City of Heroes going F2P with Issue 21

[Tyrnan]

F2P goes live with issue 21.  Since issue 20.5 is just hitting test, I'd guess 2-3 months, so...  September?

Most likely, they've literally just begun closed beta for it with a small group of testers to gauge initial feedback. There's the new Time Manipulation powerset plus another one to be announced in the next couple of weeks (plus more hinted at but I don't know if they'll be part of Issue 21 or further on down the road) that will likely need extensive testing plus all the other content on top of the F2P system itself.

[Zetor]

Sorta-necro... I21 just went live yesterday, with current subscribers getting access to a F2P 'headstart' as well. I'm not sure how long the 'headstart' lasts, but they definitely still have a few bugs to iron out.

Here there be patch notes. Highlights:
- new veteran rewards program that allows non-sub accounts to unlock 'pay features' for free permanently and get the 'old' veteran rewards as well*
- cash shop (duh)
- VIP-only server for the cool kids
- revamped tutorials and newb zones (e.g. Galaxy City is out, most old contacts are out, new-style story arcs are in)
- '!'-style quest indicators for contacts
- phasing in outdoor maps depending on story arc status (if you're grouped, everyone is in the phase of the group leader)
- new interface, login/char creation screens
- various QOL improvements (e.g. travel powers at level 4)
- some new trials and powersets (Beam Rifle, Time Manipulation; Street Justice is being delayed for a few weeks)
- standard patch balance changes
- streaming downloader like Guild Wars and newWOW, so you don't have to download a 3-gig client to start playing
- some strange and convoluted anti-powerleveling code (some early reports indicate this may in fact hurt large groups that are killing stuff efficiently even in dev-made missions)

* As a 45-month vet with a box purchase + promo code, I got 20 tokens, enough to max out tier 6. This got me full access to the Mission Architect (creating and playing story arcs), access to controllers/MMs, ability to use the AH, earn merits, and some other random vet reward stuff, all without having to pay anything.

Personally I think I'll be playing COH for a while, especially since I don't actually need a sub for my main activities (creating Mission Architect storyarcs, messing around with various powersets on alts). Now it'll be possible to buy even more arc slots, there is no limit!

[koro]

My biggest gripe is that the Invention System is locked out until you're at the 60+ month mark. Considering how much of the game has been released and retooled with the Invention System in mind, locking away such a massive part of the game (especially the later game) behind such a steep wall is kind of off-putting. Pretty much every character I have above level 20 is stuffed to the gills with inventions.

I'd much rather just resub for a month or two anyway, but since I don't have Going Rogue my 50s would have precious little to do.

Edit: And it's a shame that the devs are still on this anti-"powerleveling" bent even after all these years. Nothing they do has ever truly curbed it because the last 10 levels have always, always, always been an annoying slog. Now that there's actually stuff to do at 50, making it harder and harder for people to get to that level just strikes me as backwards.

[Kageru]

Very much looking forward to this. Loved the CoH world, mechanics and powers but it works much better as a play occasionally game rather than subscription game since it ultimately got repetitive. Another game for the wife and I to duo!

The F2P scheme is interesting. Get a number of points from previous investment, get points when you buy in game cash and use those both to eventually buy permanent access to some things you really do want (Architect missions, inventions). Not a bad way of rewarding those who have been loyal to the game or those who buy into the game now if they balance out the points in a reasonable fashion.

[Lantyssa]

When are free players supposed to be able to log in?  My account says 'playable', but trying to log in gives me a message that it's expired.

[Kageru]

"Later in the year" seems to be the summary. They're basically testing it out before opening the floodgates.

And if they list it on the f2p section of steam, with some sort of promo, it really will be a floodgate (though retention will be terrible of course).

[luckton]

Those patch notes sure are pretty...maybe I'll come back and get my I1 Tanker to 50 

[Reg]

I went back to COH for a couple of months last summer and had a good time. I've switched over to STO for now but when I get sick of it I'll definitely go back to COH. I figure I'll probably just subscribe rather than try to game the free to play system.

[Numtini]

I'm just tapping my fingers here waiting. I just hope its set up so I can grab a couple of group instances a month and not have to dedicate a lot of money to it. World of Tanks is working great for me on that. When I'm in the mood I get premium, when I'm not I play my KV that I know I can make money on without premium.

[Numtini]

Just got an email telling me to go ahead and log in for a special VIP early head start on free to play. But of course I can't log in without subscribing. And there's no indication of that anywhere. Not really a good marketing push.

[Kageru]

It reminded me that I had bought "Going Rogue" when it showed up on the steam christmas sale and might as well apply it to the account. Free month of gametime added to my existing account? Well thank you very much.

Looks quite nice. The new going rogue zone has a stronger tutorial and story arc, basic fitness powers are now innate (jumping, stamina, healing) which makes sense because pretty much everyone bought them, and a little lady with dual uzi's is fun to watch. The initial XP gain is pretty fast too. Combat is still measured / slow which I quite like, having had enough of WoW twitch play.

... they really need a character model overhaul though. I'm really surprised they haven't especially when the new costume pieces look so nice and high rez. Some of the aura's (which are now on the character designer up-front) are really very good.

[Kageru]

Created a new hero, since oddly limited character slots might be just what I need to ever see the CoH end-game, and ran into the new tutorial.

I must say it's somewhat impressive (the wrecked cityscape looks excellent) but it's pretty terrible as a tutorial. Short, way too noisy and pushes you to move forward quickly when you probably just want some punching bags and a bit of explanation. Also does the classic error of having you fight end-game monsters and a huge boss event at level 1 after which you enter the real game and are suddenly getting beaten up by muggers. I actually preferred the previous one which had none of these problems.

The shop is interesting. Having paid costume gear show up on the character designer to tempt you is excellent and the prices are reasonable enough to encourage impulse purchases. What remains unknown is how much it costs to buy access to subscription services. The locked AT's (controller and mastermind for example), Architect missions, Crafting and story arcs aren't currently in the shop. Probably because it's going to be quite a delicate balancing act to keep current subscribers from dropping down to premium and there's no point in playing their hand to early. More player activity will make CoH more fun though, it is at its best with a large group and enemy hordes being obliterated.

[Tyrnan]

Yeah the new tutorial has caught a fair bit of flack. Quite a few people have complained that it doesn't really teach you very much about the game compared to the old tutorial, which is true I guess. The old one taught you about mob conning, combining enhancements, etc.

But, there's also the ongoing training to take into account with the new system. At level 6 you get a new contact, Twinshot for heroes (not sure who villains get) who takes you under her wing and starts teaching you more about the game and it's system. You get a 2nd story arc when you reach level 10 and a third at level 15. I ran a new hero through 1-20 over the weekend and I absolutely loved these arcs from a story perspective. For me, they're some of the most well written content added to the game in a while.

From an instructional perspective, I'd say they do a decent job too. I was having so much fun with them that I wasn't paying that much attention to what I was being taught but they seem to cover all the bases: leveling, tram system, sent me to Wentworths, Icon, DO store, Hero Corp Field Analyst, University, etc. The timing of those things was a bit off in some cases though. For instance, telling me about leveling at level 6 when I've already done it 5 times, or sending me to the enhancement store at 15 (although that may have been to make sure I knew there were more than just training enhancements in the game since it was a DO store). I'm not sure if this has something to do with the way that CoH's content seems to be split into blocks of 5 levels and you only get new stuff at 5, 10, 15 etc (6 being the only exception I can think of). So maybe they decided to wait until 15 to tell you about DOs so that you could use them?

I think the new system does a better job of easing a new player into the game over the course of the first 20 levels rather than making you read a load of popup dialogs at level 1 and just dumping you in the game. I'll have to pay more attention on my next noob to see if it actually teaches you everything you need to know, but it seems to cover most of it.

[cironian]

I resubbed too. Been about two years since I last played, but the gameplay is still fun and having waited this long there is a lot of new content waiting for me.

[Kageru]

Dr Graves is the villain equivalent. And it's.... the weirdest and most fun tutorial I've ever done. I'm not even sure what I'm learning from it but the CoH guys have worked out that good dialog and stock maps can still tell a story that keeps you interested. The fellow villain who thinks I have lovely eyes, and would very much like to take them for his collection, is actually bordering on creepy.

free to play really is just so perfect for this game. There's lots they can add to tempt me (Night-Widow AT being an immediate one) and the game suits occasional play much better than the sort of frequency that would justify a sub. Meanwhile if they can get some extra development $ there's lots that could be added or updated. Also the character moves are heavily discounted as part of the head start so bought a pack of those.

I also saw one power I fell in love with. A long-cast almost perfect permanent stealth as long as you don't move. I was confused as to what they point was but it seems to effectively be a "need to go AFK for a sec while in a mission" super-power which is a great addition. 

[luckton]

Whatever happened to Geko?

[UnSub]

Al 'Geko' Rivera went with Cryptic to be the Lead Designer of Star Trek Online. His LinkedIn says he's still at Cryptic.

[luckton]

Al 'Geko' Rivera went with Cryptic to be the Lead Designer of Star Trek Online. His LinkedIn says he's still at Cryptic.

Oh so that's why I hate STO and it's convoluted skill/power structure.   It all makes sense now. 

[koro]

Al 'Geko' Rivera went with Cryptic to be the Lead Designer of Star Trek Online. His LinkedIn says he's still at Cryptic.

Oh so that's why I hate STO and it's convoluted skill/power structure.   It all makes sense now. 

Pretty much the whole reason Cryptic splitting off from NCSoft and leaving NCNorCal/Paragon behind was the best thing to ever happen to CoH: it got rid of Jack "It's Not Fun Unless You Lose 95% of the Time!" Emmert and Geko.

[Amaron]

So if I resub now to check it out does this "head start" thing mean we basically get Going Rogue for free?  I never bought that so not sure how that works.

[UnSub]

Pretty much the whole reason Cryptic splitting off from NCSoft and leaving NCNorCal/Paragon behind was the best thing to ever happen to CoH: it got rid of Jack "It's Not Fun Unless You Lose 95% of the Time!" Emmert and Geko.

Which is why after Cryptic left and Paragon Studios remained CoH/V attracted more players than ever before. 

[cironian]

So if I resub now to check it out does this "head start" thing mean we basically get Going Rogue for free?  I never bought that so not sure how that works.

Yes. I didn't buy it either, but I have access to the whole thing now.

[Kageru]

The bad of CoH: "This map again?"

The good of CoH: "Doing sewer task-force, can run with what we have but the more the merrier".

It has to be one of the few MMO's where the mechanics actually encourage PUG grouping.

Doing the hero side "group" tutorial quests and they're quite fun. Trying to give a feel for the fun of being in a group using NPC super-heroes isn't entirely successful but it is a noble attempt.

[SurfD]

Sort of confused.  Has the "free to play" thing gone live for the unwashed masses yet?

I havent played for probably 4+ years, but my account still exists.  Downloaded the game, fired it up, tried to log in, only to get this error:
 "Payment for this account has expired, would you like to check your account status on the web page?"

Going to the Account Status Page gets me:
"During head start you will gain Early Game Access before the game's official release. Access to City of Heroes Freedom™ is currently limited to VIP accounts. If you are already a subscriber, just maintain your active subscription to be automatically upgraded to VIP!

If you would like to upgrade to VIP, click here."

According to my Game Account Details, My Account Type is Free, My Account Status is Playable, and My Subscription Type is None.

Do i have to re-subscribe? purchase a VIP upgrade? Or is the actual Free To Play thing not live yet?

Would it be worth it to purchase a 1 month sub for 15 bucks or whatever it is, to get an automatic upgrade to VIP?

[Kageru]

The VIP headstart is effectively the beta for the f2p mechanics with some sugar (events and freebies). They haven't announced it going f2p but it will probably be relatively soon.

VIP is effectively going to become "active subscriber". Premium is if you've spent any money on CoH either before or after (bought a product, had a sub, bought points) but are not a subscriber. And free is basically never spend a dime.

If you want to play free you can just wait, there doesn't seem to be any compelling reason to subscribe specifically for the head-start unless you want to explore while things are still quiet.

(Edit)

Looks like they've actually started reactivating some expired accounts:

We're going to be slowly reactivating inactive *premium* accounts (new players still may not create new free accounts). This is a slow ramp up and the process will take time. We'll put up a Community announcement at some point, however glad you guys noticed.

Also looks like if your account goes inactive from now you'll be able to continue playing as a premium player.

[SurfD]

So no real incentive to spend 14 bucks to re-activate my old account for VIP status, since i payed an active sub fee a few years back and should get defaulted to "premium" status when everything officially kicks off then.

[Zetor]

Depends on how many veteran months you have... the 'paragon rewards program' can allow you to unlock certain parts of the game (such as the ability to earn merits, get medium inspiration drops or create Architect missions) permanently, and every subbed month is worth one point.

If you're near the threshold for one of the tiers, getting 1-2 months of sub may be a cheap way to get the unlock and check out whether the VIP benefits are worth it for you in that time.

[Kageru]

You also gain paragon reward points (plus VIP status) if you buy points for use in the cash-shop. Some of the things that would be nice for a premium player, like permanent access to the invention system, have pretty high requirements though.

[Amaron]

What exactly does access to invention mean though?  You can't even use invented enhancements without it?  Or you just can't make them?

[koro]

What exactly does access to invention mean though?  You can't even use invented enhancements without it?  Or you just can't make them?

Can't use or make. It's why it's completely and utterly pointless to log in any of my previously-made characters who are over about level 25 with the new system because they all have so many IOs that they're essentially unplayable unless I throw away roughly 2 billion inf worth of IOs, pay a $5 ransom to get their use back for a month, or resub.

But from what I'm seeing, you can actually get by on 30-day temporary licenses for a lot of stuff with just $5 worth a points a month (400, which is the minimum amount), which lets you use inventions (150 points), access the AH (another 150), and have 100 more to play with.

[cironian]

Can't use or make. It's why it's completely and utterly pointless to log in any of my previously-made characters who are over about level 25 with the new system because they all have so many IOs that they're essentially unplayable unless I throw away roughly 2 billion inf worth of IOs, pay a $5 ransom to get their use back for a month, or resub.

One good suggestion I heard for when you don't want to buy the license is to use your second build as a pure Premium build. Fill that up with SOs and you can just switch to that when you are not subscribed.

[Numtini]

ut from what I'm seeing, you can actually get by on 30-day temporary licenses for a lot of stuff with just $5 worth a points a month (400, which is the minimum amount), which lets you use inventions (150 points), access the AH (another 150), and have 100 more to play with.

That does not sound playable.

[koro]

Can't use or make. It's why it's completely and utterly pointless to log in any of my previously-made characters who are over about level 25 with the new system because they all have so many IOs that they're essentially unplayable unless I throw away roughly 2 billion inf worth of IOs, pay a $5 ransom to get their use back for a month, or resub.

One good suggestion I heard for when you don't want to buy the license is to use your second build as a pure Premium build. Fill that up with SOs and you can just switch to that when you are not subscribed.

They have multiple builds now?

[Tyrnan]

They have multiple builds now?

Been in for a while now. From level 20 you can talk to a trainer to switch between your builds, with a 15 minute cooldown iirc.

[Kageru]

Level 10 now (as I just got one). They've been in for a couple of years and are really useful for classes that have the capacity for a group and solo spec. They've also moved the heroic archetypes down to Level 30 to unlock so I'm enjoying messing around with a night-widow.

... I really had forgotten how much fun the character creator was. Though being able to save a costume and re-use it is such an obvious and massive advance. Already all my old characters have been shunted aside for new creations. Though that's partly because Dual Pistols looks hella sexy in action. The relatively controlled pace of CoH combat really lets them have have some complex animation sequences.