Matt Miller answers our questions about the upcoming Issue #7 publish of CoV/CoH

Staff Writer Laura Genender spoke to Matt Miller of Cryptic Studios about the upcoming Issue #7 publish of City of Villains/Heroes. Issues are like expansion packs in most games, but are provided free to all subscribers. We are also carrying eight exclusive screenshots and fiction for two new factions, which you can find in the images links below.

The height of the main structure in Grandville is awe inspiring and eclipses the size of any other structures in CoV (or CoH). The zone is about proving yourself to Lord Recluse, and as you work your way up the food chain in the Arachnos organization, you will also be working your way up the zone. You will literally progress your way up the zone and access new levels above you. By surviving the challenges set forth the higher you go in Grandville, you will find yourself under the direct scrutiny of Lord Recluse himself. One thing that players wonder is if a travel power like flight would be required in a zone like this. Don’t worry, there are elevators that can take you up and down safely if you don’t have the ability to go vertical on your own.

I don’t want to give too much away at this point, but I believe that the actions of the players will have an impact on the zone unlike anything that has been done in an MMO before. This will bring a whole new element to the game’s PvP action and should be a big hit with the players.

They are as open-ended as you want them to be, within the time constraint given. There are tasks that you can do, or you can just go around blowing up all the cars and destroying all the fire hydrants and mailboxes. Almost everything can be destroyed! And I should mention that there is always a chance that a signature hero will show up to put an end to your tyranny. These are unlike anything we have done in the past, and I hope players enjoy them as much as I do. By having “open ended” missions there are many more opportunities for players to cause havoc and be villainous.

We have a far greater ability now to get custom features into missions like unique villains, or even unique maps. We used this and other mission customization tools wherever it made sense when we were designing the missions.

What can you store?

• Salvage, Inspirations, and Enhancements.

• Low-end base items that can give your characters a buff in exchange for Salvage. These base items are self-powered, so even a bare-bones base will be able to install and use it.

• You will be able to have your Supergroup’s logo, in the color of your choice, on a banner or other base objects (like the cool conference table).

• To an extent, yes, but we are adding more options than exist currently.

Oh there are a bunch. I really like the Tuxedo jacket, bow tie, and fancy shirt... you can finally have that secret agent look you’ve always wanted. We’ve also got some robotic legs and gloves, insectoid legs, new shoulder pads, and not one, not two, but three types of elf ears. We’ll release our complete list a little bit later.

We hope to get the Cathedral of Pain up before Issue 7, and with that comes the cycle of base raiding and Items of Power. This will bring a whole new level of exciting PvP to the “City of” games.

Yes, there will be new Salvage that villains have not seen, and wait until you see what comes with the invention system!

Pocket D, the new “Paragon Dance Party”, is a zone where Heroes and Villains can team up. We plan on putting an Arena Kiosk or two in this zone so Heroes and Villains can have private PvP battles easier. This zone is great, and our event team did an awesome job with it. It won’t be so easily forgotten like the old PDP seemed to be.

This is the Empowerment stations that I explained earlier. Small supergroups should be able to afford it, won’t need an expensive generator or control room to run it, and it will consume up their Salvage and grant them buffs to help characters get through tough missions. I think that these are the exact prescription that small supergroups were asking for. They wanted their base to do something right away to help them out, and the Empowerment stations are it.