City of Heroes: Encyclopedia II - City of Heroes - Updates

City of Heroes - Updates

The developer continually expands City of Heroes with free downloadable patches/updates. City of Villains will be a quasi expansion for City of Heroes, because both games will stand alone, but there will be some zones where heroes and villains will clash.

• Issue #1: Through the Looking Glass (June 29, 2004) - high level content (levels 40-50), new zones (Peregrine Island and the Rikti Crash Site), instanced outdoor missions, and the ability to have multiple costumes.
• Issue #2: Shadows of the Past (September 16, 2004) - added capes and "aura" costume effects, six new zones (The Hollows, Troll Tunnels and the four Shadow Shard zones), new villains, respecification of powers, badge hunting, Exemplars (reverse sidekicks) and a dance club.
• Issue #3: A Council of War (January 4, 2005) - epic archetypes (Kheldians, split into Peacebringer and Warshade archetypes), epic power pools, new zone (Striga Isle), global chat (Completed in March 16, 2005), new task forces, new zone events (Giant Octopus, Ghost Ship, Clockwork Paladin), mission difficulty settings, and new "toxic" and "Quantum" damage types. Kheldians are particularly vulnerable to Quantum damage.
• Issue #4: Colosseum (May 4, 2005) - Player versus player Arena combat, Anime-centric costume extensions, body part proportions adjustable by slider, new mouse controls, multi-supergroup chat system.
• Issue #5: Forest of Dread (August 31, 2005) - Four new power sets (two Archery and two Sonic) for use by the Blaster, Controller and Defender archetypes, new Blaster Epic power set "Electric Mastery," new Blaster automatic power "Defiance," new Controller automatic power "Containment," a new zone called Croatoa (magically themed; with missions, task forces and some new villains geared to security levels 25-35), new events, new missions, and new task forces. A new Defender automatic power, "Vigilance," and new inspirations for damage resistance were added in an update following Issue 5. Virtual teammates in missions who assist you when rescued, as well as NPC's in missions which need to be escorted to the exit.
• Issue #6: Along Came a Spider (October 27, 2005) - Integration with CoV including; Super Group bases and badges, three new PvP zones (Bloody Bay, Siren's Call, and Warburg), additions to the PvP Arenas, changes to enhancements, pet management window and longer character names.
• City of Villains (released October 31, 2005) - A stand-alone game in its own right as well as interoperating with City of Heroes (dubbed "Expanshalone" by one of the developers); new zones, fully-realized PVP system, supergroup bases and base raids, improved graphics, improved physics and game mechanics.
• Issue #7: (Names not yet announced) (pending) - High level content (41-50) for City of Villains, including the PvE zone Grandville and Patron power pools. A new PvP zone, "Recluse's Victory" is also being added, and is a level 50 zone. Possible new villain group, possible new epic archetypes (unlikely), and possible ability for heroes to go "rogue" (joining CoV) & vice versa. Cryptic is also working on the ability to move characters to other servers around this timeframe. Thugs are being added for Masterminds.
• Issue #8: (Names not yet announced) (pending) - Possible skill sets, possible customizable weapons & powers, and possible addition of more end-game content (Legends System). Possible addition of new power sets; Pirates & Carnies (for Masterminds) and Shields (Tankers and Scrappers). Possibly the ability to drop unwanted missions.

Several special seasonal events have occurred:

• Halloween weekend 2004 - A variation of "trick-or-treat" was implemented where clicking on non-active doors was answered with either "Trick" (spawning several Halloween-themed opponents) or "Treat" (dispensing inspirations and/or enhancements), with the slight possibility of receiving a single rock (being a ranged temporary power that did minimal damage) in a reference to It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Defeating enough of the Halloween themed opponents earned special badges.
• January 2005 - A "Winter Lord" and his minions appeared in several zones. Defeating them earned special badges and unique "Gift" inspirations.
• December 2005 - A three pronged Holiday event was held.
  • First, every character received use of a special holiday jetpack for thirty days.
  • Second, a special winter Holiday mission was put in place. Villains from the CoV portion of the game steal presents intended for the children of Paragon City, and the heroes have to retrieve the gifts before the holiday is ruined. Completing the mission earns heroes a new badge and the option of wearing a new special costume piece, a Santa Claus-style stocking cap. Conversely, villains in City of Villains have a matching mission, in which they steal the presents in question (earning the hat and a different badge for ruining the holiday).
  • Third, a terrorist named the Gamester placed "presents" all over the city zones of both games. Clicking on these presents would give one of several results. A mystery inspiration or temporary power could be earned, or a group of the Winter Lord's snow minions could be spawned around the character. badges could be earned for defeating a number of snow minions and for opening a number of the "presents".

There are a few programs that can help augment City of Heroes. Many "Hero Planners" exist with which you can build your character up and see what powers become available at what level. There are also data log programs that help you keep track of information such as experience gained per hour, number of kills and how many of a certain type of villain was killed. Also several websites exist with game maps, lists of badges, and the various stores.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Updates", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki