City of Heroes

[Ranis]

After seeing the trailer for Marvel Universe Online, I realized I'm not getting my daily recommended dose of Super Hero.

This is bad.

So, I'm thinking about giving City of Heroes a spin. I'd like to know some things, and have some questions to anyone who has played the game:

1. What did/do you like best about the game?
2. What did/do you not like at all about the game?
3. Is there an even amount of group and individual play?
4. If I do get City of Heroes, what class do you recommend?
5. Are the healers fun to play?
6. Is the PVP balanced?
7. Is there a wide enough item stratification to have a balance in PVP while retaining rich PVE?
8. How is the PVE?

Thanks in advance, guys. :D I may not be around for the better part of today to respond to anything, I have a project and my dad's having his gallbladder removed today :smalleek:, so I'll get back here when I can. :D

[Cybren]

I enjoyed how easy it was to form a group and complete missions. I loved the character creation and found the games combat be be more engaging than the average MMORPG

I did, however, dislike the repetitiveness of the gameplay, and the lack of "twitch" gameplay. The lack of meaningful PVP was also depressing, especially considering what they could have done with the genre. Their constant rebalancing patches got out of hand considering how the biggest problems were never fixed. Instead of making blasters better, the solution was to make Scrappers worse and ingore everyone else. This is pretty much my criticism of every MMORPG since eternity.

I'd suggest not getting the game as i would suggest not getting any MMORPG, as it's likely you will play it for a month and not like it and quit, or play it for a month, not like it but continue to play since you're paying a monthly fee and can't figure out how to de-subscribe since all MMORPG companies have horrible customer service.
And uhh, there's no such thing as items. At all. You get "enhancements" that boost powers but there's no "loot" or anything.

[Ranis]

And uhh, there's no such thing as items. At all. You get "enhancements" that boost powers but there's no "loot" or anything.

Wow, what? 0.0

Okay, thanks for your input, Cybren. Anyone else have any comments?

[Pyre]

It's a fun game, played it, took a break, playing it again.

I agree a lot with the other poster. Character generation is probably the best thing about the game. Choosing a cape at lvl 20, and an aura at lvl 30 is a fun part of that as well.

Missions get very repetitive after a bit. Best thing to do is to find several people you enjoy playing with. Really, grouping with people that are good and fun is to me crucial in this game, maybe a bit more so then in others.

I play villian-side, personally. From what I've seen and heard it has more style and is generally more fun, though hero side seem to have the 'better' classes/powers and have an easier time of it in general. I'd recommend going villian.

[Ranis]

Another question-how does the population system work? Like, are there different servers that players attend to, or like a district system like in Guild Wars?

[sun_tzu]

After seeing the trailer for Marvel Universe Online, I realized I'm not getting my daily recommended dose of Super Hero.

This is bad.

So, I'm thinking about giving City of Heroes a spin. I'd like to know some things, and have some questions to anyone who has played the game:

1. What did/do you like best about the game?
2. What did/do you not like at all about the game?
3. Is there an even amount of group and individual play?
4. If I do get City of Heroes, what class do you recommend?
5. Are the healers fun to play?
6. Is the PVP balanced?
7. Is there a wide enough item stratification to have a balance in PVP while retaining rich PVE?
8. How is the PVE?

Thanks in advance, guys. :D I may not be around for the better part of today to respond to anything, I have a project and my dad's having his gallbladder removed today :smalleek:, so I'll get back here when I can. :D

1)CoH's character generator gets a lot of praise - all of it deserved. Personally, I also love the game lore (though admittedly they did a better job for City of Villains on that aspect).
2)Grinding. It is kinda repetitive.
3)Depends. Me, I'm a soloer - I choose to do some 95% of my playing without a group (though I could probably get teammates for most of it if I wanted). Some parts can't be done solo, though.
4)Er, that kinda depends on what you want. Personally, I love playing Tankers - not too much worry about dying every few fights.
5)Can't help you there, my only healer is level 8. I was too busy getting my main character to 50.
6)I have very, very little experience with PvP in this game. To be honest, I think most people are in the same position. Somebody once said on the forums, "PvPers take the fun out of PvP zones".
7)There isn't really much in the way of items yet, though it looks like they're planning to change that very soon with Issue 9 (the next free update, currently on the test server).
8)Repetitiveness aside? Me likey.


Another question-how does the population system work? Like, are there different servers that players attend to, or like a district system like in Guild Wars?
Different servers, yes - 11 in total. Personally, I put my main characters in the "Virtue" server - the "unofficial RP server" of sort.

[Dib]

I have unfortunately not had the chance to play CoH (or CoV) before, as my graphics card was too lame to support it, and I have no kind of income (still being a jobless teen going to school. Though once I did buy CoV (i'm a fan of villains) and m dad said he'd pay for it for me, and that was when I found out about the graphics card. But anyway, I've only read about it, and would have to say it is more than worth the buy. Go for it!!

[Ranis]

Well, with all of this input, I have decided to pick it up and try it out. Just one more question, guys-does the game itself come with a month or two of play, or will I have to pick up a card when I buy the game as well?

[sun_tzu]

Well, with all of this input, I have decided to pick it up and try it out. Just one more question, guys-does the game itself come with a month or two of play, or will I have to pick up a card when I buy the game as well?
Don't take my word for it, but I think the first month is free (I know I bought all of my game-time online.)

[Deleran]

1. What did/do you like best about the game?
2. What did/do you not like at all about the game?
3. Is there an even amount of group and individual play?
4. If I do get City of Heroes, what class do you recommend?
5. Are the healers fun to play?
6. Is the PVP balanced?
7. Is there a wide enough item stratification to have a balance in PVP while retaining rich PVE?
8. How is the PVE?


I don't play ATM, but I really have to say that this is my favorite MMO, so why not, I'll answer these questions as of the last time I played (late last year).

1) I always felt that the combat (the core gameplay element) was more exciting in this game than in other MMOs.

2) It still, however, gets repetitive.

3) Yes, the instanced missions (the vast majority of what you're going to be doing) scale depending on level and number of characters in the party. The LFG engine is very helpful and because there's no notable loot, most people will be interested in grouping up.

4) Scrapper is a good first time character.

5) I like my corrupter. Healing is pretty different than in most other MMOs.

6) Not even remotely.

7) Whosawhatnow?

8) Depends, can be exciting, can be kinda grindy. I always liked it best in a large group with the difficulty just slightly too high, so that things were exciting.

[Ranis]

7) Whosawhatnow?

Sorry, should clarify. In Guild Wars, you actually make separate characters for PVP, the level cap is low, because the game is centered around PVP, balance, equality, and teamwork. This, however, causes the PVE to blow chunks because there is no loot stratification, i.e. all they can really do to make things interesting is just give old items new skins, to make them look better.

In WoW, the loot stratification is so vast that PVP is essentially rock-paper-scissors. If class A meets class B, class A wins, but class C always trumps class A. At least, this is my experience. But, the PVE in WoW is absolutely phenomenal.

I'm basically asking if CoH balances this out, which, after doing research into the game, it just might. I'm downloading the newest patch right now, and when that happens, I'm gonna roll my first character and see where I go with it.

[Suraht]

After seeing the trailer for Marvel Universe Online, I realized I'm not getting my daily recommended dose of Super Hero.

This is bad.

So, I'm thinking about giving City of Heroes a spin. I'd like to know some things, and have some questions to anyone who has played the game:

1. What did/do you like best about the game?
Character Creation, hands down.


2. What did/do you not like at all about the game?
It can get very, very repetitive.


3. Is there an even amount of group and individual play?
You can solo all the way to 50, or group all the way to 50. There are a few group only things, but 90% of the game is soloable.


4. If I do get City of Heroes, what class do you recommend?
I like defenders personally, but....


5. Are the healers fun to play?
...For your own sake, do not go on the defender forums and ask about playing a healer. Defending is about much, much more than the pretty green numbered heals some of the defender primaries can throw out, and in fact, once you get into the level 22+ game, healing will take a far backseat to all the buffing and debuffing out there as far as defenders go.
Yes, this applies to even the best healing AT, Empathy...the buffs there are incredibly good, and properly applied, can nearly eliminate the need for healing.


6. Is the PVP balanced?
Depends on who you ask and what aspect you're referring to.


7. Is there a wide enough item stratification to have a balance in PVP while retaining rich PVE?
There are no imbalances in items, even with the upcoming addition of the invention system. Everyone has a roughly equal chance to get their hands on the best enhancements...and the best are not necessarily a huge advantage in any regard.


8. How is the PVE?
Well written storylines, fairly colorful and varied enemy groups, and some incredible zones to run around in. Getting a travel power at level 14, and getting temporary versions that will hold you over until then at level 5-10 is very nice. You will not be able to experience all of the story arcs on one character...there is a large enough offering of them up until level 30 you will outlevel a decent amount the first time through. It can still get repetitive, though.

Edited to add: There is also a feature that I wish other games would implement here, the Sidekick/Exemplar(or Lackey/Malefactor, depending on which side of the law you're on). Basically, once characters hit level 10, they can artificially raise or lower their or a friend's level for a little while to enable two characters with a large level disparity to play together. There are a few things to note about it, such as if a person raises their level like this, they don't get the new power choices that would come with raising their level naturally, and if a person lowers their level like this, they temporarily lose all the powers that they selected after the level they lowered themselves to.


Another question-how does the population system work? Like, are there different servers that players attend to, or like a district system like in Guild Wars?
Yep, as said, it's all servers. However, there is a nifty global chat feature that allows you to talk to anyone on any server. When you log in, you will be assigned a 'Global ID', which is usually the name of the first character you log in with(if you hate it, you have the option to change it one time). If you know someone else's global ID, you can send them a global friend request, and if they approve, you'll be able to see whenever they're online, and on what character. There are also Global Chat windows, which have to be joined or invited to, and these work like a cross zone and cross server broadcast channel...only with much less idiocy, as people can be kicked from these.

[Lugat]

1. What did/do you like best about the game?
In-game lore and the single best character generator I know

2. What did/do you not like at all about the game?
Grinding and blasters sucking. Other than that, the typical MMORPG flaws, like stupid patches.

3. Is there an even amount of group and individual play?
Yes, you can play solo but I'd suggest getting a team once in a while just to know you're not alone out there.

4. If I do get City of Heroes, what class do you recommend?
I recommend defenders, they rock.

5. Are the healers fun to play?
Healing is nearly nonexistant in CoH/CoV, it's all about damage mitigation and buffing. Don't ask a defender: "r u healer?" unless you are prepared to be flamed to oblivion or ignored ^^

6. Is the PVP balanced?
Never liked PvP...

7. Is there a wide enough item stratification to have a balance in PVP while retaining rich PVE?
No items yet, the crafting system will hit the servers with the next issue (big content update), I think.

8. How is the PVE?
It can get grindy but there are nice little details to discover in most missions and some zones are designed really well.

[Ranis]

After purchase thoughts on City of Heroes:

Well, I installed the game, one CD had apparently 4 discs-worth of material for install, and it took about 10 minutes, and it was very smooth. The patch took roughly 30 minutes to install, which wasn't bad, because I should have been studying anyway. :P I got in, and spent like, an hour making my Defender. The creation system was phenomenal. It was seriously impressive how many different varieties of costumes I could use, and one of these days I'm going to make a totally bizarre hero just for the hell of it. Teehee.

So, I went through tutorial island, and it was a bit strange getting used to the fact that right-clicking the mouse to move the camera wasn't inverted, like I wanted it to be. So far, that's been my largest handicap is the damn camera, but that's because I've played Guild Wars for so long, and it's the opposite there. But anyway.

I made a Kinetics/Mental Defender, and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. After doing a couple of the first missions, I realized that there....aren't any other maps for baddies to camp in, at least none that I've seen on the Atlas Park map. It seems the game has the really nice, huge maps for players to grind in and such, and all of the mission zones are apparently exactly the same. This isn't too much of a problem, though-at least not right now.

I got a random invite when beating up some punks taking this lady's purse, and joined-there were like 10 people, all of them higher level than myself. The party leader couldn't type worth a damn, but I think it didn't really matter all that much in the end; I was having fun. The best part was, I figured that this game had been min/maxed out and that, because I was a defender, they would expect me to heal. But, the exact opposite happened-they actually liked my skillset! And, joked with me! It was awesome.

So, I'm happy with my purchase. I'll probably definitely be picking up another month's worth of villain-trashing, but overall it's pretty swell. Thanks for everyone who put in their two cents about the game, and I can't beleive I haven't tried this before.

[Suraht]

After purchase thoughts on City of Heroes:

Well, I installed the game, one CD had apparently 4 discs-worth of material for install, and it took about 10 minutes, and it was very smooth. The patch took roughly 30 minutes to install, which wasn't bad, because I should have been studying anyway. :P I got in, and spent like, an hour making my Defender. The creation system was phenomenal. It was seriously impressive how many different varieties of costumes I could use, and one of these days I'm going to make a totally bizarre hero just for the hell of it. Teehee.
There are people who spend more time in the costume creator than in the game. And eventually, you'll be able to unlock extra costume slots, and change between them as wanted.


So, I went through tutorial island, and it was a bit strange getting used to the fact that right-clicking the mouse to move the camera wasn't inverted, like I wanted it to be. So far, that's been my largest handicap is the damn camera, but that's because I've played Guild Wars for so long, and it's the opposite there. But anyway.
So, let's fix that for you. Open up the options menu(click 'Menu' on the UI piece that shows your HP and Endurance, and then look for options), and click the controls tab. In the 'Mouse' section of this window, you'll see a 'Mouse Movement' option. Change it to inverted, and you're good to go.


I made a Kinetics/Mental Defender, and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. After doing a couple of the first missions, I realized that there....aren't any other maps for baddies to camp in, at least none that I've seen on the Atlas Park map. It seems the game has the really nice, huge maps for players to grind in and such, and all of the mission zones are apparently exactly the same. This isn't too much of a problem, though-at least not right now.
If I may make a recommendation, for the rest of your characters, start off in Galaxy City instead of Atlas. Atlas gets the lion's share of the idiots, the costume contests, and the like. Galaxy is nice, calm, and peaceful as far as player quality goes...I've actually seen questions answered there without massive idiocy getting in the way.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'other maps for baddies to camp in'. You'll eventually see other city zones and hazard zones, which have different mixes and concentrations of villainy within them.

For now, all your mission maps are going to look like that one office building, but it will eventually start working in the blue caves, brown caves, labs, sewers, etc. But you will see a lot of the same maps over and over...although there are some nifty one time only maps.


I got a random invite when beating up some punks taking this lady's purse, and joined-there were like 10 people, all of them higher level than myself. The party leader couldn't type worth a damn, but I think it didn't really matter all that much in the end; I was having fun. The best part was, I figured that this game had been min/maxed out and that, because I was a defender, they would expect me to heal. But, the exact opposite happened-they actually liked my skillset! And, joked with me! It was awesome.

Dirty little secret: Kinetics is an amazing buff and debuff set. Speed Boost(when you get it) will become the ingame equivalent of crack for most people. Transference(much later) and Fulcrum Shift(even later) will be very sought after powers by players who know what they're doing. Even dirtier little secret: your heal gives more HP than the "healer's" aura heal, because you have that nasty little to hit check.


So, I'm happy with my purchase. I'll probably definitely be picking up another month's worth of villain-trashing, but overall it's pretty swell. Thanks for everyone who put in their two cents about the game, and I can't beleive I haven't tried this before.

Welcome to Paragon. What server did you manage to land on?

[Ranis]

Welcome to Paragon. What server did you manage to land on?

Thanks, Surhat! It's very much appreciated. I picked the first server at the top, I think it was...Virtue? Maybe? ((I'm embarassed that I can't remember.))

My character's name is Ranis Candor. Msg me sometime, will ya? :D

[sun_tzu]

Well then...Welcome to the city of heroes.:smallsmile:

[Sornas]

A friend is getting me back into this sometime within the next month or two, so once I get back in, if you really are on Virtue, I'll throw you a tell. ^_^ My main is around level 34-35, and is an Archery/Devices Blaster.

And because I feel like it:
1. What did/do you like best about the game?
I have been playing CoH/CoV on and off for a while now, and I love the character customization and RP options, as well as the pacing of the combats. (Much more action oriented than other MMOs)

2. What did/do you not like at all about the game?
Not much else to do other than combat and RP. Tends to get repetitive after a while.

3. Is there an even amount of group and individual play?
Just about anything can be done either way, albiet with a different time investment, there are a few missions that can't be done solo, but there is a way to drop missions so you can bypass those if you insist. I personally love teams though.

4. If I do get City of Heroes, what class do you recommend?
I'm partial to blasters/controllers personally, but Tankers are already in demand.

5. Are the healers fun to play?
Sure, empaths can be fun, but if you think all defenders are healers, or that a "healer" is required, you will get yelled at. Most likely by me. Other kinds of defenders are just as effective, if not moreso.

6. Is the PVP balanced?
I didn't do a whole lot of it, so I don't really know.

7. Is there a wide enough item stratification to have a balance in PVP while retaining rich PVE?
There aren't any equipment or "items." Just enhancements that everyone has fairly equal access to, so yes. You can customize how they are set up for individuality, but you dont have to worry about not getting them in the first place.

8. How is the PVE?
The combat is fast and interesting, the groups are fairly varied, and, while a little repetitive, the missions can be quite fun in the less-generic ones.

[Rob Knotts]

1. What did/do you like best about the game?
2. What did/do you not like at all about the game?
3. Is there an even amount of group and individual play?
4. If I do get City of Heroes, what class do you recommend?
5. Are the healers fun to play?
6. Is the PVP balanced?
7. Is there a wide enough item stratification to have a balance in PVP while retaining rich PVE?
8. How is the PVE?

1 - Character generation, at least as far as regular male characters go. The sliders and costume options are well done, and the power selection, while not spectacular, still works out pretty well.

2 - Oh, where to start? There are three types of character bodies available: male, female, and huge. The female and huge character bodies are pretty poorly done, especially if you try to customize any of the proportions. Increasing a female character's muscles really only increases her bust and hips, and musculular huge characters look like childish cartoons with tiny heads, feet, and hands.

Player characters can't choose to just walk. Seems petty, but when you play a few hours a day for 2 or 3 years, it can really get on your nerves. Once again it's the female and huge characters who really suffer here. Huge characters look absolutely ridiculous when running, and all female characters run "like a girl" (elbows in, not really leaning forward, poor running posture in general).

There's also the weapon choices. Only about half the possible characters have access to weapons, but they seem more like the devs were just lifting weapon animations from other games rather than actually thinking about what supeheroes might actually use. It's not unusual for superheroes to run around with broadswords, axes, katana, and Wolverine claws (it's a wonder anybody even risks commiting a crime in Paragon City). Staves, nunchucks, or even just baseball bats would seem a lot more appropriate.

Last and least, there's the Nerf Super-Soaker guns. Ranged heroes have the option of using a bow or a rifle, but the rifle is just downright stupid. Intended to be a "jack of all trades" rifle that can fire bullets, shotgun shells, ice, fire, etcetera, the devs decided to reflect this by making the gun look as toy-like as possible. To begin with, if you're talking about a superhero using a gun, pistols seem more appropriate than a rifle anyway, but the swiss-army rifle the devs chose to go with is a big disappointment both in appearance and function.

3 - The game is focused on team play, but makes some accomodation for solo play. Playing with a team can advance a character faster, but it can also lead to a lot of frustration when players choose to ignore weaknesses of thier character on team and just focus on thier strengths (very common among Blasters and Scrappers).

4 - Tanker or Controller. Both are seen as support characters in a team, but on thier own either one has a lot of tactical potential.

5 - Can't say, but there never seem to be any around when you're forming a team...

6 - You can't really solo in PVP, not every effectively anyway. Usually you need at least a two-man team, one to keep the target from running away and one to do the real damage.

7 - As already said, items really aren't all that important in the game, but Issue 9 is likely to change that quite a bit. The big payoff for supergroups is to be able to sieze Items Of Power from enemy groups, but that doesn't seem to have worked out (my supergroup doesnt' really have any interest in base raiding, so I've never tried it personally).

8 - The PVE is the main focus of the game, and overall it's quite good, but at lower levels (15-20 depending on who you ask) it can be very, very repetitive.

[Ranis]

Yes, it is Virtue. I've met some stellar people on this server, and gotten much more assistance learning the game than I thought I would. It's quite fun, and I'm just beginning to see the seemingly infinite combinations of characters that you can make. Impressive.

Once again, my character's name is Ranis Candor, and right now, that's also my global handle. So, anyone feel free to hit me up ^^

[Sornas]

Yes, Virtue is awesome. ^_^ (Best community, if you ask me, and the unofficial RP server to boot.)

Once my buddy gets the game going, (Likely after finals week), expect a tell from Mountie Lad. (Who I swear is a serious RP character.)

[Ranis]

Sounds like a plan, my friend! I'll see you there :)

[Pyre]

Is it at all possible to transfer characters to a different server?

[Rob Knotts]

Not at the moment, no, but it's supposed to be in the works.

[Arlanthe]

Seek the other thread about it somewhere.

1. What did/do you like best about the game?
Character creation. Period.
2. What did/do you not like at all about the game?
Extrmely repetetive. Limited content types. Flat. Can't play over logn periods.
3. Is there an even amount of group and individual play?
Room for both, but you'll need help sometimes.
4. If I do get City of Heroes, what class do you recommend?
No preference.
5. Are the healers fun to play?
As fun to play as anyhtign else, but you'll need to group more.
6. Is the PVP balanced?
No.
7. Is there a wide enough item stratification to have a balance in PVP while retaining rich PVE?
There are no items. Only enhancements. They are boring.
8. How is the PVE?
Very limited. About three or four task types, over, and over, and over.

I play about one month every nine months. I get tired of it after four weeks, but It's worth playing every once in a great while. Really, it's pretty simpleminded, but creating characters is fun.

[Overlard]

1. What did/do you like best about the game?
Character generation and the story.
2. What did/do you not like at all about the game?
The grinding's no worse than most other MMORPGs, but it's still grinding.
3. Is there an even amount of group and individual play?
There's more team play in CoH, more individual in CoV.
4. If I do get City of Heroes, what class do you recommend?
Scrappers are simple to learn the ropes with, but personally I love Controllers (almost as much as I love Dominators in CoV)
5. Are the healers fun to play?
It depends how you play them. In CoH, you'll still be able to make a contribution to the battles damage-wise, as well as heals, buffs & debuffs. There are players who concentrate solely on healing, which must be dull to play, plus they're not as effective as well-rounded healers with other abilities.
6. Is the PVP balanced?
Not entirely, no. But it's a comparatively small part of the game. But any class can be built for PVP, and it'll always be fun.
7. Is there a wide enough item stratification to have a balance in PVP while retaining rich PVE?
As other people have said, there aren't items. Which makes sense given the setting. But the invention system will change this, so we'll have to see how that pans out.
8. How is the PVE?
Interesting enemies, storylines and challenges. It can get repetitive, but if you find some friends and team with them, it's fun anyway.

[Ranis]

My thoughts on the Enhancement system:

I love it. It's genius.

See, in all of the other MMORPG's I've played, you make a PuG to do a dungeon, and the player whose boss doesn't drop or whose mob doesn't spawn just ducks out, and that quite often destroys the group, especially when Mr. Whiney is a healer or main tank.

But, in CoH-there's no item whoring, because there are no items. Every single person I've played with, every single one, has been playing because they're having fun with the game. It's an extremely amazing experience.


(Best community, if you ask me, and the unofficial RP server to boot.)

I totally agree. I like reading the info of peoples' heroes' backgrounds, it's pretty interesting sometimes. :)

[Arlanthe]

So... the soluton to content some antisocial tools can't handle, is to eliminate said content, watering down the game?

I don't think it is genius. I think it is a cop out.

[Wehrkind]

Well, it removes tools. It also removes a level of depth, which is why I lost interest in CoH/V. But then I have at least one person to play any game with, and usually 2-3, so grouping is less of an issue. I do give CoH credit for trying to deal with the problem instead of ignoring it like so many games.

To quote Penny Arcade, the problem with playing multiplayer games online is that you have to play with other people.

I am curious to see how long you like CoH. I loved it intensely for about 5 days, reveling in the character creation, the combat and the new feel. Then I decided it felt and looked like a beta, and the lack of depth made me feel like I was doing way too much grinding.

[Mauril Everleaf]

Which server are you playing on? There are a few of us from the boards that play on Freedom. If you play a hero, look for Rex Rosarum on Freedom, or if you go villian, my character is Tataki no Tenshi.

The grinding can get monotonous, which is why I only play casually. Just an hour or so here or there. I like my scrapper since he can solo for a while when no one from my SG is on to team up with. My stalker runs and hides a lot since I have no SG for her to team up with yet.

[Ranis]

I am curious to see how long you like CoH. I loved it intensely for about 5 days, reveling in the character creation, the combat and the new feel. Then I decided it felt and looked like a beta, and the lack of depth made me feel like I was doing way too much grinding.

Well, at the moment, I'm having more fun flying around and fighting crime more than I ever did in WoW. Seriously. With CoH, I don't have to worry about min/maxing my character like I did in WoW, and I don't have to absolutely, completely rely on every one of my team mates to be at their peak to complete a mission like I did in GW, and by no means is a healer the backbone of a group, like it also is in GW. IMHO, this game is mechanically superior to any other MMORPG that I've ever played.


So... the soluton to content some antisocial tools can't handle, is to eliminate said content, watering down the game?

I don't think it is genius. I think it is a cop out.

Well, it may take a layer off of the proverbial onion, but I think that given the setting, it really doesn't make a difference. If they added items to a superhero game, then everyone would look the same, much like WoW, because everyone would want the same items to make their characters the 'best.' But here in CoH, I haven't seen one single person that looked even similar to another, and that is something that, IMHO, is unprecedented.

Seriously- a chance to literally create a custom avatar from scratch that is completely different from any other player's? Genius. So, it is a bit simpler than a lot of other MMO's. At least I'm spending less time poring over my skills, or my items, or sorting out my skills/powers. I'm actually playing the game.

And, I can FLY! How cool is that?

[Driderman]

I've been thinking about trying this game myself. How does City Of Heroes/Villains work together exactly? My only experience with MMORPGs is World Of Warcraft and quite honestly, that game does very indecent things for money...

[Ranis]

I got the Good Vs. Evil edition, and it came with both CoH and CoV. When I make a character on any server, I can make it a hero or a villain, and as far as I can tell, they're on different worlds, except for a few notable places.

[Jerthanis]

I'm currently playing City of Heroes, and it's amazingly fun it is to sign on, form an 8 person pick up group in 10 minutes and proceed to beat down on hordes of villains. It certainly isn't perfect, but no other MMORPG has such interesting and fun combat. Combat dominates your time playing any MMO, and in my opinion, CoH's combat is the best. So even if you don't have anything to do besides fight, at least the fighting is as enjoyable as you could ask for. The way each character's role interacts with the overall group strategy, and the way each character takes on different roles, some locking down the battlefield to keep the enemies from attacking/surrounding the PCs, some skillfully slipping through the ranks of enemies to assassinate the most dangerous enemies, some plowing into the main concentration of enemies and disrupting their concentration on weaker targets... it's tactical and clever, while being simple and fun. The capacity for there to be so very many combinations of abilities while each of them being truly useful.

It is true that it gets old after a while... I'm just coming back to it now after a month long break. I had just grown tired of the game, and couldn't work up the motivation to put the effort into signing on and putting in the hours. However, the same thing happened to me with WoW and Guild Wars, and I haven't yet had an inclination to go back to those games, (though WoW gives a tickle now and again), while I couldn't stay away from CoH for more than a month.

Of course, the way I personally justify my monthly fee is to say, "I spend that much on comic books anyway..." so maybe it's just the genre that grabs me so strongly.

City of Heroes and City of Villains work together in that they work off the same subscription fee, launch from the same program, ect. If you're interested in both, get the "Good versus Evil" edition that is available (I believe) exclusively through Wal-mart. It's both games and the first month of subscription for 40 dollars, and includes a couple extra costume options, some of which are terribly cool. There are occasionally events which allow the heroes and villains to work together, but they're few, far between, and not a little gimmicky. Mostly they interact through PVP, which takes place in certain zones. I personally haven't tried it, because I play a defender, and I can't help but assume that a large part of the PVP experience would be "Gank the Defender!" and a Stalker would pop out of nowhere and kill me in one hit. Still, I'd believe that the PVP would be as fun as PVE, except against more intelligent creatures.

[Driderman]

Well, I'm most likely not going to Wal-Mart, mainly because I live in Denmark. But I'll look out for the Good vs. Evil edition. I suppose EB games might be able to get their hands on it...

[Ranis]

Well, I'm most likely not going to Wal-Mart, mainly because I live in Denmark. But I'll look out for the Good vs. Evil edition. I suppose EB games might be able to get their hands on it...

Indeed, they should. If you make a character on Virtue, give Rains Candor a buzz. :D

[Driderman]

Indeed, they should. If you make a character on Virtue, give Rains Candor a buzz. :D

Well personally, I'm more of a villain type, but I'll be sure to have a look at the Virtue server when I get the game. Of course, I'm pretty much broke this month so unless I can find the game at a bargain I won't buy it until next month... Maybe they'll swap for my World Of Warcraft game :smallbiggrin:

[Ranis]

Well personally, I'm more of a villain type, but I'll be sure to have a look at the Virtue server when I get the game. Of course, I'm pretty much broke this month so unless I can find the game at a bargain I won't buy it until next month... Maybe they'll swap for my World Of Warcraft game :smallbiggrin:

I can assure you that they won't do that, because I used to work for that company. All you really pay for these days when you buy an MMO is the confirmation code anyway, the rest can be sucked right out of the internet on your machine.

Unless, of course, you never scratched off that code. :P

But, the Good Vs. Evil edition is only $30, not the $40 someone posted above. I just bought it myself, I know :D. So, that might be in your price range a bit more. And, it comes with the first month of play for free, so that makes the value of the actual information within the case roughly $15. Irony, eh?

[Driderman]

I'll probably head down to the local EB-games one of these days and have a look. Still wish I could get rid of my WoW for a decent swap somehow. I guess I could ask my mate who works in a used games/comics/moviestore if he can offer me a good trade..

[Ranis]

I'll probably head down to the local EB-games one of these days and have a look. Still wish I could get rid of my WoW for a decent swap somehow. I guess I could ask my mate who works in a used games/comics/moviestore if he can offer me a good trade..

No, you don't understand. When you trade in something, it has to be completely functional for someone else; what are you going to trade in for WoW, the install disks? Yeah, not going to work without a code, man.

[Driderman]

I understand perfectly. I just hope there's someone with the autority to make me a deal that doesn't :D

[Jerthanis]

But, the Good Vs. Evil edition is only $30, not the $40 someone posted above. I just bought it myself, I know :D. So, that might be in your price range a bit more. And, it comes with the first month of play for free, so that makes the value of the actual information within the case roughly $15. Irony, eh?

Huh, must've went down in price since I bought it.

When considering which server to make your character on, consider checking around on the server section of the http://boards.cityofheroes.com/ubbthreads.php?Cat=0&C=3
Official Forums. Virtue is the "unofficial" Roleplaying server, where the highest concentration of people who want to make characters with interesting, or at least entertaining character backgrounds reside. While Champion is for the PvP focused enthusiasts. It's worth shopping around for the server that's right for you, as each community is slightly different.

One thing of note in my experiences with playing on CoH is that the average age of participants is much older than other games. There's a lot of courtesy, and maturity. It's refreshing and unexpected, and I very much enjoy that aspect of the game.

[Driderman]

I'm going to have a look at Virtue. One of my issues with MMORPGs has always been the fact that they're really just MMOGs...

[Sornas]

I love Virtue, best people I have ever played an MMO with. ^_^ Not everyone is IC in Virtue, but if you know where to look, you can find good people, and you can always put ((RP)) in your search comment too.

Oh, and as a side note. *Shows off spiffy new avatar* ^_^

[Ranis]

One thing of note in my experiences with playing on CoH is that the average age of participants is much older than other games. There's a lot of courtesy, and maturity. It's refreshing and unexpected, and I very much enjoy that aspect of the game.

That was the first thing I noticed when playing for the first time-I had literally never seen people type in complete sentences in a game before, and I felt immediately at home. People were friendly, and gave advice very easily and happily. I also had about 500k Influence (money) dropped on me from day one by extremely friendly people I made friends with. It was a very good experience.

[Deleran]

My account has been reactivated until sunday, as a part of some promotion for issue 9. I guess I'll check it out.

[Copacetic]

Hmm I read this thread and I have been considering buying it but since I'm under the working age Is it worth the money?
Is the monthly cost to much?
Are their a lot of bi***s?
Is the game very plot invovled?

[Ranis]

So far, the plot is phenomenally written, much better than GW and WoW, imo.

[Pyre]

Not sure if you're talking about a trade between just two guys, or trying to trade in to the company. Can't take computer games back to the store for anything though.

[Copacetic]

So far, the plot is phenomenally written, much better than GW and WoW, imo.

Me likes very muchly

[elliott20]

So, just out of curiosity, is it possible for the CoH and the CoV characters to cross paths? I mean, it would be kind of fun if at some point the CoH and the CoV characters would end up fighting each other.

[Ranis]

So, just out of curiosity, is it possible for the CoH and the CoV characters to cross paths? I mean, it would be kind of fun if at some point the CoH and the CoV characters would end up fighting each other.

Uhm, I'm pretty sure that's what PvP is.

[Driderman]

Just found out that I'm even more broke than I thought so I'll definitely have to wait until next month, at the earliest, to buy this game. Unless I find a money tree or something like that. Which I doubt

[Sornas]

My account has been reactivated until sunday, as a part of some promotion for issue 9. I guess I'll check it out.

Same here, untill Sunday, anyone can look me up as @Mountie Lad ^^