City of Heroes: The Adventure Begins...

City of Heroes
Publisher: NCSoft
Developer: Cryptic Studios
Platform: PC

The folks at NCSoft gave us the chance to be part of the beta testing for their upcoming MMORPG City of Heroes. You can join us online this week by running out and purchasing the pre-order copy of City of Heroes. Players that buy the pre-order are guaranteed a spot in the beta test by April 7th, as well as some additional benefits.

For those of you that plan to wait until the April 28th launch date, we have a preview of some of the fantastic things you'll encounter in your first few hours of playing the game.

Once the game is installed, the first thing you'll need to do is select the server you want to play on. If you have friends that are also going to play, be sure and coordinate ahead of time so you can play together. During the beta test, there is only one choice, so I'll be playing on the "prime" server.

Next, you are taken to a menu and prompted to create a character. You can create up to 8 characters, presumably per server. Suddenly, I'm having a blast. The character creator is robust and filled with the cool things that comic book fans drool over.

For starters, you choose how your superhero got his/her powers. Are you a mutant? Were you part of a scientific accident? Did you conjure your powers through the use of magic? Are your powers given to you by advanced technology? Or were you born with natural abilities that have been finely honed?

Your choice here will determine what type of enhancements you receive once you start playing. More on that later.

Next, you choose your archetypes (what type of powers your hero has). For those gamers experienced in fantasy based character creating, this is basically your class. As MMORPG game have long been fantasy based, I've provided both the comic book and fantasy examples of how each class breaks down.

Blaster
The Blaster is an offensive juggernaut. Whether up close or afar, he can deal out tremendous amounts of damage. In comparison to the other Archetypes, the Blaster is by far the most damaging to the enemy but has limited hit points. While their immense power can overcome most foes, alone they are quite vulnerable. The Blaster can dominate a quick conflict, but they will need their friends for a prolonged fight.
Comic Book equivalent: Green Lantern, Electro.
Fantasy equivalent: Wizard, Scout.

Controller
The Controller is at the same time the weakest and yet the most powerful of the archetypes. The Controller has few offensive attacks and possesses the fewest hit points. But the Controller has access to a range of powers that no one else has. A Controller can affect the behavior of villains - from freezing them in place to routing them away. Armed with such abilities, the Controller is the backbone of many groups involved in large-scale battles but the Controller depends upon his teammates for protection.
Comic Book equivalent: Professor X.
Fantasy equivalent: Theurgist, Sorcerer, Minstrel.

Defender
The Defender is a long-range support specialist. This Archetype is effective with ranged attacks (though not quite on par with the Blaster), but the Defender's true worth shines in another area. Defenders are the premier helpers in the game. They are the best at strengthening their teammate's abilities (buffing) and weakening foes (debuffing). They aren't built for lengthy hand to hand combat, though they aren't fragile, either. The Defender needs to keep an eye both on his teammates and the enemy in order to see which requires his powerful attention first.
Comic Book equivalent: Martian Manhunter.
Fantasy equivalent: Cleric.

Scrapper
No lone criminal wants to cross paths with a Scrapper because odds are that only the Scrapper is going to walk away. Ferocity and skill make the Scrapper a master of hand to hand combat. However, Scrappers do not have any ranged attacks, so they rely on the other Archetypes to help in battles requiring long-range punch. The Scrapper is resilient, though, and after the Tanker, the best Archetype at withstanding damage.
Comic Book equivalent: Hawkman, Wolervine.
Fantasy equivalent: Paladin, Mercenary.

Tanker
An irresistible force combined with an immovable object. This Archetype can take and dish out all sorts of damage. The Tanker is not totally invulnerable, but his skills allow the other Archetypes to play their parts, too. The Tanker is a devastating hand to hand combatant, and ranks second only to the Scrapper in sheer melee power. He possesses some ranged abilities, though far below those of the Blaster or the Defender. Tankers proudly stand in the front lines of battle in order to protect their comrades and, of course, the innocent.
Comic Book equivalent: The Thing, Rhyno.
Fantasy equivalent: Armsman

Today, I'll be creating a Blaster hero with natural born powers.

My next step is to choose a primary power set. As a blaster, my options are basically what element I want control over: fire, ice, electricity, energy or assault rifle (I am aware the assault rifle is not an element. Don't send emails.)

Each element offers a ladder of skills that I can slowly climb as I advance in levels. One or two powers from each element category will be available to me from the start, but I will only be able to select one power from on category.

For example, I've decided to create a fire based hero, so for my primary power set, I choose fire manipulation. From the list of fire manipulation powers I select as my starting power, fire ball. If I had opted to be an ice based hero, I would have selected ice manipulation and then my starting power would have been ice shard.

Because I have chosen fire manipulation, as I advance in levels, I can choose to train in more devastating powers ONLY from the fire manipulation skill set. I can't pick powers from more than one category.

However, once my primary power set and starting power has been selected, I then get to choose a secondary power and select a power from that skill set as well. I've chosen fire based powers for both my primary and secondary powers. I should be able to easily defeat any villain named Mr. Freeze with ease, but Mr. Asbestos will smother me every time.

The entire process of selecting powers shouldn't take more than five minutes or so, but the next part could take you hours.

It's time to design your hero's appearance and costume. This is a blast. Even after I'd made some initial characters and played the game for a bit, I would come back to the character designer and create awesome looking heroes.

The system is loaded with all the options. Everything from the color of your skin to the pattern on your boots is customizable. There is an array of helmets, masks, hats, tights, boots, belts, pants, glasses, goggles, arms, legs, faces, antlers, antennae, emblems, logos and shoulder pads to choose from. With a nice palette of colors to choose from as well, it is unlikely that any two heroes will look exactly alike.

I've designed my character and it's time to give him a name. His name will be Fanboy Planet, a natural born master of fire. If you see him running around Paragon City, be sure and say "hi". I promise you that he looks gayer than I do.

I've also given him the battle cry of "I'll probably get us all killed!"

Join us later this week as I take Fanboy Planet out for a quick spin around Tutorial City.

(For a look at Fanboy Planet the hero, go here.)

City of Heroes

Michael Goodson