Simultaneous Accolades

[Display Name]

One day I saw a LFM claiming to go after the "Received the Atlas Medallion" and "Freedom Phalanx Reserve Member" accolades.  I assumed we were going to get one then the other.  Little did I suspect the *real* agenda the team lead had!  The person had came up with the idea of getting both of the Accolades in a single run!?  Mind!  Blown!  It took me a while to realize that was what they were doing because it was pretty messy.  Obviously their first attempt.  But a great idea, nonetheless!

 

In this thread I'd like to explore ways to make the process of getting these two accolades at the same time in the most efficient way possible.  Meaning, as new posts add ideas, I'll probably continue editing the original pathway.

 

First, let's explore the shared zones.  The number in parenthesis indicates the number of exploration/plaque badges available.  The Spelunker badge might be a challenge to mix into this because players might use the contact *or* they might use Ouro.

 

Received the Atlas Medallion     Freedom Phalanx Reserve Member

Echo: Galaxy City (1)                   Echo: Galaxy City (2)

Kings Row (2)                              Kings Row (2)

Steel Canyon (1: Spelunker)        Steel Canyon (3: Exploration badge, Posi 1 & 2 for Gear Smasher and Heldenjaeger for Unveiler)

Skyway City (1: Spelunker)          Skyway City (2: Exploration and Synapse for Gear Smasher)

 

The remaining zones are not shared but I wanted to add them so that maybe we can develop a path with a mix of shared and unshared zones to increase efficiency overall.

 

Received the Atlas Medallion

Atlas Park (2)

Perez Park (2: 1 plaque and Spelunker)

Striga Isle (2: Silver Bullet and Slayer)

 

Freedom Phalanx Reserve Member

Boomtown (1)

Talos Island (1)

Independence Port (2 or 3: exploration badge, plaque and maybe a Yin or two for Tank Buster)

Echo: Dark Astoria (1)

Terra Volta (2: 1 plaque and Tank Buster)

Faultline (1: Gear Smasher)

 

Whew!  I get by with a little help from my friends!  Also, I'd like to put this "arc" together using the lowest levels possible!  Any ideas to start?

[Display Name]

To begin with, I want to leave out the TFs for this.  Except maybe for the "Rescue the Mystic" mish.  It's pretty quick.  NOTE: The Mystic *can* be affected by ATT and similar tp powers as long as she's attached to a player.  So an *excellent* strategy would be to leave a player at the entrance who has TP Target, ATT or any way that they can get the player who has the Mystic attached to them back to the entrance as quickly as possible.

 

I guess I'll start in Atlas Park.

 

This version tries to be as sequential as possible.  It also assumes that the player wants to run the Spelunker mish.  None of the TFs are included in this list, although the possibility for hunting defeat badges is included.  Any corrections would be appreciated.

 

 

Atlas Park

Exploration on top of the Atlas statue: /thumbtack 134 314 -340

Plaque below the train: /thumbtack 511 5 -1151

get on the train

 

Steel Canyon (north)

Exploration badge: /thumbtack -2428 48 -3408

get on the train

else, Ouro to Flashback the Spelunker badge

 

Flashback

Select level 10-14

Select Rescue the Mystic (0.02)

Teleport to contact

take the zone gate nearby to Perez Park

skip to Perez Park

 

Steel Canyon (south)

Spelunker: Dr. Trevor Seaborn /thumbtack -1611.5 0 1378

take the zone gate nearby to Perez Park whether you're doing Spelunker or not

 

Perez Park

Exploration Badge: /thumbtack -1174 -29 2252

Spelunker (note: the exploration badge will likely be very near the entrance to Spelunker which is very convenient.)

base portal to Skyway City

 

Skyway City

Exploration badge: /thumbtack -1085 -16 -7612

base portal to Boomtown

 

Boomtown

Exploration badge: /thumbtack -448 42 2170

base portal to King's Row

 

King's Row

Plaque: /thumbtack -170 -42 -1467

Plaque: /thumbtack -400 4 1760

Exploration badge: /thumbtack -940.5 -41.7 2977.4

Exploration badge: /thumbtack -2175.9 97.0 1142.5

get on the train

 

Talos Island

/thumbtack 1777 22 7843

get on the train

 

Independence Port (north)

Plaque: /thumbtack 910 100 -4175

Plaque: /thumbtack -1035 36 -2441

 

Terra Volta

Plaque: /thumbtack 351 196 -3605

Tank Buster badge: Freak Show are rumored to be plentiful here and Vidiot Maps seems to confirm this.  They're supposedly not going to be greater than level 29.

base portal to Faultline (if you want to pick up the Gear Smasher badge)

else, Ouro

 

Faultline

Hunt until you get the badge

ATT + Ouro

 

Echo: Dark Astoria

Plaque: /thumbtack 3420 46 3038

 

Echo: Galaxy City

Plaque: /thumbtack -752 5 -1550

Plaque: /thumbtack -1184 63 -936

 

If you didn't do anything but plaques and exploration badges, then these are the remaining badges you need:
Spelunker

Gear Smasher

Tank Buster

Unveiler

Silver Bullet

Slayer

 

 

Edited Monday at 11:34 PM by Display Name

[Frozen Burn]

Cherry picking explores and plaques out of a zone is a waste of time and energy - not efficient at all.  Just get them all, collect your 5 merits along the way (and accolade for getting all explores in a zone).  The other explores and plaques are useful for other accolades and badges too... so, again, best to just claim them all at once so you don't have to try and cherry pick the others later on.

 

I will go zone by zone as I level up and when I've gotten all explores and plaques in a zone, I hit reveal to get rid of the fog of war - any zone that hasn't been revealed, I know I need explores or plaques.  If it is revealed, then I know I've gotten them all later on when hunting other accos or badges.

 

For the others....

• Spelunker Badge
  • If via flashback, Teleporting to contact is a waste of time as you have to travel through Steel at level (albeit a short distance), zone into Perez, and then travel to the door.
  • Start the flashback and port into your quick travel base, and then zone into Perez directly.  Less travel time, and typically, the door is closer to the base portal rather than the Steel Canyon gate.
• The defeats
  • Typically faster and easier to get through TFs vs. slogging through street sweeping.  It's also more XP, merits, and a badge.  Save the street sweeping for afterwards getting the last few that you didn't get in the TF.
    • Freedom Phalanx
      • Tankbuster - Yin TF, or even better, the Sister Psyche TF through Ouro 
      • Gearsmasher - Posi 1 and 2 will get you Gearsmasher and if not... Synapse surely will.
      • Unveiler - Pandora's Box last chapter with the yeager contact in Steel Canyon is best source for them.  have to be level 40 min, but I wait to lvl 41, set to -1x8 (easier to kill and fakes only spawn at lvl 40+, hence me being lvl 41) and set to no bosses (solo) and you can defeat LT fakes and they still count (even defender and controllers can do this solo).  If you have a teammate(s), they will then spawn as bosses, but they're still -1, so not so bad.  You can get 25-35 fakes in one run.  So reset the first mish 3 or 4 times to get the badge.
    • Atlas Medallion
      • Silver Bullet and Slayer badges - run the first 2 mish's of Moonfire at x8 and you'll be close to getting the badges, then it's a simple hunt 25 (give or take) of each in Striga and you're done.

These aren't hard to get accolades and can be gotten at lvl 1 (although xp would level you up as you go) if you have teammates willing to do the defeats (by street sweeping) for you and has the actual non-ouro / non-flashback Spelunker mish.  🙂   

[macskull]

3 hours ago, Frozen Burn said:

Cherry picking explores and plaques out of a zone is a waste of time and energy - not efficient at all.  Just get them all, collect your 5 merits along the way (and accolade for getting all explores in a zone).  The other explores and plaques are useful for other accolades and badges too... so, again, best to just claim them all at once so you don't have to try and cherry pick the others later on.

If all you're trying to do is get the passive accolades and you don't care about the merits for getting the exploration badges, going to every single badge and plaque in zone is the inefficient play.

 

3 hours ago, Frozen Burn said:

• Spelunker Badge
  • If via flashback, Teleporting to contact is a waste of time as you have to travel through Steel at level (albeit a short distance), zone into Perez, and then travel to the door.
  • Start the flashback and port into your quick travel base, and then zone into Perez directly.  Less travel time, and typically, the door is closer to the base portal rather than the Steel Canyon gate.

You've already got to get some explores and a plaque in Atlas Park for the accolades. If you're starting the Spelunker badge mission from Ouroboros, exiting Ouro into Atlas Park is the play since it puts you in a good location to quickly get those clicks and you can then head through the gate to Perez Park, where you can get your badge on your way to the mission door.

 

3 hours ago, Frozen Burn said:

• The defeats
  • Typically faster and easier to get through TFs vs. slogging through street sweeping.  It's also more XP, merits, and a badge.  Save the street sweeping for afterwards getting the last few that you didn't get in the TF.

While true, if you're already a higher level it's far faster to just blow through gray-con mobs in open zones.

• Tankbuster in Crey's Folly
• Gearsmasher in Echo: Faultline
• Unveiler: the arc you mentioned is still probably the fastest way to get this

All this being said, the defeat badges for Freedom Phalanx, and specifically Unveiler, are the reason I do High Pain Threshold instead.

 

This is the guide I've been using to get the four passive accolades + Demonic Aura for years now. It is a little outdated since it was written while /enterbasefrompasscode was still a thing and doesn't account for some of the streamlining of travel between some zones, but it's still my go-to.

[Frozen Burn]

4 minutes ago, macskull said:

If all you're trying to do is get the passive accolades and you don't care about the merits for getting the exploration badges, going to every single badge and plaque in zone is the inefficient play.

 

You've already got to get some explores and a plaque in Atlas Park for the accolades. If you're starting the Spelunker badge mission from Ouroboros, exiting Ouro into Atlas Park is the play since it puts you in a good location to quickly get those clicks and you can then head through the gate to Perez Park, where you can get your badge on your way to the mission door.

 

While true, if you're already a higher level it's far faster to just blow through gray-con mobs in open zones.

• Tankbuster in Crey's Folly
• Gearsmasher in Echo: Faultline
• Unveiler: the arc you mentioned is still probably the fastest way to get this

All this being said, the defeat badges for Freedom Phalanx, and specifically Unveiler, are the reason I do High Pain Threshold instead.

 

This is the guide I've been using to get the four passive accolades + Demonic Aura for years now. It is a little outdated since it was written while /enterbasefrompasscode was still a thing and doesn't account for some of the streamlining of travel between some zones, but it's still my go-to.

 

Many ways to skin this cat.  Certainly if all you ever want is to only get those two acco's knowing exactly where those specific explores and plaques are in the zones may save a couple mins of your time.  But if you don't already know them by rote, you also waste a lot of time copying and pasting or typing up coordinate thumbtacks or navigating popup menus that might them - until you have them memorized.  Otherwise, just open up vidiotmaps and go get everything - it only takes a few secs more per zone.  And then you're set for other accolades and badges later, if you choose to get them - and then you don't have to try and remember which ones you got or didn't get which is a HUGE waste of time overall.  A few extra secs or a min now, saves a ton of time and frustration later.

 

As far as defeats... yes, *IF* you're higher level fighting greys through street sweeping, it is easy.  However OP was talking about using lowest levels possible, so that means being lower level and not fighting greys for street sweeping.  

 

But if you're going to street sweep Tanks for Tankbuster - Terra Volta is better as they are 10-15 lvls lower than Creys.  And Echo: Faultline for Gearsmasher - yes, that's the best place for gears in the wild - it's still a nightmarish tedious task.  I've done it.  And when you get a lot that only have 1-2 gears per boss defeat... it just makes it that much longer and mind-numbingly boring.  But yes, doable.  🙂  I'd still rather run a Synapse and I hate that TF - but it and Posi 1&2 where you will get your Gearsmasher badge goes towards TF Commander.  (Yes, there the whole villainside way to get same acco in 10 mins *IF* you have a lvl 50 villain that can upnlock it for you - blah, blah, blah.  But that's not an option for all - so collecting defeats in TFs can be very efficient overall too.)

 

And High Pain Threshold is not optimal to get instead of Freedom Phalanx, imo.  It's relatively easy other than having to die multiple times and pay off debt.  Many (like myself) do not like that one bit.  

 

But certainly, your method/pattern works.  Great thing about this game - many ways to accomplish the same thing in roughly the same time/effort/etc.  🙂  

[macskull]

25 minutes ago, Frozen Burn said:

And High Pain Threshold is not optimal to get instead of Freedom Phalanx, imo.  It's relatively easy other than having to die multiple times and pay off debt.  Many (like myself) do not like that one bit.

Getting the debt badge takes all of two minutes on a level 50 character provided you have some patrol XP stored up, and even if you don't you'll get enough from getting the exploration badges that die/repeat/die/repeat is quick.

 

The OP's thought exercise here is "how do I get <insert accolade(s) here> as efficiently as possible?" Whether someone likes doing a certain thing (such as dying for a debt badge, or side switching to do the easier of two equivalent accolades) is irrelevant in that context. Sure, if you're doing the TFC task forces you'll make progress towards those defeats, but the only time I've got TFC on a character on Homecoming is the time I did it before I knew about the mayhem mission contact.

Edited yesterday at 05:28 AM by macskull

[Jacktar]

Hi, I always get the explore badges from Atlas including the Oro portal by dropping into RV and then do Echo Atlas and Echo Galaxy so I get a chunk of inf at low level.

Pick up the one plaque in Galaxy and Atlas for the History badge at the same time.

Approx eight mins for the lot.

I also have my SG and use the Oro flame from there to start the Spelunker mish and then hit the Perez portal right next to it.

Because we have to wait till lvl 15(?) to get access to the Flame I will get the Kings explore badges and both the needed Plaques as I pass by them.

I usually complete the Fortune teller mish and then drop out of flashback to get to my usually higher level and then get the Perez plaque(completes the History badge) and the explore badges.

Love the way we have so many journeys to get to the same destination in our game 🌟

[Frozen Burn]

7 hours ago, macskull said:

Getting the debt badge takes all of two minutes on a level 50 character provided you have some patrol XP stored up, and even if you don't you'll get enough from getting the exploration badges that die/repeat/die/repeat is quick.

 

The OP's thought exercise here is "how do I get <insert accolade(s) here> as efficiently as possible?" Whether someone likes doing a certain thing (such as dying for a debt badge, or side switching to do the easier of two equivalent accolades) is irrelevant in that context. Sure, if you're doing the TFC task forces you'll make progress towards those defeats, but the only time I've got TFC on a character on Homecoming is the time I did it before I knew about the mayhem mission contact.

 

It's actually more than 2 mins to get those badges, even at 50, to die, then fight to burn off the dept even with patrol XP.  I know you were not being literal, but it is actually about the same time to do all that as it is street sweeping lower lvls for a defeat badge at lvl 50.  Again, 2 ways to accomplish the same thing.   So, preference of dying for the badge vs. not is a factor, imo - and maybe to others as well.

 

And also, OP did state:  "I'd like to put this "arc" together using the lowest levels possible!"  Meaning most efficient at lvl and not at lvl 50.  Incurring debt at lower levels when you don't have all your powers or are fully slotted can take even longer to burn off than just doing the defeat badges for Freedom Phalanx Reserve.  

 

Clearly, getting all the Mayhem mish's explores is the easiest and fastest way to get the TFC accolade (Invader Accolade) - provided you have someone who has the contact unlocked.  Some do not.  Some , or certain characters in one's list, never go villainside (I have a few like this).  I always do the TFC TFs anyway - I want those badges and the merits.  So, it's no biggie to get the defeat badges through the TFs as I lvl instead of street sweeping.  For me, it's more about overall efficiency on the greater collection badges - and I know that's not what the OP is here and it is only focusing on the efficiency of the 2 accolades.   

 

And for the record, I think I've only once ever gotten the Invader accolade through the mayhem mish's (maybe twice).  It feels like cheating to me, but clearly it isn't as the Devs put it into the game and know people can get that accolade at lvl 1.  😄  But I figure, on practically all of my toons, I can wait until lvl 35 to get the accolade with Numina TF.  But again, Invader is clearly easier and quicker than TFC.  

[lemming]

So, I used to do the Blue Stat Accolades and I follow Frozen Burn's philosophy of just clearing each of the maps

Atlas	Kings Row
Boomtown	Perez Park
Bricks	Skyway
Echo: DA	Steel Canyon
Echo: Galaxy	Talos
Founders	Terra Volta
IP

However, I tend to add a few other zones while I'm at it such as all the Echos, PI, Hollows, and Kallisti to also get the Bicentential, etc...  Eventually I wind up getting most zones, all the explore badges and plagues anyway.

 

Lately, I've added First Ward & Night Ward while getting Beyond Realities for Mark and Recall.

 

And at some point, I decided that a couple of the Red Versions was easier.   Definitely Invader, which can be done very quickly, but High Pain Threshold and Born in Battle are easy, plus a break from the Blue versions.  I tend to just go and get all the Red Side Maps done, plus the PvP ones for completeness.

Bloody Bay	Port Oakes
Cap	Sharkhead
Grandville	Siren's Call
Mercy	St. Martial
Nerva	Warburg

 

Now, any of this can be done faster by being surgical about it, but usually I'm doing this when I'm working on other stuff anyway.

May as well include the screenshot of the reference

[AboveTheChemist]

14 hours ago, Frozen Burn said:

Cherry picking explores and plaques out of a zone is a waste of time and energy - not efficient at all.  Just get them all, collect your 5 merits along the way (and accolade for getting all explores in a zone).  The other explores and plaques are useful for other accolades and badges too... so, again, best to just claim them all at once so you don't have to try and cherry pick the others later on.

 

Seconding this, 100%. It's why I created my optimal paths maps and popmenu.

 

To the OP's point of getting the passives efficiently, though, there's is an existing tool to aid in collection of the exploration badges/plaques needed which can be found here:

 

https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/29475-a-quick-map-for-collecting-the-passive-accolade-badges-exploration-and-history/

 

There is a map in the top post at that link, and further down the thread I posted a popmenu conversion of the map. Perhaps one or both of those tools might aid in solving your problem.

[macskull]

4 hours ago, Frozen Burn said:

It's actually more than 2 mins to get those badges, even at 50, to die, then fight to burn off the dept even with patrol XP.  I know you were not being literal

I was being literal.

 

I'm not the type to make a claim without evidence though, so as I was working on this post I loaded in a fresh level 50 with some patrol XP and zero debt. From the time I first died to the time I got The Unbroken Spirit (the 200k debt requirement for the accolade) was a grand total of... 38 seconds. Here's the chat log to prove it.

 

[11:19:08] Congratulations! You earned the The Unwavering badge.
[11:19:21] Congratulations! You earned the The Unyielding badge.
[11:19:46] Congratulations! You earned the The Unbroken Spirit badge.

 

3 hours ago, AboveTheChemist said:

Seconding this, 100%. It's why I created my optimal paths maps and popmenu.

I'm confused here. In one sentence you're saying you agree that it's a waste of time and energy to cherry pick stuff from zones, but in the very next sentence you talk about an optimal path and popmenu which does exactly that.

Edited yesterday at 06:28 PM by macskull
Clarity

[AboveTheChemist]

55 minutes ago, macskull said:

I'm confused here.

 

My optimal paths maps and popmenu, linked in my signature, were created for the express purpose of efficiently collecting all the badges/plaques in a zone in one go, to avoid cherry picking. I merely mentioned them to reinforce my agreement with Frozen Burn's sentiment.

 

The tool I discussed and linked in the latter part of my previous comment is a completely separate tool developed by someone else (although I helped translate it into a popmenu) that I felt was relevant to the OP's goals. I had hoped that saying "To the OP's point of getting the passives efficiently, though" would create a distinction there, but apparently it did not.