City of Heroes Returns...
Friday, May 3, 2019 at 8:23AM In case you haven't heard, my favorite MMO of all time is back. Sort of. Apparently Titan Chat and some others, who had been running the cannibalized version of City with no game play known as Paragon Chat have had a working version of the servers for the game. BUT they've had to keep it secret to avoid the inevitable Attack of the Lawyers that would result if it were known. BUT one lone player, a Youtuber, blew the whistle on it. So they opened up the servers. And a flood of people have registered for accounts and are playing the game yet again. There are 4 servers up now: Everlasting, Indomitable, Excelsior and Torchbearer.
Apparently these servers are hosted in Amsterdam. Some people are in talks with NCSoft to avoid any legal shutdown, but the server code is out and available. Quite likely they'd be looking for an endless game of chase the servers if they don't come to an agreement of some kind. Running servers like this is expensive; I've heard quotes of $4500 monthly. No one is asking for money YET, probably for legal reasons.
Server stability is questionable at times. And more than a few Mapserver shutdowns have occurred. Late evening East coast time seems to be the peak as people all over America try to get on the game. I've seen queues as high as 2000 people waiting to get in, but that was when only 2 servers were in operation. Thankfully the Tequila software used to get in has the character creator available. You can create costumes on that software while in queue for the live game, save them, and load them in the live game -- saving time recreating them. If you have that NAME you want, I'd suggest logging in and preserving it, even if you aren't ready to play.
Originally they were talking about the possibility of a complete wipe -- but I've my doubts they'll do that. They have had too many people doing to much to do that now.
Playing the game is somewhat different than before. They don't know anyone's NCSOFT history or purchases -- so they don't bother. ALL auras and costume elements are available from the start. A Pay2Win vendor can give you Prestige enhancements, Powers like Sands of Mu, Nemesis Staff, Prestige sprints, Wisp and drone pets and the llike that we used to get for being long term subscribers for free. Movement powers open up at level 4, which include the 3 lesser powers. Meaning you can go directly to Fly without needing to purchase Hover first. For old timers -- thats like 10 levels early.
AE is back up and running -- with several FARMS running. I think they are going to be tweaked. I've joined a few and leveling can be RAPID. Most people get the first few levels in sewer runs running from Atlas Park Sewer entrance to Steel Canyon -- or close to it. Going from level 1 to 10 is possible on such runs.
People are running task forces, creating supergroups, even saw one Costume contest advertised in the chat. Teams are EASY to come by and people are having fun. Yes the game engine is a bit dated, but it runs at ULTRA settings on my current rig with no problems. Even when you've a full group of 8 tackling countless enemies with powers galore going wild.
SO many people are in such a good mood. I've seen dozens of Twitch streams running of City, with hundreds of viewers of it.
I'll leave with a few youtube videos Links (embed isn't working) to help you get on and see what is going on...
Private Server is Real by Positive Gamer -->https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbRvDFKCLis
Setup Tutorial by Positive Gamer--> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrs_B6WRRJM
How to Play COH for Free - Kabaleryo Show --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pztDGii3fvo
City of Heroes - Home -- Darkborn --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oecro0gPx8