Yes, De, Yes!

[Sitchrea]

Just finished up the "Once Awake" quest and all I can say is... Thank you.

 

These type of missions are exactly what we want! Defending a bomb to eradicate an Infestation was an absolute thrill and much better than defending the ole' Cryopod. The theme was grim and dark, much befitting the Infested. I am sure new players will enjoy the experience!

 

I can only request more missions and quests like this. Simple, lore-based, narratively-connected mission series' that build upon the universe.

 

Can we have these "Bomb defense" missions replace most infestation defense missions? It is a lot more thematic than defending a cryopod.

 

Also...

 

CASCADE BOMBS?!?!?!

 

((In Sci-Fi, these bombs are able to literally destroy every single living cell in an atmosphere, be it a ship, space station... or planet, depending on what one is triggered on.))

 

Btw, THANK YOU

[(PSN)IIIDevoidIII]

Moved to a more appropriate section.

[vaugahn]

I also quite enjoyed this quest. It was a bit below my power level, but it was at the very least entertaining.

 

Also, it's a good introduction to the infestation as a faction, it gives some background on why most infested are made out of Grineer, and it hands out some cool rewards to newbies. All in all a solid quest.

[Morec0]

As I said in another thread:

 

The quest is interesting, and really raises a lot of questions about the lore for me. Clearly the Lotus was wrong on SOME level about the Infested being "wipe out along with the Orokin" given the presence of Lephantis, but did the Grineer get their original samples from there or did they uncover something deeper? I hesitate to ask it, given Lephantis, but is THIS maybe why these Infested are so different from the Dark Sector ones? Grineer tampering? Were the Infested of the Orokin Era like the Dark Sector variants?

 

I'm also curious to see what more Tengus plays in the growing path of the Grineer. At first I was upset that it wasn't Regor, the geneticist, that was in charge of the project, but after a little thought it hit me: Tengus is the weapons man of the Grineer. The Grustrag, the new Infested, all of it falls under his jurisdiction: I don't know WHAT field he majored in, other than perhaps "Evil Scientists Liberal Studies", but he is DEFINITELY the biggest threat of the Grineer Scientific Mind. Regor likely has/had his own hand in all of it as well - either as a mentor for apprentice to Tengus - but he seems to be getting built up to be more consumed with his pet project - Grineer purification - than anything else (all the more reason to kill him).

 

Most interesting, though, was that ending: the spore "the Tenno took to unleash against us." I don't think Tengus was just talking out of his @$$: I think spores WERE stolen, and he's just shifting the blame. But the question is now: who stole them? Was it Tengus himself? That seems the most plausible, he swiped the spores to continue his research in secret, fearing that the breaches that happened under his watch would get his project shut down but not wanting to relent it, and, from there, everything spirals out of his control to unleash the Infestation upon the system - maybe even PURPOSEFULLY!

 

Is that what the Infestation missions are? A mad scientists testing out his biological weapon on even his own people? Maybe, maybe not.

 

But the second thought I had was maybe Tengus really DOESN'T know what happened, and so is shifting the blame to the Tenno. Maybe this is an early buildup to Alad V's descent into Infestation Research - early trials with it, before moving into Zanuka Program proper, that peaked his later blossomed interest in the field. It's unlikely to have been any other Corpus, Alad stated that most others don't like to work with genetics during our ship runs again him during that pre-New Eris event.

 

It's all so intriguing. So very fascinating.

 

--

 

Didn't know Cascade bombs were a thing in other Sci Fi, though. This is DEFIANTLY a thing that'll need to get brought up on Sunday.

[Armouredhunter]

I must admit that I found a number of things very interesting during the quest. One of which is the line that changes how we can see normal infested a bit. "They appear like mindless beasts and yet they know what we're doing and are trying to stop it." I know the popular theory is that the infested is of a hive mind, the fact that they can tell that we have a bomb, understand what it will do, and will kill us and it to stop it gives a new light on what the infested are to me.

[Imaru]

As I said in another thread:

 

The quest is interesting, and really raises a lot of questions about the lore for me. Clearly the Lotus was wrong on SOME level about the Infested being "wipe out along with the Orokin" given the presence of Lephantis, but did the Grineer get their original samples from there or did they uncover something deeper? I hesitate to ask it, given Lephantis, but is THIS maybe why these Infested are so different from the Dark Sector ones? Grineer tampering? Were the Infested of the Orokin Era like the Dark Sector variants?

I think that our infested look different from Dark Sector's because of Tengus's tampering, Alad V's implied tampering, and just evolution in general. 

 

Most interesting, though, was that ending: the spore "the Tenno took to unleash against us." I don't think Tengus was just talking out of his @$$: I think spores WERE stolen, and he's just shifting the blame. But the question is now: who stole them? Was it Tengus himself? That seems the most plausible, he swiped the spores to continue his research in secret, fearing that the breaches that happened under his watch would get his project shut down but not wanting to relent it, and, from there, everything spirals out of his control to unleash the Infestation upon the system - maybe even PURPOSEFULLY!

 

I would agree, I think it seems most likely that he took them. Maybe gave them to Alad V (unlikely due to the relations between Alad and the Grineer [The aggressive actions by Alad V will NOT be tolerated]) or some other contact with the resources to contain it. Only time will tell but I love where this is going. 

[Sitchrea]

-snip-

Yup, Though I am one to believe Tengus needed a scapegoat.

 

I know I didn't even touch an infested experiment tube when on that science base, they merely got out due to the Grineer freaking out about a Tenno.

 

Might I also mention that Grineer considered the Infestation a greater threat than the Tenno?

 

...A greater threat than the Tenno.

 

O.o

[Morec0]

Yup, Though I am one to believe Tengus needed a scapegoat.

 

I know I didn't even touch an infested experiment tube when on that science base, they merely got out due to the Grineer freaking out about a Tenno.

 

Might I also mention that Grineer considered the Infestation a greater threat than the Tenno?

 

...A greater threat than the Tenno.

 

O.o

 

They're right to. Even the Tenno fear the Infested.

 

Personally, though, I'm of the mind that the Infested would have gotten out whether or not we were there. The Grineer were playing with fire, it was only a matter of time before they got burned; fortunately, we Tenno were there to douse the inferno before it could spread... Sadly, someone took a torch and carried it off into the dry underbrush while we weren't looking.

 

F*** YOU TENGUS!!!!

 

But yeah, I'd wager ALL the people of the system fear the Infested more than they do the Tenno - might explain why the Corpus are hesitant to work with genetics, even when their "idols" (the Orokin) were supposedly brilliant geneticists.

[Imaru]

They're right to. Even the Tenno fear the Infested.

 

Personally, though, I'm of the mind that the Infested would have gotten out whether or not we were there. The Grineer were playing with fire, it was only a matter of time before they got burned; fortunately, we Tenno were there to douse the inferno before it could spread... Sadly, someone took a torch and carried it off into the dry underbrush while we weren't looking.

 

F*** YOU TENGUS!!!!

 

But yeah, I'd wager ALL the people of the system fear the Infested more than they do the Tenno - might explain why the Corpus are hesitant to work with genetics, even when their "idols" (the Orokin) were supposedly brilliant geneticists.

Well, all of the corpus but Alad V it seems. I mean the Hunt for Alad V event said that he was using the infested on Jupiter as a bio-weapon and the Suspicious Shipments further implied that he was working with the Infested. 

 

The Plot Thickens.

[Sitchrea]

Well, all of the corpus but Alad V it seems. I mean the Hunt for Alad V event said that he was using the infested on Jupiter as a bio-weapon and the Suspicious Shipments further implied that he was working with the Infested. 

 

The Plot Thickens.

 

$10 says Alad V makes Golem.

[Blakrana]

-snip-

 

I'm also curious to see what more Tengus plays in the growing path of the Grineer. At first I was upset that it wasn't Regor, the geneticist, that was in charge of the project, but after a little thought it hit me: Tengus is the weapons man of the Grineer. The Grustrag, the new Infested, all of it falls under his jurisdiction: I don't know WHAT field he majored in, other than perhaps "Evil Scientists Liberal Studies", but he is DEFINITELY the biggest threat of the Grineer Scientific Mind. Regor likely has/had his own hand in all of it as well - either as a mentor for apprentice to Tengus - but he seems to be getting built up to be more consumed with his pet project - Grineer purification - than anything else (all the more reason to kill him).

 

Most interesting, though, was that ending: the spore "the Tenno took to unleash against us." I don't think Tengus was just talking out of his @$$: I think spores WERE stolen, and he's just shifting the blame. But the question is now: who stole them? Was it Tengus himself? That seems the most plausible, he swiped the spores to continue his research in secret, fearing that the breaches that happened under his watch would get his project shut down but not wanting to relent it, and, from there, everything spirals out of his control to unleash the Infestation upon the system - maybe even PURPOSEFULLY!

 

Is that what the Infestation missions are? A mad scientists testing out his biological weapon on even his own people? Maybe, maybe not.

 

But the second thought I had was maybe Tengus really DOESN'T know what happened, and so is shifting the blame to the Tenno. Maybe this is an early buildup to Alad V's descent into Infestation Research - early trials with it, before moving into Zanuka Program proper, that peaked his later blossomed interest in the field. It's unlikely to have been any other Corpus, Alad stated that most others don't like to work with genetics during our ship runs again him during that pre-New Eris event.

 

It's all so intriguing. So very fascinating.

 

--

 

Didn't know Cascade bombs were a thing in other Sci Fi, though. This is DEFIANTLY a thing that'll need to get brought up on Sunday.

 

You make interesting points. I personally find the parallels to how the Infected were found in dark Sector interesting; seems new, turns out to be old, older than expected and very different. It's also worth noting that she both knew what the Infested were immediately, and insisted it shouldn't be possible, urgency stepping up as a result.

 

In as far as Tengus goes, I'm of the mind he was a) Scapegoating us and b) capitalising in epic fashion. Like you say, his whole thing is very much a case of 'you lie!'. But then, by painting it that way with only our silence to damn him, well...he gets a secure position to research 'infested countermeasures' without getting insinuated that he was the root cause. Considering he's in charge of the Grustrag Facility, and came up with the Grustrag Bolt, it makes you wonder what else he's up to.

 

It also begs the question; what was the actual intended function of an Infestation based Bio-weapon?

 

I must admit that I found a number of things very interesting during the quest. One of which is the line that changes how we can see normal infested a bit. "They appear like mindless beasts and yet they know what we're doing and are trying to stop it." I know the popular theory is that the infested is of a hive mind, the fact that they can tell that we have a bomb, understand what it will do, and will kill us and it to stop it gives a new light on what the infested are to me.

 

Agreed. If the Infested are capable of basic understanding of threats to survival outside what you'd think are obvious threats...this adds a number of chilling queries.

 

Firstly, how much sentience lingers in the feral horde, if any, or is it ascendant instinct? There is no mind, per say, but they retain some of the knowledge of their former host. Perhaps too much like the Flood, but a possibility.

 

Secondly...what if there really are thinking minds trapped in a living, writhing hell of their own flesh? Does the body act to the will of the new organism, but some part of the former person lingers until we bring them release? Could the Ancient and infested cries in general be a subconscious 'scream' of unknown torment?

 

 

Might I also mention that Grineer considered the Infestation a greater threat than the Tenno?

 

...A greater threat than the Tenno.

 

O.o

 

Well, put it like this.

 

A Tenno kills you. They may blow off your arms, legs, head, molecularly detonate you, set you on fire, convert you to energy, make you evaporate into energy, gas you to death, corrode you alive, drown you, magnetise your bones to themselves, crush, stab or freeze you to death, but they still just kill you.

 

The Infested either kills you, or infects you so you mutate into a shambling mass of flesh, driven on by who knows what, that, according to this quest, may actually not be as bestial as we may think. You won't be dead, you'd be a living prisoner of your own flesh wishing you were dead.

 

I know I'm not likely to pick the Infested as a 'way to go'. Hell, if I'm 'lucky' at least a Tenno would cut me down before I knew I was dead, should it come to that. Infested? Excuse me whilst I kill myself so I die human; the luxury we asked to be afforded given to Larry, when Suspicious Shipments rolled out.

 

Overall, this is a nice short quest for the new guys, and I really liked the different defence map to the normal set up. I'm hoping this is indicative of ever further expansion of the 'Infested' Tileset variations.

 

Happy hunting.