FAQs

General Questions

Utility programs

Where can I get an up to date character builder?

There are several popular build planners in the community.

• Mid's Hero Designer - Has support for I9's Invention System.
• SuckerPunch's Online Build Planner - Also has support for I9's Invention System.
• Sherksilver - Is only current to I6.
• RedTomax's character builder - Still in development.

When I try to update the Sherksilver builder, it cannot find the updates!

The builder has changed web hosts, so some older builders have the incorrect url for updating. Under the auto-update section of the configuration, the correct url should be http://sherksilver.coldfront.net/public_ftp/Updates.xml

Website tricks

How can I add a server status listing to my website

The following bit of code added to your website will include a server status list.

<script language="JavaScript" type="text/JavaScript" src="http://www.coh.com/servers/server_stat.js"></script>

Hardware/Software issues

I've lost my CoH/V CD/DVD and need to re-install the program

The program can be downloaded and reinstalled without the original CD or DVD. See Game Client.

Will I lose my characters when I reinstall?

No, all character information is stored on the servers. You just need to remember your login name and password.

What about my CD KEY?

The 'CD Key' is for the initial creation of a game account on a PlayNC Master Account. After a Key has been used it should be kept for future account verification purposes. It is not required for re-installation.

Vista doesn't like CoH/V

Vista can handle CoH, but requires a little tweaking, mostly to the shortcut.

Useful switches

• -renderthread 1
• -cursorcache
• -compatiblecursors

insert stickied thread from CoH forums

My cursor is garbled and/or blinks

• -cursorcache
• -compatiblecursors

Character Issues

Can I move my character from one account to another?

No. This is something that is quite unlikely to be added to the game, as it would make it easier for people to sell characters on auction sites.

Can I move my character from one server to another?

Not at this time. A beta version of the server transfers is currently on the test server, but no time frame has been given for its implementation in the live game. Players who want to test it can transfer a character over, then swap it around for free between several testing servers. When the utility is added to the normal servers, there will be a $9.99 fee for this service.

Can I rename my character?

Not at this time. A beta version of this feature is currently on the test server, but no time frame has been given for its implementation in the live game. Players who want to test it can transfer a character over, then rename it for free. When the utility is added to the normal servers, there will be a $9.99 fee for this service.

Gameplay

Is it possible to automatically reject team and supergroup invites?

Previously, this was not possible. But with Issue 7, Not accepting invites is now an option in the Team window. There is also a setting under Options to reject supergroup invites.

Where is Pocket D?

Pocket D is the club that replaced the Paragon Dance Party. For Villains, there are entrances in Port Oakes, Sharkhead Isle, and St. Martial. For Heroes, there are entrances in Kings Row, Faultline, Talos Island, and Founders' Falls. Pocket D will be marked on your map as a green dot, like most other zone gates. The gate selection must be enabled under the Options box on your map or you will not be able to see these entrances.

How do I take a screen shot?

See the Screenshots article for detailed information.

Screen shots without the user interface are bound to the Print Screen button by default. When the Print Screen button is pressed, a screen shot with the user interface is also copied onto the Windows clipboard, where it can be pasted into a separate application if desired.

Screen shots are saved in the screenshots folder of the City of Heroes/Villains application folder (C:\Program Files\City of Heroes\screenshots by default).

To take a screen shot with the user interface, one can either go into options and select a key to use, use the bind command to bind a key, or use the /screenshotui 1 command to toggle the user interface on in normal screen shots and /screenshotui 0 command to toggle the user interface off again.

How do I find out someone's global name from their character's name?

Type /gunignore (character name). The global name will show up as a system message in green as '@(global name) was removed from your ignore list' in any chat windows that include system messages. (The Global chat window does by default.) You do not have to use the /gignore command before the /gunignore command; the message will display whether or not you have previously /gignore'd the character.

Note that the character you wish to find the global name for must be online at the time you /gunignore them.

Costume

Where are those Hellenic Sandals, the Victory Laurel, and the Toga?

These are a reward option for completing DJ Zero's mission Find Snaptooth and take him out during the Valentine's Day Event 2007.

Previously, they were only available during the Valentine's Day Event 2006. The Patrician Toga was awarded to all heroes and villains who logged in between February 8, 2006 and February 22, 2006. To outfit your hero or villain in the Toga, select Unique Tops as your Upper Body selection. Then under Tops, select Patrician Toga. The Toga color and the bottom stripes color may be customized, but not the bottom pattern or the corded belt color. A selected Chest Detail will appear as a small emblem on the top left of the toga.

The Hellenic Sandals and the Victory Laurel were only awarded if someone registered an account using a special City of Villains trial code during the event. To outfit your hero or villain in a Victory Laurel, select either Standard, Masks with Hair, or Pointy Ears as your Head selection. Then, under Hair, select Victory Laurel. The Hellenic Sandals are available as a selection under Boots in the Lower Body section. The color of a character's hair may be customized with the Victory Laurel, but not the Laurel itself, and the color of the Hellenic Sandals is not customizable.

There is a picture of a character outfitted in the Toga, Victory Laurel, and Hellenic Sandals in the Valentine's Day Event 2006 article.

Invention System

Please refer to the Invention FAQ for questions about Inventions.

City of Heroes

Gameplay

Does the Babbage found in the portal mission award the Clockstopper badge?

No, the version of Babbage found in the portal mission to dimension Epsilon Tau 27-2 does not award the Clockstopper Badge.

Do the Banished Pantheon spirit masks found in portal missions count toward the Banisher Badge?

Previously the spirit masks found in portal missions did not count toward gaining the Banisher Badge. This was changed on August 16, 2006.

Where are the Rikti in the Sewers

The mission that assigns a character to hunt Rikti in the sewers fails to differentiate between the Sewer Network and the Abandoned Sewer Network. Rikti cannot be found in the Sewer Network, but instead, are plentiful in the Abandoned Sewer Network.

You can reach the Abandoned Sewer Network by going into any Sewer Network entrance, immediately turning to the right, and clicking on the door that is there. Rikti are closer to the entrance if you enter from Atlas Park or Skyway City.

Is the Madame of Mystery Archvillain bugged?

The Madame of Mystery Archvillain has an extremely high hit point regeneration rate, and while players have been questioning whether it is bugged for a long time, no changes have been made the the character. The most effective way to deal with the Madame of Mystery is to bring along at least one, if not more, Defenders or Controllers with at least one of the following powers:

• Kinetics
  • Transfusion
• Radiation Emission
  • EM Pulse
  • Lingering Radiation
• Dark Miasma
  • Twilight Grasp
  • Howling Twilight

These powers have -Regeneration, which will lower Madame of Mystery's (indeed, any archvillain's) hit point regeneration to a more reasonable level.

Mission

Where is the contact for the Faultline trial?

The Faultline trial has never existed in the live game. There was work done on creating it during the beta version of City of Heroes, but it was never completed. Before Issue 8, you could see part of the trial area if you look over the south war wall, and at one point, there was even a bug that would allow you to teleport into the area. The only place in print that the trial is currently mentioned is in the Prima Official Game Guide. There is more info in the Knowledge Base. The trial area from behind the dam was revamped in Issue 8 into a pseudo-hazard zone, and is now accessible to players, though there is still no actual trial.

City of Villains

Issue 7 Questions

Where is the Fortunata Fateweaver in Grandville?

The Fortunata Fateweaver (where one adjusts their notoriety) is located just south of Arbiter Apolis, in front of the large statue of Lord Recluse just over the bridge leading to the large tower. She is on the right (east) side of the bridge, opposite the Elite Quartermaster.

Supergroups and Bases

How do I create a Super Villain group?

To create a Super Villain group, you must visit the Arachnos Headquarters in Port Oakes. The Arachnos Headquarters is next to the Marconeville marker near the center of the Port Oakes map.

How do I create a base?

To create a base, you must have Base Editing Rights. For new Super Villain Groups this is the leader of a supervillain group by default. Go to the Arachnos Headquarters in Port Oakes and talk to the supervillain group registrar there.

What is salvage used for?

There are three types of salvage. One type is used to create items at your base. A second type is used to craft Invention Origin enhancements. A third type, special Halloween salvage, was only obtainable during the Halloween Event and grants a character an extra costume slot.

Gameplay

When I reach level 50, will I have access to Kheldians archetypes?

No, Peacebringers and Warshades can only be unlocked by reaching level 50 with a hero and are only playable as part of City of Heroes, not City of Villains.

Where do I adjust the difficulty of my missions?

You adjust the difficulty of your missions by changing your notoriety at one of the Fortunata Fateweavers. The locations of the Fortunata Fateweavers are marked on the maps posted here.

Where do I sell enhancements?

At the Quartermasters. The Quartermasters are marked as stores on your map.

Is there an Icon store?

You may alter your costume at the The Facemaker store located in Cap Au Diable. It is marked on your map as a Tailor and is the westernmost store in the zone.

How do I get a cape?

When you reach level 20 or above, talk to whichever starting contact you originally chose (either Kalinda or Matthew Burke) in Mercy Isle (or call them, since you have presumably completed their missions). He or she will assign you a mission to go to Paragon City and steal one from a hero for the privilege of wearing a cape in the Rogue Isles.

How do I earn a second costume?

When you reach level 20 or above, visit Facemaker in the Face store located in Cap Au Diable. Facemaker is located in the back of the store, and will assign you a mission to defeat Freakshow to earn your second costume slot.

Mission

I'm working on my costume mission, but I can't find any Freakshow. Where are they?

There are no Freakshow in Cap au Diable, where the costume mission is assigned. You must go to another zone.

They are located in the northwestern area of Sharkhead Isle and in parts of Bloody Bay. The ones in Bloody Bay are generally easier, but it is a PvP zone.

Where is the Strike Force contact in Cap au Diable?

Virgil Tarikoss is located 140 yards due east of the Mount Diable marker. He is also marked on the Cap au Diable map. The strike force is for characters level 15 through 20. Higher-level characters may take part, but they will be auto-lackeyed to level 20 and not earn experience during the Strike Force.

How do I get to Sharkhead Island?

There is a ferry just north of Aeon City in Cap au Diable. It is marked on the map.

Where are the Hellions in Port Oakes?

Hellions tend to be on the tops of warehouses around Dockside and Oil Spill.

Where are the Circle of Thorns in Cap au Diable?

In the Mount Diable in the eastern section of the zone and in Vagabond Hills in the northwestern section of the zone..

Bugs

When I try to enter a mission, it tells me "You must complete your active mission."

If you get a message when you try to enter a mission that says, "You must complete your active mission before entering another one," select Mission from the navbar menu, select the mission you wish to enter, click the Select task button, and try entering again. If this doesn't work, you will have to log off and back on again.

It may also be that a set of doors is counted as two different entrances. The 2 doors on the left are one entrance, the 2 on the right are another. This is different than most buildings in CoH where all sets of doors are one entrance. terrible wording

I'm trying to get somewhere in Mercy Isle, but my arrow is stuck on the Arachnos base. What do I do?

Zone out and back into Mercy Island and it should correct the problem. This is a known bug.

When I click on my contact, it says, "You cannot enter."

This sometimes happens with Kara the Scorpion. Back up out of speaking range of your contact, then select him or her. Move forward again slowly until you are just in range of your contact and try again.