Favorite blue side story arcs and contacts

[TraumaTrain]

I read sometimes that blue side stories aren't good. Red side stories are better. Gold side stories are betterer. Maybe that's the general consensus, or maybe not. It does, however, make me wonder...

 

Of regular blue side contacts and story arcs (not the task forces), what are your favorites, and why? The ones you'll play through over and over again -- because you like them.

 

I don't want to hear about your least favorite ones either. Or comparisons to red or gold side. I just want to know what your favorite blue side content is.

[presto2112]

the "stop all wildflower agents" that spawns the GM Kronos Titan ambush is my all-time favorite blueside mission

 

 

[SuperPlyx]

I know it is done to death for the accolade but I like Maria Jenkins arc. This is of course because I enjoy fighting all the AVs, too many people stop when they get the badge though. Don't stop you have only done half the AVs!

[Luminara]

• All of the arcs in Faultline:  ShortFusionette.  DirectFusionette.  Triple EB fight that doesn't feel cheesy or punishingFusionette.  I think that covers itFusionette.
• Collateral Damage:  But only on the second run, as a flashback.  It's rewarding in a way few other experiences in this game manage to be.
• The Graveyard Shift:  A fresh approach that uses old toys in new ways.  Challenge without bullet sponges.
• Twisted Reflections and Through the Looking Glass:  It really is all about me.  And me.  Versus me.
• All three The New Praetorians arcs:  The companions are more interesting than any others I've encountered.  The missions are refreshingly different without being obtuse or irritating.  The alterations to Brickstown after everything's complete are a nice touch.
• Praetoria's Last Gasp:  Nice maps.  Interesting foes.  Scavenger hunt.  Oh, and the planet's trying to eat you.
• All five Pandora's Box arcs:  This feels like the comic book experience.  The episodic presentation.  The twists and turns.  The cliff-hangers.  The over-the-top ludicrousness that, somehow, makes sense and feels perfectly connected and in place within the context of the game world.

[Erratic1]

Twisted Reflection (Keith Nance, Talos) and Protean's Invasion (Jenni Adair,  Talos) is my favorite story arc. I run every character through it without fail.

[A Cat]

Faultline arcs and Laura Lockhart's arc. Dunno if I really need to elaborate on Faultline, but one aspect outside of the arc itself is that you get to see these characters "all grown up" as it were. It feels like they're real comrades of yours with parallel careers. 

 

Man, Laura's arc had me going through an emotional rollercoaster. Just did it for the first time yesterday. I hated the 5th Column and Leon so much when I got to Laura I killed all of them after that (was ghosting then before). Once I got to Leon, I chose to convince him to help me (I really wanted to kill him at this point) and the "on my mark, one, two, three..." Bit of dialogue just made me think "fuck yeah motherfucker" as we killed everyone in that room together. I still hated that dude but that moment is bad ass.

 

I also like the general atmosphere of Croatoa. Some of the missions kind of sucked to do though. 

 

And yeah, I also agree the Nance/Aldair arcs are awesome! RIP my other self. I really wanted to save you. 

 

Edited September 7, 2021 by A Cat

[ZemX]

48 minutes ago, Erratic1 said:

Twisted Reflection (Keith Nance, Talos) and Protean's Invasion (Jenni Adair,  Talos) is my favorite story arc. I run every character through it without fail.

 

I know the topic isn't ABOUT redside, but just so people are aware: The Dean MacArthur and Leonard arcs (Sharkhead) on redside are just about prequels to the Nance/Adair arcs on blueside.  The latter even recognize that you've finished the Leonard arc with an extra dialogue choice talking to Adair regarding the main villain she's after.  It's all the same 20-29 level range though so you might have to stop XP to see it all.

 

It's by no means a huge link, so you're not missing anything Earth-shattering by not doing those redside arcs but... do it at least once if you haven't already.  It's fun!  You can play it as going undercover in the Rogue Isles (go Rogue at Null) to run the arcs and then return to blueside.

 

Also... trying to spoil as little as possible, some hints for Leonard's arc:

Spoiler

 

1. When given a choice of "how many" make sure to pick "all of them!"  It's worth a cool badge.  But maybe bring friends... or a lot of inspirations. 

2. At a certain point towards the end of Leonard's arc you will find yourself in a map that's on fire and you have to escape within a certain time limit.  Near the exit, you'll run across someone lying on the ground.  Can be easy to miss but they are not far from the exit door to the outside and should be on your way out.  Be sure to click on them before you leave and... do the heroic thing. 😉

3. Heroes don't rob banks. 😇

 

 

[tidge]

Hmmm... 'A Titan Named Joe"?

 

There are a lot of Blue side arcs that I enjoy for the nostalgia (and dips into the lore) but almost all of the ones that come to mind involve

• an obscene amount of travel between zones
• find the (many) glowies/hostages on large/complicated maps
• drag/rescue an NPC across/through a large map
• wait for spawns

I do appreciate the Blue arcs that stay 'within zones': Hollows, (new) Faultline, Striga, Croatoa. Several of these zone arcs have 'problematic' elements from my list.

[Erratic1]

34 minutes ago, ZemX said:

 

I know the topic isn't ABOUT redside, but just so people are aware: The Dean MacArthur and Leonard arcs (Sharkhead) on redside are just about prequels to the Nance/Adair arcs on blueside.  The latter even recognize that you've finished the Leonard arc with an extra dialogue choice talking to Adair regarding the main villain she's after.  It's all the same 20-29 level range though so you might have to stop XP to see it all.

 

 

I think I may have to go play those. 

 

Thanks!

[Marine X]

I like the way all of these Create an Overall Story by Completing Individual Arcs in the same Zone:

The Hollows chain of Contacts/Arcs

Croatoa "

Faultline ( new ) "

Striga Island "

Dark Astoria ( new ) "

Rikti War Zone "

First Ward "

Night Ward "

 

also

Maria Jenkins

Tina Macintyre

Eagle Eye

 

 

[TraumaTrain]

These are a few of my favorite blue side arcs...

 

Ubelmann the Unknown, Ashwin Lannister

 

The Mysterious General Z, Christine Lansdale

 

On the Run, Janet Kellum. Especially this one for the retired Night Fox character and we discover Countess Crey isn't Countess Crey

 

A Path Into Darkness, Colleen Nelson. I like this one for the history of some Paragon's original heroes.

 

Freaklympics, Collin Larson. Just the name is enough. Love fighting Freaks and their kooky names!

[Snarky]

I do not run Blue other than for badges.  Redside, for me, is best side. While Goldside is newer the nonstop politics is exhausting. To me. Redside is pure. There is no "arresting"  You go out there and take whatever you want, the way you want. The first contacts Redside lay it all out. Work with Arachnos, but watch your back. OR pretend to work with Arachnos, while doing your own thing, but watch your back. OR avoid Arachnos by doing content that they are only involved with as background lore. Plenty of that. Your villain, your choice. Take what you can, give nothing back.

 

Blueside. Arrest people. Pretend you are not searching their pockets every time you arrest them. Or maybe you have a Hero debit card that is remotely rewarded every time you beat the crap out of a street thug? Hmmm....heroic.  So many bad arcs. So many impossible to discern whether the contact is the same as another contact with same missions but just put in by the Devs for....whatever reason. So many blech plot lines. If you call that plot. 

 

Goldside. Hey, why don't you spend a few days getting deeply involved in social politics? Philosophy 101 moral choices that are all slanted to one clear choice but pretend it is really a choice? Endless ambushes in missions that are way harder than any other content for the same level range?  So much content squeezed into 20 levels you have to run most of the stuff with experience shut off.  Good times.

 

Redside. Villains.  Don't feel like a villain? Run the Arc where you kidnap Paragon citizens for live vivisection by Vahzilok minions. Rob a few banks. Wipe out a few ships full of arachnos agents (but keep it quiet, no one needs to know) Defeat a thousand Longbow. Defeat.  Not arrest. Villains.  Yeah.

[Darmian]

21 minutes ago, Snarky said:

Goldside. Hey, why don't you spend a few days getting deeply involved in social politics? Philosophy 101 moral choices that are all slanted to one clear choice but pretend it is really a choice? Endless ambushes in missions that are way harder than any other content for the same level range?  So much content squeezed into 20 levels you have to run most of the stuff with experience shut off.  Good times.

But it IS such good times!

[Darmian]

Different strokes for different folks, @Snarky :).  I love all the political wrangling and for me I have to play smarter with those ambushes, just having a build that "can take a hit" isn't always enough.  Then Redside, and then Blueside in my metric of appreciation 🙂 I've never missed any content in Praetoria by not shutting off XP, though I caveat that with I haven't done all the content on a first run through on one character alone since for me that's not the point of Gold.  Anyhoo, just some observations.

Edited September 14, 2021 by Darmian

[Snarky]

9 minutes ago, Darmian said:

Different strokes for different folks, @Snarky :).  I love all the political wrangling and for me I have to play smarter with those ambushes, just having a build that "can take a hit" isn't always enough.  Then Redside, and then Blueside in my metric of appreciation 🙂 I've never missed any content in Praetoria by not shutting off XP, though I caveat that with I haven't done all the content on a first run through on one character alone since for me that's not the point of Gold.  Anyhoo, just some observations.

I just did all Goldside Arcs on a mid 20s Blaster through Ouro.  for the badges. The character has stealth at a very early level. It was still long but at least it only took days not weeks. On a Brute, fighting through that stuff?  yeesh.  But yeah, staying off the train tracks was way easier than fighting the train. Damned punishing for anyone who cant cram stealth onto their build however.

[Miss Magical]

I skimmed through the list and didn't see Shauna Stockwell and Eagle Eye mentioned. These two are my favorite low-level contacts by far. They do something that I have found very rare for heroic stories in this game, that is tell an arc suitable for a street-level hero.

 

They're set in the stark industrial wasteland of King's Row, and they actually manage to make the Skulls, a low-level street gang, seem like a credible threat, both to the hero and the city. The Skulls may not be able to lift buildings or punch through concrete, but they ruin lives through addiction, coercion, corruption and terror. There is plenty of flavorful dialogue, and the missions are full of little details and neat touches such as the one where the enemy tries to lay a trap for the hero by showing a completely empty mission map at first! In what other arc can you see druggies queuing up to buy a fix, only to flee when you show up to arrest the dealers.

 

The arcs end on an unresolved note asking you to see Back Alley Brawler's personal story in a solo mission. I always wonder what that was leading up to as it seems to have been planned future content that will never be realized now that live service has ended.

[Darmian]

1 minute ago, Snarky said:

I just did all Goldside Arcs on a mid 20s Blaster through Ouro.  for the badges. The character has stealth at a very early level. It was still long but at least it only took days not weeks. On a Brute, fighting through that stuff?  yeesh.  But yeah, staying off the train tracks was way easier than fighting the train. Damned punishing for anyone who cant cram stealth onto their build however.

My main is a Praetorian with Mind Control/Empathy.  So I don't hit that hard but if I'm smart I can even the odds by "making friends" with Confuse and keeping myself alive.  Got through Nova Praetoria to Night Ward on her that way.  

[Darmian]

2 minutes ago, Miss Magical said:

always wonder what that was leading up to as it seems to have been planned future content that will never be realized now that live service has ended.

Oh it will be dealt with, I'm pretty certain of that. 

 

Spoiler

If you have done those arcs and then for whatever reason end up on Redside doing The Freakish Lab of Dr. Vahzilok, you get to a prison mission where you can see Veles in his cell, and he tells you that their sister is still out there, just you wait.  Since they hired Deadlock and so on that, to me, looks like future content coming that way from HC.

 

[Ukase]

Favorite arc on blue side...I'm gonna be in the minority, but it's Skipper LeGrange's out of Croatoa. And why? Because of "Stop 30 Fir Bolg from entering the portal". 

A lot of folks just auto-complete this one, but this is probably my favorite mission in the entire game. Why? Because I find it amusing to run to the portal, clear the area...then look for the closest mob - try to kill them, and quick, or I have to worry about their aggro, and then tackle the 2-3 minions (or more, depending on my diff level) that suddenly make their way towards the portal. And those little buggers are fast when they want to be! 

I get to run back and forth, making sure nobody escapes. It's a hoot. 

My second favorite is Tina Mac's arc - but that's only because of the search for Dr. Calvin. You never know where that rascal is hiding. I'm one of those weirdos that likes to hunt for the kidnapped victim or boss that needs to be taken down. I'm familiar with most of the nooks and crannies that Doc Calvin may be hiding in, but every now and then, I have to look more carefully, or use a macro to find him. 

[Without_Pause]

On 9/14/2021 at 12:30 PM, Ukase said:

Favorite arc on blue side...I'm gonna be in the minority, but it's Skipper LeGrange's out of Croatoa. And why? Because of "Stop 30 Fir Bolg from entering the portal". 

A lot of folks just auto-complete this one, but this is probably my favorite mission in the entire game. Why? Because I find it amusing to run to the portal, clear the area...then look for the closest mob - try to kill them, and quick, or I have to worry about their aggro, and then tackle the 2-3 minions (or more, depending on my diff level) that suddenly make their way towards the portal. And those little buggers are fast when they want to be! 

I get to run back and forth, making sure nobody escapes. It's a hoot.

One of the early standout missions to me. I ran it on a Kin/elec in a group and we failed terribly. I groomed a Earth/storm for it, and it was a joy to completely own that mission on a full team.

[InvaderStych]

Dark Astoria.  From the first moment falling into the Maw through every single one of Mot's interstitial whispers, past the epic entry map with nearly every major (living) NPC on hand, on through the Graveyard map and the epic battles within all the way up to putting down the beast himself.  Love every moment of it. 😄

[Grouchybeast]

If I had to pick just one storyline blueside, I think it would be the Faultline arcs.  It was one of the earlier 'new' arc revamps, but the writing is still pretty decent, and it has a lot of nostalgia for me because I ran them fairly early in my CoX playing life, and loved them.  The RWZ also has a good series of arcs following the same interesting storyline, with a satisfying finale.

 

But there are actually a lot of really fun arcs blueside, which fortunately I don't even have to bother typing out because @Gulbasaur wrote a great guide to levelling via blueside story arcs.  Have at it!

 

The only really good contact I think it missing from the guide is Provost Marchand in Brickstown, who is level 30-50 and provides something fresh in the slower later levelling.  However, his arc is rather oddly positioned in the overall timeline, because chronologically it comes at the end of the series of Incarnate Trials.  I imagine it would be very confusing if you'd never played through the Incarnate content.  Good arcs, though!

[Gulbasaur]

On 9/16/2021 at 9:43 AM, Grouchybeast said:

However, his arc is rather oddly positioned in the overall timeline, because chronologically it comes at the end of the series of Incarnate Trials.  I imagine it would be very confusing if you'd never played through the Incarnate content.  Good arcs, though!

I completely admit to reaching a point of Praetoria Fatigue by that stage. There are a lot of good story arcs that have no connection to chronological order. I get why, as it would otherwise mean everything is stacked at the end, but it also makes levelling a bit of a mess.

[Grouchybeast]

1 hour ago, Gulbasaur said:

I completely admit to reaching a point of Praetoria Fatigue by that stage. There are a lot of good story arcs that have no connection to chronological order. I get why, as it would otherwise mean everything is stacked at the end, but it also makes levelling a bit of a mess.

 

The Marchand and Mr G arcs are some of the worst, though, because they're not only as confusing as hell if you haven't played the incarnate contact, but they also completely spoiler it for new players. I think they're definitely better saved for an alt.

[Hew]

Mr G's arc is amazing. 

 

My all time fav content is Mr G and #6.