Quote:
Virtue and Freedom are the most crowded.|
Originally Posted by Bladerkun
Hello! I just recently began playing City of Heroes and it's fantastic! Never before have I had the option to run around in skin-tight spandex, and yell BIFF! BAM! POW! as I kick some major butt. There's just a simple problem that I have.
Which server would you consider the most popular? I'm currently on the Champion server (or, at least, that's what I think the top server is called) and nearly everywhere I go is a ghost town; no players in sight, and so the social aspect of an MMORPG is basically gone. |
However.
City of Heroes/Villains is heavily instance-based. There are a few spots where some players gather, but you won't see huge throngs of toons hanging out like you do in other MMOs. They are all doing door missions. You'll want to learn to use the team search tool, and also find the global channels on your specific server to find/make teams.
Also, are you on a trial? Due to RMT spammers, trial accounts are severely gimped. Basically it makes it nearly impossible to communicate in anything other than local chat, which must be highly irritating.
Oh yeah, and Welcome to City of Heroes! You'll get lots more suggestions in this thread momentarily.
Welcome to the game . I my opinion all servers are good , I started a year and 3 months ago on Liberty and for the last 6 months have been planted on Virtue which is a heavy Role Playing server . Again all servers are good , at times you run into some people not too cool , but for the most part the player base is very friendly on all servers , always willing to help a new comer 
Quote:
/this. The difference between "Everyone run around outside, hope nobody spawn-camps the one boss you need, etc" from so many other MMOs and COH's instance-heavy design (which makes sense if you think of it - it's in a city, after all, and you're doing everything in buildings and sewers) can be a bit of a shock. (Edit: Plus, past the first few missions, people don't need to head back to contacts - just call in and go. So you don't see people there, either.) |
Originally Posted by Tyrrano
Virtue and Freedom are the most crowded.
However. City of Heroes/Villains is heavily instance-based. There are a few spots where some players gather, but you won't see huge throngs of toons hanging out like you do in other MMOs. They are all doing door missions. You'll want to learn to use the team search tool, and also find the global channels on your specific server to find/make teams. Also, are you on a trial? Due to RMT spammers, trial accounts are severely gimped. Basically it makes it nearly impossible to communicate in anything other than local chat, which must be highly irritating. Oh yeah, and Welcome to City of Heroes! You'll get lots more suggestions in this thread momentarily. |
It's not dead, no matter how it looks.
Take advantage of global channels - and while you're here, head down to the server specific forums and ask around, browse through and see what kind of population and events go on.
Plus, every server has its own "personality."
Quote:
Howdy, and welcome aboard. Champion is currently the fourth most populated server, and the server I call home. Like Tyrrano stated, City of Heroes is mostly instance based, so you won't see many people outside. However, there are usually people hanging out in Atlas Park if you play hero side. You're better off trying to join a Champion oriented global channel, as you'll find finding teams easier. Post your global name (it begins with a @), and I'll get you an invitation to the BMT of Champion global channel, where you can find teams for task forces, strike forces, giant monsters, and other such activities.
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Originally Posted by Bladerkun
Hello! I just recently began playing City of Heroes and it's fantastic! Never before have I had the option to run around in skin-tight spandex, and yell BIFF! BAM! POW! as I kick some major butt. There's just a simple problem that I have.
Which server would you consider the most popular? I'm currently on the Champion server (or, at least, that's what I think the top server is called) and nearly everywhere I go is a ghost town; no players in sight, and so the social aspect of an MMORPG is basically gone. |
@Celestial Lord and @Celestial Lord Too
Welcome to the City!
The servers are listed in this order ::
The one you were on last (at the top)
The server with the lowest load
....
....
The sever with the highest load (at the bottom).
Load is not necessarily related to population size. Virtue and Freedom actually have larger servers (I think they are the only two). However, in general, it is also I good indicator of current population.
Virtue is the unofficial RPG server.
Champions has been known as the unofficial server for people that played Champions the RPG.
Justice has or had a good sized community of players from the Oceanic region.
Justice and Infinity were both vying for the title of PvP server at one point. There generally isn't a lot of PvP going on in CoH at all. If you want to get into that you want to try to track down the people that run the PvP ladder and find out what they are up to these days.
All of the servers have a different flavor. I wouldn't just go for a high population server, I would go with one that you like the atmosphere of.
Server populations fluctuate based on the time of day and day of week that you log in. Also there are some special events that players hold on servers from time to time that might lure other players over to them.
My suggestion is to avoid Freedom until you have played the game for a while. You will get much better exposure the game and normal game play if you do so. This game isn't about the "end game". It's about the journey to becoming hero and that can be lost due to the play style on Freedom.
[looks like Champion is at 6th place at the moment, but they fluctuate around.]
Welcome to the game and the forums! 
One bit of advice I like to offer all new players:
The only way to guarantee you're always on a fun team is to form one yourself...
It's not hard at all to put a full, 8-member team together in less than 5 minutes without using annoying Blind Invites.
Here's how.
Permit me to put in the obligatory plug for the Mentor Project.
Support the Mentor Project - http://tinyurl.com/citymentorproject
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@enrious, @sardonicism, @MyLexiConIsHugeSon
If you haven't joined a global channel, you're not really looking for team.
All righty, then. Thank you all for your help. It certainly sucks that trial accounts have been gimped in terms of communication (though I eventually plan to become a paying account, I prefer to see how much I get out of the game before I pay). A second character on Virtue may be my next step; I'm a big fan of roleplaying out characters and the like. And for Celestial Lord, my global name is @Doctor Sensei Animus.
Whats wrong with Freedom?
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Feel free to ignore the quoted part of this post. Freedom has a high population, so there are more people who like to do anything, be it farm, TF, whatever. Freedom's a fine server. Virtue is great too; it's my own home server. The others are quieter and have smaller communities, but they are not dead at all. Ask folks for global channels and whatnot to get you involved in the community of your chosen server; you will find there is a lot going on that you would never see if you just ran around and went by the population visible in the overworld. |
Originally Posted by The_Alt_oholic
My suggestion is to avoid Freedom until you have played the game for a while. You will get much better exposure the game and normal game play if you do so. This game isn't about the "end game". It's about the journey to becoming hero and that can be lost due to the play style on Freedom.
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If you come to Virtue, PM me on the forums and I will send you a list of global channels to join to improve your experience.
Welcome to the game!
Unlike other MMOs, CoX is much more accomodating when it comes to creating alts, so don't be afraid to make lots of different combinations on different servers. That way you'll get a feel for how the local communities vary.
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Quote:
omg loaded question alert.|
Originally Posted by all_hell
Whats wrong with Freedom?
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Freedom is a great place! But I do like the advice previously given, explore another server before u run head long into freedoms hustle bustle and farming tussle.
In short: more people equals more problems.
Problems with powerlev fiends. Problems with jerks, Problems with pickup teams that consistently fail, Problems with spammers who have junk to sell. Any problems that exist on other servers tend to get exaggerated on freedom.
Having said that, the potential for great team based fun is also their on freedom. A lot more task forces, raids, pvp, badge hunters, etc, than other servers (in my experience), and *generally* a friendly population willing to answer or help with w/e.
Virtue is on par with those comments also, but you best be aware of the (( ))reasoning.
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Nothing, just avoid Atlas, Steel, Talos, and P.I. if you don't like spam. (or turn off broadcast).
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Originally Posted by all_hell
Whats wrong with Freedom?
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currently reading: A Mighty Fortress (David Weber)
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Nothing is wrong with Freedom, per se.|
Originally Posted by all_hell
Whats wrong with Freedom?
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I think the advice is meant along the lines of, "Okay, it's your first visit to America. Let's drop you in the middle of Times Square during rush hour and see how it goes."
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That's how I would view it.
Support the Mentor Project - http://tinyurl.com/citymentorproject
[JFA2010]Mod08: And I will strike down upon thee (enrious) with great vengence and .... oh wait wrong script
@enrious, @sardonicism, @MyLexiConIsHugeSon
If you haven't joined a global channel, you're not really looking for team.
Quote:
Ah, but if the new guy survives, then he's good to go! |
Originally Posted by Ironblade
Nothing is wrong with Freedom, per se.
I think the advice is meant along the lines of, "Okay, it's your first visit to America. Let's drop you in the middle of Times Square during rush hour and see how it goes." |
Personally I started on a fairly slow server (espcially during the night hours) and was so glad when I got to Freedom to find people about at 3 AM, but by then I did have some good idea about what I was doing. I'd think too though that hopping into the maelstrom of Freedom wold be a good "quick tutorial", plus he may find a good helpful player to show him the ropes.
It's not the Freedom is the evil server of DOOOOM, it's just that it's the most crowded. Seriously, I dare you to go to Atlas Park on Freedom on a Friday night and try to keep track of all the broadcast messages. There's just a ton of people, and it's better to get used to quieter servers than to immediately jump into the busiest one.
But for the people who say "Avoid Freedom, it's full of farmers!" just ignore them. Having been on the server since day one, I don't think anybody has even been there to justify the "OMG EVIL PL'ERS!" lies. Sure, if you stand around in PI all day, you'll see a few of them, but there are farmers on every server.
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Hello! I just recently began playing City of Heroes and it's fantastic! Never before have I had the option to run around in skin-tight spandex, and yell BIFF! BAM! POW! as I kick some major butt. There's just a simple problem that I have.
Which server would you consider the most popular? I'm currently on the Champion server (or, at least, that's what I think the top server is called) and nearly everywhere I go is a ghost town; no players in sight, and so the social aspect of an MMORPG is basically gone.