So.. what did I miss?

Welcome back!

I hope your stay is an extended one.

There's been many changes, and I'd recommend you review the official web site to review all the issues that have been published since you last played. That would probably be a good start.

A couple of immediate things pop to my mind:

1. Mission Architect - as you alluded to, this is a significant new feature that has been recently added just this year. If you have a creative streak in you, I suggest you check this out. Currently, the MA is being heavily used (abused, and exploited, IMO) for farming and power-leveling purposes, but there are some very interesting stories a published by players that you can play. It can provide an interesting diversion from the canon game from time to time. Missions from MA (except for Developer Choice missions) do not drop recipes, enhancements, or merits. Instead, they drop Architect Tickets that can be redeemed in the MA building for salvage, recipe rolls, etc.

2. Cimerora - this is a new zone, based in ancient times, that works a little bit differently than any other zone in the game. In order to access Cimerora, you must complete a specific story arc in the game (the contact is in the university in Steel Canyon blue-side, and Cap au Diable red-side). EVERY SINGLE TOON that you want to get into Cimerora must run the arc. It's a pretty zone, and arguably one of the best TFs in the game in there (Imperious Task Force, or ITF or short). Minimum level for Cimerora is 35, but you can run the pre-requisite arc as soon as level 10.

3. Ouroboros - new "time travel" zone that allows you to flash-back and play any canon arc in the game. It also has some stand-alone, unique missions and TFs of its own. You must be minimum level 25 to access this zone. To access the zone, you use the temporary power, the Oroboros Portal, which is granted to your character once you complete a time-travel related mission. The easiest way to get to Oroboros is, once your character hits level 25, ask a player to place down an Oroboros portal and click on it. Once in Oroboros, get the explore badge at the top of the Oroboros building, and bingo, you get the portal power.

Again, welcome back!

Ok...
A couple of tweaks (All Red-side (Villains))
Contact to run Midnighter's Arc Red-side is on Sharkshead near Hospital. The Contact by the University in Cap is for the origin of Power side arc.
Since the Midnighter's Arc Contact is in Shark, you must be about Lvl 20 to run it.

Also Paragonwiki is your friend.

Thank you for the time...

Heh, okay I admit I was working off memory. But, I wasn't that far off. Some tweaks to your tweaks.

Regarding red-side access to Cimerora, the contact is Ashley McKnight who -IS- located at the university in Cap au Diable, per my original post. She does, in fact, give out the Origin of Power arc. However, she also gives out the Midnighter Arc, but only to villains at minimum level 30 (not level 10 as I originally indicated).

Not sure which Sharkhead contact you might be refering to. But, I can confirm I ran the Ashley McKnight Midnighter arc on three villains recently, all of whom subsequently gained access to the Midnighter's Club and Cimerora.

Edit: Hmmm. This contact also appears to grant access to the Midnighter's Club, as early as level 20. The only difference in the arcs appears to be for reasons of .... role play. I won't say more for "spoiler" reasons. Very interesting to know, though, as I've only ever played the Ashley McKnight arc for Cimerora access.