On June 6th, 2006 City of Heroes Issue 7 Destiny Manifest was released putting in place massive changes that would continue to impact the game for the rest of time.
The major highlights of Destiny Manifest were:
- Raising the level cap for villains to 50
- The introduction of Grandville and Recluse’s Victory
- The addition of Patron Power Pools for villains
- The introduction of Mayhem Missions
As you can see much of this Issue was dedicated to villains. That’s because this was the first one to come out after City of Villains launched. But those weren’t the only changes that were made. Some other interesting changes that were introduced in Issue 7 include:
- A character at 100% health can’t be killed in one shot.
- Origin Specific Powers are no longer lost at level 10.
- All melee powers are now exempt from Range Debuffs.
- Base items Salvage Bin, Enhancement Container, and Inspiration Receptacle added to the game.
- Players with City of Heroes and City of Villains will have access to all costume pieces.
- If you receive a tell while AFK you can send an automatic reply with your AFK message.
- The Task Force Commander Accolade is introduced.
- New Powersets Introduced: Thugs, Electric Melee, Electric Shields, Dark Melee, Dark Armor
At this point, City of Villains was still separate from City of Heroes and just a little bit over 200 days old. The game was still being made by Cryptic Studios. It’s amazing to see that almost a decade and a half later the things that were introduced in Issue 7 are still playing such an important role in the game.
It would be another 175 days before Issue 8 was released bringing with it the Veteran Reward System, Bunny Ears, and the big Faultline Revamp.
But the next important day in City of Heroes history comes on June 28th when we’re introduced to Issue 20.5 which expanded further on the Incarnate System.
Were you there when City of Heroes Issue 7 Destiny Manifest was released? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments.