It’s now been over a year since the City of Heroes community discovered the existence of a secret emulator, a discovery that led to the broad distribution of the code, the creation of more than a dozen rogue servers, and the de facto return of a beloved superhero MMO. And as of today, it’s been 16 years since the original game went live.
On the largest server group, Homecoming, that makes it time to mark the occasion the best way this game can: with a fresh badge for the badgers and an invasion from the Rikti. From now until maintenance on Tuesday, May 12th, all zones in Paragon City and the Rogue Isles will be subject to Rikti invasion, so if you’re looking to break up your Task Force and Death from Below runs with a little open world mayhem, this is your chance. The anniversary will also be commemorated with the new Resurgent badge granted to anyone who logs in during the month of May. And if you’re the sort of badger who needs a whole set, previous anniversary badges will be available for purchase from Luna in Ouroboros for 100 Reward Merits each.
Finally, there will be a couple of contests running in May: A screenshot contest with up to 1,000 Merits and a golden title up for grabs, and a themeless costume contest at Statesman Plaza in the center of Kallisti Wharf for a chance at Merits and a permanent costume power. You can click each respective link for details and timing.
Incidentally, we’d love to join in on the anniversary fun and stream it for you all, but NCsoft has apparently put the kibosh on all that, as evidenced by last month’s announcement that Homecoming would be banning players who stream the game while negotiations with the company continue. So you’ll just have to take part in the festivities for yourself, or you can take a peek back into our old streams from last year before the new regulations.
