Young Squirrels?

So here I am, surrounded by a horde of demons on the Astral Plane. I am Jean Grey; this is my world. With a burst of mental energy, I send out a Psychic Shout. My enemies are blasted away. The few that survive are stunned at my immense powers. This is just the beginning.

For three hours I fight the rushing swarms. Cyclops guards my back with his laser eyes. Mmm, they are hot. Wolverine takes the right flank; the bodies do not calm the fury of his claws. Behind him, another. My Shout overwhelms the foes nearby. Again. Another wave. Again.

My body aches; I can barely stand. Please Scott. I need to breath; I need to think. Why do they keep coming? Why? My head. My head.

Again.

Where are they coming from? Scott!

My head. Is this a dream? Am I alive? Why are there so many? Where did Logan go? Where is Scott? Aaaahhhh! My Shout echoes throughout the stone corridor. Scott! I can't move. My legs are stiff.

Did he move? Did I see him move? What was that? Logan! Oh no, there are more. My head.

Again.

My head.

Again.

Again.



Then Pheonix awoke.

***
Or something like that. I totally didn't know Jean Grey kicks ass in X-Men Legends. I merely had her on my team so she could level up some. Then I noticed that the AI was doing wicked damage with her AoE attack. That's when I took control.

The power! Okay, we (Chill and I) were about level 28 when we entered the Danger Room mission. The DR missions test skill and help us level up if we're stuck. They only give items if you haven't beaten the mission, but they always give xp. And such xp we were given. Glorious xp!!!

The mission I'm referring to is the Graduation Exam 400. That'd be in the Senior class catagory. Basically you have to blow up 6 statues, defeat 25 enemies, 5 bosses, and protect Professor Xavier. It was really tough the first times through, but Chill and I eventually beat it. I think our team had been Iceman (me), Magma (Chill), Storm, and Jean. I figured Jean would be a good choice since it was on the Astral Plane (psychic realm of existence). Our AoEs took out a good chunk of the enemies. But Jean's was, by far, the best attack. Her attack can clear the entire screen. It does enough damage to kill most of the enemies. Those that survive have a sliver of life and are stunned for a while.

I had gotten Iceman and Magma up to level 37, and I thought I hit a limit. Our characters had 51 million xp at the start of 37. The xp to next level was 161 million. So I figured I'd have Jean run the other X-Men through the mission until they were all level 37. But then Jean level to 38, and again to 39. What? How could 111 million xp be that easy to acquire. I then re-read her xp required to level. 125 million required to hit 40! But ... but ... 161 to hit 38? Nope. It's a glitch. Some characters have extra pixels displayed next to the xp required. It wasn't a one; it was a line! A line! Arg! I could have been leveling our mains the entire time! Since non-party members gain a portion of the xp anyway (so they don't fall too far behind due to inactivity), Iceman managed to hit 38 while I was leveling the alts. So ... Jean is 41, Iceman & Magma are 40, and Wolverine, Cyclops, and Rogue are 39.

Wolverine was my favorite (he's the starting character) and Chill took a liking to Rogue. They both pack powerful slashes/punches, though Rogue is a bit slower. For some odd reason, we cycled them out and started playing Iceman and Magma. We couldn't go back. They're faster than the others and have more damage added to their melee attacks. They add 80-100 cold/fire damage to their melee attacks. I'm pretty sure Wolverine's Sharpness skill doesn't even add that much.

Now, from the get-go, Chill and I decided that the X-Men's shield powers kinda sucked. Attack is better than defense. And we stuck with that. Well ... Magma has a skill that will increase her damage if she's using her mutant shield. So I decided to put some ranks in that and in her shield. Chill really likes the shield. It makes Magma practically invincible. And she can bash things better. So I started exploring the other X-Men's shields.

For the skills, you can only see what the current rank in the skill does, and what the next rank will do. For the trees, you aren't able to look at the "higher" branches until you've filled the lower ones. The workaround on this is to fill the branches on one character, and then cycle through the character screens. It won't reset the cursor to a valid power; you can actually look at what that branch will do. And this is why I feel immense regret. I totally underestimated the "shield" power. Cyclops, for instance, can give +14 Strike +14 Agility to the entire team with the first rank of the third branch. (I don't know what the second and third ranks give.) +14! That's a remarkable amount! But I found out too late. The level cap is at 45, and Cyke is already 39. He will only be able to afford the first two branches, but not the third. Oh, the horror! Some of the other characters give team-wide bonuses, but they aren't that great. Wolverine's "shield" is Rage. It gives some minor damage resistance to start, but will add +5 Strike, +5 Agility, +5 Body, +30% movement/attack speed, and maybe some damage resistance. +30% speed! I liked Iceman because of his speed and output. Now Wolverine can totally clobber him. Though, Wolverine almost goes too fast.

It's a tough choice for who to have on our team now. I want Wolvie and Iceman, though I don't need both. Jean is crazy powerful, but I don't care for her. Using an AoE to blast everything on screen isn't as enjoyable as bashing it with claws/fists. Then again, Jean does at +80-100 mental damage to her melee attacks as well. Cyclops will be useful for his welding ability and Leadership (+damage +xp for combos). Though they generally have X-traction points (place to save and change characters) whenever an ability like weld is needed. Chill and I were totally lost on the Colossus level. Apparently we needed Jean to use her telekinetic power to move the machinery before Cyclops could weld it. Jerks. They said nothing about moving machinery! And now that I have the FAQ, I am invincible! Actually ... I was invincible once I found Jean Grey's hidden talent.

So ... we're almost done with the game. (Wooh! A game I can actually say I've beaten!) And I'll be needing X-Men Legends II. Hmm ... can I wait til my birthday? Doubt it.

***
I'm totally going to forget the follow-up for my title. Now it is time for me to study quickly and go to sleep. Jerky final in the morning! Chuck in the evening!