What makes a Hero?

It's more than just playing blue side.

I got in a long conversation with another player about what makes a hero. For them, they were getting frustrated because there were no heroes around any more. Players willing to drop what they were doing to help. Players willing to start teams and advertise mission arcs and badges. Sure, all these make for a "hero" but is it enough?

I've seen several threads over the years about random gifting. Seeing a lowbee character and dropping a lvl 50 enhancement on them and then leaving. Never looking for a thank you, just because you're helping out.

So, while these don't make a hero, IMO, they are endemic to those with heroic traits.

1) willing to help others without looking at the reward for yourself.
2) putting aside time to work to make things better for others.
3) Charity.

So what do you think makes for a hero?

And let me start by explaining the three traits I listed.

Charity is easy. Do you give to others? That can include influence, but it could also include access. Offering others use of your base, regardless of their level or if you expect them to contribute prestige or not. It can also include coalitioning with others while they build their own base so they can use your teleporters, crafters, etc.

Time to organize, be it advertised TFs, PERC events, Hami. This is something I will never be able to help with since my available time to play is so limited, almost none on the weekends and usually only very late at night weekdays.

I believe that willing to help others is the biggest. Last two times I've played I've had high level teams /tell my lowbee tank saying they had an extra space and did I want to join. I didn't know any of the players in either team. Similar, I was running around steel and a lower team was advertising for spaces. I joined, even though I was much higher than everyone else because they needed help.

All those mentioned traits and more. It's interesting to see this thread pop up in light of the new expansion that is being worked on and scheduled to be launched at a later date. I have bookmarked it to follow it.

Pete, even when your on late and you assist even slightly you display the heroic nature. It's not big things like running a Mothership raid, hosting TF runs they are fun but somtimes just accepting a request to help someone in a tight spot and not get any reward even from a mission. Like my sig says:

"When you wake up seek the courage and strength to do the right thing.
Decide that this will be another day in which you Walk The Talk."

It is never easy to walk to a different drum beat but it is a decision each and everyone of us can do, and sometimes people also remember to pay it foward.

American Valor
Sentinel of Liberty SG

Both of you hold opinions I respect on many different things. In my eyes, you're both heroes.

As for what makes a hero, that is subject to the person who sees a hero in the small act or moment in which they were affected by them. There are, however, certain mindsets that naturally create heroes and heroic acts.

Selflessness is very high on my list of hero traits.

Willingness to share and to teach.

Simultaneously displaying humility while carrying greatness with grace.

These are a few of the traits I see in heroes.

Agreed GEL, but that mostly applies to firefighters, police, military, other quick-thinking people in emergencies. But what makes for a hero in this game?

Maybe I should have started with the comment that began my discussion. "There isn't anyone playing heroes anymore." My reply was blue-side is busy which lead to an agreement that there were plenty of players, but no heroes playing the game. Just because you play a tank, you run missions, grind xp and level, that doesn't really make you a hero.

Maybe another example might be in order. And this doesn't make me a hero player, just maybe something that others might find heroic. I was flying through Atlas on my emp defender to pay SG rent. I come out and head over to the Vanguard building and I see a group of lvl 1s & lvl 2s street sweeping, probably in advance of a sewer run. I followed them around for around 20 minutes buffing and healing them. I got nothing out of it other than a kick to help new heroes.

So maybe I should turn the question around. Not, what makes a hero, but, why aren't there more heroes and why doesn't this game make me feel more heroic?

It's interesting that you posted this top right now because I just took my private SG public and wrote a code of conduct for those who would like to join.

One of the primary things that is expected of a Legion of Steel member is to be helpful to anyone they see needing help, not just teammates.

An example of this would be the other night a member of our SG was up late and playing a TF and got a tell from someone I've teamed with before asking for help with a mission. They finished the TF and were invited to another but they declined and got a tank because were joining an all blaster team and needed the help to finish.

Of course, they didn't get a mission reward because they joined so late. But, there was a new player in that group who was on a trial account and was looking into the game. Whether they convereted or not, I don't know, but they got a chance to see a slightly better balanced team and not so much death.

Being a hero in my eyes is not just about doing what's right, but remembering that everyone out there needs help from time to time. We are a community and we should take care of our fellow heroes and lead by example.

I think Sweet Sarah is on to something here. I see a few people on the channels and I know a few people on the server itself and more here on the forums, but there isn't really any in-game method to knit people together, some kind of server event that could get just about everybody together, even if it was for a few minutes.

As far as Street Sweeping, I was thinking about starting a bi weekly event, maybe on Tuesday or Monday called Perez Park Patrol, where teams would sweep the streets clean (just for a little while anyway). Just imagine two or three teams sweeping through the zones, using a dedicated channel. It could be fun and get people together.

But explain to me this zone cap. Is it limited to 50 characters per zone or is it just special zones. Cause I was thinking that It might be nice to hold a big get together and everyone who attends gets a million Influence just for showing up and meeting everyone. Just imagine a screen shot with a couple of hundred characters clustered under Atlas! very sweet.

It also occurs to me that the only way heroes have to get recognition is OUTSIDE of the gameplay. We all do the same missions, so recognition is based around being an eBiller or Forum Cartel ot hosting events or having the most ridiculous names, or fan art or fan fic or AE missions or whatever makes you stand out from all the other players who have done all the Hollows missions, badges, etc. I don't know what the answer is, but I think there should be some way to recognize people who actually do more than just level 50's.

(Yes I realize that so much of this is subjective and that there are no metrics to show, blah blah blah. I know when I see someone do something above and beyond that contibutes to my greater enjoyment of the game.)

I may not be able to define it, but I know it when I see it.

The hami zones are capped at 50 but I believe all zones are capped at 100. I remember the wedding event in Oroborus could only have 100 players and something leads me to believe that might be the zone cap everywhere. (Couldn't find anything on wiki so I could be wrong there.)

I love this conversation, but it's starting to frustrate me that it doesn't seem to be sparking a solution, or at least I'm not seeing a path to a solution. I'll have to ruminate on this some more.

Maybe what we need is a zone where there is no level cap and that exists only for community events. Someplace to have big get togethers. Maybe a zone called Congress or Heroes or Council of Villiany or maybe even co-op.

It could even be a function of Base Design so those so inclined could host parties and make like a banquet hall. Imagine doing a party circuit where everyone can goes from base to base (acessing the public area only) everybody stands around chatting, gawking at people's costumes and Bios.

Probably have to wait for i20, even if we could get interest from devs and show them it is a game wide issue not a server issue.

I have one toon on Virtue and since it is the unoffifcal RP server, there are usually a couple of dozen people in Pocket D just chatting and similar number just hanging out under Atlas.

But again, this is something outside of gameplay.

Not killing orphans and puppies.

off topic.

Cryfire -
Levels 50s...(22 and counting)
Blasters 3
Controllers 3
Defenders 1
Scrappers 5
Tankers 3
Peacebringers 1
Brutes 2
Masterminds 1
Stalkers 1
Widows 1
Corruptors 1

What! No Dominator? Slacker.

I love "drive-by buffers"... Defenders who'll randomly throw a speed boost, or a set of force fields or the like on people as they pass... and I always try to return the favor by doing the same when I'm on Suzume, my own Force Fielder. It's just always seemed like a nice thing to do.

It's also fun sometimes to stop and debuff something, or to heal someone, or just stand there and taunt a mob for a lower-level player to kill... But I'm more cautious about doing that, even if they look like they could really use the help. There's a fine line between being helpful and being annoying, and not everyone draws it at the same point.

Selflessness.

Doing whats right.

Helping those in need.

You ask why you don't see more heroes, or feel more heroic.

When was the last time someone drop a mission, joined a TF just to start it for unknown heroes, assisted with a monster hunt, or streetsweep to help someone else?

The way we feel heroic is to be heroic. I can save Stateman all night long, run the Rikti off the mothership and into the ground. That makes me a hero of the city in the game.

But getting a tell in game directly asking for my help, "I know you're busy playing, but we're in a tight spot and need a hand etc..." And I exit my mission, base building, iconing (Yes I said Iconing) and I assist regardless of any rewards.

I feel Heroic, and some people will call me Hero.

The Dev's made it easier with Super Sidekicking. I helped a lowbie cross Steel Canyon with just a simple team invite. I was in Talos, he became SL 46 now the entire zone cons grey to him, well except Posi. (hehe) and He was able to get his wings. ( I forgot to ask him if he had heard a bell )

In short what makes a hero, IMO it is their heart, not the powers they have. The decisions each player/character makes ultimately decides which path they will take. It's a question they ask you to decide:

Blue or Red,
Resistance or Loyalist,
Good or Evil,
Hero or Villain

The city is out there, the citizens of Paragon think your a hero, but are you walking the talk?

Valor

PS the MSR has basicly replaced Hami as the community social event, and all zone cap at 100 except the hive which caps at 50.

I can give you a good example of how NOT to do it.

During the Winter event I was hunting for packages and I spot one. There's a mob of hellions around but I get close and aggro them a little. So I am fighting these guys and in swoops some jerk, opens the package, spawns snowbeasts and then flys off. Of course I die.

Person never said anything and didn't stick around to clean up the fight he started. Didn't rez me or anything. If he would have said something like "Sorry. Didn't see you" or helped with the fight, it would have been cool. but no.

Now I know one is really in danger, but when I open packages, I kill the freakin snowbeasts and not them haress citizens of lowbies. Say I'm hunting in King's Row and everything cons gray to me, Doesn't mean it will be to the 5th lvl who is trying to do radio missions. I also don't trail a huge mob behind me into bunch of lowbies without pitching in to help.

Despite that, that is one of very few incidents that I recall of people being really, really jerky and unheroic.

Heck, when my blaster got the entire team faceplanted when they tried to save me because I aggroed a huge mob, the team leader didn't a strip off me (which I certainly deserved) but he said:

"It's not a good idea to aggro an entire mob by yourself or when you are playing a blaster. Or Ever."

Overall, even when people are not being heroic, they aren't being jerks.


It's thinking about the other guy a little and not just what you want/need.


PS. Tell you a dirty little secret. Sometimes, even when I am playing a higher level if I see an NPC (usually a lady I confess) I will stop and do something about it. Sometimes it just feels wrong not to stop and help even though there is no XP involved. Heck my 18th level blaster went through Perez the other day and killed about 10 mobs of COT just cuz!

Getting back to the real question though ... what do I think makes a person a Hero?

I believe it's someone whose presence is a positive factor on our server.


... someone who gives for the sake of giving.

... someone who follows with a little humility and leads with a lot of humility.

... someone who learns from their mistakes and helps others not to repeat them.

... someone who teaches, not tells.


There are a TON of great people on our server who meet some of those standards. There are few who meet them all. And of those few who do, I'm proud to call them friends and they know who they are.

You guys are onto something.

To me a hero is someone who cares more for others' needs than his own. It isn't enough to simply care about others, but to help them first, even when it is inconvenient to do so.

A hero also doesn't ever take advantage of others. Whether it is in trades or anywhere else a hero gives fair value. If there is a misunderstanding he explains it instead of taking advantage of it.

A hero shows respect for others. He doesn't insult them. He doesn't talk down to them. He encourages new "noob" players and doesn't denigrate them. He helps them learn.

A hero also supports the community in all these things. He's the kind of person you want to see at community events and gatherings because he brings more value than his toon by being the kind of person he is.

I can think of several heroes on this server. Gel, Sarah, American Valor, Night's Dawn, Devastator, Outlaw, PW to name a few. These are the kinds of players I want to be around so that their good rubs off on me and I learn how to be a better person both in game and out of it.