Task Force

Overview

A Task Force is a large-scale story arc in City of Heroes. Task forces are equivalent to Strike Forces in City of Villains.

Task forces are similar to Story Arcs in that they are a set of missions that tell a story. Task forces are started by talking to a task force contact, which is typically a signature hero. Unlike story arcs, task force contacts cannot be outleveled. Task forces can be started at any time, provided a team meets the task force's requirements, and characters may run them more than once.

Restrictions

Each task force has a minimum level requirement and a minimum team size requirement that must be met before the task force can be started. Each task force also has a maximum level associated with it; team members who exceed the maximum automatically exemplar down.

While running a task force, none of the team's other missions are available to them, and normal contacts won't interact with the player. This means that most stores are unavailable; however, Arena stores, Pocket D, Wentworth's, and Ouroboros are still accessible to purchase (often much needed) inspirations. Once the task force has formed, you must continue to run the task force until you finish it or drop from it. Task force missions can be run over several play sessions; the game allows you to log out without dropping from the task force.

As of 2008-03-05 task forces will always spawn according to the number of members associated with the team, no matter if they are online or not. If 4 people start the Synapse Task Force, and one logs out, the groups will still spawn as if there were 4 people on the team. If the person instead quits the task force, then the spawns will scale for 3 people.

Task Forces by Level

Enemy mobs and bosses will spawn based on a 'signature' task force's maximum level (and the leader's notoriety setting) regardless of the team's composition. Therefore task forces are usually done by characters at (or above) the top of the level range.

A non-signature task force spawns according to the highest level person on the team. These include: Moonfire, Hess, Imperious and all four of the Shadow Shard task forces.

In the table below, signature Task Forces are in bold, while non-signature Task Forces are in italics.

Task Force Name	Contact	Min Size	Level Range	Merits	Notes
The Rule of the Three	Positron	3	10 to 15	55	Considered one of the longest TFs in the game, and one of the hardest due to lack of powers.
The Fall of the Clockwork King	Synapse	4	15 to 20	45
Clamor and Destruction	Sister Psyche	5	20 to 25	40
The Kheldian War	Moonfire	6	23 to 28	25	Takes place in Striga Isle.
Citadel's Children	Citadel	6	25 to 30	30
The MegaMech Cometh	Ernesto Hess	6	25 to 30	15	Takes place in Striga Isle.
Smoke and Mirrors	Twilight's Son	1	25 to 34	4	Takes place in Ouroboros.
A Tangled Plot	Katie Hannon	6	30 to 34	7	Takes place in Croatoa, considered the fastest TF within the game.
Following Countess Crey	Manticore	7	30 to 35	25
The 5th Column Overthrow	Mender Lazarus	1	30 to 39	6	Takes place in Ouroboros.
Soul of the Woodsman	Numina	4	35 to 40	27	Large portion of TF is hunting for enemy groups in different zones.
Time's Arrow	Imperious	6	35 to 50	25	Takes place in Cimerora. A player leaving the zone will auto-quit from the TF when there are both Heroes and Villains on the team.
Explorers and Exploiters	Dr. Quaterfield	8	40 to 44	90	Majority of TF takes place in the Shadow Shard. Considered one of the Longest TFs in the game.
The Legend of Ruladak	Sara Moore	8	40 to 50	50	Majority of TF takes place in the Shadow Shard.
The Saga of Faathim	Justin Augustine	8	44 to 50	35	Majority of TF takes place in the Shadow Shard.
The Saga of Lanaru	Faathim the Kind	8	44 to 50	55	Majority of TF takes place in the Shadow Shard.
Statesman's Task Force	Statesman	8	45 to 50	30	Reward table choice includes random Synthetic Hamidon Enhancement, considered to be the hardest TF in the game.
The Lady Grey Task Force	The Lady Grey	8	45 to 50	30	Takes place in Rikti War Zone. A player leaving the zone will auto-quit from the TF when there are both Heroes and Villains on the team.
Trading Places	Mender Silos	1	46 to 50	7	Takes place in Ouroboros.

Task Forces no longer available:

Phased Out TFs	Contact	Min Size	Level Range	Notes
A Mind in Danger	Calvin Scott	n/a	30 to 35	Category:Historical

Rewards

Task forces typically have badges associated with them and often have unique mobs.

Hardcore Badges

Complete the hardest Task Force in the game without Temporary Powers (including Veteran Rewards) and without any deaths.

Completion of the Statesman Task Force with the above requirements will reward the team members with Master of Statesman's Task Force Badge.

Merit Rewards

As of Issue 13, rewards from Task Forces consist of Merit Rewards, which can be turned in for recipes, enhancements, salvage, badges, and more.

Each Task Force has a different reward amount assigned to it, based on datamined time required to complete it.

After claiming Merit Rewards from a Task Force, a player will receive half the amount of merits they gained the previous time for that same Task Force each time it is completed within the next 24 hours, to a minimum of 1 merit. Players can still receive a Synthetic Hamidon Enhancement from Statesman's Task Force, or earn full merits from other Task Forces.

The timer will reset after 24 hours, and players will again earn the full amount of merits from the Task Force.

Completing multiple different Task Forces in the same 24 hour period will not subject each subsequent different Task Force to diminishing returns.

Previous Rewards

This section contains information that no longer applies to the current version of City of Heroes Freedom. It is provided for historical purposes.

Unlike Story Arcs, every team member received a completion reward at the end of a Task Force, not just the leader. Major Task Forces (i.e. not Ouroboros) offered the option for a Pool C Recipe drop, or the option to pick a standard Single Origin enhancement (out of Accuracy, Damage, Endurance, Recharge, and Range) instead.

The team leader Notoriety level setting affected enemy spawns according to specific criteria. It also affected the completion reward at the end, with a same-level rare recipe (if chosen) on Heroic, +1 level on Rugged, and +2 level on Invincible. This obviously did not apply if the character's true level was 49 (for the +2 level recipes) or 50 (for the +1 or +2 level recipes), as recipes above level 50 do not exist.

After claiming a recipe reward from a Task Force, a player could not receive another recipe from Task Forces for the next 3 hours. Players could still receive other rewards from it, or earn recipes from Trials, or could wait out the timer, e.g. by leaving the reward window up while playing or logging out and logging in back later.

See Also

• Strike Force
• Trial