HR Mission Breakdown: New Amsterdam

by Madam Marvelous
ID# 26130

As a hero, one of the earliest options you have to explore the game is by performing a Mission in New Amsterdam. 

Missions vary from the new Patrol feature in a few key ways. Both have a random element to what you will encounter, but Missions are started and finished on a pay the cost/reveal the encounter basis where Patrols are ongoing for a period of time, revealing a varied number of encounters. Each has a set number of key panels to be revealed to mark progress through the area. Missions have a varied number of panels that have mini-bosses interspersed within the unfolding story. Patrols have key panels with varied encounters (such as villain encounters, the Black Market, Skill Challenges, and Gyms) with some mini-bosses occasionally appearing.

Both have a varied encounter basis. Let's take a look at what it takes to complete and what you can encounter in the New Amsterdam mission as I try to work all the way through it. The cost is 1 Energy per attempt, so I will keep track of the energy I spend as I work my way through the Mission.

6 Energy (also 6 XP gained) first encounter with The Raptor. Being around Level 30, these encounters should be fairly easy, especially this first one. New heroes should have no problem defeating this winged wonder. Raptor has a Neutral core and when defeated is worth 3 additional XP and you will earn a Raptor's Ring as your reward.

One thing to note with Mission Fights is that you have 5 minutes to actually engage in the action. You MAY leave the encounter and switch gear or buff with consumables if you would like to without actually starting the fight first. When you are ready to face the Raptor, all you need to do is go to the Bosses Tab and selected the Raptor Fight which will be on a countdown timer until completed or time runs out. When you exit the battle screen once the fight is won and done, you will see that there is a battle summary for the encounter. Makes for some good reading it know what the end result is. Let's continue on the mission.

20 Energy (23 XP gained so far). Firebrand is the next mini-boss you will encounter. This fight puts you in the hot seat with the first opponent you must defeat multiple times to move on. Surprisingly, Firebrand also has a Neutral core, earns you an additional 4XP per defeat, and has a Fiery Power card worth 4MP on resale. (Do not tier this card. It is meant for either collecting or resale for MP for bigger and better purchases).

Each encounter may also reward players with various gifts of Bux, Keys (in this Mission, they are called BADGE Commendations) for challenging mini-bosses after collecting sufficient quantities, and other items (primarily during special in-game events).

The second encounter with Firebrand came 5 activations later, so at this point it is 25 Energy spent (37 XP earned as the second defeat of Firebrand earned 5XP instead of 4XP the first time. You will notice that based on your HQ choices, sometimes earned XP will vary. On some occasions, there will be a number that has a line drawn through it, such as this 1, and beneath or beside it, another lower number will appear). As you can see, your first few encounter with mini-bosses will happen fairly quickly. Enjoy that while you can. Let's move on.

You will see your progression on the Mission page with each icon becoming filled as you defeat the mini-bosses. Each time you complete the Mission through to the final boss, you will earn an X along the side covering the image of the final boss. There is a potential for more action after the final boss is defeated, but we will cover that later. For now, just be aware you can track your progress with the icons below the activation button. These will also identify when the Mission has been reset in game when the filled image disappears, meaning the Mission can be attempted again.

30 Energy (42XP) total spent so far and I have my first encounter with Valkyrie. (You are aware that every superheroes mother's first name is Martha by now, right?)

Defeating her will earn you 5XP and a 50% chance at getting her to drop her Arthurian Greaves. To continue on, you will need to continue the Mission and defeat her 2 additional times before you move on to the next boss. She is yet another villain with a Neutral core. 

It takes 3 Energy to encounter Valkyrie a second time and then 5 Energy for the third and final battle. That makes this Mission garner a cost of 35 Energy so far, earnings of a total of 64XP. As many players will be performing this Mission while below Level 10 for the first time, you can see that this will rack up the experience for you rather quickly. There is still one more mini-boss to defeat and then the big bad, so let's keep going.

58 Energy (and two Large More-Fun Bars) later, I cross paths with my favorite mini-boss in New Amsterdam, Impulse. This is the first villain who has an Elemental Core (Mental in this case), making them a bit more difficult if not properly prepared.  Defeating Impulse rewards a hero with 5XP and a Slip Pulse Power Card (worth 1MP in resale). Two more fights to go.

Second encounter, 11 Energy to reach, 5XP and a Slip Pulse earned.

Third encounter, 8 Energy more to reach, 6XP + Slip Pulse earned.

That brings me to the final mini-boss. 112 Energy spent, 157XP earned so far.

Earlier I mentioned keys. The BADGE Commendations collected so far in New Amsterdam (also earned if you complete New Amsterdam Patrol encounters) can help you defeat the mini-bosses and Big Bad bosses more quickly. If you go to the BOSS tab, you will find the Rogues Gallery with icons for each of them pictured with a key price to challenge. 

This is where a bit of well placed game strategy can come in handy. You may have collected consumables that help you gain Boss Key drops, such as the Key Chain or any number of other versions that may offer the ability. If you plan on doing a Patrol or Mission for a period of time, you can use this consumable to earn more keys and instead of repeating the Mission over and over, skip right to the mini-boss fights.

For instance, in a freshly reset New Amsterdam Mission, you can fight Raptor for the cost of 2 BADGE Commendations. That would save you the Energy expenditure of what it would take to trigger the encounter, or 6 Energy (or 6XP in this case). This is potentially a useful trick to perform. While some players may wish to use consumables or HQ features to bump up their XP gains to level quickly, as with the Energy Builds recently discussed in other articles, other want to slow roll and collect MP rewards with fewer XP gains.

Using keys to quickly defeat the mini- and Big Bad bosses, leaving you in a better position to challenge the Bronze, Silver, and Gold variants available after completing a Mission can be effective and cut back on how long it takes to reach that goal. First, let's see about defeating the final Big Bad boss, The Stygian. I'm going to use 4 BADGE Commendations to start the fight rather than waiting for it to trigger.

The Stygian fights with an Elemental core, and when defeated, has a reward of 10XP and a Tidal Mask head piece of gear.

112 Energy spent to get to this point, 167XP earned so far, and Power Cards collected worth 11MP in resale. Now we are to the point where we can fight the Bronze, Silver, and Gold variants and potentially earn bigger and better rewards.

The process is the same for encountering these higher-grade villains. One energy to activate a random encounter. Cross the paths with them, defeat them, and collect their rewards. They offer potentially higher grade Bronze, Silver, and Gold rewards, such as Power Cards, improved Gear, and Morphon Point rewards of 4MP, 6MP, or 10MP. I'll keep track of my encounters as I go and see what the end results are.

There is the option to spend keys, or BADGE Commendations in this case, to trigger a rematch, but the prices have increased, and continue to escalate after each is defeated. This is why I consider it best to use the keys to defeat the original level of villains and not these. Others may disagree. Make your decision after seeing the costs as I progress.

The first rematch I have is with Bronze Impulse. There is an additional reward potentially offered that wasn't there earlier. Bronze, Silver, and Gold-grade BADGE Combat Boots. Each version has a slightly improved stat bonus to them as you advance in the tiers. You should at some point have already found the standard pair of BADGE Combat Boots while performing the Mission, as well as potentially some Super Laser Eye Power Cards. 

Encountering Bronze Impulse too 31 Energy to activate. Still a Mental Core build, Impulse is a bit tougher and has more HP. The reward is 5XP, 4MP, and a Bronze Slip Pulse worth 1MP resale. The cost for the Silver Rematch has gone from 30 BADGE Commendations to 60 Commendations.

23 Energy more, and I cross paths with Bronze The Stygian (core:Elemental). Rewards are 10XP, 4MP, and the Silver The Stygian goes to a cost of 40 BADGE Commendations.

25 Energy more, and I cross the Silver Stygian. Still an Elemental core, but with a total of 1000HP needed to defeat them. This time, my reward is a bit more exciting. 10XP, 6MP, and a Captain's Tidal Mask.

As pictured to the right, the upgraded Tidal Mask has improved statistics, making it slightly more effective.

Continuing on, let's see what other rewards I can get.

This is one of my favorite panels that may show up as you perform this Mission. On occasion, you can earn a MP point when this is activated, which is a nice boon in honor of Stan Lee.

You will notice as you go through the Mission that some of the art has been used in the New Amsterdam Patrols, as well as some of the characters. Why fix what ain't broken, right?

(FYI - I did activate my Key Chain consumable while I did this to improve my key collection rate.)

As you can see by the confetti, I leveled while trying to find my next rematch. 

122 Energy spent while waiting to encounter the Raptor for the Bronze-tier encounter. Raptor(Neutral core) doesn't improve his Raptor's Ring during these rematches, so the rewards for defeating him are 3XP, 4MP, and the same ring you received facing him earlier.

A bit of advice while doing these encounters is to watch how much you use of your consumables. Don't waste your More-Fun bars and recharge fully when you only need to spend 3 energy to reach your next level, and don't forget to don your Hero's Capes if you are close to advancing your levels. Getting 30 MP instead of 10MP for your leveling reward is a nice bonus. The Silver Rematch goes to 20 BADGE Commendations.

As I stated above, you may run across additional items as rewards for completing your average, non mini-boss activations. This is where you may get the BADGE combat boots or Super Laser Eyes. You will see these at the bottom of the screen where as only Bux, spent Energy, and XP gains are shown at the top.

After 13 Energy more, I encounter the Bronze Valkyrie (Neutral core) rematch. The Arthurian Greaves do not improve either, so defeating Bronze Valkyrie earns 6XP, 4MP, and another pair of Leg Gear. The cost for the Silver Rematch goes to 40 BADGE Commendations.

12 Energy and I cross paths with The Gold Stygian(Elemental Core) and have a 4% chance of getting the improved Tidal Mask, which I do not. The rewards are 10XP and 10MP. This final match defeats The Stygian and they cannot be fought again until the Mission resets.

13 Energy later, Gold Impulse appears, and offers a 5% chance at an improved Gear drop. Again, luck isn't on my side so the reward is 6XP, 10MP, and a Gold Slip Pulse (1MP resale). Impulse is now off the list of possible rematches.

It took awhile again to reach the next rematch. 46 Energy brought me to Silver Valkyrie(Neutral core). Same chance at gear as before, so the gains were 6XP and 6MP and no pants this time. 

15 Energy brings me to my first rematch with Firebrand. With 500HP this time but a Neutral core once again, it is easily defeated. I do sadly have to report that if you win, you gain a Bronze, Silver, or Gold Firey! card, but it is only worth 1MP in resale compared to the standard Firey! Power card which is worth 4MP resale. I don't know why, but this is the only reward that decreases in value rather than remaining the same or improving. Still, it does put me one step closer to defeating all of the Rematch Bosses for the New Amsterdam Mission.

Another 15 Energy and I encounter Silver Firebrand. Improved HP again, 666HP this time, still a Neutral core, and rewards are 5XP, 6MP, and a Silver Firey!(1MP resale). The rematch key price jumps to 45 BADGE Commendations, so the overall pattern is that every rematch after defeating the improved bosses will double in key cost.

We are in the final stretch here. 13 Energy and I find the Silver Raptor(Neutral core). 3XP, 6MP, and another Raptor's Ring. 47 Energy and the Gold Raptor(Neutral core) shows up. 3XP, 10MP, and another Raptor's Ring(Resale of 200 Bux, if you are interested). Only two rematches left to go.

After 40 Energy, I finally locate the Gold Valkyrie. The HP for this villain have improved to 1125HP and the rewards are now 6XP and 10MP. No pants dropped, but since the are the standard pants, worth 40 Crystals in resale, I'm not horribly disappointed. Now, I am at the Highlander stage. There is only one left to defeat. Gold Firebrand!

It only takes 85 Energy, or tries, to activate this final rematch. Firebrand's health has improved to 833HP and as in all other appearances, has a Neutral core. I earn the final 5XP, 10Mp, and a Gold Firey! worth 1MP in resale value. Whew.

Let's review what it took to get here and what gains were made in the effort. 

First completion: 108 Energy and 55XP for defeating all the bosses the first time. That makes a total of 163XP gained. The XP from the initial searches to cross the villain's paths could be reduced to 0 by using BADGE Commendation keys to defeat the mini-bosses and Big Bad Boss, but the 55XP cannot be avoided. Resale value of 11MP from resale of the 2 Firey! Power Cards(4MP each) and 3 Slip Pulse Power Cards(1MP each). 

Completing the Rematches: Roughly 403 Energy was spent to activate all the rematches and the matches garnered a total of 89XP when added together after defeating them. The rewards granted from their defeats add up to 100MP and 6MP from resale of the different versions of Firey! and Slip Pulse.

There are also additional MP rewards from the Super Laser Eye Power Cards(Resale value 1MP) and the occasional Stan Lee panel are not being included in the totals as they will vary greatly from one completion to the next.

I earned a total of 655XP completing this entire Mission. It could have been lowered by use of BADGE Commendations to 547XP had I used keys for the initial mini-boss and Big Bad Boss encounters, leaving only the Rematches to run through. 117MP are guaranteed to be earned from going through the entire Mission. If you want to know the count collected in Bux and other Gear, do that math yourself as you do the Mission. I feel it will vary greatly based on individual run throughs. The XP values I accumulated will vary with each run as well, some higher, some lower.

It is up to each individual hero to decide if performing the entire New Amsterdam Mission is worth the XP gains for 117MP. The New Amsterdam Patrol offers chances at some more powerful Power Cards, and heightened quantities of Power Cards useful for resale. I think that the New Amsterdam Mission could be a useful source of Morphon Points for free and budget players who would like at least one Nova's Mystery Shuffle Triple Spin each month, even more so with combined efforts in the New Amsterdam Patrol first to help collect keys.

If this information is useful to you, please let me know. Next time I plan on doing my evaluation on the Planet X Mission, and if it resets for me, possibly the New Amsterdam Patrols. 

Thanks for reading,
Madam Marvelous

Update: (1/9/21) The HP of the mini-bosses and the Big Bad boss with vary in rematches based on your character level. The values encountered through my run through didn't match those of other attempts with other characters. 

Also, here is the General's Tidal Mask from the Gold Stygian