Rikti World Invasion
Overview
The Rikti World Invasion was a global (all servers) event timed to coincide with the release of Issue 10. It marked the return of the Rikti to Earth, threatening all humanity. This world event started on July 24, 2007 and ended on August 07, 2007. A month-long encore followed later. (See Timeline for exact dates.)
During the event, Rikti Invasions would occur approximately every three hours. Consecutive waves of Rikti invaders would invade two zones at a time, attacking both hero and villain zones on a server.
Since the conclusion of the global special event, Rikti Invasions can now be triggered by the completion of the Lady Grey Task Force. When a team completes the task force, one random Paragon City zone and/or one random Rogue Isle zone will be invaded.
Additionally, there are "Rikti Invasion Weeks" scheduled by the developers, which operate the same as the original invasion instead of the LGTF-triggered invasions.
Background
Defeated by the heroic efforts of Alpha Team and the ultimate sacrifice of Omega Team during the first Rikti War that started on May 23rd, 2002, the alien invaders are back. White Plains, known since that fateful time as the Rikti Crash Site has seen the active return of the Rikti from their mothership, turning the defensive stalemate in to the broiling battleground dubbed The Rikti War Zone.
Worse still, Rikti Drop Ships are seen flying over every zone in both Paragon City and The Rogue Isles, dropping deadly ordinance while the residents cower as alien portals open up all over the zones, dispensing armoured Rikti on to the unsuspecting streets...
Zone Events
When a zone is invaded, the following occurs for all players, Hero and Villain alike, on the server:
- A message will appear in chat windows with the System channel enabled, warning of a zone that is about to be targeted by the Rikti. (Prior to the August 23, 2007 Patch these warnings appeared in bright red, in all chat windows, via the Admin channel.) This message gives suitable warning for Heroes and Villains not wishing to take part to leave the zone:
- The message reads: "[Vanguard] WARNING! Rikti ships have been detected heading for zone."
- A short period later (citation - time?) a second System message is sent, announcing the arrival of the Rikti forces:
- The message reads: "[Vanguard] DANGER! Rikti invasion forces have been spotted in zone. Non-combatants are advised to seek cover."
At this point, the skies in the affected zone will change colour - a preternatural twilight sets in, with the midday sky appearing yellowed and sickly. In Paragon City zones, the War Walls will shut down. All normal enemies will leave the map. Then, the aliens arrive...
- Multiple Rikti Drop Ships will streak across the skies of the zone, carpet bombing the area with "active" bombs and the occasional UXB - UneXploded Bomb - that the local Heroes/Villains will need to eliminate.
- Following the bombing runs, Rikti Portals will open up across the targeted zone, spawning individual Rikti in to the streets. The Portals are opened in close proximity to nearby Heroes and Villains, are not targetable and close after a single Rikti is spawned. The Rikti spawned during this event scale to players in a similar manner as Giant Monsters, although the Rikti possess the usual ranking scheme- Minions con as white, Lieutenants as yellow, and so forth. The Rikti from World Invasion Portals can also award coveted Vanguard Merits to those possessing the Member of Vanguard Badge.
- Eventually the Rikti will be defeated (citation - "victory" conditions?) or will simply retreat after a certain time (citation - time?). The zone will return to normal, and in Paragon City zones, the War Walls will reactivate. A System message notifies players of this reprieve. The message reads: "[Vanguard] ALERT CANCELED: The Rikti have retreated from zone"
- The sky then returns to normal - the blue of the midday sky is quite a contrast (and a welcome relief) to the muted colours of the invasion.
For further details about how the Rikti choose targets and more, look at the Rikti Invasion Mechanics.
Badges
The Rikti World Invasion awards four badges in total. Three badges are achievement badges. Acquiring all three of these badges will confer the fourth, an accolade.
Achievement Badges
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Bomb Specialist You have disarmed 25 unexploded bombs. |
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Chief You have defeated 10 Rikti Heavy Assault mechs. |
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Sentry You have defeated 100 of the invading Rikti hordes! |
Accolade Badges
This badge has a different name depending on the gender of the character, and awards an accolade power, Elusive Mind.
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Watchman
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Drop Ship Routes (Heroes)
Drop Ship Routes (Villains)
Trivia
- Previously, enemies did not leave the map during the invasion, thus increasing the difficulty somewhat for Heroes and Villains visiting higher level zones in order to defend their cities from the invading Rikti. Though they would still continue to attack Heroes/Villains in range, Rikti would also spawn next to them in order to attack (and they would attack back).
- As noted above, the Vanguard warnings used to be displayed on the Admin channel in bright red font larger than the normal text, and thus, became somewhat an eyesore as it was displayed on all channels. It was eventually switched over to its current form following numerous requests from players.
