Escort Missions

NitoriAria

NitoriAria

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How do you feel about escort missions in gaming?

Escort missions have to be the most frustrating mechanic in gaming. I (insert Kefka line) hate them due to terrible setup, horrendous difficulty balance, unbearable pacing, stupid AI, and the fact that most characters you have to escort I never want to see again.
 
Depends on how they're done.

Often escort missions involve being followed by a very vulnerable NPC with critically stupid A.I., and you have to protect them from not only the enemies but also their own stupidity. Those are terrible and I usually don't bother with them if I have the choice.

Then there are escort missions that are about being followed by a reasonably well rounded NPC that doesn't die as easily, but still has really stupid A.I. and walks in front of you while you're attacking, and if friendly fire is supported that either kills them or turns them hostile. Those are terrible too.

And then there are escort missions where the escortee is unkillable and either stays behind you or helps you out smartly with friendly fire not being an issue. Basically an escort mission in name only because the annoying escorting is not the focus of the mission. Those are ok.
 
Like Edo already said, most escort missions are awful. Off the top of the head, one of the worst ones I recall from recent memory is escorting the useless Scrapper in Skyward Sword to the top of the volcano. Piece of shit is useless and gets himself killed when he sees a Lizalfos.

I'd say about half of the escort missions in the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series are tolerable, although that really depends on the dungeon and your escort's AI. I usually avoid Escorts where the Dungeon floor needed to reach is above 15 floors and if it's a dungeon with annoying enemies. The deeper floors and harder dungeons have little shits that spam Discharge and Ominous Wind and Heat Wave and all those fun moves that hit every Pokemon in the room even if they're on the opposite side. Good thing almost all the escorts are optional. Actually, the only mandatory escorts in the main story I recall are with Chatot in Brine Cave, and he was fairly useful, and Cresselia in the volcano dungeon where she was ok until the real final battle where she was just dead weight. I really hate useless partners that use up reviver seeds....

There are probably a lot of games with a lot worse missions.
 
I hate escort missions with a passion. In Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, they don't even make sense. You're supposed to escort them (which are very weak, level 1) to a missing partner in a hostile dungeon? I mean, how brain dead are those clients?
 
The ones in Mystery Dungeon do my head in, I just gave up with accepting them.
 
Halayà úbe Praseodymium Mario said:
I hate escort missions with a passion. In Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, they don't even make sense. You're supposed to escort them (which are very weak, level 1) to a missing partner in a hostile dungeon? I mean, how brain dead are those clients?
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The best part of those is when they get Warp Trapped away and defeated, thus wasting your time and any Reviver Seeds you may have. Happened to me far too often, though I was foolish to accept most of those in the first place.
 
The Freespace series handled these more gracefully than most other games. The developers actually had a clue about this "acceptable losses" thing, so you're not forced to protect the *entire* 10-ships convoy just to move on to the next mission, though protecting them all will usually net you a medal and additional praise during the debriefing screen.
 
LEON! HEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPP!!!

I like escort missions that are like Edo's third option.
 
I guess another acceptable instance of tolerable escort missions happens in earlier Fire Emblem games, where you sometimes have to protect neutral units, but you can just walk towards them and have your units... uh... "absorb" them for the duration of the battle, which puts them out of harms way as long as the carrier unit isn't killed. So if you manage to get a fast and mobile unit like a Pegasus Knight to the escortee right away, and then manage to get away before being shredded by enemy archers, you can basically play those missions like regular missions. Rescue staves also help.

Unfortunately, Awakening really dropped the ball when they removed this feature. Damn suicidal villagers moving in range of one hit kill Pegasus knights and you can do nothing about it fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff
 
Glowsquid said:
The Freespace series handled these more gracefully than most other games. The developers actually had a clue about this "acceptable losses" thing, so you're not forced to protect the *entire* 10-ships convoy just to move on to the next mission, though protecting them all will usually net you a medal and additional praise during the debriefing screen.
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Yeah, I did like how they handled that as well, although those missions did often have a nefarious "mission creep" where one minute you'd be blasting asteroids out of the way and the next you're being swarmed by Shivan fighters.

Freespace was a fantastic game. I should really look into Freespace 2.

As for escort missions, for the most part they're not very well done but I've had fun with them before. From my experience, you need to be escorting someone who can actually impress you for it to be fun. I was escorting Esburn in Skyrim the other day and it was quite enjoyable to see this old guy conjure up magic and take out the Thalmoor like it was nothing. Same for escorting Tarrful in Republic Commando, because he can pick up Trandoshans and slam them into walls for a one-hit kill.

That way, your escort feels less like a burden and more like a partner, even if your objective is to keep them alive and you might have to sacrifice some health to do so.
 
New Super Mario said:
Some are ok, but a LOT are stupid.

The Alchemist from Spyro 2 OMG lol.


This guys pretty good but it was really frustrating as a kid.
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That mission :mad:

I hate escort missions especially the ones with a health system. I saved on an escort mission in Max Payne 2 where you play as Mona and have to escort Max at a point where he hardly had any health so whenever I load the game he dies. Got me so frustrated I deleted the save file. I might try again at some point. The only escort missions I like are the ones in the Halo games because the person you're meant to be protecting actually fights back and they don't get killed(or at least I've never seen them die on normal mode).
 
Escort missions suck when they aren't done well.
One I actually liked was the close-to-endgame sequence in Metroid Prime 3 where you have to protect the Demolition Troopers, except A) it also goes by the "acceptable losses" thing and you only need 4 of 12 to survive B) the demo guys also come with standard marines, and both are actually quite competent at killing things.
Pink Gold Tubba Blubba said:
I guess another acceptable instance of tolerable escort missions happens in earlier Fire Emblem games, where you sometimes have to protect neutral units, but you can just walk towards them and have your units... uh... "absorb" them for the duration of the battle, which puts them out of harms way as long as the carrier unit isn't killed. So if you manage to get a fast and mobile unit like a Pegasus Knight to the escortee right away, and then manage to get away before being shredded by enemy archers, you can basically play those missions like regular missions. Rescue staves also help.
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Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, Chapter 1-8. Helpless villagers are stuck in mud, where they're just about impossible to get anything to. The one flying unit you have is unavailable in this mission. The enemy happens to have a nice pack of Dracoknights. Owch.
 
Are rescue staves available at that point?

Probably not, but I figured I should ask anyway.
 
In those Spider-Man games, escorting is pretty easy (just carry someone to the hospital), unless it just so happens to have a gang on the way
 
As far as I remember, the only Rescue you can get in the game is at the end of Part 3.

That mission is, mercifully, rather early on. Also, I just realized you do have a single raven. However, she's rather weak, and if she gets occupied elsewhere, you don't have any counter for them.
 
but in 1-8 you have nailah and tormod and you get rafiel
i usually had promoted jill with the master seal so i don't know tho
 
Nailah and Tormod don't fly, so they get stuck in the mud if they try to attack that Dracoknight who's juuuuust out of reach.
Jill still isn't available for that map, because the game hates you.
 
New Super Mario said:
The Alchemist from Spyro 2 OMG lol.

This guys pretty good but it was really frustrating as a kid.
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I love Spyro 2, but some of those Orb challenges can just die in hell. That is one of them.

Other than that, the only other one I can think of ATM is Pokémon Mystery Dungeon where you escort and extremely weak Pokémon.

In fact, most escort missions are either weak or fragile and that just frustrates me.
 
The escort missions in PMD would be more tolerable if there weren't Pokémon with attacks that can (and will) target you from the other side of the level.
 
The only escort missions in any game that I've personally played that I've enjoyed are the ones in the mainline pokemon games, like that goth chick with the arcanine, because it's usually through caves or annoying areas and they heal your pokemon each turn as well as assisting in battle.

Otherwise, if I can, I tend to trap the NPC I'm escorting in a room and then finishing out the level and then getting them back, if at all possible. I did that in Goldeneye all the time lol.
 
Pink Gold Tubba Blubba said:
The escort missions in PMD would be more tolerable if there weren't Pokémon with attacks that can (and will) target you from the other side of the level.
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I thought it was only rooms for Mystery Dungeon that attacks like Ominous Wind could affect. If I remember rightly floors that had sandstorm or hail conditions were also annoying because the escort would regenerate health at a slow rate.
 
As I said, the reason for escorting lv. 1 deadweights is incredibly stupid as well. "Escort me to my love!" kind of bs.
 
Let's rattle off a few I've gone through!

Ys: You got Feena in 1, that little kid WHO CONVENIENTLY HAS A HOLE IN HIS POCKET WHEN HE'S CARRYING THE PEARL YOU BADLY NEED in 2, TWO people to escort in I think 6 (haven't played it in a long time)...but eh it's tolerable as they at least stick close to you and can take a few hits...eff you tho for not telling me that WARPING AWAY in 2 would leave the kid stranded...let alone in a f--king volcano...
PMD: I actually didn't hate these that much...mainly because I tried to have him sandwiched between me and my partner...sure they were annoying as shit but when you've got FOCUS PUNCH AND THE ABILITY TO USE IT IN ONE TURN, THEN LINK IT TO ANOTHER VERY STRONG MOVE...well...I see why it was hated, but I mostly traveled in halls, and let the foes come to ME.
FE: Meh...while of course we have absorb...with that gone in Awakening...then again I wasn't one for keeping all the villagers ALIVE, at least one I was okay with...FUTURE PAST ON THE OTHER HAND...
 
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