Voidstar: The Winner

[Part of the Voidstar: Warframe-128 story]

Despite Amar's close quarters prowess, he could do nothing when the Gantulyst eidolon crushed him under foot, and Kela De Thaym could only damage the Profit-Taker Orb before being blown away by its artillery. Like Archon Boreal before her, the weakened Archon Nira was torn to shreds by the regenerating Void Angel, and Parvos' Protea was severely hurt in finally destroying Nef Anyo's Razorback with her summoned turrets.

This meant she was easy prey when the Void Angel finally came for her while the Gantulyst eidolon wrecked the Profit-Taker up but still ultimately lost to the giant spider due to the eidolon's weakened state. And so, the last two combatants finally faced off against each other: The Profit-Taker Orb versus the Void Angel!

Screeching as it unleashed its deadly attacks the Void Angel took the giant spiderbot to the edge of death before it unleashed hell upon the void nightmare. As it did before, the Angel retreated to the void to heal but since the Profit-Taker isn't some stupid eidolon, it continued to fire everything it had to disintegrate the angel's dormant body, forcing it to be trapped in its voidscape forever! [Um, I suppose that would work?]

"Dollie dollie, I a giant. Big and bad as Hunhow's heart.
Salty squishes are my diet. Death and murder are my art." -Profit Taker

Now free to search for the promise signal, the towering raknoid turned only to find that she was dwarfed by a giant, smiling face looking down upon her. "Hey, kiddo..."

That's brings Voidstar to a close, thanks for reading!

Voidstar: Semi-Finals

[Part of the Voidstar: Warframe-128 story]

As fewer combatants remained standing, the call of the promise signal grew stronger in each of their minds. An explosion in the sky signaled the destruction of the Balor Fomorian as the Void Angel ripped it apart from the inside, and this was echoed by an explosion on the ground where Kela De Thaym put an end to the heavily damaged Exploiter Orb.

While the sword wielding Shadow Stalker got curb stomped by the Profit-Taker, Vor and his Janus key further damaged Nef Anyo's Razorback but could not defeat it as the war machine's autocannons ripped him in two. Elsewhere, Malice managed to snipe at the Gantulyst eidolon before being caught and destroyed by one of its energy pillars, Zuud was put down by Parvos' Protea, and Teshin put up a heroic but ultimately doomed battle against Archon Nira who turned him to stone [and then broke his neck :P].

The easiest Archon.

Her brother Amar faced off against the Rhino specter in an equally long battle, and after dealing considerable damage to each other the Rhino's Soma and Dual Raza are not enough as he falls prey to the highly aggressive wolf archon. [Also, Amar is basically a Rhino Prime with cheat codes enabled so... there's that.]

Voidstar: Nihil vs Teshin

[Part of the Voidstar: Warframe-128 story]

The Lich Worm Queen barely avoided the collapsing Teralyst, forcing her out into the open and right into the sights of the Balor Fomorian which promptly vaporized her. Derim Zahn also had no chance as he was eaten by Archon Nira, and the injured Archon Boreal could not match the regenerating Void Angel while Ballas [without the Lotus powers] couldn't keep up with Parvos' Protea.

Zuud's Tombfinger proved effective against the predictable Sprag who moves in straight lines, and while Lephantis slew Captain Vor, his Janus Key revived him as Corrupted Vor to ultimately destroy the infested ettin with his new Janus energy beams. The injured flying sentient, Ropalolyst was also killed when it fought against Nef Anyo's Razorback, only damaging the missile launching war machine.

"I find chaos... unsettling." - Nihil

They need to make more boss fights like this one!

Neither Nihil nor Teshin gave it a glance as it fell in the landscape beyond them, with both swordsmen keenly focused on their own duel. "Finally, a worthy foe," Tenshin remarked as he nimbly dodged away from Nihil's giant Vitrica. "Your persistence is disruptive to my efforts to order," the orokin giant replied as he fired shards of glass from his forehead gem down at the Dax warrior - but Teshin was too agile for him, and in a display of true mastery used his nikana to reflect one of the glass pieces right back into Nihil's neck. Eyes widened by surprise, Nihil dropped his sword and fell to his knees as blood poured from the wound. Using this opening, Teshin threw his Orvious disc and made it explode right in Nihil's face, ending the Glassmaker once and for all.

Voidstar: The Queen of Rathuum

[Part of the Voidstar: Warframe-128 story]

With the number of combatants halved again, Mania jumped the Rhino with his twin Lacera but was easily laid low since he's almost exactly like a Loki. The last remaining acolyte, Malice, was more successful in sniping the wounded Ember with its Opticor while the acolyte leader, Shadow Stalker, carved up Amaryn and her ancients with his War great sword.

Executioner Dhurnam's close range weaponry [and previous injuries] also spelled his doom against Archon Amar, while the Profit-Taker destroyed the Bonewidow after taking some damage. The badly damaged Exploiter Orb was also still standing after torching a limping Zanuka. From the ridge, Kela de Thaym observed the Gantulyst eidolon annihilate the Nova specter who was only armed with kunai and ether daggers before she heard a tell tale "RRRREEEEEEEEEEE!" scream from beside her - the Teralyst eidolon had spotted her! [total role reversal because in game it is YOU that has to find the bloody hide and seek eidolons]

She looks like this guy from the Fifth Element.

Quickly jumping out of the way, the Queen of Rathuum deployed multitudes of rollers to distract the simple minded creature. It was too dangerous to get close to use her shotguns so again she employed her orbital strikes to destroy the last remaining weak spots on her opponent and finally destroying the eidolon!

Voidstar: Dhurnam vs Little Duck

[Part of the Voidstar: Warframe-128 story]

With half the combatants now dead, the promise signal intensified - drawing a few more smart or lucky individuals from their hiding spots in the wreckage! [I had to add 7 wild cards because of all the draws those demolishers caused. Sigh!]

The Arbiters attempted to ambush Kela de Thaym but were out gunned by her Twin Kohmaks, Erra managed to ambush the Teralyst eidolon to further injure it with his sentient beam before getting obliterated with a similar result for the Auditor Denial Bursa against the Gantulyst eidolon. The Rhino specter gunned down Raptor RV with his Soma, Roky couldn't out K-Drive Mania as the acolyte switched teleported with his board and hacked the ventkid into tiny pieces with his Lacera, Dru Pesfor was unmade by Nova's antimatter drop, and Vay Molta could only damage Zanuka with her rockets before being blasted out of the sky.

In closer matches the already injured Zealoid Prelate could only wound Amar before the wolf Archon tore him to pieces, the Ember specter was badly hurt while chain fire balling Rana Del, and Malice out gunned the Infested Mesa. This is because Malice cheats with magnetize so her opticor will hit even when the target is in cover! [I hate it when she does that to me!]

A Lanka sniper shot from the ridge line struck Executioner Dhurnam in the back, but it was only enough to stagger him. Little Duck kept on firing, landing hit after hit but Dhurnam's armor was just too thick [also good reduction against Lanka damage type] - and worse - the more he was hit the faster he moved! Before she knew it, Dhurnam had knocked her down - twin Hek's gleaming in the star light. "You bloody mucker," she started, before being abruptly silenced as his first four barrels destroyed her metal head, and the second four barrels destroyed her chest which housed her actual head.

Octuple headshot!

Voidstar: Clem vs John Prodman

[Part of the Voidstar: Warframe-128 story]

Elsewhere on the crashed ship, Clem spotted a Corpus enemy down the hallway and opened fire with his Twin Grakatas while yelling his usual battle cry: "Clem!". John Prodman barely had time to draw his Prova shock stick to block all the bullets before teleporting right beside his opponent and zapping the little Grineer, sending Clem flying into the wall. Somehow, this move that usually defeats everything, was not enough as Clem rolled back under John's next swing both guns ablazing. "Grakata!" Clem yelled as he emptied both clips into Prodman, knocking the Prova out of his hands.

"Clem?" asked Clem as both guns continued to click on empty, John Prodman still staring down at him. After a few tense and still moments, John finally shrugged and left in a pillar of light - leaving behind a signed poster of himself for this most worthy foe.

I still need to get me one of these...

Outside, the battles raged on with the Lich Worm Queen tanking the charger demolisher explosion, the Hyena Ng barely scratching the Hydrolyst eidolon before getting crushed under foot, the Saryn specter being impaled by the Void Angel, Archon Boreal easily defeating the mimic Jen Dro, Archon Nira taking only light damage while destroying Hyena Pb, Derim Zahn taking down the thief Maroo with his Sonicor, Teshin cutting through the Equinox specter's Shaku nunchakus, Frohd Bek's Ambulas taking damage while defeating Azoth, Cressa Tal losing to the multi-skilled M.W.A.M. unit, the J3 Golem melting the Arn Etina/Darvo Moa and the Nox demolisher exploding the Voidrig in a suicide run.

Out in orbit, the Jordas Golem made its approach but suddenly found itself encased in glass. Somehow it could hear an Orokin's voice in it's head saying but a single word: "Break." With a backhand swing Nihil the Glassmaker obliterated the floating infested mass with his Vitrica blade. [I'm using the version of Nihil that you fight against in his prison, so he's probably taller than he should be. :P]

Voidstar: An Explosive Landing

[Part of the Voidstar: Warframe-128 story]

Battles raged across the debris striken planet surface, even as more ships crashed from the heavens. Palladino was surprised that so many had survived but was determined to follow the vision she saw. Separated from her allies she readied her Rakta Ballistica just as a large shadow moved behind her and with a graceful spin she let loose a burst of four bolts that wedged themselves in the heavy armor of Grineer executioner Dhurnam. Completely unphased and with the eight barrels of his twin shotguns already pointed at Palladino he pulled both the triggers, executing the Red Veil priestess with ease.

In the distance he spotted, Vem Tabook, a Grustag-3 ally who used similar weaponry but did not have the same luck when facing off against Archon Amar who promptly ripped off the soldier's face. At that moment Councillor Vay Hek flew over the battle field in his extensively modified body suit while laughing manically, calling everyone maggots, and firing at everything with his auto cannons yet somehow missing the many targets on the field. Upon landing he was promptly caught by surprise as a canister of condensed thermia exploded right on his chest plate, melting the metal and causing the Councillor to scream, curse and wail even more. A single Lanka sniper shot from close range through his head finally silenced him, as Little Duck darted to the next cover she could find. "That'll shut his mouth," she muttered to herself.

Little Duck usually takes the field against Profit-Taker.

Vay Hek's ghouls were here too, as discovered by Pelna Cade when he came face to face with the devourer demolisher that charged him with his wrist mounted hooks. Pelna's reflexes let him dodge the charge and drop a "slow" orb to impede his foe, but it didn't matter when the devourer launched one of his meathooks and caught the leg of Corpus Loan Reclamation agent, quickly winching him in like a fish out of water. In a panic Pelna managed to get one shot off with his Detron hitting the devourer square in his explosive vest - triggering the charge and obliterating both combatants. In similar fashion the heavy gunner demolisher self detonated as the Zealoid Prelate leaped through her Gorgon bullets and into melee range. While the blast destroyed her, the Zealoid Prelate was only injured and quickly looked around for more prey. [Why are there demolishers? I needed to fill out the roster!]

Warframe: Saryn and Trinity

The double-locked frames. Not only do you have to RNG the bosses that drop their parts, you need to first farm keys to fight said bosses! To be fair, Mesa falls into this category too. :P

Saryn

Collected from Kela De Thaym on Sedna (after you've done enough of her arenas) Saryn is all about spreading her toxic spores which is her first ability. Shooting said spores or killing the spore carrier spreads the disease to other nearby enemies and so forth. She can also shed her skin and make it explode with toxin, toxify her melee strikes to always hit spores and lastly basically fart which infects enemies with a viral status (HP takes more damage) plus high direct damage to enemies affected by spores.

While she shines in endless type missions where you have big rooms full of respawning bad guys, her contagion is less useful in missions that aren't that type as often victims will die without being able to pass on their spores forcing her to start the disease from scratch. She's also less effective if grouped with a competent team as they'll probably kill the disease chain before it can propagate too far. Decent frame, but situational.

Trinity

Collected from the Ambulas boss facility on Pluto (that you can only get to by killing other Ambulases on Pluto, aim for the legs!) Trinity is designed as the healer frame, and her number four power is arguably the best at it: an on demand shield and health recharge to allies in range provided you have energy for it. This does mean to be effective you'll be watching the team stat bars more than any other player.

Alas her other powers are lack luster: immobilize a single enemy and make them immune to damage but anyone that attacks it heals themselves, mark an enemy to pulse renewal energy to nearby allies, and link to an enemy so that any damage done to Trinity goes to them instead. Ideally you'd want to use these on tough eximus enemies but due to their over shield mechanics, you can't until you hurt them severely. This means the link and energy pulse are near useless as foes should be getting killed, not left wandering about for a temporary buff.

The healing thing is also self defeating for as you shoot that single target whom you can't kill, everything else will out damage your healing - meaning you should focus on killing? Now that more and more frames have self healing (thank you Archon shards) Trinity is really becoming more and more irrelevant.

XCOM 2: Facilities

[Part of the XCOM 2 story]

Since hitting facilities really damages the Avatar project that's what the soldiers are sent to do, and a few more give their lives to the cause, the most horrifying being IzzBee being impregnated by a chryssalid (who are exactly the same from last time) - eventually dying on the field from its fluids and was turned into a fleshy birth sack that her team mates destroyed before full gestation occurred (which is +3 chryssalids on the field).

Also lost Katz who was obliterated by a pair of sectopods (huge, two legged war machines), Aaron who was beheaded by an archon, Squidman Dan who took cover behind a flaming truck (carrying explosives), Mickey and Rocio exploded by MEC missiles, and Cash who was melted by Andromedon acid.

These things are basically tanks.

During this time Jane Kelly managed to skulljack a codex which spawned what the science team refers to as an avatar, which her squad promptly dealt with as well as a psionic gate guarded by a large floating ball (which hides a psionic tentacle alien) which were all transported back to the Avenger for further study. All this has almost put the Avatar project back at square one, and the aliens are so pissed they finally send a UFO to hunt us down.

Fun Tip: If there is a "fixed" extraction point in a mission and it is not on ground level and somewhere inconvenient / dangerous, blow it up to force it to move.

XCOM 2: Arms Race

[Part of the XCOM 2 story]

As ADVENT begins deploying more advanced units like the annoying shield bearers who can protect all allies around them, so we also start fielding more advanced tech: stronger magnetic weapons and the more durable Predator armor, but even these aren't enough as Lory is burned alive by the splash of a grenade, and Ex-Red Talon soldiers Beebo Bee and Chavez are ripped apart by an enraged (muton?) "berserker" when they misjudged how far the hulking monster could sprint.

Since more supplies are required for further upgrades, squads are sent on raiding missions which resulted in the loss of more soldiers: Old Mary was out sniped by a Codex, Helena and Beth were exploded by a grenade, Douglas was impaled by the spear of an archon (flying robot that looks like just the upper torso of a man), and Downey had the misfortune of discovering an Andromedon. These aliens only exist in a hazmat battle suit and despite managing to kill the alien with her shotgun, the suit powered up all on its own and proceeded to pummel her to death. Thanks to their sacrifices, the rest of their team mates now wield even more powerful plasma weapons and Warden powered armor.

I really dislike these things.

The arms race is enough of a distraction to almost let the aliens complete their Avatar project (the countdown timer that replaces the doom track is a nice touch) but luckily this can still be set back by destroying one of their research facilities. Rashida gains an extra medal of heroism for managing to extract with an unconscious Squidman Dan after her was KOed by a ninja.

Tyranny: Fall of the Archons

[Part of the Cursed story line]

With the trial of Graven Ashe complete, Tunon the Archon of Justice then put Shelumu on trial for betraying Kyros and found him guilty! To enact this death sentence both Tunon and the executor and Archon of Shadows, Bleden Mark, attacked Shelumu and Sirin. Thanks to Sirin's increased power, the Archons of Justice and Shadow fell in combat leaving the victors free to return to their home spire.

"I guess that makes me the last archon!" laughed Sirin giddily. "Indeed," replied Shelumu in a measured tone. "About that..."

Only a fool would keep a potential traitor alive.

With the next of Kyros forces assembling at the border, Shelumu turned to the ancient device to cast his next Edict - one that would throw Kyros armies into retreat and inspire many others in the Kingdom of Kyros to begin openly rebelling against the overlord. It was time to see just what Kyros was made of.

Shelumu grinned.

Insight: Archon wise, I found Graven Ashe to be the easiest to fight while Bleden Mark was the hardest. If you play your cards right (which I didn't in either play through) you can probably end the game without fighting ANY of them which is really cool!

Tyranny: Of Secrets and War

[Part of the Cursed story line]

The Voices of Nerat, Archon of Secrets, didn't expect Verse's will to be so strong. She overpowered his mind and took over his body. Loyal to Shelumu, the Voices of Verse then took all the remaining Scarlet Chorus for an all out assault on the Disfavored main base and Barik went with her to confront his ex-commander and Archon of War, Graven Ashe. Shelumu and Sirin wished them luck and instead headed to Tunon's court to angle for a different type of victory.

The battle is fierce and Ashe's ability is to protect his soldiers makes them a force to be reckoned as Chorus suffer terrible losses. Graven Ashe personally manages to trip Verse over and smash her head like a watermelon with his giant maul and then proceeds to smash Barik's armor off one swing at a time. Suddenly, Bleden Mark, Archon of Shadows appears and whisks Graven Ashe away... and right into Tunon's court where the Archon of Justice finds him guilty of sedition and war crimes thanks to evidence presented by Shelumu.

Tunon is ready to play GTFO.

The Archon of Shadows immediately carries out the sentence and executes Graven Ashe. Unfortunately this means all those once protected by the Archon of War suffer the same fate in an explosive fashion, leaving Barik the sole survivor in the camp, free of his cursed armor but broken in the mind amidst the bodies of his half sibling and his previous brothers and sisters in arms. All he can do is scream.

Insight: Verse is actually the first companion you can kill, with the same scripted death as the above. Finishing her quest lines to avoid the boss fight against Nerat is handy though. In combat she has a few handy combo moves that are nice (the one with Barik especially) but needs some management as she is not too tough. Meanwhile Barik is great as a tank, but is easily replaced by Killsy who can tank AND DPS. Also, its a pain to get that armor off him (for both Barik and the player).

Tyranny: Of Blood and Hunger

[Part of the Cursed story line]

With the war in full swing, Eb and Kills-in-Shadow return to Lethian's Crossing to aid their forces in repelling a massive Disfavored attack. Eb's tide casting is handy in putting out the fires while the beast woman tears into the enemy force... until she is killed by Lucia. This rallies the Disfavored forces to victory and forcing the rebels to surrender. To further teach them a lesson, Lucia executes Eb in front of them.

Lucia's celebration is short lived however, as Bleden Mark the Archon of Shadows catches her in the privy soon after and slits her throat for Kyros, taking with him the Silent Archive.  

Don't mess with the Archon of Shadows.

Meanwhile Verse had come up with a plan to handle the Voices of Nerat so she, Shelumu, Barik and Sirin push on to the main Scarlet Chorus base to confront him, a surprisingly easy task due to the low number of guards. Nerat knows he is on the back foot and offers a deal - he and the Chorus will withdraw from the region if Verse gives herself up and she agrees.

The Voices of Nerat devours her on the spot.

Insight: You can execute Eb much earlier, after the battle for Ascension Hall. Kills-in-Shadow is a little trickier as you can only eliminate her in the later part and only if you are too friendly with Graven Ashe and the Disfavored. Eb is an ok mage but not much of a loss (I rarely used her), but Killsy is an excellent and ultra mobile DPS machine (titan tree) so think hard if you really want her gone.

Tyranny: Of Stone and Fire

[Part of the Cursed story line]

A broken Barik, on a suicide mission against the Chorus, eventually found his way to Shelumu in the Stone Sea and thanks to Verse (who turns out to be his half sister) convinces the soldier to join the rebel team. There they also manage to convince a tribe of earth shakers to join their growing alliance by breaking the Edict of Stone and putting their leader to rest. As a side effect, this also ruined the already low crop supply of the main Chorus camp nearby.

Enraged, the Voices of Nerat unleashes the Chorus horde upon Shelumu, but thanks to Eb's studies of the ancient devices atop the spires, Shelumu manages to halt their advance by recasting the Edict of Stone! This kills over three quarters of the attacking force, causing the rest to flee. Admittedly, this does fix their low food issue thanks to the fewer mouths AND the return of fertile ground.

Elsewhere Lucia found herself back in the Burning Library, which was still ablaze with the Edict of Fire she herself had proclaimed years before. Kyros' intention was for the fires to continue until all the forbidden knowledge in the library was gone, but with the Chorus trying to save said knowledge to strengthen themselves in the war she had no option but to take a more hands on approach, eventually finding the last remaining item called the Silent Archive - a magic scroll that knew the answers to almost everything.

Well, that looks like a trap.

Despite strict orders to destroy everything, she opts to take the powerful artifact for herself. As soon as she leaves the library the Edict of Fire ends, as all the forbidden knowledge within is gone. While the Disfavored are easily fooled about its destruction, her crime does not go unnoticed by the Archon of Shadows, Bleden Mark, who is everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

Insight: When fighting people I normally go for two handers and mages first, followed by the weaker scout types and leave the tanks for last. Regular bane wise, I find the red ones scarier than the blue so I always burst them down first. It's all about enemy DPS mitigation.

Tyranny: Storm Breaker

[Part of the Cursed story line]

With the artifact in hand, Lucia and Barik manage to pierce the endless storm and with a contingent of Disfavoured, attack the hated lord of Sentinel Stand. This is because said lord is directly tied to the Edict of Storms, where it proclaims "Let Our storm rage until the last blade be broken, or the line of Regent falls".

The artifact magically farts the storm away.

The selfish bastard who let his people suffer is easily dealt with, but as the storm persists after his death the Disfavored are thrown a nice curve ball. His prisoner, the daughter of their leader, Archon Graven Ashe, had fallen in love with the lord's now also deceased son and bore child. While this was a shock to the squadron, Lucia didn't flinch.

She killed the mother, who clearly was now a traitor, and ordered Barik to prove his loyalty by killing the baby. With heavy reluctance he complied, ending the Edict of Storms once proclaimed by Shelumu that bound him to his armor. This also ended Graven Ashe's trust of Barik - who promptly renounced him from his army and exiled him into the wastes.

Elsewhere Shelumu continued to explore the Old Walls, finding more spires to awaken and even a whole colony of refugees. Unfortunately for them, they were doing experiments with captive beastmen so Shelumu let the bane take them all, save for the one beast woman he could save called Kills-in-Shadow.

Insight: Obviously there's a non child murdering loop hole option here. Now is a good time to mention Lore is the highest required skill to have more options during dialogue sequences so wizardly types might get more options than fighters. Also, yeah, I don't think you can get Ashe to renounce Barik so early in real even with this evil act. :P

Tyranny: The Bane

[Part of the Cursed story line]

With the armies back in their respective camps, Tunon summons both Shelumu and Lucia to his court for a debriefing all while under the watchful eye of the executor, Bleden Mark, Archon of Shadows. When questioned why he sided with the rebels, Shelumu argues that peaceful subjugation is better than outright conquest - a concept Tunon agrees with, thus the Archon of Justice allows him to continue helping them, for now.

Tunon then tasks the pair with investigating both Graven Ashe and the Voices of Nerat for any broken laws they or their forces have committed before sending them on their way with Lucia travelling to Sentinel Stand to help the Disfavored reinforce their base there while Shelumu heads to Lethian's Crossing to secure supplies for the rebellion.

In the small town Shelumu encounters Sirin, the Archon of Song, who has defected and is hiding from the chorus. It is an easy task to convince her to join his party as they end up exploring the nearby Old Walls - ancient structures that normally are forbidden by law to enter, mainly because they house magical "spirits" known as the bane. While doing so, Shelumu manages to activate a second spire.

Any time you see a bubble, it means boss fight!

At the same time, Lucia also deals with the bane in walls that have been breached by the Edict of Storms in an effort to claim an artifact that will help break the edict once and for all.

Insight: The Old Walls are the combat orientated "dungeon" section of the game with a small set of puzzles while the overland areas are mostly dialogue choices peppered with optional combats. So yes, there is A LOT of reading in this game!

Tyranny: The Battle for Ascension

[Part of the Cursed story line]

In a drastic move - Eb, one of the leaders of the rebellion, secretly met with Shelumu and asked him to join their cause. Having heard the edict, the rebels believe that by swearing fealty to Shelumu and letting him take their base of Ascension Hall will cancel it out. Shelumu agrees to this, though it does mean now requiring to defend the hall against both Graven Ashe's Disfavoured and Nerat's Scarlet Chorus.

Fortunately, their chances are greatly increased as the two archons declare war on each other the night before he attack which results in both sides fighting each other during the siege! Outside the walls Lucia and Barik join the Disfavored to face down Nerat's song bird, Sirin, the 15 year old Archon of Song whose ability is to control the minds of others. Despite this, they soundly defeat her and force her to retreat in humiliation.

Without that dampener Sirin is probably the strongest Archon.

It is the Scarlet Chorus who manage to enter the keep and with their impressive numbers manage to take Lantry down and spirit him away from the battle. Shelumu, Eb, Verse and the remaining rebels fight off the horde and Shelumu claims Ascension Hall for himself. This breaks the edict and somehow also awakens the ancient spire above them with magical light!

Both the armies of the Disfavoured and the Scarlet Chorus scatter at this sight, but it does not save old Lantry who is taken back to the main Scarlet camp in the Stone Sea and devoured by the Voices of Nerat.

Insight: This is Lantry's scripted death if you don't save him from the Chorus Camp. While he is a "sage" I used him more as a skirmisher/warrior as he can be decent with a sword. Just be sure to give him a throwing weapon too so that you can make use of his quill throwing skill tree.

Tyranny: A True Monster

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Before departing the camp, each Fatebinder was assigned a body guard. Barik, an elite Disfavored soldier who had become fused with his armor when he was hit by the Edict of Storms (previously proclaimed by Shelumu) understandably chose to go with Lucia.

Verse, a murderous fury of the Scarlet Chorus, volunteered to be Shelumu's escort and took him to their side of the camp. While Graven Ashe's Disfavored elites were few, well equipped and orderly this place was teeming with warriors, and with filth, chaos and barbarism - much like their leader, the Voices of Nerat.  

While there Shelumu went out of his way to rescue the sage Lantry, from execution as well since the old man had ties to the rebellion. In trying to avert the loss of life, Shelumu slowly helped the rebels by letting them escape the advancing armies and treating them with dignity.

I also like that you can sneak past enemies instead of having to fight everyone.

Elsewhere Lucia mostly killed every rebel she could get her hands on (the Disfavoured way), with only few occasions of capturing some for the Scarlet Chorus and their "Join or Die" motto. In reality some died and joined anyway, since the Voices of Nerat's ability as the Archon of Secrets is simply to devour people to gain their skills and knowledge. That is a true monster.

Insight: It is actually hard to unintentionally lose party members through combat (or traps) in this game since often times if they die it most likely means you are about to lose the battle you are in anyway. And since any battle loss is an immediate Game Over, you are pretty much required to load the save and do better or come back later with more XP/Gear. :P

Tyranny: The Fatebinders

[Part of the Cursed story line]

With Kyros' power extending across the continent, Shelumu took it upon himself to learn how the overlord's magical "Edicts" worked by gaining employment under Tunon, the Archon of Justice, as a Fatebinder - those chosen to read out these powerful words.

After years of service, he now stood in the commanders tent in Vendrien's Well as he finished reading out the second of Kyros' edicts he ever proclaimed.

"...Unless Our representative holds the Hall of Ascension on Our Day of Swords, all in the valley of Vendrien's Well shall perish."

These words shook those present to the core and forced the Graven Ashe, the Archon of War and his rival the Voices of Nerat, Archon of Secrets to stop squabbling among themselves and to prepare their forces to attack one of the last remaining rebel strongholds.

Graven Ashe and the Voices of Nerat.

Only fellow Fatebinder Lucia wasn't taken a back, instead wearing a wry smile on her lips as she twisted her dark locks around a finger. Shelumu always thought there was something wrong with the girl, and that made her dangerous.

Insight: As this story will be an amalgamation of two playthroughs I had expect there to be a lot of artistic / dramatic license to it! Well, more than usual anyway. And yes, I liked it that much to play through twice! ;)

Neverwinter Online: Spinward Rise Vigilance Guide

[Part of my Neverwinter Online: Vigilance Quest Guide.]

Welcome to the final zone of Elemental Evil! It is actually more travel friendly than all the previous zones as you unlock each island, however it can also be brutal in the way of combat, especially on the last island. Like before, be careful of pure melee groups of enemies. While it is easy to tell if a bunch of cultists are skirmishers, it is a little less obvious for air archons. Simply count the number of bows / blades they carry to know what to expect.

The repeating quest here is "Howling Hatred". Don't go out of your way to complete that until you reach the second island. There are also jumping puzzles (yay!) which are the easiest tasks to complete on each island. Basically you just have to find the correct jump point and then press and hold space bar while moving forward. If those big chunks of rock can fly through the air, why can't you?

Once at the top, you can either jump back the way you came or simply "fall" down. If you dodge just before hitting the ground, all your vertical momentum is halted and you take zero falling damage. Neat trick huh?

Last thing of note is a personal one here. I didn't go into -any- instanced dungeon as I felt there was enough to do top side so I can't give you any tips for those this time (other than don't go alone). At least it makes it exciting for you right? ;P

No point in changing the color coding now:

Green - Easy and/or fast.
Pink - If there's nothing else to do.
Red - Better to take a break than do these solo.

AVIA LANDING

The first island introduces you to Kenku, Axebeaks, Owlbears and jumping puzzles! Unlike the cramped confines of the Fiery Pit, it's pretty safe to wander around here. There are two entries to the cult barracks, and the Western one next to the Kenku camp is less defended. You can also go in with style by jumping in from a glider tower.

*Harper Evandriel

• Tome of Air - Jumping Puzzle! Starts at the tall western glider tower.
• Learning to Fly - Collect 12 "flight" supplies from Glider towers (drops and pickup), kill 40 cultists
• Air Cult Assault - HE Encounter Silver - self completes sometimes. Odds of getting help to complete is high.
• Elemental Assault - HE Encounter Silver - self completes sometimes. Odds of getting help to complete is medium.
• Air Supply  - Sabotage supplies 6 then 6 airships. Lots of Fighting.
• Twin Breezes - Raid air cult barracks instance

*Skreel Swiftwing

• Birds of a Feather - Rescue 6 kenku eggs. All guarded. Pickup.
• Shiny Metal - collect 10 weapons from kenku (pickup from camp barrels and drop), kill 30
• Kenku - defeat 40 kenku (goes well with two above)
• Fight the Wind - defeat air archons in barracks instance

*Pirri The Swift

• Target - Blackfeather - miniboss kenku. Kill fast as a kenku spawn lives right outside his cave.
• Target - North Wind - miniboss hurricaine cultist. Kill fast he appears next to a large group of cultists.

*Brokar Ironshod

• Flightless Fury - kill 15 axebeaks, 5 owlbears (doesn't mix well with any other quest)
• Lesser Air Runes - Available after your first 16 tasks, mandatory to open teleporter to next island.

WINDCALL TEMPLE

The second island is home to the rather safe cultist binding workshops, and the more dangerous air elemental summoning portals and altar of Yan-C-Bin. The encounters are a little stacked at Yan-C-Bin's place so expect multiple groups during combat there. Fortunately you should only need to do that a few times.

*Harper Evandriel

• Greater Tome of Air - jumping puzzle! Starts from the only glider tower near the workshops!
• Clearing the Air - add incense to 5 shrines at Yan-C-Bin's altar
• Air Cult Assault - HE Silver - self completes sometimes. Low chance for players to assist.
• Elemental Assault - HE Silver - self completes sometimes. Low chance for players to assist. 
• Slaad Summoner - Kill the summoner in the Howling Maw instance

*Skreel Swiftwing

• Order out of Chaos - Gather 15 Slaad control gems from cultists (drops). Can get them from Avia landing - easier fights = faster
• Fiends of Limbo - Kill 40 Slaad at the pool of chaos. Slow to kill, doesn't even count if not in pool. Stupid.
• Feeding the Slaadi - free sacrificial victims in Howling maw instance

*Pirri the Swift

• Target - Windshear - Miniboss air archon - spawns near campfire. Kill fast to avoid archon respawn.
• Target - Glark the Rancid - miniboss death slaad. Tough fight: Hardest of these mini boss assassinations. Expect to continuously evade moving AoE "monster" while fighting him.

*Druid Okobo

• Unbound Anger - release 5 air eles. Easy, you only have to fight cultists to do so.
• Windbreaker - disrupt 5 air ele portals. All guarded.
• Archon Anarchy - kill 35 air archons (goes well with above)

*Brokar Ironshod

• Greater Wind Runes - Available after you finish 16 of this set to unlock teleporter to the final island.

THUNDERHEAD REACH

The final and most dangerous island is home to Cloud Giants who are rather adept at defeating adventurers since they never come alone. You'll get a "Scrying the Skies" mandatory quest to look through four telescopes which doesn't count to your Vigilance Quests but does give you a good idea of how the last island is laid out. The instanced dungeon here is Nimbus Tower which is probably where the Air Prophet is, but after hearing it takes 40 minutes to clear solo I opted to just leave it alone.

*Harper Evandriel

• Grand Tome of Air - jumping puzzle! Starts from low broken tower next to two giants.
• Eyes in the Sky - gather 6 intel reports from cultists (Farm at Avia)
• War Chests - recover 12 war chest treasures (pickup, often guarded by cultists)
• Whispers on the Wind - collect 10 messages from cultists. (drops at a low rate. Best farmed at Avia)
• Air Cult Assault - HE Encounter. Very tough.
• Elemental Assault - HE Encounter. Very tough.
• Tempest in a Bottle - stop rituals in the Nimbus tower instance

*Skreel Swiftwing

• Giantslayer - kill 8 cloud giants. Good news: they mostly come in pairs. Bad news: they mostly come in pairs.
• The Cloud Forges - kill 4 cloud giant smiths. Usually come with air archons.

*Druid Okobo

• Archon Anarchy - slay 40 archons at Thunderhead Reach.
• Lofty Ideas - collect 5 air magic scrolls from cloud giants (drops)
• Cloud Magic - collect air magic lore and win Nimbus Tower instance

*Pirri the Swift

• Target - Rastari - kill cloud giant miniboss, the easiest cloud giant to kill since he comes alone!
• Target - Grackel - kill owlbear miniboss, hits hard with no telegraph. Good practice of controlling AI, has no nearby allies.

Once that is done you just need to collect the Seed of Air, which might look like it's guarded by a giant and a bunch of air archons but if you dash along the left side and go all the way to the edge of the cliff they ignore you long enough for you to collect the seed and get out of there. Once that's done, congratulations - you have finished Elemental Evil! Enjoy your new artifact weapon. Don't forget that if you hit level 70, you can get an off hand artifact weapon too. See Sgt. Knox.. :)