City of Heroes facts for kids

Quick facts for kids City of Heroes
Developer(s)	Cryptic Studios(formerly) Paragon Studios(formerly) Homecoming Servers
Publisher(s)	NCSOFT
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
Release date(s)	Windows April 28, 2004 EU Mac OS X WW January 8, 2009
Genre(s)	Massively multiplayer online role-playing
Mode(s)	Multiplayer

City of Heroes (often called CoH) is a fun online role-playing game where you get to be a superhero! It was first made by Cryptic Studios and launched in North America on April 28, 2004. In this game, players create their own super-powered characters. They can team up with other players to go on exciting missions and fight against bad guys in a fictional place called Paragon City.

The game received many free updates over the years. However, in 2012, the company that owned it, NCsoft, decided to close down the game. Many fans were sad, but in 2019, something amazing happened: the game's code became available, and fans started their own servers to play it again! Then, in 2024, NCsoft officially allowed a fan group called Homecoming Servers, LLC to host the game, so now it's back and free to play!

How City of Heroes Was Made

Early Days and New Ideas

In 2000, a company called Cryptic Studios started working on City of Heroes. One of the main ideas behind the game was to let players become superheroes.

Later, in 2005, a new part of the game was released called City of Villains (CoV). This allowed players to create and play as supervillains! At first, you needed to buy both games to play both sides, but in 2008, NCsoft made it so that if you owned one, you could play the other too.

In 2007, NCsoft bought the rights to City of Heroes and City of Villains. They created a new studio called Paragon Studios to keep making updates for the game. This also led to the game being available on Steam in 2009, making it easier for more people to find and play.

Going Rogue Expansion

In 2010, a big expansion called City of Heroes: Going Rogue came out. This part of the game introduced a new area called Praetoria. It also added a cool new system where your character could switch between being a hero and a villain. This meant you could explore the "shades of gray" between good and evil.

Free-to-Play and Shutdown

In 2011, City of Heroes changed to a new system called City of Heroes: Freedom. This meant that parts of the game became free to play, while subscribers (called VIP players) got access to everything.

Sadly, on August 31, 2012, Paragon Studios announced they were closing down, and City of Heroes would shut down on November 30, 2012. Many players were very upset and tried to keep the game alive, but it closed as planned.

The Game Returns!

After the shutdown, fans kept hoping the game would return. In April 2019, news spread that a secret fan server had been running for years. Soon, the game's code was shared widely, and many public fan servers popped up. NCsoft, the original owner, didn't stop these servers from running.

Then, on January 4, 2024, the Homecoming fan server announced a special deal with NCsoft. Now, Homecoming is an officially licensed place to play City of Heroes and its expansions, and it's free!

How to Play City of Heroes

A powerful hero (foreground) fights a mad scientist villain, Dr. Vahzilok, in City of Heroes.

To play City of Heroes, you first create your own unique character. You choose their look, powers, and name. After that, you can start in a training area or jump right into the game world.

Leveling Up and Exploring

Your character gets stronger by earning experience points. You get these by beating enemies, finishing missions, and exploring new areas. When you level up, your character gets more health, new powers, and can use better items. If your character loses all their health, they get defeated. You can be revived by allies or teleport to a hospital.

The game world is split into different areas called Zones. Heroes play in Paragon City, and villains play in The Rogue Isles. Some zones are more dangerous than others. You can travel around using different powers like "Sprint," "Teleportation," "Super Speed," "Super Jumping," or "Flight" as you get stronger.

Powers and Costumes

As your character levels up, you pick new powers from your main power sets. You can also choose from shared power pools that give you travel powers or other useful skills. You can even unlock new costume parts like capes and cool glowing auras!

Missions and Teams

Missions are like quests in the game. You get them from characters you meet. You can do missions alone, or you can team up with other players. Teaming up makes missions easier and more fun, as you combine your characters' strengths. The difficulty of a mission can change based on your team size and how tough you want it to be. Missions might involve beating a boss, saving people, or finding hidden objects. Some missions are part of bigger stories that tell you more about the game's world.

You can also join larger player groups called Supergroups. These are like superhero teams, similar to the Justice League or the Avengers. Supergroups can have their own special bases where players can meet up, store items, or recover after battles.

If you want to play with friends who are much higher or lower level than you, the game has special features. The "Sidekick" feature temporarily boosts a lower-level friend to be closer to your level. The "Exemplar" feature temporarily lowers your level to match a lower-level friend. This makes it fun for everyone to play together!

Other Cool Features

City of Heroes also has auction houses where you can buy and sell items. You can also use the Invention system to craft new items, powerful enhancements, or even unique costume pieces. A really cool feature called the Mission Architect lets players create their own custom missions and share them with everyone else!

Creating Your Hero or Villain

When you create a character, you first choose their origin and archetype. Then you pick their main powers. After that, you design their look, choosing colors for their powers and their costume. You can even write a background story for your character!

Origins

There are five main origins for your character. These affect what special items they can use and which enemy groups they might fight:

• Natural: Powers come from training, weapons, or being born with special abilities.
• Magic: Powers come from magical items, spells, or mystical beings.
• Science: Powers come from scientific experiments, either on purpose or by accident.
• Mutation: Powers come from changes in their genes.
• Technology: Powers come from advanced gadgets or tech.

Hero Archetypes

There are five main hero archetypes, which decide your character's role in a team:

• Blasters: Great at dealing lots of damage from a distance or up close, but don't have much health.
• Controllers: Good at stopping enemies from moving or acting, and can summon pets.
• Defenders: Help allies by making them stronger and enemies weaker.
• Scrappers: Melee fighters who deal extra damage to tough enemies.
• Tankers: Have strong defenses and can take a lot of hits for the team.

Villain Archetypes

There are also five main villain archetypes:

• Brutes: Deal more damage the more they attack or get attacked.
• Corruptors: Deal damage from afar, with a high chance for critical hits on wounded enemies.
• Dominators: Attack enemies with status effects and direct damage.
• Masterminds: Summon and control combat pets.
• Stalkers: Stealthy fighters who deal critical hits when hidden or with a team.

Epic Archetypes and Alignments

Later, two special hero archetypes were added: Peacebringers and Warshades. These are alien beings with light-based powers who can change forms. There are also villain versions of these, like Arachnos Soldiers and Widows.

With a later update, you could choose your character's alignment (Hero or Villain) after a tutorial. Characters from the Going Rogue expansion started in Praetoria and could choose to be Loyalists (following Emperor Cole) or join the Resistance. You could even change your alignment later, becoming a Vigilante (hero turning villain) or a Rogue (villain turning hero).

In-Game Rewards

City of Heroes gives you different kinds of rewards. Some are "inspirations" (temporary power-ups) or "inf" (short for "influence" or "infamy," used like money). "Enhancements" are items you can add to your powers to make them stronger.

The Invention system lets you combine items you find to create new and better enhancements, costume pieces, or temporary powers.

You can also earn collectible badges for doing different things in the game, like exploring areas or defeating many enemies. Some special badges called "Accolades" give you temporary powers or permanent boosts to your health.

The Paragon Market is an in-game store where you can buy special items with Paragon Points. You can buy these points with real money or get them as a bonus if you are a VIP subscriber.

Enemies You'll Face

In City of Heroes, you'll fight many different groups of enemies. Some are found on the streets, while others are in special areas or missions. There are also huge "Giant Monsters" and special "zone events" that happen in parts of the city, like a giant octopus in the water or a ghost in a junkyard.

Where the Story Takes Place

The main setting for heroes is the fictional Paragon City, located in Rhode Island, United States. The city is divided into different neighborhoods, each with different enemies and difficulty levels. The game explains these divisions with "War Walls," which are powerful force fields. Heroes start by fighting small street gangs and work their way up to fighting organized crime, aliens, and supernatural threats.

The City of Villains expansion takes place in the Rogue Isles, a group of islands off the eastern coast of the United States. Here, you play as a villain trying to make a name for yourself under the watchful eye of Lord Recluse.

The Going Rogue expansion is set in Praetoria, an alternate Earth. In Praetoria, Emperor Marcus Cole brought peace after a big war. Players start here and decide whether to join Emperor Cole's Loyalists or the Resistance who oppose him.

Game Updates and History

The game's developers regularly released free updates called "Issues." These updates added new features, zones, powers, and improvements to the game.

Free Updates (Issues)

Here are some of the major free updates that were released:

Paid Expansions

City of Villains

City of Villains was released in 2005. It let players create and play as villains, with new character types, maps, and special player-versus-player (PvP) zones. If you bought City of Villains, you could play it with the same monthly fee as City of Heroes.

Going Rogue

City of Heroes: Going Rogue came out in 2010. It added an "Alignment system," which meant your character could change from a Hero to a Villain (or vice versa). This created new types of characters called Vigilantes (heroes turning villain) and Rogues (villains turning hero). These characters could visit both Paragon City and the Rogue Isles. The expansion also added a new dimension called Praetorian Earth, where players started as neutral characters and chose to side with the Emperor or the Resistance.

Special Game Editions

Over the years, City of Heroes released several special editions and packs:

• City of Heroes: Collector's Edition (2005): Came with a game disc, a map, a comic book, a special figure, and codes for in-game bonuses like a unique movement power.
• City of Villains: Collector's Edition: Included a game disc, special figures, concept art, a map, and codes for unique costume items.
• City of Heroes & City of Villains: Good Versus Evil Edition (2006): Had both games on one disc, a map, digital comics, and codes for special costume pieces and powers.
• City of Heroes: Architect Edition (2009): Included the game for both PC and Mac, a guide, a map, and access to the Mission Architect feature.
• City of Heroes Going Rogue: Complete Collection (2010): Included City of Heroes, City of Villains, and Going Rogue, plus unique in-game costume pieces and powers.

Booster Packs and Super Packs

"Booster Packs" were released to add optional costume sets to the game. "Super Packs" were like a lottery, giving players random items like costume parts or powers. These were bought with Paragon Points.

Holiday Events

The game celebrated real-world holidays with special in-game events. These included Halloween (with a Zombie Apocalypse!), a Winter Event (like Christmas), and a Valentine's Day event. These events often gave players special badges and themed rewards.

Anniversary Celebrations

Every May, City of Heroes celebrated its anniversary. They often gave out special badges and had big events, like a huge outbreak of Giant Monsters for players to defeat.

Game Servers

City of Heroes had different servers for players in North America and Europe. The European servers even had options for German and French languages.

Subscription and Free Play

Like many online games at the time, City of Heroes used to require a monthly subscription fee to play. This fee helped pay for the game's development and maintenance. After 2008, one subscription covered both City of Heroes and City of Villains.

Players with active subscriptions also earned "Veteran Rewards," which gave them special costume pieces, powers, and other perks.

In 2011, the game changed to a "free-to-play" model called City of Heroes: Freedom. This meant anyone could play for free, though some features were limited. Players who paid a VIP subscription got access to everything, including the Going Rogue expansion and monthly rewards.

Other Ways to Enjoy City of Heroes

Novels

There were two novels based on City of Heroes. The Web of Arachnos (2005) told the backstories of the main characters, Statesman and Lord Recluse. The Freedom Phalanx (2006) was about a hero team reforming in the 1980s.

Comic Books

Two comic book series were made to go along with the game. They featured characters from City of Heroes and City of Villains, like Statesman and Lord Recluse. These comics were sometimes free for game subscribers.

Collectible Card Game

A collectible card game was also created, featuring characters from the game and some new ones. Players could even make a card for their own online character!

Role-Playing Game

A tabletop role-playing game based on City of Heroes was planned, but it was never fully released.

Heroclix Figures

Special collector's editions of the game sometimes included exclusive HeroClix figures of famous characters like Statesman and Lord Recluse.

Film and Television

In 2007, it was announced that the producer of the Transformers movie was interested in making movies and TV shows based on City of Heroes. In 2008, it was said that a movie was being planned, set during the first Rikti War (a big alien invasion in the game's story).

Lawsuit with Marvel Comics

In 2004, Marvel Comics filed a lawsuit against City of Heroes. Marvel claimed that the game allowed players to create characters that looked too much like Marvel's own superheroes, which could be against copyright rules.

However, the game's rules already said players couldn't create characters that copied others. The game operators would even change or remove characters that looked too similar to famous heroes. Marvel later admitted that some of the characters they complained about were actually made by their own investigators!

In 2005, the lawsuit was settled, and the details were kept private. The game's creators said they didn't have to change how characters were made. Interestingly, after this, Marvel Comics even chose Cryptic Studios (the original creators of City of Heroes) to develop their own superhero online game, Marvel Universe Online.

Ownership Changes

On November 6, 2007, NCsoft announced they would fully own City of Heroes and City of Villains. They also created a new studio, Paragon Studios, to focus on developing the game further. This change allowed Cryptic Studios to work on their new superhero game, Champions Online.

After NCsoft took full ownership, they made it so that anyone who owned either City of Heroes or City of Villains could access both games without buying the other. This meant all players could enjoy all the content.

On April 14, 2009, NCsoft NorCal officially became Paragon Studios, a dedicated part of NCsoft focused entirely on City of Heroes.

|

See also

In Spanish: City of Heroes para niños