Speed Task Force/Strike Force/Trial Records

[Dombloo]

Task Force/Strike Force/Trial Records 

"What's the fastest time someone's completed this in?" -You, probably

 

A hub for players to post/view the currently known speedrunning records for the Task Forces/Strike Forces/Trials in City of Heroes! Feel free to post videos of your best runs (doesn't need to be the record). Forgot to record your run? Go ahead and post a screenshot! All runs are Any%*, so any bugs/exploits used are fair game so long as they are available to all players. The following leaderboard will be updated with runs from speedrun.com and the posts below (only video submissions that record the entirety of the run will be considered for the leaderboard).

 

Note that the leaderboard is listed in the same order as the LFG tab in-game. 

 

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Task Force & Strike Force Records

 

Task Force/Strike Force Name	Completion Time (Proof of Completion)†	Player(s)‡
Alpha Strike (Apex)	4:53	@Mads @goldenstriker @TwistedPromise @Sax @Murkd @ThundrThighs @Moonz @ClashingKiwi
The Praetorian Offensive (Tin Mage Mk. II)	4:42	@Mads @Grimjack @TwistedPromise @Sax @Dark Bladed @ThundrThighs @Moonz @ClashingKiwi
The Return of the Reichsman (Dr. Kahn)	6:28	@Mads @goldenstriker @TwistedPromise @Sax @Dark Bladed @Thunderthighs @Moonz @ClashingKiwi
Thus Spoke the Reichsman (Barracuda)	19:20	@Confusion @Ripper @Tax E @STiTcH @SilverScorch @Lorraine
The Lady Grey Task Force	11:09	@Tuft @Toxicado @SuperJoe @Handmixer @Procat @Cidri @Crimson Phalanx @Sophia Llriandri
Ms. Liberty Task Force	9:56	@ClashingKiwi @Dark Bladed @Mads @Sax @Moonz @swordiee @ThundrThighs @Zikamiri
Lord Recluse Strike Force
Time's Arrow (Imperious)	6:08	@Mads @Grimjack @swordiee @Sax @Dark Bladed @Thundrthighs @Moonz @ClashingKiwi
The Saga of Lanaru (Faathim the Kind)	16:01	@Bloodom @Murkd @Dark Bladed @Mojo @Firyos @Grimjack
The Saga of Faathim (Justin Augustine)	16:09	@Ripper @RomanSky @Confusion @loc @STiTcH @Lorraine @Tempura Roll @Dark Anarchy
The Legend of Ruladak (Sara Moore)	25:22	@Gasp @Letroy @Confusion @Duckie @RexKwonDo @STiTcH @Lorraine @JustKin
Explorers & Exploiters (Dr. Quaterfield)	45:50	@loc @Confusion @Letroy @Duckie @Ripper @STiTcH @Gasp @Tempura Roll
Chasing Fool's Gold (Dr. Aeon)	18:27	@JustKin @c0s @Cryo Guy @DragynSlayer @Hey Z @stokeley gekyume @Jerica @Zangetsu
Chasing Fool's Gold (Dr. Aeon) Relentless, All Ripple Challenges
The Sky Is Falling (Adm. Sutter)	7:15	@Ripper @Da Crusha @Confusion @STiTcH @Tempura Roll @Lorraine @Soul-Storms @JustKin
The Fire & the Flames (Mortimer Kal)	5:55§	@Bloodom @Murkd
Soul of the Woodsman (Numina)	17:42	@Grimjack
The Crystal of Serafina (Ice Mistral)	12:17	@swordiee
Following Countess Crey (Manticore)	13:59	@Murkd @Mads
A Tangled Plot (Katie Hannon)	7:58	@Mads @goldenstriker @Sax @Moonz @ThundrThighs @TwistedPromise @Dark Bladed @ClashingKiwi
The Mech Man Cometh (Ernesto Hess)	7:34§	@Murkd
Citadel's Children (Citadel)	15:50	@Duckie @Romansky @Confusion @Gem @STiTcH @Tempura Roll @Moonwave @JustKin
The Temple of the Waters (SF Op. Renault)
The Kheldian War (Moonfire)	12:00	@Toxicato @Tuft @Handmixer @Procat @Kherdia @Cidri
A Clamor for the People (Penelope Yin)	4:39§	@Bloodom
Pirates of the Sky (Silver Mantis)	15:16	@swordiee
The Fall of the Clockwork King (Synapse)	17:57	@Bloodom
The Beast Beneath the Mountain (Virgil Tarikoss)
Dam Hero (Positron Pt. 2)	6:10	@Bloodom
The Rule of Three (Positron Pt. 1)	6:28	@Bloodom

 

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Trial Records

 

Trial Name	Completion Time (Proof of Completion)†	Player(s)‡
Terror Volta (3) (Maj. Richard Flagg)	9:18	@Toxicato @Tuft @Handmixer @Crimson Phalanx @Procat @Cidri @Kherdia @Sophia Llriandri
Tree of Thorns (3) (Ractespriel)
Market Crash (Ada Wellington)	5:48	@Handmixer @SuperJoe @Toxicato @Tuft @Sp3ctr4l @Crimson Phalanx @Moodion @Procat
Prisoners of Eden (Woodsman)	2:11§	@Tuft @Toxicato @Handmixer @Sophia Llriandri @Kherdia @Sp3ctr4l @Procat
Descent to the Hydra (Mairenn MacGregor)	3:51	@Gasp @Confusion @STiTcH @Lorraine @ifrits @Tempura Roll @Bunker Hill @Wonderboy2
Terror Volta (2) (Cpt. James Harlan)
Tree of Thorns (2) (Trepsarciel)
Terror Volta (1) (Jane Hallaway)
Tree of Thorns (1) (Sparcetriel)	5:16	@Mads
Cavern of Transcendence (Karsis)	0:37§	@Mads @Grimjack @goldenstriker @Sax @Dark Bladed @ThundrThighs @TwistedPromise @ClashingKiwi

 

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* Although we say Any%, there are a few bans to make runs more inclusive. Please refer to the HC Speedrunning Discord for more details.

† All completion times are hyperlinks to the runs respective video proof.

‡ If the global name of a player isn't known, the in-game player name will be used instead.

§ Denotes that the current record is a legacy record, and is performed through means no longer available to players (nerfed powerset, bug, etc.).

 

If you were improperly given credit for a run (incorrect global, would prefer a different name be listed, etc.) or spot any other errors with the leaderboard, let me know!

 

Incarnate trials do not currently have a timer pop-up upon completion, so have been left out of this list; but if you're curious in the posted records using player timers, they can be found here.

 

The speedrun.com leaderboard was wiped in the early half of 2021 due to some major game changes, those runs can be found here.

 

Curious about the history of submitted runs, or runs submitted with other restrictions (team size, Master of, etc.)? Check out speedrun.com to see a more exhaustive leaderboard. If you're interested in speedrunning in City of Heroes and are looking for a community, consider joining the HC Speedrunning Discord—where one can discuss strategies, share builds, recruit for runs, or just chit-chat with like-minded players. This thread isn't limited to posting screenshots/videos of runs, so feel free to discuss/remark on speed runs below!

Edited May 14, 2022 by Dombloo

[Dombloo]

Reserved

[Snarky]

I see quite a few Cosmic Council SG members from Excelsior in there!  Congratulations!!!  (Not me, i play dirty casual style...fly...clear most lol)

[Glacier Peak]

Eden trial run gonna need an asterisk after page 3 hits the live shards. Defeating the rock and mold walls will be required objectives.

[Dark Bladed]

7 minutes ago, Glacier Peak said:

Eden trial run gonna need an asterisk after page 3 hits the live shards. Defeating the rock and mold walls will be required objectives.

The previous record was about 20 or 30 seconds slower if I remember correctly, currently at work and can't check. But yes that specific run will no longer be replicable.

[Dombloo]

17 minutes ago, Glacier Peak said:

Eden trial run gonna need an asterisk after page 3 hits the live shards. Defeating the rock and mold walls will be required objectives.

 

Heh yeah theres a few in here that will no longer be possible; the plan is that once the page goes live all impacted runs will be moved to a new Legacy Run table in the Leaderboard to reflect that they can no longer be attained in the same fashion. 

[Doomguide2005]

     I'd be curious to see how the times for the new Strike Force, Chasing Fools Gold (Dr. Aeon) "curve" over time as player's learn the SF.  I remember doing the ITF during closed beta.  Now granted it's changed since that version but yeesh we'd have been well short of clearing the first mission in that time much less the TF.

[krj12]

Wow, thought I was doing well with the speed ITF at just under 12 minutes,  must have been a monster team.

[Snarky]

2 hours ago, krj12 said:

Wow, thought I was doing well with the speed ITF at just under 12 minutes,  must have been a monster team.

Cosmic Council on Excelsior hosts regular Themed ITF races. Doms vs Brutes etc.  11-14 minutes is avg.  TwistedPromise from the above speed runs is the organizer

[Chrono-Bot]

I have GOT to watch these videos.

[Mezmera]

10 hours ago, Doomguide2005 said:

     I'd be curious to see how the times for the new Strike Force, Chasing Fools Gold (Dr. Aeon) "curve" over time as player's learn the SF.  I remember doing the ITF during closed beta.  Now granted it's changed since that version but yeesh we'd have been well short of clearing the first mission in that time much less the TF.

 

Plus what makes it the official record for this new one?  Should it be that you're on Relentless and fighting every possible boss fight?  If that's the case the record would probably end up being around over an hour.  

 

It's a vastly different strike force if you run it at lower settings which every one of these speed runs likely ran at.  There's quite a step up in enemy difficulty and no warburg nukes, shivans, inspirations, etc.  At least there's still some animation glitching possible, for now until santa takes away those presents.  

 

 

 

Oh and nerf Fire blastas!

Edited November 22, 2021 by Mezmera

[Doomguide2005]

   

45 minutes ago, Mezmera said:

 

Plus what makes it the official record for this new one?  Should it be that you're on Relentless and fighting every possible boss fight?  If that's the case the record would probably end up being around over an hour.  

 

It's a vastly different strike force if you run it at lower settings which every one of these speed runs likely ran at.  There's quite a step up in enemy difficulty and no warburg nukes, shivans, inspirations, etc.

 

 

 

Oh and nerf Fire blastas!

     Truth and many (all?) of the above are not done at +4/×8 settings either (or anything above the minimum) so that's already a footnote for some folks.  They're all set up to maximize speed and minimize time first and foremost. There's no other player debuffs or foe buffs (aka challenges self inflicted or otherwise) set.

 

Clearly reading comprehension retention was lacking when I made the below edit.  Most of this is covered in the OP.

Edit:  no idea if records for differing notorieties or challenge settings are kept.  Maybe these are simply the fastest no matter what notoriety or challenges are in place.

     

Edited November 22, 2021 by Doomguide2005
Afterthoughts

[Dombloo]

4 hours ago, Mezmera said:

 

Plus what makes it the official record for this new one?  Should it be that you're on Relentless and fighting every possible boss fight?  If that's the case the record would probably end up being around over an hour.

 

What I'll likely do is make 1-2 additional listings just for ASF, so there can be a +0, Relentless, and Relentless all ripple challenges

 

Spoiler

(whether this includes the challenge-challenge Hero 1 fight I'm uncertain, but I'm leaning towards yes it should).

 

I think all three of those runs would be interesting in their own right; but will also be fun to see the time difference between them. 

 

Edit: In fact I just went ahead and edited them in now. 

Edited November 22, 2021 by Dombloo

[Ukase]

Out of curiosity, page load times have got to be a factor, right? 

I've teamed with some of you, and have sadly noticed that some of you are already at the end room with the boss by the time I load in - and I am not playing on a Nokia flip phone powered by starved hamsters. It's not state of the art, but it's a decent rig. 

The more missions, the more seconds a slower rig will cost a team or player. Seems like there ought to be a way to account for that. 

[Dombloo]

50 minutes ago, Ukase said:

Out of curiosity, page load times have got to be a factor, right? 

I've teamed with some of you, and have sadly noticed that some of you are already at the end room with the boss by the time I load in - and I am not playing on a Nokia flip phone powered by starved hamsters. It's not state of the art, but it's a decent rig. 

The more missions, the more seconds a slower rig will cost a team or player. Seems like there ought to be a way to account for that. 

 

There's a reason almost every video you see attached here is ran at the minimum graphics preset. 😛 As long as you aren't on an extremely old PC, playing on the lowest graphics settings will put you at a similar load time (give or take 3 seconds); CoH isn't an incredibly demanding game so you tend to hit the cap of hardware benefits relatively early. Also need to take into consideration internet speeds, but if you're getting over 100 Mpbs down you'll likely be fine. Hell even things like ping make a decent impact (I'm west coast so I'm always on 180 ping on CoH). Would be nice if there was a way to account for load times, but especially in team settings it simply isn't feasible. 

 

I'll also note that most of my early records (unfortunately the leaderboard has been reset since or I'd point to 'em) were done with shaky wifi and a 2012 Macbook Pro, and it was true then and now (in my opinion) that none of the current records are so optimized that load times will make-or-break a record run. 🙂

[Without_Pause]

The Dilemma Diabolique Trial from Dream Doctor should be added.

https://hcwiki.cityofheroes.dev/wiki/Dilemma_Diabolique_Trial

Edited November 23, 2021 by Without_Pause

[KaizenSoze]

That 37 second Cavern of Transcendence time is going survive the next page.

 

Current beta patch notes:

Caverns of Transcendence Trial

• Almost entirely redone system-side.
• Objectives now track on the navigation telling you how many obelisks remain.
• Koago must now be defeated to complete the trial.
• Mob spawns re-evaluated, many packs had a 20% of spawning, causing the trial map to sometimes generate as an almost entirely empty instance.
• In set interval checks, surviving mobs on the map will have a chance to start chasing players depending on team size and how many obelisks have been completed.
• In addition to existing rewards, it now also has MissionOwner, which will trigger various Day Job bonuses and a chance of Pool B recipe.

[Dombloo]

6 hours ago, Without_Pause said:

The Dilemma Diabolique Trial from Dream Doctor should be added.

https://hcwiki.cityofheroes.dev/wiki/Dilemma_Diabolique_Trial

 

For the time being Incarnate trials are being left off of this leaderboard due to the lack of timer pop-up upon completion (as well as trials such as CoP, DFB, MSR and DiB), but there are listings for them on speedrun.com using player timers—you can find those here. 

Edit: I also added a link in the original post so others have an easier time finding them!

Edited November 23, 2021 by Dombloo

[Mezmera]

3 hours ago, Ukase said:

Out of curiosity, page load times have got to be a factor, right? 

I've teamed with some of you, and have sadly noticed that some of you are already at the end room with the boss by the time I load in - and I am not playing on a Nokia flip phone powered by starved hamsters. It's not state of the art, but it's a decent rig. 

The more missions, the more seconds a slower rig will cost a team or player. Seems like there ought to be a way to account for that. 

 

Yes that's a common occurrence when I team with these berserkers as well.  Part of the reason I play this is for the pretty character and her cool looking powers.  I'll be damned if I will be turning down my graphics to stick figures, what am I a savage?  They can tp me if they like with their incandescence, I'm pretty handy to have around when I catch up.  

[Ukase]

2 minutes ago, Mezmera said:

 

Yes that's a common occurrence when I team with these berserkers as well.  Part of the reason I play this is for the pretty character and her cool looking powers.  I'll be damned if I will be turning down my graphics to stick figures, what am I a savage?  They can tp me if they like with their incandescence, I'm pretty handy to have around when I catch up.  

This is why you're so much fun at parties. 

[Mezmera]

13 minutes ago, Ukase said:

This is why you're so much fun at parties. 

 

Sparkles make parties better!  

[Bionic_Flea]

1 hour ago, Mezmera said:

 

Yes that's a common occurrence when I team with these berserkers as well.  Part of the reason I play this is for the pretty character and her cool looking powers.  I'll be damned if I will be turning down my graphics to stick figures, what am I a savage?  They can tp me if they like with their incandescence, I'm pretty handy to have around when I catch up.  

What heathens!

[Ruin Mage]

Some nutty times here.

[Troo]

ahh the asterisk thread..

 

do recent changes negate previous records? I see there's a plan.

Edited November 28, 2021 by Troo

[CaptainAmazing]

On 11/22/2021 at 12:58 AM, krj12 said:

Wow, thought I was doing well with the speed ITF at just under 12 minutes,  must have been a monster team.

 

I was on one that did it in 10 and not knowing what the record was I was utterly convinced we'd done it in the fastest time ever...lol - under 7 minutes, no idea where we'd find 3 minutes to shave.