Token Hunting: A Review of the Collectors of MxO – Richland

PhroG

Thanks! And don't worry about waiting too long, I'll have the next article up very shortly.

Hawnt wrote:
Nice job, very well done, I will be looking forward to the Next.

PhroG

Horace: Street Gang Reconciler
(586 0 29)

For today's Token Hunting it's off to the land of strip clubs, XXX bookstores, dumpy bars and hotels I wouldn't touch the doorknob of, much less sleep in. Nestled between Mara and the Moriah Projects is Achan, home to the Bells, the musically-inclined Exile Yttri, all manner of sin and vice, and a member of the Blackwood gang by the name of Horace.

I think a little history of the Bells and Blackwoods is in order to put Horace and his goals into context.

The Prima Official Game Guide on the Bells:
“Originally formed as a companion gang to the Blackwoods. The full name of the gang was once The Blackwood Belles, but the current membership has shortened it as their relationship with the Blackwoods is now tenuous at best.”

Oddly, Horace is usually seen right by the spot that Belinda “Bling Bling” Bernelli hangs out at. Makes you wonder if his reconciliation efforts don't have a little something else behind them. Pure speculation of course, but I wouldn't be surprised. I'll deal with the Blackwoods in another article, but they are a gang with an interesting history. I'm not ecstatic about being hired out by a gang member, but if it's for just a wee bit more peace in Richland, then so be it.

“The Bells are too strong. If I'm going to reunite them with the Blackwoods, I'll need as many of them taken out as possible. You'll have to do your part, before you get your pay. I'll repeat it – bring me more Bronze Bells. Don't come back until you have them.”

Doesn't sound like a peaceful reuniting actually. It sounds more like whittling down their numbers for a takeover. I don't like this one bit, but a deal is a deal. I checked out the area right behind me, where Bling Bling is supposed to be. No show. In fact, I hunted over pretty much all of Achan, and Bling Bling was nowhere to be seen. Plenty of bugged members running in circles, half in the ground, etc. though. I wonder if Bling's spawn is broken too. (This is on Syntax, by the way, if you're a helpful dev reading this.) Regardless, I found a nice cluster of the ladies behind a nudie bar and sent my trusty daemon to work. 26 kills to achieve the goal of 6 Bronze Bells seems to fall right in the middle of the farming difficulty scale, and didn't take took much time.

I stopped back to visit Horace during, since most collectors have a few more insights to offer once they see you've been doing a good job. Horace, however, simply repeated exactly what he told me the first time. I'm wondering if this isn't an error. His first statement seems to contain both the introductory speech and the partial collection speech. Here's how I figure it would work, broken up into two separate messages:

“The Bells are too strong. If I'm going to reunite them with the Blackwoods, I'll need as many of them taken out as possible. You'll have to do your part, before you get your pay.”

and

“I'll repeat it – bring me more Bronze Bells. Don't come back until you have them.”

Pretty weak secondary response, but I think that might be how it was originally intended. If fixed at some point, hopefully a bit more insight into the Blackwood/Bell relationship could get tossed in there. Regardless, once my collection was complete, Horace did have a bit more to say.

“The Bells and the Blackwoods belong together. It's the best thing for everyone in Richland. With these Bronze Bells you've brought me, I can work towards making them one gang. Take this reward, you've earned it.”

Horace forks over a decent looking pair of sneakers for my trouble.

Horace's Sneakers
Inner Strength Regen Rate (5%)
Movement Speed (5%)
Minimum Level 4

“The Bells and the Blackwoods will be reunited.”

Somehow, I don't think murdering their members is going to help that.

I've gone to some trouble to extoll the virtues of the writing in the collectors, and the ability therein to say quite a bit with very little space. Horace doesn't fit that description. Not only is he unlikable with that abusive ex-boyfriend attitude of “She belongs with me, it's best for everyone. Even if it involves beating her up”, but he also has some pretty poor logic and character motivation. The token collection here had no real purpose or importance. The items are going to help how, exactly? He's going to show his buddies that the Bells are weaker now? He's going to ring them till the annoyed Bells go back to being the Blackwood Belles? He doesn't say.

The repeated primary and intermediate messages is an error I hope, but even if it was split as I postulate above, it's still pretty weak. There's a good opportunity here to toss out some additional comments about the gang politics between these two, their history, their leadership, their members, anything. The same message twice, or a one-line “Get me more.” is a let down for certain.

The Sneakers have a great low level IS regen rate and the movement speed is nothing to sneeze at either. These would serve any level 4 quite nicely, I think, as they are exploring, especially if they are hacking or sticking to free-fire.

Good item, but a lost opportunity with the poorly developed and written character of Horace. A few more lines of dialogue about his motives and the politics/relationship between the Bells and Blackwoods would've done wonders for this collection.

As always, thank you to everyone who is reading and spread the word. I appreciate all your comments, and please don't hesitate to leave them. See you all next time, and let me know if you spot that pesky Bling Bling around town.

Message Edited by PhroG on 07.07.2006 06:13 PM
Message edited by PhroG on 07/07/2006 15:13:21.

Hawnt

Another job well done, Bro. Brought back memories of when I did those missions. Again, This is good stuff, keepem comming.

theRonin

You're doing great with these, PhroG.

Again!

**MatrixRefugee**

I'm halfway through lvl 40 in my training, but I still have my pair of Jack's gloves, which I wear with pride quite often. I have to admit, I was really touched by my conversation with Jack when I was collecting the medals off those dumb Crossbones -- whom I had a grudge against since they killed a guy I was escorting for my boss, back when I was still a baby Redpill. Almost killed my repute in the boss's organization, but I managed to settle the matter...

**Nicksie**

I don't think I've ever seen Bling Bling in game either on any server :O

**MatrixRefugee**

Nicksie wrote:
I don't think I've ever seen Bling Bling in game either on any server :O

She's kind of in an odd spot on a ledge behind a building, but I bumped into her and her girls the night I finalized my induction into the Merovingian's service. Needless to say, I showed her what us paladins in the King of the Exile's army are made of... :: Winks::

Kasyade

Excellent guide, has really helped me start out in MxO.

Keep up the good work.

PhroG

I'm very glad to hear that! I've been sort of busy, but am working on the next installment right now! SMILEY

Kasyade wrote:

Excellent guide, has really helped me start out in MxO.

Keep up the good work.

**zeroone506**

((Bling Bling? I had no problems finding her a couple of months ago))

Well, I had planned to start with the collectors as soon as I had finished the mission contacts. I have, and now I'm through with the first three districts and starting out in Downtown.
Basically, I had known they were some sort of city content, but hadn't really thought they were this interesting to do. I think some have serious potential (not necessarily such as Michel, but let's say those representing gang or corporation interests) for continuations.

However, it's double as interesting to read them with your excellently written comments inbetween. Just like when someone (forgot the username) takes critical missions and fills the dialogues with his own lines, you add some interesting perspectives to these rather short pieces of content and add a portion of realism to them. Great writing, great work -- keep goin'!

The only thing I don't agree with is that you kill the boss instead of random thugs. Maybe the drop rate is better (although not in my experience so far), and of course it's somewhat of cool to go to the boss, "a character with background" after talking to the collector.
But, from a story perspective, it just doesn't make much sense -- the Collector wants you to kill the lower thugs, not the boss. After all, why should one still try to overthrow the local boss if you've already killed him? Don't the Shuriken want you to determine their weakest members, and not the boss?
Just a few thoughts. I don't have any problem with your way at all -- it's a bit of convention, a good opportunity to add more info (on the gang and the boss).

Seizer

Gonna have to disagree on the desirability of the Uriah and Tabor trades, Phrog.

I have found that any significant time spent killing Jack the Hack and his buds should net you an armored shirt or pair of pants. One item of low-level armored clothing gives 6 to ballistic and melee resistance, twice what you have with both the industrial shirt and pants. If you're lucky enough to also get a shielded item, that makes the Demonskin worthless as well.

Granted, it beats nothing at all, but in my experience leveling alts I almost always get an enhanced piece of clothing before I have enough tokens to get the shirt and pants.

Other than that, great set of posts and research. Kudos.

PhroG

Loripor: Deconstructor
(289 1 -60)

Hello again cats and kittens, I'm back after a bit of an absence with an all-new edition of Token Hunting! My apologies for the delay, after a promotion at my job in the real world I've been a tad distracted/busy. But I'm back on the wagon and heading over to the ever lagful Mara neighborhood this week to see the hardhat-clad collector Loripor to satiate her rather strong dislike of those Debir Court loiterers known as the Blackwoods. Here's a gang with a rather fantastic background story, which is worth mentioning here.

"The Merovingian maintains a place deep in the recesses of the Matrix, known to only a few and accessible to fewer. It is a prison, housed in an impenetrable forest where night never ends, where the walls themselves listen and whisper your doom. It is called Blackwood. The Blackwood gang takes its name from this horrible place, as its founders claimed to have escaped from Blackwood together. The Blackwoods are a staple of the Mara neighborhood and include all sorts of detestable and base Exiles."

Spooky. That having been said, I always thought the Blackwoods were a tad underused. Of all the gangs wandering the Megacity, this is by far the coolest and most interesting background. Lorpior, however, doesn't seem too impressed.

"The Blackwoods have been a plague on this neighborhood for years. I want you to punish them, and I'll pay you to do it. Kill them, and bring me those Onyx Rings they wear. Attached fingers are optional."

Grisly. A few things are particularly intriguing about Loripor that beg to be noticed. You'll notice as we go along that she never offers any real motivation for her violent hatred of the Blackwoods, only that she wants them toasted. Combined with her interest in certain items from the Pandora's Box artifacts and Translocation Programs and it's clear that she has some pretty powerful connections. One can't help but wonder if she's not ordering the deaths of the Blackwoods on behalf of the Merovingian or his organization due to their founder's background. All in all, there's a lot of leads and clues if you look at the overall picture that there is much more going on here. I must mention though, what the hell is up with the construction hardhat? Definetly a silly look for someone with a certain level of importance.

But, regardless of her poor fashion choices and the prospect of inadvertently doing the Merovingian's work, it's off to see Owl Bangheart (heh.) for some fingers and 9 Onyx Rings. He and his buddies hang out on a roof in Magog at (340, 37, -480).

You'll notice that the Blackwoods occupy both Magog and Mara neighborhoods, which despite their low level, speaks of their influence. Owl may have a funny name, but his details label him "one of the most resourceful and dangerous gang leaders in the Matrix" and states "The best course of action, when dealing with him, is to avoid contact at all costs. Direct confrontation is never advised." He is also one of the few Exiles in Richland powerful enough to hold a neighborhood Access Node key (Sobra Shores, for those keeping score). I actually find myself wishing he was a much higher level to back up what is a fairly badass background story.

After kicking around Owl and his buddies a few times, and coming up with a few rings (no fingers, I forgot my knife)... I decided to see what Loripor would think of my progress.

"The Blackwoods have suffered at your hands, but not nearly enough. Keep killing them until you find more Onyx Rings."

Remind me not to cross Loripor. Overall, it took 28 Blackwoods to come up with the 9 rings that the bloodthirsty collector desired. Not a terrible drain on your time.

"You have killed many members of the Blackwoods, and I thank you for that. I can offer you this token as payment for what you've done."

Loripor's Jacket
Max Health (30pts)
States: (30% Chance) Causes Enraged: 10secs
Min Level 2

No problem. I'd have liked a bit more explaination of your beef with them, since I'm willing to bet it has something to do with a certain prison their members escaped from, but oh well. The buff is a decent general use one, and while something with resistances would be nice, the health benefit can definetly be beneficial especially considering it's low level requirement. It's a nice looking coat too, with no collar and a nice dark color. Even if you're a high level and just looking for a slick coat to wear to a party, check this out.

"I won't stop until every member of the Blackwoods gang dies bleeding in the street."

Good luck on that... *cough*yafreakingpsycho*cough*

Overall, the background story on the Blackwoods ends up being much more interesting than Loripor. Her responses come off as generic, which is a shame, considering the aforementioned interesting hints that there is much more going on under the hardhat. with a little effort, she could be tied into the Blackwood's back story, which would go over well I think, considering all the various theories and rumors about Blackwood that circulate from time to time. Oddly, I found a distinct lack of Blackwoods wandering the area as I ran to Magog to meet Owl. Where the heck are they all at? They seemed considerably harder to find than other gangs.

The coat is stylish and a decent overall buff for any low level or new player, regardless of loadout. You'll be wanting something more before long though, as you find that doing more damage or being more resistant to it, is more valuable in the long term. The Enrage buff isn't a bad one, and the percentage is high.. still I think there are better options.

An interesting excuse to get into the Blackwood's story, but Loripor herself is uninteresting if you base it solely on this collection quest. If you dig a little deeper and read into her connections regarding her other collection duties, she gets significantly more intriguing. Still, it doesn't explain the hardhat. Or why I can't get one to wear myself. Developers, make that happen!

Thanks, as always for reading. I again apologize for the delay in between articles, and I will be doing my best to get them going regularly again. Also, many thanks to zeroone506 for his excellent work transcribing the text of the collectors. Saved me a bit of time and alt-tabbing between article and game. Be back before you know it.

**ZaneZavin**

"bling bling" is located at 680, 1, 40.