Task Force

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Revision as of 23:38, 28 August 2012 by imported>StarGeek (historical) (→‎Merit Rewards: removed badges from rewards, as I can't think of any badge that can be purchased with reward merits, if incorrect, please revert)
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Overview

A Task Force is a large-scale story arc in City of Heroes. Task forces are equivalent to Strike Forces in City of Villains.

Task forces are similar to Story Arcs in that they are a set of missions that tell a story. Task forces are started by talking to a task force contact, which is typically a signature hero. Unlike story arcs, task force contacts cannot be outleveled. Task forces can be started at any time, provided a team meets the task force's requirements, and characters may run them more than once.

Restrictions

Each task force has a minimum level requirement and a minimum team size requirement that must be met before the task force can be started. Each task force also has a maximum level associated with it; team members who exceed the maximum automatically exemplar down.

While running a task force, none of the team's other missions are available to them, and normal contacts won't interact with the player. This also means that stores who are contacts (such as Ghost Falcon or Serafina, for example) are unavailable for purchasing Enhancements during a task force. Arena stores, Pocket D, Wentworth's, and Ouroboros are still accessible to purchase (often much needed) inspirations. Once the task force has formed, you must continue to run the task force until you finish it or drop from it. Task force missions can be run over several play sessions; the game allows you to log out without dropping from the task force.

As of 2008-03-05 Task Forces will always spawn according to the number of members associated with the team, no matter if they are online or not. If 4 people start the Synapse Task Force, and one logs out, the groups will still spawn as if there were 4 people on the team. If the person instead quits the task force, then the spawns will scale for 3 people.

Task Forces by Level

On a "signature" Task Force, enemies will spawn based on the task force's maximum level (and the leader's notoriety setting) regardless of the team's composition. Therefore Signature Task Forces are usually done by characters at (or above) the top of the level range. The majority of Task Forces are considered signature.

A Non-signature Task Force spawns according to the highest level person on the team (and the leader's notoriety setting). These include: Moonfire, Hess, Imperious and all four of the Shadow Shard task forces.

In the table below, signature Task Forces are in bold, while non-signature Task Forces are in italics.

Editor's Note:

As of the 2009-10-28 Patch, Task Forces that are not Flashback or Architect are level locked at the time the Task Force is created.

Badge
Awarded
Task Force Name Contact Min
Size
Level Range Merits Missions Notes
Badge PositronRevampPart1.png
The Rule of Three Positron 3 10 to 15 11 7 Accolade requirement for Positron's Ally and Task Force Commander.
Badge PositronRevampPart2.png
Dam Hero Positron 3 11 to 16 15 7 Accolade requirement for Positron's Ally and Task Force Commander.
Badge task force 02.png The Fall of the Clockwork King Synapse 4 15 to 20 58 15 Accolade requirement for Task Force Commander.
Badge task force 03.png Clamor and Destruction Sister Psyche 5 20 to 25 50 14 Accolade requirement for Task Force Commander.
Badge I20HeroTaskForce.png The Sky is Falling Admiral Sutter 4 20 to 40 22 3 Introduced as a bridge to Praetorian content.
Badge task force HonoraryPeacebringer.png
The Kheldian War Moonfire 6 23 to 28 31 11 Takes place in Striga Isle.
Badge task force 04.png Citadel's Children Citadel 6 25 to 30 40 11 Accolade requirement for Task Force Commander.
Badge council robot.png
The MegaMech Cometh Ernesto Hess 6 25 to 30 19 9 Takes place in Striga Isle.
Smoke and Mirrors Twilight's Son 1 25 to 34 3 4 Takes place in Ouroboros.
Badge croatoa cabalist.png
A Tangled Plot Katie Hannon 6 30 to 34 9 4 Takes place in Croatoa, considered the fastest TF within the game. Accolade requirement for Geas of the Kind Ones.
Badge task force 05.png Following Countess Crey Manticore 7 30 to 35 32 10 Accolade requirement for Task Force Commander.
The 5th Column Overthrow Mender Lazarus 1 30 to 39 6 4 Takes place in Ouroboros.
Badge task force 06.png Soul of the Woodsman Numina 4 35 to 40 36 23 16 missions are hunting for "X of Y faction" in different zones. Accolade requirement for Task Force Commander.
Badge temporal strife.png
Time's Arrow Imperious 6 35 to 50 28 † 3 Takes place in Cimerora. Heroes and Villains can team up with each other. CoX Game Icon.png
Badge task force PSmasher.png
Explorers and Exploiters Dr. Quaterfield 8 40 to 44 122 24 Majority of TF takes place in the Shadow Shard. Considered the longest TF in the game.
Badge task force DestroyerOfStrength.png
The Legend of Ruladak Sara Moore 8 40 to 50 63 15 Majority of TF takes place in the Shadow Shard.
Badge task force ProtectorOfKindness.png
The Saga of Faathim Justin Augustine 8 44 to 50 42 32 Majority of TF takes place in the Shadow Shard. (10 of these missions are easy "travel to" missions)
Badge task force SlayerOfMadness.png
The Saga of Lanaru Faathim the Kind 8 44 to 50 73 12 Majority of TF takes place in the Shadow Shard.
Badge defeatrecluse.png
Statesman's Task Force Statesman 8 45 to 50 38 † 5 Reward table choice includes random Synthetic Hamidon Enhancement, considered to be the hardest TF in the game.
Badge task force apocalyptic.png
The Lady Grey Task Force The Lady Grey 8 45 to 50 39 † 5 Takes place in Rikti War Zone. Heroes and Villains can team up with each other. CoX Game Icon.png
Badge 5thColumnHeroBadge.png Return of the Reichsman Dr. Kahn 4 45 to 50 20 † 5 Most of the missions are accessed via the Train.
Trading Places Mender Silos 1 46 to 50 14 5 Takes place in Ouroboros.
Badge tf tinmage complete.png Alpha Strike Apex 8 50 40 2 Mission entrances are all located in the Rikti War Zone. Heroes and Villains can team up with each other. CoX Game Icon.png
Badge tf alpha complete.png The Praetorian Offensive Tin Mage Mark II 8 50 40 3 Mission entrances are all located in the Rikti War Zone. Heroes and Villains can team up with each other. CoX Game Icon.png

† Merits only received if the Incarnate Component is not available and selected.

CoX Game Icon.png Denotes that the task is cooperative.

Task Forces no longer available:

Badge
Awarded
Task Force Name Contact Min
Size
Level Range Merits Missions Notes
A Mind in Danger Calvin Scott 6 30 to 35 ? 12 Removed when Sister Psyche's consciousness was separated from Aurora Borealis' in Issue 4. Made available through Ouroboros in Issue 19.
Badge task force 01.png The Rule of the Three Positron 3 10 to 15 66 17 Replaced by the new two-part Positron Task Force in Issue 17. Available as an ordinary story arc through Ouroboros with smaller merit reward.

Rewards

Task forces typically have badges associated with them and often have unique mobs.

Hardcore Badges

Complete the hardest Task Forces in the game without using Temporary Powers (including Veteran Rewards) and without any deaths.

Earn all of the optional badges in the Incarnate Strike Forces.

Merit Rewards

As of Issue 13, rewards from Task Forces consist of Merit Rewards, which can be turned in for recipes, enhancements, salvage, and more.

Each Task Force has a different reward amount assigned to it, based on datamined time required to complete it.

After claiming Merit Rewards from a Task Force, a player will receive half the amount of merits they gained the previous time for that same Task Force each time it is completed within the next 24 hours, to a minimum of 1 merit. Players can still receive a Synthetic Hamidon Enhancement from Statesman's Task Force, or earn full merits from other Task Forces.

The timer will reset after 24 hours, and players will again earn the full amount of merits from the Task Force.

Completing multiple different Task Forces in the same 24 hour period will not subject each subsequent different Task Force to diminishing returns.

Previous Rewards

This section contains information that no longer applies to the current version of City of Heroes/Villains. It is provided for historical purposes.

Unlike Story Arcs, every team member received a completion reward at the end of a Task Force, not just the leader. Major Task Forces (i.e. not Ouroboros) offered the option for a Pool C Recipe drop, or the option to pick a standard Single Origin enhancement (out of Accuracy, Damage, Endurance, Recharge, and Range) instead.

The team leader Notoriety level setting affected enemy spawns according to specific criteria. It also affected the completion reward at the end, with a same-level rare recipe (if chosen) on Heroic, +1 level on Rugged, and +2 level on Invincible. This obviously did not apply if the character's true level was 49 (for the +2 level recipes) or 50 (for the +1 or +2 level recipes), as recipes above level 50 do not exist.

After claiming a recipe reward from a Task Force, a player could not receive another recipe from Task Forces for the next 3 hours. Players could still receive other rewards from it, or earn recipes from Trials, or could wait out the timer, e.g. by leaving the reward window up while playing or logging out and logging in back later.

Notes

See Also