Why are you playing this game?

[Scarlet Shocker]

"Because it's there!"

George Mallory

[BlackSpectre]

On 7/7/2025 at 1:15 PM, Seed22 said:

Honestly? The gameplay is pretty bare bones and lacks any real variety to it and depth.

 

But what has me logging in, even to make what will probably be my last alt(emptying my stash of inf), is the power variety. The missions are not the greatest, with some standouts, the older TFs are very dated in design, but the zones and power variety and no chore like activities keeps me engaged to a degree.

Man, @Seed22, this is a post by a long time veteran player if I've ever seen one. The thing is, the "bare bones gameplay that lacks any real variety and depth" is a matter of perspective. To new players this game is definitely not a bare bones, monotonous, shallow game. Just the opposite. It can become that way after years and years of playing it. This is true for any game, really. That said, since so many veterans are playing this game, what would make the gameplay not bare bones, have variety, and depth? It's an interesting question...

 

Rich Gameplay:

 

 

Variety:

 

 

Depth:

 

 

[Seed22]

31 minutes ago, BlackSpectre said:

Man, @Seed22, this is a post by a long time veteran player if I've ever seen one. The thing is, the "bare bones gameplay that lacks any real variety and depth" is a matter of perspective. To new players this game is definitely not a bare bones, monotonous, shallow game. Just the opposite. It can become that way after years and years of playing it. This is true for any game, really. That said, since so many veterans are playing this game, what would make the gameplay not bare bones, have variety, and depth? It's an interesting question...

 

Rich Gameplay:

 

 

Variety:

 

 

Depth:

 

 

No offense to you but this always irks me and I believe it’s a logical fallacy when used, but “X can happen to anything” isn’t a sound argument. Thats kind of a non argument to me, as it’s more of a thin truism that says nothing. 
 

Thats often used to try and defend Y but fails miserably. Thats not a diss on you, I just genuinely hate seeing that as it’s really a nothing burger statement anywhere I have ever seen it.

 

But to answer your question:

 

Rich Gameplay: Lean into CoH’s movement more. We have a lot of travel powers here that do a number of cool things, but outside of skips in mishes and zone travel, they dont get much use in combat(outside of SS and TP Pool really) 

 

Variety: Take a page from WoW’s book but without the chore aspect. Have auxillary gameplay to compliment missions. Crafting doesnt make much sense if it’s something like tailoring or whatnot, but something in a similar spirit perhaps? Basically something that makes you engage with the world more.

 

 

Depth: Hard to focus on all at once so I’ll stick to one area I have been harking on for years in; Hard Mode. Depth in this dept that may serve as an example of what I mean in all content is something like more mechanical variety not just included in only secret fights(though those aren’t that involved either but it is an MMO so I understand there are limits). Something like BWI but it’s the entire TF might be interesting, but the hard part, even for me besides the implementation, is how ot make it not feel like a forced slog. This game has sped up, and maybe doing my first suggestion in conjunction with the expansion of mechanical variety could counter this. Not sure, but it could be worth a shot. 
 

 

Yeah I’ve been playing since ‘06 minus the shutdown years, so I’ve seen it all and can look past the tinted glasses(not saying everyone who likes CoH has them on) as far as content goes. I still log in from time to time to just sit in zones and people watch or even look at the virtual sunset as I would do IRL for real sunsets as both are very chill, so it’s not a “CoH is worthless garbage” type of deal. 

[Heliphyn34u]

I actually like the graphics -- they're not too cartoony, but they also don't fall into the uncanny valley.  

 

I enjoy the gameplay, and the community, and the customization -- unlike many other games, the cover need not match the book.  Having abilities untethered to loot means you can have a tiny girl or medium-sized bird person or huge muscly dude with the same power levels.  There are so many possibilities!  You write your own backstory (if you want), choose your powers and look, and grow those powers over time.  And you don't have everyone show up at top level with the same exact armor sets unless it's a group of players who have chosen that as a uniform.  Base-building is fun too!

 

Another thing I really like is that there's no competing for loot.  Occasionally you'll find someone has cleared an area in a zone of the mobs you wanted to hunt, but those respawn fairly quickly, and arguably the Market is a competition, as is PVP by definition, but you're not forced to compete with players for everything.  If you're on a team, when mobs are defeated, everyone gets something.  Keep what you like/need, sell what you don't, no squabbling over who needs it more.  (Can you tell that I did not enjoy WoW?  Because I did not.)

 

Additionally:

 

4 hours ago, SuperiorD said:

I love we dont have greed hovering over our fun

 

 

The current player-run environment that accepts donations but isn't trying to turn a profit is great because monetization tended to make this game very grindy.  Some grind is fine, but who wants to be constantly goaded into spending real money to add little tiny QoL upgrades and status-y bs?

 

Plus, CoH travel powers are primo.

 

[tidge]

3 hours ago, BlackSpectre said:

Rich Gameplay:

Variety:

Depth:

 

Gameplay: I wouldn't say the gameplay is "rich", even if I find it rewarding. The basic gameplay is "defeat enemies" with a sometimes addition of "click glowie". It isn't as if there are a ton of alternate win conditions or even strategies that don't require one or both of the above. The only alternate win conditions I can think of are costumes and base building, but those aren't games everyone plays. I guess marketeering might count as a minigame that requires no physical combat.

 

Variety: We do get a LOT of variety within the narrow gameplay restrictions... and via Ouroborous we can even replay a LOT of it... including stuff we missed while leveling up.

 

Depth: Because it is very likely to miss level-appropriate content without disabling XP, I'd say the game is pretty deep. We do get to start blue, red, or gold.

[Forager]

The costume creator, base building and Mission Architect. I don't think anything has ever come close to City of Heroes allowing you to create whatever you want, be whoever you want and tell your own story.

 

This was the last online game I played before I gave up the hobby nearly 20 years ago. When I found the time, this felt like home. It's easy and forgiving, you don't really need fast hands and I find the gameplay cathartic and relaxing.

 

My twenties were very difficult and awkward and I gave up a lot of who I was to try and be a "regular" person. I'm getting back that time.

 

[caradoc1979]

I play this game because:

 

1) It's the most non-toxic, fun MMO I've played with a lot to explore. It's the only MMO I've ever played that hasn't demanded I give up all my free time to feel like I can experience all the content. (I have played WoW, Eve Online, Tabula Rasa, Champions Online, DC Universe Online)

2) Costume/Character creation process is still amazing after all these years. Yes, I still do the tutorials. Every damn time.

3) Power selection and customization is still amazing. One of the few MMO's that doesn't punish you for experimenting (4-Star content excepting)

4) As soon as I hit a slow spot with a character, I just team up with others for a TF, switch alignments for a ton of new Blue/Red/Gold missions, or fire up Ouroboros to catch what I missed. I don't ever feel like I have to grind.

5) I played live from about 2005-2007 and initially this scratched that nostalgic itch of discovering the game with my friends. I've played since 2019 now and put in a hundred times more hours than I ever did on Live. A testament to the game's designers and current devs that it entertained me just as much at age 46 as it did at 26.

[Triumphant]

My Top 10 reasons for playing CoH (in no particular order):

 

1. Best character costume creator ever invented (if there IS one that is better, please let me know!  I definitely want to see it).
2. Tons of people availabe to RP with, if I want that.
3. I can do pretty much all content solo, if I don't want that.
4. The massive number of power sets and things you can slot them with allows for near endless tinkering and experimentation with builds.
5. Grinding is orders of magnitude less painful compared to most MMOs.
6. It's free to play with all available content.
7. It still runs on my creaky, old rig.
8. After graphics updates and content additions it STILL works on my creaky, old rig.
9. Player community is much cooler (and kinder) than pretty much any other player community that I've interacted with.
10. Movement Powers (Though I could still wish for a way to implement wall-crawling and swing-lines.  Oh, well.  Nothing's perfect. 🤷‍♂️).

 

[Darmian]

The AE scratches my (almost dead but not quite) GM itch from when I used to run TT RPGs.  And unlike those, I can play them myself!  Huzzah!

 

 

[Latex]

From someone who plays sporadically, takes 3+ month long breaks, and sometimes comes back.

Roleplay - Setting is somewhat unique across the MMO genre and allows a broad array of characters, has one of the most refined chat/communication systems ever released in a multiplayer game, even twenty years later nothing comes close to City of Heroes chatbox it's options and simplicity. 
Customization - Being able to create your character the way you want is great, graphics are obviously dated but still have soul unlike a lot of UE5 slop these days.
Best of the Genre - Superhero MMO's are rare, good ones even rarer; DCUO and Champions still aren't as good.
Solid Gameplay Loop - Gameplay is akin to Diablo or Path of Exile when boiled down to it's core, though it lacks a focus on loot the gameplay loop is the exact same.
Casual - The game is fairly casual compared to other MMO's which often demand hundreds (if not thousands) of hours to truly max out a character, not really the case here and you're promoted to dabble with alts and new powersets because of it, not much sunk cost fallacy vibes.

[UltraAlt]

On 7/7/2025 at 11:21 AM, Nello said:

why are people still playing this game?

 

How hard it it to understand that the people playing City of Heroes are playing it because they enjoy playing it?

 

What I must ask is "why bother asking why people are playing this game" if you think there is no reason for people to be playing it?

... and ... "why bother posting here at all?"

[MTeague]

1) teaming is entirely optional:  I spent far too many years on the endless treadmill of World of Warcraft raiding, and the absolute necessity to bend your schedule to work with 24 other people to get anything done.  That's not the case in CoH.  You certain can team, can form regular teams, join supergroups, and all that if you wish. But you never have to, and you can still do an awful lot of content and have a great time. 

 

2) there are no contested drops:  Again, Warcraft raid bosses would drop 2-3 pieces of random loot when defeated, to be divvied up among 25 people. There was nearly always loot drama, with people thinking things were "against them" if they couldn't walk away with a coveted piece of loot. No matter how much people tried to mitigate that with point systems based on attendence and suchnot, someone would always get bent out of shape when someone else got a coveted rare drop that was best-in-slot. By contrast, in CoH, the game itself always directly assigns your rewards to you.  This prevents So Goddam Much Drama it's not even funny. 

 

3) the people:  Perhaps precisely because there's nothing to fight over, nothing to get worked up over, people who play CoH tend to be fairly easy-going, helpful, and willing to assist other players get oriented. 

 

4) No treadmill:  One last Warcraft comparison. Darn near every other MMO, the level cap is raised every expansion, and to keep players going for that brass ring, even top of the line gear from the prior expansion suddenly turns into liquid manure compared to even the most basic drop in the new expansion. The goalposts always move. Again and again and again. The designers of other MMO's, by design, always take all your effort, crumple it up before you, dump it into a trash can, and light it on fire. By design. Most MMO's are designed to suck hours out of you in endless grinding because that keeps the monthly fees going. You can only do that for so long before you snap. Conversely, In City of Heroes, the level cap is 50.  It has been for so long that I often forget that there were a handful of early issues at live launch where that was not true.  You can maintain as few or as many alts as you like in CoH, without being under constant pressure to keep your "main" characters current with the best gear from the current expansion.

[Snarky]

Thank you for asking. I live in a Transylvania prison where they force me to play and farm inf.

 

Please help.  Donations to @Snarky will be so good!  
 

(or break me out of prison…please!) 

Edited Friday at 06:55 AM by Snarky

[Major_Decoy]

8 minutes ago, Snarky said:

Thank you for asking. I live in a Transylvania prison where they force me to play and farm inf.

 

Please help.  Donations to @Snarky will be so good!  

I'll send you all the dual health/stamina inspirations I've got.

[baster]

Nostalgia for sure. 

Ton of very cool power sets

Combat animations

Combat sounds

Addicted to making crap ton of new ATs

 

Graphics are actually not bad at all, especially for game this old.

I'm guessing you didn't set them up right because when I logged in here first couple of months ago I though it looked so bad, it nearly made me quite the game.

 

First thing is set your world detail and character detail from 100% all the way to 200%, than enable improved graphics and max out all options there. 

You should see big improvement.

 

The starting cave quest in Atlas is still horrendous. They need to fix this ASAP as well as set the default game graphics much higher..I'm guessing this will help with new player retention.

[golstat2003]

The game is fun still to this day. And still to this day does a number of things more casually then other mmos out there.

 

When I want technical battles that have me dancing and dodging I play FFXIV, Elden Ring, etc.

 

When I want shear madness and fun chaos (and partially turning my brain off), COH is always there. 😄 

[arcane]

On 7/8/2025 at 4:13 PM, Seed22 said:

I’ve seen it all and can look past the tinted glasses

You definitely have the most tinted glasses here

[Seed22]

1 hour ago, arcane said:

You definitely have the most tinted glasses here

Do I? Huh. Im the most critical of the game and least attached to it being brough back. 

 

Enlighten me. Where are these rose tinted glasses?

 

 

Edit: I forgot to add this but good god arcane you really need a job or hobby outside of CoH forum trolling.  And I find it very uh...not mentally healthy of you to be obsessed with my post. 

 

Edited Friday at 05:02 PM by Seed22

[arcane]

6 minutes ago, Seed22 said:

Do I? Huh. Im the most critical of the game and least attached to it being brough back. 

 

Enlighten me. Where are these rose tinted glasses?

 

I didn’t say the tinting was rose-colored.

 

But when it comes to biases? You’re the single most predictable voice on this forum.

Edited Friday at 04:15 PM by arcane

[Snarky]

12 minutes ago, Seed22 said:

Do I? Huh. Im the most critical of the game and least attached to it being brough back. 

 

Enlighten me. Where are these rose tinted glasses?

 

 

Edit: I forgot to add this but good god arcane you really need a job or hobby outside of CoH forum trolling.  And I find it very uh...not mentally healthy of you to be obsessed with my post. Therapy is expensive but you should get some if you can please.

Donate to @Snarky where we provide resources for those unfortunates that are bat shit crazy. 

[MTeague]

1 hour ago, arcane said:

You definitely have the most tinted glasses here

To be fair, there is often fierce competition for that title. In both directions.

 

CoH isn't perfect, no game is.  I think it does much, much, more right than wrong. And I think the HC devs have done an awesome job, given their constraints. Not flawless, but again, so very very much more right than wrong. But every single player is going to have some critiques. And some wish list items. And "one man's trash is another man's treasure", still applies. I've seen what I'm sure are heartfelt requests for changes people truly believe will improve things that horrify me. I'm sure the changes I want to make would have people slapping me around. 

 

But anyone who was there for live, is an adult now, and for many of us, retirement may even slowly be coming into view. We ought to have moderate adulting skillz. We should be able to take a few grains of salt (unless contraindicated by your physician...), take some deep breaths, and not let anyone's requests/opinions get to us. Even if it seems near incomprehensible to us, people probably mean exactly what they post ... probably... and in any case, it's not worth back and forth arguments that can only end in a flamewar.

[arcane]

2 hours ago, Seed22 said:

Edit: I forgot to add this but good god arcane you really need a job or hobby outside of CoH forum trolling.  And I find it very uh...not mentally healthy of you to be obsessed with my post. 

A hit dog will holler! Isn’t that what you always say? 

[BurtHutt]

I really like making toons. Costumes, powers....I used to love comics and this brings back a bit of that joy.

 

Making builds and number crunching on MIDS is fun. I try and make inexpensive builds and want to get some optimum numbers going for various abilities.

 

Hope that one day the HC Devs will get a bit more bold with the content that is added. I've enjoyed the powers they add and the QoL improvements - all are great. I am not so happy about the missions, SF, arcs etc. A little ray of hope hit me when I saw they added KW repeatable missions. I hope they use AE 2.0 where players create radio type missions for the game and that stuff is canon. I hope they change the style of missions to be more like DFB, DiB, Trials and the Tin Mage/Apex TFs. 

 

Lastly, I made a few pals on here and we like to play once in a while. Chatting with them is fun.

 

I don't play as much anymore and my time spent in game is fading...but I continue to hope 🙂 I wonder if there is data that tells how often players play missions, TFs, SFs etc? I would love to know if a lot of players enjoy the HC missions...I suspect they do not get played too often. 

[baster]

On 7/7/2025 at 12:48 PM, Kaika said:

Because it has not stopped being fun in the last 20 years. One of the best things I think about this game, the the sheer depth that it has that you practically do not need to interact with. When I was a kid, I had no idea what I was doing, and was just having fun picking whatever sounded cool, and the game still worked fine. These days I'm min/maxing the crap out of all my characters to my specific play style and am able to solo just about anything thats possible to solo, spending hours editing and optimizing my builds and making sure I can properly execute all of my individual characters rotations for max DPS, and the game still holds up extremely well. When people talk about accessibility they usually only mean to players newer to MMOs or video games in general, and while CoH is somewhat good at this, what I think is this games real strength is that you can kinda just always keep digging for more depth if you want it. The game REALLY wants you to play it however you want and accommodates every level/style of play. This is on top of the already absurd amount of ways to play this game, meaning that as long as you don't get bored of the base mechanics and systems, the game really never gets old.

 

I've played since release in 2004, I take decent sized breaks occasionally but I always come back, just nothing else like this game

If you do get bored go try Ultima Online Outlands. Open World Sandbox. You can even be a thief and steel players loot from their bag, including their spell book, weapons, armor etc.. hahaha

[BurnTheWitch]

Wow, that's one heck of a great question that has so many complex answer.  Here comes my overly long and pointless answer. . .you were warned.

 

• The game is one of the few that can be both frantic or chill based on what you want to do.  If I'm looking for a frantic run about experience, I can start of a speed run Yin taskforce and see if we can do it in under 12 minutes. it almost feels like an action race game when there are 8 people all trying to get to the next trigger (this partially echoes  @tidge first point, we know what triggers do what on most/all of the common content). If I'm looking for a chill time while I watch Taskmaster on Youtube, I can fire farm or run missions on a mastermind that is specifically designed to be pretty hands off.
• Many have said this, but customizability is insane in this game.  One of the biggest MMOs out there has 13 classes, another has 22.  even with the different specs, that tops out around 50 or so different character playstyles.  CoH has . . .2500 or so, haven't done the math with the new additional powersets.  This is just the customization of the technical aspects of your character.  I have characters who are
  • Cowboys
  • Aliens
  • A nuclear powered robot who gain sentience and found a Laser sword.
  • Cyberpunk cop from the future
  • A Samurai from the past
  • A modern scientist who researches dark matter
  • A Victorian occultist who can control lighting

That's a pretty wide range of concepts, and no matter how weird or clever i am, someone in my group is so much better!

•  What a great price.  I donate to the server when I can, but it still costs less than other games these days because it's not a cash mall designed to bleed you dry like a Las Vegas casino.
• Third space?  I guess so.  I'm a pretty gregarious person by nature, but this game often fulfills a need that many people don't realize they have. 
  • Have you ever gone to a movie theatre even though you weren't stoked about the movie you were going to see?  You just wanted to be around people so you didn't feel isolated, but you also don't want to be required to engage in many social norms.  People go to bars and casinos for this purpose.  They sit down at the bar on the end or at a blackjack table and play minimum bets, all the while they listen and basically people watch.  America (I am speaking from an American perspective on this) doesn't have much of a cafe culture, heck we don't even Fika, so that ability to be in a social place but not be social is hard to find and often quite expensive.
• This might be the Lake Wobegon effect, but people here are, on average, nicer than average. 
• I've heard people call this game strategic versus tactical and I like that. While I'm likely contradicting my first reason a tad, this is a game that doesn't require much in the terms of twitch reflexes. That's a big bonus for the getting older person that I am.

TLDR; lots of reasons. Their like piranhas, one isn't enough, but there are a lot more than one.