by: Tony "RadarX" Jones

The barren planet of Areaki is a vast change from the lush lands of Foreas, transitioning from streams and forests to lava flows and mountains.  As players step through the wormhole they will immediately be assailed by this violent environment and begin to see true combat in the making. What can you expect from this zone and what is there to do? How should you progress? Torden Plains is a level 20+ zone designed for players who have out leveled Concordia Palisades and provides an entry point on the planet. Here you will find numerous combat areas, control points, 3 instances, and a sizeable amount of missions to complete.  The purpose of this overview is to give you a general idea of what the Plains has to offer and cover some of the highlights. 

Abysmal Zone - This is from the latin meaning "Full of Beam Manta's that would enjoy nothing more than to swarm and shock the living crap out of you." What else is out here? Did we mention the large number of Beam Manta's swarming around? You'll have a mission or two and a Logos to get in this area but don't expect to hang out here much.

Bane Drill Control Outpost - To the far west of anything remotely like civilization the Bane are drilling for...something. You'll have to visit here for a Logos and a mission to track down a named for assassination. This is also the way to the Mires zone if you are passing through although it's much higher level content so very likely to be avoided.

Elir Post - To the northeast of the Irendas Penal Colony the Elir Post sits in a cave serving little purpose other than to provide a decent spot to respawn, sell your excess loot, and take a breather. Beware the occasional Bane ship drop however as at least one named wanders through the camp and can make short work of you especially with res sickness. A few missions will bring you here and you'll pick up a couple as well.

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Geyser Chimney Basin - Almost within view of the Irendas Penal Colony, the Geyser Chimney Basin Control Point is easily reached. All you have to do is run through a raging battlefield dodging squads of Bane and Stalkers. You won't find much in Geyser Chimney other than the basics like a teleporter, hospital and vendor. It is important to note this is a control point and frequently contested so not always the best place to go AFK.

Irendas Support Facility - The Irendas Support Facility is a large base located in the northeaster portion of Torden Plains and will provide a teleporter, merchant and hospital for players. This area is also a control point and is frequently overrun with Bane so take caution when standing around it. The Brann Water Refinery entrance is also located inside a building within the perimeter.

The instance itself is worth the trip out here but you'll have to stop by for your TOO anyway so make sure to grab the teleporter when the Bane aren't swarming it and trying to get inside.

Irendas Penal Colony - Like every other zone, there is a hub facility that provides a centralized and secure location for players to run through and travel between areas. Irendas will provide you with every type of merchant you can think of, crafting, and tons of missions that'll help make the leveling process easier. This is also the location of the wormhole from Foreas so it will be a pretty crowded place at times.

You'll find the Logos mission giver near the wormhole and readily be able to find a dozen missions which can completed solo. In the bottom of the large dormitory/medical facility you'll also discover the Phanin Research instance which will provide players an interesting experience fighting humanoid creatures with guns.

Lightning Fields - Far to the north just west of the Bane base that seems to appear in every zone sits the Lightning Fields Control Point. What purpose does it serve? Very little past the basics of a merchant, hospital and transporter, but expect Bane attacks on a regular basis If nothing else going out into the lightning fields themselves and watching the machines harness it is worth the trip.

Mt. Hellas - This well fortified facility is in a giant cavern that supports a command center and gives players a landing pad for fast access to other areas of the planet. Here you will find a number of missions for the surrounding area involving hunting and sabotage. A continuous battle rages outside but Mt. Hellas is not a control point and provides one of the safest places for you to be in the entire zone.

Viro Relay Tower - Viro Relay Tower is a strange oddity to those who think logically. Essentially placed on the eastern end of the zone, Viro is basically a giant radio tower that relays military traffic. It has no transporter, no troops, and no purpose other than a mission requiring you to go there.

Instances

Atta Colony - The Atta Colony is essentially a bug factory situated northeast of Irendas Penal Colony and will provide one of the most challenging instances in the zone. Acting like a giant anthill this area will give players a large number of missions to complete which results in countless Raid usage. It's important to note at least one mission in this zone is required to open up an access mission to the Phanin Research Facility. Due to the sheer difficulty of taking down an Atta anyone would be hard pressed to finish this zone on their own and should bring some friends along.

Brann Water Refinery - This very unusual instance is situated inside a building within the Irendas Support Facility meaning you'll very likely be attacking this control point just to get in the instance. You and your squad will be assisting an AFS assault on this facility by completing search and rescue, assassination, and sabotage missions. A worthwhile zone for anyone to try.

Phanin Research Facility - This will be one of your first encounters with the Phanin who are humanoid in nature and apparently don't like you. After fighting the close range Atta these are quite a change of pace having a full array of shotguns, rocket launchers, and anything else you are carrying. Located in the Irendas Penal Colony dormitory/medical facility at the very bottom this instance will provide you at least 3 or 4 of missions to complete and pretty fun experience.

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