End game content that is not incarnate related

[Dayglow75]

I have so many street level heroes and refuse to give them incarnate powers because it does not fit the theme of a street level hero. Is there anybody else who would love end game content that is not incarnate based? Maybe a city takeover by freak show, council, and new level 50 family sub group. I just want something else to do for those characters that’s meaningful on the same level as incarnates

[Snarky]

4 hours ago, Dayglow75 said:

 I just want something else to do for those characters that’s meaningful on the same level as incarnates

looks at the title.  looks at the sentence.  looks at the title.  

 

seriously though, I do not think you are trying to say you want a regular street joe to fight armies from another dimension led by someone that makes incarnates look like minions.  Maybe you do.

 

Honestly, 40-50 content is above 'what street level heroes" do.  and probably 30+ but definitely 40+  you are starting to face shadow shard threats, and all sorts of madness.  both red and blue,

 

Look at the TF/SF by level range.  See the themes they are dealing with.  you leave street level behind 25-30 red fighting a god. blue you are still fighting "real world' during mant 30-35.  after that?  no.  Numina is taking you down a rabbit hole that ends in incarnate land.  

 

I too love street level battles.  But that is a different world than what this game has evolved to.  I love the look of street justice,  Never take it because combo sets have no place in 50 content, imo.  It is beautiful pre 30, looks great.  sure it plays great.  try building a combo in a 1 star LGTF.  let me know how that goes.  

 

Meaning is personal.  Spiderman in one of the last movies refused to join the Avengers.  Wanted to be a neighborhood hero.  (kept the nano suit...)  Maybe the solution is to find meaning playing and and/or leading lower level content on "frozen" (stopped experience) characters.  You can play in the gritty world where the biggest threat is a mad scientist trying to use zombie armies to blow up a dam.  

 

 

[ZorkNemesis]

There's a bunch of TFs that were designed before Incarnates were a thing.  While you'd have to convince people not to use Incarnate stuff you can run a lot of things without.  Ms. Liberty TF, Lord Recluse TF, Lady Grey TF, Imperious, Dr. Kahn, and Barracuda all predate Incarnates and are perfectly doable without; Lord Recluse also has a challenge through Ouroboros that encourages exactly that by playing the original TF (with Statesman and Sister Psyche) while disabling Incarnates and invention set bonuses.  Of course they're not quite street level, street heroes usually aren't challenging the Legion of Doom all at once, but still.

[Yomo Kimyata]

21 hours ago, Dayglow75 said:

Is there anybody else who would love end game content that is not incarnate based? Maybe a city takeover by freak show, council, and new level 50 family sub group. I just want something else to do for those characters that’s meaningful on the same level as incarnates

 

To this point, I guess you need to role play a little in your head.  Would Luke Cage be a part of stopping Rikti invasions?  Heck yeah!

 

On the other hand, there really isn't a ton of level 50 content that isn't specifically incarnate related.  Looking at story arcs, you've got Vanguard and the RWZ, which is good stuff.  But blue side you've only got five contacts who will give you story arcs at 50.  Red side has a lot more, and patron missions as well, but most of those will come through Quro.

 

I get it that passing on incarnate powers is an individual choice, and it is hard to imagine a significant portion of the 50s out there to do so willingly.  I've always thought that it would be great to limit each account to a certain number of incarnates, and that is partly due to the fact that it's exhausting seeing all-powerful god-like heroes named Captain Fartknocker and the like.

[KaizenSoze]

Market Crash is probably closest to what you want. Nothing to do with Arachnos, Incarnates, Oroboros, or really any end game archvillian or hero.

 

Just the Freak show and Sky raiders causing problems.

[UltraAlt]

On 3/24/2024 at 9:07 PM, Dayglow75 said:

I have so many street level heroes and refuse to give them incarnate powers because it does not fit the theme of a street level hero. Is there anybody else who would love end game content that is not incarnate based? Maybe a city takeover by freak show, council, and new level 50 family sub group. I just want something else to do for those characters that’s meaningful on the same level as incarnates

 

There are plenty of missions in the AE that aren't farms.

[Greycat]

On 3/25/2024 at 5:35 PM, Yomo Kimyata said:

 

On the other hand, there really isn't a ton of level 50 content that isn't specifically incarnate related.  Looking at story arcs, you've got Vanguard and the RWZ, which is good stuff.  But blue side you've only got five contacts who will give you story arcs at 50.  Red side has a lot more, and patron missions as well, but most of those will come through Quro.

 

 

... I mean, there's everything (for the most part) that was there pre-Incarnates. Malta's just "anti-meta" (or "If you're meta, you're either with us or against us.") They're there til 50. The Knives... I just kind of roll my eyes at what happened there, but if you don't *touch* the Incarnate content, it doesn't happen. Carnies, sure, magic/psy, but I'd still call them "non incarnate," after all. They're still using swords/mallets, breathing fire and throwing weapons at you.  The BP are still the BP, the Circle are still the Circle - there's quite a *bit* of level 50 that doesn't touch Incarnates.

 

Now, there's no *post-50* content - that's all on the Incarnate train, and that's where post-50 leveling happens, so... but saying "there really isn't a ton of level 50 content that isn't incarnate related," I just have to disagree with. (I'd say it's just not *run* or noticed because Incarnate stuff trivializes so much of it.)

[cranebump]

23 hours ago, Greycat said:

 

... I mean, there's everything (for the most part) that was there pre-Incarnates. Malta's just "anti-meta" (or "If you're meta, you're either with us or against us.") They're there til 50. The Knives... I just kind of roll my eyes at what happened there, but if you don't *touch* the Incarnate content, it doesn't happen. Carnies, sure, magic/psy, but I'd still call them "non incarnate," after all. They're still using swords/mallets, breathing fire and throwing weapons at you.  The BP are still the BP, the Circle are still the Circle - there's quite a *bit* of level 50 that doesn't touch Incarnates.

Good rundown of the prime 50 adversaries. Out of all those, the only one I find truly interesting is Malta, since it's basically the backlash of the normie society against all these freaky metas. As its text reads, these are "mortal forces that try to control the storm." These are the guys who (should) have all the stuff that works against the supes. Sapper tech, sure, but really, Malta should have toons with Arsenal elements, as well, and weapons that shoot specialized versions of "kryptonite" designed to make life hell on superheroes. Further, from an "internal logic" standpoint, feels like this group should be a 1-54 presence, just like CoT, Arachnos, Council, etc.* But I guess I can justify why they "we don't bother with riffraff hamburger supers. Bring us the steak.:-)

 

*Off topic, but narratively, I'd like to see Malta activity insinuated early in the game, to include arcs at lower levels. Perhaps lowbie heroes & vigilantes run into groups doing work for Malta (maybe they don't even know they're doing it). Lowbie Villains & Rogues might straight up be hired by them, discretely or overtly (with the understanding that Malta doesn't give a damn what you do for them -- they'll still kill ya later on). You clue the players in on this Malta effort to "control the storm," until they actually go head to head with them. 

 

[Hmmmm...well I see I have my summer AE project now]:-)

Edited March 28 by cranebump

[Shred Monkey]

My suggestion is to take them red side and go under cover with the villain groups.  That'd be a very street level hero thing to do.