Setless Level Locked - A goal of Accomplishments

[ElBee]

Challenge runs! People love doing them. Contact completionists and badge hunters are two of the most common challenge characters. I've been having a tough time staying interested trying to clean out all my flash back arcs on my title character, Zinnias. So. I've done the only sane thing someone would do in this scenario. Devise a new challenge run

Allow me to introduce Setless Level Locked. A character challenge type revolving around getting accomplishment badges while being unable to slot anything with a Set Bonus and being unable to progress in levels at certain thresholds until goals are met. A mixture of badge hunter, contact completionist, and masochist difficulty run.

The base rules are simple

• You cannot slot ANYTHING with a set bonus in its effects. No Performance Shifters! Going Rogue Pre-Order enhancements don't count (No set bonuses)
• Your character level max is determined by level locks. If you have not cleared everything to the 14th level lock, you are unable to level past 14 as an example.
• Unlocking a level lock requires obtaining the listed badges. Most of them are accomplishment badges from taskforces, trials and contact arcs.

Optional rules include

• No Influence Gifts
• Zone Locking (Must obtain all exploration badges in zone before it's 'open')
• No Email or Prestige powers
• Must Clear Incarnate trials Setless before you can use Sets

Some badges are acquired as soon as possible if they have a level range going all the way to 50. All locks are intended to be in place at the top of the level for the content required to unlock it.

So what do the level locks look like? I have prepared the Blueside level locks I have been using that I will now show in Spoilers. It's a long list.
[spoiler]
- Tutorial Lock -
Isolator
- Level 6 Lock -
DFB (Completion)
- Level 7 Lock -
Aaron Thiery Arc
- Level 9 Lock -
Twinshot (Arc 1)
Contact Badge (Negotiator)
Atlas Safeguard
- Level 10 Lock -
Lost Savior badge
Midnight Club badge
- Level 14 Lock -
Contact Badge (Spelunker)
Perez Park Exploration badges
Kings Row Safeguard
Twinshot (Arc 2)
Talshak the Mystic (Lockout at 15)
- Level 15 Lock -
Positron part 1
Hollows Exploration Badges
Caverns of Transcendence
Drowning In Blood (Completion)
- Level 16 Lock -
Positron part 2
- Level 19 Lock -
Contact Badge (Plague Stopper)
Rescuer
Twinshot (Final Arc)
Boomtown Exploration
- Level 20 Lock -
Skyway Safeguard
Synapse (Completion)
Skull Buster badge
- Level 24 Lock -
Contact Badge (Spirit Warrior)
Contact Badge (Pwnz)
- Level 25 Lock -
Steel Canyon Safeguard
Penelope Yin Taskforce
- Level 28 Lock -
Moonfire Taskforce
- Level 29 Lock -
Stirga Exploration
Redeemer
Mystical Savior
Field Agent Keith Nanc
Roy Cooling
Special Agent Jenni Adair
- Level 30 Lock -
Citadel
Ernesto Hess
Origin of Power
- Level 34 Lock -
Katie Hannon
Contact Badge (Corrupter)
Contact Badge (War Wall Defender)
- Level 35 Lock -
Talos Island Safeguard
Manticore
ITF
- Level 39 Lock -
Contact Badge (The Doctor's Ally)
Crey's Folly & Eden Exploration
The Once and Future King/Queen
One of the Eight
- Level 40 Lock -
Brickstown Safeguard
Numina Taskforce
Abandoned Sewers
- Level 41 Lock -
Eden Trial
- Level 44 Lock -
Dr. Quaterfield Taskforce
Contact Badge (Emancipator)
Contact Badge (Meteorologist)
Multidimensional
- Level 45 Lock -
Founders' Falls Safeguard
The Hive Exploration
- Level 50 Sets Lock -
Peregrine Island Safeguard
Lady Grey Taskforce
Miss Liberty Taskforce
Return of the Reichsman
Contact Badge (Bodyguard)
Master of Olympus
Freedom Phalanx Reserve Member
Portal Jockey
Received the Atlas Medallion
- Level 50 Incarnate Lock -
Maria Jenkins (Agent, Shrouded, Positron's Pal)
Provost Marchand arc
[/spoiler]

Why do all this? I wanted badges. I wanted to do it on a fresh character. Not using sets is simply to challenge myself. I might get to making a villain list when I progress a bit more into this.

Zinnias of Amber's current progress (7/2/2023)
[spoiler]
- Tutorial Lock -
Isolator
- Level 6 Lock -
DFB (Completion)
- Level 7 Lock -
Aaron Thiery Arc
- Level 9 Lock -
Twinshot (Arc 1)
Contact Badge (Negotiator)
Atlas Safeguard
- Level 10 Lock -
Lost Savior badge
Midnight Club badge
- Level 14 Lock -
Contact Badge (Spelunker)
Perez Park Exploration badges
Kings Row Safeguard
Twinshot (Arc 2)
Talshak the Mystic (Lockout at 15)
- Level 15 Lock -
Positron part 1
Hollows Exploration Badges
Caverns of Transcendence
Drowning In Blood (Completion)
- Level 16 Lock -
Positron part 2
- Level 19 Lock -
Contact Badge (Plague Stopper)
Rescuer
Twinshot (Final Arc)
Boomtown Exploration
- Level 20 Lock -
Skyway Safeguard
Synapse (Completion)
Skull Buster badge
- Level 24 Lock -
Contact Badge (Spirit Warrior)
Contact Badge (Pwnz)
- Level 25 Lock -
Steel Canyon Safeguard
Penelope Yin Taskforce
- Level 28 Lock -
Moonfire Taskforce
- Level 29 Lock -
Stirga Exploration
Redeemer
Mystical Savior
Field Agent Keith Nancy
Roy Cooling
Special Agent Jenni Adair
- Level 30 Lock -
Citadel
Ernesto Hess
Origin of Power
- Level 34 Lock -
Katie Hannon
Contact Badge (Corrupter)
Contact Badge (War Wall Defender)
- Level 35 Lock -
Talos Island Safeguard
Manticore
ITF
- Level 39 Lock -
Contact Badge (The Doctor's Ally)
Crey's Folly & Eden Exploration
The Once and Future King/Queen
One of the Eight
- Level 40 Lock -
Brickstown Safeguard
Numina Taskforce
Abandoned Sewers
- Level 41 Lock -
Eden Trial
- Level 44 Lock -
Dr. Quaterfield Taskforce
Contact Badge (Emancipator)
Contact Badge (Meteorologist)
Multidimensional
- Level 45 Lock -
Founders' Falls Safeguard
The Hive Exploration
- Level 50 Sets Lock -
Peregrine Island Safeguard
Lady Grey Taskforce
Miss Liberty Taskforce
Return of the Reichsman
Contact Badge (Bodyguard)
Master of Olympus
Freedom Phalanx Reserve Member
Portal Jockey
Received the Atlas Medallion
- Level 50 Incarnate Lock -
Maria Jenkins (Agent, Shrouded, Positron's Pal)
Provost Marchand arc
[/spoiler]

[ElBee]

Should probably post on my progress.
All the way to 25 has been unlocked. My experiences thus far:

• Endurance is a big issue if you can never slot the recovery uniques (Performance shifter, etc)
• Inf can be made a number of ways and is best invested into generic IOs
• Staff Fighting's Form of the Soul has been very helpful thus far
• Ghost Slaying Axe is pulling far more weight than expected on non-undead thanks to Bruising
• Inspirations has made big pulls and elite bosses possible solo, even without all the extra defense IOs.
• I've gotten the First Aid Kit twice from safe guard missions so far. Having 15 charges of a small green inspiration on tap has been very handy in the early game.

I've had two issues arise during this run so far. Cavern of Transcendence caps at level 15, but the contacts won't give you missions if you're level 15 as they cap at 14. Additionally you can't access the arcs via Flashback at level 15. You have to be 16. I added the requirement to finish the contacts at 14 because the only way around this is an Alt putting you on Talshak the Mystic's arc via flashback to unlock it for your SLL character. Which I did alone and had to deal with 2x Trolls and Bosses. I was able to but it was really close a lot of the time!

I forgot to get the exploration badge in Skyway Safeguard. Necessitating raising an alt to get the safeguard to get the badge.

The challenge continues.

[ElBee]

-Walks in with an arcade stick and a copy of Street Fighter 6, puts both into a desk drawer and slams it shut-

So I've been busy. In-between the new issue and ... that. This kind of got put on a back burner because of an issue I had ran into.

Contact RNG. Redeemer was held up immensely as I got Christine Lansdale, Lorenzo Tate, Marvin Weintraub, and completed Ashwin Lannister's entire story arc. He still refused to give me the badge mission. I had to pull the Air Bud strategy. Just as it doesn't say a dog can't play basketball; so too does it not say I couldn't use ouroboros to get these badge missions. For the sake of my own sanity, I used an alt to force myself on the mission arc and went through it.

I'm leaving on bosses at this point and am able to successfully deal with elite bosses solo. Protean gave me a startle because he could hit me and did quite a bit of damage. Inspirations and Dull Pain kept me up though.

One thing I am leaning on heavily as a Tanker is Bruising followed by the Black Wand and Sands of Mu. While they aren't effected by personal damage buffs, they do more damage if the enemy has less resistances.

Here is current enhancements:


The level 29 gate is cleared. Next is the origin of power followed by Too Many Council in Ernesto Hess and Citadel.