City of Heroes: Still Missing It

In just a few days from now, it would be the 3-year anniversary for the announcement for 'City of Heroes's closure as an MMORPG. This was very surprising, considering that the game had managed to stay afloat even during 'World of Warcraft''s dominance thanks to a dedicated fanbase. It was a difficult blow to handle, especially for myself. It was one of the first MMOs I've ever played, if not the first. Seeing it close down like it did without much care by its publishers (NCSoft, not Paragon Studios) looked like a slap in the face for its consumers.

But I'm not here to talk about shifty business practices. I want to talk about 'City of Heroes' and the kind of impact it left on the MMO community.

Yep, definitely a big fanbase.

The one word that can sum up a game like 'City of Heroes' is customization.

Seriously, there was a lot one person can do when it comes to creating their own character and even stories. Right from the get go, you can determine the kind of powers you'd want your character to have, deciding on an archetype for a certain playstyle. You wanted to blast people from long range? Go 'Blaster'. Okay, but how about that and with some more buffing and debuffing? 'Corruptor' it is. Like having minions? Go 'Mastermind'. Stealthy? The 'Stalker' archetype then. Course, this was after the 'City of Villains' expansion, but my point still stands. Aside from the usual sets, you can pick from 'Epic Archetypes' for a more select powerset, like heroic alien 'Peacebringers' and 'Warshades' or even former 'Soldiers of Arachnos'. 

With an archetype selected comes the origins (which sort of phased out of importance outside of upgrades and some missions) and the powers. Each of the basic archetypes have powers in their primary and secondary sets. Primary are your main powers that make up your character, while secondary powers compliment them. For example: 'Blasters' get long range power sets like 'Energy Blast' or 'Assault Rifle' for their primary, while they can also pick powers like 'Energy Manipulation' or 'Devices' to provide close range or buffs in combat. 'Stalkers' get close range powers like 'Martial Arts' or 'Spines' for close range stealth kills, with 'Super Reflexes' or 'Willpower' helping them stay alive while out hunting. 

While some powers may cross over into the basic archetypes, they usually offer the same kind of abilities as expected from their type (i.e. 'Fire Blasts' and 'Fire Melee' deal fire damage as expected). 

Then comes the costume editor...

Trust me, this pic undersells it.

There is a lot you can do in given your character its own identity. Options range from normal clothing to street hero attire, warriors from different eras and cultures, robots and cybternetics, mystic cloaks, variety of different capes and colors and even auras that surround your character. There is a lot of potential for you character to become. Ingame, you can unlock more costume slots for your character to wear, allowing them to change looks in between missions. You can go from an average joe into an unbearable monster with a simple click. Even your powers can look different from others as well. Whether it be changing colors or changing models (like those who wield the 'Katana' powerset can have different looking blades).

Again, pic cannot do it justice.

The creative depth is staggering, with the chance of your character looking like someone else mostly coming down to 'trying to look like pop culture icons like Superman and Spider-Man'. You really got to try hard in order to look like someone else intentionally.

Also to note, as you gain more levels, not only do you unlock more of your powers, but also other, supplementary powers like 'Flight', 'Teleportation' and 'Leaping', which not only provide new combat abilities, but also allow for faster travel through a city and landscape.

The gameplay is a bit standard for MMOs at the time, relying on cooldowns and repeatedly clicking powers to use them (much like spells and abilities in World of Warcraft). At times, you get 'Inspirations', which allow you to increase your power temporarily, recover health and even come back after being killed on the spot. 

The enemies differ depending on your character (hero or villain) and location, but its pretty cool to see how they change as you level up. You start out with low gangs like the Hellions and Skulls. Before long, you're taking on the cybernetic Freakshow and mystical Carnival of Shadows. Some enemies stick with you through the long run, like the Circle of Thorns magic group and the calculating Council forces. What's the saying? 'The more things change, the more they stay the same"?

It certainly changed as they added in new features, such as the expansion 'Going Rogue', which can allow heroes and villains to switch alignments through select missions. New powers, missions and enemies were added in over time, but the biggest addition to the game was the creation of 'Mission Architect'.

Simply put, the players are able to make their own missions and storylines to share with others in the game. They're given maps, enemy groups, and even the chance to make their own characters within the same story. It was the kind of customization that hadn't been done in any MMO before and since (as far as I know). It also helped to gain XP through created missions rather than just the normal ones.

Still,you might miss out on some fun content going through that way.

To me, 'City of Heroes' gave me a lot more choice in how I wanted to go about an MMO, more so than most other games in the genre like 'Champions Online' and 'DC Universe Online'. They certainly had their fanbase as well, which no doubt grew after the shut down of the City. With news of a new IP 'City of Titans', we might see the return of 'City of Heroes' in some manner.

Here's hoping it is pulled off.