Answering some Freedom Questions


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Posted

On Tuesday when we announced City of Heroes Freedom what came with that announcement was a ton of information. We worked on making sure that we had the answers for you ahead of time, but we couldn’t anticipate everything you were going to ask, so I wanted to take this opportunity to clarify and answer questions about some things that keep popping up.

VIP Server
First and foremost, it’s optional. If you are a VIP subscriber you can play on any server. Premium and Free players can play on any server except the VIP one. Second, it’s a brand new server. We are not going to take an existing server and make it the VIP server. That would be unfair to all other server communities and counter to one of our goals, which is for your friends to try out (or come back to) City of Heroes and play with you at no cost.

We’ll update the FAQ with the following as well:

What happens to characters I make/transferred to the VIP server if I am no longer a VIP?


In this scenario, you’ll be able to get to the Character Screen of the VIP server and use any Server Transfer tokens you have (either banked from your VIP subscription or purchased) to move those characters to any other server. You cannot transfer TO the VIP server unless you are a VIP. Second Measure also talks about this here.

Supergroup Transfers (Including bases)
This is something we anticipated and are actively working on, but it likely won’t be ready for City of Heroes Freedom’s launch. We are committing to bringing you this service in the future and it won’t be just to the VIP server, it will be between any server. It will likely require the Supergroup’s Super Leader to actually execute the transfer.

Restricted Archetypes

Free and Premium players are not allowed to make or play Masterminds, Controllers, Soldiers of Arachnos, or Kheldians. There are many reasons behind this, not the least of which is the extra CPU drain some of these Archetypes can have on the servers. We want all players (free and VIP) to have a smooth gaming experience and if that means we’re going to restrict some Archetypes to ensure that, we will.

However, the Paragon Rewards program has an “unlock” for Masterminds and Controllers at Tier 5 (which is about a three-year CoH veteran status). So if you have enough veteran status at the launch of City of Heroes Freedom, you will be able to play these restricted archetypes on a Premium account on day one. As always, we'll be chatting more about the Paragon Rewards in the coming weeks.

First Ward’s Level range
First Ward is a zone in Praetoria, continuing many of the storylines of that world. It takes place from levels 20 to 26.


Positron
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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Positron View Post
Supergroup Transfers (Including bases)
This is something we anticipated and are actively working on, but it likely won’t be ready for City of Heroes Freedom’s launch. We are committing to bringing you this service in the future and it won’t be just to the VIP server, it will be between any server. It will likely require the Supergroup’s Super Leader to actually execute the transfer.
That's an interesting feature to add.

Don't know where else to post this but are you able to elaborate about SG and SG base feature access on the premium tier?

The matrix only says premiums can join an sg but what about previous subscribers with personal bases (only their own alts) that goes premium. Does that mean they can still enter their base but not administer it (no super leader authority)?

If so, can that license be purchased?


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pebblebrook View Post
That's an interesting feature to add.

Don't know where else to post this but are you able to elaborate about SG and SG base feature access on the premium tier?

The matrix only says premiums can join an sg but what about previous subscribers with personal bases (only their own alts) that goes premium. Does that mean they can still enter their base but not administer it (no super leader authority)?

If so, can that license be purchased?
i would assume that a premium cannot go to the sg registrar and create a brand new sg with brand new base, but if they are part of a supergroup and given or already holding the leader positions then it will be their super group

so my guess is premiums cant make new groups, but they can inherit older groups


 

Posted

Heh, yes i have my assumptions as well, but redname clarification is always preferred. The SG topic hasn't been responded much by the devs yet, maybe they don't have enough info yet but eh, had to ask.


EDIT:

Oh 2nd question to Positron:

Will there be an additional web page in the NCsoft master account website that will list all purchased items/licenses for that account?

I would think there would be but would like to confirm.


 

Posted

I notice you didn't include the HEATs and VEATs in that 'unlockable' status. If one doesn't want to maintain a current subscription will they be able to purchase access to Khelds or SoA via RMT?


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Positron View Post
First Ward’s Level range
First Ward is a zone in Praetoria, continuing many of the storylines of that world. It takes place from levels 20 to 26.
Just 26? I'd argue that you should err on the side of making it go up to at least 30. Level 26 seems limiting, especially since so many newer storylines have been added in the 20-30 range while the 30-40 range seems limited in newer content.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Zamuel View Post
Just 26? I'd argue that you should err on the side of making it go up to at least 30. Level 26 seems limiting, especially since so many newer storylines have been added in the 20-30 range while the 30-40 range seems limited in newer content.
My guess would be this is the first step in fleshing out Praetoria into a full 1 - 50 experience. You need a 20 - 26 zone or so as the next step so I can see it.


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Positron View Post

Supergroup Transfers (Including bases)
This is something we anticipated and are actively working on, but it likely won’t be ready for City of Heroes Freedom’s launch. We are committing to bringing you this service in the future and it won’t be just to the VIP server, it will be between any server. It will likely require the Supergroup’s Super Leader to actually execute the transfer.
Something to consider here is what happens when you transfer your SG to a server which already has an SG with the same name. If this leads to SG rename tech, please realize that this has long been requested by the SGs and would be a much welcome feature independent of the transfers.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Positron View Post

However, the Paragon Rewards program has an “unlock” for Masterminds and Controllers at Tier 5 (which is about a three-year CoH veteran status).
I think this illuminates something that was not entirely clear in previous discussion, at least for me. There is yet another reward structure beyond the Paragon reward tokens. This reward structure is similar to the vet rewards, in that there will be AUTOMATIC unlocks based on length of subscription.

Can we call this reward structure something else to avoid confusion. Something like "Loyalty Tiers" or something, listing what it takes to reach each tier and the rewards for that tier. Such as:

Loyalty Tier 1 (accumulated 6 months paid subscriptions): 1 rename token
Loyalty Tier 2 (accumulated 12 months of paid subscriptions): 1 global slot unlock token

My concern here is that you will have people coming back who PAY to unlock something like access to MMs, not realizing that they will unlock it automatically with two more months of VIP subscription.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Greyhawke View Post
I think this illuminates something that was not entirely clear in previous discussion, at least for me. There is yet another reward structure beyond the Paragon reward tokens. This reward structure is similar to the vet rewards, in that there will be AUTOMATIC unlocks based on length of subscription.

Can we call this reward structure something else to avoid confusion. Something like "Loyalty Tiers" or something, listing what it takes to reach each tier and the rewards for that tier. Such as:

Loyalty Tier 1 (accumulated 6 months paid subscriptions): 1 rename token
Loyalty Tier 2 (accumulated 12 months of paid subscriptions): 1 global slot unlock token

My concern here is that you will have people coming back who PAY to unlock something like access to MMs, not realizing that they will unlock it automatically with two more months of VIP subscription.
Yes I was glad to see this clarified, my impression had been that you had to spend tokens to unlock something like the MM and Positron clarified that just having around 3 years worth of tokens credited to your account would automatically unlock them.

That said I expect them to have the information about what is unlocked and how to be posted either in game or on their website. Much like you can look and see what the current veteran rewards are. I won't be expecting to see if for a few months from now though. Just say around the time COH:Freedom releases.


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Positron View Post
Supergroup Transfers (Including bases)
This is something we anticipated and are actively working on, but it likely won’t be ready for City of Heroes Freedom’s launch. We are committing to bringing you this service in the future and it won’t be just to the VIP server, it will be between any server. It will likely require the Supergroup’s Super Leader to actually execute the transfer.
Supergroups and Bases would be a good place to start on that cross-server tech! No need to transfer your base or SG, because your SG membership and access to your SG base is available no matter which server you make a character on.

The fairies said so...


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Posted

Quote:
First Ward’s Level range
First Ward is a zone in Praetoria, continuing many of the storylines of that world. It takes place from levels 20 to 26
Question:

In the past it has been said that players will have to choose to move to Hero or Villain when they finish the existing Praetorian Loyalist / Resistance Arcs.

Do the First Ward missions change this?

Are Loyalist / Resistance's still required to complete the conversion at level 20 to Hero / Villain?

Or can Loyalist / Resistance factions avoid the conversion and simply go straight to First Ward and start in-game content??

Or can Loyalist / Resistance factions go to First Ward, but are given "Tourist Staus" : that is : they can participate in First Ward Missions, but not start First Ward content?


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Greyhawke View Post
I think this illuminates something that was not entirely clear in previous discussion, at least for me. There is yet another reward structure beyond the Paragon reward tokens. This reward structure is similar to the vet rewards, in that there will be AUTOMATIC unlocks based on length of subscription.

...

My concern here is that you will have people coming back who PAY to unlock something like access to MMs, not realizing that they will unlock it automatically with two more months of VIP subscription.

Posi expanded a little bit in another thread:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Positron View Post

CLARIFICATION about Masterminds (and Controllers):

Zwill said that you can choose to unlock MM and Controllers with your Paragon Reward tokens. This is INCORRECT. MM and Controllers are automatically unlocked when you have accumulated enough Paragon Reward Tokens (for existing veterans it's around 3 years). You don't even need to spend these Reward tokens to get the unlock. Of course, you can always unlock them early by buying them on the Paragon Market.
Although personally, I feel the 3 year metric for the automatic unlock is a little steep...

This was a bit of a relief to me, as I was concerned that former VIPs would be put in a position of making a very expensive choice regarding their Veteran Rewards, when the AT's were never part of the veteran program in the first place.

The fact that a player would still have to "pay again" to unlock previously playable content with Paragon Points is probably not going to go down very well for some folks, but I'd rather see PPoints used than have it tied to the VRewards.
.


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Positron View Post
First Ward’s Level range
First Ward is a zone in Praetoria, continuing many of the storylines of that world. It takes place from levels 20 to 26.
Ive got to admit that this is slightly disapointing only because there is so much good content already available and recently been released for the level range 20-30!

I concur with the suggestion boosting it up to lvl 30, if not 35.

I can't believe I've just complained about having to much of a good thing!


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by StratoNexus View Post
Supergroups and Bases would be a good place to start on that cross-server tech! No need to transfer your base or SG, because your SG membership and access to your SG base is available no matter which server you make a character on.

The fairies said so...
+1


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Positron View Post
On Tuesday when we announced City of Heroes Freedom what came with that announcement was a ton of information. We worked on making sure that we had the answers for you ahead of time, but we couldn’t anticipate everything you were going to ask, so I wanted to take this opportunity to clarify and answer questions about some things that keep popping up.

Restricted Archetypes

Free and Premium players are not allowed to make or play Masterminds, Controllers, Soldiers of Arachnos, or Kheldians. There are many reasons behind this, not the least of which is the extra CPU drain some of these Archetypes can have on the servers. We want all players (free and VIP) to have a smooth gaming experience and if that means we’re going to restrict some Archetypes to ensure that, we will.

However, the Paragon Rewards program has an “unlock” for Masterminds and Controllers at Tier 5 (which is about a three-year CoH veteran status). So if you have enough veteran status at the launch of City of Heroes Freedom, you will be able to play these restricted archetypes on a Premium account on day one. As always, we'll be chatting more about the Paragon Rewards in the coming weeks.

First Ward’s Level range
First Ward is a zone in Praetoria, continuing many of the storylines of that world. It takes place from levels 20 to 26.
Two things I wanted to comment on. Are epic archetypes unlockable like Controllers? I sure hope so, I'd hate to lose access to my Kheldians... I'm going to hope you just forgot to mention where they go, but it would be great to have that answered.

Also, can you please, please, please stop adding content to the level 20 range? That range has more content than the level 30-40 stretch at this point, and much of it is the newest in the game (and what isn't new can be pretty decent). I guess you are adding this in to continue the story from level 20 in Praetoria, but it still makes little sense with where other game content is. The level 30-40 range could really use some new stuff, and some level 40+ material would not go amiss either.


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Posted

I do have another SG related question:

In the side by side comparison chart, it shows that Premium players will have access to SG's.

However, in the same column, it shows that they will only be able to use local, team and tells for chat.

If they are going to have access to SG's, shouldn't that include SG & coalie chat as well?

.


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Positron View Post
First Ward’s Level range
First Ward is a zone in Praetoria, continuing many of the storylines of that world. It takes place from levels 20 to 26.
I am actually happy about this. I was worried that Praetoria would never have 1-50 leveling content, but this makes me think it someday will!


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Grey Pilgrim View Post
Also, can you please, please, please stop adding content to the level 20 range? That range has more content than the level 30-40 stretch at this point, and much of it is the newest in the game (and what isn't new can be pretty decent). I guess you are adding this in to continue the story from level 20 in Praetoria, but it still makes little sense with where other game content is. The level 30-40 range could really use some new stuff, and some level 40+ material would not go amiss either.
I strongly agree. While I understand the part of the idea of the game's design is that "you can't see it all on a single character," the fact remains that you can see all the 30+ content on a single character, while there's so much to do in the 20's that it makes the teens look like a "content desert," even after the addition of Praetoria.

Please, please, please add something to the 30's or 40's the next time you feel the need for new arcs or zones.


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Posted

SG transfers? finally I can move my sg off of virtue to another server. Positron what about doing a sg rename? Thats something I been wanting since I have inherrented like 3 SGs over the years since many of those players stopped playing.


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Posted

Actually, the way I read this, the unlocking via time played only happens at the time that CoH Freedom goes live. After that, you will buy those types of unlocks using the Paragon Points you buy/earn by being a VIP. So, you get an automatic unlock at 3 ys, but if you have two years of (paid) play time, you will need to unlock via points. It also sounds like there will be some points given as loyalty bonuses as well.

Z


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Zaran View Post
Actually, the way I read this, the unlocking via time played only happens at the time that CoH Freedom goes live. After that, you will buy those types of unlocks using the Paragon Points you buy/earn by being a VIP. So, you get an automatic unlock at 3 ys, but if you have two years of (paid) play time, you will need to unlock via points. It also sounds like there will be some points given as loyalty bonuses as well.

Z
That isn't what I take away from Positron's comments. He uses Tiers in reference to Paragon Reward Tokens. As in you achieve Tier 5 at around 3 years. Additionally he states that the unlocking of MM and Controllers happens automatically when you achieve Tier 5.

There is no indication that you will have to spend Tokens ever to achieve the tiers. Instead you get a tier for accumulating enough VIP months. Basically if I'm reading that aspect right it is very like the current Vet Reward except with different rewards.

I'm also guessing that much of the current rewards turn into things you can spend your PRT's on.

So from his 2 paragraph comment it looks as though the replacement for the Veteran Rewards Program has 2 aspects.

Aspect 1 - You earn 1 or more, though probably only 1, Paragon Reward Token for each month you are subscribed. Prepaying in advance awards you all of the tokens for your prepayment. These can be spent on various unknown at this time things.

Aspect 2 - Every so many months you earn a new Tier in the Paragon Rewards Program. Each Tier unlocks something. Tier 5 unlocks Master Minds and Controllers.

There may be more to the system or that may be it. We don't know yet but it is pretty safe to say that the 2 aspects I list above are definitely part of the new system.


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Positron View Post
However, the Paragon Rewards program has an “unlock” for Masterminds and Controllers at Tier 5 (which is about a three-year CoH veteran status). So if you have enough veteran status at the launch of City of Heroes Freedom, you will be able to play these restricted archetypes on a Premium account on day one. As always, we'll be chatting more about the Paragon Rewards in the coming weeks.
This seems kind of odd. One of the features being touted for Paragon Rewards is the fact that we get to choose how to use them. Why also build into the system rigid rewards that Paragon chooses instead of us?

Maybe I hate pet classes. I was told I would choose the stuffs I get for my Paragon Rewards. Now I learn that I can mostly choose, but some stuff is still chosen for me. Since I foresee myself remaining a subscriber, this is not an issue for me, but it does feel kind of odd.


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by StratoNexus View Post
This seems kind of odd. One of the features being touted for Paragon Rewards is the fact that we get to choose how to use them. Why also build into the system rigid rewards that Paragon chooses instead of us?

Maybe I hate pet classes. I was told I would choose the stuffs I get for my Paragon Rewards. Now I learn that I can mostly choose, but some stuff is still chosen for me. Since I foresee myself remaining a subscriber, this is not an issue for me, but it does feel kind of odd.
I'm guessing that they put some of the feature unlocks in as automatic rewards given out based on time. IE you can pay to unlock something or if you expect to play for a long time there is no need to pay to unlock it.

Basically its just a bonus reward to players who have been subscribed for a long time. IE if they have managed to keep subscribed for 3 years than they have X unlocked for them for free if they have to drop down to Premium. The nifty rewards appear to be tied to the tokens while the rewards that link to things you could buy in the paragon store are linked to time accumulated.


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Positron View Post

First Ward’s Level range
First Ward is a zone in Praetoria, continuing many of the storylines of that world. It takes place from levels 20 to 26.
Extremely disappointed.... I was really looking forward to finally having a new zone that was level 50-54 only. Yes praetorias storyline needs more zones but we also need some there for level 50s. We currently don't have enough level 50 zones and most of them are 45 - 50 anyway excluding part of the shadow shard and northern rwz.


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