TSW: The End of Days (Mission 6)

Shit just got real.

Mission 6:

. . . - - - . . .

Time Limit: Unknown
Reward: Unknown

Guide:

Credits:
http://tswargwalkthrough.webs.com/mission-6

Question #1

London

Question #2

Chelyabinsk

Great...99%, if this is Korean RNG, I'm still screwed :\

TSW: The End of Days (Mission 5)

The last test, huzzah!

Mission 5:

Good luck. You'll need it.

Time Limit: 3 Hours
Reward: +20% Survival Chance & XP Potion

Guide:

Credits:
http://tswargwalkthrough.webs.com/mission-5

Test #1

13.0.0.0.0

Test #2
End of the World

Test #3

King's Return

WTB: Last 30%, I dun wanna die! ;_;

TSW: The End of Days (Mission 4)

Mission 4:

As we are getting close to our final chapter, it is now time to test the community as a whole.

In this fourth mission, we need you to help us start up a generator in one of our facilities so we can do a little experiment. Nothing too dangerous, don't worry.

When the generators are online, everyone will have access to the second part of the test.

Time Limit: 2 Hours
Reward: +20% Survival Chance & XP Potion

Guide:

Credits:
http://forums.thesecretworld.com/showthread.php?t=63832

Since the community event has come and gone: bokor

Ya, 50% ...it's a coin toss now.

TSW: The End of Days (Mission 3)

Like Mission 2, this test is broken down into three sections. All three are Investigation-class tests.

Mission 3:

This test can only be completed with the help of your friends.

You may or may not join them, but remember some challenge shall not be faced alone.

Time Limit: 6 Hours
Reward: +20% Survival Chance & XP Potion

Guide:

Credits:
http://forums.thesecretworld.com/showpost.php?p=1490452&postcount=3

Test #1 - Part A

There are three clues given. One is the most obvious, the picture. The second is 'Melinda'. And the third is the '&' in the 'Your Answer'.

If you you know about Microsoft, you've probably all ready guessed it's Bill Gates as a child. And 'B-I-L-L' does fit the length of the first part of the Answer 'Xs'.

Using the second clue, 'Melinda', you'll see her name fits nicely into the 'Xs' after the '&'.

At this point 'Bill & Melinda' should immediately trigger 'Gates Foundation'.

Test #1 - Part B

With just a picture, presumably a date, and a two word answer. There's not much else to use for clues.

To at least figure out the place in the picture Google 'Bryant Park'. You'll see that the picture is of an area of New York City.

So, what happened in 1913 that played a hand in New York City. This is an extremely vague test and after cheating you get 'Rockefeller Foundation', which when you pair with 1913. You find that was the year it was founded. And it's location is shown in the map image.

Test #2 - Part A

You're given two clues, 'MON' and a chart. If the chart looks familiar it should. It's a Stock Chart. A simple Stock Ticker search yields 'Monsanto Company'.

Test #2 - Part B

Since this is a link from the first part. Go to the US Patent website (http://www.uspto.gov/), and look up the plant name (CIDZ0007). The key to solving this is the fact that the second field in 'Your Answer' will be four letters long. Once you eliminate all the information that has more than four letters you're left with 'Syngenta Crop'.

Test #3

Remember how it said you'd probably need to work together to solve this Mission?

Use the code (five characters) that now appears in the bottom TV Screen row. In conjunction with the codes listed after clicking on 'Encoded Message'. And make a spreadsheet of all the codes. If you sort it, you'll see what appears to be letters and numbers, numbering five, that appear. This is the code to answer the question. If you don't feel like typing all that. It's 'u83Di'.

I'm coming up with a 30.00, repeating of course, percentage of survival.

TSW: The End of Days (Mission 2)

This is a Mission is broken up into five sub tests and is as follows.

Mission 2:

You will be given a series of intellectual tests. You only need to complete one of them to achieve the mission.

If you find a test too hard or have difficulties, you can try another one.

Availible Tests:

• Reflex
• Investigation
• Communication
• Morse
• Arithmetics

*Warning 18+

This mission contains mature and violent content. Player discretion advised.

Time Limit: 2 Hours
Reward: +8% Survival Chance & XP Potion

For my choice in finishing the mission I choose the Communication (COMM) one. But if you finish the other tests your overall score will be higher.

Using an ALT Account, took a look at them all. And chose the Communication (COMM) one.

-You can complete them all if you like. The mission doesn't 'end' until you click "Complete Your Mission" on the TV Screen.

In the COMM test you simply need to break a cipher. ...the catch, you have 30 seconds, and the timer doesn't stop.

Guide:

Credits:
COMM: http://forums.thesecretworld.com/showthread.php?t=63352

MORSE: Myself

MATH: Myself

REFLEX: Myself
INVEST: http://pastebin.com/kVVFHYbw

COMM

This cipher is a Caesar Cipher. 

Go to: http://www.secretcodebreaker.com/caesar-cipher.html

And begin entering the various letter sequences into the 'Message' box. Use the 'N' as the Key to crack the code.

-It's best to not try and copy paste the answer as the timer will run out

Once you've gotten all the codes deciphered, pasting the answers into a Text File is a big help, run through the test again and match up the codes to the answers.

-You will need to hit the 'ENTER' key after pasting for the answer to be recorded

The test ends once the timer runs out. And it appears that just answering one correct will give you a VICTORY condition, albeit with a low score. I was able to get to 20 points before the timer ran out.

---

Next up we'll look into Morse.

---

MORSE

This is a Morse code test.

Go to: http://morsecode.scphillips.com/jtranslator.html

Just like with COMM do a test run to get the various Morse codes. And pasting the messages into a Text File for quick referencing when taking the test.

As with the COMM test, you'll have 30 seconds, and the timer doesn't stop.

The test ends once the timer runs out. And it appears that just answering one correct will give you a VICTORY condition, albeit with a low score. I was able to get to 30 points before the timer ran out.

---

Next up we'll look into Math.

---

MATH

This is a math test. ...oh joy.

Bring up your handy-dandy Calculator and start running the numbers. If you're a skilled accountant, using the NUMPAD will be a God-send.

As with MORSE and COMM you'll have 30 seconds, but unlike the other two you must answer all the questions; in this case ten Math Questions (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division).

The test requires all ten to be answered with in 30 seconds to trigger a VICTORY. I was unable to finish it in the time allotted, yes I'm bad at math and typing fast.

---

Next up we'll look into Reflex.

---

REFLEX

This is a simple reflex game.

In this test you'll need to hit the 'X' mark as many times as possible, again with in 30 seconds. 

However, for a VICTORY you'll need 37 points. This test heavily favors touch-devices. I was able to get 28 points before the timer ran out.

---

Next up we'll look into Reflex.

---

INVESTIGATION

This is an investigation test.

In this test you'll be asked to answer three questions. The problem, questions are asked; answers are expected.

-Note: The investigation centers around Russia/USSR

The first question is asking about a person. You must provide the First, Middle, and Last name of said person. Using the paperwork provided, it should be easy to deduce that the language is of Russian (Slavic) origin. However, based on, what appears to be a passport, the date looks to be of 18xx or possibly 19xx. This would make 'Russia' the 'Soviet Union'. Seeing as the USSR did have General Secretaries you now need to look at the dates, which turns out to be the time frames that a certain someone served as General Secretary for the Soviet Union.

The only person to serve on those dates is Leonid Brzehnev: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonid_Brezhnev

The second question is asking for a place. The clue is what appears to be a money transfer request to a Swiss Bank. To figure it out one should look up the person who this is to receive the money, in this case Mr. Fedor Timofeyev. And using the destination point (Georgetown, Guyana). Following the clues, narrows it down to a USSR Embassy in Jonestown.

The third question is a song that plays. Doing a search of "FBI No. Q" yields a case file, #042, which appears to be about the Jonestown Death Tape.

Ya, 10% chance to survive.

TSW: The End of Days (Mission 1)

Funcom's, The Secret World, is hosting another Alternate Reality Game (ARG). This time around the theme is set to the End of Days that people think will come on December 21, 2012.

So far the first mission is just a test of our skill ....or lack thereof. I'll try and get the guides and re-type them up, as well as, providing the original as a link.

Mission 1:

In this first mission, we need you to conduct a virtual attack against a corporate target. Following the instructions found in this security report, we want you to steal classified information from Iron Ridge Water company.
Don't worry, this is a simulation, no harm will actually happen to The Iron Ridge Water company.

-You then have a link for both the Security Report and the IP for the remote backup.

Security Report: http://l3cdn.funcom.com/tsw/arg/IRW-SecurityReport.pdf

Time Limit: 1 Hour
Reward: +2% Survival Chance & Monk Outfit

The following is the guide, highlight the below area to read.

Guide:

Credits:
Original Guide: http://pastebin.com/4FZiM2iH

1. Go to: http://www.thesecretworld.com/thesituationroom/

2. Click on the 'Flag' Button (Button #2 from left to right)

3. Accept and start the mission. NOTE: You may need to click on the Mission Button a second time after using the PIN you got in the email if you signed up for the ARG

4. After accepting the mission the console box should auto-open, if not press ~

5. Now begin typing:

• vpn 213.24.76.133
• ups shutdown outlet4
• vpn exit
• vpn 213.24.76.22
• setconfig transac remotebackup 137.227.232.150
• remotebackup initiate

6. You should now be condescendingly congratulated by the man in shades, and receive your rewards.

Hurray! you now have a 2% chance of survival.

Guild Wars 2: Wintersday

Starting December 14, probably around 3PM (EST), and ending on January 3. Guild Wars 2 will have its first-ever "Winter Holiday" event.

Santa Hat? Or maybe elf ears? Who knows, lets just hope the event doesn't turn out to be a lump of coal*.

*With what happened during the Lost Shores event, you can be sure that ArenaNet will do things better.

Guild Wars 2: The Lost Shores (Day 3 - Finale)

It started off great. Not much lag.
...but the fun soon ended.

The rate at which the event scales is ridiculous Veterans...Veterans everywhere. Add to that close-quarters combat because you're on a ramp most of the fight. And you wind up with a lot of dead.

Finish that off with a client crash during the main event (fighting the Ancient Karka), which upon reconnect dumps you into an Overflow that has yet to even set charges and...you can imagine the frustration.

But after a bit a waiting the party started on that Overflow and the event went on with little 'brick wall'.

The result was a final battle to roast the Ancient Karka...literally --mmm, lava-fried Karka Legs.

To boot, the reward chest gave out Exotics and Rares, as well as, a 20-slot bag.

Final Verdict:

I really wish ArenaNet had tested this event. It would not have been hard to setup a bot system to duplicate 40+ players in a local area casting and doing what not. This would have made the first event much better (seriously 5-10 second AUTO ATTACK).

They desperately needed to test Phase 2. Three of the four NPCs required by that phase were bugged; two of which completely didn't work (Noll and Canach). They also needed to better communicate what was going on. Most didn't even know about the siege weapons being built until half-way through the event. Even then, the siege weapon building would glitch-out and the progress would stop. Leaving many wondering what the hell was going on.

Couple that with the fact that the event had staggered start times....you could literally log out at the start of the event (for your instance) and log back into one that had all ready finished it.

Final Score:
4*/10

*if things had been properly tested this event would have easily scored an '8'.

...Here's to December's event.

Guild Wars 2: The Lost Shores (Day 2)

Personally, I think the two events that have happened (Halloween and Lost Shores) have been poorly executed.

I should not have to go look up a guide to figure out where to go. The clues in Halloween's event were so vague that unless you specifically knew the entire map (up, down, forwards, and backwards) you were lost.

For the Lost Shore it was much the same, but this was caused by the fact that the events are bugged as crap. But at least this time Anet mailed the locations on where to go. With clues to pinpoint the location ("southern portion of Viathan Lake"; excellent clue much better than the ones given during Halloween).

I believe it was an extremely *poor* decision to make this event Guild War 2's first ever 'Free Trial Period'. With the lag and the bugged Events...you [AreaNet] have effectively proven your game is not worth the $60, and most that came will probably not stay.

You should have tested this event down to the very core, as you have ruined your first impression on new-comers.

-BTW: I'm not a free-trial person, but I know I would look and see that this game is "beta quality" and not take the time to look beyond this event and see that much of the game is actually quite stable. This was essentially AreaNet's interview and they showed up unshaven with 'messy' hair.

I urge AreaNet, who probably won't even read this, to thoroughly test any December Event they have planned and re-issue the 'Free Trial Keys' that are good for a solid 7-days, to give new-comers the chance to experience a 'fun event', and the actual game.

Well see how tomorrow goes....hopefully Noll will spawn sometime this year.....

UPDATE: It appears that Noll is now fixed. The end reward is a Jug of Karma, but keep your 'Trophy' items, for me it was the Map, Soggy Bag, and Survey Report from Canach, just in case there's suppose to be more.

Guild Wars 2: The Lost Shores (Day 1)

For a brief time, Guild Wars 2, became turn-based. With auto-attacks taking anywhere between 5 and 10 seconds to 'fire off'.

Followed by finding out, Subdirector Noll, is bugged and not spawning on Borlis Pass server.

Hopefully a fix is done before this phase of the event is over...