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Kenbodude

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A few Quick Questions

hey guys, i am very interested in getting City of Heros. I just have a few question about the game.

1. PLease tell me this game is more than just pvp?
2. The previous mmorpg's i have played, u get a lot of xp by hunting of some form. Well im just curious what replaces that aspect in CoH becuase i highly doubt you kill squirels or somehthing as a superhero?
3. And last but not least, Is this the kind of game where you MUST log in very often so bad things dont happen. For example when i used to play star wars galaxies, you had to pay for maintence on your house, if you didnt your house would be permenently deleted.

Thanks guys i really appreciate it, and this looks like a fantastic community!

***THIS POST HAS BEEN EDITED***

08/13/05 17:07

DamienTheRed

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Re: A few Quick Questions

Isn't there a Guild Wars section of Game Amp where you would get more information from? I suggest you look into it. yuo'd do better to ask the veterans of that game about it.

Bionic Enforcerator (changed name from Damien The Red) lvl 50 Blaster makes his valiant return on Triumph server

08/13/05 17:31

Kenbodude

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Re: A few Quick Questions

wow god, i am an idiot, that was a typo, i hate guild wars, i meant to say city of heros!!!! ill edit it.

08/13/05 17:33

RageUnderSilk

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Re: A few Quick Questions

1. Yes, it's more than just PVP. In fact, so far, PVP is a pretty small part of the game. You can go into an area called the "Arena" and fight other superheros. You can even do this in groups. I've never done it myself, so I don't know how much fun it is. With the new City of Villians I'm hoping they'll open up a few areas to open PVP between heroes and villians. I don't know enough about it to comment though.

2. Yes, some xp can be gotten from hunting if you want to. Mostly this is done as "grinding" where you just kill mob after mob to gain levels. Personally, I stick to doing missions. I've found that I've been able to solo just about all of my missions. I'm getting ahead of myself. Lemme explain better.

Hunting: In just about every zone there are mobs of bad guys standing around talking to each other, fighting each other, and sometimes robbing poor civilians. In the beginning areas these guys are all humans (of one sort or another). As you get higher level and move into new zones you encounter other sorts of monsters. Everything from shamans to ghosts, ninjas to clockwork men walking around and shooting you with lightning (OW!). When you save a civilian from getting robbed (or just terrified) they'll come running up (after you beat the baddies) and thank you profusely (and give you some Influence, which is the form that money takes in this game).

Missions: You get a variety of missions. Sometimes they're just taking an item from one person to another. Usually they're what are called "door missions" where you go to a building, walk through a door, and enter what is referred to as an "instance dungeon" in other MMORPGs. The only people you'll meet in an "instance" are those who're part of your group when you go inside. There are also "train missions" where you board the Tram (a system for making it quicker to port from zone to zone, like the subway) and get taken to an instance zone. You'll also sometimes get "patrol" missions that have you run around a city going from telephone booth to telephone booth. It says to kill any bad guys you meet along the way but you really don't need to.

Taskforces: These are essentially a group of missions. I've only been on one so I'll let more experienced folks fill you in. The one I was in was 14 missions long. Taskforces are huge. You have to have a group of people to do them, either 4 or 8, I think it varies some. Be prepared to spend at least 3 hours doing a taskforce. The one I did took about 4 or 5 hours and we used a few cheaty tactics to get through them faster (ghosting, it's where one guy runs ahead and clicks on all the little blinky items you have to click on, so you don't have to fight all the guys on the level).

3: Your final question was whether or not anything bad happens if you don't log in for a while. The answer is nope, not a thing, so far as I've seen. There aren't any houses in the game (yet?) so you don't need to worry about that. You can go on vacation and be safe in the knowledge that you won't suffer because of it. Though, as you get higher level you sometimes get "temporary" powers that last for a certain number of actual days (rather than game days). So if you get a temp power for the next 4 days and go on vaca, you kind of waste the power. These temporary powers usually aren't too terribly useful though. They're sort of an extra thing and aren't essential. They might help you level a little faster but no biggie.

08/13/05 18:15

Thee_Grumpy

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Re: A few Quick Questions

With that fixed, I can answer your questions easily.

QUOTE

1. PLease tell me this game is more than just pvp?

Sure is. Indeed, while PvP is available, it is totally optional. Many players (myself included), haven't ventured into the PvP arena in months.

QUOTE

2. The previous mmorpg's i have played, u get a lot of xp by hunting of some form. Well im just curious what replaces that aspect in CoH becuase i highly doubt you kill squirels or somehthing as a superhero?

There is hunting -- but you hunt thugs & bullies. While hunting is always an option, you get an XP bonus for completing missions.

QUOTE

3. Is this the kind of game where you MUST log in very often so bad things dont happen.

Never! In fact, that sounds horrible. CoH is the only MMORPG I've ever played, and it sounds like I was blessed with never seeing such horrorshows. The only penalty for not playing frequently is, well, you waste your monthly fee (since you get charged that month whether you play or not).

EDITED TO ADD: I knew I'd be too slow on the draw.

***THIS POST HAS BEEN EDITED***

08/13/05 18:19

DamienTheRed

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Re: A few Quick Questions

Ok when it comes to the arena it's a pathetic addition to the game. The Arena is underpopulated and teams are practically required. A few more features that the game has is adge hunting. You get them for killing a certain enemy many times, completing certain missions and finding certain spots on the zone map. There's also an incredibly large array of powersets And Archtypes (Different hero roles like blasting or tanking) to attend to your style of play. You can be a healer if you just feel like looking after your teammates or if you want to have an army of pets (which is disappearing in issue 5) and the offensive juggernauts and defensive juggernauts of tankers. There's also the melee based and balance scrapper AT.

There are also different story arcs revealing the background of Paragon City and it's future as well as different zones of Paragon with their own history.

Bionic Enforcerator (changed name from Damien The Red) lvl 50 Blaster makes his valiant return on Triumph server

08/13/05 18:37

thejeni

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Re: A few Quick Questions

also if you want to see what the bad guys look like you should check out our villians section... we have worked hard on getting pics and descriptions of all the villians in the game...

also this MMO is like none that i've played b/f... there are no houses (in the future there will be super group bases but not for a while)... there is no pvp in open areas.... and there are no items (aka armor, weapons, ect)... all of your abilities are based on what arch type you choose (blaster, tank, scrapper, controller, and defendor) and which powers you choose to get when you level up.... also there really isn't much of a grind here... you always have missions available to you which are given to you by contacts... the missions are great b/c they reveal the story line behind each of the villian groups..... also you don't have to log in every day, hell you don't even have to log in every week, you can even cancel your subscription for 6 months and reactivate it and start just where you left off

and if you have any more questions please feel free to ask everyone here LOVES talking about the game!

Siggy created by DeathFetish.

08/13/05 19:30

Kenbodude

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Re: A few Quick Questions

QUOTE

wait a sec, no items. I just dont see how that could be?
By the way this comunity is freekin awsome!!!

08/13/05 20:06

gec72

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Re: A few Quick Questions

The closest things CoH has to items/equiment are Enhancements. They are what their name indicates - items (ok, can't think of a better term) that enhance your powers by modifying them in a specified manner. Pretty much any aspect that applies to a given power (damage, damage resistance, recharge, healing, end cost/drain/recovery, accuracy, hold/sleep duration, etc. etc) can be improved by the use of enhancements.

I guess an analogy would be if you think of each power as a spell, or a weapon, or armor. It starts out just at its base capability. Instead of trading one weapon in for another though, you build it up a) by adding more enhancement slots to it and b) by placing various enhancements in those slots. So it is possible for two toons with the exact same powersets to have quite different capabilities, depending on how they slotted and enhanced their powers.

Virtue
Lvl 50 Red Menacer BS/Regen Scrapper
Lvl 33 Blue-Agave Mind/Kin Controller
Lvl 28 Oro Liquido INV/EM Tanker
Lvl 21 Lady Elixir Emp/Psi Defender
Lvl 16 Astrasmash Grav/Storm Controller
Lvl 14 Emma's Dolly MA/Dark Scrapper
Lvl 7 Black Jacobin Sonic/Sonic Defender

Guardian
Lvl 11 Orange Laser FF/Energy Defender (Laser Corps)
Lvl 7 Hot Butter Fire/Axe Tanker

Victory
Lvl 7 Whitecapper AR/Devices Blaster

08/13/05 20:19

Kenbodude

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Re: A few Quick Questions

ok i just did some research, on gamespot by first reading the review, and then watching the video review, which had alot of gameplay footage that looked cool. However there are a few things the guy said that really stuck with me.

1.He said that the only thing really in this game is combat
2.The no items thing (we have already discussed this)
3.He said something about this game not lasting you for too long. He said it could only last you the first 30 days.

He said many many good things about the game though. And it looked pretty fun.

08/13/05 20:40

Whimcycle

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Re: A few Quick Questions

QUOTE

Hummm,

I'm not one to pay much credence to reviewers. Especially on a game like CoH, WoW or other type games. They do not play them long enough, and are actually playing on Beta versions of the game. When CoH first came out, yeah, it got dull fast, there were mind numbing bugs, especially with ATI video cards. In fact, I will tell you, I got fustrated very quickly.

I'm use to playing Clerics, Bards and/or Rangers. I tried everything, and the closest I could come to these types was a Controller. Whimcycle was a Fire/Empath controller that was going nowhere fast, so I stopped playing him, and the game. I came back after a while, everyone had moved to WoW in my SG. I made Hervis, my Electric/Devices Blaster. This return some of the fun to the game, Blasters are sort of like archers. But I still wanted to do something with Whimcycle. That is when I found this board and people here open my eyes to the possibilies of the Illusion/Empath controller.

I deleted Whimcycle and re-did him as an Ill/Emp and I've not looked back. Its been over 4 months since I took Hervis out for a spin. Now, what I have been trying to say in my long winded, rather boring, yet oddly informative tale is that...

The game is what you make of it. With the help of the fine folks here, I found what makes the game for me. I hope you will find what makes the game for you, if you chose to play.

=~Whimcycle~=
A fleeting shadow in the crowd.

08/13/05 21:36

DamienTheRed

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Re: A few Quick Questions

Only last you 30 days!? Madness! I've been playing for about 4 months on the same character and still have tons to do!

Bionic Enforcerator (changed name from Damien The Red) lvl 50 Blaster makes his valiant return on Triumph server

08/13/05 22:27

Kenbodude

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Re: A few Quick Questions

was he right about it only being combat? o and he also said it might now be worth the 15 bucks a month. However some people i asked said it is.

08/13/05 23:01

thejeni

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Re: A few Quick Questions

[QUOTE]1.He said that the only thing really in this game is combat
2.The no items thing (we have already discussed this)
3.He said something about this game not lasting you for too long. He said it could only last you the first 30 days.[/QUOTE]

1. along w/ combat there are badges to hunt for, there is the arena (you don't get xp or debt here), there are some unique tile set missions that will blow your mind away (by the by missions are instanced and only you and your teammates can get into the door missions of yours)... there are a wide varity of monsters to hunt (special bad guys that takes a team to take them down), and there are the super groups (like clans of guilds).

2. the lack of items in the games, in my opinion, makes the community nicer... you don't have people trying to steal your kills so they can get the drops, you don't have to worry about farming one monster just so you can get that really great weapon, and it keeps the game simple and enjoyable.

3. i've been playing since last may (w/ the exception of a two month break a bit ago) and am still totally and completly hooked... the lvl cap is 50 and the game isn't about becoming lvl 50, it is about getting there... the missions really are a fantastic aspect of the game... you get to see where the bad guys are coming from, where their roots are, and what they are doing in paragon city (the place where CoH is set)

also if you are into roleplaying there is a commuinty of them on each server and it may take a little hunting but once you find them you can spend hours being a super hero

and one last thing (did i mention i'm an addict?) that really makes the game great is the character creation... it took me over an hour the 1st time i logged into the game to create my character... the amount of choices for costumes are endless, and there are many people who are addicted to just creating new characters and trying new arch types and creating new costumes (also as you hit lvl 20, 30, and 40 you get an extra costume slot that you can change into when you like)

and here i'm going to end my babble, but if you want more info just ask, we are here to answer![/QUOTE]

Siggy created by DeathFetish.

08/13/05 23:50

NightMyst

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Re: A few Quick Questions

Not going to post to repeat what everyone else said and waste you reading it, just to say that I've played this game since around may/june 2004 and since december '04 I've had 2 accounts! I suspended both for a short while, as I was playing World of Warcraft, but here I am again... :) with both accounts back up and being used!

I love this game, I've played PlanetSide, SW Galaxies (2 weeks, hated it) WoW for a few months, Guild Wars (ONLY good thing is no monthly fee, but you can see why! lasted me 2-3hours at most) But this game is still my fav! In fact... I'm off to play some more now!

I guess I'm back then... :)

Night-Myst: L-50 Rad/Rad Deffender SG: S9 Infinity Stars
Shadow-Burn: L-50 Fire/Devices Blaster SG: S9 Infinity Stars
Fulcrum Flame: L-49 Fire/Kinetics Controller SG: Section Nine

08/14/05 00:33

Kenbodude

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Re: A few Quick Questions

well i have a few things to say. One being, that i can't believe how nice you guys are for helping me so much. This is truely an awsome comunity. Second, i think i have completely decided to give this game a try. It will take me about a month to get the money. And for sure i will play for 90 days at least. (because, i need to get a gamecard also) SO if i like it i will continue playing. I still have another question though. This is about city of villians.

I understand this isnt an expansion to the game, just the same game from the villians point of you. I know that they play with the same people who play city of heros also. I however am not interested in this game, i would much rather be a hero!

1. Do the people playing CoV get to do anymore stuff and have a more enanched game experience then the CoH players.
2. Will this game effect anybody playing CoH besides the fact that CoH players will now be able to face human vilians?

08/14/05 01:55

thejeni

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Re: A few Quick Questions

QUOTE

well i have a few things to say. One being, that i can't believe how nice you guys are for helping me so much. This is truely an awsome comunity.

1. Do the people playing CoV get to do anymore stuff and have a more enanched game experience then the CoH players.
2. Will this game effect anybody playing CoH besides the fact that CoH players will now be able to face human vilians?

1st off thanks for the compliment, we try to keep this a happy helpful forum, mainly b/c the offical forum is really hard to get an actual answer from rather than flames

2nd CoV is a stand alone expansion... if you do not have CoV you will not encounter any of the player villians and will not encounter pvp... also the place that CoV takes places will be different zones, there will be some zones that both heroes and villians can access (if you have both) but these will not be the main zones in CoV... so if you don't want to do the pvp thing in either game you don't have to (unlike a lot of MMO's)... i also am not intrested in playing a villian (i know hard to believe)... and i HATE pvp so it is really nice how they have it set up....

Siggy created by DeathFetish.

08/14/05 02:07

NightMyst

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Re: A few Quick Questions

Of course, there is another reason to get CoV... Bases! Once you have CoV you can make/design/build your own bases inside CoV, but you can also make them in CoH if u own both games! Which is great, I'll probably end up with more than one account on CoV... i just know it... :)

PLUS: updated graphics, new power pools/archetypes and all kinds of new cool stuff :D

Go here for more info

***THIS POST HAS BEEN EDITED***

08/14/05 05:27

Thee_Grumpy

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Re: A few Quick Questions

QUOTE

1.He said that the only thing really in this game is combat

Is there supposed to be something else? Wood-chopping, perhaps? Then I'll consider myself lucky. You could count costume contests as a type of non-combat activity. Searching for Exploration badges (based on the hints from this site) is another.

QUOTE

2.The no items thing (we have already discussed this)

Never having played any RPG but CoH, I don't know what I'm missing. And, y'know what? I consider myself lucky in that, too. A related criticism is that your toon doesn't wear new armor or items (except for rare temporary powers), but since the CoH character generator is so potent to start with, you'll hardly miss it.

QUOTE

3.He said something about this game not lasting you for too long. He said it could only last you the first 30 days.

The fact that I've played for over a year disproves that. It's also plain nonsense. First, each of the five archetypes (Blaster, Controller, Defender, Scrapper, and Tanker) are quite different, so you'll want to play one of each. Further, those differences become greater at higher levels. Further still, you'll want even more toons to try the different powersets for each archetype (especially Controller and Defender, which have the most variety IMHO). And, assuming you were able to do all that in 30 days, you still have the option of doing different builds of powersets & archetypes you've already played. For example, I've got three different styles of Mind Controller.

Then again, if I'd only played the first 30 days, I'd have saved a bundle in monthly fee payments.

***THIS POST HAS BEEN EDITED***

08/14/05 19:39

Kenbodude

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Re: A few Quick Questions

QUOTE

Well its just in other mmorpg's i have played there are countless professions. Not all combat related. In fact many not. For example, being an architect, a merchant, a gunsmith and so on. I am not necesarilly saying though that not having that makes a dull game. I will see once i try this game out!

08/14/05 21:14

Grifter0408

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Re: A few Quick Questions

QUOTE

There will be something fairly close to the whole professions in other games (like WoW). In one of the upcoming Issues will be Skill sets that will allow you to learn special abilities in various fields of study. They wont allow you to make money but its the closest thing you will experience in CoH to professions.

Yes professions add a bit of fun and a break from the always killing things but its pretty tough to institute in a hero game but I would say Seamstress would be one I would consider. Do you know how much it cost to restitch a costume after you fight an AV?? Do you....well I dont either but Im sure my sidekick knows and its probably expensive.

08/14/05 23:17

Kenbodude

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Re: A few Quick Questions

QUOTE

lol, i bet it is quite expensive. Anyway from what you guys say it seems like not having any professions, and just combat is plenty fun for this game. However in a lot of games it is not. Such as star wars galaxies, if combat was the only thing in it that game would totally suck. But sounds like the unique aspect of this game doesnt require professions to have a ton of fun for a long time!

08/15/05 00:56

RageUnderSilk

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Re: A few Quick Questions

On the whole "only combat" thing I have mixed feelings.

First, I do sort of miss the whole professions thing now and then. I also admit to missing some of the armor changes and what not. The various costume changes you can make are great, but you can't change things like what your firey sword of death looks like or what your gun looks like, etc. Some of the weaponry used by the Council makes my Assault Rifle blaster hang his head in shame. I'd enjoy some improvements there. Beyond that, being able to make items for other players is an intersting addition. I always sort of enjoyed the virtual flea market of people standing around shouting out their wares and people trying to find the best goods and best prices. Or even better, make their own and earn some cash. I think DAoC did a very good job with the player equipment manufacturing.

But on the other hand, I have to say that the combat system in CoH is AMAZING and totally refreshing compared to other MMORPG's. In most MMORPG's you hardly even need to be there. You tell your guy to attack and he sits there thwacking some poor forest creature with his sword for the next five minutes while you go take a "bio break". heh. Or even worse, you have to sit there reading scrolling bits of text waiting for your character to parry an attack so you can unleash your UBER CHAINED COMBO OF DEATH upon him.

There's none of that in CoH. You have a list of powers and in order to make ANY attack on an enemy, you have to click a power. True, you can tell your guy to "auto-execute" one power, but usually you'll have at least 2 or 3 powers that you'll want to use so that you're doing damage on a much more constant basis. The fact that enemies tend to do a lot more moving around also gets you involved in combat. Most games you run up to a guy and the two of you spend the next five minutes standing still and pounding away. Boring and unrealistic. In CoH, guys will run away when they're hurt or out gunned. They'll try to get you to chase them through other mobs of guys (generally a BAD idea) so they can be saved. Sometimes they'll run and get some of their buddies, though the tendency to do this isn't NEARLY as bad as some other games. I remember in DAoC how you had to memorize which monsters would "BAF" or "bring a friend" to any fight you got into with them. It was all about being careful about not pissing off a guy's buddies. That's not as much of a problem. But anyway, my point is that the combats in this tend to be dazzling (in groups) with powers flying EVERYWHERE (as well as a few enemy bodies) and very involved as you're constantly targetting new bad guys, chasing down others, and pursuing guys that you just knocked clear across the room.

***THIS POST HAS BEEN EDITED***

08/15/05 03:02

Thee_Grumpy

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Re: A few Quick Questions

QUOTE

...the combats in this tend to be dazzling (in groups) with powers flying EVERYWHERE (as well as a few enemy bodies) and very involved as you're constantly targetting new bad guys, chasing down others, and pursuing guys that you just knocked clear across the room.

And, don't forget, dodging enemy attacks by getting out of range or out of view (something too few heroes pay attention to). I'll take your word for it that the CoH combat system is a step up from other RPGs. As it is, it's a matter of A)Pick target, B)Mash 1,2,3 keys, C)Repeat. There is some skill in hitting foes in optimum order (as a rule, save piddly minions for last, kids) and in aggro control.

Grifter, I still can't imagine what the Skills function will do -- especially since I have no frame of reference for "professions." What, are other heroes going to seek you out because you're a university educated Scientist or Detective?

Speaking of professions, CoH players have found ways to spend time on the servers in non-combat roles: roving healers and taxibots, for example.

08/15/05 16:13

Steampunk

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Re: A few Quick Questions

Well, I don't want to repeat or simply add an extra post, but there were some facts stated that I believe will be out of date with the arrival of the Issue 5 expansion. When Thejeni was saying that only your teammates are the ones in mishes, this wont be completley true upon I5's release. I'm pretty sure I heard that there will be some mishes were you rescue histage heroes who can fight with you. Or, I could have misinterperted. If so, please correct me.

08/15/05 19:48

thejeni

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Re: A few Quick Questions

QUOTE

I'm pretty sure I heard that there will be some mishes were you rescue hostage heroes who can fight with you. Or, I could have misinterperted. If so, please correct me.

well they are a npc hero... i think they called it an ally (could be wrong on name)... but it won't be another players character... what i was pointing out is that you don't have to deal w/ people camping an area so you can't get your missions done (had that problem in Lineage2)... it was one of the features in coh that i really enjoyed

Siggy created by DeathFetish.

08/15/05 22:37

Grifter0408

GameAmp Staff
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Re: A few Quick Questions

QUOTE

Grifter, I still can't imagine what the Skills function will do -- especially since I have no frame of reference for \"professions.\" What, are other heroes going to seek you out because you're a university educated Scientist or Detective?

Well see they arent really professions, they are more skills, I just used professions due to so many people more use to the "profession" tag. It will be the closet CoH will probably every get to as in professions. Like I stated you probably willnt be able to make money off these abilities or such. They are just another side item to expand CoH's world. Much like badges, arenas, task force, and blah blah blah available to us.

08/15/05 23:25

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