So here it is. My fare-thee-well post. I always have been a cheesy, corny, soppy person so parts of this will probably have you thinking "Oh god!" and going /e facepalm but I don't care. Let's start by reminiscing:
- I will never forget the first Hero I ever made. He was seven feet tall. Looked like Doctor Doom (he really didn't) and used Ice Blast / Fire Manipulation inspired by our very own War Witch. Man, I was such a noob and has no sense of fashion when it came to designing costumes.
- The first time I got Hover. And I mean the I6 Hover which moved at 5mph and was used to get me from one side of the Hollows to the other because Grendel's Gulch was a death zone and Frostfire was located there at the time. Astoundingly, I and other players would for those Hoverers before meeting an untimely death (and incurring SH*T loads of debt) at the hands of everybody's favourite low-level Elite Boss. Out of all the powers in the game, Flight is my favourite power. It allows you to touch the heavens of Atlas Park and that blimp you could never land on. You could explore every part of a map with this power. But most of all... I could fly. Issue 8 enabled me to spread my wings quite literally. If I could have any power in the world, it'd be flight (or psychic powers because then I'd just levitate myself). I'd be able to take off to where ever I wanted to go.
- Fighting my first Archvillain. I have a disease which is quite well-known in these parts. Altitis. Scientists have yet to find a cure for it though treatment is available yet requires sheer willpower! So, when I actually managed to level a character past Level 20 (my first villain, Rapthorn, who was rerolled 100+ times) I fought Silver Mantis with seven other villains. And yes... I started playing September 2005 so I rerolled for months. Anyway, Silver Mantis. It was amazing. I mean, we floored her easily. But it was... amazing. That is all.
- Since I can remember I've loved the Praetorians. The idea of a mirrior universe where your moral opposite lives fascinates me. I know it's been rectonned since but back in the day... I was obsessed with coming face-to-face with Dominatrix. 1. Because of her name. 2. Because she is the opposite of the first trainer I ever saw: Ms. Liberty. What. A. Legend.
- Fighting Lusca for the first time ever!!! 30+ heroes. Union. Flailing tentacles like something out of a Japanese p*rno. And... teamwork. Community. That sense of working together. People dropped like flies only to be rezzed by Empaths which were all the rage at the time. And then afterwards... the feeling of having achieved something (and a shiny badge).
- The first time I saw Hamidon. I flew into the Hive. Gazed in wonder. Thought "What the hell!" and flew straight at him. Died. But I got my badge
- Venturing into the Abyss and being one of the first villains to fight Hamidon villains-side. That was awesome. The way worked together even though we didn't do it. The community spirit was there.
- Issue 10. By far one of my favourite issues. Mothership raids. Drop ships. The trailer they did for it showing a anchorwoman getting blow up. It was sheer epicness. I'll never forget my first mothership raid either. Clueless. Completely clueless but it was fun.
- The day they announced Demon Summoning. I mean... zombies are cool, but demons? They're cooler. I was over the moon the devs finally announced a mage-themed Mastermind Powerset. I never did get one to LV50 though. Life just seemed to pull me away as I got older.
- The day Statesman died. Oh my. When I read that post my heart sank. I had goosebumps. I felt so low. The front man of this game who had greeted me for seven years every time I logged in... dead. A great loss. I mean story wise. The devs did whatever they did because they did. I mean, story wise and as a character who I loved, I was sad to see him go.
There's a trillion things I could list but these are the ones that come rushing into my mind as I right at four in the morning. City of Heroes was my first MMO and it suited me to a tee. Let's go way back to when I was a kid and was obsessed with Sabrina the Teenage Witch. She was a witch. She had magical powers. Magical powers are cool. They also allow you to do whatever you want with the point of a finger. Final Fantasy 7. Another world of fantasy I threw myself into. My point being... since I was a kid I've used fantasy worlds (and still do) where magic is real and you can be whatever you want to be as a way to escape the real world. A place to bring impossible dreams to life. High school wasn't the most pleasant of times in my life and that's when I took this game up. It helped me grow. It helped me develop social skills. It helped me to accept myself as a person because of the people I've met a long the way. I've socialized with amazing people (Golden Girl, Damz, the residents of Union Chat). I was happy for the first time in a while because of a game? But, yes, it's more than a game. It's a community. That's what I will miss the most. I'll miss the devs. The players. The spirit.
But most of all...
I miss the fact City of Heroes gave me wings to fly.
Rapthorn.
Please post your memories below
My wife Zantana, from Liberty.
