Wavicle's Guide To What Really Matters

[Wavicle]

Someone was asking if there was a list anywhere of the things that should be done on every toon, and I didn't know where to point them, so I wrote this up.

 

This is certainly not everything, but it's a list of what I do on every toon, in roughly the order I do them, or most everything I could remember. I will speak mostly from the perspective of Hero side, but all the same stuff can be done Villain side if I don't specifically mention it. Also, this isn't written for someone making their First toon, necessarily. Following this guide is easier if you know your way around the game somewhat, and if you have a Super Group base and plenty of influence, but that doesn't mean it's useless for new players.

 

Anyway, here we go:

 

Wavicle's Guide To What Really Matters

 

 

1. Get whatever you want from the P2W vendor. I'd rather not go into much detail here, but there are definitely some things that most or all toons will want, especially in the Teleport section.

 

2. Unlock all Long Range Teleporter destinations. (First get all the exploration badges in Atlas Park, Mercy, or any other zone with a Base Portal. I don't do this until I'm at least level 2 so I get XP for the badges. Then get at least 1 exploration badge from all other zones with Base Portals. I do this gradually as I level on new toons. I spent a day or so unlocking them all on my existing toons when the system was put in place.)

 

3. Get the portal to Ouroboros. (This can be done solo at level 1 without access to a supergroup base: from Atlas Park take the TUNNEL portal to Night Ward, enter the Midnight Mansion there, then go back to Atlas and take the train to Steel Canyon and walk carefully to the University, enter the Midnight Club there and go to Cimerora. You will be awarded the Ouro portal for learning about time travel. There are other soloable methods, but this is the earliest available way.)

 

4. Speaking of which: Get access to Cimerora. In addition to the above method, it can be fun to do Montague Castanella's story arc to access the Midnighter's and Cim, but that's not available until level 10.

 

5. I usually have Null the Gull turn me into a Vigilante and turn off my travel power tray, and sometimes other options as well.

 

6. Unlock the Police Radio by speaking with a Detective.

 

7. Unlock Vanguard Merits by doing at least the first part of Levantera's first arc, which becomes available at 35. The badge is called Member of Vanguard. I usually complete the arc at that point.

 

8. Unlock the Patron Power Pools either by doing a Patron arc in Grandville yourself or by joining a team doing one of the arcs. Start with Arbiter Rein. I don't do this on every toon, but certainly on Many toons.

 

9. Do the Market Crash Task Force, which gives you a Purple Enhancement the first time you do it. This unlocks at level 40.

 

10. Get to 50, in whatever way you find the most fun (or least onerous, depending on your perspective). I personally love levelling and spend most of my time in game between level 1 and 49. I enjoy my 50s too, but I like making and levelling new toons. I play all the different content the game has to offer, including sometimes missions in the AE.

 

11. Unlock the four Passive Accolades. Each of them can be done in a different way on the Hero side and the Villain side. I typically get Atlas Medallion and Portal Jockey on the Hero side. I then run the arc from Dakota Berg (Signature Story Arc in Brickstown) in order to get the Bloody Hands badge which, when I switch to Villain side, unlocks a contact who gives access to all the Mayhem Missions. With this access I then quickly get the Invader badge (rather than running all the original Hero side TFs for Task Force Commander) and while I am Villain side I also get the High Pain Threshold accolade (typically by 50 I have the necessary Debt badge, and I find this less of a hassle than Freedom Phalanx Reserve). I think some of the Active accolades can be useful as well, but I haven't been doing them in Homecoming.

 

12. Develop an IO build, simple or complex. Typically, by 27 or so I have slotted a bunch of special IOs on most characters including pieces that grant +Def, +Res, possibly Chance for Build Up, Chance for +Endurance, +Max HP, +Recovery and Regen, and more. The rest of my slots at that point are probably filled with Generic IOs, which are slightly better than SOs starting with the lvl 30s. Some of my 50s have more expensive builds with sets or pieces of sets in all of their powers. You absolutely do NOT have to have all the best enhancements in the game to do ANY encounter (the exceptions being Homecoming's new Advanced Difficulty Content and some AE content). They definitely help though. You CAN play the whole game with just SOs, or no enhancements at all if you really want, but IOs (and Incarnate Powers) make you truly super.

 

13. And so we come to Incarnate Powers. Unlock these either by continuing to level after 50 or by doing Mender Ramiel's arc in Ouroboros. Then continue to unlock them by levelling more and by running Incarnate Content including the various Incarnate Trials, the Dark Astoria arcs (unlock Dark Astoria beginning with Captain Nolan in Peregrine Island or go directly to Heather Townsend in DA; after completing Heather's arc further contacts will become available), and the arcs of Number Six and Belladonna Vetrano. The Hamidon raids are also a source of Incarnate components, as is running the Weekly Strike Target TFs.

 

 

 

I'm SURE I will have forgotten something important. Other folks, please help me add to this list! Thanks everyone, now: Go. Hunt. Kill Skuls!

Edited December 17, 2021 by Wavicle

[EyeLuvBooks]

Because Redside (the Villain side) came after Blueside, the developers had more experience under their belts so many of the missions are organized better, written better, or both. Becoming a Vigilante enables you to get the best of both worlds. In particular, the missions you get from Ghost Widow (earlier in your career and then later as a Patron) are interesting.

 

Thanks to the Going Rogue system, you can now do Tip missions to alter your alignment. The best part is that you can do the missions and keep your alignment if you so choose. I say this because some of the Tip missions are really good.

[Wavicle]

7 hours ago, EyeLuvBooks said:

I say this because some of the Tip missions are really good.

 

That is so true! Tip missions can be very fun and challenging!

 

[Greycat]

I don't think 8-12 honestly particularly matter, and certainly don't need doing on every character. Nope, not even getting to 50. I have characters I tend to keep in certain ranges because that fits where I see them. (I'm ignoring "Peacebringers as base builders because inherent fly" when talking about that.)

 

Personally, the only thing that matters to me is playing the character the way you want, true to that character. Everything else is fluff.

[Wavicle]

12 minutes ago, Greycat said:

I don't think 8-12 honestly particularly matter, and certainly don't need doing on every character. Nope, not even getting to 50. I have characters I tend to keep in certain ranges because that fits where I see them. (I'm ignoring "Peacebringers as base builders because inherent fly" when talking about that.)

 

Personally, the only thing that matters to me is playing the character the way you want, true to that character. Everything else is fluff.

Yea, “every” character is not necessary literal, for sure.

[Matsiyan]

Just a thank you for sharing the experience.