Overview[]
The flashback system lets heroes and villains run through Story Arcs and badge missions they may have missed earlier or simply want to experience again. These operate like Task Forces as there are minimum and maximum level requirements, other contacts are unavailable, only the team leader can initiate a flashback and once started the team can not add new members. Flashbacks involve Time Travel, which is initiated from the Pillar of Ice and Flame in the Ouroboros Enclave or the equivalent base item in a Supergroup Base.
Story Arcs involve a series of missions, often 8 to 12 or more, involving a given enemy group or story line. Badge Missions are short, usually just a single mission, which awards its own badge.
If starting from Ouroboros then everyone on the team has to be level 25 or higher, just to be in the zone, but from a base only the team leader has to be 25+. Each mission has a minimum level, required of all members, and a maximum level that characters will Examplar (malefactor) down to as needed. The minimum levels for each mission are not shown when accessing the mission list.
The in-game introduction to the flashback system is provided by the missions of The Pilgrim in Ouroboros.
The popularity of the Flashback System is due, in part, to its 75 Achievement Badges and the roughly 15 Accomplishment Badges that can be obtained from its badge missions.
How It Works[]
To do a Flashback mission or Story Arc, click on an Aspect of the Pillar. A dialog box will appear with a list of Story Arcs and Badge Missions, sorted by level range. Arcs you have already completed will have a star next to them.
When you pick one, the box displays the introductory mission description from that arc's contact. Accept the mission, and you're given another dialog box filled with buttons and dropdown menus. These are a selection of optional challenges. If you're looking to test your might, or hunting for badges, these options are a treasure trove.
Once you accept a mission you are directed to click on the crystal to teleport to the mission's contact, but you need not do that if you prefer to go a more direct route to the first mission. Throughout a story arc the crystals, either in Ouroboros or a base, can be used when needed to teleport back to the contact again.
Badges[]
A total of 75 Achievement Badges are unique to the flashback system. 10 are awarded for completing a certain number of flashbacks — both story arcs and badge missions count. 65 are awarded for successful completion of story arcs (not badge missions) using challenge settings.
Some arcs have missions that can be failed. Failing those missions may result in failing the arc, which means that the badges will not be rewarded. (An example is the mission "Stop 30 Fir Bolg entering door" from Skipper LeGrange. Failing it immediately ends the arc, without badge credit.)
Total Completed[]
Complete a number of Flashback Story Arcs and Badge missions.
- 5 - Troubleshooter
- 10 - Adjuster
- 15 - Calibrator
- 20 - Alterist
- 25 - Balancer
- 30 - Correctionist
- 35 - Repairman/Repairwoman
- 40 - Overhauler
- 45 - Time Fixer
- 50 - Ouroboros Mender
Time Limit[]
Complete a Flashback Story Arc within a certain time limit. Different arcs have different time limits. (30, 60, 120 minutes is a pretty common setup, though). The timer begins at the moment of accepting the story arc. When the time limit is set, the arc must be completed in the amount of time specified in order to earn the associated badge. If you log out or are disconnected during the course of the mission, the timer will still be active.
- Fastest - Gold Medalist
- Second-Fastest - Silver Medalist
- Third-Fastest - Bronze Medalist
Limited Lives[]
Complete a Flashback Story Arc with a limited number of team member deaths.
- No deaths - All For One, One For All
- One death - Divided Mastery
- Three deaths - Proportional Supremacy
- Five deaths - Shared Victory
Power Challenges[]
Badges are awarded in each level range for various adjustments to player or enemy powers.
Level | Players are DeBuffed |
Enemies are Buffed |
AT Powers only |
No Travel Powers |
No Temp Powers |
No Epic/ Patron Powers |
No Inspirations |
No Enhancements |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
01 - 15 | Venturous | Audacious | Contributor | Refrained | Diminished | N/A | Cliche | Lessened |
16 - 19 | Headstrong | Courageous | Vocational | Shut Down | Curtailed | N/A | Unimaginative | Debilitated |
20 - 24 | Adventurous | Bold | Professional | Desisted | Capped | N/A | Flat | Anemic |
25 - 29 | Daredevil | Valorious | All Business | Barred | Inhibited | N/A | Unoriginal | Weakened |
30 - 34 | Rash | Valiant | Archetypical | Still | Hindered | N/A | Dull | Deflated |
35 - 39 | Venturesome | Stalwart | Obligated | Stalled | Bound | N/A | Phoned it in | Decreased |
40 - 45 | Reckless | Lionhearted | Missionary | Stemmed | Limited | Cut-Off | Indifferent | Devalued |
46 - 50 | Temerarious | Intrepid | Undertaker | Suspended | Demarcated | Marginalized | Uninspired | Unenhanced |
Hero Flashback Missions[]
This list includes both Story Arcs and Badge Missions. Badge missions are indicated by the badge name in parenthesis following the mission name.
- See also: Hero Story Arcs
Protector of Innocents (Level 1 - 15)
- Flux the Outcast
- Julius the Kind Hearted Troll (3 missions)
- The Heart of the Hollows
- Officer Wincott vs. the Trolls
- Warshades and Peace (level 15) - available only to Warshades
- The Clockwork Captive
- Bonefire
- The Vahzilok Pollutant Plot
- An Absence of Shadows (level 10) - available only to Warshades
- Break up the Clockwork and the Skulls (level 9) (Negotiator Badge)
- Rescue the Mystic from the Circle of Thorns (Spelunker Badge)
Guardian (Level 16 - 19)
- Rumblings of the Past
- I Lost My Daddy
- The Mind of a King
- Tsoo Shenanigans
- The Vahzilok Plague
- Vahzilok Wasting Disease (Plague Stopper Badge)
Keeper of the Peace (Level 20 - 24)
- A Faultline in the Sands of Time
- The Buried Past
- Hear and Now
- Ring of Peebles
- Shadow Science (level 20) - available only to Peacebringers and Warshades
- The Wheel of Destruction
- Hand of Iron
- The Sky Raider Secret
- The Tsoo Coup
- Stop the Mystic Madmen (Spirit Warrior Badge)
- Retrieve Stolen Weapons from the Freakshow (Pwnz Badge)
Champion (Level 25 - 29)
- Piercing the Veil
- War of the Fir Bolg
- A Madman's Council
- Return to Vampyr Mountain
- Winslowe and the Cosmotron (level 25) - available only to Peacebringers and Warshades
- Ubelmann the Unknown
- The Scroll of Tielekku
- An Unnatural Order
- The Freakalympics
- The Mysterious General Z
- Find the Pantheon: Rescue the Mystics (Mystical Savior Badge)
- The Redemption of Alexander 'the Great' (3 missions, Redeemer Badge)
Defender of Truth (Level 30 - 34)
- Crossing Over
- Hatred's Hungry Heart
- Fear and Loathing on Striga Isle (level 30) - available only to Peacebringers and Warshades
- The Rise of the Vampyri
- The Library of Souls
- Corporate Culture
- The Unity Plague
- The Freakshow War
- Stop the Pact (3 missions, Corrupter Badge)
- Defend the War Walls (War Wall Defender Badge)
Vindicator (Level 35 - 39)
- A Path Into Darkness
- The Envoy of Shadow
- Revenant Hero Project
- The Terra Conspiracy
- Mass Duplicity
- The Organ Grinders
- The Arrival of the Oranbegans (Frontline Badge)
- They Call Me the Doctor (The Doctor's Ally Badge)
Justice Incarnate (Level 40 - 45)
- To Save a Soul
- On the Run
- Melvin and the Mysterious Malta Group
- The Eternal Nemesis
- The Praetorian War
- Division: Line
- Nemesis Weather Control (4 missions, Meteorologist Badge)
- The Clockwork King's Psychic Signal (Emancipator Badge)
- The Hydra Dimension (Multidimensional Badge)
Hero of the City (Level 46 - 50)
- Ouroboros Initiation
- The Strange Case of Benjamin A. Decker
- Welcome to the Vanguard
- Dreams of Peace and Acts of War
- The Red and the Black
- The Horror of War
- Upon the Psychic Plane
- Operation: World Wide Red
- To Save a Thousand Worlds
- A Hero's Hero
- The Rikti Negotiator (3 missions, Bodyguard Badge)
- The Marauder's Cell (Agent Badge)
- Black Shroud Dimension (Shrouded Badge)
Villain Flashback Story Arcs[]
Unlike City of Heroes, City of Villains has Unlockable Contacts, and thus, the badge missions and story arcs will not be offered to the player when using the Aspect of the Pillar until the character has fulfilled the contact prerrequisites.
- See also: Villain Story Arcs
Soldier (Level 1 - 15)
- The Vahzilok Conference
- Spy Hunt
- Midas Touched
- Breaking Bows
- Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
- The Origins of Snakes (level 9)
- Weird Science (level 8)
- Earning Arachnos' Favor (level 9)
- Snake Uprising (level 8)
- The Council Cargo (level 10)
- The Hit List
- An Arachnos Ghost Story
- Power of the Spirit
- Give 'em Hellion! (level 9)
- Family War (level 9)
- The Book and The Burning (level 9)
Malcontent (Level 16 - 19)
- Echo Down the Aeons
- The Aeon Conspiracy
- High-Tech Gold
- Breakout at the Zig
- Master of Destruction
- There's a Sucker Born Every Minute It is not noted, but this will include Willy's Badge mission for Paragon of Vice.
- Oh Wretched Man!
Insider (Level 20 - 24)
- Iron Widow
- Kings of the Sky
- Operation Skyhook
- Coral Bonanza
- Breaking the Cage
- Any Body Will Do
- Disturbing the Dead
- Carpe Diem
- A Web of Intrigue
Undesireable (Level 25 - 29)
- Aurora Fades
- Power Mine
- Sabotage!
- Trust and Betrayal
- Zag Breakout!
- Forging the Blackwand
- Die by the Freak!
- Heavy Metal Doctoring
- The Cult of the Shaper
- On the Trail of the Leviathan
Wiseguy (Level 30 - 34)
- Taming the Tigress
- Brawling with the Big Boys
- Snuffing the Light
- Into Valhalla
- Nictus Dissection
- Psymon Says
- Strange Memories
- Breaking the Streak
- Silver-Tongued Devil
- Sold for a Song
- Miss Fortune's Wheel
- High Roller's Last Gamble
- Chaos Unbound
Criminal (Level 35 - 39)
- No One Gets It
- Crossfire
- A Traitorous History
- The Secret of the Circle
- Bravo for the Shadow Shard
- Automatic Villainy
- Blurring the Lines
- Fat Cat City
- Pied Piper
- Chaos Affair
- The Missing Maidens
- Johnny's Squeeze
- Devil May Care
Captain (Level 40 - 45)
- Breaking Knives
- Absolute Vengeance
- The Arachnoid Cure
- Arachnoid Appetizers
- Building a Better Vermin
- Project Fury
- Countess Coup
- Kuhr'Rekt Diplomacy
- Kuhr'Rekt Revenge
- Apt Pupil
- Miss Francine the Freakshow teacher
- The Rebels
- The Bane of the Heart
- Shucking Souls
- The Hunt
- The Circle's Plot
Made (Level 46 - 50)
- Ouroboros Initiation
- The Strange Case of Benjamin A. Decker
- Welcome to the Vanguard
- Dreams of Peace and Acts of War
- The Red and the Black
- The Horror of War
- Vindication
- Light and Darkness
- Ancient History
- Escaped!
- Snake Fist
- Alone in the Darque
- Indigo Hunt
- Crimson Hunt
- The Code Merlin
- Vigilante Justice
- The TV Report
- Video Killed the Radio
- The TV Invasion
- The Conference of Evil
- Von Grun's science
- The Great Grun Gathering
- Von Grun's Lament
- Von Grun's Redemption
Villain Badge Missions[]
- See also: CoV Accomplishment Badges
Soldier (Level 1 - 15)
- Steal the Facemaker's Reanimation Chemicals (Mask Maker Badge)
- Steal the Outbreak Virus (level 15) (Plague Carrier Badge)
- Hurt the Traitorous Vendetti (level 10) (Stone Cold Badge)
- The Loa Bone (level 10) (Bone Collector Badge)
Malcontent (Level 16 - 19)
Insider (Level 20 - 24)
- Ashley McKnight's The Origin of Power (level 20)
Undesireable (Level 25 - 29)
- Retrieve Crash's Shipments (level 25)
- Bust Up the Dockworker's Strike (level 25)
Wiseguy (Level 30 - 34)
Criminal (Level 35 - 39)
- The Unlucky Artifact (level 35)
Captain (Level 40 - 45)
- Party Crasher
- Selestar
- Attack Longbow Portal Base (level 40)
- B4nKbUsTah (level 40)
Made (Level 46 - 50)