If there was one thing that everyone should know about CoH...

...other than it's about superheroes, what would it be?

Now, let me explain what made me think of this question. When you talk to non-gamers about games it seems that some things are common knowledge about certain games. Things like, "Oh, is that the game with the real long dungeons?" or "I don't have enough spare time to be able to do the prerequisites for the prerequisites for the prequisites of the prerequisite dungeons for the end-game dungeons in that game," or even, "Oh, that's the one where you fly, right?" Heck, even a lot of shooter games have some things that are common knowledge. For instance when I was relating a story about a couple online friends to some friends I was having lunch with they interrupted me with, "Is that the game where you play some terrorist in an airport?"

So... if you could have everyone know just one important thing about City of Heroes... what would that one thing be?

For me it would be "Variety". There is just so much variety in City of Heroes. Character customization is taken to a whole new level with costume parts, powers (and different animations and color options for many of those powers), enhancements so that the same powers from two different people will not necessarily behave exactly the same, story arcs with various villains and heroes making appearances, the ability to make your own missions or to play the missions of your friends or complete strangers... there's just a heck of a lot of variety.

I'd say the fact that it's a fun computer game that also just happens to be an MMO. Speaking for myself, and many of the friends I know personally who have gotten into the game, the biggest draw has been the fact that you can play with or without a team. Based on what I hear about most MMOs, that's really not such a viable option, like it is here.

Of course, overall game vision also seems to be moving somewhat away from that, but I think that especially as the game loses that required monthly fee, the fact that one can buy the box, then choose to play on their own or play with others as suits their mood, is pretty noteworthy.

I may be biased, on a professional level, but...

Community. The CoH Community is outstanding. Friendly, helpful, knowledgeable, and warm are a few of the words I regularly use when describing our Community to people who are new to the game. Rarely can you point to the Community of an MMO as a selling point, however in the case of CoH, it really is.

Sometimes, when I'm on my personal account, I forget that the folks I chat with on a daily basis here on the forums don't know who I am in global channels. The people you play with in CoH put you that much at ease .

There is no "best build."

I second what Zwillinger and Nalrok said, and would like to add: it's a very casual-player friendly game (at least until you get to the endgame). You only have 1/2 hour to play, you can still do all kind of stuff...

Community is number one.

That any build on any budget works is two.

The one thing everyone should know is that when you are new, there are no insurmountable roadblocks that stop your advancement while you are learning the ins and outs of how to play.

Not all games can say this, and that's one reason Im here and not somewheres else.

It doesn't matter what kind of characters are in a team if the right players are involved. No, seriously, it just doesn't matter. You get a group of people who are here to have fun and not get too hung up on stuff, it's all good. Not only don't you need to spend hours carefully fitting the thing together, you'll probably be better off if you don't. That way even when you hit a combination that works particularly well, it'll be a complete surprise and that much more fun because of it. All Tanks? You'll get things done slowly, but it'll be a riot. All Blasters? You'll die a lot, but it'll be a riot. Complete and utter mismatches of all kinds? There will be confusion, you'll get things done slowly and probably die a lot, but it'll be a riot.

The one thing everyone should know about CoH is this: it's the GOOD superhero MMO. It may not be the prettiest one out there but to people who really care about a game, there's FAR more than shiny graphics.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zwillinger You had a 50/50 chance it would be something about the Community or a meme quoting .jpg...

Please, allow me.

Community, definitely. But from a playability point of view, the teaming in CoX is the best of any game out there. Any combination of AT's make an awesome team. The holy trinity mentality is a moot point on our teams. And I can feel like I'm playing a vital role on any team--because I am (like everyone else is). Or I can just solo for awhile and assert that special individuality that makes all my characters feel special.

City of Heroes is "the one with the really incredible character creator."

If I was to give a single piece of advice to a newbie, it would be this:

The journey is more important than the destination.

If you put all of your focus on "leveling up" then you will miss 90% of what makes this game special. There are only so many opportunities to have a "sovereign experience", meaning a first time to experience something in the game.

Treasure them. Take your time. Talk to your contacts. Read the mission text. Don't jump into 8-man groups clearing the sewers and power-leveling to level 50. There's nothing there waiting for you. Well, nowadays, there are incarnates, but even that won't actually mean anything except a whole lot of grinding if you have ignored the entire game in order to get there.

Do your missions. Follow the story arcs. Do your task forces at your level range when you are the right level to do them. The story of Paragon City is YOUR story - the story of your progress from new hero to Hero of the City. Make the most of it and learn the stories of the city. Later, you can make alts and do farming, or bank missions, or whatever. On your first character or two, savor the experience of earning your first cape; completing your first task force; defeating your first arch-villain.

You only get one chance to have a first experience. Make the most of it.

If I had to make one thing about the game widely known, it's that it features pretty much the greatest variety in themes and freedom of expression of any game I've ever had the pleasure to play. I'm not sure how many people would really care about expressing themselves with such freedom, but that's still what I find to be the game's single greatest distinguishing figure.

Or, let's put it another way: Did you like dolls or "action figures" as a child? Well, then you're going to LOOOVE City of Heroes!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

Well, this answer is awfully trite considering what is coming in the near future, but there is really is one word that best defines this game:



Freedom.

You are free to make a unique character with unique looking powers and any back story you can dream up . . . or pick random and go.

You can solo or team and still progress.

You can go slow or fast.

You can read every word or skip them all.

You can role play, explore, punch things, shoot things, collect badges, PvP, play the market, or choose to ignore any of these . . . or even most of them if you so choose.

And in a few weeks, you can chose to do all that for free or a little more for a little less than $0.50 a day.

I don't know exactly how to say what it is, but CoH characters are powerful and fun from the get go. When I was first starting, I tried another MMO, and the entire tutorial I spent my time hitting rats. With a stick. Right after that, I logged into CoH and was blasting bad guys with energy beams. No comparison. Been here 7 years and can't even remember the other MMO's name.

For comic book fans, it's the closest you can get to being a hero or villain without actual superpowers.

As a kid, I spent far too many hours reading comics and fantasizing about being a superhero myself. As an adult, I've reluctantly accepted the fact that I'm not from Krypton, will never gain powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider, will never have a dying alien bequeath me his power ring, will never be exposed to DNA-altering gamma radiation, etc.

When I play CoH, however, I'm a kid again. And all the characters that have been simmering in my subconscious for decades come to life. How cool is that?

Community is definitely up there for me in importance, but when I think of what I would tell people, I am drawn back to what kept me from playing the game when I first started.

I was very interested in CoH when I first heard of it... I am pretty much a super-hero addict and the idea of creating my own totally blew me away. What kept me from buying a box off the shelf was the fact that it was an MMORPG and (at the time anyway) I didn't have any interest in playing with others whatsoever.

So, if I had to sum up what I would tell people about the game in one word it would be: Options.

The archetypes are all balanced so you can play them solo or on a team; as are most of the missions and enemy groups.

The costume creator lets you create a huge percentange of what your mind can come up with and if it doesn't now... wait a while... they're adding stuff to it all the time.

Play for content. Play for socialization. Play for advancement. Play to beat the market. There are so many ways to enjoy this game that you'd practically need a spreadsheet to keep track of them all.

Trust me... I know.