Filed under: City of Heroes

Massively Exclusive: City of Heroes previews the upcoming Mecha Armor

by Eliot Lefebvre Apr 18th 2012 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, Galleries, Screenshots, City of Heroes, Previews, Free-to-play

Yeah, I would have preferred they went with some of the less traditional hard-edged designs, but it's a nice balance between classic mecha and more modern aesthetics.

Do you dig giant robots? Of course you do. The team behind City of Heroes apparently likes them as well, seeing as how the game's next major update, Issue 23, allows you to dress up like one. The newest Tier 9 VIP reward is the Mecha Armor costume set, and the fine people at Paragon Studios were kind enough to give us a chance to take a sneak peek at the costume set before it's available on the test server.

The gallery below contains an image of a male, female, and huge character in the new costume set, complete with wings, backpacks, and other armor reminiscent of any number of Gundam designs. Like other Tier 9 VIP rewards, the armor will only be unlockable for a limited time, so if you're feeling a desperate need to play with these costume parts -- and we can't blame you -- it's best save up your reward tokens now.

Gallery: City of Heroes Core Gallery

Walk softly and carry a big stick with City of Heroes' new Staff Fighting powerset

by Matt Daniel Apr 17th 2012 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, News items, Free-to-play

In the high-fantasy-laden MMO space, staves have long been relegated to the realm of things-for-spellcasters-to-hold-while-finger-wiggling, but what happened to the good ol' days of just bludgeoning the daylights out of someone with a big stick? Well, thanks to City of Heroes, those days are back courtesy of the new Staff Fighting powerset, though there's no word as to whether it will also allow you to walk softly.

What it will allow you to do, though, is fight in one of three different forms (Body, Mind, or Soul), each of which provides you with a unique stacking buff that can then be consumed to execute the powerful Eye of the Storm and Sky Splitter abilities. The new powerset is available for the Brute, Scrapper, Stalker, and Tanker archetypes, and would-be kung-fu masters can pick it up from the Paragon Market for 800 Paragon Points.

City of Heroes Issue 23 to open Night Ward zone, end Praetorian War

by Justin Olivetti Apr 12th 2012 at 3:30PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Patches, Previews, Free-to-play

Issue 23's coming up for the caped villains and crusaders of City of Heroes -- the only question is who will survive when it finally arrives. Titled Where Shadows Lie, the update promises to bring an end to the Praetorian War arc, which has seen the demise of both Statesman and Sister Psyche and the emergence of Emperor Cole as the greatest threat the world has ever known. Players will soon be able to force a showdown with Diabolique in a new Magisterium Incarnate Trial.

The end of the Praetorian War isn't the only thing planned for Issue 23. Mid-range players will have a new stomping ground called the Night Ward to explore. Night Ward is a level 30 through 35 zone that lies between the worlds of the living and the dead and is host to vile creatures like Drudges, Black Knights, and Animus Arcana.

Other goodies on tap include a global LFG channel for all players, an interdimensional portal system for fast travel, and a new signature story arc series, costumes, and powers for VIP players.

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Positive charge

by Eliot Lefebvre Apr 11th 2012 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Business models, Opinion, Free-to-play, A Mild-Mannered Reporter

A Mild-Mannered Reporter header by A. Fienemann

PAX East this past weekend was indeed filled with revelations, but none of them had to do with City of Heroes or any other NCsoft game, really, so I can't even complain about one getting all the love while the others were ignored. And while I could probably try to spin a thousand words out of wanting to insert a Rock Band Blitz-style minigame into the game under discussion, I have the feeling I'd get some odd looks and a rejected column.

What I did have opportunity to consider, however, is how pretty much the only thing I've brought up in regard to the Paragon Market has been the many, many choices made regarding it that I consider debatable. The Super Pack and the numerous power sets both have been targets for negativity, and I honestly haven't said anything corresponding about the positives. This seems unfair on many levels. Sure, I think the implementation is sometimes dicey, but there are a lot of parts of the market that are great, and I happily doff my hat to the team for them. So instead of burying the shop, let's praise it.

The Perfect Ten: MMO tributes to real-life people

by Justin Olivetti Apr 5th 2012 at 10:00AM

Filed under: World of Warcraft, City of Heroes, Dark Age of Camelot, Dungeons and Dragons Online, EverQuest II, Culture, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, Star Wars Galaxies, Ultima Online, Guild Wars 2, Perfect Ten, Miscellaneous

When a beloved friend, family member, hero, or role model dies, we feel the pain of that loss and grieve in many different ways. Part of that grieving and healing process is often entails those left behind constructing some sort of tribute to the dearly departed. Sometimes this comes in the form of a shrine of flowers, sometimes it's the establishment of a charity, and sometimes it's creating an in-game memorial that thousands if not millions of people will see over the course of years.

So while death and illness are depressing topics to dwell upon, I find the many MMO tributes that studios and even gamers have erected to be inspiring and a celebration of individual players' lives. With the help of my fellow Massively staffers, I researched 10 wonderful in-game tributes that serve to honor the lives of fellow gamers.

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Countless marvelous powers

by Eliot Lefebvre Apr 4th 2012 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, A Mild-Mannered Reporter

There were a lot of reasons I decided to stop collecting Transformers a couple of years back, but chief among those reasons was the fact that it was increasingly a hunt for novelty over permanence. A new wave of toys was released, and fans were expected to buy the lot of them, admire the novelty, and then almost immediately move on to the next wave. The idea of new releases playing into past toys was increasingly left out in the cold, meaning that you could essentially just keep grabbing a new set of toys every two or three months rather than enjoying the ones you had.

Of course, Transformers are meant to be toys for children, so the marketing strategy is pretty defensible. But I'm beginning to wonder whether City of Heroes isn't adopting a similar attitude with the steady onslaught of new powersets. Since Freedom hit, we've seen an absolute explosion of new sets with new mechanics and new ways to play... but we've also seen a real dearth of anything tying players to a given powerset. It's novelty on a steady basis, but we might not have appreciated the slow pace of new sets before.

April Fool's jokes streak across the MMO community

by Justin Olivetti Apr 1st 2012 at 3:00PM

Filed under: World of Warcraft, City of Heroes, Guild Wars, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Humor, Free Realms, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Miscellaneous

It may be the weekend, but that's never stopped pranksters in the past from pulling off truly epic April Fool's jokes. Many MMO studios, bloggers, and fan site operators are lining up to take a shot at the jester's crown today, hoping that their blatant (and entertaining) lies will at least amuse, if not trick, players.

It would be fool-hardy (har har) to try to round them all up, so suffice it to say that office clowns have been quite busy thus far. From Star Wars: The Old Republic's announcement of playable ship droids and City of Heroes' offer of ludicrous marketplace sales to Blizzard's focus on educational kids games and StarCraft 2's playable supply depots to SOE scaring visitors with Chatdy, the gags are flying fast and furious. We might be the most impressed with a deeply detailed wiki entry for a Guild Wars mission called Annihilator 2: Searing Day, during which players are sent into the past to save Gwen from the G-1000.

If you've spotted any other pranks, please share them in the comments!

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Superheroish

by Eliot Lefebvre Mar 28th 2012 at 9:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Lore, Opinion, Free-to-play, A Mild-Mannered Reporter

This may already be clear, but I'm a pretty big fan of comics, superheroic or otherwise. City of Heroes first attracted me because, well, superhero MMO. Like most fans of the genre, I've been creating my own superheroes since I was old enough to think of an appropriate name, and the thought of being able to create these characters and throw them against all manner of villains was more than enough to pique my interest. I dropped my money on a boxed copy and never looked back.

Unfortunately, for all its strengths, City of Heroes isn't all that great as a superhero game.

It's clear that the people working on the game also know a lot about comics, and there's a definite sense that Paragon Studios works overtime at replicating the source material. But there's a lot of stuff that the game can't or won't handle, and as a result it's never felt like a game about superheroes so much as a game inspired by them. Most of the notes are there, but the music isn't, and I think I've finally nailed down a few reasons why.

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Digital Enhancements

by Eliot Lefebvre Mar 21st 2012 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, A Mild-Mannered Reporter, Crafting

Last week, I covered the raw basics of Enhancements in City of Heroes. This was a good place to start, but it also glossed over everything but the basics. It's telling that glossing over everything but the basics still involves stuff that's as bogglingly complicated as diversification, but then, there's a reason I decided to do these columns in the first place. But with all the basics out of the way, what more could there be to cover?

Lots, as it happens, because last week didn't touch upon dual Enhancements or Inventions, both of which cover the same ground and take into account the specifics of Enhancement Diversification and so forth. So for those of you wondering why I didn't talk about IOs, those still trying to get a handle on the system, or those just morbidly curious about how the game works, it's time to start in with the enhancements that broke the entire system in half more or less the second they were introduced: Inventions.

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Some Enhancement evening

by Eliot Lefebvre Mar 14th 2012 at 6:30PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, A Mild-Mannered Reporter

Using the Enhancement system is pretty important to playing City of Heroes successfully. It's a combination of both gear and (arguably) character specialization, and it's the main way that you increase your power over the course of your leveling. Sure, you get new powers as you level up, but your earlier powers remain your steadfast workhorses. Mastery of Enhancements is the path to being imbalanced.

Unfortunately, the Enhancement system is also really, really complicated.

I don't say this lightly; in fact, I say this specifically after a conversation with a fellow Massively staffer who has never fully understood how this system is supposed to work. Said staffer is an intelligent man, but the system is rife with corner cases, strange rules, exceptions, and several elements that are never really explained in full. So for all of the newer free-to-play people or old hands at City of Heroes who never really got the system, here's a primer on how Enhancements work.

Win a year's subscription by making a blockbuster City of Heroes poster

by Justin Olivetti Mar 14th 2012 at 4:30PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Super-hero, City of Heroes, Contests, Events, in-game, Free-to-play

Want to make your mark on a game world and get a year's subscription at the same time? Sounds like an achievement only a superhero would be capable of, right? Fortunately, Paragon Studios has an entire legion of super-powered imaginations at its disposal.

The studio has launched a contest in which players are challenged to create a City of Heroes-themed poster worthy of a blockbuster marquee. If you're interested, you have to be 13 or older and use non-copyrighted material to make a good-looking movie poster on your computer. Submissions have to be turned in by April 10th, at which time Paragon will choose a first-, second-, and third-place winner out of the heap.

Each winner will have a chance at seeing his or her poster put into the game itself, and all will win free subscription time (first place gets a full year, second place six months, and third place three months).

This contest may be part of a larger plan for City of Heroes. In her latest producer's letter, Melissa Bianco wrote, "We're already on our final push for Issue 23 polish, in pre-production on Issue 24, and putting some exciting new content into place for the summer. You may have heard whispers, but it will be fun. Think: popcorn."

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: That's really super, Super Pack

by Eliot Lefebvre Mar 7th 2012 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Business models, Culture, Opinion, Free-to-play, A Mild-Mannered Reporter

So, the Super Pack is out. Not a whole lot has changed in City of Heroes as a result. The skies have not been raining fire any more than they already do on a regular basis (superheroes, you know the deal). People still log in and play and enjoy themselves. And my enormous ranting diatribe still sits in the archives for anyone who missed it the first time or just wants to take a second look for posterity.

My feelings haven't changed. But while launching into a full-on rant was certainly cathartic and managed to hit a lot of good points, there were a lot of good points brought up in the comments that I simply hadn't touched on. So it's time to address some of the those ideas and complaints, both the good and the bad. (Although under the circumstances, it's pretty much all bad in varying flavors.)

City of Heroes goes beastmode

by Elisabeth Cardy Mar 7th 2012 at 3:30PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Patches, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries

The Mastermind archetype in City of Heroes is in for a treat with a new primary power set in the form of Beast Mastery! Masterminds will soon be able to call upon all sorts of animal allies to harry their foes. The Intrepid Informer: Issue #19 introduces the new power set and goes into great detail about its function.

The Beast Master's pets, which range from a swarm of stinging insects up to a dire wolf, have limited ranged attacks but are potent in close-quarter combat. To make up for that, the Beast Mastery power set includes three blast attacks that can help Masterminds take control of the battlefield. Secondary powers can help define the way that a Beast Master interacts with summoned pets. A more defensive or supportive secondary power set will allow players to heal or buff their pets through battle, while Storm Summoning and other potent offensive power sets will help weaken foes before they become too much of a threat.

Along with some tasty abilities, Beast Mastery also brings a new mechanic to the game: Pack Mentality. This buff can stack up to 10 times and boosts Beast Mastery pets' damage by 2% each time it's applied. Additionally, Pack Mentality fuels Fortify Pack, a player-based AoE Defense and Regeneration buff that helps protect offense-oriented pets. This allows players to decide when their pets need to go into all-out damage mode or play it safe to get through a tough battle.

The Beast Mastery power set has been a long-time request from fans of the game, so start cooking up an origin story and taste the sweet, sweet reward for all your patience!

Why I Play: City of Heroes

by Brianna Royce Mar 7th 2012 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Opinion, Free-to-play, Sandbox, Why I Play

When I first sampled City of Heroes, I was just recovering from a nasty break-up with Star Wars Galaxies and looking for a new roleplaying paradise. What I found after a month was that I had a lot more fun planning my next character using the little booklet that came with the box than I actually did grinding my way up through the levels. That early version of the game... was not good.

Fast-forward a few years to the Paragon Studios takeover and the implementation of the Mission Architect. I fell in love all over again. It took several years (and all the improved content those years enabled), but the game eventually became something I wanted to play.

And I'm going to tell you why.

City of Heroes launches Issue 22, and it's going to be a killer

by Eliot Lefebvre Mar 6th 2012 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, Trailers, Video, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Patches, News items, Free-to-play

Alas, poor Statesman! I knew him, Manticore.

If you've been looking forward to Issue 22 of City of Heroes, your wait is finally over. The new issue, Death Incarnate, hit the live servers just this afternoon. That means the inclusion of new powersets for Controllers and Dominators, a newly revamped experience in Dark Astoria for solo Incarnates, buffs for Stalkers and Gravity Control, and new content for low-to-mid-level characters. In other words, no matter how you want to play, you're likely to find something in the latest patch to get excited about.

Need a little more convincing? Well, there's a lovely new trailer for the update to help get everyone ready to charge into the newfound circus of death. There's also a new developer diary discussing the fine points of Darkness Control, the new powerset included for free for all VIP subscribers. All told, it's a good collection of toys for City of Heroes players, even if it might behoove said players to fear the reaper just a little bit more.

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