MMO communities are among the most dedicated and devoted in all of gaming, and City of Heroes’ community is no exception.  Over the nearly 6 years since the game’s launch it’s never approached the lofty subscription numbers of World of Warcraft or even the Lineage series, but it’s numbers have been remarkably steady, and its fan-base is one of the most passionate in the genre.  At the PAX East 2010 City of Heroes panel, hosted by Matt “Positron” Miller, Melissa “War Witch” Bianco, Eric Johnsen, David Nakayama, and Jesse “Ghost Falcon” Caceras, this devotion has never been more evident.  Hundreds of CoH faithfuls filled the Naga Theatre in Boston’s Hynes Convention Center to hear and see what Paragon Studios has planned for the future of the #1 super hero MMORPG, and based on crowd reaction, they were happy with what they heard and saw.

The panel started off with a brief overview of the last six years, showcasing the massive changes that the game has undergone since 2004.  Highlights included the implementation of the City of Villains and the ten free expansion “issues” that occurred under the ownership of Cryptic Studios, and the Macintosh client and six free expansions under Paragon Studios.  A list of improvements from the game’s original release to today was also listed, and included too many features to list, though the developers focused on the Mission Architect system and Level Pacts, which allow friends to share experience so that their characters stay at the same level regardless of discrepancies in play time.

After the preliminaries, Miller launched into the next expansion, Issue 17: Dark Mirror.  He briefly touched on several minor upgrades to the game, such as an improved user interface for auction houses, new Mission Architect features, a revamped Task Force mission for Positron (which was met with huge applause), and several new story arcs.  There’s even been an upgrade to some costume pieces, such as tails that move, but as the title suggests, Dark Mirror’s biggest gameplay addition is the ability to fight against an opposing doppelganger of your own character.  These doppelgangers are created on the fly, featuring power sets that either mimic or diametrically oppose your own, and may even sport an inverted version of your avatar’s costume.  Parties that undertake missions with these doppelgangers will face entire “Bizarro” parties that mimic the skills and looks of the whole team. 

For those with the hardware to handle it, Issue 17 will also introduce “Ultra Mode,” which significantly enhances the game’s visual presentation.  In Ultra Mode, real-time shadows will be cast dynamically from the sun, creating a real-time day and night cycle.  Characters will also cast shadows on themselves, giving a more tangible feel to heroes and villains.  Further enhancing this feeling of depth is the addition of ambient occlusion, a shading method that better simulates the way light radiates to dimly lit corners.  It doesn’t sound like much, and the effect is subtle, but it definitely improves the somewhat flat look of the city, and looks fantastic in action.  Reflective surfaces have been added as well, allowing water, glass buildings, and even metallic costume pieces to reflect their surroundings perfectly.  Only still frames of the new graphical enhancements were shown at the panel, but with Ultra Mode fully activated, it should make City of Heroes one of the best-looking MMOs out there; at least for those with enough computing muscle to take advantage of it.

Issue 17 will definitely bring a lot of new features to the game, but it’s merely a teaser for Issue 18, entitled Going Rogue.  Going Rogue will be the first paid expansion to City of Heroes since City of Villains back in 2005, and just like CoV, it will give players an opportunity to explore the other side of the battle between good and evil. This time around, you’ll be able to turn your hero into a villain, or vice versa.  The expansion centers around an alternate Earth named Praetoria, where Marcus Cole, the Statesman in the mainstream reality, becomes a despotic leader named Tyrant, ruling a flawed utopia with an iron fist.  In Praetoria, many familiar heroes fight on the side of evil, and many erstwhile criminals are respected guardians of justice.  This sets the stage for existing player-controlled characters to gradually shift from one end of the spectrum to the other.  For example, a heroic character may take on several morally questionable missions.  Once they are completed, the character is no longer a hero, but a vigilante.  If he continues to commit questionable acts, he’ll eventually become a full-fledged villain.  New characters created in Praetoria will be neither heroes nor villains; at least not at first.  Instead, characters will choose to become either a loyalist, following Tyrant’s lead, or a resistance member.  After level 20, any character will be able to switch allegiances, and even switch back later if they decide that they’ve made a bad decision.  Lower level players haven’t been ignored in Going Rogue, though, and Paragon promises a cohesive story that spans the first 20 levels, and “modernizes” the lower level experience.

Players’ journeys from the dark to the light and back will take place in several new zones.  Nova Praetoria is a sparkling paradise that serves as Tyrant’s base of power and headquarters; Imperial City is an analog for New York; Neutropolis is a technological wonderland of the future; and The Underground is…well, underground.  Populating these new zones will be several new NPC types.  These range from Praetorian police officers to members of this world’s organized crime ring, called the Syndicate.  One NPC group was teased, but not named.  Instead, an image of a pink-skinned, heavily muscled, tattooed humanoid appeared with question marks underneath.  With all these new opponents to deal with, players may need to upgrade their power-sets, and Going Rogue allows for that as well.  Four new power sets have been announced, with each archetype receiving access to one of them.  The Dual Pistols power set is already available with the pre-order of Going Rogue, and Demon Summoning has been announced as the second power set, but two previously unannounced sets were unveiled at the panel; Kinetic Melee and Electricity Control.  The former, available to Stalkers, Brutes, Scrappers, and Tankers,, utilizes pure kinetic force to disorient and knock enemies down, while the latter allows Controllers and Dominators to ensnare and manipulate foes with electrical currents.

Not content to simply discuss the immediate future of the franchise, the Paragon reps announced Issue 19, to the surprise of everyone in attendance.  Details were slim, but the expansion will be called Incarnate, and will feature new rewards, new powers, and other high-level content.  Issue 19’s content will be teased in Going Rogue with one Incarnate level, but those who want to take advantage of all Issue 19 has to offer will have to buy Going Rogue, as the free expansion will only work for those who have the paid expansion.

With a dedicated fan base, a constantly expanding world, and tons of upcoming technological upgrades, City of Heroes is looking stronger than ever.  It’s already been around for the better part of a decade, which, in the MMO world, is quite an achievement.  Hopefully, the new content will not only expand the game’s scope and size, but also its audience, as it enters the next phase in its evolution.