Get Ready For Super-Powered Chills!

With the launch of City of Heroes Freedom, you have to wonder just what all of the new and returning heroes, villains, and Praetorians would find themselves into come Halloween. Seasoned veterans have come to enjoy several features of this mystically-bewitched time, including two Apocalypse events, trick-or-treating, and temporary costumes.

So the question is... how can you top that and make things exciting for both new and old operatives?

Five words:

Doctor Kane's House Of Horror!

Yes, we're talking a haunted house with zombies, giant monsters, Jack-O-Lanterns, and a challenge so dire that pulling it off will get you a new aura and costume change emote! Think you're up for the challenge? You better make sure you're up to at least level 15 and then get a team together, because you can't visit his house alone!

But if you can't get your friends together quite yet, there are still all of the other fun events, including the Zombie Apocalypse, the Deadly Apocalypse, Trick-or-Treating, and of course the eternal night and the giant monsters to keep the festivities going. You can load up with temporary costumes and get hold of those cheap cereal-box costumes that you can then trade-in with a certain witch to get an extra costume slot! (Note: you can only do this once, so if you've already done it, it won't work for you again. But these things can be worth a pretty penny on the market.)

So start practicing your best "Thriller" moves, and get in as much sunlight as you can, because once the sun sets on October 20th, it won't come back up again until November 2nd. And be careful, because some of the things that go "bump" in the night don't just "bump".

Halloween Event 2010

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

While that may seem a bit premature, it's actually a little late for Paragon City and the Rogue Isles.

The 2010 Halloween Event is now upon us, and for the first time it affects the Praetorian Universe.

From October 21st until early November 1st, Paragon City, the Rogue Isles, and Praetoria will be in 24-hour darkness. Mystical forces will keep all three areas in perpetual night (except for Cimerora, The Hive and The Abyss), allowing heroes, villains, rogues, and vigilantes to take part in all of the strange and mysterious things that will occur.

Trick-Or-Treating: This is one of the most popular features. Knock on any door... ANY door... and you can either get a treat (random rare goodies) or tricks (Halloween-themed monsters that will kick your butt). You can also get special costumes (for a limited period only) and if you collect enough of them you get special badges.

Zombie Apocalypse: At random times during this period, you will have to deal with a Zombie Apocalypse... which means the skies turn blood red (which is more profound since we're dealing with 24-hour night) and the dead crawl up from the ground and go after anyone living. This is NOT a time to be standing around, unless you're next to an automated sentry unit. The longer you still live, the more zombies that will come after you. And they WILL get stronger and tougher and more powerful as time goes by. Like dealing with the Rikti, you need to team up, and preferably the maximum size possible. Kick enough undead butt and you'll get a special Pumpkinhead helmet that you can use at any time of the year.

Deadly Apocalypse: Think the zombies were bad enough? At random times during this period, you will also have to deal with the Deadly Apocalypse, which means the sky gets foggy (which doesn't mean much since you're already in darkness) and four mystical banners appear in your zone. Each banner is defended by different monsters based on the nature of the banner (and you can see where these banners are on the map). The hard part is that you have to defeat the monsters watching the banner before you can attack the banner, and you have to destroy ALL FOUR BANNERS in order to win. Note: this is impossible to do! Several members of the Guardians of the Dawn have tried repeatedly last year to take part in this challenge and no matter how many people take part in this challenge, they have been unable to destroy ALL FOUR banners in the time allowed. Good luck for those of you who want to try.

Giant Monsters: Oh, you think we're done with the misery? THINK AGAIN! Eochi and Jack-in-Irons are back to randomly terrorize the zones, and they don't show up alone. If you decide to take them on (like Galatea Powers and Lyon Powers did last year) make sure you're not alone either.

And now with the launch of Going Rogue and the new Tip Mission system, we have a special Whispered Rumored Tip Mission which will give you an opportunity to get different badges depending on how you handle this mission. (It's a little complicated, so please take advantage of these hyperlinks to give you more information.)

That's a lot of stuff to deal with. Oh, and Praetoria will have a new witch that will help you with the BEST part of Halloween Event... the Halloween Masks! Unlock that extra costume slot if you can get four Halloween Masks! Just be aware that doing so WILL trigger a new Zombie Apocalypse. The good news is that this feature carries through even when the Halloween Event ends, so you don't have to panic if you don't have all four masks right away. (And FORGET trying to buy one unless you literally have MILLIONS of Inf in your account. Wait until after the event if you want to go that route.)

And just think... once this is through, the Winter Event is just a few weeks away.

Is THIS The Coming Storm?

City of Heroes is getting ready to release Issue 19: Alpha Strike, the first post-Going Rogue update in the City of Heroes universe.

With it, we see the debut of a character that was previously only seen in the comics: Apex.

Yes, the star of the original "City of Heroes" comic series is back, and just in time as Tyrant has launched his new campaign to take over the Paraverse!



Will the evil version of Statesman succeed? That's up to the heroes. And is THIS what Mender Silos warned was the "Coming Storm"? We'll just have to find out.

There will be a few more things with the update... such as the merging of transport systems, so you can use one subway or one ferry to go anywhere. Speaking of transports, if you have Going Rogue, your non-Praetorian characters WILL be able to access that universe through Pocket D.

Plus, the Fitness Power Pool will now become an inherent power pool. SO if you've already loaded up on heath, stamina, speed, and leaping, you'll probably have to shuffle things around again. Good thing you have those Respecs, right?

AND Issue 19 will be the start of a new level of play... with the first step in becoming an INCARNATE!

Oh, and should I also mention that Halloween is approaching? Get your days in the sun out of the way, because on October 21st, it'll go dark and stay dark until November 1st.

Rikti Monkeys Strike AGAIN!

What the code gods giveth, the code gods have had to take away...

It seems the patch that gave us the WALK power has been causing more instability with the system, therefore the game has been rolled back YET AGAIN to the previous build.

In addition, because of the instability of the servers, especially those on the West Coast, the Halloween Event has been extended ONE MORE DAY.

Daylight will return to Paragon City and the Rogue Isles after Wednesday, November 11th 11:59 PM Pacific Time (2:59 AM Eastern Time on Novbember 12th).

Sorry guys, you should blame the Rikti Monkeys for this. They're really more dangerous than you know.

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Update 11/12/09: Well I'm proud to inform you that the sun has returned to Paragon City and the Rogue Isles, and people can once again WALK.

So get back out there and start STRUTTING!

Guardians of the Dawn Spotlight #3

Issue #3 of the "Guardians of the Dawn Spotlight" comic book is now online.

(Clicking on the link will open the file. Sorry, PDF format only.)

This issue focuses on MidKnight X, the dark protector of Kings Row. Who is he? What drives him to do what he does? You'll find out here.

Plus, the much-anticipated meeting of the Powers is finally here! What happens when Lyon Powers meets up with Galatea Powers? Some choice words will certainly be said!

Halloween Event Extended

Something strange has happened to the Deadly Apocalypse that has been having some serious consequences to life in Paragon City and the Rogue Isles. As a result the Halloween Event has been extended an extra week.

Blame it on the Rikti Monkeys, folks.

2009 Halloween Event

Get ready, good-guys and bad, because the Halloween Event is soon upon us, and the Chronicles has the goods on the goodies.

First and foremost, expect the usual trick-or-treating to go on. Knock on any door you normally wouldn't be able to go into and you could either get a treat, or you can get a trick by Croatoa's nasties of witches, pumpkin monsters, vampires, or werewolves.

Now in addition to the infamous Zombie Apocalypse good-guys and bad will also have to deal with a brand NEW threat: THE DEADLY APOCALYPSE!

Here's what will happen: Just like the Zombie Apocalypse, the Deadly Apocalypse will have Haunted Sigils that will appear in random places in the city/isle zone. (Don't worry, Vanguard will make sure your map will have the precise location as well as give you adequate warnings.) Each of the Haunted Sigils will be guarded by specific demonic forces. Take out the guards and the sigils and you'll get some SERIOUS rewards. You better work fast, though, and work in teams, because just like the Zombie Apocalypse, the creatures in the Deadly Apocalypse will continue to multiply the longer you have to deal with them.

Oh, and joining the ranks of the monsters this time around... THE ALL-MIGHTY KRAKEN!

But wait! There's more! Did I forget to mention that all of the usual goodies are back? Yes, the temporary costumes, the badges, and the toy costume pieces... which means if you get all four of the costume pieces you can find a certain witch and redeem them for an EXTRA COSTUME SLOT!

Oh, fair warning... the extra costume slot is apparently a one-time-only event per character. If your character has already used it previously, they will not be able to use it again!

Children of the night rejoice! You can kiss the sun good-bye on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 8:59 a.m. PST (11:59 a.m. EST) and not see it come up again until Tuesday, November 3, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. PST (2:59 a.m. EST).