Bubbawheat

I have to wake up early weekdays (6am EST) so it's tough for me to stay up past midnight.

I'd be interested in Earth, Void or possibly Light. (in that order)

Am I the only one that likes to see and show WIPs? Just over a week left to go here. Get a move on people!

<-- On Eastern time, weekends preferred. Fri evenings would work for me.

Sounds like an intriguing concept depending on what kind of playtimes it is, I would be interested in this. I'm not too experienced with RP yet, but willing to jump in. What kind of theme are you thinking of, or would this be more of a group decision? Also, what server?

Another small turnout this month and so the Player's Choice will be taking an extended break to allow for some fresh authors, some new arcs, and new players to work their way into this forum. Until then, we still have some great short arcs to recognize.

One Mission Arcs

This was a very close race between the top two, with both spending almost equal time in the lead, but in the end the votes turned out with our runner up

Don't Freak (Customs Version): 384769 - @Gypsy Rose aka Arrowrose with 9 points.

and our winner
Storming Citadel #379488 by @MrCaptainMan with 10 points.

Two Mission Arcs

This was also a close race in the end with another gap of only 1 point. Our runner up

Death to Disco Arc ID 84420 @Wrong Number with 4 points.

and our winner
Becky's Revenge #60197 by @New Age Ronin with 5 points.

Three Mission Arcs

This one was a bit more of a runaway, though our runner up still edged a few votes.

PENGUIN #29205 by @Tubbius with 2 points.

and our winner
Drakule vs. The Werewolf Bikers From Hell #340316 by @LaserJesus with 8 points.

Congrats to all the winners!

I'm partially just posting the XP for my own curiosity. It's not just about the allies patch (the first ally doesn't count btw) It's also informed by small maps, and the fact that for this character I'm avoiding as many mobs as possible to avoid as much XP as possible short of completely turning it off. That's partly how I've done 10 arcs and only gotten 6 levels out of it.

One more day to make your votes count!

Next up is one that I've been looking at for a while, another fun arc from Airhead, it's somewhat of a sequel to Outbreak, the hero tutorial. It's

Outbroken #379017 by @Aehaed

The Hero Loses His Power: This is another one that takes a somewhat roundabout way of looking at this concept. *Spoiler reminder* According to this arc, Sergeant Hicks from Outbreak has been working with Paragon City Police since the Rikti war. Actually, he was working with Arachnos back then as Hixagon where he lost his powers somehow during the war and decided it was safer to go to Paragon City and stay away from Arachnos where survival of the fittest is the norm, and he was no longer one of the fittest. But this happened a long time before the arc takes place.

There's also another thread that could possibly satisfy the condition. Coyote starts out this arc being infected by some Rikti mutagen which is why he asks you to fill in for him in his tutorial duties. But I never got the impression that Coyote had lost his powers, he was just sick and needed treatment.

Appropriate for the Level Range: Yes, though I did have a little trouble with the Coralax defendable object ambushes in mission 3. Also, the final mission does rely on a "trick" for it to be totally soloable. It has a 15 minute timer and an empty map except for a single AV->EB and a half dozen glowies. I gave the EB just a short try with very little headway. I then started clicking on the glowies, which I assumed one of them was tied to the mission complete. But I had to lure the EB away first so I could get a clear shot at them. Instead, they summoned Arachnos Proximity Bombs (Cruise Missile). A rare mob that is unselectable and explodes when near a target for extreme damage. It only took a few of them to knock out the EB without any help from me. No XP, but very interesting tactic.

The Arc as an Arc: I thought the story was quite interesting, and there's a lot of humor throughout. Coyote is infected with a mutagen that basically gives him Turett's Syndrome, while Hicks is choosing increasingly odd places to hold a new tutorial mission for new heroes. Things are kept interesting, and the story end with a bit of intrigue with the introduction of Hicks' back story. I had quite a good time with it.

As usual, as-I-go tweets below in order. Along with some XP tracking which I realize is hard to gauge if it's due to a short mission, or due to the patch, or a combination of both.

Bubbawheat #CoHMA Playing Outbroken # 379017 by @ Aehaed aka Airhead
Bubbawheat #CoHMA My contact is Coyote, and this arc is advertised as a sequel to Outbreak, the Hero tutorial, of sorts.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M1: So, Coyote has gotten infected with some Rikti mutagen and is acting oddly, and asking me to fill in for him in the tutorial.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M1: First, I'm off to help Officer Hicks track down a missing deactivated Rikti Drone.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M1: Faultline map, with officers talking outside, and some contaminated inside, mix of lvl 1s and lvl 10s.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M1: there's some <Balconi Family> here too, wonder what they're up to?

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M2: Best mission pop-up ever! I'm on Grandville beach map, as Hicks went portal hopping looking for a new tutorial zone. Odd choice.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA Oh yeah, current xp total for mission one: 150.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M2: Some Coralax are wiping the floor with the SWAT officers here.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M2: Tried defending a Medicom station, and got handed by the defendable ambush + regular spawns + a couple stragglers.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M2: Took a little while, but found the two drones down on the beach.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M2: XP total for mission 2: 330

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M3: now they're trying to make a tutorial using a different conflict. Wonder what's next?
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M3: Ok, now they're trying to make a tutorial in the RWZ. They so cwazy! Though I bet it has something to do with Coyote's sickness.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M3: Found a room to the side with a couple inactive glowies and a deactivated drone. Wonder what I'm going to do with them.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M3: Some more fun in here - patrols of funny <New Heroes>, a Rikti Goat (hordeling), and I accidentally reactivated the drone.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M3: XP total for mission 3: 150

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M4: I'm off to find Officer Hicks once again, but nothing else to go on so far. He certainly is acting awful weird though.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M4: Now I'm in an Arachnos base. Hmmm...
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M4: Great line from first Arachnos boss " An eye for an eye, eh? Lucky for me, a spider has many!"
Bubbawheat #CoHMA Hmm... A room with a whole bunch of glowie computers. Though I'm only here to "Find Hicks".
Bubbawheat #CoHMA That was a bust, all the computers were password protected. And I'm a fighter, not a hacker.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M4: *Spoiler* Found Hicks, aka Hixagon, the Rikti mutagen restored him to his former superpowered villain self.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M4: Though, for some reason he's a rescue rather than a boss.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M4: Next up was to save Dr. Miller, the one that's been treating Coyote and RUN to the exit. Though I didn't see any ambushes/patrols
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M4: XP total for M4: 700.

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M5: I'm supposed to lead Hixagon into a trap, I've only got 15 minutes, and I'm warned to bring along some [break frees]. Fun?
Bubbawheat #CoHMA I think purples would be better idea than break frees.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA *Spoiler* Ok, that was pretty sweet, all those glowie computers summoned proximity mines that took out Hixagon in short order.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA Though it was cool, it ended up netting me 0XP for mission 5. No biggie.

Next up is

Too Clever by Half #378944 by @Samuraiko

Starting with this arc, I will be tracking my xp gains due to the recent patch. I'm currently 9 arcs into the challenge, and not quite to level 11, having started at level 5. This arc netted me around 800 XP @ lvl 10, solo, default difficulty, 3 missions. 1st mission was mostly non-combat, and 2nd mission I found the single objective very quickly.

The Villain Loses His Power: This is the first arc I've played where I wasn't entirely clear about this part of the arc. Basically, Vernon von Grun was running an experiment to give intelligence to Devouring Earth, Dr. Aeon came to oversee his experiment and there was an explosion. Ultimately the device drained Dr. Aeon's intelligence and gave it to the DE instead of using the artificial intelligence that Von Grun had set up. But the question is whether you consider Aeon's brain power to be part of his super power, or his power armor/power gloves to be part of his super power (which he still has, as you fight him in the third mission).

The Arc as an Arc: Aside from that detail, I had a really good time playing this arc. It is very fun and very funny, from Von Grun's contact dialog, to the hyper intelligent DE roaming around the first mission. It's even great to see several optional self motivated villainous objectives in missions 2 and 3 aside from what your contact is asking you to do.

Appropriate for the Level Range: Totally, there were a small handful of custom scientists guarding destructibles in M1, who were de-powered enough that they gave no XP. Some longbow, some skulls, and Dr. Aeon who wasn't too difficult for me in the chosen incarnation.

Laugh with me now! Hah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!

Bubbawheat #CoHMA Time to see if the MA changes start affecting me, playing Too Clever by Half # 378944 by @Samuraiko, 2nd Aeon challenge.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA my contact is Vernon Von Grun, mad scientist to the stars.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA Laugh with me now Aha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M1: So Von Grun is trying to make extra-intelligent DE, Aeon came to watch, and Von Grun wound up unconscious. Let's see...
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M1: I enter the mission and bladegrasses are talking scientific jibber jabber. (not to be confused with mumbo jumbo)
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M1: They also seem to be pacifists... so far.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M1: Found a sample that escaped from inside its box. I think it's the one with the hunched back.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M1: Found a sample still inside its box, contentedly spouting jibber jabber regardless of the box, and guarded by a scientist sansbio
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M1: Go up another elevator and get hit with a wall of science talk.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M1: Turns out Aeon also got knocked out and crawled away on his own.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M1: Hmm... so I think I know what went wrong with the intelligence modifier, but I haven't told myself what that is yet.

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M2: Current xp total: 0, though I don't think the latest patch affected that any.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M2: So the intelligence modifier didn't use the AI, it used Aeon's... I, and left him a blathering idiot wandering around for longbow
Bubbawheat #CoHMA to track, and for me to get that information from them, by any means necessary. And I like any means.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M2: Ooh, I have 16 acts of wanton destruction to commit. I wonder if it's mandatory.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M2: Found the boss quickly, mayhem and destruction will have to wait. XP total: 91 (2 minions and 1 boss->lieut @lvl 10)

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M3: Aeon's wandering around Mercy and I have to find him, and leave no witnesses. I wonder if it's the small Kalinda's arc map.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M3: Ahh, the burning Skulls map. This shouldn't be too big. Also seems like there's fighting ahead of me.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M3: I thought Aeon was supposed to be the powerless one, but he still seemed quite energy/energy to me. Just without a mind.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA was quite a good time... for SCIENCE! Laugh with me Bwah-hah-hah-hah-hah. XP total for the arc ~ 800 @lvl 10 solo, default diff.

"Wait, wait, let me guess. Ocho Tequilas?"

"Wrong! Two Shirley Temples and a Rob Roy please."

If I am a winner, I permit NC Interactive, Inc. and NCsoft Europe Limited to use my name, likeness, photograph, hometown, and any comments that I may make about myself or this contest that I provide for advertising and promotional activities. I also certify that I am at least 13 years of age and am eligible to participate in this contest.

Edit: Shoot, I guess I should have read all the entries before posting mine. I guess I'm not the only one who thought of Shirley Temples. Maybe next time.

Thanks for the review, it's been a while since I've visited this arc, and your thoughts as well as Mychyl's have given me some things to consider, though I believe I'm pretty close to full. The peculiar woman's role has slowly grown, and she could end up playing a part in the final mission to complete her own mini-arc. I think I will revisit the contact and clues somewhat (the nav text bug is annoying)

Here's a thought - besides Hall of Fame and Dev's Choice, have a third special title, kind of like a mini-dev's choice - granted to story arcs that are halfway decent and non-exploitative. Requirements would be similar to Dev's Choice: marked as "Final", nominated by someone else in the Dev's Choice thread (so as not to inundate them, though it probably would greatly increase nominations) or found through one of their contests. These arcs would grant normal XP for things like minion-only groups, be allowed to have flavor allies, etc, and grant this mini-dev choice much more frequently - like 5 a week.

Quick rundown of how this thread will go, as have many others before it, including one that I started way back when.

(typically) newer players: Yes! Great idea! I want some of the rewards now instead of waiting! And I'd rather get good rewards instead of crappy costume pieces that I don't ever want.

(typically) older players: No! The rewards were created for long term vets of the game and should be awarded accordingly. It diminishes my reward that I got by playing for 6 years if someone playing for 3 months could also get it.

tech savvy players: The tech involved in creating a system to change all current vet awards and future vet rewards into a token system along with a UI is much more effort than they would want to spend at this time.

Personally, I currently agree the most with the third argument. Though I feel that all three have valid points.

Played this one a few days ago. Lucky I can refresh my memory. Next up on my plate is an arc that will likely go away shortly after i17 hits, according to the author. Here's an

Unfair Trade #373846 by @Lazarus

The Villain Loses His Power: This conceit comes straight out at the beginning, the contact's bio actually which I typically look at first. You need to know who you're working with after all. Maxwell Hauser got sent to the Zig, the one with the power suppression field around it apparently for added security measures. Well, when he was released, his powers didn't come back, and he needs my help to get them back. Or get some new ones from a couple heroes that got him sent there in the first place.

Appropriate for the Level Range: Yes, it was difficult in places for me, but never frustratingly so. And it was always close enough that I felt that if I had played differently I wouldn't have died at all. But I did die several times through the course of this arc, and I'm now at the top of the level range for these arcs.

The Arc as an Arc: This was a fun arc. Nothing too deep, or too complicated. I liked a lot of the pop culture references in here, like Clerks and Office Space. I also liked the use of the <Paragon City Heroes> and the plot in general was quite fun. I did expect a betrayal at the end, which never happened thankfully, but I never did really sense much motivation for working this hard to get this guy's power back - almost always the hardest thing in a good villainous arc.

As usual, tweets below in order.


Bubbawheat #CoHMA Unfair Trade # 373846 by @ Lazarus, entry in 2nd Aeon's Challenge, going away when he finishes his next arc.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA Contact is Maxwell Hauser, his powers suppressed in the Zig but didn't come back later. The power to wake people in the morning?
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M1: I'm off to break in to Atlas bank and get his safe deposit box, he gave me a video scrambler for good measure too.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA Security Captain dialog references Clerks. Me likey.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M1: Fought off Flambeaux and Polar Shift after grabbing the loot.

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M2: Turns out he has a grudge against those two, and also needs a superpowered donor to get his powers back. #TwoBirdsOneStone.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M2: Automatons? TPS Reports? What kind of sick game are you playing here?
Bubbawheat #CoHMA continuing Unfair Trade M2: I'm dying quite a bit, but I feel like it's because I'm not giving it my full attention.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M2: got the video from the mainframe of Polar Shift and Flambeaux fighting before I got there. I guess I could use it.

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M3: Ugh, so tired of the hospital teleporter workarounds. But we've got Outcasts helping us trap the two heroes.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M3: Not too bad of a mission, a couple Outcasts helping me take out some PPD and the two heroines.

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M4: Now he's getting his powers back by taking theirs, I have a strong suspicion that he's going to test them out on me.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M4: Maxwell Houser is now calling himself Maxwell Demon, the procedure worked! I thought he would have went with Max Power.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M4: Found Flambeaux, she tried to throw a rock at me. Also a bunch of Longbow are here, for some reason.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M4: Having 2 bosses follow me around is nice, except when they decide to stand around for a while.
Bubbawheat #CoHMA M4: Some final patrols and a boss on the way out, but I was wrong on the betrayal. Fun little arc.

722

Obviously, the fire/fire blaster Chocobo is holding Statesman hostage. Looking good, probably a lot better than what I could do if I chose clay.

It depends on what matters to him as far as the game goes. If graphics is really that important, then wait until i17 and Ultra Mode, then everything else will be gravy one he gets used to the game.

Too early to tell, but I may just have a shot in hell this month.

Ok, finished with it, and even made a little popsicle Rikti monkey to boot. Here's the action shot:



And close up of the monkey



And I may indeed have a video or at least a pic of her going up in flames at some point in time. I think the fluff should burn without causing too much damage. >;^)

Almost there...



Is that a Rikti monkey?!?

they have confirmed at least a couple new skins come GR - a Praetorian high-tech lab - from War Witch's recent interviews.

Of course, there's also the many unique maps that can be seen all over AE, since they aren't often seen in the game, they are often seen in many of the good AE arcs.

Generally when I see option A, it's advertised as Level 50 only ITF, and they stress the fact that it's level 50s only. So that sentence by itself I would assume as Option B.

Nice choice, it's also one of the new maps for i17 MA. It would be nice to see it in Ultra-Mode as well, when it hits open beta.