City of Heroes Freedom Review

Returning to a freeCity of Heroes

By now most gamers realize thatgoing free isn't a sign of a struggling game. A previouslypay-to-play MMO that goes free-to-play often sees a major increase inrevenue, an increase in active users, and much more. Perfectlyhealthy games with active and substantial populations go free to seethose increases even if the title doesn't "need" theinfusion. Let City of Heroes be a perfect example of that ideal.

City of Heroes has been going strongfor over 7 years now. A sizable and loyal following has been with thegame through 20 Issues (free updates), and with its 21st issue, thegame became City of Heroes Freedom. City of Heroes Freedom uses afree-to-play hybrid model where an optional subscription isavailable, but players can play the game for free with no clientpurchase.

Membership comes in three differentversions. Players can be Free, Premium, or VIPs. A Free player ismore limited than a Premium player, and VIPs have access toeverything the game has to offer. Visit the membership matrix fordetails on the restrictions of each level of membership. Continuebelow for a look at these memberships and how they affect gameplay.

Free Members

Downloading and playing City ofHeroes Freedom for free is an easy process. A gamer just needs tostart an NCSoft Master account or link an existing account to City ofHeroes Freedom. From there, they are just one download away fromcharacter creation and power selection. Someone who has never triedCity of Heroes will be considered a Free member when starting out.They will have limitations on what they can do in the game, butwithout being familiar with it, most players won't see the boundariestoo early.

The biggest restriction a Freemember will encounter, and probably the most obvious, is thecharacter slot limit. A Free player only has access to two characterslots. City of Heroes is known for creating alt-itus in many gamers,and the character slot limit will hurt if a new player enjoys thegame. Other restrictions will start to irk a Free player if s/hetruly enjoys the game, too. Free players can't join Super Groups(guilds), they have limited chat, and no access to in-game mail.

Luckily, though, there is plenty tohold a Free player's attention. Making a character is not limited inmany ways. There are costume pieces locked out unless purchased, butsome of these; like a good portion of the capes and auras, areunlocked through leveling a character. Leveling content is plentifuland those that enjoy the game should consider upgrading to a Premiummembership since it is a one-time and permanent switch.

Premium Members

Premium Members become such bybuying any amount of Paragon Points. This purchase is minimaldepending on how many points the Free player wants to buy. The leastof which costs $5 for 400 Paragon Points. Paragon Points are used tobuy a number things in the Paragon Market. For example, power sets,costumes, archetypes, and much more are just a click away.

Returning players, gamers thatpreviously bought City of Heroes before it went free-to-play, willautomatically begin as Premium members. Plenty of previouslypay-to-play only games are jumping on this bandwagon, and each titlehas its own quirks and problems when it comes to getting their modelright. Some take too much away from a returning player. Specifically,a few transitioned titles will take expansion content away from aplayer that already purchased it. City of Heroes is not one of thoseMMOs.

If a returning player had purchasedGoing Rogue, s/he will find much of that content intact. Thisincludes the Dual Pistols power set, the Demon Summoning power set(although the Mastermind archetype is required), and the Alignmentsystem. If a returning player previous bought any of the boosterpacks before the game went free, then those will also still beavailable.

Premium members still have only twocharacter slots, but if that member is a returning player, s/heretains any slots bought or unlocked before the game went free.Premium accounts can also join Super Groups, receive tells, accessthe in-game mail system, and start working their way up the ParagonRewards tree. A gamer that just can't handle missing out on theincarnate system can opt to subscribe for it and other amenities.

VIPs

City of Heroes Freedom VIPs pay$14.99 per month to have full, unrestricted access to the game.Systems like the incarnate levels and invention use are includedalongside full access to inventory and bank options. Full access tothe Mission Architect system is included as well.

In addition to having everything thegame has to offer, VIPs also get a 400 Paragon Point stipend everymonth they subscribe. With each month a VIP is subscribed, s/he alsoreceives one Paragon Reward token (explained below). Getting ParagonReward tokens lets players that drop to a Premium membership keepsome of the features City of Heroes has for VIPs or paid purchase.

Currently, VIPs don't miss out onmuch in the Paragon Market. There are things that must be purchased,even for a VIP and that's what their stipend is used for. There is apower set available for purchase that VIPs must purchase like Premiumand Free members, but VIPs do get paid content for free in the formof the Signature Series.

Paragon Rewards

Paragon Rewards NCSoft and ParagonStudios also introduced Paragon Rewards alongside City of HeroesFreedom. This reward program works similarly to CoH's previousveteran rewards program with some noticeable differences.

If you do decide to spend money onthe game, you'll be given Paragon Reward tokens. For every $15 youspend on Paragon Points, you'll receive one Paragon Reward token.This can be done by all membership levels, even by VIPs if theychoose to buy $15 worth of Paragon Points.

Using these points on the ParagonRewards table gives players permanent access to features like costumeparts, archetypes, and system access. It's a nice way to promote thebuying of Paragon Points and reward players for their loyalty. Eachtoken a player spends unlocks something for the game, and filling upeach tier of the Paragon Reward table offers up a boon of bonuses.For instance, having eight tokens, which is enough to fill up throughtier four, unlocks rewards in the Mission Architect, the ability toearn Reward Merits and Vanguard Merits, an increased inf. cap,lifetime access to the Auction House, and much more.

Hybrid free-to-play models oftenjust strip away content from paid subscribers when they drop to anon-paid membership. The Paragon Rewards program lets players earnand keep their bonuses which is a welcome albeit confusing set up.Check out the Paragon Wiki for a clear and easy way to see what isavailable at each tier and with each token.

There's a substantial game to beplayed at the Free level, but if you want more like inventions,auctions, and Mission Architect you're going to have to spend money.The Paragon Rewards system makes each $15 you spend worth a bit morein the long term, but it does close off the option to just buy accessto things like using and making inventions (only purchasable for 30days at a time or unlocked through the Paragon Rewards system). Onlytime will tell if the Paragon Market will keep the content flowingwithout upsetting paying subscribers or disappointing non-payinggamers. Most of City of Heroes success will depend on that.