World Class Villains

Having followed City of Heroes since about September 2001 when it was first announced, through the Great Forum Communication Blackout of 2003, through CoH’s beta and launch in 2004, through City of Villains’ launch in 2006, through multiple free issues, through multiple paid booster packs, through 75 months worth of veteran badges, through a change in studios and lots more besides, I’ve finally cancelled my CoH/V subscription. My main hero had seen 947 hours ‘on patrol’ (which I think is a vast underestimate of time spent in-game) while my main villain saw a miniscule 161 hours played.

Although I can certainly come up with a list of things I’ve been unhappy with in CoH/V’s more recent history, the main reason for unsubscribing is that I’m done. Six years is a long time to play a game and I think that CoH/V is at a point where it would have to revamp its play content to really make a grab for new players, but revamping existing play mechanics would turn off existing fans. The idea of running yet another of the same Task Forces, or running another warehouse / cave mission, no longer holds any interest to me.

I’m looking forward to Paragon Studios announcing its next title, because it will be interesting to see which direction they go in. The contents of Issue 19 and Issue 20 also pique my curiosity – what was so special that I20 needed a closed beta test before players even got to see I19? – but they’d have to be incredibly good updates to bring me back to Paragon City or the Rogue Isles. It was a great ride, but now it is time to move on.