City of Heroes Issue 1
On June 29th, 2004 Issue 1 was released, marking the first major update to the game since it had launched just one month earlier. Issue 1 was titled Through the Looking Glass and it introduced to the game some of the most popular, most important zones in the game today.
The major highlights of Through the Looking Glass were:
The introduction of Peregrine Island and the Rikti Crash Site
- The Level Cap Raised from 40 to 50
- Outdoor Mission Maps
- The Abandoned Sewer Trial
- The Ability to Unlock 3 Costume Slots in Icon
Along with the previously mentioned highlights, there was, of course, the addition of content for levels 40 to 50. This includes Carnival of Shadows, Malta, Nemesis, and Portal Corp, including the Praetorians. Back then the bio for Dominatrix, the Praetorian version of Ms. Liberty had an amusing and icky continuity error. “Being the daughter of a famous and universally loved super heroine never sat well with Dominatrix. She rebelled from a very early age and when she hit puberty and her powers kicked in she decided enough was enough. After killing her mother, the infamous Miss Liberty, she started making a name for herself. She caught Tyrants attention and has been serving him loyally, in all capacities, ever since.” Tyrant, of course, being the Praetorian version of Statesman…making him her Grandfather….oh my.
This is also when the slash command for costume change was introduced /costume_change or /cc.
Issue 15
On June 29th, 2009, five years after the release of Issue 1 City of Heroes saw the release of Issue 15 which was called Anniversary.
The major highlights of Anniversary were:
- The Introduction of the Barracuda Strike Force and Dr. Kahn Task Force
- Costume Change Emotes
- Dominator Archetype Revamp
It wasn’t a huge update but it was still an important one. From time to time the Barracuda Strike Force and Dr. Kahn Task Force are sometimes selected as the Weekly Strike Target.
It would be another 62 days before City of Heroes would see Issue 2 when badges, capes, Eden and more were introduced to the game. After Issue 15 it was 78 days before Issue 16 was released. Issue 16 is the one that allowed us to have power customization, something I can’t live without today.
But, the next important day in City of Heroes history is coming on July 24th when Issue 10 was released in 2007. Issue 10 was called Invasion and marked the start of the second Rikti invasion.