The Players' Guide to the Cities/User Interface/Help Window/Contacts

The following appears in the Contacts tab of the Help Window

Contact Box

A player can view his current Contacts by clicking on the Contacts Button in the Compass. Each Contact's picture appears in a box, along with his name and Relationship to the player. If the player is currently doing a Task for the Contact, or has recently completed one, this information also appears in the Contact's box. If a player has reached the Friend Relationship with a Contact, a Call Button appears on the right hand side of the box (see Relationship Status).

Relationship Status

As a hero completes Tasks for a Contact, his relationship with the Contact grows (see Tasks). A bar in the Contact box measures the status of this Relationship. The five stages are as follows:

Acquaintance - The hero and the Contact have just met. The hero can request Tasks from the Contact. If the Contact has a store, it may contain a few items.

Colleague - The hero and the Contact have developed a mutual respect. The hero can request Tasks from the Contact. If the Contact has a store, it contains more items or is opened to the player for the first time. The hero is introduced to one or more Contacts of the same level as his current Contact.

Friend - The hero and the Contact are good friends. The hero can request Tasks from the Contact. If the Contact has a store, all items are available to hero. The hero can call the Contact (see Call Button).

Confidant - The hero and the Contact are in a true mentor-student relationship. The Contact will introduce the hero to a higher level Contac.

Call Button

Once a player has reached the Friend Relationship, he no longer needs to travel to the Contact in order to interact (see Relationship Status). He can simply press the Call Button in the Contact box. A player can notify a Contact of a completed Task or receive a new one (see Tasks). However, a player must travel to the Contact in order to access the Contact's store (see Store).

Clues

Clues are items that a player gains through the course of his adventures. A player receives an on-screen message whenever he finds a Clue. He can read the Clue details by clicking the Clues Button on his Compass.

Clues frequently indicate that the player is in the midst of a longer adventure, called a Story Arc. When analyzed by a Contact or another NPC, clues often tell the hero what to do next.

When a player has completed a Mission or Story Arc, a clue sometimes turns into a souvenir. These serve as mementos of the hero's sagas. A player can examine them by clicking on the Souvenir Tab in the Clues Window.

Completed Tasks

When a hero has completed a Task for a Contact, a message appears in the Compass telling him what to do next. After Errands, Patrols, and Defeat Tasks, the hero is asked to return to his Contact. After a player completes a Mission, the Compass says 'Mission Complete.' The player can click on these words to exit the Mission Map immediately. Then the Compass will tell him to return to his Contact.The status of a Task also appears in each Contact's box (see Contact Box).

Defeat Tasks

Defeat Tasks ask heroes to defeat a number of members from a particular Villain Group. Sometimes the Task specifies the Zone in which the player must do this. If the location is not specified, the player can defeat these foes anywhere - including a Mission Map - and work towards fulfilling the Defeat quota. A foe must be of the appropriate Villain Group in order to count toward the Defeat quota; the Villain Group appears directly under the villain's name in the Target Window.

Introductions

A player must be introduced to a Contact before he can interact with the Contact in any way. Initially, a player is assigned a Contact in either City Hall or the Freedom Corps Headquarters. Once a hero achieves Colleague status with this initial Contact, he is given a choice of two new Contacts. This same process repeats whenever a player reaches Colleague or Confidant status with a Contact.

Patrols

On Patrols, a hero must go to a zone and check in at a number of call boxes, by touching them. This lets the Paragon City authorities know the status of that area. The call boxes look like this:

Store

Contacts can sell heroes Inspirations and Enhancements. A player must spend Influence to obtain these items from Contacts. A Contact will only provide these items to heroes who have been introduced to him. Higher level Contacts usually offer extremely valuable items at the higher Relationship Levels.

Tasks

There are four basic types of Tasks: Missions, Defeat Tasks, Patrols, and Errands.

A Mission is an instanced map that only the hero and his teammates can enter.

A Defeat Task requires the hero to defeat a certain number of villains from a Villain Group (See Defeat Tasks).

Patrols require the hero to go to a certain zone and check in at a number of call boxes (See Patrols).

Lastly, there are Errands. These typically ask that a hero go to another Contact or NPC for information or a delivery.

Successful completion of Tasks adds to the Relationship Status of a Contact (see Relationship Status).

Team Tasks

When a hero teams up with other heroes, it's up to the team leader to set the Task for the entire group. The team leader can view the current Tasks of all team members by clicking the Mission Button on the bottom of the Compass. The leader has two tabs to view: his own missions (Player) or the team's missions (Team). To select a team Task, the leader clicks on the task, then clicks the Select Task Button at the bottom of the Mission Window. The entire team is now on this Task. This is the ONLY way for players to go into another player's Mission Map.

Defeat Tasks are handled differently. The quota for Defeat Tasks goes down whenever the team defeats the appropriate villains, even if the Defeat Task is not currently selected (See Defeat Tasks).