Guild Wars 2

For those that don’t know what challenge missions are:

For GW2 I think challenge missions could deliver something that many people have been asking for: challenging content.

Missions with a scoreboard. Missions that are impossible to ‘complete’ but reward you based on the score you managed to get.

These would be a challenge not just for the elite dungeon speedrunners, but also for the casual player. These missions would push you to the limits of what you can do and reward you for that.

So without further ado, I present to you:

The Inquest hacking challenge! (Looking for a better name…)

Mission description:

The location: The infinite coil reactor – Mount Maelstrom.
The objective: The Inquest database.
The goal: Stealing all the data.
The why: Knowing what they’re up to.
The how: A 5 man stealth operation.

The details:

I have added a map and some pictures of the primary and secondary targets. These were taken on a calm day and may not represent the situation as we find it when you arrive.

A shortlist of the targets:

Primary Target:

• The Inquest Database

This is our main target. It is an IQ-7 -1337 turbocore with build in …. oh nvm, for the bookahs among us: an orange cube computer. It has 8 data cores that are rather fragile. Our plan is to set up a data transfer beam to the Rata Sum mainframe. The more data we receive the more succesful the mission. The Inquest will try to counter this by taking out the data cores.

Secondary Targets:

• The Supply Depot

This is where the Inquest keep their supplies. These are heavily guarded, but may come in useful. They are heavy bundles, so you can only carry one at a time!

1. Signal Amplifiers: These can be used to strengthen the signal when it weakens.
2. Timed Explosives: A big blast that pushes back foes and cripples them.
3. Healing Cannisters: A 15 second waterfield that grants regeneration and removes conditions.
4. Laser Nets: A net that stuns foes running into it for 4 seconds. Triggers on approach.
5. Reflective Shields: A shield that can be used to place a wall of reflection.
6. Portal Devices: These open a portal to travel distances quickly.
7. Smoke Bombs: A smokefield and a blast finisher in one! Perfect for any stealth operation.
8. Overcharged Superhyperbeam rifles: We don’t know what these do exactly.

• The Tech-Lab

This is where the engineers hang out. They’re devious and use all sorts of weird tricks in combat, but they can also be used to repair the broken data cores. Use your powers of persuasion. (Or kidnap the junior engineers)

• The Organic Data Corruptor

The Inquest can use this machine to infect the data signal with organic DNA. This makes the data useless. Fortunately, the machine is very fragile, so make sure it never keeps running for more than a few minutes!

• The Security Room

The hallways around the facility are being guarded by golems and lasergrids. Shutting down the security system can really help in getting to the secondary objectives in time. Of course, the security shutdown button is the most guarded button in the facility!

• The Power Supply

If the Inquest get desperate they can shutdown all the processes on this level of the facility. This would also shut down the data transfer directly. We can’t have this! So make sure the power stays up.

• The Cooling Chamber

Now if the Inquest get really desperate and shutting down the power supply isn’t working. They may even attempt to drain the cooling chamber. This would probably lead to explosions and most certainly to system failure. While this would be a tremendous setback for Inquest development, it is clear that the data would be even more valuable! So if they do attempt it, don’t let it happen!

• The Experimental Labs

Every corner of the facility has a creature lab. These are used to generate some of the most hideous monstrosities you’ve ever seen. The Inquest won’t hesitate to unleash these upon you. Although as they get more and more desperate, they may even unleash monsters that they can’t keep in check themselves!

Mission Failure

The mission ends if any of the following criteria are met:

• All data cores are destroyed or corrupted.
• The party is wiped.
• The facility explodes.

I highly recommend letting the computer die before getting getting killed. Although… dying during the operation is kind of heroic…

You will be rewarded for your efforts!

• One silver per asubyte of data.
• Loot worthy of champions for each Inquest official that you manage to take out.
• A title fitting to your performance.
• A token of our appreciation for excellent service. (Achievement based tokens that can be traded at a challenge mission vendor for all kinds of things)

In addition to all that, there is a place for you on the leaderboard for heroic deeds that can be found in Hoelbrak. Those Norn and their passion for the stories of heroes!

Underlying mechanics:

• Players have to defend an objective to gain points per tick.
• They will eventually fail to do so.
• There are other recurring objectives that need to be adressed. Requiring a solid strategy.
• More pressure over time, due to events starting with shorter intervals/adding up.
• The respawn is outside the facility. Making it very important that you do not die.
• A full party wipe means defeat.

Monsters:

• Get bigger and meaner over time.
• The Inquest horrors can attack Inquest aswell, if their masters get killed. The players can use this to their advantage.
• Can be managed with CC.
• Are varied, so not all of them are negated by the same tactic. (Be it reflection, a permanent blind field or mad DPS)

Tools:

• To prevent an easy profession line-up, there are bundles available to the players that can do core mechanics such as stealth, portals and reflection.
• The Inquest tools can be used against them, but the Inquest will also use these themselves.
• Junior Engineers can be kidnapped and used to repair the computer. They die easily and they are a limited resource.

What am I missing?

Anyways… this is just my idea of a challenge mission. I really think something like this could allow people to push their limits in a setting made just for that.

Ideas/suggestions?

I like it. What if you were to design a challenge mission like this, but scale it up for an entire guild? Same mechanic, increasing pressure until the guild wipes. I think it would be really fun and give guilds more opportunities to get commendations and higher standing on leaderboards.

Like two versions, one at guild level and one at group level?

It would probably not be fair to let unlimited people join though. Since everything gets easier with more people, even if it scales up.

That would mean that a guild that can fill the instance would have an advantage over all smaller guilds.

But perhaps the base instance is balanced around 5 people and the guild version around 20?

Shiny.
Why not an Instanced 5 player version for credit and an overworld version for… Uh… Havoc’ sake?

I do think it would take away a bit of the ‘stealth operation’ feeling. But it would be an easy way to explain the mechanics…

But yeah, I suppose this type of event could be scaled up even to Tequatl sized proportions.

Although that would probably take away a lot of the strategizing that is possible in smaller groups. (Only a few people would do the thinking and the rest has to follow their lead… that’s the one thing that I didn’t like all that much about Tequatl. Dividing the numbers properly is way more important there than combat strategy.)

A problem that may arise is the unfairness of being on a well performing WvW server.

Perhaps these challenge missions should be fought in the mists (PvP) instead. Players would be able to change builds easier then too.