I don’t recall starting many topics on here, I’m more of a contributor than instigator, but the last few hours of my life have prompted me to share the MPQ experience of someone in an EU timezone. A little background, if you will:
I am TheLadder, 33 year old male. I live in a small town called Redditch, which is 15 miles south of Birmingham, the so-called ‘second city’ in England. I’ve lived In Redditch for over 25 years, it is the place I call home. I was born in Wrexham, a town in north Wales, so I’m not English; I’m a Welshman. I work in Birmingham, a desk job for a regulatory body. In my spare time, what little I have thanks to this bleeding game, I play English 8-ball pool in my town and am secretary and webmaster for the league. On a good day I can clear a table in one visit, and have done so in the past against a 2-time world champion during an exhibition (Chris Melling, pool aficionados may have seen him play in the 9-ball Mosconi Cup - he was formerly an English pool and snooker player). I enjoy watching most sports, primarily motor sport, and am a long term fan of WWF/E (for my sins).
I played the original Puzzle Quest games to death, on Xbox360. In PQ, I’ve battered Lord Bane and Lord Antharg to a pulp numerous times and seen off Gorgon on PQ2 a couple times. The original was great, a mix of gem matching and rpg elements; having been a Bejeweled nut over the years, this change in pace was something which really captured my imagination. I am avid fan of the Elder Scrolls and Final Fantasy series’, so to be able to build up characters, cast spells, recruit a party etc… yes, that is something I enjoy. PQ2, not so much, the fights were pretty dull and repetitive, the rpg elements not as immersive and the whole pace of the game much slower.
I may not have discovered this game for much longer than I did - I started playing about two weeks from launch date - if my brother had not tipped me off. “You seen the new Puzzle Quest game?” he says. Oooh… excitement. Then I discover it is Marvel. Man, this is like some sort of a dream combination. I’m no comic book fan, but have followed the Marvel franchise through video games and the movie series over the years. I have hazy memories of wowing my friends in the arcade with my skills on X-Men Children of the Atom. Yeah, Magneto was cheaper on that game, than he is in this.
So, I download on my iPhone, and instantly I’m hooked. Nearly 5 months later, here I am, with a plethora of maxed characters and something of a reputation round these parts. Which brings me to today…
Preface:
The battle ground is set. My army competes on two fronts; PvE, a battle against Osborn, Doom, the Dark Avengers, and those Brotherhood mutant freaks - it’s Iso-8 Brotherhood. PvP, sees Psylocke of the X-Men with accomplices of her choosing - in Fresh Cut. The prizes… Black Panthers and X-Force Wolvies. In PvE I went into the final hours in the top two with ~116,000 on the board, having competed with two other would be foes throughout the week. PvP is a different kettle of fish, I’m struggling to hold on to a top 5 placing with a shielded tally of 693 in the scoring charts. Both events finish at 0500 UK time, the standard for much of my time playing this game. This is not my first late night jaunt, and probably won’t be my last. I pick up the story after midnight, some work on my website demanding my attention throughout the rest of Sunday evening…
1215 - Ok. So I start work at 0800 in the morning, this is quite late for me. My alarm is set to go off at 0615 every weekday morning, so I contemplate whether I actually want to get up in the middle of the night to seal the deal in the two events I am competing in. ‘You must be mad’, I hear you say. Quite.
My challenge on the PvE front has been built off getting up at 0400 the past three nights, to farm the 1,000 iso missions and generally maximise my scoring from refreshes. The first thing that catches my attention - the challenge from one of my rivals has dried up, as he hasn’t pushed all day. I have a 10,000 point cushion, so I’m looking good for top 2 already. Second thing - the 1,000 iso mission is unlocked in Saudi Arabia, thank you very much indeed. I sit second with ~117,000, 2,000 shy of the leader.
1230 - With PvE nicely under control, it’s time to address a more pressing issue - the activity in my PvP bracket. I joined up Saturday morning, my time, and usually get nice brackets as a result. This one does not appear to hold any ‘big’ names, but in the days of 1* and 2* teams finding sweet spots, no team is safe. My MMR has risen as well, with no tanking for a while - I’m going to have to do this one the hard way. I line up three nodes of 15-20 opponents and work my way up to 751 in short order. You know the routine, boost boost boost, bang bang bang. That leaves me in 5th spot, with a little breathing space, but it’s unlikely to hold for the remainder of the event. Decision time… I either shield for 8 hours, feel comfortable about my prospects in PvE and realistically expect to get at least two Black Panther covers. Or… shield for 3 hours and subject my body to all kinds of sleep deprevation, in pursuit of glory.
1245 - Set my alarm for 0300. I trust that confirms which direction I headed. Kind of sleep for the next couple hours…
0300 - Huh… Why is my alarm going off at 0300… Oh, yeah. MPQ. Again. Why do I play this game? Ughhh…
0305 - State of play. PvE, no movement. Good. PvP, I am on the ropes, struggling to make the top 5, and up ahead a couple of guys have pushed into the low to mid 800s. I have a 5/5/2 X-Force Wolvie, this awards a yellow cover, right? Damn my competitive streak, top 5 is not going to cut it.
Break shields, charge! I’m running a 51 Psylocke, alongside 141 Classic Spidey and Patch. This team doesn’t appear to scare people, I’ve been hit on defence several times under shield, but on offence it is beastly. With boosts, I’m chewing through teams left right and centre. A couple wins, is it time to shield as I move into 3rd spot with nearly 800 on the board? Of course not, I walk into a 33 point offer, I’ll have a piece of that. Adrenaline flows, this really is a buzz, wandering through a horde of preying zombies, knowing at each turn that the match I am fighting could be fruitless if somebody hits me for 30-40 points. But I continue on, 4th fight… 5th fight. Ok, this is getting silly, I shield at 864 and lead the bracket by about 30 pts now. No hits, phew, how did I manage that? My heart rate is raised, that was a rush.
0315 - So… is it time to hit the hay? I mean, I have those 3 Black Panther covers wrapped up, I’m pretty sure. My shield is good for the rest of the event. But what about PvE, hey look, the 1,000 iso mission is unlocked in New York City. Would be rude not to. It’s good for about 1000 points too, is that the 8,000 progression reward I can see over the horizon at 125,000? Yeah, so I beat down Hood and co a few times to hit the requisite milestone. That’s a nice bonus, and top two is absolutely a lock with about a 15,000 lead over third spot. My PvE team of choice, Classic Spidey/Patch/Marvel Now Magneto, in case you are wondering.
0345 - Lets check back in on PvP… uh oh, 2nd placed is unshielded and on the move. His roster… a few 2* 85s, no Psylocke. Try to find him in matchmaking - no good. Frustration, I’ve kind of got my heart set on that yellow X-Force cover now, despite his current state of uselessness. Sure enough, PvP man creeps past my tally with 876 to my 864. He shields… this is going to require yet more insomniac antics to get over the line first.
Now, I’m no tactical genius. You’re not going to get the surgical precision that you see from guys like walkyourpath or Nemek. No, I’m more of a blood and thunder kind of guy. More brawn than brains here. On this game, at least. But even the most boneheaded warrior learns a few tricks on the battlefield over time and I know I can leapfrog this guy with a tactical jump. It’s set your alarm time again, lets go for 0445. Sleep. Well, try to.
0400 - I can’t sleep. I’m curious, is he pushing on? Have I finally won a match on defence? PvE is safe, isn’t it?
- No, he’s not pushing on. Silly.
- Yes, I’ve been hit! Ugh… +0, they beat me up.
- Of course PvE is safe, although I’m down to second spot, as one of my long time rivals through the week pushes past 125,000 too. His top character is MN Magneto at Lv66. Got to love the PvE scaling mechanics. Still, I’m 15,000 points clear of 3rd, hard to complain.
Anyway, shut your eyes, you need some sleep.
0445 - Alarm! God, what am I doing? Ok… wake up will you. Has PvP man moved? No. Phew. I’ve got this. Line up 3 nodes of decent points, two 17s and a 24. These guys are running meaty squads, it may not be easy. All at a price too, countless -10s to get those. I’m going to fly at 9 minutes to go, allowing 3 minutes per fight. It’s going to be case of boost… blast… bam. (I hope)
0451 - He’s still shielded. Here goes nothing! Fight 1, lasts all of 90 seconds, get a great board and Patch does the rest. Fight 2, yes, another good board! Another 90 seconds and I’m flying past 900 and surely into 1st. I can maybe shield here, a hit at this stage would surely dent my prospects. But no, the adrenaline pumps and sleep weery I know only one option… Fight!
The third battle is more frustrating though, no blue, no green, argh, enemy Psylocke gets off a psi-kitana… black fist of doom, it’s so slow! I’ve blown it, have I? Finally, enough green, Berserker Rage and if there’s collateral damage, so be it. No, I am fine on that front, victory is mine.
More importantly, have I been hit? No! 923 points, shield! He isn’t pushing! Omg, omg. Ok, I’m not that excited, but yeah, vindication for all this craziness.
0500 - I win the PvP bracket, by nearly 50 points in the end. That last fight was lunacy. But yeah, what can you say about a guy who gets up TWICE in the middle of the night to play a gem matching game? Lunatic.
PvE, I finish 2nd. 1st place guy was still pushing at the end, he really wanted that place bad. Good luck to him, it was an honourable battle throughout the week.
Now, seriously, I must get some sleep.
0615 - Alarm… Yeah, I managed a little sleep, but I sense today is going to be a washout. Shattered, is an understatement. I inspect my spoils, yes they are all safely received. Time to get ready for work.
0700 - Get on the train. Shut my eyes. I normally play MPQ, but not today. Doze my way to Birmingham.
0745 - I sit down at my desk, a fun day of yawning and visits to the bathroom for a five/ten minute snooze awaits me.
0945 - Mercifully, still awake, and yes, it took me two hours to write all this. Working hard, as ever.
Thank you MPQ, for all you do to me. The net profit - six Black Panther covers, the yellow X-Force cover I wanted, the red one I didn’t, some iso. The net loss - a fair few HP (500 in total), but more importantly… my sanity and my wellbeing.
So there you have it. If you are still reading this, well done… like me, you managed to stay awake when it mattered. And now you know what it is like to play this game from the UK, in the dead of night. And also what a gargantuan task my shrink has on his hands to remedy my insanity.
