Issue 3

This article contains information that may not apply to the current version of Homecoming: City of Heroes/Villains. It is provided for historical purposes.

Overview

Issue 3, titled A Council of War, was a major revision to City of Heroes released on Tuesday, January 4, 2005.

This article summarizes some of the major features in Issue 3. For more complete details, see the release date's patch notes.

Some of the notable features of this issue were:

• The introduction of two new epic archetypes, Peacebringers and Warshades
• The introduction of Epic Power Pools
• The addition of the Striga Isle zone
• The appearance of Lusca in Independence Port, Paladin in Kings Row, and the Ghost Ship in Independence Port and Talos Island
• Giant Monsters were changed to system where they scaled to the level of each opponent.
• The addition of Global Chat capability
• The notoriety feature was added, allowing heroes to increase the difficulty of their missions
• Calvin Scott's Task Force was added temporarily
• The retiring of the 5th Column enemy type, who were replaced by the Council

The retirement of the 5th Column was somewhat controversial, as it was widely speculated by players that this was done to avoid issues with depicting Nazi propaganda in the European release of City of Heroes, although this was repeatedly denied by the developers. With the release of Issue 11, which included the 5th Column within certain Ouroboros missions, and Issues 12, 15 and 16, which included their more general return, it can be assumed that the speculation was incorrect.

The Council coup d'etat of the 5th Column was seen ingame for only one day following the release of Issue 3. Groups of both 5th Column and Council troops spawned in every zone and fought each other to the death.

• This was also the first instance of the enemy AI targeting and doing damage to one another in combat. Previously NPC's of different groups would not identify one another as threats (other than Police Drones)

Release Notes

NOTE: These describe the changes as they existed at the time of the issue's release. Features may have been changed significantly by later updates.

Epic Archetypes

• Upon attaining level 50, you will unlock the first Epic Archetype available in City of Heroes . The Kheldians are a race of energy beings that have made Earth their new home. Kheldians and their dark cousins, the Nictus, attach to humans and form a symbiotic relationship with them.
• You can play one of two new Archetypes, Peacebringers are the typical Kheldians, while Warshades are reformed Nictus who now fight for good.
• Peacebringers are Natural Origin, while Warshades are Science based.
• Peacebringers and Warshades have only one Primary and one Secondary Powerset to choose from, but these powersets have more powers to choose from than a normal powerset.
• A Peacebringer's first contact is in Atlas Park .
• A Warshade's first contact is in Galaxy City .
• Kheldians and Nictus have unique storylines throughout their career in addition to being able to access the normal game content.
• Kheldians and Nictus both have a severe vulnerability to a specific type of energy. Unfortunately sinister forces have made every villain group in Paragon City aware of this, and even supplied some with weapons that can severely hurt Kheldians. Be wary of villains wielding strange weapons, and the mysterious Void Hunters.

Ancillary Power Pools

• Upon reaching level 41, you gain the ability to choose from a new set of Ancillary Power Pools to help round out your character. You can only choose one of these Pools, so make your choice wisely.

Blasters

• Cold Mastery
• Force Mastery
• Flame Mastery
• Munitions Mastery

Controllers

• Stone Mastery
• Fire Mastery
• Ice Mastery
• Primal Forces Mastery
• Psionic Mastery

Defenders

• Dark Mastery
• Power Mastery
• Psychic Mastery
• Electricity Mastery

Scrappers

• Body Mastery
• Darkness Mastery
• Weapon Mastery

Tankers

• Energy Mastery
• Pyre Mastery
• Arctic Mastery
• Earth Mastery

Zone events

• Dock workers in Independence Port have gone on strike until their security can be ensured.
• The Clockwork King is hard at work on something big in Kings Row.
• Independence Port and Talos Island citizens are reporting sightings of ghosts haunting the waterways.

New Villain Group: The Council

• An internal coup d'etat has shattered the 5th Column, and from their remnants, a new villain group, the Council has emerged. Rumor has it that the Council is not as new as we would be led to believe. Heroes are urged to investigate every aspect of this new group across all Security Levels.

Badges

• 5th Column badges have been switched over to Council badges (Credit for 5th column defeats remain).
• Modified badge tracking for defeats so that everyone on the team gets credit, not just the teammates within 200 feet of the villain.

New Zone: Striga Isle

• Smugglers on Talos Island and Independence Port can secure passage for anyone Security Level 20 or over to Striga Isle, an island just off the coast of the United States in international waters. This criminal haven is rumored to be a stronghold and training center for Council troops.
• Heroes interested in investigating the island are advised to contact Stephanie Peebles near the docks.

Mission Difficulty Contacts

• Hero Corp has placed agents throughout Paragon City who are able to put a word to all your Contacts about how tough you think you are. Find one of these contacts and for a small fee of Influence they can make all missions you have and take from that point forward harder.
• These Hero Corp personnel exist in all City Zones.

Powers

• Bosses of higher levels (25 and up), all Archvillains and Monsters have been made tougher.
• Bosses of higher levels (25 and up), all Archvillains and Monsters are now worth more Experience, based on how much tougher they got.
• Villains who are notoriously hard (and thus avoided by Heroes whenever possible) have had their XP reward increased.
• Giant Monsters, no matter what their level, will con Purple now. This is because the monsters are able to be fought by the entire level range of Heroes. That is, your character will hit and do damage to them as though they are your level. Additionally, they will hit and damage you as though you are their level. Heroes of ANY level should be cautious around ANY Giant Monster now. This does not apply to monsters spawned in missions or wandering in the Eden zone.
• Fixed Short help for Super Strength/Rage (Long help was correct. Power was not changed).
• Frostfire and Atta are now a new Rank: "Elite Boss". Elite Bosses are tougher than normal bosses, but not as tough as ArchVillains. Elite Bosses are worth more XP than regular bosses.
• Radiation Emission/EMP Pulse will now do extra damage to most machines and robots.
• Changed the way many temporary powers expire. Many that were based on "real-time" will now expire based on number of charges instead. This is to prevent gaining a new Temp Power, logging out, and then coming back the next day and find it missing. This change only applied to Temp Powers that were Click Powers. Toggle and Auto Temp Powers do not expire when you are off line.
• Group Flight: Removed added Endurance Penalty for each Teammate carried. Slightly Increased base END Cost.
• Team Teleport: Removed added Endurance Penalty for each Teammate teleported. Slightly Increased base END Cost.
• Powers that "Drain" or affect a target to buff of heal the caster have been modified. Previously, these powers would give you less of a Buff/Heal if used against a higher level foe, and more of a buff/heal if used against a lower level foe. Now, powers like these will give the same buff/heal as though you were targeting a foe of your level (e.g. life draining powers, powers that steal Endurance, or powers that debuff foes to buff the caster). This fix will also affect any power that does something to a target and then something to the caster. For instance, using a Nova Blast will no longer drain a different amount of Endurance from the caster depending upon the level of your villain targets.
• Whirlwind, Repel, and Repulsion Field will KnockBack foes of all levels the same distance. That is, Repulsion Field will no longer lock higher level foes into permanent KnockDown. (This is a change to the level of a target and does not affect a targets resistance to or vulnerability to KnockBack).
• Increased the effectiveness of the Defender version of Transfusion, Kinetics, Twilight Grasp, Siphon Power, and Kinetic Transfer by about 25% so they are consistently better than the Controller Version (both Controller and Defender version used to be the same).
• Modified Totem, Rikti Monkey and Sky Skiff attacks.
• The Family now has Tommy Guns.
• Updated Force Field/Detention Field f/x.
• Animate Stone can now fly with the assistance of Group Fly.
• Change to FEAR: Villains that are afraid will no longer run away. Afraid villains will now tremble and cower in place and not attack. They will, however, retaliate once if attacked, but then go back to trembling.

  This change will affect most Fear powers including:

  Pool/Manipulation/Intimidate; Pool/Manipulation/Invoke Panic; Scrapper Melee/Dark Melee/Touch of Fear; Scrapper Defense/Dark Armor/Cloak of Fear; Defender Buff/Dark Miasma/Fearsome Stare; Controller/Mind Control/Terrify (villains will tremble in the presence of Spectral Terror, and will flee if the Spectral Terror casts Terrify on them.)

• For all targeted toggle powers; if the target is over 300' away the toggle power will automatically turn off.
• Boosted damage of Ignite patch.
• Blizzard and Freezing Rain will now Knock Down flyers. Targets no longer need to be near the ground to fall if affected by these powers.
• Reduced Max Damage resistance of all archetypes except Tankers.
• Increased Tanker Damage.
• Changed Tanker Taunt to an AoE Taunt. Increased Recharge Time, and increased duration of taunt effect. Tanker Taunt is an Auto Hit and does not require a ToHit roll.
• Pool/Challenge no longer Auto hits. Gave it a 20% Accuracy Bonus.
• Slightly Reduced Accuracy of Provoke.
• Made all Tanker attack powers (secondary set) generate hate from all nearby foes. The more damage the power does, the greater the affected area. This effect does not kick in until after level 5, and slowly ramps up from there. The intent is to reduce a tanker's reliance on Taunt powers, and encourage the use of attack powers to keep villains attention on them.
• Renamed Scrapper Taunt powers to "Confront" (This is a single targeted Taunt, so the name change is to differentiate it from Tanker Taunt). Scrapper "Confront" is an Auto Hit and does not require a ToHit roll.
• Fixed problem with Lts moving slower than minions.
• The powers Ice Armor/Frozen Armor, Wet Ice, and Glacial Armor are no longer mutually exclusive and can stack.
• Wet Ice now Resists Sleep effects
• Removed Shadow Maul from Skull Boss (Bone Daddy) and replaced it with a new power.
• Short Circuit now does extra damage to most robots and mechanical foes.
• Increased -Fly on Web Grenades.
• Modified Hamidon powers.
• Endurance gained from Rise of the Phoenix will now increase with END Enhancements.
• Fixed typo in Shadow Maul description. Changed text to "High" damage (no power change).
• Removed Disorient from Mutation, and increased duration of the buff.
• Reduced Manipulation/Invoke Panic Accuracy.
• Fixed Animate Stones immunity to Disorient, Hold and Immobilization. Also, Animate Stone can now Jump.
• Malta Turrets will no longer be destroyed when you defeat the Engineer that created it.
• Added resistance to Toxic Damage to Fiery Aura/Healing Flames.
• Added resistance to Toxic Damage to Ice Armor/Hoarfrost.
• Added resistance to Toxic Damage to Invulnerability/Unyielding Stance.
• Added resistance to Toxic Damage to Invulnerability/Unstoppable.
• Added resistance to Toxic Damage to Stone Armor/Earth\ss Embrace.
• Added resistance to Toxic Damage to Regeneration/Moment of Glory.
• Added resistance to Toxic Damage to Regeneration/Resilience.
• Added resistance to Toxic Damage to Regeneration/Reconstruction.
• All Build Ups, Aims, damage buffs and debuffs will now affect Toxic Damage types.
• Added inherent Taunt to Tanker Ancillary Powers.
• Added inherent Criticals to Scrapper Ancillary Powers.
• Regeneration/Instant Healing's recharge time has been reduced from 60 seconds to 15 seconds.
• Regeneration/Integration now offers some increased Regeneration, and can accept Healing Enhancements.
• Moment of Glory now lasts longer (120 seconds). Also, fixed some gaps in MoG Mez protection.
• Reduced Regeneration/Integration Endurance Cost.
• Regeneration/Instant Healing Max Regeneration buff was slightly reduced. Additionally, it gains less of a boost from each added Enhancement.
• Moment of Glory HP reduction is less (you will be left with 25% of your Max HP).
• Boosted Defense Buff for Moment of Glory.
• Improved Regeneration/Moment of Glory Mez resistance.
• Added Toxic Damage resistance to Force Field/Deflection Shield.
• Added a jump buff to Warshade/Nebulous Form.
• Added Toxic Damage resistance to Penumbral Shield and Essence Boost.
• Adjusted Cloak of Fear to match the way Fear works now. It will drain more End, but less often (equates to the exact same END cost).
• Stone Armor/Granite Armor movement speed penalty was slightly reduced and its Endurance cost was reduced. Cannot be active at the same time as other Armors in this set, Super Speed, Sprint, Hover, Fly, or Group Fly. Slightly increased recharge time.
• Improved Stone Armor/Granite Armor Mez resistance.
• Added Toxic Damage resistance to Granite Armor.
• Add resistance to Slow to Energy Absorption and Wet Ice.
• Invulnerability/Unyielding Stance has been renamed to "Unyielding". It no longer makes you Immobile and offers resistance to Immobilization. It is no longer Mutually Exclusive with Temp Invulnerability, however, it comes with a Defense debuff. Slightly increased its End Cost.
• Increased the Duration and Recharge time of Unstoppable. Improved its Mez resistance.
• Decreased the Accuracy and Defense buff of Invincibility. Defense bonus is now against melee attacks only.
• Fiery Armor/Plasma Shield now grants protection to Sleep and Hold.
• Fiery Armor/Burn no longer grants protection from Sleep and Hold.
• Fiery Armor/Fire Shield now also gives you protection from Disorient effects.
• Fiery Armor/Healing Flames no longer gives you protection from Disorient effects.
• Fiery Armor/Rise of the Phoenix now also Disorients nearby foes. This Auto Hits foes but can be resisted by foes. Also, Rise of the Phoenix will leave you invulnerable for a brief while after your resurrect.
• Dark Armors/Soul Transfer now also disorients drained targets. This Auto Hits foes but can be resisted by foes. Also, Soul Transfer will leave you invulnerable for a brief while after your resurrect.
• Removed Flight Speed Enhancements from Quantum Flight (it is already at maximum speed).
• Improved Dark Armors/Obsidian Shield resistance to Mez effects.
• As a rule, top end resistance powers like Moment of Glory, Unstoppable and Granite Armor will offer nearly complete Mez Protection. Lower level mez protection powers like Unyielding, Obsidian Shield, etc (pretty much all other Scrapper and Tanker mez protection powers), will have lesser resistance at first, but will improve with level. These powers will reach similar resistances around level 35 for Tankers, and 45 for Scrappers.
• Increased Damage of Hot Feet.
• Increased Damage of Rise of the Phoenix . It also now accepts damage Enhancements.
• Fixed a bug that caused all villains higher than level 50 to not get knocked back, down or up.
• Increased Perception Radius for Giant Monsters.
• Reduced Detention time and increased recharge time of Rularuu/Wisp/Detention Field.
• Updated Requiem's, and Nosferatu's powers.

Miscellaneous

• Fixed the long door wait bug, that left players with an hourglass cursor unable to act for an extended period
• Minimap is now resizable and has an options pulldown.
• Added /assist command which will change your target to a selected allies target.
• Autorun will not turn off at ID Card, Enhancement Screen, Power Selection/Respec or Options screen.
• Dialogs can be answered via 'dialogyes', dialogno' or 'dialoganswer' slash commands.
• Player description in the Info window will now respect enters and tabs
• Quit will no longer be interrupted by mouse clicks. If you are quitting to the desktop you will be given the choice to exit immediately
• Wrapped text in chat window will now be indented, to prevent player spoofing of other people (including GM's)
• Added new commands powexec_toggleon and powexec_toggleoff to force mode of a toggle power
• It is no longer allowed to give gifts to people in the middle of a respec.
• Some columns in supergroup, search, email, and friend windows can now be resized
• You can now hit an opponent with a melee attack while chasing after them.
• The Supergroup window has been revamped. Unnecessary fields were removed and it now displays level and map. The window is also 2-stage collapsible, the header can be hidden, and then the bottom buttons can be hidden as well.
• You can now control what music the boombox plays with a bunch of new emotes. These are also available from the Quickchat menu. They all begin with "bb" which stands for "boombox". The list: bb, bbAltitude, bbBeat, bbCatchMe, bbDance. bbElectroVibe, bbDiscoFreak, bbDogWalk, bbHeavyDude, bbInfoOverload, bbJumpy, bbKickIt, bbLooker, bbMeaty, bbNotorious, bbMoveOn, bbPeace, bbQuickie, bbRaver, bbShuffle, bbTechnoid, bbWindItUp, bbVenus, bbWahWah. bbYellow, bbSpaz.

See Also

• Issue 3 Badges

External Links

• Official Feature Overview
• Epic Power Pools Overview
• Kheldians Overview