Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine City of Heroes: Your Chance to be a Legionnaire - Part 2

beta, Beta, BETA!

I16 is now on Open Beta on Test. I have to say that I think it's going to be really neat to be able to customize the colors. ^_^

"Champions" is also set to launch. Pre-order people start tomorrow, I believe, with official launch on Tuesday. Despite some cool parts, I can't say I've been impressed with it overall in beta.

I haven't even tried Champions.

Now DC Online ... THAT I will try.

Been playing Champions. I like the eye-popping colors, which are very vibrant compared to City of Heroes or most other MMOs.

Otherwise, meh. I have more fun in character creation than anywhere else. So yeah, it's Barbi superhero dress up for boys....

Wish I could say otherwise but I also find it to be ...meh!

It's a bit awkward and not really user friendly. With CoH and WoW you could easily start playing and figure things out as you went along. Champions seems to need an instruction manual.

I'll play a bit more since I have a free month but I doubt I'll spend too much time or money on it.

Been reading on the COH Forums that DC Online will not be a monthly fee based game. From what I'm gathering, they expect there to be a lot of micro transactions-- where you to have pay cash to get some of the really cool stuff-- and maybe all paid expansions.

I16 is live!

Come color your new FX!

Weekend after next COH is going to have another Double XP Weekend ... and will include account reactivaton for the weekend. Those of you who have left the game might want to check out the new color customization options.

Double XP weekend started today ... and so did the free account reactivation.

Those of you who aren't paying anymore might want to log on to check the new stuff.

This past weekend Blue and I did the Positron TF with just 3 toons. Completed it in about 3 and a half hours with no deaths! Woot!

It was a great deal of fun.

Good for you! I finally let my account lapse. I'll miss playing with you guys, but I got on so infrequently, the cost wasn't worth it any more.

Keep up the good fight!

It was fun.

Anyone other than Vee and me still playing?

Saw on one of the gamer sites today that DC Online is set to launch on January 1st, 2010. Not sure how accurate they may be but it's worth relaying.

That came from a Goeff Johns interview, and Sony said basically he doesn't know what he's talking about. It isn't even in beta yet. I'd be surprised if it launches by summer 2010.

But it's looking pretty cool, even with no Aquaman, Legion or Gemworld -- yet.

A while ago, we announced Ultra Mode, a brand spanking new addition to the City of Heroes® universe that will bring Paragon City and the Rogue Isles to an even fresher and visually more pleasing level!

Ultra Mode will allow you (as long as your computer can handle it) to experience City of Heroes® in a completely different light...literally! You will rediscover places and landmarks in Paragon City and the Rogue Isles as if you'd never seen them before, and best of all, it will be in Issue 17: Dark Mirror, our next free expansion! And it is worth mentioning that once Going Rogue has released, you will experience even greater graphics since Praetoria was developed from the ground up with Ultra Mode in mind!

No more waiting in anticipation of this amazing new feature, for its availability is right around the corner! And to make it even more worth your while, here are some additional features you can expect to see in Issue 17: Dark Mirror

* New badges, new missions and new player emotes
* Epic Archetypes now available at level 20
* Improvements and additions to Mission Architect
* Enhancements to UI and game systems
* And more


But that is not all the news we have in store for you!

Remember Going Rogue? That's right, how could you forget? Well, you have the opportunity to get access to the Dual Pistols and Demon Summoning power sets in March and April, if you pre purchase City of Heroes Going Rogue (MSRP $29.99 USD)! You will also be able to get your hands on an exclusive item pack if you get the City of Heroes Going Rogue: Complete Collection (MSRP $39.99 USD), that will be available when Going Rogue releases in July! What's in that item pack, you ask? Well, a few nifty things like:

* Alpha- and Omega-themed auras
* Alpha and Omega themed costumed sets
* Four stance emotes
* The Shadowy Presence invisibility power


Is this too much for you to handle? Hang in there, this year promises to be a fantastic one in City of Heroes® and we've got more details for you on these different offers coming soon!

Get excited because one of your favorite times of the year is quickly approaching - Double XP Weekend! All the fun begins on March 4th!

What is a Double Experience Weekend? It's a three day stretch of time during which all participating Hero and Villain characters receive double the XP, Influence, and Infamy for their accomplishments in game. All you have to do is log in and take advantage of this opportunity to level up your favorite characters twice as quickly as normal! And if you pre-purchase Going Rogue, you'll be able to take advantage of all that Double XP has to offer while wielding the Dual Pistols power set!

But it doesn't end there. We're also having an Account Reactivation at the same time! This means that all inactive accounts in good standing will be re-activated free of charge and given access to City of Heroes and City of Villains® during Double XP weekend! So grab your friends and loved ones and get them back into the game so that you can play and rack-up the phat loot together!

If you or any of your friends haven't played in a while, visit the City of Heroes Website for all the latest game news. Download the PC game client or the Mac game client, or visit our official message forums for a wealth of other information.

* Double XP and Re-activation Weekend Start: Thursday, March 4th at 8:59am Pacific Time (11:59am Eastern Time / 8:59am GMT / 9:59 Central European Time)
* Double XP and Re-activation Weekend End: Sunday, March 7th at 11:59pm Pacific (2:59am Eastern Time / 11:59pm GMT / 0:59 Central European Time)


Please note: if your account expires after the reactivation weekend has started, it will not get automatically reactivated. To participate in the Double XP Weekend, you will need to reactivate your account via the usual method. Please check our Knowledge Base (European Knowledge Base available here) for more information on how to reactivate your game account.

We hope you take advantage of all the advantages a Double XP/Reactivation Weekend has to offer! Enjoy and have fun...see you in-game on March 4th!

Join in the Community Discussion here!

Figures -- I've got plans for most of that weekend. Oh, well. Have fun!

I just recently reactivated my account so I'll probably be in on it.

Ooh, I wish Ultra Mode would be out in time for the free re-activation weekend. If it's anything like the Champions Online graphics, the colors *pop* compared to the already spiffy COH/V graphics.

More info on I17:


"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."
With the release of April's Issue 17: Dark Mirror, the newest free update of City of Heroes®, the game you love now has the visual depth, contrast, and richness it deserves! Dark Mirror includes a superior graphics rendering process, dubbed "Ultra Mode," that gives City of Heroes a heightened level of detail in lighting, reflections, shadows, and water effects. Paragon City™ and the Rogue Isles™ have never looked better.
In addition to Ultra Mode, as part of Issue 17, you will confront a new and nefarious foe who will be able to match your character blow for blow.
Other Issue 17: Dark Mirror features include:

* Epic archetypes are now unlocked at level 20.
* Animated character tails.
* New missions, new badges, and new player emotes.
* Quality of life enhancements to the UI and game systems.
* Improvements and additions to Mission Architect.

Features

Ultra Mode
Ultra Mode includes a superior graphics rendering process for players who have higher-end graphic cards. Each feature can be enabled or disabled in the graphics menu options and will be scalable. Ultra Mode works on both Macs and PCs. In specific, it offers dynamic shadows, screen-space ambient occlusion, and dynamic environment reflections (including planar reflections and environment mapping of reflective surfaces).
Epic Archetypes Unlocked at Level 20
Previously, you had to have at least one character at level 50 to make an epic archetype character. No more! Now you can create an epic archetype character as long as you have any one character at level 20 or higher.
Animated Tails
No more tails lying about like dead weight! You will now be able to select tail body parts that will react to your movement and have a swaying or swishing idle animation mode. You will need to go to a tailor to upgrade to the animated version.
Content

New Story Arcs: Issue 17: Dark Mirror features two new Hero and two new Villain story arcs for levels 20-30. Each of these story arcs has four missions, and the story arcs highlight the Dark Mirror's sinister new enemy. Acquire first Hero story arc in Talos Island, and the first Villain arc in Sharkhead Isle.
Silver Mantis Strike Force Update: The Silver Mantis Strike Force will now be available to all Villains, not just supergroups. You now can access the Silver Mantis Strike Force via Silver Mantis, located in Sharkhead Isle. You can also run this Task Force from your supergroup computer.
Positron Task Force Update: This Task Force has been split into two halves and dramatically upgraded and updated to ramp up the fun. The final battle of the Task Force takes place in the Faultline Dam and incorporates the new Dark Mirror enemy.
New Badges: Along with adding badges for 500 Badges Earned, 750 Badges Earned, and 1,000 Badges Earned, we are adding new exploration badges to city zones, almost doubling the number of exploration badges. You can learn new Accolades for finding all of the exploration badges in each city zone.
New Player Emotes: We'll let you know more about the new emotes soon.
Quality of Life Improvements

Craftable Temporary Powers: You will now have a much cleaner and more consistent way of finding and crafting temporary powers.
Increased Mission Count: You can now have seven active missions (previously three).
Show Last Objective: This UI improvement lets you find your last objective on a mission map, making it easier to find something you've missed.
Auction House: The UI gives you new options for sorting search results, your Auction House inventory is now separated by clearly marked tabs based on the item's status, the Auction House text entry box now autocompletes, and a single click on a recipe displays all salvage needed for that recipe.
In-Game E-mail: You can now use in-game e-mails to send Influence/Infamy to your own characters or to other players' characters via in-game e-mails. (You still cannot send Influence, Infamy, or items from a Hero to a Villain or vice versa.)
Mission Architect Improvements

Experience: You can now handpick the powers for custom enemies and still receive experience for them (within game balance limits).
New Maps: We have added approximately 20 new unique maps.
Giant Monsters: You can now add giant monsters to some outdoor maps.
Exit Mission on Complete: You can now specify that players have to leave the mission manually on completion.
Escort Missions: "Lead to place" technology allows you more control over escort objectives.

Issue 17 goes live today with the nifty stuff listed above.

You'll have to play it and let us know how it is. Will it be worth dipping my toes back in? Will my characters still be there any more?

People on Facebook are complaining like crazy about 'ultra-mode'.

It seems you'll have to reset all your graphics settings if your system can't handle it.

I have to admit that I don't know what kind of machine can actually run Ultra Mode. I have a PC I just bought a new video card for, and I was getting so much lag I had to shut Ultra Mode off. I was getting the same lag on test so I was hoping they'd fix it.

Also, my custom colors are only stuck on the original toon. The default original is back now on the other outfits.