Newbie "Full Experience of the Game" Guide
By
Comicsluvr,
Posted on: 2009-05-19 11:24 in Player Questions
I just started yesterday and I would use a guide like this if its available.
Checklist of things to do each level, a bit out of date but still useful.
There really is no one way to do the game. This is the way I typically start a new character:
Atlas or sewers until level 5. Go to KR and get police scanner. Do three scanner missions and the bank mission to get temp jetpack. On to the Hollows until level 12 or so. Three more scanner missions in KR and the bank mission for the jump pack. On to Faultline to do the arcs there.
There are also many story arcs in Atlas and KR, and completing each bank mission also gives you a new contact. Starting at level 10 you can do the Cimerora intro arc in Steel Canyon. Level 20 is IP, Talos, or Striga Island. The 30s brings Croatoa. The first task force also starts at level 10 (although I wouldn't recommend doing it at that level. You could also spend your entire career now in the mission architect running missions there. If you want a complete list of story arcs and contacts, you could check out http://coh.redtomax.com. Welcome back and enjoy the game.
Liberty Server (@enderbean)
Arcs on Live
#1460 Hometown Rivalry
I found this guide Checklist of things to do each level from Eldandil in the section "Guideposts to look for / Long range planning" in the Player's guides forum.
Look here for more: Before you start - preparing to play
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"Chew Electric Death, Snarling Cur!"
^ Just a note, but you can't start the faultline arcs until lvl 15. And Croa begins at 25. The starting contacts for that zone you outlvl at 29. I tried to talk to the 3rd contact along, once when I had hit 31 without remembering croa at all. She has to be introduced by Skipper (In my experiance).
So...Fault at 15 and Croa at 25. You can start croa around lvl 27 and still be safe from outlvling it.
Welcome back.
If you happen to play on Villainside, you should get a contact named Seer Marino about lv 15. Just about everyone in Cap should direct you to her. This will lead you to an arc called "O Wretched Man"
This is one of the best written Arcs in the game. It tells some of the backstory of Ghost Widow. It can be solo'd but it's good for small to medium teams as well. Very often I've gained 2-3 levels just on that arc (Depending on your style that may vary.)
Writer of In-Game fiction: Just Completed: My Summer Vacation. My older things are now being archived at Fanfiction.net http://www.fanfiction.net/~jwbullfrog until I come up with a better solution.
Welcome to CoX and the Forums.
My first recommendation: Run the Tutorials, and take the time to read the text, they provide the information that new players really need to know.
The New Character tutorial in Outbreak/Breakout will introduce you to how to perform attacks, how to use Enhancement and Inspirations. (Also in Outbreak, you can get a badge for defeating 100 infected. In breakout there is an exploration badge withing the prison before you exit into the prison yard.)
When you receive your first piece of salvage (starting at level 4) take it Wentworth's (WW)/ Black Market (BM), talk to the Agent/Guy Who Knows, they will explain it's use, and sell that salvage.
At level 10 you will automatically get a contact for the University (Steel/Cap Au Diablo.) The tutorial there will explain how you take salvage and recipes and craft them into Invention Origin Enhancements (IO's)
Between level 5-10, head to Kings Row/Cap Au, speak to a Detective/Fence to get your radio/paper. Completing 3 radio/paper missions will then open up the Safeguard /Mayhem mission where you will either fend off bank robbers (heroes), or rob the bank (villains.)
Be warned, that these missions are not run the same way, in a Safeguard, you/your team will want to get to the back ASAP, and run the side missions afterwords. In Mayhems, you/your team will want to take down the cops, destroy everything, spawn ambushes. Doing that not only grants you time bonus', but will also reduce the size of the ambush inside the bank once you crack the vault.
I hope this gives you enough info to start your gaming experience with. 
Guide to Guides has tons of player created guides for just about everything you want to know.
ParagonWiki - Player's Guide to City of... is easier to navigate, plus you can just hit the Table of Contents and look up practically anything you want to know.
Heh. Such a loaded question. Everyone has their favorites. I know you said CoH, but would you mind one for villains? This is only my opinions of course. I'd be disapointed if I didn't have tons of people who don't agree with my listing. I'm also not going to worry too much about who has what badges, although I'll mention some of them. Overall I enjoy most of the Redside contacts, with Hardcase being the only one I can't stand. Both for his own and his cameo in Vivacious Verandi's arc.
Levels 1-9: It doesn't matter. You'll eventually get to them all over time with alts. Nothing really special here, although I do like Mr. Bocor better than the other options.
Level 10-14: Again the same thing, there's a good chance you will outlevel these contacts simply playing with teams anyway. Peter Themari's arc "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge" will make Vernon Von Grun (45-50) more interesting, but I'd suggest not worrying about it and hitting it via Ouro later on. Veluta Lunata is an unlockable contact at this level, but I don't find her arcs good enough to really bother.
Level 15-19: There's actual choices to make here. 
Again, you may end up outleveling these, but don't worry about it.
Marshal Brass will give you background on Dr. Aeon and will unlock Ouroboros for you. (Not that you can use it yet though)
Willy Wheeler is a whiny little sap, but he's written believably. He also has the Paragon of Vice badge in his arc which is needed for the Marshal accolade badge.
Seer Marino is well written and fleshes out the background of everyone's favorite living dead girl, Ghost Widow. I suggest doing it at least once, but I often skip it on later run characters.
Level 20-24: Fairly forgettable. Lt. Chalmers will give you a skyraider jetpack with 60 minutes use, but that's less of an issue now.
Level 25-29: Some good ones here.
Doc Buzzsaw is an unlockable contact, requiring the Bling Badge. You may not have this one, especially if you haven't had a lot of debt or been running the Cap SF. Doc's comments contain some funny lines, so just make a note to flashback to her later on.
Archmage Tarixus has an average arc, but it has both the Soul Taker badge (needed for the Demonic Accolade) and a 10 use Blackwand temp power for you.
Diviner Maros is bizzare. You need to run through his arcs at least once just to hear him talk.
Levels 30-34: Crimson Revenant is an unlockable (need the Hammer Down badge) and he sends you against some Heroes. (Mynx and BAB) if you're looking for that kind of thing.
Timothy Raymond will give you some background on the Rikti, but it's no longer as useful as RWZ contacts will give you the same info later.
Levels 35-39: Technician Naylor has a good arc in "Automatic Villainy" and his other arc will unlock the Rularuu weapons for you.
Mercedes Sheldon is okay. Short, has a temp power for a reward and that's about it. Nothing special for villains, she's much better for heroes.
Levels 40-44: Hit Arbiter Rein at 40+ to select your Patron. You'll need to do the first part of your Patron Arc to unlock those powers if you want them.
Love him or hate him (there's no middle ground here) Westin Phipps is also at this level. He's a must do for everyone at least once. If for nothing else than to see where you fall in the great divide.
Levels 45-50: Vernon von Grun! BEES! TAKE MORE BEES! Run it, love it, and don't forget to practice your laugh.
Viridian has a good arc with plenty of AVs to fight. He needs to be unlocked though.
Efficiency Expert Plither. How I loathe him. He's an example of Positron's writing. It's why I like Hero1 so much more. 
His arc is a series of timed missions that must be completed without any failures to earn the Efficiency Expert badge. The timers are short and can be hard to do on a squishier character or one that can't stealth it. And no, you can't flashback to it to try again.
Special:
Darin Wade is levels 20-30. He's the reason villains don't enter the Midnighter Club as early as heroes. Well written and good set up for the Midnighters in general. I recommend it.
Ashley McKnight is levels 30-50. You need to run her arc to get to Cim, so there you go. Do it before Darin Wade or after, either way you'll doubt anything either one says.
The RWZ: Levels 35-50, different contacts. A definte must at least once. Well written, with Dark Watcher in paticular having some rather interesting enemies to fight.
Ouroboros: The intro arc is fairly generic. You'll run it anyway though. Just accept it. Lazarus has some fun chaotic carnage at the end for a team. Tesseract has some well dressed Arachnos in hers. You'll want to see them at least once, although the MA will let you skip that if you want. Silos is easier than for heroes (no Jade Spider to fight) but lets you give the Freedom Phalanx the beating they so richly deserve.
"Mastermind Pets operate...differently, and aren't as easily fixed. Especially the Bruiser. I want to take him out behind the woodshed and pull an "old yeller" on him at times." - Castle
I think "everything" is a good start
Welcome to the game, you two!
Please read my FEAR/Portal/HalfLife Fan Fiction!
Repurposed
Just be sure to stop and eat the cookies from time to time.
*nom nom nom nom nom*
That blue thing running around saying "Cookies are sometimes food" is Praetorian Cookie Monster!
Shoot on sight, please.
Also remember that there are a LOT of new things to do. Faultline was reworked a year or so ago and now has some great storyline. Redside also has fewer zones but (some say) better story arcs like the afore-mentioned Wretch arc. Redside also has some GREAT stories when you hit lvl 40 and can approach one of the four Patrons.
Just remember that as long as you're having fun there is no real 'right' way to play.
"Comics, you're not a Mastermind...you're an Overlord!"
Two points.
One, if you want to experience more of something in a given tier, you can actually turn off XP-gain in your Options menu under Miscellaneous. Not necessarily what someone would want to do, but the option is there.
Two, any story arc or other bit of content that you want to do and miss, you can go back and do through Ouroboros (available from lv25+). The only things I can think of that you lose access to through leveling are the infintely-repeatable missions in the Hollows and each level-tier's Mayhem/Safeguard missions. The Mayhem/Safeguards are how you get your Contacts, so you'll probably do all of them. If you don't, there's always someone else running one or another and you can team with them for it.
Welcome to the Game.
Hello all, I've recently gotten back into the wonderful world of CoH. But this time around, I want to make sure I don't miss anything. So my question is, could someone guide me as to what interesting and fun things I should go looking for at certain level ranges? For instance, once I hit 30 I should check out _blank_ because it is fun in the sense of _blank_ and you get the special _blank_. With this game I'm not always sure what to look for.
Thanks guys.