How long does it take YOU to get to 50?
By
Ael Rhiana,
Posted on: 2010-12-23 10:58 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
First character took me a bout 3 months, I took it slow, my second character...
Meh.. not far from 3 (or beyond) months aswell. (But I must admit in the end my motivation was to get a vill to 50 so I had one)
My third (empath) took way longer, mostly due to her being mostly in character (Yes I roleplay... from time to time now)
I enjoy the arcs and the path to 50 and alot more, so to OP's question:
As long as it takes.
Lady Arete on Unionhandbook
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There is some serious spread... but it seems people are clustered in about three categories: a month or less, around six months, and years. I seem to fall mostly in the third category, occasionally as quick as the second.
Man... when I got a level 50 in six months, I was playing most days, usually long sessions, and rarely playing anyone other than that one character. I know that crazy altism is what lead me to the one character who took nearly five years, but six months was me trying really hard (especially so since that was my first, and I really wanted to get there!)
Nowadays, a character getting to 50 in under two years seems fast to me. 
Proud member of Everyday Heroes (Infinity Heroes), Dream Stalkers (Infinity Villains), Devil Never Cry (Freedom Heroes), Enclave of EVIL (Pinnacle Villains), Phobia (Infinity Villains), Les Enfant Terribles (Freedom Villains), Gravy Train (Virtue Heroes), and more!
Full, detailed character list
My main took a year to reach 50, he was a PureTank so I could only Jab up to Level 26.
Nowadays, it takes merely hours for me to go to 50 really.
Fury
I tend to play one character at a time for extended periods, so I don't have many alts. I now have 5 50s.
My first 50 was a MA/SR Scrapper named Mrs. Smith (intended to be a female version of Agent Smith from the Matrix). Started her in spring 2008 and got to 50 in about 3 months.
With HEATs unlocked, I immediatley started a Peacebringer, Socorro. She also took about 3 months. She was then my main/badger for months where my goal was to load her down with as many purples, accolades, and other uber-stuff as possible.
Finally started getting a little tired of her and decided to give redside a try. Started a SS/WP Brute, Kimber Lee Luster. With a few starts and stops she finally also got to 50. I'm guessing it took 6 months.
During those lulls I also pushed the first character I ever made, an SS/Inv Tanker, Eliakim, to 50. She was started at CoH launch and I got her to around lvl 8 then before taking a 3 year hiatus. Playing her off and on after resubbing, I guess it took about 4 years to get to 50.
Noticing my trend towards 'punchy' characters (and female), I decided to do something really different during the short spells when I wasn't playing any of the above. So I started a male Thugs/Traps MM, Jack Caleb. Playing intermittently, I just got him to a few days ago, then I robbed my PB of all her Purples and Loaded him up. Probably took about a year for him
Since level 50, I've changed Mrs. Smith to male and renamed him Tanhauser. I also changed my Tanker Eliakim to male but kept the name.
With Incarnate/end game stuff coming, I see playing the above 5 (4 really, I likely won't play my PB again until they get a buff and/or customization) for a long time, thus it'll be a real long time before I get another 50
I pretty much always take 80-110 hours of play time to get to 50 (estimation based on five or six of my 14 50s). That's usually spread across two or three months.
200 hours give or take 20 hours depending on the AT and how much I do that doesn't help them level like getting crafting badges. My quickest was 157 hours and my longest was 599 (first blaster under the original debt weight from 2004).
total kick to the gut
This is like having Ra's Al Ghul show up at your birthday party.
My first character took me over a year of casual playing to get to lvl 50, which was the longest. My quickest took under an hour to get to 50.
[U][URL="http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=251594"][/URL][/U]
My first and only Hero 50, an FF/Rad Defender:
Jade Dragon
Never farmed, soloed to about 35-40, teamed with an SG for most of the 40s
Created at release (April 28, 2004)
Hit 50 on Christmas 2008
777 hours (probably around 750 to get to 50)
My only other 50, a villain, Thugs/Dark Mastermind
Hitwoman Mandy
Never farmed, rarely teamed
Created 07/03/2006
Hit 50 08/03/2009, during a Double XP weekend
330 hours
JD is by far my character with the highest number of hours logged on him, but he has been levelled since the start, while levelling got markedly easier after CoV, particularly for Defenders and Controllers. It's also entirely possible many of those hours were spent flying around clearing "fog" off the map, or managing and shuffling around items in his personal base. He's not a crafter, though, so very little time has been spent on that. My second most played character, Blue Diamond, only had 383 hours at last count. Still, I wouldn't say that 700+ hours is that far off.
I am a serious altoholic, though, so I have dozens of characters in the 30s-40s.
I actually had not realized that it's been two years since JD hit 50. I even forgot it was on Christmas.
The first time it took me like 3 years as well. Was a pain in the proverbial. This time around, it took me 2 weeks. I was most annoyed. lol
I started back in I6. My first toon, a Spines/SR scrap, hit 50 in 3 months. She was not farmed. My second took 2 months.
Without PLing/farming, and just teaming and TF's, you can go 1 - 50 in a couple of weeks if you put in a lot of playtime.
"Certain it is and sure: love burns, ale burns, fire burns, politics burns, but cold were life without them." - Romulan proverb
My Characters
My first 50 - late 2004 to 2006, 18 months.
With all my alts, it's still common for any given character to take most of a year to get there (if not longer). They do tend to get leveled in cohorts, though, as new expansions come out and new powersets or factions spark new ideas; so at any given time I'll have a couple of 20s or 40s.
Never farmed, never PLed.
My characters at Virtueverse
Faces of the City
Probably have 25 or more 50s now, my main acc is full of 50s an my 2nd is full off toons at random levels.
1-50 Ranges from 2 hours too like 2months fo my 1st 50
@Effy
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Effy Unleashed DP/EN Blaster 1st 50 @ Union