City of Heroes - Secret Server

[SirCowdog]

I always went with Fly back during the days of the official servers. I saw other people using just about everything else, but could never bring myself to go with it, even though I think Super-Leap was the "best".

Also, I think I might have spent more time in the character creator instead of actually playing so far.... <_<

[Cyclone Jack]

Wait, is SCORE planning on releasing the server software (source, headers, libraries, assests, etc)? I knew they had their own servers running, but I haven't heard anything about the possibility of people hosting their own private servers. Where was this announced?

I'm not sure if SCORE themselves released anything, but it is possible to spin up your own I25 server. However, that data cannot be modified (to my knowledge). The only thing in the Db server-side is the current active server information (characters, their inventory, location, info on what powers those characters have, etc), and none of the stuff that makes the world work (drop rates, the actual powers data, enemy info, etc). EDIT: And I should note, for a small, "friend & family" server, you don't need a huge machine like they are using for the public servers. A decent desktop with a good amount of RAM is really all that is needed for 1-2 dozen people. Or so I've heard.

From my understanding, the I24 stuff is also out there, but I sort of stopped paying attention to their progress last week some time, due to...distractions. I believe I24 will be editable, and allow people to make their own modifications to the game (the same way SCORE created their I25).

[Kathandira]

I always went with Fly back during the days of the official servers. I saw other people using just about everything else, but could never bring myself to go with it, even though I think Super-Leap was the "best".

Also, I think I might have spent more time in the character creator instead of actually playing so far.... <_<

I like teleport spamming to simulate flying. Not for efficiency, but for how fun it was to do.

Otherwise, flying was pretty dope.

[Alindra]

I always went with Fly back during the days of the official servers. I saw other people using just about everything else, but could never bring myself to go with it, even though I think Super-Leap was the "best".

Absolutely nothing wrong with that. Picking a weird travel power would rarely make or break a build. One of the strengths of CoX was the build diversity and how you could compensate for choice A with choices B, C, and D, and being X% sub-optimal generally wasn't a deal breaker.

The weakness was that system was that you could have huge power gulfs between two characters of the same AT and powerset combo, so balance could get a bit messy... especially if you start doing content with a lot of AVs. Doing the Statesman TF with a group composition of "whatever" could be like pulling teeth, but with a strong composition you could straight up faceroll it. (Hell, I tanked Recluse with my DM/Invuln Scrapper.)

I'm not sure if SCORE themselves released anything, but it is possible to spin up your own I25 server. However, that data cannot be modified (to my knowledge). The only thing in the Db server-side is the current active server information (characters, their inventory, location, info on what powers those characters have, etc), and none of the stuff that makes the world work (drop rates, the actual powers data, enemy info, etc). EDIT: And I should note, for a small, "friend & family" server, you don't need a huge machine like they are using for the public servers. A decent desktop with a good amount of RAM is really all that is needed for 1-2 dozen people. Or so I've heard.

From my understanding, the I24 stuff is also out there, but I sort of stopped paying attention to their progress last week some time, due to...distractions. I believe I24 will be editable, and allow people to make their own modifications to the game (the same way SCORE created their I25).

Oh interesting, I was under the impression that everything SCORE used to get their server running (including the base I24 stuff) was entirely under their control. I didn't realize that the I24 stuff could be located elsewhere on the internet. (I haven't checked myself, but that's what it sounds like you're saying.)

I like teleport spamming to simulate flying. Not for efficiency, but for how fun it was to do.

Blitzing huge zones with teleport and beating everyone else is a great feeling... then you enter a cave and get zero use out of TP. D'oh!

[Cyclone Jack]

Oh interesting, I was under the impression that everything SCORE used to get their server running (including the base I24 stuff) was entirely under their control. I didn't realize that the I24 stuff could be located elsewhere on the internet. (I haven't checked myself, but that's what it sounds like you're saying.)

Correct. It is my understanding that SCORE will not be releasing their I25 source (though I could be wrong about that), but the binaries are out there and guides are available. The I24 source is also out there, but getting that set up seems to be a bit more involved, and I'm not entirely sure how far along they are on getting a nice, clean guide for that.

[zvr]

Heya, I would like to ask something before jumping into the game.

I didn't play CoH when it was live, never paid it any attention because of vanilla wow
But I must say all this drama around game's rebirth got me very interested in trying it out, especially now when servers are somewhat stable.

Does this game have linear questing like WoW? Or it's full sandbox mode without any interesting storyline, tutorials etc?
Do heroes and villans work similarly like alliance and horde in WoW? Is PVP enabled between both 'alignments' everywhere?
Is it solo-friendly? Or I will have to join a guild to do any relevant content? Or just to stay alive long enough to enjoy myself?
Are there any dungeons and raids? Are they instanced like in WoW or open-world like in older MMOs?

Sorry for all these questions but I would like to know as much as possible before potentially addicting myself to another MMO

[therealbowser]

Looks like it's still being referred to as Paragon Chat. Although I take it as a good sign that they appear to be working hard on getting a more stable and fully-working version up and running.

I still think that with this level of interest that NCsoft should just grab the bull by the horns and re-launch the original game. Run a single server with a skeleton crew. But I suppose doing that would also cut off all the fans working on updates and such.

Either way it'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

NCSoft has never used logic in how they handle their MMORPGs. They could have kept it on with a skeleton crew and the game would have survived for years and have remained profitable. They shut it down for other reasons, and refused to sell the IP despite people offering to buy it. Their logic is unfathomable.

Worse, NCSoft is famous for hunting down private servers to their shut-down MMORPGs. Again, no idea why, but I'm not really convinced this server will last. I hope so; I'll surely be playing on it if it can make it, but I'm not convinced it will...

[Beazy]

Heya, I would like to ask something before jumping into the game.

I didn't play CoH when it was live, never paid it any attention because of vanilla wow
But I must say all this drama around game's rebirth got me very interested in trying it out, especially now when servers are somewhat stable.

Does this game have linear questing like WoW? Or it's full sandbox mode without any interesting storyline, tutorials etc?
Do heroes and villans work similarly like alliance and horde in WoW? Is PVP enabled between both 'alignments' everywhere?
Is it solo-friendly? Or I will have to join a guild to do any relevant content? Or just to stay alive long enough to enjoy myself?
Are there any dungeons and raids? Are they instanced like in WoW or open-world like in older MMOs?

Sorry for all these questions but I would like to know as much as possible before potentially addicting myself to another MMO

For leveling, you can either do the classic missions, or just grind out Architech missions.
Yes, the heroes and villains are the same, they just have different cities to play in. . . and cooler loading screens.
It is solo friendly if you're a DPS class. But this game is so easy to team and group, you wont play it solo, even if you want to.
There are things kind of like dungeons. And there are raids and taskforces. Taskforce mission is a long mission chain you do with friends and ends with big exp rewards.

[Cyclone Jack]

Heya, I would like to ask something before jumping into the game.

I didn't play CoH when it was live, never paid it any attention because of vanilla wow
But I must say all this drama around game's rebirth got me very interested in trying it out, especially now when servers are somewhat stable.

Does this game have linear questing like WoW? Or it's full sandbox mode without any interesting storyline, tutorials etc?
Do heroes and villans work similarly like alliance and horde in WoW? Is PVP enabled between both 'alignments' everywhere?
Is it solo-friendly? Or I will have to join a guild to do any relevant content? Or just to stay alive long enough to enjoy myself?
Are there any dungeons and raids? Are they instanced like in WoW or open-world like in older MMOs?

Sorry for all these questions but I would like to know as much as possible before potentially addicting myself to another MMO

It has linear questing in that you have Contacts that typically lead into a Story Arc. But there are also Police Band/Newspaper missions which are one-off random missions, and once you complete a few of these you'll get a special mission to stop a bank robbery (Hero) or you'll go in to rob a bank (Villain) in a special map with lots of side missions (these are really fun once you get the hang of them). Then there is the Architect Entertainment where players can create their own missions and mini story arcs.

Heroes and Villains mostly play in their own playground, but there are a few shared PvP zones that connect the two, and in the higher levels there are some shared non-PvP zones that allow Heroes and Villains to team up. There are also Rogues and Vigilantes, which are Heroes that are falling to the dark side, and Villains who are redeeming themselves; these can move between both Hero and Villain areas.

It is very solo friendly, though some classes are better at this than others. Most Villain classes are solo-friendly (Corruptor, Dominator, Brute, Stalker, Mastermind), whereas Heroes were originally designed around teamwork (Blaster, Defender, Controller, Scrapper, Tanker), though the Scrapper is very good solo. I'd also say you can solo a Blaster, but you'll be a bit more dependent on Inspirations (think potions from other MMOs). I'd steer away from the Peacebringer/Warshade until you have a bit better understanding of the game, though the Arachnos Spider/Widow is mostly doable from the start. Also, if you really want to play a more support-oriented character, and you enjoy soloing, you can talk to a Super Powered Field Agent and lower the difficulty of your missions to make them more manageable.

There are Task Forces (Hero) and Strike Forces (Villain), which are special story arcs that typically have some Archvillain at the end. There are a few Incarnate Raids at the top-end, and some Trials scattered throughout the leveling process, as well as Zone Events that can pop up. The majority of the content in CoH/CoV is instanced, though there are a decent number of open world missions, and of course Zone Events are open world.

Additionally, if you are playing with friends, your level doesn't really matter. The entire team will Sidekick or Exemplar to a few levels of the Mission holder. So if you're level 25 and your friend is 5, then they'll get bumped up to ~23 or 24, and if they get a mission, you'll be de-leveled to ~6 or 7 (but you keep all of your Enhancements, just some powers may not be available).

The game is probably the most flexible when it comes to teaming up. You can pretty much make a team of anything and still have fun and progress. Bottom line, the game is very flexible and very fun. Just jump in, make a character, try not to get too distracted by the character creator, and have fun.

[SinR]

Diving back in, been doing an Energy Blaster kinda based off Iron Man (find Armor that looks like Iron Man suit, make it Pink/Red, call her The Iron Diva, The character editor is straight overwhelming in CoH and I end up getting super sidetracked off one piece of armor). Got her to 11 tonight just doing the Going Rogue story arc missions. Died a few times when I did stupid things like overpull in a solo instance, but whatever.

I've found my "oh shit its late I need to go to bed" game for now

[Ielenia]

What's a good travel power for a martial arts hero? Super jumping feels... Off.

If you go to the P2W vendors (don't worry, despite the name, it's not microtransactions), you can get for free a "Ninja Run" power (I think that's the name).

It doesn't run anywhere as fast as Super Speed, doesn't jump anywhere as high as Super Jump, but it's a decent boost to both run and jump that it can be used as a travel power. Also, it gives the same aerial control as Super Jump. And its run speed stack with the basic Sprint power.

You also have different run and jump animations, very ninja-like.

The only downside, in my opinion? You cannot add any enhancements to this power.

[Vynestra]

I loved this game and im so happy its back - all of my time not spending working sleeping or raiding in wow (4 1/2 hours a week) has been on city of heroes: homecoming.

[Beazy]

Man, its getting so crowded they had to add a 5th server last night.

Server transfers are working now too.

It's been a nice couple of weeks.

[unholytestament]

Think RadArmor/TitanWeapons is a decent power choice for a tanker?

I think I'm gonna limit myself to 10 characters and finally work on getting some of them over level 20. Too much fun is had just making characters.

[Beazy]

Think RadArmor/TitanWeapons is a decent power choice for a tanker?

I think I'm gonna limit myself to 10 characters and finally work on getting some of them over level 20. Too much fun is had just making characters.

Man, try a stalker. Every third ability they use is a crit. Its like a scrapper, but with more controlled crit. Ive never made one before last night and I cant believe how hard it wrecks single targets. We did a 1 to 10 sewer run in like 16 minutes last night with a few scrappers and stalkers.

Insanity.



RadArmor is good, but it has no ice immunity, so be cautious around enemies and AVs who have cold attacks.

[unfilteredJW]

I've been reunited with my crab.

All is as it should be.

[Beazy]

They added 100% exp buffs to help with slow leveling in yesterdays patch.

They are actually patching out bugs too.

[unfilteredJW]

Gonna post this here rather than start a new thread so my apologies.

https://www.polygon.com/24025506/cit...ense-agreement

Superhero MMORPG City of Heroes was officially shut down at the end of 2012, but a group of dedicated fans never gave up on the game. And over a decade after the official servers went dark, the biggest fan server has been given the all-clear via a license from NCSoft, which is a massive relief for players. “Your accounts and characters are safe,” reads an announcement from Homecoming, a fan-run City of Heroes server. “Development of new content will continue.”