Make CoH my permanent home?

Hey folks.
I have recently left WoW behind after 4 years and am looking for a new MMO to call home.
I am currently on the CoH trial and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!
I am seriously considering going for a full account, but I have just one question I was hoping you could answer for me.
In WoW it was all about the end-game for me.
I've been the GM of a successful raiding guild for over a year now.
I'm just wondering...what's end-game like here?
Thanks

There are currently a few main endgame objectives that can be had...

• Mothership Raid - both Hero and Villain's 35+ can assault the Rikti Mothership together to earn Influence and Vanguard Merits (used to purchase costume options and temporary powers)
• Hamidon Rad - Hero's or Villain's can attack the Hamidon, a large Devouring Earth creature. Characters 45+ can participate in this assault, taking several hours to complete. If successful you are rewarded with Hamidon Enhancements.
• Ouroboros - Players can repeat completed, or missed missions to earn rewards.
• PvP at all levels - endgame PvP is usually considered fighting in Recluses Victory - A future Atlas Park where hero's and villain's fight for control of the future.

First. Welcome to the game, hope you will stay here.
Tsumiju has mentioned the endgame.
The one thing to keep in mind though (My view) is that CoX (City of heroes and city of villains) are all about the journey and not particular the end.
Getting to know the character by teaming and soloing from lvl 1-50, visiting new places and new zones, talking to contacts... everything really
And getting tired of just playing, say a tanker... no problem, just roll another character (alt) and play that a little bit.

Sadly I do not believe you can join the following channels until you upgrade your account, but these channels would be good to have.
Sals badgehunters
Union Chat
Union Taskforces

In sals and Union taskforces you can get teams with Taskforces. A taskforce is a series of missions stringed together with a powerful boss in the end (Archvillain). It is also team oriented.
Union chat is there just to talk of things (cox and non-cox related).

Oh, about Hamidon raid, we are working on having them appear more often now then before.

So, hope you will decide to stay and play with us and make CoX the new home. See you around.

Thanks very much to both of you for taking the time to fill me in.
Of course, the levelling process is of great importance to me too.
I just wanted to make sure that the massive journey didn't lead to somewhere I didn't want to be.
But it certainly sounds like there's plenty to do, and (after a busy afternoon Googling while I am meant to be working) it seems there is more on the way.
Also, there seems to be endless Primary/Secondary combinations to try!
I really do think I will be seeing you in game.
Now it's time to prepare myself for the massive learning curve. lol

Thanks again

You picked an odd time to leave wow, as the cataclysm expansion will be around soon. I`d advise you to keep your account open and to take a break rather than wandering off seeking the promised land.

I think these days that having more than one game subscription is a good idea, rather than calling simply one a home. I remain subscribed to warcraft myself, but i have recently reopened my cit of heroes account and am having much fun with this game.

What i would say is that city of heroes is a lot of fun. There are good people here and the welcome i recieved was a good one (be sure to join some channels). So long as you enjoy a game, then its worth paying the subscription and logging on whenever.

City of heroes is a different thing to wow. It's a simpler game in many ways, but it does offer a lastable and different game experience that is well worth taking part in. That is why it is still here after all these years.

Don't turn your back on wow, however, as you *will* be playing it again when cataclysm comes out.

Others have said it already but CoX is very much about the journey. The multitude of power choices and options are geared towards people repeating that journey with different 'alts' rather than getting to the level cap and grinding for superior gear. There is certainly some of that, especially if you get into inventions and PvP but it's not required.

I play plenty of my 50s chasing badges, unlocking contacts and costume pieces and working towards great builds but I also play plenty of alts and enjoy levelling them. So I'd advise enjoying the journey and playing as 50. They both have their merits.

I hope you do feel at home here and choose to stay.

Thanks again for your input folks.

It's an odd thing Electra...I think the reason I quit WoW now is actually because of Cataclysm. The realisation that I wasn't actually as bothered about it as a long term player probably should be was one of the main reasons for leaving. I should be filled to the geek-gills with anticipation about it! I'm just not.
To be honest, reading about Going Rogue and Star Wars:The Old Republic have both filled me with more gamer excitement.
Who knows, I may just give a goblin a bash come Cataclysm, but in the mean-time (thanks to the info you've all supplied me) I'll certainly be firing up a full CoX account come payday.

Anna din, are you floating around the forums quite a bit? If so, let me know. I've got something you might be interested in

Are you suggesting I am a floater?
:-)

Indeed I am ... doing research on what style/AT I fancy playing. I've tried just about everything so far. lol

I never really got psyched up about most MMO expansions myself until City of Heroes that is, the dev team have always added features rather than just new areas, which interests me more than just "oh look, another continent full of goblins"

Here's me giving Rent a superhero high-five (which hurts with all our super-strength and all).

You rock!

EDIT: I SO have to go create a character called High Five now! I wonder what he/she should be?

A super hero high five doesn't hurt when done to another super hero

Hey there Anna

Tis worth adding that in addition to the regular 50 content there is also the player created Architect content.

And when I started playing I have to say I found this game a darn sight friendlier than WoW

Nice to see you here

Glad you are enjoying the game!

Welcome to the game, Anna! I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

I'd like to reiterate what was said above. There is "endgame content" for your upper level characters, but the real fun, IMO, is in the journey. I feel that those who rush through to hit 50 are missing out on a lot. Simply changing ATs will change the approach to the game, and changing origins will get you introduced to different contacts as your primary contacts as you go up in levels.

When the new Praetorian starting areas open up, there will also be entirely new missions, foes, etc. to face as you progress up through level 20.

Good luck, and have fun!!

Welcome to the City!

I hope you do make CoH your new home. There is lots to do and many friendly people to play with. And with out any doubt, this is one of the best forums on the Internet. Lots of information and intelligent discussion and a minimum of flaming (you can never have zero).

Regarding an endgame: There are several things that people do and many people do multiple or all of them.

- Continue to improve your character after 50. Many people spend a lot of time determining what the optimal power selections and enhancements for their character should be. Planning ahead and saving money to get the expensive stuff can lead to powerful characters becoming almost godlike.

- Start another character. This game has many, many players that would confess to have "altitis" a disease that causes them to continue to make new characters. With all the different missions available and the never-ending new missions created by players with the Mission Architect, you could level multiple 50s without duplicating content.

- Collect badges. CoH has lots of badges and there will be lots more with the coming expansion. Some of those badges are part of a set that grant the player an accolade, which is a new power -- sometimes an extremely valuable power. But most players have at least one character that they try to get as many badges for as possible.

- Complete every single mission available. Once you get to level 25 and get a badge relating to time travel, you will get a teleporter to access Ourobourus - a citadel floating in between time. From there, you can access some new content but you can also go "back in time" and play all the missions that you may have outleveled.

- PvP While our PvP community has shrunk, there is still a dedicated group that competes against each other, sponsor tournaments, and repeatedly pummel each other.

- Raids There are two raids that require coordination of a large numbers of players on an open world map -- The Hamidon raid and the Rikti Mothership Raid.

- Supergroups and SuperTeams Super groups (SGs) and Villain groups (VGs) are the equivalent of guilds in WoW. You can join one or start your own after level 10. Some of them are very active with their own websites, regular events, and a offer a steady, familiar group of people to play with. SuperTeams are a little different. This is a group of players that decide to create a team on a theme and seek to leverage stacking similar buffs. One of the first was a team of Fire/Radiation controllers that raced through the game, tackling the most difficult enemies and tasks with ease and incredible speed. These could also become an SG or VG but is frequently just a group that meets on certain days and times.

That's just a few of the things you can do. And just when you think you've done it all, our developers add all new content and concepts that make it all new again.

Let us not forget the incredible number of hours that can vanish in the costume creator alone.

Funny how no one mentioned any of the TF. You can do any of the Task force / Strike Force in the game at any time as long as you meet the minimum requirements.

Welcome to the game. The community is great so don't be afraid to ask questions.