I saw the box in the computer store and it appears to be a superhero-based MMORPG. What’s the deal?
A buncha Dopers play this, I figure. Is it any good? What’s it like? How does it stack up with other MMOs?
My husband plays it and he let me create a character that we play together.
I find it fun but repetitive. Any time I’ve watched him play such games, though, they seem repetitive.
He likes it because there are a lot of character options, opportunities for single play, and it’s not so crowded that he can’t find anything to kill (sorry, arrest).
There are a bunch of Doper’s that play it.
I haven’t played any other MMO so I can’t comment. To me, it seems a lot like Diablo II with superheros and more people in the game.
Its very pretty.
The Dopers are mostly on the Virtue server if you pick up a box and start playing.
It’s the game I am currently playing to the exclusion of all others.
It is indeed a superhero MMORPG, and a bunch of Dopers do play it. We even have a superteam: C.E.C.I.L. (which stands for Cecil’s Extraordinary Counter-Ignorance League). Roster is at http://sdmb.culex.us/members/
We also have a picture gallery and a messageboard (since some of our members are not members here, although we’re all readers). You can find those linked at http://sdmb.culex.us.
How does it compare to other MMOs? Well, there’s no crafting and no tradeskills. Superheroes don’t do that. There are basically no items, although there is an in-game currency (Influence) that’s used to purchase Inspirations (basically potions, they’re short-term boosts to health, endurance, etc.) and Enhancements, which are semi-permanent boosts to a specific power’s attributes.
Characters are drawn from one of five archetypes:
**Blasters **are offensive powerhouses, but have few defenses and low hit points.
**Scrappers **are likewise all about offense, but operate at melee distance, and they have good defenses.
**Tankers **are all about defense, backed up by melee attack power.
**Defenders **are perhaps the most versatile of the archetypes, with a wide range of buffing and debuffing powers, as well as some ranged damage.
**Controllers **are the only class with crowd control powers, and are possibly the most powerful.
Each character chooses a power pool in his or her primary and secondary areas, and will then take powers from those pools as they level. Which powers you take and in what order is up to you (although not all powers are available at first, instead they unlock as you level).
The powers and costumes make character design a blast, and gameplay is all about superhero fights. Putting together a team is really easy – the Seek Team and Find Member functions are built right into the UI.
If you’re looking for a deep MMO with a lot of crafting, CoH isn’t it. If, on the other hand, you’re looking for a game that maximizes time spent playing (and minimizes time spent running), then CoH may be for you.
Yeah, what Braniac4 said.
I can vouch for the fun level. I personally have not liked any other MMPORPG until City Of Heroes came along. I have not played any other game on my PC since getting this back in April (well, maybe some Spider Solitaire, but that’s it).
Clearly you haven’t done the Founder’s Falls task force (levels 35-41). (Hint: Don’t. Don’t ever do it.)
Door, door, door, hunt 10 CoT in Perez Park, hunt 10 Clockwork in Atlas Park, hunt 10 Skulls in Galaxy City, hunt 10 Hellions in King’s Row, hunt 10 Vahzilok in Faultline, hunt 10 Bloods in Steel Canyon, hunt 15 Trolls in Skyway City, hunt 15 5th Column in Boomtown, hunt 20 Crey in Brickstown, hunt 30 Banished Pantheon in Dark Astoria, hunt 30 Sky Raiders in Terra Volta, hunt 30 Warriors in Talos, hunt 30 Family & 30 Tsoo in Independence Port, hunt 30 Freakshow in Crey’s Folly, hunt 30 Rikti in Founder’s Falls, hunt 30 Nemesis & Devouring Earth in Eden, door, door, door.
That reaffirmed my desire for a teleport power that goes from zone to zone.
I’m not sure if our home computer can even support the game, but I can’t ever own this because if I did, I would never see my husband again. He would disappear into the game Tron-style and I’m not really done with him yet. 
Too bad, because I’m sure we’d both enjoy the game.
This seems really stupid. Either you’re getting level 35+ spawns in those zones (which are insta-death for the vast majority of characters in them) or you’re forcing people to fly/jump/tp/run all over the place for no xp at all.
Although, if you’re hunting mobs that are native to those regions, you can split up the team and get most of those hunts done in about 10 minutes.
So, I understand that in addition to the game that you buy, there are additional fees. How much are they?
Desperately trying to find a reason not to sign up for this.
Or you can do as I was doing last night: Stand on a building and drop a phantom army on crowds. Then go get something to snack on while the phantom army kills the quota. 
My son is playing City of Heroes.
He’s showed me there are sometimes dance parties by a swimming pool, where everyone dances to the music played by the City of Heroes radio station.
Ah, it’s a wonderful time to be alive, it is!
I haven’t played this, since beta-testing World of Warcraft takes up most of my online gaming time, but I’m pretty sure it’s right around 15 bucks a month, pretty average for MMO’s these days.
The rate varies depending on how long you commit to. Month-to-month, it’s $15, IIRC. You can also sign up in 3-month-, 6-month and 12-month intervals, with the rates going as low as $11 or $12 a month.
Your first month of play is free with purchase of the game, but you do need to set up and account and indicate how you want to be billed if you continue playing. My recommendation is to go for the 3-month cycle. That way, you can play for 30 days, determine if you like it and then cancel with no additional cost… and if you keep playing, you pay about the cost of a new game ($13/month x3, if I am recalling the rates correctly) for another three months. This makes it a decision point, so you sort of force your hand – “do I want to keep this game” is somewhat more meaningful if you need to pay more.
Your mileage may vary, of course.
AAARRGH. There doesn’t happen to be a demo does there? I saw the game at the Chicago Comicon and thought it looked pretty cool, but wasn’t able to find a free spot to get in. The one comment I keep hearing negatively is that the game is pretty much just, “go here and beat up X number of things. Then you’ll get more powerful and be able to beat up X-1 number of more powerful things. Then you’ll get…” Is there anything more, or is that what all these MMORPGs are about?
No demo yet. I don’t think there will be one for a while, as they’re still selling a lot through traditional retail. Demos for MMOs are usually a way to get around retail distribution headaches, and CoH is selling very well at retail.
As far as the gameplay itself, yes, it pretty much is “go defeat x thugs” or “go clear out the warehouse of evil sorcerors and find the mystic artifact” and the reward is that you get more powerful and face more powerful foes. There are storylines, but you don’t have an opportunity to influence the way they turn out. Right now, it’s basically an action game, and that’s fine by me. The experience of playing is fun in itself, and it’s fun to play with others, so I don’t mind that the gameplay is relatively simple.
I don’t have a lot of MMO experience (a little EQ playtime on a friend’s account, UO beta, WOW beta, and CoH), but they do seem to all tend towards this paradigm. I managed to resist for a long time, but playing a superhero finally sucked me in.