, you need to complete all Praetorian arc from Nova to Neutropolis. 

[Zhym]

Yup.  As @huang3721 alluded to, four of the Praetorian badges are for doing all the arcs in the Responsibility, Warden, Crusader, and Power storylines.  There are also three badges for completing all the story arcs in each of Nova, Imperial, and Neutropolis.  So getting all the Praetorian badges means doing all the arcs. 

 

The other badges that may not be obvious are for the zone events:

• Protestor - complete "The Protest" in Nova Praetoria
• Takedown Artist - complete "Syndicate Takedown" in Imperial City
• Laureate - complete "The Great Escape" in Neutropolis

All three scale to a character's level and can be done with any character who can access the zone.  They were all pretty easy once I got around to doing them with my setted-out incarnate, even with the scaling.

 

Sorry if that last part is obvious; I don't know if you were including those in the location/plaques/river rat badges you already have.  The final badge that's sort of in that category that might not be obvious is Denial of Service, for getting bounced by the force field around Praetoria.

Edited August 23, 2021 by Zhym

[Zhym]

4 hours ago, Darmian said:

Update!  Just tested this with a Bluesider.  As long as you are doing a Loyalist arc you can access the Loyalist lounge. Not fine-tuned it yet regarding in mission checks.

Yup—Ouro gives you access to whatever faction-specific things you need to do the arc: Loyalist Lounge for the Loyalist arcs, Resistance codes for Resistance arcs.  What you can't do that way is the "double agent" thing where you're running a Resistance arc but your true loyalty is with Cole, or checking in with Calvin Scott when you're running a Loyalist arc.  There's no way to talk to them in the opposite-faction Ouro missions unless your character started as a Praetorian of the appropriate alignment (and even then, it sounds like Calvin's not always available). 

Edited August 23, 2021 by Zhym

[Snarky]

So… I need to do everything in Ouro to get all Praetorian badges.  Cool.  Can do

 

Now there is the alignment badge I still have a question on.  I seem to remember from live that you choose one alignment in your first morality choice.  Then in the next (5?) you choose the oposite and that nets you the rest of the badges.  Does that work the same in Ouro?

[Zhym]

There are three badges that are relevant here.  One is "Moral High Ground," which you get for choosing any morality five times.  The others are "Loyalist," for choosing the Loyalist morality, and "Resistance Member," for choosing the resistance outcome.  Since you'll be doing all the arcs anyway (which I think means 12 morality choices), all you need to do is choose Loyalist at least once and Resistance at least once and you should be good for all three badges by the time you're done.

 

The initial alignment you choose is actually irrelevant when you're not a native-born Praetorian.  For characters that start in Praetoria, the alignment they choose at the end of the tutorial is their "true" alignment and lets them talk to the contacts for that alignment forever.  Primal Earthers running Praetorian missions in Ouro don't have "true" Praetorian alignments; the flashback system just gives access to whatever is needed for that particular arc.  In short, you can pick alignments at the end of each arc in whichever order you like (I tend to switch alignments when the one I'm with is getting a little extreme, which means switching right after a Power or Crusader arc).

 

I can't remember if "Moral High Ground" requires choosing Loyalist five times or Resistance five times, or if it's just about making a choice one way or the other five times (the language on the HC Wiki is ambiguous), but if you do all the arcs it won't matter since you'll have to pick one or the other five times anyway.

Edited August 23, 2021 by Zhym

[Ukase]

The way I did it was take them from top to bottom. I just started on the top and worked my way down until I was done. 

I knew there were a number of defeat badges for various types of mobs, so I figured I might as well clobber them in the missions, rather than hunt for them. 
There's one faction - the Failed Experiments that you may want to farm/milk, as I did the zone event first - and after the mission, I still needed some more. Depends on your settings, I suppose. 

[Tahliah]

3 hours ago, Ukase said:

The way I did it was take them from top to bottom. I just started on the top and worked my way down until I was done. 

This is pretty much what I did, too, plus the zone event badges and alignment choice ones.

 

Honestly, I had a horrible time getting the exploration badges in Prateoria.  Having to swim, just so, to hit them was a real pain since some of them are so close to zone changes that I would zone out before hitting the exploration badge or go over the exact same area ten times before it "taking."  SO frustrating.

[Snarky]

6 hours ago, Tahliah said:

This is pretty much what I did, too, plus the zone event badges and alignment choice ones.

 

Honestly, I had a horrible time getting the exploration badges in Prateoria.  Having to swim, just so, to hit them was a real pain since some of them are so close to zone changes that I would zone out before hitting the exploration badge or go over the exact same area ten times before it "taking."  SO frustrating.

When badging the river rat keep the closest to completion tab open and wait for the progress tracker to increment upwards. Most of those badges are real close to the vidiotmaps marker. 

 

I have done one complete arc (of 6?) in Ouro.  Not enjoying it.  Too many missions where you have to do X to do Y to do Z.  Trying to stealth/speed and not knowing the mechanics can F one of those runs hard.  Also working (like everyone) and trying to move this week.  Praetoria was never going to make me happy, and this week is perfect for the feeling.  Just grind this BS.  

 

I am hoping to pick one alignment 5 times and one alignment once while doing every story arc in Ouro 1-20 Praetoria and hope that completes it.  If not I will be here to whine/seek advice.  Thanks everyone.

[ZemX]

3 hours ago, Snarky said:

I am hoping to pick one alignment 5 times and one alignment once while doing every story arc in Ouro 1-20 Praetoria and hope that completes it.

 

If I understood @Zhym correctly, you only need to pick each alignment once.  You don't need to pick one five times in each of the four alignment arcs.  Once you've picked one of each you can literally flip a coin for the rest and get the badge because there are so many alignment choices you can't help but get one four more times.

Edited August 26, 2021 by ZemX

[Zhym]

33 minutes ago, ZemX said:

If I understood @Zhym correctly, you only need to pick each alignment once.  You don't need to pick one five times in each of the four alignment arcs.  Once you've picked one of each you can literally flip a coin for the rest and get the badge because there are so many alignment choices you can't help but get one four more times.

Yup—with twelve major arcs and only two alignments, doing all of them means choosing one at least five times.  Of course, the quickest way to get all three badges is to pick one alignment once and the other five times, but even if you alternate each time you'll have the Moral High Ground badge after no more than nine choices.

Edited August 26, 2021 by Zhym

[ZemX]

50 minutes ago, Zhym said:

Yup—with twelve major arcs and only two alignments, doing all of them means choosing one at least five times.  Of course, the quickest way to get all three badges is to pick one alignment once and the other five times, but even if you alternate each time you'll have the Moral High Ground badge after no more than nine choices.

 

It makes sense.  When doing this as an actual Praetorian, after picking a starting faction in the tutorial you're presented with TWO storylines worth of contact chains  amounting to six alignment choices.  Hence you could get the badges if you stuck mostly to one alignment but picked the other just once.

 

I'm playing a red-sider now doing all redside arcs but I might expand to the rest like Snarky is doing if I don't lose interest before then.  But if I had to do it all over again, Praetoria is still my preferred starting area.  These four arcs just work better in the open world, especially the undercover aspect and the side-switching, and the story hits home better when you're a Praetorian.  Having just done most of redside and finishing up Grandville now... I think I'd rather do 1-20 redside via Ouro than Goldside the same way, then leave Praetoria for the Rogue Isles at 20.  As much as the redside arcs are better written than blueside, goldside is yet again that much better.