The Players' Guide to the Cities/Teams
< The Players' Guide to the Cities
While taking on the world alone can be fun, it can be even more fun to do it with friends (or at least "interests" in the case of villains.) This is where various types of teams come in.
Teams (or "team ups") are temporary alliances between characters. You'll find that some of your alliances will last longer than others, and teaming will usually make life easier on you. Two to eight heroes or villains may team up at one time. While teamed, all experience and inf from defeating enemies and completing missions is shared among all members of the team. (Higher-level characters get a roughly proportionally larger share.) When inspirations, enhancements, recipes, or salvage are found, the game distributes them to team members fairly (if you get something you can’t use, it’s always a good idea to check if it would be useful to another member of the team.)
You can invite another character to team up with you by clicking on them to target them, then right-clicking to bring up a menu of interactions, including "Invite to Team." If the character is not physically present, you can invite them by using the /invite command. You can also invite characters to team up by right-clicking on their names in your Friends or Super Group lists or from the Search Window. Inviting another character to team up automatically makes you the team leader. If another character invites you to team up, you will be shown a confirmation box from which you can accept or decline the offer. The character who issued the invitation will become the team leader.
Team Leaders
Each team has one leader. The first character to invite another into the team automatically becomes the leader, and from then on he or she is the only one who can invite new members into the team. The leader also has the authority to kick members off the team. The team leader has the job of selecting any missions the team will undertake. This is done from the leader's Mission Window. The leader can select any mission that is currently held by any team member. Other team members can view all available missions from the Mission Window as well, but only the leader use the window to set the selected mission. (However, if any character enters one of their own mission doors when no missions are currently selected, that it mission will automatically be selectes as the team's active task.)
A leader may pass leadership of the team to another team member if he or she feels that person would be better suited to the job. This is done by right clicking on the team member to be promoted and selecting "Make Leader" or by using the /makeleader command.
Team Missions
Team missions may be selected by the team leader from among all the missions currently possessed by everyone on the team. This is the only time a character can enter another character's mission map. Team door missions are calibrated for difficulty based on the level and notoriety of the character who originally obtained the mission and the number of team members at the time the mission is first begun. Therefore, for a tougher mission select a mission held by a higher-level member of the team and try to gather as large a team as possible. For an easier mission, select a lower-level member's task and try to get by with as few team members as possible. Be aware that the size of the team directly affects the number of enemies in the mission, so a mission for a team of 6, 7 or 8 will have many, many times the number of enemies as one for 1 or 2, and their levels will be slightly higher, as well.
If you find that a mission is too easy or too difficult, you can reset it. If everyone on the team exits the mission, the team leader selects a new mission, and then selects the original mission again, the map will be reset. If the team size or mission owner's notoriety have been adjusted, the mission will adjust accordingly when the first team member enters the door. Also, if a team abandons a mission before completing it and logs off, the next time the mission is entered it will reset and recalibrate for the team at that time.
If multiple teammates all hold the same mission, completing the mission for one team member gives each member the option of having theirs complete as well.
Sidekicks/Lackeys
All sidekick/mentor information in this section applies to lackey/boss duos unless otherwise specified.
Sidekicks are a special option that allows low-level characters to team up with characters of much higher levels. The lower-level character, the sidekick (heroes) or lackey (villains), gains a temporary boost in fighting ability that allows him or her to fight alongside the higher-level character. The higher level character in these pairings is known as a mentor (heroes) or boss (villains).
You must be at least level 10 before you can become a mentor to a sidekick, and your sidekick must be at least 3 levels lower than you. In order to make another character a sidekick, you must first invite him or her into your team. Then you can right-click on the character to open the interaction menu and select the options to invite a sidekick. You can also use the /sidekick (or /lackey) command.
A sidekick's effective level is boosted to one level lower than his mentor's level. A sidekick’s damage, hit points, defense, and accuracy are all boosted to this new level. Enhancements continue to provide the same benefits they gave before sidekicking. Of course, a sidekick gains no new powers or enhancement slots.
A sidekick must stay physically near a mentor in order to maintain the level boost (within 200 feet on the same map). If a sidekick gets farther away than this, his or her level reverts to normal (but will be restored if they return to proximity with their mentor). A sidekick may not enter any hazard or trial zone that requires a security rating above their real level.
Sidekicks gain experience points as if they were fighting foes relative to their actual level.
A mentor may have only one sidekick at any time, and a sidekick may have only one mentor at a time.
The mentor or sidekick can terminate the relationship by using the /unsidekick command or clicking the "unSK" button in the Team Window. The relationship will be automatically terminated if the sidekick gains enough experience to come within 2 levels of their mentor.
Exemplars/Malefactors
All exemplar/aspirant information in this section applies to malefactor/??? duos unless otherwise specified.
Higher level characters can artificially lower their combat level in order to adventure with lower level friends. This process is called exemplaring (heroes) or malefactoring (villains). The lower level character in this case is called the aspirant (heroes) or ??? (villains) and the higher level character is the exemplar or malefactor. The aspirant asks a higher level character to become his exemplar by right clicking on them and selecting "Invite as Exemplar" or by using the /exemplar (or /malefactor) command. There is no level restriction on exemplaring.
When you become an exemplar you will fight at the combat level of the aspirant and lose access to any power you chose after the level of the aspirant. So if you exemplar down to level 15 you will not be able to access any power you chose at level 16 or higher. You will still have all the enhancement slots in your powers, however the strength of those enhancements will be artificially reduced to the strength of enhancements you would have had access to at the lower level.
When you receive experience as an exemplar, you will receive an amount appropriate to your actual level. This experience can only be used to pay off debt. If you have no debt, then you will earn influence at double the normal rate. If you are in super group mode, some or all of the earned influence will be converted to prestige as appropriate to your level.
Sidekicks and exemplars are a great way to team up with your friends, even if There’s a big difference in security level between you.
Task/Strike Forces
A task force or strike force is a team of powerful characters that comes together to undertake a long series of dangerous assignments, usually culminating in a battle with one or more Archvillains or Heroes. Task force missions require a great deal of commitment and are very risky, but the reward for success is proportionate to the risk.
Some task forces are organized by the Surviving Eight, eight prominent heroes who survived the Rikti War. Some strike forces are overseen by Lord Recluse and his lieutenants. Other task/strike forces are offered by several prominent figures throughout Paragon City and the Rogue Isles.
Each task/strike force requires a minimum size of team to undertake it. Each member of the team must also be at or above a minimum level specific to that task/strike force, as well. The NPC issuing the assignment will let you know if your team is sufficient to attempt the mission.
Once a task/strike force is accepted, teams cannot invite additional members. Anyone who drops out of a task/strike force team before completion cannot rejoin. You should not join with a task/strike force unless you are willing and able to commit to the time and risk involved.
A task/strike force is terminated if all members of the team quit.
Trials
Trials are similar to task/strike forces, but are usually confined to one area or zone. Trials may require a certain number of characters, and those characters must be within a specific level range, just like a task/strike force.
Trials tend to have unique rewards--things that are available nowhere else in the game. These can be anything from a unique type of enhancement to the ability to respec your character’s powers. Trial contacts are usually found in the mid- to upper-level zones.