(New Player) Choosing to play as a villain...

[Caide]

I want to make a villain character and would like to know if I would be hindered in any way since I see that on the most populated server (excelsior) theres only about 80 villains compared to 400+ heroes.

Will I be ruining myself by choosing to play as a villain since there wont be anyone to do quests with/help in my villain zones or group up and just try to make friends with? 

PVP wise seems great though since I have alot of targets right? Or is PVP restricted in some way? No running to Heroes zones and PK'ing?

[VileTerror]

Player versus Player is zone-restricted.  There are four PvP Zones, and an Arena, and those are the only places any PvP is allowed (unless you count the Market *stinkeyes in that direction*)

 

Playing as a Villain is rewarding if you like some character in your Mission-giving NPCs, and enjoy reading the stories which unfold there.  However, yes . . . Homecoming (much like the Live game) suffers from the majority of players being Blueside (Heroes).

 

Thankfully, Homecoming has unlocked Null the Gull for players to use at any time (other than while in a Task Force).  This allows you to switch from Hero, to Villain, to Rogue, to Vigilante, and back again at any time and in any order you want,  This facilitates teamplay tremendously, and having rapid access to Pocket D (the zone where Null he Gull resides) is thankfully not too difficult these days.

 

If you like PvP, then Indomitable is the officially unofficial PvP Shard.  If you want some roleplay (and probably the best place to get some Redside (Villain) Teams) then you'll want to go to Everlasting.  Both of these servers have frequent "end game" raids, so you won't be missing out on that sort of thing, if it's your bag.

[VileTerror]

OH!  And one other thing:  Chatting.
A great way to make new friends and find people to play with is to use the appropriate Chat Channels.  Every Shard has a built-in LFG (Looking For Group) Channel, and a built-in Help Channel.  These tend to be the most active chats in the game, regardless of Shard, and they are Shard-specific (meaning that it doesn't matter where you are in the game, you can always communicate in the Help or LFG Channel for your current Shard).  

 

There are also Global Channels, which transcend Shards and use your Global Chat Handle to communicate rather than your Character Name.  You have to manually join a Global Channel or be invited to join it if it's set to private.  Additionally, Global Channels are subject to an annoying missing feature, and you have to also make sure to enable Global Channels on every new character you play as, or else you'll miss all the messages in those channels, even if you've already joined them.

This can be made easier with two handy commands.
First, get your Chat Tabs all configured to exactly the way you like them, with the Global Channels you want already Joined.
Then type:   /chatsavefile Default

Then, on every subsequent character, just once (or any time you update the Default file) type:  /chatloadfile Default

 

I hope this helps!

[Sakai]

Psssst. It isn't actually out fault you overpay on the market. Patience is a virtue 😉

 

More importantly welcome to the city new villian guy. 

[Caide]

52 minutes ago, VileTerror said:

OH!  And one other thing:  Chatting.
A great way to make new friends and find people to play with is to use the appropriate Chat Channels.  Every Shard has a built-in LFG (Looking For Group) Channel, and a built-in Help Channel.  These tend to be the most active chats in the game, regardless of Shard, and they are Shard-specific (meaning that it doesn't matter where you are in the game, you can always communicate in the Help or LFG Channel for your current Shard).  

 

There are also Global Channels, which transcend Shards and use your Global Chat Handle to communicate rather than your Character Name.  You have to manually join a Global Channel or be invited to join it if it's set to private.  Additionally, Global Channels are subject to an annoying missing feature, and you have to also make sure to enable Global Channels on every new character you play as, or else you'll miss all the messages in those channels, even if you've already joined them.

This can be made easier with two handy commands.
First, get your Chat Tabs all configured to exactly the way you like them, with the Global Channels you want already Joined.
Then type:   /chatsavefile Default

Then, on every subsequent character, just once (or any time you update the Default file) type:  /chatloadfile Default

 

I hope this helps!

Are there any specific global channels that every person should join upon making a new character? Like popular ones? If so can you list them?

[VileTerror]

Depends on what sort of gameplay or community subculture you are looking for.  For example, there's the RP and OOC Global Channels for roleplaying.

/chanjoin RP

/chanjoin OOC

 

You can right-click in the Chat Window and select "Channel Search" to see what's on offer.  You can type in a key word and search for it, but most people don't put descriptions in to their Global Channels, so you may get limited results.

[Apparition]

If you play on Excelsior, i recommend:

 

/chan_join Excelsior

/chan_join Excelsior Badges

 

Welcome to the Rogue Isles!  Yes, unfortunately, most people prefer the bland zones and story lines of blue side compared to the better writing and better zones of red side.  I second VileTerror's suggestion of using Null the Gull in Pocket D to switch to the Rogue alignment.  That will let villain side remain your home, but allow you to enter blue side and team up with those goody two shoes should you have trouble finding a team red side.

[Bastille Boy]

The most fun I've had roleplaying in CoH/CoV has been on villain teams. Villain teams are harder to find, though.

 

I recommend being a rogue and either making a base or joining a supergroup that has portals to both sides of the game. Then you can live primarily on redside but switch easily to blueside when there's a team you want to join. It's perfectly in character. Rogues are mercenaries, after all.

Edited November 12, 2019 by ejworthing

[Broken_Prey]

I love red side. I don't team a lot so lack of teams don't bother me. If you're worried about teams like others have said become a Rogue so you can team on blue side but solo on red side. 

 

While I haven't started up teams I don't think it would be that hard to start a team of 4 on red side, might not get a full team of 8 but who cares. There is also the weekly strike force which will being people red side to run them.   

[Seigmoraig]

Redside is so much better IMO than blue. However since EVERYBODY plays blue, that's where I am.
Thankfully it's easy to switch from one side to the other with Null the Gull in Pocket D for when I want to go to the dark side

[oxmox]

Definitely a lot more people on blueside. However I think people exaggerate how hard it is to find redside teams. I play on the least populated server (indomitable) and don't have trouble filling teams as a villain except when I'm playing at off hours. It's so easy to switch sides for a quick teamup that you can usually get people who are lfg blueside too.

[Shockacon]

I do like the storylines and character progression on the redside much better.  And Nerva is still better to traverse than Independence Port (screw that damn zone). But yeah, if you want a team, it is much easier on blueside (damned do-gooders...)

 

Otherwise, welcome to the Redside

[EmmySky]

Even if you are playing redside and find yourself in a spot of trouble, us bluesiders are often willing (if time and task allow) to flip to red to give you a hand with a difficult task...so dont be afraid to ask on the Help channel.

[boggo2300]

On 11/12/2019 at 1:15 PM, ejworthing said:

The most fun I've had roleplaying in CoH/CoV has been on villain teams. Villain teams are harder to find, though.

 

I recommend being a rogue and either making a base or joining a supergroup that has portals to both sides of the game. Then you can live primarily on redside but switch easily to blueside when there's a team you want to join. It's perfectly in character. Rogues are mercenaries, after all.

doesn't "villain team" just mean solo?

[Bastille Boy]

21 hours ago, boggo2300 said:

doesn't "villain team" just mean solo?

No.

[The_Cheeseman]

As other have said, redside has fewer people (it's pretty easy to go hours without seeing another player) but it's content is far superior for soloing. The missions are generally better written, and the zones are mostly self-contained, as opposed to blueside where they make you run all over the city. Overall, I'd say that if you're the type who likes to take it slow and really get a feel for how your character plays on its own while enjoying the storylines, redside is great. If you're more interested in teaming and leveling at a faster pace, go blueside.

Nobody mentioned goldside, but I personally think Praetoria is the best content in the game. You can chain missions 1-35 without ever having to search for new contacts or do random paper/radio missions. The arcs also award a huge number of reward merits for the time invested, so it's your best source of early cash. If you finish all the Praetoria missions for all 4 factions, you'll end up with a couple hundred million inf at the end.

You should also know that you can be a Rogue or vigilante and hang out on either side. You can't get many of the contacts from the opposite side, but you can still team with others, do TFs/trials, whatever.

[Clave Dark 5]

On 11/11/2019 at 6:27 PM, Apparition said:

...using Null the Gull in Pocket D to switch to the Rogue alignment.  That will let villain side remain your home, but allow you to enter blue side and team up with those goody two shoes should you have trouble finding a team red side.

Off topic but also still sorta relevant question about this: I was recently playing a toon that was set for Vigilante and every time I hit my Ouro and zoned out I would get dropped from the blueside team I was on.  Is that a thing for Rogue too?  Is this just some ongoing bug, or is there some rules for it that I didn't know?

[Oubliette_Red]

11 hours ago, Clave Dark 5 said:

Off topic but also still sorta relevant question about this: I was recently playing a toon that was set for Vigilante and every time I hit my Ouro and zoned out I would get dropped from the blueside team I was on.  Is that a thing for Rogue too?  Is this just some ongoing bug, or is there some rules for it that I didn't know?

I believe it's the same for Rogues if they are on a villain team.

[Troo]

On 11/11/2019 at 12:57 PM, Caide said:

Will I be ruining myself by choosing to play as a villain since there wont be anyone to do quests with/help in my villain zones or group up and just try to make friends with?

Not really. The game is currently very villain side friendly. AE in Pocket D for heroes and villains. Coop zones for mixed teaming and task forces. Null the Gull to switch as needed.

[Clave Dark 5]

21 hours ago, Oubliette_Red said:

I believe it's the same for Rogues if they are on a villain team.

That was all kinds of annoying.  Which is why I gave up even risking it and just go right for Villain or Hero when I switch sides, I don't have time for that nonsense.