To Positron and the devs (even Jack!)

We all knew it would come to an end some day; nothing is forever. But to be blindsided like this, when the game has been experiencing an extraordinary renaissance, is a terrible shock. It seems a little strange to me that I'm as upset as I am. It's a game, right? But it's been a part of my life for so long...all these years, the arguments, the passionate advocacy--everything from the old "empaths can solo" crusade to the myriad Incarnate discussions. And the devs listened to us, and acted on our feedback. I think, maybe, I made the original suggestion that became Pocket D. (Yes, Virtue folks, go ahead and blame me for the Catgirl Menace. I'll take the hit.) Whether they were already planning it or not, seeing what I envisioned manifested in the game makes me feel like I have a stake in it. There's an awful lot of emotion tied up in there.

City has been so innovative all along, solving problems years before the rest of the MMO companies even started trying--sidekicking, and super-sidekicking, and the Architect (which, for all its faults and the trouble it's caused, is a stunning achievement). To see it thrown aside now in favor of...what? WOW Clone 25: Prettier Pictures? The idea disgusts me.

If I could work my will--short of reversing this decision--I would see the people of Paragon stick together to form an independent studio. They have the talent, they have experience, they are already a team, and they certainly have a lot of good will. I want to see them go on to make a great new game together. And in some quiet corner of that game, there would be a thinly disguised NCSoft office. Directly across from it would be a statue of a superhero in the sniper pose, taking aim.

Regardless of that dream, thank you, devs, for the dreams you've already brought to life.

Just got home from work and saw this news. I am absolutely, utterly heartsick at this. I have been a subscriber without breaks since just two weeks after launch. No other game has kept my attention this long and I've been playing MMOs since the launch of Ultima Online.

Devs, you have been consistently amazing over the past 8 years. Your high level of communication and friendly nature has set the bar so high that I don't think any other company will be able to reach it.

In tears and sadness, I remain loyal to this bitterest of ends.

I absolutely wish nothing but the best for everyone at the studio. They all deserve much better than this ending. Like many others have said already, the escapism provided by this game got me through one of the lowest times in my life.

I am still a little stunned by the news. I am stunned by the effect it is having on me. I have greatly enjoyed the company of more people than I could ever hope to mention through my years here.

The creative outlet provided by this game and all the people who have worked on it is something that I do not think I will ever see duplicated again. The costume creator, bases, AE (love it or hate it, AE was an inspired idea), player vids, player art, the player back stories, and of course, the Rangle Plots. The people associated with this game, both devs and players alike, have imaginations and talent that never cease to blow me away.

It has been a pleasure to share the streets and skies of Paragon City and the Rogue Isles with you all.

Papa Slade

You guys (pinches cheeks). I started playing in 2005 and deleted my info from my first 2 accounts due to playing too much.

I was originally Burn Sucka, and then Master_Don_King

Thank you so much for your dedication, putting up with our whining, at times, and making COH by far the most customer/player centered super hero mmo out there. Thank you for enabling us to team up with other players of any level. That encouraged actual teaming, and community, that other MMO's lack.

I can't imagine how difficult it must be for you guys, as it is difficult for us to say goodbye. Take care and I wish you well in your future endeavors.

-BurnSucka
"Melt 'em like butters!"

I just saw my start date Aug 7, 2004. Wow spent a lot of time and energy on this game. I'll certainly miss it.

Thanks to all the folks, devs, community mgrs and players who have made this an amazingly good experience.

I wish you all the best, but not happy at all .

There are so many lesser and smaller MMO's out there that are doing just fine, even with a reduced staff and budget....very bad decision....bleh

I'd also like to say thank you to the current development and community teams, and to all the ones that came before I started whose names I only heard in passing. Without each and every one of you this game wouldn't have been as enormously awesome as it has been. Yeah, even you Skippy Sidekick. No scratch that... that goes double for someone who's willing to let his official name be "Skippy Sidekick".

- Thank you for the countless hours of enjoyment beating up fearsome foes and giant monsters.
- Thank you for the countless hours of distraction from real life stuff that sucked monumentally.
- Thank you for having multiple varieties of giant robots. Those are always frickin' cool.
- Thank you for inspiring the players to make things as solid and cool as Mids, Vidiotmaps, and ParagonWiki (among others).
- Thank you for inspiring Steelclaw to make all those lists.
- Thank you for almost exclusively attracting the type of players that I'm more than happy to talk to and spend time around.
- Thank you for the players I've met here that I've since become good and lasting friends with.
- Thank you for a game where I could be around whole crowds of other people and still play on my own when I needed to.
- Thank you for not making me need hardcore skills to get ahead or have fun. Cause I don't have those. Seriously, not a one.
- Thank you for a game where a costume contest can be both a challenge and a joy.
- Thank you for inspiring me to actually post on forums. That was out of the question for me once upon a time; too shy.
- Thank you specifically to Avatea for my complete and utter inability to say "purple" anymore. I can now only pronounce it "puh-pull".

But most of all... and I mean this from the bottom of my heart... Thank you for letting me be a hero. Even if it was only for a while.

I wish all of you the best wherever you end up next. And if you do somehow let us know where that is, I'll be sure and check out those projects. Cause hey, it'll already have a big advantage by having one of you guys on it.

Stay safe out there, heroes! Hoorb!

*runs off to take screenshots of his base and all his costumes*

I'm sorry to see this and you guys go. If you guys ever make another game together I'd be all for it. You were an amazing team and I hope you find a better company to work for besides NCsoft.

I would love if there was an MMO made by gamers for gamers without the tie of so much greed and business tied to it. GfG


Virtueverse.net will be posting something for the devs/community next week sometime.

Warts and all I'm sorry to see it go. I'd hoped to see it improve and go on.

11/30, eh...got a Beast/Nature MM to finish, and then a lot of archiving to do, I guess....

=(

Thanks to the devs for the absolutely fun times I've had playing this game.

If you don't have forum access next week, I reccomend posting this o the CoX Reddit or on Reddit's IamA.

and always remember: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrdEMERq8MA

I am incredibly sad. I played CoH from the very 1st day - I had a burn tank. I didn't even know how OP they were until I learned burn and was like WOAH.

I resubbed to CoX at least 3 or 4 times.

CoX and Anarchy Online are the only two MMOs I came back to after canceling. Only twice for AO.

I will miss this so much. I will miss just knowing my favorite hero is there, waiting to be played.

I seriously hope a staff member is hoarding all the necessary code to "leak" it so people can at least keep the spirit alive somewhere - if even only on their own LAN.

I'm sad, and confused, and a little angry, but I've probably made that clear enough on other posts.

In this topic, I'll just say I've not been around as long as some - only two years, and only three months ago did my finances finally become stable enough to regularly subscribe - but in that time this has become my favorite MMO easily.

There is literally nothing else like it out there - particularly the insane amount of customization and personalization of your character. In certain other games (by which I mean MOST other games), Level Cap Warrior A and Level Cap Warrior B were pretty much going to look exactly the same, but not on CoH.

And that's aside from the community. Despite a few disagreements and arguments here and there, this is still literally the friendliest community I've ever seen for a MMO. And great dev-player communications (even if I'd had my issues with that, too).

I guess I just have issues.

They all pale next to this news, though. I'm going to miss this game, I'm going to miss the community, and I'm going to miss being able to pretend, for a little while, that I was a little greater than I was (which is also something else not many other MMOs offer).

I hope that Q&A happens next week. It'll be small consolation to know where the game could have gone, but it's better than no consolation at all.

Just, so sad.
I've been playing this since beta. I've had to take some time off from time to time, but I've always come back. I missed launch day only because my son was being born. (Best excuse for leaving a team ever--"I have to go, my wife just went into labor")
I've made so many friends here. People I've looked forward to playing and chatting with, even though I'd never even seen their face or met them in real life. We were brought together by a common love of comic book stories.
This was the best game --bar none-- on the market. Where else could you make a charecter that looked EXACTLY the way you wanted it too, instead of looking just like everyone else out there. I spent hours just reading other people's charecter bio's. This wasn't a game that told you what your character was--you told the game (and everyone else) you you were.
I'm going to miss all the friends I've made. I've been on Virtue since day 1, and been part of several great supergroups. To all my friends--go out and be the hero that we've been able to be for the past 8+ years. To all the devs--thank you for creating a world that inspired me to greater heights.

I've been playing this game since it came out in 2004. I remember seeing a preview article about it, and my friends and I all decided then and there that we had to get it. We all played together, and I was the one who stuck around when everybody else moved on to other things, got married, had kids. I got my little brothers to play it, I street ground my way to level 36, I knew some zones better than I know the layout of my own home. In college, I had to unsub sometimes because I was poor, but I always managed to scrounge up some more dough (sometimes by selling my textbooks at the start of the school year and doing without) and this is what I spent it on. I remember messing up installing CoV and having to start a new account, but I didn't care, because it was awesome content. I made spread sheets at work last year to try to figure out my perfect Dominator build. I was so excited about the Dual Pistols changes and Martial Combat that I've played the Beta server every day after work and most weekends since it became available for testing. I never got a character to 50, and I never ran out of ideas for new ones.

For me, this isn't just the end of a game. It's the end of part of my life. To all the devs, past and present; and all the players, who I probably politely refused to team with so I could solo: I will miss you.

Echo'd. CoH has been a gathering point, a focus, proof that not all of MMO communities are troll-laden realms where one treads with care and only if you MUST find out something. Only with CoH has there been someplace where communication amongst the players and the devs, with rare exceptions, have been anything other than positive.

Paragon Studios and the City of Heroes product has been an example of how MMOs should be run and communicated to it's players. It grew into a family.

For myself, City of Heroes has been a solid base on which to stand to get away from the stress and difficulties of mundane life. No other MMO (or even other non-massive, non-multiplayer games) has held on to my attention. I've been playing CoH from before day one launch. My wife started playing a year after I did, and still plays to this day. We're regulars on Guardian, Protector and Victory. We've been at home on Pinnacle and Champion. I suffer from alt-itius so she got to 50 before I did. I almost thought the wedding pack was perfect as it was announced shortly after I proposed to her.

I've made friends I would NEVER have met due to CoH. And no one I have met in this game has ever become my enemy/stalker/pest.

No other MMO (and I have played most that came on the scene before COH, from UO and EQ to DAoC and more - And the ones that have come after) has held my attention (not even others by Cryptic) for the number of years COH has. And it is going to be hard to find another.... I gave up Broadcast Television for COH. I don't want to go back.

Thanks for all the years. Thanks for the friends, the entertainment, the laughter, the tears (yes, I felt it when Miss Liberty and Statesman died....), the frustration when team mates say 'I was only looking!' as their healthbar goes red. Thank you. I'll be online when the plug is pulled on the servers... they have to pry the game out of my hands before I will turn my back on it.

Thank you, Paragon Studios.

My game company, who I worked for the last few years, only just closed down 2 months ago as well. I feel with all the Paragon Studio people for what must have been sudden, terrible news.
I might not have always agreed with some design decisions, but I've been loyal to this game and IP for over a decade. It's played a big role in my life and I want to thank you and wish the best to all of you.

-Poison aka Manuel

City of Heroes has been with me in my life, in one way or another, since it launched. Since before it launched. Even before I knew about the game, I was hoping someone out there was making it.

Since I started playing CoH...

- I've earned a degree in social sciences + complimentary pedagogics and social psychology.
- I started taking up exercising (from a life of none of that whatsoever)
- I've had two nephews and two nieces been born and seen them grow (eldest is 6).
- I've gotten married.
- I've lived and worked in two separate countries.
- I've made friends and said my goodbyes to both friends and family.
- I've conquered two separate personal fears I never thought I could.

And probably alot of other stuff I can't think of at the moment either. The point is, that's still alot to me. And one of the few constants, whether times were good or bad, was CoH. Didn't matter if it was when studying became too hard or when I got told the news about my first nephew. CoH has, as much as anything else, been a big part of my life.

I guess the only thing left to say to you guys at Paragon Studios (and those who moved on to Cryptic Studios) is:

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING! YOU GUYS REALLY ARE THE BEST!

You have been the most fantastic dev team I have ever seen. I have played Lineage II, Age of Conan, Guild Wars, Aion, and you guys are far above any of their dev teams and community people.


This was my first MMO and the MMO that I have always consistently returned to. The player base as well is far above the the garbage that other games seem to attract.

I will greatly miss this game, its staff, and all the great players on Infinity.

I just found out what is happening to you guys at Paragon. I'm sorry to hear that big daddy is shutting you down for their lack of successful business practices that you had nothing to do with. If it makes you feel any better, I'm not buying GW2. I was on the fence since I never like NCsoft anyway but this pretty much takes the cake.

I hope you guys have success in the future. You guys have earned it. Hopefully this obviously unwarranted axing of you guys will help keep other development teams from partnering with NCsoft in the future.

Jeese.. 6 years of CoH for me... crazy.

To everyone: Thanks for all the laughs, arguments and discussions. It was fun while it lasted but nothing lasts forever. Hopefully I'll see you guys in the future!

(I haven't done this in years...)

Your next of kin/
Velocity Overload

...

This is horrible...

...

In the last decade City of Heroes has been such a fixture in my life. I have met a lot of people via this game many of whom are now rl friends.

To the developers I would like to say a big thankyou. I was here almost from the beginning and played in most of the testing since beta. Its been a fantastic ride and this game has been one of the few things that has get me going since my families losses last year.

Thankyou. It's been great to be a Hero, I dont think any other game will ever compare.

I hope that you can now tell us all the secrets and stories we will miss out on as thats what I will miss most... this is worse than a Comic line being cancelled.

- Raith

May sound silly but I am honsetly gutted by this

This was my first mmo and it's still the best IMO, I will truly miss this game.

Heart felt thanks to all the devs past and present for a truly awesome game

Thanks for letting me be larger than life.

Wow. This is my first MMO and the game I've played the longest. Actually, this is tied with game I've played the longest. The honor is shared with Warmachine. City of Heroes it what I've turned to when I'm sick, can't sleep, excited about playing a super hero... Though I mainly lurk in the forums, I really like the community here. It is what has made it hard to get into any other MMO outside of the pure awesomeness of CoH. It has been a great experience, and though I knew it wouldn't last forever, it is a shame to see it end like this.

Incredible work here. Thank you devs. I have not liked a game this much since Decent3. Gonna be a while before I like one that much I'm sure.

Castle, I still swear we have the same music collection, loved the sigs back then.
Good luck Paragon folks.