Liberty used to have an awesome, awesome roleplayer named, as I recall, something like "Clockwork Overlord" who may have been the first player villain in the game.
He would post in the Liberty forum - back pre-I1, maybe I1 days, that he would be staging an assault on the players at such and such time in such and such zone, and then he did his level best to herd every single mob in the zone to the hospital, train or some other newbie sensitive area, the whole time warning the zone in broadcast chat and in character about what he was doing.
He staged raids in Bricks, Galaxy City, Kings, Steel Canyon, Perez and the Hollows. Probably Skyway too, but I don't remember that.
He was an Invuln Tank.
What would end up happening was that highbies would show up to slaughter his train of lowbie crushing death. We'd get a chance to show off our nukes and controller pets and so on, and there would be a crowd of newbies watching heroes truly, truly be heroes for them and it was amazing.
I'm sure he wound up banned for griefing but for my money that player added something amazing to the game and I try to make sure he's remembered whenever one of these threads comes up.
Things I hate: Anime. PvP. Lying MMO Developers. Outleveling content. Manga. ED. Comic Store Employees. Anime.
I remember leaving Outbreak for the first time, only to be unable to find Back Alley Brawler amidst all the spandex surrounding him.
I remember the joy of finally being able to skip Outbreak.
I remember the frustration realizing my main couldn't get Isolator, then the annoyance when we finally could in Recluse's Victory. One mark every few hours.
I remember street sweeping in Perez. All the noobs learning that multiple Defenders on a team rocked.
I remember when only Positron's TF actually worked.
I wish I didn't remember attempting it a dozen times as teams wimped out on the first mission. Then finally giving up and just finishing it solo.
I remember when TFs capped one level higher, and training one more level would boot you from the TF.
I remember when a Rikti ambush in a low level zone was practically an event.
I remember sitting at 38 for most of an issue trying to get a Numina TF, because everyone else was too busy farming Hatched Kraken.
I remember drinking the sweet tears when that Kraken XP was finally nerfed. 
I remember when seeing the Shadow Shard was a leveling goal for me.
I remember when Fulcrum Shift could cause error messages and had the great old ripping sound effect.
I remember just about everything in this thread, other than the old skool Hami stunts and the first Remember when... thread.
Yes I remember the old days after release with fond memories. I wouldn't trade the changes made since then for the world. AS great as it is to remember how things were I find that I am having more fun with all the options available to me now.
That being said I am chomping at the bit for some more big story updates. I feel like we've been inundated with features lately. Day jobs, Inventions, the AE, Oroborous. While I like all this I'd like to have an issue or two devoted to sweeping story content. New areas, New map types, Alot of arcs for both sides of the fence. We seem overdue.
I remember
- when the Hollows didn't exist.
- when people argued in Broadcast about who was kill-stealing
- when people argued in Broadcast about who was stealing their mobs in Perez
- when the stores were secret and didn't show up on the maps
- Costume slots? Capes? Change your costume? What is all that about?
- when Fire/Fire Tanks and AR/Dev Blasters ruled; then someone discovered Regen scrappers and they were so powerful that they got nerfed in every issue (My favorite forum quote in those days was "If you see a power that has the words "Instant" and "Healing" in the title, you should take it.")
Heck, I remember when teams did missions that didn't involve farming the MA system.
Ideally, the tank will die precisely as everyone else starts fighting, allowing aggro to be spread evenly among the blaster. -seebs, "How to Suck at CoH/CoV" Guide
Remember the last thread like this? And the one before? And the one before?
Remember the end-of-beta rikti invasion?
Remember when the level cap was 40? And you had one costume that you were stuck with forEVER! If you messed up you'd have to remake your character.
Remember Perez Park?
Remember Gaffer?
Do I win?
I remember the player who played Coyote 
No one pays attention to me, cause I listen to the voices in my head.
I came in between I6 and I7, and I remember:
Hollows! Oh, the danger of trying to make it ALL THE WAY ACROSS the crater with no travel power! But, everybody was doing it! Everybody was in the Hollows, and if I decided to take the Kings Row route, it was a lonely road to 10.
The old Faultline, but mostly just to get the badges and when a contact sent me there to hunt something.
And...Yeah, those are the major things I remember that have changed. The rest of it? I was just playing and enjoying the game, so I guess it wasn't as important to me.
I remember when I started a thread exactly like this with the same title a few years ago, even got a few rednames to post in it.
Good times? 
I never posted in one of these in the past, but figured I'd throw some memories into this one.
Remember when...
... Stone Armors covered you completely in stone, making the costume and body proportions of your character completely meaningless when your powers were active.
... Unyielding was "Unyielding Stance" and it rooted you in place while active.
... Mission completes gave no XP, making street sweeping thee thing to do.
... Global chat handles did not exist. People knew you by your myriad of character names and your server friend list actually had some meaning.
... There were only indoor missions. Outdoor missions didn't come along until Issue 1.
... You couldn't change team leaders. If you made a team, it was yours until you left. If you wanted to change the leader, you had to disband the team and reform.
Main Character: Ice/Storm/Ice Controller (Justice, 1340 badges)
I remember no Bodyguard.
I remember MM minions with no melee.
I remember MM minions with melee who'd very much insist on using it.
I remember the frustration of not knowing you can skip Hollows.
I remember taking Jump Kick.
I remember 40' Focus and Impale and 20' Power Burst and Blaze.
What shall claim a Sky Kings' Ransom?
PPD & Resistance Epic Archetypes
Just a few things to add that have already been stated by others:
- Monster Isle parties. Mission's were okay, but after getting on a Monster Isle team, it was a blast.
- Monkey Isle fun, when the monkey badge was 10,000 to get. And also, being about to out-herd any tank with my D3. Scooping up both islands of monkeys, to the beach where the nukes went off was great fun. Raining monkey bodies.
- Running a D3 after all the forum "experts" decreed them to be 'teh sux'. Pretty much had to solo it to 50, because teams didn't want a D3 because they couldn't "heal". That, and showing up to one of the first Hami raids with my D3 and no one knowing where to stick me because no one really had a lvl 50 D3.
- Hover or Fly contests off the buildings in Atlas or Steel, where you'd drop off the side and see who could get the closest to the ground before hitting their fly or hover, without splatting.
- The guard tower TP friend fun.
- Running one of the CoT missions with the portal room, and being amazed at the XP from killing all the demons coming out of the portals.
- Before there was /em boombox
- Clintonian's real heroes of genius threads.
And sadly,
- When people actual ran TF's instead of "speed TF" like now.
I remember powerleveling my invincible burn tank by herding rikti monkies and DE swarms in Crey's Folly.
I remember when combat jumping made flight awesome.
I remember when there were no limits on the amount of damage resistance you could have. It was kinda silly having a tanker that was completely immune to most damage.
I remember the joy I felt when I could finally pick which zone I wanted to go to when riding the train instead of progressing one zone at a time.
I remember starting the Numina TF for the first time, enjoying the story, and then having to quit it after 3 hours of playing because I was only level 35 and I couldn't get into Eden to get to the next mission.
Come to think of it, I remember more than a few occasions where I couldn't complete missions that I had taken because I wasn't a high enough level to get into the hazard zone it was sending me to. I was stuck street sweeping for several levels because I had 3 missions that I couldn't complete. There was none of this newfangled "mission dropping" thing that's all the rage amongst the kids nowadays, either.
I remember telling everyone not to rely on smoke grenade so much, because it was obviously bugged. None of them believed me and once it was fixed I never saw those blasters again.
I remember when there was no spam.
I remember when the Freedom server was called "Prime."
I remember being excited when they added the Justice server, and then never getting to play on it until beta was over because it was constantly broken.
I remember everything else that has been mentioned in this thread.
I remember when I got a mission to kill 20 CoT in Dark Astoria, which only spawned on rooftops and I didn't have flight to get there. There was no mission dropping, so it remained in my mission list for about 15 levels until I got some one on my team with flight to go do it for me.
I remember when all Build Up and Aim powers looked the same.
What shall claim a Sky Kings' Ransom?
PPD & Resistance Epic Archetypes
I remember when issue 1 released, and they added Icon and the boombox/dance emotes.
There were like a billion people outside Serge's shop partying and showing off.
Oh yeah, and (issue 2?) when my katana scrapper finally figured out how to use his weapon properly...
I remember being able to 6-slot my AR/Dev blaster's attacks with damage.
I started with COV...
I remember when
-- Flamethrowers, specifically longbow meant doom to a MM because there was no such thing as bodyguard.
-- Longbow Spec-Ops sapped end like Malta sappers
-- There was no grandville.
-- When the Grandville flyer was broken and the devs didn't believe anyone.
-- When no one could figure out how to spawn Caleb.
-- Elite bosses didn't exist. AVs didn't scale down.
-- AVs got buffed too high and were nigh impossible to kill for several weeks.
-- The only way to get into Founders Falls was from Talos. No train, no pocket D, no Ouro.
-- When the second pet buff for Masterminds was something you were lucky to get on two or three of your pets a mission. It had like a 3-4 minute recharge.
-- When you had to buff each MM pet individually.
Remember when.....
...I started this thread about a month ago, and then someone necro-rezzed it from the grave?
Ah, good times. 
[ QUOTE ]
Remember when...
... Stone Armors covered you completely in stone, making the costume and body proportions of your character completely meaningless when your powers were active.
[/ QUOTE ]
I remember when someone saw that I was a Stone tank, they said, "Ok, we need to get a real tank."
That blue thing running around saying "Cookies are sometimes food" is Praetorian Cookie Monster!
Shoot on sight, please.
I remember when auras came out and AP is flooded by ambushing Freaks. I also remember my fire tank with the burn goodness.
Pinnacle: Hold my beer. Watch this!
Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.
MA arc #117314!! Try it nao!!
[ QUOTE ]
People still ask about the Lost in KR. Heard a Broadcast a couple of days ago.
[/ QUOTE ]
I didn't start playing until long after the majority of these changes to the game. I think it was around i9 that I started playing, and yet I remember broadcasting about Lost in KR... Was there an arc that required a Lost Hunt? I have no idea.
I remember debating whether to slot for permahasten or put some defense into it before deciding to go permahasten only for it to go away almost right afterward.
[ QUOTE ]
Also, logging into CoH for the first time in pre-order beta, along with 100's of others all crowded into one instance of the tutorial zone. There were literally zero Infected to kill, and they were spawning verrry rarely....I remember I ran around for an hour until I *finally* got my two kills, went back to my contact ready to get into the game proper....and then being told to hunt 4 more. 
[/ QUOTE ]
I remember running my first characters through CoV Breakout during Winter Event of '05...just a couple days before a patch intended to fix stability issues also made the Breakout Prisoners stop spawning any faster than a couple per hour. You had lots of newly-minted players standing around in the prison yard wondering what to do.
They fixed it about a week later.
...the Hollows taught us to RUN!
...after the Faultline revamp, if you used your old Faultline teleporter from your SG base, you got "Donut Holed" and stuck inside the new Donut shop. 
Dec out.
...I remember reading on the internet about a cool new game, with superheroes... and I thought... meh...
(If I only knew then what I know now.)
EDIT: Ohh, On top... of another page. *get all tingly*
Angel Red
"We're heroes. Fighting injustice is the thing we do." ~Rebel Scum