6-Year Anniversary Address from War Witch

Can't believe I've been playing this game for six years...

To put it in perspective...I was single when I started, now I'm married with two beautiful daughters, nice home etc...

My best memory has been this community, still the best out of every other MMO I've played.

My favourite memory would have been the release of Issue 10 and the beginning of the Second Rikti War, when my server (Pinnacle) banded together a hundred of the best and brightest heroes and successfully brought down a drop ship or two.... after they had been altered to be immune to most mez effects.

A close second would have been finding out that the population of Canadian players was enough for a dedicated super group.

My favorite memory would be the time I learned my soloing capabilities.

I was heading for a mission I had against the Family. I entered the mission, only to realize I hadn't changed my difficulty since the last team I was leading! The mobs were set for 5 players, and there was a huge group in front of me. So, just for kicks, I decided to run in and try to solo it... and I succeeded.

Never before had I felt more powerful with my DB/En Stalker. It was so much fun letting loose One Thousand Cuts on each large group, just watching the damage ticks float up. I loved every minute of it.

Seriously, even though I've only been around for a short while, this is without a doubt the best MMO on the market today. I tried WoW and CO and all those other games, but none of them had the same appeal as this game.

Happy 6th anniversary, and here's to many more!

Some of my favorite memories:


FINALLY(!) getting that Master of Statesman's TF.

In game friend and I forming our SG.

Finding some of "those discoveries" that some know about and others don't know of.

Hoping for many more years.

Frostfire and Atta. I ran so many Frostfire missions when I first started playing and they are still fun.

Holding off a horde of DE with my Grav/Storm, watching them futilely trying to get past my Hurricane and 3 Sings as my team finished off another spawn.

The first time I ever was speed boosted and proceeded to run through a door into a pack of BP and finding out what BP masks were at the same time as I studied one while laying on the ground.

The first time I saw a Fire/Ice tanker rounding up 70 enemies in TV (and later Bricks and CF) and hearing that noise as my inspire tray filled rapidly.

The time I used Sprint+Hurdle+CJ to get Meltdown.

Striga. Still a favorite hangout of mine. In that Hess TF, running around inside that base and then seeing that thing through the window.

After I got Invincibility on my Kat/Inv scrapper and rounding up enemies in Terra Volta, watching hordes of Freaks and Sky Raiders chase after me.

All the fun and kind people who have taught me to be a better player and tolerated me while I learned.

Playing with PuGs. I love playing with my SG. But I also love playing with people from whom I have no idea what to expect.

Aggroing everything in the room; isn't that the way we were meant to play?

Kronos Titan.

When I was thinking about maybe quitting and my wife went and re-upped me for a year and bought herself an account for a year so we could play together.

I9 Beta.

Watching my son obliterate spawns on his Fire/Fire blaster.

Doing laps around the Storm Palace. Beautiful scenery and engaging enemies.

That time Arcanaville said Fire Manipulation was designed by monkeys pounding on Geko's keyboard while he was out of his office.

Real Numbers.

Getting a Katana with an eyeball in it (and a big ole hammer to use for a tanker)!

The first time I tanked the STF... with my blaster.

Climbing the hill in mission 3 of the ITF and then seeing those things (and I love the cutscene in mission 4)!

Ninja Run. I mean really, freaking Ninja Run (I still want my motorcycle though)!

Making the fire on my Kat/Fire scrapper blue.

Running and making AE missions.

Playing my DP/Fire blaster to 50.

Thank you for all the fun.

My most memorable moments:

Finally overcoming my fondness for alts and getting my first 50. Felt like I was on top of the world.

Using Gang War for the first time.

Using Propel for the first time. Nothing beats hitting a Hellion in the face with a car the first time you use the power.

Being complemented in-game by other players for some of my characters. Especially T3h N1nj4 Fr34k and Not a Nemesis Plot.

The 6 year anniversary event. Seeing 15 Adamastors at once was epic.

Playing the "Video Killed the Radio" arc. One of my favorite arcs in the entire game.

I tend to hop around games a lot, I left CoH for several years but since I got back in to it, it has become home.

One thing that I have learned playing a lot of other MMOs is that the state of the wiki for the game can tell you a lot about the community. This has certainly held true here, Paragon Wiki is absolutely the best game resource I've run across for any MMO and the community is second to none.

Best Memmory:

The First Time I zoned into Atlas Park from the tutorial and looked up at the awe inspiring statue of Atlas holding the world on his sholders.

And how can I forget when I got my first character up high enough to get Hover. floating over the wall in Perez Park at a whole 2 mph (That Character now hovers at over 30 mph with out power boost =P )

Happy Aniversary CoH, Here's to a great 6 years, and another 6 to follow. Can't wait to see what comes next

Hrmmm ... favourite memory ... Reading the stories posted on the Crey Industries website about the hero Xanatos. It was the way he told his stories. I just wanted to live the stories he told with my own character.

That is probably my favourite memory of City of Heroes.

My favorite memories....

The day I started my first villain, shortly after GvE was released. Ghost Widow, of all people, showed up in Mercy Island at fort Darwin and gifted me with 200k inf. I've been a villain ever since.

#2 - Earning my "Master of Lord Recluse's Strike Force" badge. 43 attempts, almost nightly, with the same crew - Stoney, Goss, Mara Blaze, Mara's boyfriend, and a couple others I've sadly forgotten. I'd been running successful LRSF's almost weekly at that point, totalling nearly 200 completed by that point. I dont think I've run one since.

Herocon 2009 as part of Cape Radio.

-DJ Crash @Free Fall

A long time ago (four or five years, maybe?), WW, you sent me a PM about hockey. I really, really liked that.

I'm patiently awaiting Arbiters Sedin and Halak.

Hmmm.... Favorite memory....

As so many have said, it's hard to choose, so....

-Hearing about how newbs try to fly up to the blimp in Atlas Park and realizing that I'd never done that.

-Reading Arbiter Fabulous' articles (does anyone know if they're all in one place somewhere? 'Cause I'd like to read them again sometime...).

-Reading Dark Respite's "Nerd Flirting" stories (note to self: REREAD SOON so that the new chapter will make sense).

-Finding a link to the "Acts of Gord" website and spending the next 3 hours reading it. All of it.

-Finding a Dominator primary/secondary combo that I can solo with (mind/electricity).

-Realizing that the Storm set doesn't suck as bad as I thought it did, and is actually quite AWESOME!!

-Arguing with people on the forums until I forgot any other problems that had worried me that day (a.k.a., relieving real stress by replacing it with fake stress).

-Winning a costume contest when I was just going to make sure that there were enough people there.

-Getting wings as a costume part.

-Getting Sands of Mu and Nemesis Staff/Blackwand. These make my Masterminds sooooo much easier to play!

-Realizing that I'm not as much of an uber-n00b as I used to be (via getting frustrated with actual uber-n00bs).

I'm sure I'll think of more later, as soon as I can no longer post about it (like right before I fall asleep or something. In the meantime, I'm gonna go play my Demon/Pain MM .

Hrrrmmmm.....

Namesake, first character. Going through the Hollows, I3, so there are no jetpacks, mobs way over level popping up here and there, etc. I'm on my way diagonally to a mission on the far side. First sight of one of the Spectral Demon Lords. "ooh... ok, I think I'm going to go over this way now. That looks nasty, and very purple..."

Getting the same tank stuck, pre-acrobatics, between two Sorcs. Both using hurricane. Irritating, sure, but still funny.

Electric Nukes. "What happened?" "Me." (The tank wasn't used to non-Energy nukes, or that I didn't have to stand in the middle of the group to fire it off.)

First hami raid. First time going from zero to - what was the old 50 cap, 1.4 million? - debt in one sitting.

Having people just drop heals and buffs instead of letting you die as they pass by.

First time seeing a PB. Nova form, coming out of a mission. I3.

Flying around Outbreak with my first Peacebringer.

First run in the Eden trial, just going "oooh" at the map.

Finding I can RP well enough to cause people who know me to forget what they know.

COV beta PVP in - think it was Siren's. So many people. So many powers. So few FPS.

Having devs that actually respond and interact.

First time through Dark Astoria. (And on a Teleport user, too.) Still love that zone. Needs more stuff!

Being recognized. (Though with all my characters, the times I'm on a MB character... it still surprises me to have someone say "Hey, aren't you...")

Vernon von Grunn. "Laugh with me!"

Having Dark_Respite not only go over a piece I'd written (and like it!) but convince me to post it - and having more people like it. No, wasn't expecting that.

And I'm going to echo "Community" and the people I've found (and made friends with) in game. Heading to a wedding for two of them, talk with others constantly (or near constantly,) and I'm not sure I would have made it through a divorce or the drive cross country without a couple of them talking me through it and helping deal with it - and another giving me a place to just get away from everyone for a while and get things in order. I've met some good folks through this game.

See my Guides and Tutorials

TONS of memories:

--Making my 1st hero just after the very 1st Halloween event in November 2004 & discovering the newness of the different zones. I remember going to Skyway City from Atlas Park's gate & seeing a bad guy named Ogre. He was purple so it was pretty intimidating seeing him. I shot him once & ran as fast as I could back to Atlas Park.

--Joining my 1st PUG & seeing what kind of chaos (and deaths) can come from them, fun all the same if you're not a stickler about debt.

--Joining my 1st SG & meeting like-minded people who love the game as much as I do. And teaming with them every chance we got.

--camping out with tons of other people to fight the Paladin, Lusca, & Ghost Ship. Quite a few people had theories of spawning them. One that was most ridiculous yet fun was nearly 50 people forming a giant circle & doing /em jumpingjacks for Lusca.

--the 1st Column vs. Council battles, as epic as they were.

--the 1st Winter Event where everything that was water was turned to ice. They really need to bring that back. Minus the WL orgies.

--meeting the Devs in-game, have yet to make it to any of the Cons, not sure if it'll ever happen so I'm perfectly happy with meeting them in-game.

--badges, no matter how much you suffer for them, its always a good feeling to see the "Badge Earned" font.

--getting my 1st toon to level 50. I had promised myself I was not making any other characters besides my 1 guy until I achieved 50, and did it, without any PLing.

--joining the 1st All Blaster 3rd Respec on Justice @ level 49. I had died so much & accrued an ungodly amount of debt, before there was a debt cap I believe. We failed it & posted about it on the forums. After hearing the amount of debt I had @ level 49, so close to level 50 yet so far away, there were quite a few people who had volunteered to team & help me pay the debt off. Luckily, we got a full team, & ran mission after mission, until the very last debt I had paid earned me level 50. It really showed how much of a community this game really is.

--telling the new players the old "You have it easy in todays game. Back in my day there were no newspaper/radio missions, no SG TP, no Ouro TP, no Mission TP, no Auction House, and you could 6-slot any power with the same type of enhancement with out the enhancements lossing effectiveness."

--winning my 1st costume contest. Made me feel like a celebrity for a few seconds.

--getting my g/f & son into the game, they like it.

--dual pistols, best animations ever.

--send influence/infamy by email, BEST thing EVER!

--many many more I could prolly come up with but this is getting super long.....

I've a ton of great memories, all of which are my favorites, and I'll probably post more of them when I get more time, but for right now...

- Capes. When I started on June 1, 2004, we didn't have capes. Nobody did. When Capes were introduced later that year, I lost it. I was so happy. I finally got to live out the dream of flying across town, that cape billowing in the wind...

- Meeting one of my all-time favorite friends, WarPaint, during a mission on Virtue server one night. We teamed up to take on a bunch of Rikti and went on to eventually found The Silencers - May they rest in History.

-City of Villains Beta -- Man, that was insane, but fun... and the last night when Statesman and the other heroes attacked the Rogue Isles and we all got to beat on them a little bit... great fun.

- First time I got to take on the Giant Octopus out there in Independance Port... the night he was first introduced. Talk about anticipation... he was making us wait... and wait... and wait...

Tons more, I'll get to them eventually. Gotta run for now!

Good to be back!

WrathStar

Thank you, once again, War Witch, Positron, Dark Watcher, BaBs, Ocho, Ghost Falcon, Aeon and Television, and so many more that I apologize for forgetting you guys but you guys all deserve my *HUGS* for a game that's given me so much creative freedom! Here's to 6 years!

My favorite memories?

Lots of them!

I remember dancing under Atlas, way back before we had Pocket D and Paragon Dance party.

I remember Killer Whale breakdancing with his nifty blend of animations!

I remember struggling for 4 years and getting my first 50 on Taliesen

I have fond memories of the Cape and all their events..

and most of all. My friends that I've teamed with and RPed with all this time! *HUGS* the Hamidon Love commune and the Angry Angels SG!

Well damn! Here we are 6 years later guys! I love that War Witch got a bump and that she is in that position. Well deserved in my opinion. It's been a great 6 years and I am really looking forward to whats coming up for the game. Very happy that you guys are not sitting on your hands this far down the road. I still love the game even though I rarely get to log in these days. I miss coming on the forums but I will never leave the game. You guys are stuck with me :P


OK best memories over the past 6 years? God there are so many and most revolve around the community that War Witch mentioned! I love you guys!


-Calling my brother a geek while I watched him create his character in COH beta only to create TA days after lol

-Getting into the game and realizing the scope and magnitude of the possibilities the game held.

-Perez Park, Founders Falls, Shadow Shard, The Hollows and looking forward to Praetoria for the first time! WOW!

-Running through Steel Canyon with Deadrites at level 16 and seeing 2 huge robots running through the city. Me running off as a blaster only to get one shotted by the level 44's...

-Seeing the Nemesis Staff for the first time....Then subsequently pestering every dev I could get my grubby little hands on to let us keep it

-The moment they announced the Nemesis Staff as a Vet power.

-My first piece of art from Celtic Bolt of TA. Things were never the same after that

-Meetin Sassy in game and ending up moving 3000 miles to be with her after a 2 year relationship ingame. I was so skeptical of online relationships before that!

-Telling the Justice community about my diagnosis of cancer and seeing the entire server rally behind me and support me. I never would have gotten through those 3 months without Justice. Represent!!

-That first Meet and Greet at Dave and Busters. The close quarters and the family atmosphere there blew me away!

-Meeting Babs for the first time

-Talking with War Witch along with Sassy for like two hours at the bowling alley...You are still our favorite WW, I can go on and on. I know Sassy girls absolutely adore you!

-The City Scoop being formed and being a part of it.

-Every Hero Con since the Dave and Busters Meet and Greet was awesome! Great times that I will never forget. Meeting all the faces behind the names in person and developing real life relationships with a lot of them.

-THE ART FORUM COMMUNITY!!!!!!! REPRESENT!!!!!

-The day NCSoft took over for the game. Norcal formed. Best day of the games life.

-TEAM AWESOME!!!!!!!

I could go on and on and on. But I am at work right now and need to get back to work. City of Heroes/Villains/Going Rogue will always hold a special place for me. My life changed for the better and forever because of this game.

Happy 6th year Anniversary everyone!

Mine is probably the time I got to stand within earshot of War Witch. I was pretty nervous, so I pretended to be on the phone, talking to my agent, Saul, about the Ascendant-O's cereal issue.