Each zone blue or red should have a TF

[DrRocket]

Its only a suggestion for the developers when thinking of new material to make.

 

It would be nice if each red and blue zone had a TF/SF of its own, perhaps some TFs in gold side may be exciting?

 

Lastly, can we fix the current TFs to be limited to the zones they are supposed to be the TF at? For example Synapse you go to Skyway and then the lion's share of the missions in steel canyon, why not limit the missions for synapse to be in Skyway and stop the needless inter zone travel time sink, and oh please too many of synapse missions are blatant same ole thing which makes them terribly boring, at least dump them or try to actually try make them different.

 

Manticore used to be mostly done in Bricks with a visit to Crey's Folley, then somehow it got "upgraded" to become a zone tourist tour, perhaps we can remake it to be vastly Bricks

 

It could be a shortcut to this suggestion to move Apex and Tin Mage to PI seems really both are missions against Praetoria and they are really portal corp type missions and really have nothing to do with vanguard

 

The second mission of Positron is really in faultline, why not have for Posi 2 to have another instance of positron in Faultline?

 

Only a few suggestions

[Uun]

The only hero zones that don't have a TF or trial are Kings Row and Faultline (not including Hollows, Perez Park, Boomtown and Crey's Folly, which are all hazard zones). The only villain zones that don't have SFs are Mercy and Port Oakes. 

[megaericzero]

17 hours ago, DrRocket said:

It could be a shortcut to this suggestion to move Apex and Tin Mage to PI seems really both are missions against Praetoria and they are really portal corp type missions and really have nothing to do with vanguard

Villains would be unable to participate if you move them to PI.

Edited February 2 by megaericzero

[FupDup]

Vanguard isn't limited to only fighting the Rikti. Their charter is to protect the Earth against any kind of extraterrestrial thread, which is usually the Rikti but not exclusively. They get involved against Praetoria a few times during the story arcs from MJ and/or Tina and they even get involved against the Banished/Mot during the Dream Doctor's arc. 

[BrandX]

I would LOVE a Praetorian side TF, just so my level 50+3 Praetorian can run some TFs 🙂

 

Maybe a nice 4 mission long TF...starts in an instanced Nova Praetoria map, moves to an instanced Imperial City map, to a Neutropolis instanced map, that ends in Underground: Neutropolis instanced map.

 

Thinking a Praetorian version of ITF.

[BasiliskXVIII]

Somewhat related, but what I'd love to see is for contacts to give you the option to run their story arcs as a task force. You can already do the arcs flashbacked through Ouroboros, but it seems pretty lame that if I'm running a story arc and I have people joining me for the entire thing, then the only way for them to get arc rewards and credit for completing it is if they happen to also have the story arc and are running it parallel to you.

 

Admittedly, this means messing around with adding a new system to contacts, which I could see not being a very exciting prospect for the devs, but it would be nice if there were better incentives for people to experience the mission arcs, cause some of them are pretty neat.

[Rudra]

3 hours ago, BasiliskXVIII said:

Somewhat related, but what I'd love to see is for contacts to give you the option to run their story arcs as a task force. You can already do the arcs flashbacked through Ouroboros, but it seems pretty lame that if I'm running a story arc and I have people joining me for the entire thing, then the only way for them to get arc rewards and credit for completing it is if they happen to also have the story arc and are running it parallel to you.

 

Admittedly, this means messing around with adding a new system to contacts, which I could see not being a very exciting prospect for the devs, but it would be nice if there were better incentives for people to experience the mission arcs, cause some of them are pretty neat.

If you have the arcs changed to run like TFs, then you run into the current problem/complaint players have about Ouroboros: you can't add new members on the fly. And while some missions don't share arc rewards with team members unless they also have the mission, others do. My best guess is that it is because some rewards are deemed more valuable than others or that at least those stories are too personal for the entire team to share credit. That is only my best guess though.

[BasiliskXVIII]

1 hour ago, Rudra said:

If you have the arcs changed to run like TFs, then you run into the current problem/complaint players have about Ouroboros: you can't add new members on the fly. And while some missions don't share arc rewards with team members unless they also have the mission, others do. My best guess is that it is because some rewards are deemed more valuable than others or that at least those stories are too personal for the entire team to share credit. That is only my best guess though.

I'm thinking more as a separate option - you get the mission arc offered to you, and then when you click it to select the mission, there's an option to run their arc as a task force. You can choose to accept the arc as normal, or you can put together a TF to run the arc together. I'm primarily a soloer, so I wouldn't want the option to run the mission in non-TF mode removed, but for the times where I do have a mission arc and a lot of free time, I might put out a call to do it as a group.

 

Obviously, the biggest challenge to this implementation is that it becomes necessary to have a sort of interim state where you've accepted the mission, but it hasn't started yet, like the alignment tip missions have, which is why I say there would probably need to be new systems added to contacts as part of this. Which, admittedly, is potentially more effort than the Devs would find worthwhile. I do think, however, that having the option to run the arcs as TFs on-the-fly, and especially having the merit rewards shared, would make them more appealing to players, and would offer a bunch of content to teams that is currently kind of "out of sight, out of mind." Especially since it's actually really hard to get access to some of those arcs as you level now, with the "old" contacts not being offered unless you either don't follow the Matthew Habashy>Shauna Stockwell>Eagle Eye chain or you make an effort to do enough radios to get a safeguard mission if you do.

[Rudra]

29 minutes ago, BasiliskXVIII said:

Especially since it's actually really hard to get access to some of those arcs as you level now, with the "old" contacts not being offered unless you either don't follow the Matthew Habashy>Shauna Stockwell>Eagle Eye chain or you make an effort to do enough radios to get a safeguard mission if you do.

The old contacts in city hall you are referring don't have any actual story arcs and don't give merit rewards, so what are you talking about? And you can still do their content even if you are doing the Habashy et al content any time you want as long as you haven't out-leveled them just by walking into their offices and talking to them.

 

Edit: And doing their content still starts their contact chain.

 

Edited February 3 by Rudra

[BasiliskXVIII]

11 minutes ago, Rudra said:

The old contacts in city hall you are referring don't have any actual story arcs and don't give merit rewards, so what are you talking about? And you can still do their content even if you are doing the Habashy et al content any time you want as long as you haven't out-leveled them just by walking into their offices and talking to them.

 

Edit: And doing their content still starts their contact chain.

 

No, I mean at higher level. Eagle Eye doesn't pass you on to anyone if you outlevel Vic Johansson before completing his arc, so unless you specifically know to go contact hunting, even if you don't accidentally outlevel them, you will very easily miss out on contacts like Wyatt Anderson (Mind of a King Arc), Kong Bao (Tsoo Shenanigans arc), and the various contacts that were in the game at launch unless you know to do radio missions. The only contacts that the "Find Contact" button actually finds for you are the ones that are open for anyone to start at any time, like Montague Castanella or Jim Temblor.

[Rudra]

26 minutes ago, BasiliskXVIII said:

No, I mean at higher level. Eagle Eye doesn't pass you on to anyone if you outlevel Vic Johansson before completing his arc, so unless you specifically know to go contact hunting, even if you don't accidentally outlevel them, you will very easily miss out on contacts like Wyatt Anderson (Mind of a King Arc), Kong Bao (Tsoo Shenanigans arc), and the various contacts that were in the game at launch unless you know to do radio missions. The only contacts that the "Find Contact" button actually finds for you are the ones that are open for anyone to start at any time, like Montague Castanella or Jim Temblor.

Eagle Eye only introduces Vic Johansson though. And you can get introduced to Vic Johansson from 13 different contacts and Vic Johansson refers you back to 10 of those contacts. So I'm still not following. If a player wants to do as much of the available content as possible, they are going to have to turn off xp until they finish completing the content of each level band. None of which will be impacted by changing how the story arcs from the contacts are run such as by converting them to TFs. TFs don't introduce players to contacts. (Edit: Even when players do the story arcs through Ouroboros, those contacts when done as a TF/SF through Ouroboros are stripped of their continuing lines.)

 

Edit again: And if you are wanting new contacts to be introduced to everyone on your team for teaming with you while you did a contact's story arc, I have to ask a few questions:

1) What if those players teaming with you already have those contacts?

2) Why should a contact introduce new contacts to people (s)he wasn't dealing with on his/her concerns? It's not like the contact cares who you hire to help you, but neither does the contact have any reason to trust the random people (in the contact's eyes) that are working with you.

3) If players want to progress their progress with a contact alongside you, then what is wrong with the share mission completion option we already have which will also net them new contact introductions at the same time?

 

Edited February 3 by Rudra

[BasiliskXVIII]

13 minutes ago, Rudra said:

Eagle Eye only introduces Vic Johansson though. And you can get introduced to Vic Johansson from 13 different contacts and Vic Johansson refers you back to 10 of those contacts. So I'm still not following. If a player wants to do as much of the available content as possible, they are going to have to turn off xp until they finish completing the content of each level band. None of which will be impacted by changing how the story arcs from the contacts are run such as by converting them to TFs. TFs don't introduce players to contacts. (Edit: Even when players do the story arcs through Ouroboros, those contacts when done as a TF/SF through Ouroboros are stripped of their continuing lines.)

 

 

My point is if you are a new player (or even a returning player with a fuzzy memory of how the game works) and follow the breadcrumbs that the game lays out for you on how to play, it's very possible for you never to receive an introduction to any of the contacts with story arcs which were in the game at launch. You start with Habashy, who sends you through an intermediary to Thiery. At 5, you also get pointed at Twinshot. Neither introduce you to anyone, but you get Shauna Stockwell as a popup at 7 or when you enter King's Row as part of Twinshot's arc. So you run Stockwell and then Eagle Eye, as well as the Shining Stars Arcs. Finally you stop Veles and let's suppose you finish Eagle Eye at level 15. You're out of Vic Johansson's range, so Eagle Eye doesn't introduce you to him, and Twinshot's arc finishes up, and you're not introduced to anything here either. So you "Find Contact" - you get Jim Temblor, and you do that arc up to 25. Agent G doesn't introduce you to anything, so you're stuck.  And in this whole time, nothing is introducing you to the older contacts, so you don't even know they exist. As far as you're concerned, there are two levelling paths through the early game - this one contact chain, and the TFs. (Three if you include farms.)

 

 

So what I'm saying is that having people calling out in LFG "Hey, I'm running the Mind of a King arc as a TF Lv. 15+, LFM" is potentially beneficial as a way to direct peoples' attention to the fact that those arcs and contacts exist at all. This isn't "I want everybody to do all the content", this is "hey, did you even know this was here?" Because the way that the game is laid out right now, I am quite certain that there's players out there who have absolutely no idea that there's hours and hours of content in the game that the game almost hides from them. And yes, it is possible for players to form TFs through Ouro to do these task forces now. I just think people would be more likely to advertise to do it, if the option to do so was presented naturally to them as they played. Right now, the Ouroboros flashbacks arcs are kind of out of sight out of mind.

[Rudra]

36 minutes ago, BasiliskXVIII said:

 

So what I'm saying is that having people calling out in LFG "Hey, I'm running the Mind of a King arc as a TF Lv. 15+, LFM" is potentially beneficial as a way to direct peoples' attention to the fact that those arcs and contacts exist at all.

You can do the same thing calling out "Hey, I'm running the Mind of a King story arc. Level 15+" without needing to make it a TF. (Edit: Or just calling out "Hey, I'm running <insert contact name>'s story arc. I'm level #. Sound out if you would like to join.") And then as players either need to quit or become available to join, you can change your team on the fly.

Edited February 3 by Rudra

[Frozen Burn]

On 2/1/2025 at 6:16 PM, DrRocket said:

Its only a suggestion for the developers when thinking of new material to make.

 

It would be nice if each red and blue zone had a TF/SF of its own, perhaps some TFs in gold side may be exciting?

 

Lastly, can we fix the current TFs to be limited to the zones they are supposed to be the TF at? For example Synapse you go to Skyway and then the lion's share of the missions in steel canyon, why not limit the missions for synapse to be in Skyway and stop the needless inter zone travel time sink, and oh please too many of synapse missions are blatant same ole thing which makes them terribly boring, at least dump them or try to actually try make them different.

 

Manticore used to be mostly done in Bricks with a visit to Crey's Folley, then somehow it got "upgraded" to become a zone tourist tour, perhaps we can remake it to be vastly Bricks

 

It could be a shortcut to this suggestion to move Apex and Tin Mage to PI seems really both are missions against Praetoria and they are really portal corp type missions and really have nothing to do with vanguard

 

The second mission of Positron is really in faultline, why not have for Posi 2 to have another instance of positron in Faultline?

 

Only a few suggestions

 

As mentioned above most of all the zones (other than hazard or PvP zones) already have a TF/SF or Trial.  However, an SF for Port Oakes would be great - and would give more content for Villain side.  Gold side TFs - I'd be for that.  I love Praetoria and it could be a way to get more content - and perhaps, it could be lvl 20+ content as well to keep you in Praetoria longer post-Neutropolis/First Ward/Night Ward.  

 

TFs with mish's all in same zone - no thank you.  If you actually bother reading the content of the TFs/SFs, there is generally a reason for going to the different zones.  It also makes the TF/SF seem grander and it's a bigger deal to tackle the issue at hand.  Staying in the same zone is boring and monotonous.  And your contacts deal with things across the whole city and not just their zone.  (This also relates to your last point about Posi 2 TF and Faultline - it's fine as is, imo.)

 

As Mentioned above too.... moving Apex and Tin Mage to PI would not allow Villains or Rogues to join in them.  And if you ever play through Praetoria and read the content - the Praetorian problem is not just a "portal corp" problem and is also a villain-side problem.  Also, Vanguard, especially Dark Watcher, is heavily involved in the final arcs of Praetoria - so it's perfect that both Apex and Tin Mage reside in the RWZ.

 

 

Edited February 3 by Frozen Burn

[Rudra]

Just now, Frozen Burn said:

However, an SF for Mercy

Doesn't Mercy have the same SF as Atlas Park, just with a villain twist?

[Frozen Burn]

Just now, Rudra said:

Doesn't Mercy have the same SF as Atlas Park, just with a villain twist?

 

Oh that's right... there is DFB in Mercy.  I never run it there, so I always forget it.  And I was looking at someone else's post that said there wasn't one there.  Thanks for the reminder.

[Uun]

7 hours ago, Rudra said:

Doesn't Mercy have the same SF as Atlas Park, just with a villain twist?

DFB and DiB are instanced and don't have contacts. Although they are often run from Atlas/Mercy, both red and blue versions can be started in any zone. Atlas does however have the contact for the Abandoned Sewers Trial.

[tidge]

21 hours ago, Uun said:

The only hero zones that don't have a TF or trial are Kings Row and Faultline (not including Hollows, Perez Park, Boomtown and Crey's Folly, which are all hazard zones). The only villain zones that don't have SFs are Mercy and Port Oakes. 

 

The Hollows does have the Cavern of Transcendence, but I smell what you are cooking.

 

As for the OP request... I don't think TFs are really the way to go, even as Ouro-gated content. There are a handful of blue-side zones that feel (to me anyway) like they are woefully incomplete from a narrative PoV. Red-side doesn't feel this way to me when I do red-side arcs for content. For example: Terra Volta, despite being the final location of the three TV trials, has got to be the most boring "why bother, except for Numina's TF" zone ever.

[Uun]

10 minutes ago, tidge said:

As for the OP request... I don't think TFs are really the way to go, even as Ouro-gated content. There are a handful of blue-side zones that feel (to me anyway) like they are woefully incomplete from a narrative PoV. Red-side doesn't feel this way to me when I do red-side arcs for content. For example: Terra Volta, despite being the final location of the three TV trials, has got to be the most boring "why bother, except for Numina's TF" zone ever.

I agree as to Terra Volta. Perez Park, Boomtown and Crey's Folly aren't much better. They have no contacts and the only reasons to go there are the occasional mission door or to fight Kraken/Babbage/Jurassik. After hazard zone street sweeping died out, the OG devs never came up with new reasons to go there.

[tidge]

Boomtown was getting slight upgrades... the Council Base with its event is something.

 

Perez Park, as a Hazard Zone, does (now) offer nice large low-level groups for badges that contribute to accolade powers. It doesn't need more lore IMO as it is reasonably well-leveraged for older arc content.

 

Crey's Folly seems to be just a dumping place for door missions.... but so does Eden, even though that has a TF.

[Rudra]

3 hours ago, Uun said:

DFB and DiB are instanced and don't have contacts. Although they are often run from Atlas/Mercy, both red and blue versions can be started in any zone. Atlas does however have the contact for the Abandoned Sewers Trial.

That is true now, but there used to be contacts in Atlas Park and Mercy Island players had to talk to in order to start them. And I'm pretty sure those contacts as assets are still available. The Mercy Island contact was rather a pain to find for a lot of players. Even after being shown where she was, I couldn't remember where to find her because Mercy Island lacks a sewer entrance for Atlas Park. So changing the Mercy Island one to work the way it does now made sense. However, if there being a contact in the zone to interact with is the requirement for players to think a TF/SF is in a zone, then I'm all for putting them back in.