Now I’ve only had about 20 hours (only, ha!) to enjoy Funcom’s The Secret World since it launched into head-start mode back on June 29th. But in that time, I’ve scoured every corner of Kingsmouth, and begun my descent into Hell in the Savage Coast. So while I’m not nearly done with all of the content the game has to offer, the quality of the missions keeps making my jaw drop. Very few are of the “go here, kill this” variety, and more often than not I’m spending my time solving riddles, mysteries, and puzzles that no other MMO has had the juevos to attempt. I won’t go into spoiler territory, other than minor details on the story, but I wanted to share with you all five of my favorite missions so far in The Secret World. Share your own below, but remember: NO SPOILERS! Your comments will be deleted if they give away solutions.
THE LEAGUE OF MONSTER SLAYERS – SAVAGE COAST
This one made me so nostalgic for the Goonies. Basically, without giving anything more about it away, the area around the Savage Coast has long had openings to other world where monsters creep through. And way back before things really got bad, a group of kids did their part to fight them off while parents and adults didn’t believe them. What follows is your discovery of their awesome tree-house in the middle of a dark forest, and your journey to join their ranks through their own official ritual. There wasn’t anything particularly hard about the mission, or puzzling. It was just so damned cool… everything from the artwork on the notes the kids left behind to the steps you take to become “one of them”. It’s surprisingly hopeful to know that kids once fought back these creatures, and reminds me of my youth spent worrying about bumps in the night myself.
THE KINGSMOUTH CODE – KINGSMOUTH CHURCH
What can you really say about this quest without giving things away? It starts at the church. It ends… much later, and after a lot of brain-wracking. If you want to test your puzzle-solving skills this is the first mission that will really do a good job at it. It’s like Edward Nigma stopped by Funcom and put in a ton of his own torturous riddles.
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THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT ELLIS HILL – KINGSMOUTH AIRPORT
Really, this whole series of quests surrounding the big foreboding airport mechanic is top-notch. Nothing is what it really seems in The Secret World, and Ellis Hill is a great indication of that. I actually think his series ends early, but I’ll let you get through them and decide if that’s the case. Just be prepared to learn Morse code if you want to finish it without cheating.
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SOMETHING WICKED - KINGSMOUTH
Okay, so this mission in particular is more than a little bugged lately. Certain avian critters never seem to want to work right. But in the interest of not spoiling anything for you all, just be prepared to ask friends for a little help on this one, and remember to always think outside the box when it comes to investigation missions for The Secret World. This isn’t Azeroth by a long shot.
THE FIRST FACTION MISSION
It’s really hard to write about things you don’t want to spoil. Let’s just say that this mission has you using a pith helmet in a very dark and spooky parking garage… and that it helps you learn that the other factions aren’t always the enemy. If you haven’t already, you’ll get a random phone call asking you to report to your faction base after you hit rank 2 or 3 within the Templar/Illuminati/Dragon. Enjoy the creepiness, I know I did.
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