Rivalwatch: City of Heroes

[JonnyG]

I was reading my latest CGW, lamenting over the fact that the upcoming Mythica preview they mentioned last month wasn't in it, and found a preview of City of Heroes. A couple of interesting things.

They mention that if you have a 5th level sidekick teaming with a 20th level hero, the powers of the sidekick are ramped up to his boss' level. Wow, thats a new take on allowing people of differing levels to play together. Very interesting stuff. I'd assume they'd still get a smaller portion of the exp so they'd not be able to powerlevel. You probabably wouldn't get new skills either, you'd have your same skills they'd just be more powerful. Very interesting stuff.

The also mention:One teammate not enough? Form your own supergroup of 15 to 30 people ( final number hasn't been set yet). This is the only way you can get a vault to stash all the upgrades you acquire and earn the ability to fight in the epic big battles. Still no word on whether you can get your own Hall of Justice or Fortress of Solitude.When I started reading that I thought they were talking about groups of 15 to 30 people. I was like wow, large groups. But upon finishing the paragraph it seems more like guilds. With vaults and epic big battles. From that quote, it seems like they'll only allow guilds to take on the epic big battles, bad decision in my mind.

They mention 144 different enemy models with 3 power ranks for the enemies, minion, lieutenant, and boss. So lots of different monsters.

They also mention power classes of science, mutation, magic, technology, or natural talent. These will narrow down the 400+ unique super powers that'll be available to you over time.


Overall, sounds very interesting.

[Yigg Yous]

A friend of mine is gonna try it out, he will tell me how it is. It does look very cool though, I wanna make a guy who can fly around and zap people :whip:

[Halsy]

I'm hoping I can get in there before too long. I was originally very active there. I was the 39th person registered on those boards and the very first two questions of the first dev Q&A were mine. Flight looks like too much fun. Then again, so does the super speed, leaping, teleportation, wall-crawling, etc.

We can be heroes! If just for one day.

[Leoghan]

Originally posted by JonnyG
When I started reading that I thought they were talking about groups of 15 to 30 people. I was like wow, large groups. But upon finishing the paragraph it seems more like guilds. With vaults and epic big battles. From that quote, it seems like they'll only allow guilds to take on the epic big battles, bad decision in my mind.

I think you are right that they are talking more about a guild type thing, but there are games out there that allow higher number groups than the average of 8. SWG for instance allowed 20 members in a group which would have been a good idea had the majority of the mobs required large groups to tackle, but most didn't.

I don't mind large groups as long as the game mechanics actually support it, but so far most haven't and I can see why. It is hard to balance grouping and soloing like that.

[Erik]

interesting stuff... I didn't even know this about game until now... what's the URL?

[Leoghan]

Erik here is the url. (http://www.cityofheroes.com)

[Erik]

ok thanks :)

[Ostracized]

Ive been following this game for years now. Never joined the boards because there were way way to many "fanbois" there.

I mean seriously.. having ideas for characters early on is fine. but they have created entire teamlines and storylines for those teams before the game was even in beta...

Anyway, some detail that you may not know.

1. No items per se. No uber armor or Fiery Avanger drops or quests.

2. No real money system. instead you have Popularity style points your awarded along with XP. These you spend for upgrades to powers and costume changes.

3. Only true "drops" are in the way of Temp enhancements. They boost specific powers based on origins. Thus a "Fire Enhancement" may only work with the Blaster/Tech line even though the Defender/Magic line has the same power. These are tradeable.

4. The sidekick issue is limited. I THINK it has a time restriction and you can only have 1 sidekick at a time. Thus you become fairly dedicated to that particular person. Also even if not teamed up the sidekick gets a power boost just because he is a sidekick. Doesnt have to be with the Mentor all the time i believe.

5. So far the people that didnt sign a NDA and have played the game (CPL event) have had truly glowing reviews. Stable gamecode, smart AI (an enemy with spell abilities actually KITED a player with only melee!), and lots of freedom in character unique looks.

City of heroes is actually turning out to be a true 2nd generation.. maybe pushing some boundries to 3rd gen MMOG.

[JonnyG]

New Powers Announced:1. Tanker

Power Set: Ice Armor
Power: Ice Armor

With this power, the Hero coats himself in rock-hard Ice Armor. The hardness of the Ice Armor makes smashing- and lethal-based attacks less likely to land on the Hero. Ice Armor also lessens damage from Cold Attacks. This power cannot be active at the same time as other Armors in this set.

2. Scrapper

Power Set: Claws
Power: Spin

Like a tornado with claws, the Hero spins around slicing up all enemies within melee range.

3. Tanker

Power Set: Stone Melee
Power: Stone Mallet

The Hero summons a Stone Mallet from the very earth. Stone Mallet deals a pounding of moderate damage and sends foes tumbling.See guys they're announcing their skills, maybe we can get the devs to let us see some. Perhaps Lila can upload some pics with the actual skill tree's? Come on devs, spill.