Would starting from scratch affect your decision to continue to play?

In July I started with a brand new account and got to 50 with a fully IO'd build in 31 days. It would be a bit harder if the entire game had to start over -- but not that much harder. ^_^

It depends upon how many character names I could get back and what costume parts I had available. I probably wouldn't start from ground zero and repurchase all the extras. And I know the frustration of not having things like Reveal or access to certain costume pieces from alt accounts. The names would be the critical factor though. So... without the ability to recreate my core group of characters with their names, concepts and costumes I'd be hesitant.

If I lost everything I had already paid for....yes. I'm not buying it again, and I'm not playing without it. I bought it. It's mine.

Otherwise, I barely get a character to 30 without alting something else, so it's no difference whatsoever to me. Long term players with permanent toons would probably s*** themselves to hear about some of the stuff I've auctioned off that they'll kill small, cute animals to get for their endgame.

I wouldn't mind re-rolling everyone. Losing the vet rewards would be tough. But doable. Levels have never mattered much to me, so that's not an issue. I think I have maybe two characters that have even unlocked Incarnates. No slotting though, so that's not an issue either.

My main concern with this would be names. I know for a fact there's at least one other Tiny Bolt running around in game, since I couldn't get the name on all the servers when I tried a couple years back. I also know that there are other Tiny Bolt's out there in the bigger internet world, since I can rarely get the name without modifications elsewhere. So, I know I'm not special with my name, and that doesn't bother me.

That being said, I'm still attached to the name. A lot. It was a stupid, throw away name on a silly, throw away character that has ended up enduring. I made her on my second day of playing. She's still taking up a spot on my main account even though I've deleted and re-rolled every other slot at least once, if not ten times. While I don't claim that I should be the only person to use that name, if I couldn't get Tiny Bolt (or three other names almost as dear) it'd be a huge blow to how much/if I want to start over.

So, tl;dr, if we can transfer our names? Do it in a heartbeat.
If we had to try and scramble for "our" names? Debatable. I'd probably still play here and there, but definitely casual status only.

Oh, that wouldn't bug me much at all.
That's one of the greatest things about this game: there's not really a bunch of stuff that I have/need. Just the costumes, the powers and the levels. Influence/Infamy and enhancements come as you play and I guess this is where my weird playstyle of not using any Set Bonuses and such really makes starting over no problem...

The only thing that'd mess me up pretty badly is... My bases... But... that's life!

For characters? I'd be willing to start over.

For account-based stuff - unlocks, reward tokens, et al - screw it. At that point, I might as well find an entirely different game to play. It's not like there's any shortage of options. If you're going to tell me that I have to shell out hundreds of dollars AGAIN to get my account back up to an operational status, I'm going to tell you to go pound sand.

You mean all the badges would be reset, and we all had to start over?

Mwahahahaha.... MWAHAHAHAHA.... with Turg now busy with his baby, I'll be #1 in the server! Bring it on!

Honestly? If I lost all my stuff I would not want to play COH anymore. If new content stopped coming out and the game was relegated to some private server, I would not want to play COH anymore. Too much of the fun of the game was all the time I put into my characters and the fact that things kept coming out to make them even better.

From the additional pool powers we got with Freedom, the new Incarnate slots and trees, etc. It never got stale to work on my mains. If I lost everything or if the game stopped evolving, I wouldn't play. The only hope for me to continue the COH I love is if it's bought out by another legit publisher, and as much as I hate to say it, I just don't see that happening. Even if it did, there would be no guarantee that the new publisher wouldn't hire all new devs or ruin everything I liked about the game in some way.

I would rather focus on enjoying the time I have left with it.

It would be worthwhile to me. Painful at first, but worthwhile in the long run if it were necessary. (Actually I could reroll Cursed Sorcerer ((Level 50 Incarnate Dark/Dark Defender)) as a more appropriate Dark/Dark Controller or Corruptor possibly.)

Honestly? I would.

We would all be starting from scratch. That just means more teaming on the lower level content, which I rather enjoyed. Only draw back is I don't have enough time to level so many toons again.

I'd do it. I'm an altaholic myself. The only thing that would suck is not having a wealthy toon to bankroll my new toons, but I was poor once and I can be poor again.

I have a mental list of what characters I'd restart already. I'd just have to pick my secondary for the Fire/* blaster.

It would not affect me. In fact, it might be rather fun to start the game fresh. Kind of like starting over with game at I23 or I24. I might be persuaded to play one of the ATs I typically have avoided if more of the playerbase were present in the lower levels.

I think I might be able to. But I'm honestly not sure. I'd definitely try, all I can promise.
That said I have been saving my builds with Mids', as some of my pals have ,so...who knows.

Honestly, it'd be easier if I could drag friends along with me and have some sort of a promise that the servers would be up for at least a year.

Highly unlikely. What's kept me subscribing for the last couple-three years now was a roster of much-loved characters (well...that and the many good friends I've made in the game). There's something about re-rolling characters that makes it hard for them to ever seem the same, to seem "real." At least there is for me, and I've tried several times. It would be even worse if some scum-sucking varmint took my names before I could get them!

The loss of Veteran rewards and purchased items would be a bitter pill to swallow. Even so, I'd probably still play if it was the only option to keeping the game alive.

Sure. I've already reached the points where I'm replaying archetype combinations JUST to make them praetorians.

When the idea of someone else taking over the game was first floated, I instantly wondered if it would mean starting all over. And I cringed at the thought of losing all that time and work, not just on my alts but on our supergroup bases. The hours badging and crafting, all gone. But after thinking about it, yeah, I'd do it all over again. I wouldn't have done it the first time if it wasn't fun.

I'd rather not lose those characters, but if it's a choice between CoH from scratch and no CoH at all, that's not a real choice. If I have CoH, those characters can be rebuilt. More likely that new ones would be created instead, but some might be re-levelled.

Its City of Heroes. Starting over is sort of its shtick.

Not in the least, no.