Present
Overview
There are two types of presents that have made appearances in City of Heroes and City of Villains.
Present Inspirations
There are six types of Present inspirations, all of them using the same image and description text: "You received this holiday gift. Who knows what could be inside."
Please note that while the Gift of Life and Gift of Energy inspirations use an AOE animation, they will only affect you. Using a Gift of Life near a dying ally won't restore their health, only yours.
Gift of Defense +DEF [33%]
You receive the Gift of Defense. Your Defense is now greatly increased.
Gift of Energy Endurance [50%]
You receive the Gift of Energy and gain a lot of Endurance.
Gift of Experience (2004-5) XP Bonus
You receive the Gift of Experience. You have recived 250 xp.
Gift of Experience (2006) XP Debt Protection
You receive the Gift of Experience. You will not accrue any XP Debt if you are defeated. This protection will last for 1 hour or until you are defeated.
Gift of Life Heal [50%]
You receive the Gift of Life and some of your health is restored.
Gift of Power +DMG (All) [25%]
You Received the Gift of Power and you now strike with a lot more damage.
Lump of Coal
You were bad this last year. You got a lump of coal and nothing else.
During the Winter Event 2004, players earned a Present inspiration by defeating a Winter Lord. In the Winter Event 2005 and 2006, players earned a Present inspiration by clicking on a "Nice" present; see Clickable Presents below.
Because any of the six types of Present inspirations are awarded at random, some players believed there was only one type of Present inspiration which had a random effect when clicked. This was proved incorrect with two different methods:
- Copying a character to the Test server and then clicking on its Present inspirations would reveal what each one did. Those present inspirations would then have the same effect on the live server.
- With the addition of storage items to the Supergroup Bases, Present inspirations can be dropped in an Inspiration Collector and they will form stacks, just like any other inspiration dropped in there. By taking one inspiration a stack and noting their effect, you reveal what all the inspirations in that stack do. (The stacks will actually be in alphabetical order by gift name, as above.)
These 6 types of inspirations are listed on the Auction House. The order changes from time to time, presumably whenever the server is reset.
Clickable Presents
Winter Event 2005
During the Winter Event 2005, presents appeared as clickable objects all over the city and PvP zones. Clicking on one of those presents had a 50% chance to be "Nice" and award one of the Present inspirations, and a 50% chance to be "Naughty" and spawn a single mob of Winter Horde minions.
During this event, Heroes and Villains could also accept a mission that involved, for the villains, stealing presents en route to Paragon City; and for the heroes, to recover said stolen presents. Those presents were just mission objectives, though, and wouldn't trigger the Naughty/Nice event.
Winter Event 2006
For the second phase of the Winter Event 2006, clickable presents came back in all city and PvP zones, with a couple of changes.
"Naughty" presents still worked just like in the previous event, with an important exception: if the player clicking the present was part of a team with five or more members, a Winter Lord had a chance to spawn instead of a single Winter Horde mob. This allowed players to get the Frozen Fury Badge, just like in the Winter Event 2004. However, defeating the Winter Lord no longer awards a Present inspiration.
"Nice" presents still drop the six types of Present inspirations, but they also have a chance to award the Stocking Cap costume piece, or a random temporary power.