One of the best and most complete sites for basic City of Heroes/Villains data around. They don't do guides and tutorials, but if you need to know what a given enhancement does or how a Task Force works, Paragonwiki is the place. [LINK]
Welcome! On these pages, I will share with you the experiences I've had while playing this great game in order to hopefully provide some inspiration, help you be more efficient, and, most of all, help you have more fun!
There are several "character guides" which are the full writeups on my favorite characters (usually ones that are in my comic) and there are several others as well. Be sure to check out the character creation and customization guides for tips on how to make a Hero or Villain who's not only highly effective, but fun to play and show off
Character Guides
Each main character in the comic has their own guide. Click their picture to read all about their story, their powers, builds, and combos.
Screaming Gale Storm/Sonic/Electric Defender
Gale was designed with a concept in mind. I've always loved the Storm Summoning Powerset and Sonic seemed like a good combo. With the name Screaming Gale, it was perfect.
Her builds are based around her idea in that there are some powers many might skip just because they're hard to play or unpopular (gale for example), but I'm taking powers for fun here. She's got all kinds of Knockback and choas-inducing powers. Sure it makes her more challenging to play, but then again, you can do things many people wouldn't expect (not to mention you're a maverick in the Repec trials.
Jordan Yen Dark/Dark/Dark (d3) Defender
I made Jordan because someone swore that a D3 is the most fun character to play in the game. At first, I didn't think so, but it wasn't long until I began to see the challenge and uniqueness of the Dark/dark/dark defender. After all, Dark is unique to Defenders while most other powersets are shared.
The neat thing about a D3 is that they have some of the most powerful moves in the game as long as you can deal with their nature of needing a target to "feed" off of. Better yet, if you have played a WS, playing a D3 comes natural and vice-versa.
Shazel Fire/Fire/Fire Blaster
I think the concept for Shazel came purely from wanting to build a Fire/Fire blaster (which is the purest damage dealer in the game). I'm big on concept characters so I made her as fiery looking and fire based as I could. The costume sealed the deal and I started playing my first Blaster ever.
It really was kind of a relief to be able to play on a team and not worry about watching other people's life points and Buffs and Debuffs etc, etc. A Fire Blaster's job is pretty much just to damage everything and do it in a spectacular way (and she does).
Other Guides
Of course, you didn't expect that to be all I had here did you? Here are some of my other guides to various aspects of the game including one or two characters that aren't in the comic (yet).
Jeremy's Intro to City of Heroes
City of Heroes was my First MMO and I learned a lot, not just about CoH/V, but about playing MMO's in general.
Read my guide to casual gaming for my perspective on how to fit this kind of game into a busy lifestyle and how to get the most out of your time when playing.
This is some basic gameplay advice based on my experiences in the game. Part of this is simple "how to play" stuff, but most of it is about getting the most out of your time in the game. Also be sure to check out my guide to sneaking and the Binds guide for some great tips on playing the game in more advanced ways.
The core of CoH/V is your hero/villian. If you use the random character generator and arbitrarily pick some powers, do no customization of any kind, you just aren't going to have fun!
Not only will I give you extensive information on how to build an awesome character, but how to bring their powers, their story, and even the costumes themselves into the game in a way that makes the game experience completely different with each character you play.
One of the things that can take longest in the game (especially on TFs) is getting around. Of course, you eventually get standard travel powers at or above level 14 which helps a lot, but there are many paths to travel if you only know where to find them.
This guide will run you through the tips, tricks, and options for traveling quickly from place to place in either City of Heroes or City of Villains.
City of Heroes includes a scripting language that lets you launch powers, change costumes, and do a variety of other tasks. Using "binds" (as they're called), you can improve your gameplay and have more fun with your character.
Read through this guide to get a good idea of how the language works and for several examples that you can just cut and paste.
Invention Origin Enhancements along with the market that runs them has definitely changed the way we play the game. It also allows for different style of play and more character customization (which is definitely a good thing).
However, it messes up the way CoH/V guides have been created since Issue 6. Read my guide to see how they affect the game and how they've affected this site.
Because Powerpools are commonly available Powersets to all characters (even Villains), I put together a separate guide for just them. Along with pictures and descriptions, I give relative strengths and weaknesses of each.
If you're like me and like to make concept characters, you may find a pool power that most people ignore that would be perfect for your new character.
Kheldians are the special character type you can only play after getting at least one of your Heroes to level 50. They have some unique properties and can be some of the most fun and versatile heroes you'll ever play.
Their defining characteristic is the ability to form shift into a flying blaster or a ground-based tanker-thing. But the best trait of all is that they have a travel power from level 1! However, there are some unique challenges (read: void) that you'll need to know how to deal with.
Yin is my dark Kheldian and works very much like a really tough Dark Defender (yeah!). She was a natural move for me after getting Jordan to 50 and I really have a lot of fun playing her. Like with Jordan, I wanted to play the Warshade first because it's more original and less often played.
I knew that with time, I'd be able to find the unique properties that others may not have seen and I wasn't disappointing.
Yang is the light Kheldian and has the property of being a straight-forward character to play. She's like a mix of a scrapper and a blaster so she's both tough and powerful. Oddly, I found that less interesting than most of my other characters, but I've faithfully powered her up as well just to be able to balance out the guides and try everything :)
A power set is a set of powers (imagine that) that are available to a given hero. They come as Primary or Secondary powersets and consist of a series of powers that are related to each other and the hero type involved. For example, Dark Blast and Gloom are both attacks in the Dark Blast powerset for Defenders.
Knockback
Referring to effects that send foes flying. These powers need to be used carefully as a very common strategy for battles is to get the enemies to group close together which you can undo in a hurry with a single knockback power.
Repec
Character Respecification. Getting one of these allows you to relevel your character from level 1 to your current level instantly. You can choose all new powers and slotting choices (though you have to stick with the same primary and secondary power choices. You get these typically after new Issues or from the Respec Trials which are basically task forces with a respec as the award.
Powerset
A power set is a set of powers (imagine that) that are available to a given hero. They come as Primary or Secondary powersets and consist of a series of powers that are related to each other and the hero type involved. For example, Dark Blast and Gloom are both attacks in the Dark Blast powerset for Defenders.
Knockback
Referring to effects that send foes flying. These powers need to be used carefully as a very common strategy for battles is to get the enemies to group close together which you can undo in a hurry with a single knockback power.
Repec
Character Respecification. Getting one of these allows you to relevel your character from level 1 to your current level instantly. You can choose all new powers and slotting choices (though you have to stick with the same primary and secondary power choices. You get these typically after new Issues or from the Respec Trials which are basically task forces with a respec as the award.
Dark/Dark/Dark (D3) Defender
A D3 is a Defender that uses only dark powers for primary, secondary, and epic powersets [Click for full description]
One of the two types of epic archetypes for heroes that you can only access after getting any of your characters to level 50. Once you achieve 50 on any server with any character, Kheldian archetypes are unlocked for all servers on the same account.
One of the two types of epic archetypes for heroes that you can only access after getting any of your characters to level 50. Once you achieve 50 on any server with any character, Kheldian archetypes are unlocked for all servers on the same account.
To heighten or make greater. For example, a defense buff would increase your defense.
Debuff
To lower something. Accuracy debuff would be a power or effect that lowers accuracy for example.
Buff
To heighten or make greater. For example, a defense buff would increase your defense.
Debuff
To lower something. Accuracy debuff would be a power or effect that lowers accuracy for example.
Bind
A bind is a game command that attaches power activation, text, and actions in customizeable combinations to a key on the keyboard. One of my favorites is my Teleport bind that says a catchy phrase before TPing friends to me.
CoH/V
CoH/V is shorthand for "CoH or CoV" (or more simply, it means either City of Heroes, City of Villians or both)
TF
Task Force. Certain contacts give task forces and each requires a certain minimum amount of players to begin. They consists of a series of missions or tasks while you follow a small story plot.
They are typically excellent experience and let you see some places in the game you'd never get to otherwise.
Powerset
A power set is a set of powers (imagine that) that are available to a given hero. They come as Primary or Secondary powersets and consist of a series of powers that are related to each other and the hero type involved. For example, Dark Blast and Gloom are both attacks in the Dark Blast powerset for Defenders.
void
Void Hunter. Dark Black nasty things that are specially designed enemies for killing Kheldans
