In the game City of Heroes, players can team up for special missions known as Task Force, where 4-8 players run through an elaborate storyline / series of missions all the way up a Villains chain of command to the Archvillain of that dastardly group.

The advantages of a Task Force are that you rack up incredible amounts of experience and influence: Experience to getting the next Level, Influence needed to buy enhancements and inspirations. You also win enhancements along the way, and if you defeat the Archvillain, you win a Single Origin enhancement (very expensive!) well above the average level of the villains you've faced.

The disadvantages are that the TF can take about four to six hours, maybe half a day; and that people can drop out of a Task Force but cannot be brought in once it starts. A poorly built team could have troubles even getting past the first mission. While early on, very few Task Forces had been successful, as players' abilities improved, Task Force survival and success improved.

Vectura's been trying to get onto a Task Force for weeks, involving the newest map to City of Heroes, Striga Isle. Finally, one came along...

Prepare to be awed by the MegaMech...

Starting the Task Force was Lintokh, a Warshade with the mission set with the game's contact Ernesto Hess (the toughest contact to reach: he's in the SE corner of the Council Base surrounded by alert troops). Teamed with Pink Basher (Tanker) and Spiral Static (Controller), they had just returned from a failed task force where they had trouble controlling their more...enthusiastic teammates. Joined by Deep Black (Scrapper) and Dan Gun (Tanker), we were set and ready to confront the Council's DIABOLICAL PLOT TO DESTROY METROPO...oh, wait, that's the other city...

The first mission is to kill all troops (essentially a mess o robots) in a robot factory. If you look to the left, in the distance you'll see a small glowy shape surrounded by 50 evil robots. That's Pink Basher, doing what Tankers do best: pull the aggro and herd the bad guys into a controlled fight zone. Dan Gun, her Tanker-in-Crime, was off herding the others to her. NOTE TO SELF: Task Forces with TWO tankers that can herd (Fires and Invulns) will rule forever!

The fun part of this mission is that you get the first ever...well, lemme describe it. You go into row upon row of deactivated robots in the back room of this map, and once everyone on your team gets into that area, you get: TRAP SPRUNG! That's right! The first ever trap in a task force I've witnessed (and I don't think it shows up elsewhere...yet!). The trap comes in the form of the ROBOTS WAKING UP TO RIP YOU AND YOUR TEAM TO SHREDS!

The good news was our Tankers were on the job, and...and...um, is that Pink Basher reading a newspaper...???

Our team did great on this and many other maps. I handled buffing up with Force Field bubbles, while Spiral Static had Kinetic powers buffing us, especially with Speed Boosts (which kept our Endurance high). Deep Black, the Scrapper, would charge in once the Tankers secured the Kill-Zone (Scrappers can kill faster but can't perform herding as effectively). Lintokh, the Warshade, used his character's dual role as Blaster/Tanker to use range attacks, rarely shifting to a Tanker mode unless a quick hard hit was needed.

The next big mission was to save a scientist and then destroy six generators. This was where it got very similar to the Bastion TF (which back in the day used 5th Column, nowadays I think it's Council like this), in that we had the narrow confining tunnels to navigate. Once we got to the generator room, though, we had room to move. And then, with all the naughty people cleared away, we got to work on the generators...

Uh-oh, we had some stragglers hiding behind the generators here...

After that, we had a rather repetitious mission, but they were all short and sweet: Destroy the computers at four radar stations. They were short in that they essentially had one room each. They were sweet in that...awwww, some of the Council guards tried bribing us with teddy bears...aren't they so cute...? (teddy bears explode) Okay, so we had to kill 'em all for that!

We worked our way further into the Council base itself! An underground tunnel had to be accessed (with alert guards and base defenses shooting at us too!) as we next needed to simultaneously shut down two computers.

We then had to secure access into what is now officially the coolest thing in the game: The Council's Hollowed-Out Volcano! DUDES! How many other games have you charging into a bad guy's lair made from a Hollowed-Out Volcano? Let me think...NONE! THIS ROCKS!!!

We worked our way into the command center, securing what we needed and kicking...kicking some...kick...uh, look out that window, guys... Um...is that...The MEGAMECH?!?!

No time for love, Dr. Jones! For us, we now needed to go...to the top...OF THE HOLLOWED-OUT VOLCANO! WOO-HOO!

After spending a moment to find the Exploration badge along the rim (the Vulcanologist badge), we then proceeded into the Hollowed-Out Volcano itself. Once inside, the game flashed a message: "Even though you are a seasoned superhero, you are in awe of the MegaMech you are about to face." Deep Black (or Dan Gun) responded with "I am in awe of the MegaMech," which was so ROTFLMAO that we took it as our game motto the rest of the way in.

Here's a first: the tunnel now comes with ventilation shafts we have to slide down. We are officially reliving spy action movies! YES!

Vectura: "Sprial Static? Are you in awe of the MegaMech?" Spiral Static: "I am in awe of the MegeMech."

Vectura: "Lintokh? Are YOU in awe of the MegaMech?" Lintokh (translated from the Kheldian dialect): "In awe of the MegaMech I am."

Vectura: "Pink Basher? Are YOU in awe of the MegaMech?" Pink Basher: "I'm too busy to be in awe! I'm a Tanker, remember???"

Vectura: "Deep Black? Are YOU in..." Deep Black: "YES! I SAID SO ALREADY!"

Vectura: "Dan Gun, are YOU in awe of the MegaMech?" Dan Gun: "Well, heck, ma'am, it's right over there, and it's darn impressive...I'd like to test-drive it..."

And there it was: the MegaMech. Surrounded by workers and guards and evil robots. We laid seige to the forces about it, all the while avoiding the piping-hot liquid magma. As we cleared some room, we moved closer, close enough to MegaMech's feet!

However, getting this close to the MegaMech meant upsetting the machine's owner, Burkholder. Awaiting at the top of the mech, preparing to fly off to destroy the city, he's not amused that we are here to be in awe of his pride and joy. And so, sliding down from the rafters to join us in battle, Burkholder engaged our Tankers.

Um, Dan, he's right behind you. Dan? DAN!!! BURKHOLDER. IS STANDING. RIGHT. BEHIND YOU! DAN!!!!

The trick is, Burkholder's an Archvillain: that is, he's the toughest MOFO you could ever face solo...or with a teammate...or a trio...or a full Task Force... Anyway, Pink Basher came up with a brilliant idea: Drop the Archvillain into the boiling hot liquid magma!

The magma deals out slow agonizing damage to anyone slipping into it, but with a defender and contoller with some healing capabilities, we were able to keep them healthy while Burkholder slowly cooked to death. And thus, upon his death...two things:

1) You get a Completed Mission, set with badges and honors and whatnot, and

2) You get a GET THE HELL OUT BEFORE THE DAMN THING BLOWS! Alert warning us to exit the mission BY DOOR (we can't click our way out using the Nav window). We had to hurry to the exit (back at the entranceway into the MegaMech's encircling ramps) in 30 seconds, else be killed by the shockwave.

The good news is you can get to the hallway leading to the door and survive the blast. Most of us made it that far.

The bad news was, Pink Basher and Deep Black didn't make it out in time. Sniff. Good thing they had awakens.

They were revived in due course, and we all exited via the door back onto the top of the Hollowed-Out Volcano. And so...

WE WON! WOO-HOO! Most of us leveled us during the course of the TF, including Vectura right at the end of it. We proudly regaled in the fact that we mostly kicked ass getting the job done (only deaths were at the end). Some wanted to re-play it. Others needed to move on.

And so, here is the closing photo from this day's mission:

BEST. TF. EVER.

Suggestions for running this TF:
1) Check to make sure you have a Tanker with some Heat damage resist armor to handle Burkholder in the boiling hot magma.
2) It's pretty straight forward. A lot of mob-busting is involved, so again a relatively balanced team of ATs ought to do well.

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