So, for my sins, the last couple of days I’ve ended up in AE running farming missions. I blame the relative lack of normal mission teams during weekdays (or if they’re out there, I haven’t found them yet). I’ve played through the low and mid-level part of the game so much though, that outside of Task Forces, I’m more interested in getting my characters into the 40s, as I’ve not really seen as much of that end of the game in comparison, so I’m not hugely complaining about the level bump (although even then I only gained a couple of levels).
To be honest, I quite enjoy some of the farming missions. Some of them are pretty evil, with powerful mobs and a tendancy to spawn ambushes that can really catch you out if you’re not on your toes. Yes, the missions allow you to leap through levels in a way the game designers didn’t really intend, but with a good team I can still find a good farming mission fun.
Last night though, I ended up on a “Bubble Mission” team though. I’d heard about Bubble missions from the ingame chat and forums, but I’d never actually seen one, so I must admit my curiousity got the better of me.
The basic structure remains the same as some of the farming missions. Large groups of powerful, high-level mele mobs that you can pound into the dirt for quick XP gain. However, unlike normal farming missions, these missions include various NPCs that assist the player team. These NPCs all contain variations on defender forcefield powers, with the idea being to collect a load of them to run around with your team. Your team then ends up surrounded by dozens of forcefield bubbles, which maxes out your defense, making you nigh-on unkillable as long as the team sticks with the bubbles.
Its hugely dull. There’s zero threat to the team and you end up just sitting there cycling your main attack powers until either you fall asleep, quit the team, or you’ve killed everything in sight.
Its pretty much the opposite to the Task Forces. Both give you a large amount of XP, but with Task Forces there’s a storyline to get your teeth into. Heck, even in the farming missions, there’s still the risk of planting. Granted, once you rez, you quickly wipe out any accumulated debt, but there’s still that element of needing a good team, and staying on your toes.
As a tin lid on things the other night, once the team leader had levelled in the mission, he quickly announced he was off and quit the team. Of course, as the player who had amassed all the bubbles, they all went with him, and we all planted immediately. The mission now unplayable, everyone quickly quit, and in my case resolved to put a “No Bubble Missions” comment in my team search box.
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