Let me pay you money for Celesial Armor.

They are perfectly willing to accept your money as payment for the Celestial Costume Set.

Approximately you'll pay:

Tier 1: $0
Tier 2: Variable. Owning a Retail Code, or first purchase of Paragon Points.
Tier 3: $45 above Tier 2.
Tier 4: $90 above Tier 2.
Tier 5: $165 above Tier 2.
Tier 6: $270 above Tier 2.
Tier 7: $375 above Tier 2.
Tier 8: $480 above Tier 2.

Or you'll have to pay in time. Either way you pay.

Triumph: White Succubus: 50 Ill/Emp/PF Snow Globe: 50 Ice/FF/Ice Strobe: 50 PB Shi Otomi: 50 Ninja/Ninjistu/GW Stalker My other characters

Where is this guide? I don't have a good understanding of the new system at all. I don't know where I'll be on the tiers either. Hopefully I'll be closer to Tier 9 than I think.

I also intend to spend a lot of money early on, but even then I don't think I'll be at the top tier yet - and I need the celestial armor. It's not just "new and cool" to me, I have characters who desperately need those costume pieces (particularly the weapons/wings) for their character concept.


Unfortunately, no. I won't spend $500 to get shiny wings. I want them badly, but not enough to spend the equivalent of the cost of a new computer on them. So, I won't pay. They won't receive the additional revenue they otherwise would if I (and others like me) were allowed to pay them for the new costumes.

My best guess is once it leaves the rewards table, it'll take a Disney classics inspired route.

Meaning it'll be 'gone' for a week, maybe a month tops, then appear back in the store as something you can buy.

So you can get it earlier for a few rewards token earlier than the people who buy it flat out. Then once it's up for sale, later on, it'll stay on sale permanently, barring unexpected circumstances.

I'm not sure how well that'd satisfy you if they implement, obviously.

Another upside: The next reward that replaces it might be ten times cooler.

If they do this, then my complaints are completely and utterly satisfied. I'm completely fine with veterans getting first access to new costumes and features, as long as they're available to everyone soon after. I'll be jealous as hell until I get it, but no complaining.

Unfortunately, they haven't confirmed that this is the case. I'd love to get a dev to comment and explain HOW they're going to "cycle back in" stuff which used to be Tier 9 restricted.

Snow Globes Full Guide to Paragon Points and stuff May be others out there.

First question: how many vet rewards do you have currently? If you've been playing for 2 years straight, you should have 8. You'll also have earned 2 free character slots as part of the old vet program. All this translates to 10 starter tokens in the new system.

Plus you get 1 token for your original purchase of the game. But only 1, even if you bought CoV as a box after buying CoH. So you've got at LEAST 11 tokens coming your way to start.

And now, each month of VIP status from AT LEAST this day forward (maybe July 1 forward when they started also giving us Paragon Points) also nets you 1 additional token.

You also get 1 token for each $$ increments of points bought from the Paragon Store. (Monthly allowances of 400-550 points from being VIP do not count towards this amount.) I think it's somewhere around every 1200 points purchased (probably not including bonus overages for bulk buys). Basically every $15 you spend = 1 additional token. You do NOT need to spend your points to get the tokens towards the new rewards (Vet) program. And lastly, I think they are giving out a bonus token upon your first purchase of ANY points.

Based upon my assumption that you have at least 11 tokens to start (you may have more if you have more vet rewards than that and may have more from billing cycles since July 1), you will be somewhere just below entering Tier 5 at a minimum on day 1. If you were to spend just $30 in the Paragon Store and stay subscribed through the end of the calendar year, you'll be a token or two away from entering Tier 6 of the program. So no, you won't get access to the Tier 9 vet costumes, but you'll also be unlocking oodles of other neat prior vet rewards, including costume pieces, that you would otherwise be waiting years to get still. I think Samurai armor may be one of those. And though it is no celestial armor, it is one of the better and more complete vet sets in the old system.

Edit: To be clear, if I can, Snow Globe's guide is focused on how the tiers will affect premium players (those that play for pay but then later unsubscribe). So it does not list all the other goodies like costume bits, respecs and vet powers. But all the rewards that were once a part of the former Veteran Rewards program are now being folded into this new program. So you have oodles of presents to open in a couple hours.

I'm well aware that I'll be getting some awesome gifts shortly. Overall, I think CoH: Freedom is pretty awesome, and a welcome breath of life into some of the age-old problems (not enough slots per server, not enough costumes per character, not enough enhancement storage per character, and so on). But it's not perfect, and one of the most glaring problems is the inability of players, like myself, who have paid for more than two years of game time, bought every single booster pack (most the day they were released) and poured money into character renames and character transfers... and still aren't allowed to spend their money on the NEW booster pack (the celestial armor).

To quote Phillip J. Fry, I just want them to "shut up and take my money." And, as I said before, if in three months the Celestial Armor moves to the Paragon Market like any other purchasable perks (like the Rocket Board or the Barbarian Armor), I'll be satisfied.

But I want a dev to come and TELL US THAT.

^ This, /Signed

After the whole 'we don't want to lock meaningful stuff and costumes behind long time vet rewards' and this set being the ONLY set of energy wings and one of the few glow-map armours?

Let's just say my opinion of this can be summed up with two words or one picture;

Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.

Not how they've indicated it will happen at all.

They haven't indicated anything about how it will happen. They just said "they'll be back."

Not to tell you what to think on this one, but this seems like a bit of an overreaction. Consider that any account will earn 39 tokens in just three years of VIP subscription with zero additional purchases. This means that a BRAND SPANKING NEW ACCOUNT made today would be well into tier 8. With the former vet program, what did 3 years get you? And again, you can buy in for additional points. So if that very same new account decided to buy the equivalent of our booster packs, purchasing say $30 worth of additional points each year, they'd end their 3 year stretch with another 7 tokens total (including the bonus for first $$ purchase at the Paragon Store.) That's 46 tokens through what we've been doing normally. Giving a new account access to all the premium loyalty rewards. These rewards are going to unlock faster for folks than I think some people realize.

It's not the system I object to. I know full well that it is better than the old one, and welcome that.

I do not, and WILL not, ever agree with locking costume parts behind the higher tiers of vet rewards, however. I thought they'd learned that lesson with stuff like wings and trenchcoats, which are at least down in the very first few tiers.

But to have "Oh hey guys, we finally ponied up and made the energy wings that people have been begging for for years along with one of the few glowmap armours ever!" and then follow through with a kick in the fork to the tune of "Oh, and you can only get it from the very top tier of rewards and even then only if you're subbed"?

That's as much farmyard faeces as the "Only level 50s are cool enough to wear this" Ascension Armour.

Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.

Try to stick to facts instead of absolute untruths, okay?

A brand new account made today would be tier 1 or 2. THREE YEARS down the road, sure, they'd earn a lot more tokens. Three years is not a short time. Three years is almost long enough to go to college, earn a degree, and graduate. You cannot say "no, the tier 9 content isn't locked" by claiming "just wait three years and you can have the shiny wings."

Three years is so long that god forbid, City of Heroes might not even exist anymore. MMOs have been built, designed, released, and been shut down in a shorter amount of time.

I stuck to facts. But the facts are that it takes only about 3 years of simply continuously subscribing to the game to go from Tier 1 to Tier 8 with the new system. Was trying to provide some perspective. Sorry if that is not to your liking.

And yeah, three years can be a long time. It can go by in the blink of an eye. Didn't expect to be here 7 years later myself.

Not to be picky (and not saying you're wrong, either. Although I would argue 'only' three years ) but this doesn't have anything to do with the OP topic or request.

Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.

The irony of people saying they'd "pay hundreds of dollars to get the Celestial set today" is that IMHO the Celestial set is not really all that super-cool to begin with. Sure it's relatively nice and it does have the only "energy wings" in the game so far. But after playing around with it for the last several weeks on Beta I've decided there are a number of costume sets I still like better. The Ascension Armor for instance is much nicer and more epic looking.

I guess what I'm saying is that it's probably not such a bad thing that we can't "pay-forward" for it after all. I have a feeling a lot of people who might have done that would have been majorly disappointed. *shrugs*

Actually if the Devs decide that "the passage of real-world time" is more important for a player to qualify for these top-tier rewards than just a sum of money then it doesn't really matter how much money you're willing to spend. Rules are rules.

Which is all subjective.

I think the A-Pieces look like...'A', and the Celestial pieces look like canned Win with Win Sauce

Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.

I'll say this again: You'll either have to one of the following:

• pay cash up front to get to Tier 9 VIP
• pay for a subscription over time to get to Tier 9 VIP
• do a combination of the two to get to Tier 9 VIP

Those are your three options.

Now, in the interest of moving this conversation along, what is your vet reward status? I can tell you how close you will be to your goal.

Triumph: White Succubus: 50 Ill/Emp/PF Snow Globe: 50 Ice/FF/Ice Strobe: 50 PB Shi Otomi: 50 Ninja/Ninjistu/GW Stalker My other characters

Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.