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** All Incarnate content, so far, is alignment-neutral. The Incarnate Trials all currently involve fighting against the Praetorians. Also, Dark Astoria (the highest-level zone so far) is cooperative and dominated by the Banished Pantheon.
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** All Incarnate content, so far, is alignment-neutral. The Incarnate Trials all currently involve fighting against the Praetorians. Also, Praetorians, and the one Incarnate Zone, Dark Astoria (the highest-level zone so far) Astoria, is cooperative and a Cooperative Zone dominated by the Banished Pantheon.death god Mot, who [[EvilVersusOblivion even villains oppose]].
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** All Incarnate content, so far, is alignment-neutral. The Incarnate Trials all currently involve fighting against the Praetorians. Also, Dark Astoria (the highest-level zone so far) is cooperative and dominated by the Banished Pantheon.
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* ItemFarming:
** The Invention system involves killing a lot of enemies to get recipes and components before you can build an Invention Origin Enhancement.
** Hamidon Raids, along with the Statesman [[spoiler: (now Back Alley Brawler)]] and Lord Recluse Task Forces, involve completing major quests to collect Hamidon Origin Enhancements.
** The Invention system involves killing a lot of enemies to get recipes and components before you can build an Invention Origin Enhancement.
** Hamidon Raids, along with the Statesman [[spoiler: (now Back Alley Brawler)]] and Lord Recluse Task Forces, involve completing major quests to collect Hamidon Origin Enhancements.
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* {{Freemium}}: Since the ''Freedom'' expansion. The majority of the game's content really is free, but endgame content, certain archetypes, and a whole lot of costume options must be paid for. Also, anyone who's never spent any money on the game labors under some extra limitations.
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* AntagonistInMourning: According to a short story on the website, Lord Nemesis is disappointed by the death of [[spoiler: Statesman]], but in particular that it came at the hands of a 'nobody' like [[spoiler: Darrin Wade]] rather than at his hands as he had been planning for decades.
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**The Vanguard organization's colors are grey (white + black) and purple (blue + red), indicating they work with both sides.
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** An odd case of Meme-turned-extra: During the Closed Beta of ''City of Villains'', A player on the Beta feedback message boards had posted confusion as to why your character didn't jump from gang to gang, using the already established villain gangs set up in City of Heroes. This troper had to point out to them that a lot of groups (Freakshow, Devouring Earth, etc.,) would be ''impossible'' to quit, and posted a few comical stories about a made-up incompetent trying to quit each different gang in ''City of Heroes/Villains'' with comedic results. More people followed suit, and eventually the "quitter" was given the nickname "Jenkins", and it stuck. (Which is possibly a ''[[WebOriginal/LeeroyJenkinsVideo World of Warcraft]]'' reference, or an incredible coincidence.) Jenkins quickly became popular on the Beta boards as a sort of meme, rather than an actual extra. Later, the programmer behind the character Black Scorpion posted that he had just read the thread and found it to be hilarious. The very next update to the Beta had added "Jenkins", an Arachnos incompetent, to the opening tutorial wherein the villains PC has to save him in order to escape from prison.
to:
** An odd case of Meme-turned-extra: During the Closed Beta of ''City of Villains'', A player on the Beta feedback message boards had posted confusion as to why your character didn't jump from gang to gang, using the already established villain gangs set up in City of Heroes. This troper had to point out to them that a lot of groups (Freakshow, Devouring Earth, etc.,) would be ''impossible'' to quit, and posted a few comical stories about a made-up incompetent trying to quit each different gang in ''City of Heroes/Villains'' with comedic results. More people followed suit, and eventually the "quitter" was given the nickname "Jenkins", and it stuck. (Which is possibly a ''[[WebOriginal/LeeroyJenkinsVideo ''[[WebVideo/LeeroyJenkinsVideo World of Warcraft]]'' reference, or an incredible coincidence.) Jenkins quickly became popular on the Beta boards as a sort of meme, rather than an actual extra. Later, the programmer behind the character Black Scorpion posted that he had just read the thread and found it to be hilarious. The very next update to the Beta had added "Jenkins", an Arachnos incompetent, to the opening tutorial wherein the villains PC has to save him in order to escape from prison.
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Misuse of I Got Better. It refers to an unexplained recovery.
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* ClingyCostume: Positron was permanently stuck in his anti-matter-driven armor for a while. [[IGotBetter He got better]].
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* ClingyCostume: Positron was permanently stuck in his anti-matter-driven armor for a while. [[IGotBetter He got better]].
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** Epic villain archetypes are mooks who were fed up seeing supers picked for promotion all the time and decided to show the world what a normal could do.
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** Epic villain archetypes are mooks who were fed up seeing supers picked for promotion all the time and decided to show the world what a normal could do. Arachnos Soldiers fall under this trope; advanced Widows (especially Fortunata) do not.
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** [[{{Unforgiven}} Little Bill]] didn't deserve to die, not that deserving's got anything to do with it...
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** [[{{Unforgiven}} [[{{Film/Unforgiven}} Little Bill]] didn't deserve to die, not that deserving's got anything to do with it...
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* PersonalRaincloud: One of the top-end powers in the Storm Summoning set lets you create one of these over anyone you care to. Sadly, it stays put instead of following them.
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* PersonalRaincloud: One of the top-end powers in the Storm Summoning set lets you create one of these -- complete with destructive lightning -- over anyone you care to.to inconvenience. Sadly, it stays put instead of following them.
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* PersonalRaincloud: One of the top-end powers in the Storm Summoning set lets you create one of these over anyone you care to. Sadly, it stays put instead of following them.
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* ScrewGunSafety: Random NPC chatter has an Arachnos officer threatening to hurt his underlings if they don't observe gun safety, whether the gun is loaded or not.
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* ScrewGunSafety: Random NPC chatter has an Arachnos officer threatening to hurt his underlings if they don't observe gun safety, whether (they think) the gun is loaded or not.
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** Lacking a clearly defined team role isn't necessarily a bad thing, since the Scrapper can make a good stand-in for an aggressive Tank. Their greatest team-centric let-down is that they MUST run into a fight to land a hit, so you mustn't get too mad at them for going on ahead; they're a Melee class and their powers demand close-up fighting. As a result they get knocked out quite a lot in a team and are sometimes known as "Rug-Munchers".
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** Lacking a clearly defined team role isn't necessarily a bad thing, since the Scrapper can make a good stand-in for an aggressive Tank. Their greatest team-centric let-down is that they MUST ''must'' run into a fight to land a hit, so you mustn't get too mad at them for going on ahead; they're a Melee class and their powers demand close-up fighting. As a result they get knocked out quite a lot in a team and are sometimes known as "Rug-Munchers".
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* AndYourRewardIsClothes: Perhaps the most eagerly pursued rewards, too, to the point where there is the occasional controversy and FlameWar over the unlock of some items.
** Though the devs upped drop rates on costume piece loot significantly, meaning that beating up a gangster and taking his fairy wings recipe no longer leaves you set for 20 levels or so.
** Though the devs upped drop rates on costume piece loot significantly, meaning that beating up a gangster and taking his fairy wings recipe no longer leaves you set for 20 levels or so.
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* AndYourRewardIsClothes: Perhaps the most eagerly pursued rewards, rewards too, to the point where there is the occasional controversy and FlameWar over the unlock of some items.
** Though the devs upped drop rates on costume piece loot significantly, meaning that beating up a gangster and taking his fairy wings recipe no longer leaves you set for 20 levels or so.despite their purely aesthetic effect.
** Though the devs upped drop rates on costume piece loot significantly, meaning that beating up a gangster and taking his fairy wings recipe no longer leaves you set for 20 levels or so.
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* DeadlyDoctor: Dr. Vahzilok.
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* DeadlyDoctor: Dr. Vahzilok.Vahzilok, and all the living mooks.
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* EqualOpportunityEvil: A lot of enemy groups are all-male (and two, the Cabal and the Knives of Artemis, are all-female), but Crey Industries, the Carnival of Shadows and Arachnos all have both male and female minions. And who knows what gender the Circle of Thorns are under all those robes?
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* EqualOpportunityEvil: A lot of enemy groups are all-male (and two, the Cabal and the Knives of Artemis, are all-female), but Crey Industries, the Carnival of Shadows and Arachnos all have both male and female minions. Countess Crey runs Crey Industries. And who knows what gender the Circle of Thorns are under all those robes?
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** As a Villain you can't hurt civilians.
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** As a Villain you can't hurt civilians. Although The Lost is a villain group that consists of a great deal of homeless people...
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** Arguably Stalkers, with the most damaging critical hit in the entire game capable of a OneHitKill even with some bosses ([[BackStab as long as it's from Hidden status]]) but low hit points and relatively weak defence.
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** Lacking a clearly defined team role isn't necessarily a bad thing. They can make a great defender for any frail Blaster. Judicious use of their wide array of Active secondary sets can make them extra durable and they make great distractions to protect Blasters and Defenders, while needing very few buffs.
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** Lacking a clearly defined team role isn't necessarily a bad thing. They thing, since the Scrapper can make a great defender good stand-in for any frail Blaster. Judicious use of an aggressive Tank. Their greatest team-centric let-down is that they MUST run into a fight to land a hit, so you mustn't get too mad at them for going on ahead; they're a Melee class and their wide array of Active secondary sets can make them extra durable and powers demand close-up fighting. As a result they make great distractions to protect Blasters get knocked out quite a lot in a team and Defenders, while needing very few buffs.are sometimes known as "Rug-Munchers".
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** The Scrapper is the local soloist-class in ''City of Heroes'' proper. Striking a good balance between absorbing damage and dishing it out, a well-built Scrapper can solo anything short of a full-on Archvillain. (And sometimes even that, depending on the version. Early versions had a few exploits that certain builds of scrappers could use to become virtually immortal at higher levels.)
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** The Scrapper is the local soloist-class in ''City of Heroes'' proper. Striking a good balance between absorbing damage and dishing it out, a well-built Scrapper can solo anything short of a full-on Archvillain. (And sometimes even that, depending on the version. Early versions had a few exploits that certain builds of scrappers could use to become virtually immortal at higher levels.)) Unfortunately they have to get in close for their attacks to land and it can get them knocked out a lot, leading them to be also known as "Rug Munchers".
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* SummoningRitual: The Circle of Thorns are almost always seen doing this.
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* SummoningRitual: The Circle of Thorns are almost always seen doing this.can be easily located from a distance by their summoning rituals and their habit of stealing souls.
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* AwesomeButImpractical: The high level "nuke" powers for some. Extremely powerful blast, but leaves you unabled to attack again for a goodly while.
** Though YMMV. Others turn it into a bread-and-butter power.
*** A particular eight-man team composition (eight Empathy/ defenders) can turn the nuke powers into a [[GameBreaker rolling nuclear barrage]].
*** Highly YMMV. Warshades are infamous for their ability of not being hindered much by the endurance drain of their nuke. Go nuclear, pop a blue, Stygian Circle and off you go with full health and endurance.
** Though YMMV. Others turn it into a bread-and-butter power.
*** A particular eight-man team composition (eight Empathy/ defenders) can turn the nuke powers into a [[GameBreaker rolling nuclear barrage]].
*** Highly YMMV. Warshades are infamous for their ability of not being hindered much by the endurance drain of their nuke. Go nuclear, pop a blue, Stygian Circle and off you go with full health and endurance.
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* AwesomeButImpractical: The high level "nuke" powers for some. Extremely powerful blast, but leaves you unabled unable to attack again for a goodly while.
** Though YMMV. Others turn it into a bread-and-butter power.
*** A particular eight-man team composition (eight Empathy/ defenders) can turn the nuke powers into a [[GameBreaker rolling nuclear barrage]].
*** Highly YMMV. Warshades are infamous for their ability of not being hindered much by the endurance drain of their nuke. Go nuclear, pop a blue, Stygian Circle and off you go with full health and endurance.while.
** Though YMMV. Others turn it into a bread-and-butter power.
*** A particular eight-man team composition (eight Empathy/ defenders) can turn the nuke powers into a [[GameBreaker rolling nuclear barrage]].
*** Highly YMMV. Warshades are infamous for their ability of not being hindered much by the endurance drain of their nuke. Go nuclear, pop a blue, Stygian Circle and off you go with full health and endurance.
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* GunFu: The animations for the [[{{Guns Akimbo}} Dual Pistols]] power set, which involve GunTwirling, rapid turning, posing, and bullets arcing in midair. Pretty clearly inspired by the ''{{Wanted}}'' movie and ''{{Equilibrium}}''. And on top of that, trenchcoats are available as a costume choice, and you can't even begin to imagine how cool you look.
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* GunFu: The animations for the [[{{Guns Akimbo}} Dual Pistols]] power set, which involve GunTwirling, rapid turning, posing, and bullets arcing in midair. Pretty clearly inspired by the ''{{Wanted}}'' movie and ''{{Equilibrium}}''. And on top of that, trenchcoats are available as a costume choice, and you can't even begin to imagine how cool you look.
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** Lacking a clearly defined team role isn't necessarily a bad thing. They can make a great defender for any frail Blaster. Judicious use of their wide array of Active secondary sets can make them extra burable and they make great distractions to protect Blasters and Defenders, while needing very few buffs.
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** Lacking a clearly defined team role isn't necessarily a bad thing. They can make a great defender for any frail Blaster. Judicious use of their wide array of Active secondary sets can make them extra burable durable and they make great distractions to protect Blasters and Defenders, while needing very few buffs.
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** Lacking a clearly defined team role isn't necessarily a bad thing. They can make a great defender for any frail Blaster. Judicious use of their wide array of Active secondary sets can make them extra burable and they make great distractions to protect Blasters and Defenders, while needing very few buffs.
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** Lacking a clearly defined team role isn't necessarily a bad thing. They can make a great defender for any frail Blaster. Use of fitness and dodge-based power-sets can result in them being a better choice for your front ranks than a Tank.
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** Issue 19 added new tip missions for Vigilantes trying to become Villains and Rogues trying to become Heroes, which are much better written while still playing this trope straight -- that is to say, Vigilantes jump off the slippery slope in a much more realistic and believable manner (along with Rogues...getting...''back up'' the slippery slope?).
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** Issue 19 added new tip missions for Vigilantes trying to become Villains and Rogues trying to become Heroes, which are much better written while still playing this trope straight -- that is to say, Vigilantes jump off the slippery slope in a much more realistic and believable manner (along with Rogues...getting... getting... ''back up'' the slippery slope?).
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** Lacking a clearly defined team role isn't necessarily a bad thing. Scrappers can provide some minimal team buffs with the Leadership pool, and Invention Origin buffs can bring them to the point where they can tank archvillains. Regeneration is particularly notable for Moment of Glory, which has been known to stop team wipes on the Statesman Task Force when the Tanker/Brute goes down and the Scrapper uses it to tank Lord Recluse long enough for the Tanker/Brute to be rezzed.
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** Lacking a clearly defined team role isn't necessarily a bad thing. Scrappers They can provide some minimal team buffs with the Leadership pool, make a great defender for any frail Blaster. Use of fitness and Invention Origin buffs dodge-based power-sets can bring result in them to the point where they can tank archvillains. Regeneration is particularly notable being a better choice for Moment of Glory, which has been known to stop team wipes on the Statesman Task Force when the Tanker/Brute goes down and the Scrapper uses it to tank Lord Recluse long enough for the Tanker/Brute to be rezzed.your front ranks than a Tank.
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*** [[spoiler:And for bonus points, Statesman's daughter, who while not a crimefighter is still an influential figure, got offed in Part 4. It's starting to look like "Who ''Won't'' Die?" in the last few segments.]]
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SPOILER ALERT.
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* TonightSomeoneDies: The "Who Will Die?" Signature story arc. One of the Freedom Phalanx is going to bite it. And we still don't know who.
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* TonightSomeoneDies: The "Who Will Die?" Signature story arc. One It's right there in the title: a member of the Freedom Phalanx is going to bite it. And we still don't know who.will die by the end of the arc. Who does it end up being?
** [[spoiler:Statesman himself, in Part 5...''and then'' Sister Psyche in Part 6.]]
** [[spoiler:Statesman himself, in Part 5...''and then'' Sister Psyche in Part 6.]]
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* ItsAllAboutMe: Trope, thy name is Flambeaux.
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Better choice of link.
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** An odd case of Meme-turned-extra: During the Closed Beta of ''City of Villains'', A player on the Beta feedback message boards had posted confusion as to why your character didn't jump from gang to gang, using the already established villain gangs set up in City of Heroes. This troper had to point out to them that a lot of groups (Freakshow, Devouring Earth, etc.,) would be ''impossible'' to quit, and posted a few comical stories about a made-up incompetent trying to quit each different gang in ''City of Heroes/Villains'' with comedic results. More people followed suit, and eventually the "quitter" was given the nickname "Jenkins", and it stuck. (Which is possibly a ''[[LeeroyJenkins World of Warcraft]]'' reference, or an incredible coincidence.) Jenkins quickly became popular on the Beta boards as a sort of meme, rather than an actual extra. Later, the programmer behind the character Black Scorpion posted that he had just read the thread and found it to be hilarious. The very next update to the Beta had added "Jenkins", an Arachnos incompetent, to the opening tutorial wherein the villains PC has to save him in order to escape from prison.
to:
** An odd case of Meme-turned-extra: During the Closed Beta of ''City of Villains'', A player on the Beta feedback message boards had posted confusion as to why your character didn't jump from gang to gang, using the already established villain gangs set up in City of Heroes. This troper had to point out to them that a lot of groups (Freakshow, Devouring Earth, etc.,) would be ''impossible'' to quit, and posted a few comical stories about a made-up incompetent trying to quit each different gang in ''City of Heroes/Villains'' with comedic results. More people followed suit, and eventually the "quitter" was given the nickname "Jenkins", and it stuck. (Which is possibly a ''[[LeeroyJenkins ''[[WebOriginal/LeeroyJenkinsVideo World of Warcraft]]'' reference, or an incredible coincidence.) Jenkins quickly became popular on the Beta boards as a sort of meme, rather than an actual extra. Later, the programmer behind the character Black Scorpion posted that he had just read the thread and found it to be hilarious. The very next update to the Beta had added "Jenkins", an Arachnos incompetent, to the opening tutorial wherein the villains PC has to save him in order to escape from prison.
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Changed line(s) 107 (click to see context) from:
** An odd case of Meme-turned-extra: During the Closed Beta of ''City of Villains'', A player on the Beta feedback message boards had posted confusion as to why your character didn't jump from gang to gang, using the already established villain gangs set up in City of Heroes. This troper had to point out to them that a lot of groups (Freakshow, Devouring Earth, etc.,) would be ''impossible'' to quit, and posted a few comical stories about a made-up incompetent trying to quit each different gang in ''City of Heroes/Villains'' with comedic results. More people followed suit, and eventually the "quitter" was given the nickname "Jenkins", and it stuck. (Which is possibly a ''[[LeeroyJenkins World of Warcraft]]'' reference, or an incredible coincidence,) Jenkins quickly became popular on the Beta boards as a sort of meme, rather than an actual extra. Later, the programmer behind the character Black Scorpion posted that he had just read the thread and found it to be hilarious. The very next update to the Beta had added "Jenkins", an Arachnos incompetent, to the opening tutorial wherein the villains PC has to save him in order to escape from prison.
to:
** An odd case of Meme-turned-extra: During the Closed Beta of ''City of Villains'', A player on the Beta feedback message boards had posted confusion as to why your character didn't jump from gang to gang, using the already established villain gangs set up in City of Heroes. This troper had to point out to them that a lot of groups (Freakshow, Devouring Earth, etc.,) would be ''impossible'' to quit, and posted a few comical stories about a made-up incompetent trying to quit each different gang in ''City of Heroes/Villains'' with comedic results. More people followed suit, and eventually the "quitter" was given the nickname "Jenkins", and it stuck. (Which is possibly a ''[[LeeroyJenkins World of Warcraft]]'' reference, or an incredible coincidence,) coincidence.) Jenkins quickly became popular on the Beta boards as a sort of meme, rather than an actual extra. Later, the programmer behind the character Black Scorpion posted that he had just read the thread and found it to be hilarious. The very next update to the Beta had added "Jenkins", an Arachnos incompetent, to the opening tutorial wherein the villains PC has to save him in order to escape from prison.
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Changed line(s) 107 (click to see context) from:
** An odd case of Meme-turned-extra: During the Closed Beta of City of Villains, A player on the Beta feedback message boards had posted confusion as to why your character didn't jump from gang to gang, using the already established villain gangs set up in City of Heroes. This troper had to point out to them that a lot of groups (Freakshow, Devouring Earth, etc.,) would be *impossible* to quit, and posted a few comical stories about a made-up incompetent trying to quit each different gang in City of Heroes/Villains with comedic results. More people followed suit, and eventually the "quitter" was given the nickname "Jenkins", and it stuck. (Which is possibly a World of Warcraft reference, or an incredible coincidence,) Jenkins quickly became popular on the Beta boards as a sort of meme, rather than an actual extra. Later, the programmer behind the character Black Scorpion posted that he had just read the thread and found it to be hilarious. The very next update to the Beta had added "Jenkins", an Arachnos incompetent, to the opening tutorial wherein the Villains have to save him in order to escape from prison.
to:
** An odd case of Meme-turned-extra: During the Closed Beta of City ''City of Villains, Villains'', A player on the Beta feedback message boards had posted confusion as to why your character didn't jump from gang to gang, using the already established villain gangs set up in City of Heroes. This troper had to point out to them that a lot of groups (Freakshow, Devouring Earth, etc.,) would be *impossible* ''impossible'' to quit, and posted a few comical stories about a made-up incompetent trying to quit each different gang in City ''City of Heroes/Villains Heroes/Villains'' with comedic results. More people followed suit, and eventually the "quitter" was given the nickname "Jenkins", and it stuck. (Which is possibly a ''[[LeeroyJenkins World of Warcraft Warcraft]]'' reference, or an incredible coincidence,) Jenkins quickly became popular on the Beta boards as a sort of meme, rather than an actual extra. Later, the programmer behind the character Black Scorpion posted that he had just read the thread and found it to be hilarious. The very next update to the Beta had added "Jenkins", an Arachnos incompetent, to the opening tutorial wherein the Villains have villains PC has to save him in order to escape from prison.
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Changed line(s) 107 (click to see context) from:
** An odd case of Meme-turned-extra: During the Closed Beta of City of Villains, A player on the Beta feedback message boards had posted confusion as to why your character didn't jump from gang to gang, using the already established villain gangs set up in City of Heroes. This troper (under the posting name "Doctor Nefarious") had to point out to them that a lot of groups (Freakshow, Devouring Earth, etc.,) would be impossible to quit. Then, a few comical stories were written and posted about a made-up incompetent trying to quit each different gang in City of Heroes and City of Villains with comedic results. More people followed suit, and eventually the "quitter" was given the nickname "Jenkins", and it stuck. (Which is possibly a World of Warcraft reference, or an incredible coincidence,) Jenkins quickly became popular on the Beta boards as a sort of meme, rather than an actual extra. Later, the programmer behind the character Black Scorpion posted that he had just read the thread and found it to be hilarious. The very next update to the Beta had added "Jenkins", an Arachnos incompetent, to the opening tutorial wherein the Villains have to save him in order to escape from prison.
to:
** An odd case of Meme-turned-extra: During the Closed Beta of City of Villains, A player on the Beta feedback message boards had posted confusion as to why your character didn't jump from gang to gang, using the already established villain gangs set up in City of Heroes. This troper (under the posting name "Doctor Nefarious") had to point out to them that a lot of groups (Freakshow, Devouring Earth, etc.,) would be impossible *impossible* to quit. Then, quit, and posted a few comical stories were written and posted about a made-up incompetent trying to quit each different gang in City of Heroes and City of Villains Heroes/Villains with comedic results. More people followed suit, and eventually the "quitter" was given the nickname "Jenkins", and it stuck. (Which is possibly a World of Warcraft reference, or an incredible coincidence,) Jenkins quickly became popular on the Beta boards as a sort of meme, rather than an actual extra. Later, the programmer behind the character Black Scorpion posted that he had just read the thread and found it to be hilarious. The very next update to the Beta had added "Jenkins", an Arachnos incompetent, to the opening tutorial wherein the Villains have to save him in order to escape from prison.
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Changed line(s) 107 (click to see context) from:
** During the Closed Beta of City of Villains, A player on the Beta feedback message boards had posted confusion as to why your character didn't jump from gang to gang, using the already established villain gangs set up in City of Heroes. This troper (under the posting name "Doctor Nefarious") had to point out to them that a lot of groups (Freakshow, Devouring Earth, etc.,) would be impossible to quit. Then, a few comical stories were written and posted about a made-up incompetent trying to quit each different gang in City of Heroes and City of Villains with comedic results. More people followed suit, and eventually the "quitter" was given the nickname "Jenkins", and it stuck. (Which is possibly a World of Warcraft reference, or an incredible coincidence,) Jenkins quickly became popular on the Beta boards as a sort of meme, rather than an actual extra. Later, the programmer behind the character Black Scorpion posted that he had just read the thread and found it to be hilarious. The very next update to the Beta had added "Jenkins", an Arachnos incompetent, to the opening tutorial wherein the Villains have to save him in order to escape from prison.
to:
** An odd case of Meme-turned-extra: During the Closed Beta of City of Villains, A player on the Beta feedback message boards had posted confusion as to why your character didn't jump from gang to gang, using the already established villain gangs set up in City of Heroes. This troper (under the posting name "Doctor Nefarious") had to point out to them that a lot of groups (Freakshow, Devouring Earth, etc.,) would be impossible to quit. Then, a few comical stories were written and posted about a made-up incompetent trying to quit each different gang in City of Heroes and City of Villains with comedic results. More people followed suit, and eventually the "quitter" was given the nickname "Jenkins", and it stuck. (Which is possibly a World of Warcraft reference, or an incredible coincidence,) Jenkins quickly became popular on the Beta boards as a sort of meme, rather than an actual extra. Later, the programmer behind the character Black Scorpion posted that he had just read the thread and found it to be hilarious. The very next update to the Beta had added "Jenkins", an Arachnos incompetent, to the opening tutorial wherein the Villains have to save him in order to escape from prison.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Just adding a fun anecdote that applies to the \"Ascended Meme\" section.
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** During the Closed Beta of City of Villains, A player on the Beta feedback message boards had posted confusion as to why your character didn't jump from gang to gang, using the already established villain gangs set up in City of Heroes. This troper (under the posting name "Doctor Nefarious") had to point out to them that a lot of groups (Freakshow, Devouring Earth, etc.,) would be impossible to quit. Then, a few comical stories were written and posted about a made-up incompetent trying to quit each different gang in City of Heroes and City of Villains with comedic results. More people followed suit, and eventually the "quitter" was given the nickname "Jenkins", and it stuck. (Which is possibly a World of Warcraft reference, or an incredible coincidence,) Jenkins quickly became popular on the Beta boards as a sort of meme, rather than an actual extra. Later, the programmer behind the character Black Scorpion posted that he had just read the thread and found it to be hilarious. The very next update to the Beta had added "Jenkins", an Arachnos incompetent, to the opening tutorial wherein the Villains have to save him in order to escape from prison.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Moving to YMMV.
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* FridgeBrilliance: the CosmicRetcon above also explains where every new character has to do similar missions: Time gets rewound. Making the ever repeating missions your alts have to do perfectly Justified!
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* FridgeHorror: Some might notice that the entangles produced by the [[CombatTentacles Carrion]] [[NightmareFuel Crawlers]] power continue to deal damage to the defeated enemies. Apparently dead bodies are tasty.
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None
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http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/COHMontage440x330_2938.jpg
''City of Heroes'' is a MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame based on [[ComicBookTropes comic-book]] style {{superhero}}es. Set in and around Paragon City, a [[NoCommunitiesWereHarmed fictional Rhode Island metropolis]] still recovering after a thwarted but still disastrous AlienInvasion, it superbly reproduces the flavor and feel of the superheroic genre. Players take on the role of one of many fledgling heroes surging to fill the void left in the wake of several heroes fallen in defense of the earth during the aforementioned "Rikti" alien invasion.
''City of Heroes'' is complemented and paralleled by a villainous counterpart, ''City of Villains''. Players of ''City of Villains'' assume the role of a freshly escaped super-powered convict who may fit into a prophecy about a "destined one" whom it is said will rise to threaten even the most powerful echelons of the Rogue Isles villain factions. The two games overlap in select areas, including [=PvP=] zones and a [[GoodGuyBar no-conflict nightclub]] in another dimension called "Pocket D". The two games, originally separate, were eventually combined, and now players can make heroes or villains.
The recently-released expansion, ''Going Rogue'', allows characters to change alignment and introduces a mirror universe as a third starting location.
Some of ''[=CoH=]/[=CoV=]'''s most innovative features are related to character/avatar design. The games provides a truly astounding variety of appearance combinations, which grow with each new version. The power combinations are similarly impressive.
The game is also the first major MMO to include user created content, in the form of its Mission Architect system and player-created story arcs.
Originally, a variety of (back)story was told through the developers' adopted avatars -- known collectively as the Avengers-esque super-team Freedom Phalanx -- with the hero Statesman as their (in game and out) leader. Their evil counterparts would later be introduced in ''City of Villains''. Known as Arachnos by name and led by Statesman's equal-but-opposite in Lord Recluse, ruler of the Rogue Isles (a fictional archipelago about 50 miles north of Bermuda). Statesman was originally the in-game avatar of real life senior developer Jack Emmert, who has since moved on and left the game in the care of Lead Developer Matt Miller (known for his avatar, Positron), who has since moved ''down'' to hands-on design work, handing the role of Lead Developer to Melissa Bianco (known for her avatar, War Witch).
With a recent update (that also changed the game from a subscription-only to a {{Freemium}} model), most character classes (called Archetypes) are now available to both sides from the start, except for the respective Epic Archetypes, described below.
Former Hero archetypes include:
* [[StoneWall Tanker]] (High-defense, low-damage melee and great "aggro management" capabilities to protect allies)
* [[TheBerserker Scrapper]] (medium-defense, high-damage melee with a chance for double damage in a critical hit.)
* [[HealingHands Def]][[StatusBuff end]][[StandardStatusEffects er]] (Primarily powers aiding (buff) allies or weakening (debuff) foes, backed up by medium-damage ranged attacks, defenders are among the hardest to quantify because each primary set is aimed in almost different directions ranging from the heal-tastic Empathy to the debuff kings and queens of Darkness)
* [[MindControl Controller]] (Primarily powers that hold, disorient or otherwise control opponents, backed up by buffs/debuffs)
* [[GlassCannon Blaster]] (High-damage ranged and high-damage melee attacks, but few defenses)
There are also two "epic" archetypes, unlocked once one of your heroes reaches level 20 (formerly level 50): [[KnightInShiningArmor Peace]][[KnightTemplar bringers]] and [[TheAtoner Warshades]]. These have unique abilities, such as intrinsic travel powers and shapeshifting. Their power sets seem to be fairly similar, but they tend to play completely different. Warshades tend to play to the strengths of your teammates, while Peacebringers tend to make up for their weaknesses. Also, Peacebringers are much more self-sufficient (e.g. if you want to heal yourself, you just press the button and get healed), while Warshades need enemies (or their bodies) to drain for their self buffs. To compensate for this the Warshade buffs tend to be a lot more powerful when there are a lot of enemies to drain. When playing [[ShapeShifting Dual- or Tri-Form]], Peacebringers tend to stay in one form for the duration of the fight or even the mission, while Warshades tend to constantly switch forms to maximize the gain from their various buffs. The powers of their respective human forms are mostly a combination of Blaster and Scrapper for the Peacebringer, and Blaster and Controller for the Warshade.
Former Villain archetypes include:
* [[TheBrute Brute]] (Medium-defense and medium-damage melee whose damage increases the longer they fight)
* Corruptor (Medium-damage ranged attack with "critical hits" as the enemy life is whittled down backed by buffs/debuffs)
* Dominator (Primarily enemy control with a mix of medium-damage ranged and melee attacks to back it up.)
* Stalker (Stealth-based "assassin type" with melee attacks, a BackStab ForMassiveDamage, and weak defense)
* [[TheMinionMaster Master]][[TheBeastmaster mind]] (Command [[{{Mooks}} minions]] or "pets" and back them up with buffs/debuffs)
Just like the heroes, there are two epic archetypes for the villains. Starting out as a member of the Arachnos faction, you take the role of a Wolf Spider (Arachnos Soldier) or Blood Widow (Arachnos Widow), then each have two branches that one can take in powers. The former represent the rank and file soldiers, starting with guns while then adding cybernetic attachments or specialized tech-maces, while the latter start out as [[McNinja pseudo-ninjas]] and can either stay as such or become a combat psychic. However, regardless of branch, you ultimately play as a damage type with some quirks (and a cool costume).
The second major expansion, ''Going Rogue'', opens a third beginning to the game, the [[MirrorUniverse Praetorians]]. They are able to play as any of the non-epic archetypes and start off neither good nor evil, choosing over the course of the first twenty levels whether they will be a Loyalist of the tyrannical Emperor Cole or join the terrorist Resistance against him. It also introduces the ability to change alignment via FaceHeelTurn or HeelFaceTurn, allowing a hero to become a villain or vice versa as well as opening up the in-between alignments of [[VigilanteMan Vigilante]] and [[AntiHero Rogue]].
Heroes and villains both choose an origin. Outside of Peacebringer (Natural), Warshade (Science), and the Arachnos archetypes (Natural), there are no limits placed on which origin can be used with what archetype/powers. It is possible to make one of your characters' powers, say, "Assault Rifle" with Magic Origins, and it won't make a lick of difference to your abilities.
* [[WeirdScience Science]] -- Characters that get their powers via scientific means. Super serums, [[ILoveNuclearPower radiation]], [[FreakLabAccident experiments gone wrong]], experiments gone ''right'', etc. Examples include Comicbook/{{Spider-Man}}, Marvel's Sandman and the Comicbook/FantasticFour. In universe example: Synapse of the Freedom Phalanx.
* [[{{Mutants}} Mutation]] -- Characters born with their powers that eventually unlock them as they grow older. Generally refers to humans inexplicably born with these features. Most of the characters in ''Comicbook/{{X-Men}}'' qualify. In universe example: Sister Psyche of the Freedom Phalanx.
* [[FunctionalMagic Magic]] -- Characters that get their powers through mystic training or artifacts. Can also refer to characters that get their powers from a patron deity or are a magical creature. Examples include Ghost Rider, ComicBook/{{Hellboy}} and DoctorStrange. In universe example: Numina of the Freedom Phalanx.
* [[TechFu Technology]] -- Characters that get their powers from technology. Where Science characters have been transformed in some way to gain their powers, Technology characters gain theirs through use of power armor, alien weapons, cybernetics, et al. Examples include IronMan, GreenLantern, Doctor Octopus and Robotman. In universe example: Positron of the Freedom Phalanx.
* [[BadassNormal Natural]] -- Characters who got where they are through the strenuous training of their bodies -- and also characters whose species naturally have the abilities. Examples include Comicbook/{{Superman}}, Comicbook/{{Batman}}, {{the Punisher}}, J'onn J'onzz the Martian Manhunter and Kingpin. In universe example: Manticore of the Freedom Phalanx.
Heroes defeat NPC villains and foil the plans of various archvillains and nefarious groups out to destroy Paragon/The World/Humanity. Villains carry out missions against {{NPC}} heroes or other villain groups to please various factions and power brokers and thereby improve their standing in the underworld. [[TheGreatPlayerVersusPlayerDebate Player-vs-Player combat]] is limited to restricted areas and is not necessary for game or level progress, although certain bonuses can be gathered by risking yourself in these areas.
The game has managed to stay alive despite being only a few months older than the massive ''WorldOfWarcraft'' juggernaut, largely by occupying a niche market and having a die-hard, rabidly devoted fanbase. There have been two novels based on it, ''Web of Arachnos'' and ''The Freedom Phalanx'', as well as two comic book series, one published by Blue King and the other by DarkHorseComics. A movie and T.V. series based on the game are currently in DevelopmentHell.
As noted above, the game is [[{{Freemium}} free-to-play (with tiered benefits for premium and subscribing players)]], and can be downloaded for free [[http://na.cityofheroes.com/en/freedom.php here]].
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!!This game provides examples of:
* AbandonedWarehouse: ''Everywhere,'' at least in the earlier parts of the game. There are zones where you can't swing a dead catgirl without hitting an abandoned warehouse. And there are supervillains in ''every freaking one''.
** It gets to the point where, as a villain entering what seems like your eighty-third "Unused Arachnos Warehouse," you're presented with the mission entry text: "Another unused base. You have to wonder how many of these things Arachnos builds and never uses."
* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: Missions set in the sewers, the Sewer Network, the ''Abandoned'' Sewer Network...
** Between the huge sewers, the everpresent caves, and the underground city of Oranbega, it's a wonder Paragon City hasn't collapsed into the ground.
*** In some places it has. The Hollows was caused by the Trolls trying to make a cave for themselves and causing the entire city section to collapse. And Faultline was caused by a villain [[spoiler:(actually a mind-controlled hero)]] losing control of his powers, causing the entire zone to shatter and collapse.
** Averted in ''Going Rogue''[='=]s Praetoria: the incredibly spacious Underground is not a sewer system, but an abandoned ''subway'' system -- with occasional intersections with what appears to be a subterranean canal network. It also serves as an underground logistical and maintenance network.
* AfterTheEnd: Usually tied in with Alternate Universes or straight up time travel. Some notable examples:
** Recluse's Victory, a ruined version of Atlas Park used as a PVP Zone.
** Praetorian Earth, which was nearly overrun by the Devouring Earth after a nuclear war.
** Pretty much any alternate world you visit during a Portal Corp mission that isn't Praetoria, The Shadow Shard, or Council Earth/Axis America.
** Hinted at with the main game, after all the reason the WarWalls exist is to keep the Rikti Invaders out...and even then they sometimes fail...so just what is going on outside Paragon City?
*** Mainly because they would be really hard to tear down they also act as containment so if something is going badly in one area it doesn't spill over.
* AIRoulette: Found in more recent {{Mook}}s.
** Deliberately added to the [[spoiler:Flawed Clone during the battle with Ajax]]. Some players have reported the [[spoiler:Flawed Clone]] to be amazingly competent. Others just watched as it performed the chicken dance in the corner during the whole fight.
** Possibly deliberately lampshaded in a bit of NPC dialogue, wherein a Circle of Thorns Spectral Demon demands a Thorn Wielder turn over his magic knife because he's too stupid to use it properly.
* AlienInvasion: The Rikti, although [[spoiler:they're actually forcibly-mutated humans from AnotherDimension]].
* AllWebbedUp: Arachnoid lairs are often decorated with humanoid web masses.
* AlternateCompanyEquivalent
** Statesman is basically a fusion of {{Superman}} and CaptainAmerica, though his origin has a little CaptainMarvel.
*** His granddaughter, Miss Liberty is basically a combination of Supergirl and Wonder Girl.
** Positron is a [[ILoveNuclearPower radioactive]] IronMan, with a since-resolved ClingyCostume issue.
** Manticore is {{Batman}} with the fighting style of Green Arrow.
** Sister Psyche heavily resembles [[{{X-Men}} Jean Grey]], right down to being [[HeroesWantRedheads a redhead]].
** Synapse, the token speedster, is generally considered an equivalent to TheFlash, with added [[ShockAndAwe electricity powers]].
** Back Alley Brawler seems to have a little of Luke Cage, and/or Wildcat.
* AlternateUniverse: Tons. There's a company dedicated to exploring them. Some notable examples...
** Praetoria: Formerly a standard MirrorUniverse where the good guys are bad, since [[RetCon retconned]] into something a little less black and white.
** Axis America: A world where Marcus Cole sided with Germany during World War II. Home of the Reichsman.
** The Shadow Shard: Extradimensional prison of an insane god. Visually similar to [[WorldOfWarcraft Outland]].
** The Rikti Homeworld: [[spoiler:Where humanity mutated themselves into powerful psychics after contact with an alien race]].
* AnAdventurerIsYou
* AndYourRewardIsClothes: Perhaps the most eagerly pursued rewards, too, to the point where there is the occasional controversy and FlameWar over the unlock of some items.
** Though the devs upped drop rates on costume piece loot significantly, meaning that beating up a gangster and taking his fairy wings recipe no longer leaves you set for 20 levels or so.
* AnInteriorDesignerIsYou: The addition of Superbases and the Mission Architect.
* AnimalMotifs: [[MeaningfulName Arachnos really likes spiders]]. We're not kidding, damn near ''every single unit type'' is named after a kind of spider, up to [[EvilOverlord Lord Recluse]] himself.
** And he's got robot spiders as a common minion.
* AnimalWrongsGroup: The Devouring Earth, who take it to the next level by going OneWingedAngel and turning into [[{{Magitek}} part-scientific, part-magical]] {{Eldritch Abomination}}s with the ability to bring plants, fungi, and minerals to life as their minions.
** They also brought about the EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt in Praetoria.
* AnimateInanimateObject: Possibly the Radio contact in Port Oakes and definitely the Television contact in Grandville. Radio is either some [[VoiceWithAnInternetConnection DJ with a lot of contacts]] or a sentient machine that keeps tabs on you. Television appears to be the {{Avatar}} of this form of media, as it speaks to you using the characters in various TV shows. Though, it's deliberately left ambiguous.
** Definitely the Slot Machine contact in Saint Martial - it's [[spoiler: An artificially-intelligent slot machine trying to get you to rescue its inventor.]]
* AnotherDimension: Portal Corp runs on this, as do the Praetoria and Rikti factions...
* AntiHero / AntiVillain: The expansion ''Going Rogue'' makes these alignments possible in game with [[NobleDemon Rogues]] and [[VigilanteMan Vigilantes]].
** A few of the redside contacts are [[AntiVillain Anti Villains]]. Most notable is a demon hunter who gives you missions where rescuing the demons' victims is mandatory.
* ArcWords: Any arc involving Ghost Widow will usually have the phrase "The Dead can't change."
* ArtEvolution: Take a look at [[http://www.cityofheroes.com/media_and_downloads/screenshots/screenshot_gallery.html?category=23 these screenshots from issue 1.]]
** Now look at ''these'' [[http://goingrogue.na.cityofheroes.com/en/media/screenshots.html screenshots from Going Rogue/Issue 18]].
* ArtificialAtmosphericActions: Combined with GangUpOnTheHuman, if you encounter opposed factions engaged in a standoff (a very common situation), attacking either one in defense of the other is likely to make both of them attack you!
* ArtifactOfDoom: Lots, but the most important one is [[spoiler:the Well of the Furies-ie, ''the source of Incarnate powers''. It doesn't like [[BigGood Statesman]] because he protects the status quo, and it thinks [[EvilOverlord Lord Recluse]] is a ''poser''.]]
* ArtisticLicenseGeography: Rhode Island has no place on its coastline that has ocean access to the ''north,'' the way Paragon City does.
* AscendedExtra: The entirety of [[MirrorUniverse Praetorian Earth]], in a way; these lategame hero missions were popular enough that the devs made ''Going Rogue'' focus on the world in which they took place, with much more development and many more shades of gray than their previous EvilTwin tendencies. In doing so, they also revamped those original {{Story Arc}}s to be consistent with the Praetorians' new portrayal.
** There's also the Yin family; they began as largely background [=NPCs=] in the Faultline zone's redesign, though Penelope was known as a very powerful psychic, with a nebulous connection to the Clockwork King. Later on, Penelope Yin reappeared in the Lady Grey Task Force, as possibly the most powerful psychic on Earth. Come ''Going Rogue'', we met her Praetorian counterpart, a questionably sane Seer; but more importantly, her father Wu Yin finally appeared -- as [[spoiler:head of the Syndicate]].
* AscendedMeme:
** The "Kill Skuls" badge, which was based off an amalgamation of two separate forum stories about bad pick-up group experiences: one who would recruit people only to say "Go. Hunt." over and over again, and one who would recruit people only to say "kill skuls" over and over again.
** "It's always a Nemesis plot" made its ascent with the introduction of Tips: one Hero/Vigilante tip mission in the 30-40 range reveals the existence of a forum based ''entirely around'' making "everything is a Nemesis plot" jokes.
** The "Strong and Pretty" badge was based off a forum post which sang the praises of a War Mace/Energy Aura Brute. With {{MS Paint}} illustrations. The Brute in question was "both strong AND pretty!"
* AsteroidsMonster: Clockwork Princes and Devoured Earth rock and crystal monsters randomly spawn Underling-class enemies after death.
* ATasteOfPower: The first mission of the arc to unlock Incarnate Powers has you 'reliving' a scene from the point of view of your PhysicalGod future self. In it, you are completely invulnerable, and get to smack around Arch-Villain enemies like mooks.
** A villain story arc ends with you having stolen, very briefly, the powers of an EldritchAbomination. Just in time for [[CurbStompBattle an army of heroes to try and take you down]].
** The Sewer Trial offers as a reward one of four temporary powers to boost damage, accuracy, recovery, or regeneration, but it expires after 7 days or when you reach (or have already exceeded, sorry Exemplars!) level 22 (red or blue side).
** A Villain SF has you going after godlike artifacts; it gives a temp power upon completion which seems to be permanent, until you hit level 50 at which point you can trade it in for Incarnate shards.
** The Cathedral of Pain Trial also has a 7 day temp power reward.
** A Villain TF involves you breaking into Positron's base and taking a small bit of the Flames of Prometheus.
* TheAtoner: As of ''Going Rogue'', villains can receive missions that allow them to repent and change alignment. Of course, heroes can receive StartOfDarkness missions to switch sides, too.
** Warshades are aliens who used to possess humans by force and suppress their personality, but have realised that it is better to share their power with willing hosts instead.
** The infamous early archvillain Frostfire appears in high-level tips missions as a hero, making up for his earlier criminal career.
* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: Giant octopus, giant robots, giant amoebas, giant giants, giant walking plants...
** [[http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/File:CoH_Size_Chart.jpg This]] handy comparison chart (and the detail shots) show you just how obscenely huge some of the Giant Monsters can be.
* AttackPatternAlpha: The Council ''loves'' this trope. All of their seemingly endless variations on "Attack formation (something)" essentially boil down to "everybody hit somebody".
* AttentionWhore: Flambeaux, a woman who built herself a set of flame powers and became a superhero simply to get attention and praise. As of ''Going Rogue'', she turned villain because people weren't praising her ''enough'' as a hero. It's still not working like she'd hoped, but she can (and does) at least bomb the offices of magazines that won't print big articles on how glamorous and wonderful she is. This plus her habit of gasping out "But I only wanted to be loved" as she's defeated has predictably earned her the nickname "Flambimbeaux".
** As of ''Freedom'', she appears during Twinshot's arc early in the game at a point in her career when she's still a full hero -- and promptly demonstrates that as far as she's concerned, ''she's'' the player character and ''you're'' the NPC, because no matter what happens, it's all about ''her.'' And if you pay attention to another character's dialogue, she promptly gets annoyed.
** In that same arc, Manticore's computer lists a couple of the arc's characters and points out that she's one of the likeliest members to fall into villainy just to satisfy her attention-seeking.
* AuthorAvatar: a very literal example, most of the game developers will take notable {{NPC}}s as their avatars in the forums and are often referred to by their nicknames.
** Notably Statesman and Positron, who are part of the Surviving Eight because they are [[LegacyCharacter long-run]] {{Champions}}/[[VillainsAndVigilantes Villains & Vigilantes]] characters of two of the original developers.
* AxCrazy: If you're a Scrapper or a Brute, this is pretty much the best way to play them.
* {{Backstory}}: The game's mythology is surprisingly deep and complex, with basically an AlternateHistory of the entire 20th century due to the influence of superheroes. It is also notably original, rather than sampling heavily from any previously established superhero/comic-book mythos (as one might expect).
* BadassBoast: Many. Villains especially get many in badge descriptions [[hottip:*: For instance, the Abyssal Gaze exploration badge gives this description: "A yawning void opens before you, a testament to Hamidon's power, but you are unmoved. You have seen true darkness first hand and it has not kept you from pressing onward. You carry enough darkness within you and its going to take a lot more than a big hole in the ground to impress you. You've gazed into the abyss, and it's gazed into you too; you're both well acquainted with each other and have few secrets left to share."]]
* BadassCreed: The Midnight Squad has theirs written on their banner.
* BadassNormal: Malta humans, Knives of Artemis, Family, Paragon City Police, and a fair number of Natural-origin human heroes.
** Epic villain archetypes are mooks who were fed up seeing supers picked for promotion all the time and decided to show the world what a normal could do.
* TheBaroness: Countess Crey.
* BeneathTheEarth: Oranbega, The Eden Trial, The Hollows' Igneous faction.
* BigBadEnsemble: Lord Recluse is ''the'' BigBad, but Tyrant and Hamidon are currently even greater dangers to Primal Earth. Many of the other villain leaders also have a claim to the title, to varying degrees.
* BizarroUniverse: Praetoria, where all the heroes are evil and all the villains are good.
** At least, that was the original depiction. When Praetoria was made the focus of the expansion, they changed the focus from [[MirrorUniverse Primal Earth with a goatee]] to [[GrayAndGrayMorality the land of moral ambiguity]]. The alignment inversion is in place, but it's much less black and white.
* BlackCloak: The Circle of Thorns.
* BlownAcrossTheRoom: True to its superhero comic origins, gun attacks have a chance of sending the target flying backwards.
* BoringButPractical: Powers that reduce the time you have to wait between fights, such as the now-inherent fitness pool and the option to multi-slot the rest power to use it more often with faster results.
* BrainInAJar: Malta Titans contain these at their core. The Clockwork King has a classic brain-jar, bobbing eyeballs and all. Nemesis' armour-automotons contain artificial brains. Nemesis Warhulks go a step further with entire PeopleJars.
* BraggingRightsReward: Badges and Titles. Certain costume pieces also apply.
* BreastPlate: Some armor pieces, like that of the Widows or the Roman Centurion armor are rather form-fitting.
* BuffySpeak: Flambeaux, during the Twinshot arc, and also standing outside the Atlas Park Wentworth's.
-->''Sorry, hun, but I'm busy shopping. Don't you have something heroey to do?''
* ButThouMust: If you give the wrong password in Darrin Wade's villain arc: "Dad, come on. I know you know this. Are you just testing me to see if I'll call for backup or something? Let's try this again."
* CainAndAbel: [[BigGood Statesman]] and [[BigBad Lord Recluse]] are former friends and brothers-in-law. Talk about a BigScrewedUpFamily now.
* TheCape: While player characters embody this everywhere, actual capes have a very special significance in the game, due in large part to Hero 1, a very well-known Cape who never returned from the SuicideMission to end the Rikti War [[spoiler:at least, not as he was known. Still has the cape though]]. For a time they were banned in Paragon City out of respect for him, and the mission any prospective cape-wearer must do has them learning about him and visiting the Omega Team memorial.
* CapeBusters: The aforementioned Malta Group are an anti-superhero force of [[BadassNormal Badass Normals]]. They are among the toughest enemy groups in the game.
* CaptainErsatz / {{Expy}}: The game's character creator makes it trivially easy to reproduce virtually any published character -- so much so that in 2004 Marvel [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Heroes#Suit_by_Marvel sued NCSoft for trademark infringement]]. (Most of the case was thrown out by the judge, and the remainder was settled out of court.) And even though [=NCSoft=] and Paragon Studios will "generic" any too-blatant Captain Ersatz who comes to their attention, it's still hard to go through an evening's gaming without encountering at least one thinly (or not so thinly) disguised version of a published character.
* CaptainGeographic: Statesman for the USA, Hero 1 for the UK.
** The character creator also allows players to create their own CaptainGeographic.
* CaptainObvious: Parodied and played straight. Mooks often state the obvious. But in one mission a mook who speculates that heroes might be on their way is answered by another mook sarcastically hoping whoever turns up it isn't CaptainObvious. On seeing you the first mook confirms that you are indeed ''not'' CaptainObvious, CompletelyMissingThePoint.
* CardboardPrison: Ziggursky Penitentiary, AKA "The Ziggurat" or "The Zig". Before ''Freedom'', escaping from the Zig was the ''tutorial mission'' for villains.
* CardCarryingVillain: Subverted. They're actually ''less'' evil than the KnightTemplar and VillainWithGoodPublicity groups, apart from (maybe) the Circle of Thorns. They may have [[LampshadeHanging hung a lampshade on it]], as the final stage in creating a character involves you... filling out a villain registration form, presumably so you can get a card that proves you are a villain.
** The villain side of the game seems notably lacking in any concrete villainy.
*** ''Going Rogue'' has introduced a lot more, albeit optional, villainy in the form of the villain morality missions. Some players have admitted feeling very guilty after doing them.
* CatGirl: Mynx and her AlternateUniverse counterpart Bobcat. And a metric ton of player characters, thanks to costume options including cat legs, cat faces, cat eyes, cat markings for your cat faces, whiskers, animated cat tails, a power known as Claws, and ''two'' types of cat ears.
** If while playing or browsing game forums, you run across the phrase "You show me yours and I'll show you mine", this is what it probably refers to. There's an assumption that everybody's got one.
* CementShoes: You occasionally run into a group of Family goons fitting someone with these. if you attack them, the victim will try to [[CrowningMomentOfFunny hop away]].
** Additionally, you can [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential attack the cement shoes victims and still gain the experience points for it]].
* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: PPD Psi-Cops, Arachnos Widows and Fortunatas, and again, many players.
* ChestInsignia: Dozens of selectable ones!
* CherryTapping: The infamous, universal starter power Brawl is often used as a ''coup de grace'' on any enemy (usually an Archvillain towards level 50)) that has barely a sliver of red health left.
** This is also a common usage for the Rock, a one-shot low-damage temporary power you get from trick-or-treating during the Halloween event.
* TheChessmaster: Nemesis. For a lark, browse [[http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Main_Page ParagonWiki]] for a bit and pick out the number of times the phrase "mysterious benefactor" comes up. It's ''always'' Nemesis.
** With issue 12, ''City Of Heroes'' introduced messages for instance mission loading screens. One is "Not everything is a Nemesis plot"; another is "It's all a Nemesis plot."
** And with issue 14, which allows players to create their own missions, a new one has appeared: "If it's not already a Nemesis plot, you can use the Mission Architect to make it one."
** The primary Nemesis contact in ''City of Heroes'', Maxwell Christopher, spends much of his time trying to out-Chessmaster Nemesis, planning for as many possible contingencies as he can think of. [[spoiler:Hilariously, several of his attempts fail and he has as many OhCrap moments when he realizes how much of an UnwittingPawn Nemesis has made of him and you.]]
** [[spoiler: TimeCop organization Ouroboros is lead by a man named Mender Silos who claims to come from the extreme distant future. "Mender Silos" just happens to be an anagram of "Lord Nemesis".]]
*** As of I19, [[spoiler: Mender Ramiel confirms that Silos is a future version of Nemesis from hundreds of thousands of years in the future. He's supposed to have made a HeelFaceTurn by then. Unless that's just what he ''wants'' everyone to think...]]
* TheChosenOne: Framing device in ''City of Villains.'' Before ''Freedom'', new villain characters were broken out of the Zig due to their potential to become the Destined One. [[spoiler:Turns out you ''are'' the Destined One. And so is ''everyone else''. But by the end of the story arc, you aren't anymore.]]
** You are a hero in a city of heroes. And you are The Chosen One. And so is everybody else out there.
* TheChosenMany: In addition to the whole "Destined One" thing, there's the issue of "Incarnates", characters with a fragment of divine power. At first, it appears that Statesman and Lord Recluse are the only Incarnates. Then, it turned out several other characters (such as Sstheno and Trapdoor) can claim Incarnate powers. As of Issue 19, player characters have begun using Incarnate powers, drawing upon the Well of the Furies.
* CircusOfFear: The Carnival of Shadows.
* CityGuards: The invincible Police and Arbiter drones, as well as Longbow and the Paragon Police Department in ''CityOfHeroes'', and ''some'' Arachnos members in ''City of Villains''.
* CityOfAdventure: The whole city.
* CityOfCanals: Founder's Falls, aka "Super-Venice". Also Crey's Folly, whose original name actually ''was'' "Venice".
* ClingyCostume: Positron was permanently stuck in his anti-matter-driven armor for a while. [[IGotBetter He got better]].
* ClockPunk: 99.9% of all Clockwork enemies.
* CloningBlues: In the story arcs added for Issue 17, the player villain takes over [[spoiler:a cloning factory]]. It eventually ventures into MesACrowd territory. See {{Doppelganger}} for the "blue side" equivalent.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Penelope Yin. Her Primal Version seems oblivious to the fact that she's the most powerful psychic in existence. She sees the personal guard of Clockwork following her around as a perfectly normal thing, and acts confused and upset when she can't mentally communicate with her father like she can with most people. Her Praetorian version on the other hand, consistently calls the player "Rusty", seems convinced that she's the princess of "The Mirror Kingdom" and uses amusing childish terminology when giving missions. (Clockwork become "Teddy Bears", Seers become "Playtime Friends"...) [[spoiler: Considering that she's in the "tender care" of Mother Mayhem, many believe that this is ObfuscatingInsanity on Praetorian Yin's part (This is at least partially confirmed by Dark Watcher near the end of her mission arc.)]]
** Also, a minor [=NPC=] villain known as Shock Treatment. At one point, you find her fighting in an Arachnos Base, trying to get vengeance on behalf of her appliances
--> '''Shock Treatment:''' For my toothbrush!
* CognizantLimbs: Lusca has cognizant tentacles. The Hydra has cognizant tentacles with faces on them. The Hamidon has cognizant ''mitochondria''.
* ColonCancer: Rikti communication: in this manner, with the Mark II translators. Mark III translators, the first time they're used, cause the Rikti using it to comment on our adorably primitive causation structures.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: Energy blasts and lightning used to be blue for heroes and red for villains; similarly, the "neutral zone" nightclub Pocket D is blue on the heroes' side and red on the villains'. The default (customizable) interface colors also correspond to "blue side" and "red side". Going Rogue's default color is yellow.
** Other neutral zones will also color the designated hero and villain exits in blue and red, respectively. The Midnighter's Club is one example. An exception probably occurs in The Rikti War Zone: the exits have "PARAGON CITY" and "ROGUE ISLES" painted on the walls because the Vanguard base is too well lit to accommodate the blue and red color code.
** Also the trays for Praetorian characters are grey.
** Since the color spectrum added for issue 16, it's convenient so you can see which blasts are your attacks.
** If the Circle of Thorns has dominion over any part of a zone, there will be large glowing crystals with color-coded effects on characters standing near them. Red crystals drain HP, green ones replenish it, and blue ones refill endurance.
* CombatStilettos: Lots of the clothing options for females.
* CombiningMecha: The Malta Group's Hercules Titans.
* ComboPlatterPowers: Every player (except epic archetypes) gets to pick a primary power set and a secondary one. Usually sets can be paired thematically, but you are under no obligation (and rarely any penalty) to pick said combos; you can choose to have one fire-based and one ice-based set for example.
** The most commonly cited synchronicity is [[TheStraightAndArrowPath Trick Arrow/Archery]], where if you pick both, you generally keep your bow drawn, making both power sets faster. This has been a source of contention between the players and developers; the players have always insisted this was true while the developers have vacillated.
* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: Anyone with Teleport can use it to teleport almost anywhere they can see up to a certain (variable) range. For players, this means they can't teleport through walls in indoor missions. For enemy critters, this restriction does not apply; teleporting enemies can and will instantaneously transport halfway across the mission map, through several walls, to escape you.
** [=NPCs=] that are meant to resemble player characters often have powers at far lower levels than players can (Rogues' Gallery epic blasts, Desdemona and Doppelgangers being the worst offenders) or have different, better versions (such as Longbow Wardens' undisableable Quills or Carnival Illusionists' super-phase).
* ContinuingIsPainful: Miss a gate on a ski race? Tough luck. Crawl back up and finish the race, because there's no way to abort it.
* ConservationOfNinjutsu: An actual game mechanic for the mastermind. As he gains the ability to summon more minions, they become individually less powerful. At high levels the base minions tend to die a lot. But hey, that's what minions are ''for''.
** Several tanker/brute powersets have a power that increases certain stats based on the number of foes surrounding them, making them harder to kill. Not only that, but these powers also make the bad guys want to attack you more, so they stick around.
* ConspicuouslySelectivePerception: See the entry.
* CopyAndPasteEnvironments: Each building/cave's rooms and corridors come in several different flavors and with different features. However, many office and warehouse missions have remarkably similar layouts for their buildings. After a while they all start to look the same.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: The Countess Crey, and Crey Industries in general. Kirk Cage, and the Cage Consortium in general.
* CosmeticAward: Badges and costume options.
* CosmicRetcon: The [=PsychoChronoMetron=] of the Faultline arc allows a psychic user to alter reality.
** ContinuitySnarl: The one use of it caused this, and the death of its inventor, [[spoiler:when he tried to turn the hero Faultline into a villain, as well as misinterpreting his powers. As a result, a lot of information on Faultline is... confused.]]
*** Well generally [[spoiler: when you try to brute force a change in reality with absolutely no idea what you're doing, it tends to make things go wonky. We're lucky he didn't cause a CriticalExistenceFailure to reality.]]
* CurseEscapeClause: It is possible for a PC in ''City of Villains'' to get cursed by the Circle of Thorns to something truly nasty; the curse can be broken by killing the demon intended to finish fulfilling it.
* CutLexLuthorACheck: [=NPCs=] will hold victims hostage, hide out after a heist, or just make a base of operations for their goal in caves that are littered with gem stones the size of coffee tables. Never once do they think to mine this huge rock and sell it.
** Because large quantities of gemstones being readily available to the market lowers their value.
* {{Cutscene}}: Implemented as of Issue 6. Some hate them, others wish there were more.
* CyberPunk: The Freakshow.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Not literally, but one of the new Incarnate components is actually ''called'' Forbidden Technique!
* DarkIsNotEvil: The "Darkness" power sets are available to heroes and villains, and heroes can easily be made to look this way. Infernal is a big time canon example.
** With Power Customisation, nor is it [[LogicBomb necessarily dark.]]
* DeadlyDoctor: Dr. Vahzilok.
* DealWithTheDevil: Player characters' origins aside, the Hellions are a Satan-worshiping street-gang whose leaders have gained flame powers. The Circle of Thorns are sorcerers who long ago dealt with demons to defeat their enemies, and have had a lot of time to regret it. In City of Villains, one mission arc has you helping the beneficiary of such a deal to weasel out of it.
* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: Above level 10, dying results in a certain amount of experience debt, where half of the XP earned goes to paying off that debt, while the other half is used to progress as normal. Also justified in-game, in that all heroes and villains are issued medicom patches that stabilize the wearer and teleport them to a hospital in the case of their vital signs dipping below a certain point.
** Recent updates have added "patrol XP" which doubles-ish your XP gain for a time proportional to how long you've been logged off -- dying while you have any will reduce that time, you won't even accrue debt.
** There's even a "Debt Paid" line of badges, so dying a lot earns you a CosmeticAward or six.
* DegradedBoss
* {{Determinator}}: Many characters in-story, of course. The Willpower set is an example of just showing true grit while not technically being related to super powers.
** The Arachnos Soldier and Arachnos Widow classes are so determined that [[spoiler: according to Kalinda they warped reality. They weren't originally Destined Ones, but they ''become'' them by sheer force of will]].
* DevelopmentGag: A long history of them.
** Just one example. A long-standing bug was that, if the game couldn't find the proper model to display for a hostage, it would use the first model on the list -- a [[ThoseWackyNazis 5th Column]] [[MechaMook Mek Man]]. Fast forward several issues to two 5th Column {{Mook}}s discussing whether disguising robots in hard light holograms will work. And in an example of [[{{Irony}} Cosmic Irony]], said dialogue happened in the issue which broke ''that'' bug (now instead of a Mek Man there is another model, a 5th leader).
* DidNotDoTheResearch: Rhode Island couldn't hold a metropolis, unless the whole state was one city. But honestly, do you really care?
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Ancient goddess rousing her people to revolt and conquer the world? Go beat her up. Alone if you have to. She won't even be as powerful as that one guy possessed by a space alien.
** See also the Cherrytapping entry above
* DieChairDie: Mayhem missions in ''City Of Villains'', where you get extra time for destroying scenery. There is even a powerup available that has an amount of property damage among its prerequisites[[hottip:+ :100 cars, 25 hydrants, 25 mailboxes, 25 newspaper stands, 25 pay phones, 10 bank vaults, 10 burned buildings, 1000 cops, 1000 Longbow and 25 hero [=NPCs=]]].
* DoomyDoomsOfDoom: "DOOOOOOOOOOOM!!" is actually [[MemeticMutation a catchphrase used among the community]] to poke fun at the [[RuinedForever rioting that ensues whenever a major announcement is made.]].
* DoorToBefore: The "Exit Mission" button.
* {{Doppelganger}}: In the story arcs added for Issue 17, every player hero has one. [[spoiler:Two, actually; one's your standard EvilTwin, the other is nobler than you from a MirrorUniverse.]] See CloningBlues for the "red side" equivalent.
* DoWellButNotPerfect: If you complete a ski race good enough to earn the gold medal, you won't get the silver and bronze ones.
* DownTheDrain: Sewer missions which give you the constant nagging feeling that you're wading around in the combined filth of an entire city.
* TheDragon: Several for each major villain.
** Bonus points for the Rikti, because one of their bosses actually goes by the name of Dra'Gon.
** Lord Recluse has four dragons (Mako, Scirocco, Ghost Widow and Black Scorpion). Each of ''these'' villains has a Dragon of their own!
* DramaticWind
* {{Dronejam}}
* EasterEgg: Many throughout the game. Even a badge called such.
* ElaborateUndergroundBase: Many a mission map. Also, starting with Issue 6, supergroups can build their own.
* TheElectricSlide: It is technically possible given that power lines act like any other surface but there's no real point in doing so.
** Even better, there is a VIP power that is called Prestige Power: Slide.
* EldritchAbomination: Several.
** The region known as Dark Astoria was a thriving upper-class suburb until the Rikti War, when an ancient cult took advantage of the confusion to sacrifice every man, woman, and child in the place to an ancient horror that sleeps beneath Moth Cemetary known as "Mot"
** There is a Lovecraft-style Eldritch Abomination lying beneath Sharkhead Isle named "The Leviathan" complete with a Shadow Over Innsmouth-style race of fish-people that worship it.
** The ancient deities of the Mu, the Oranbegans, the Banished Pantheon, and the Corallax are all implied to be from the same larger sphere of demideific beings, all of whom are either trapped, dead, or sleeping at the moment.
** A football-stadium-sized single-celled organism with reality-warping powers is what remains of a human scientist by the name of Hamidon. Similarly, Rularuu, whose power was so great that when he was imprisoned within another dimension he immediately took control of it and became a being of godlike power, is implied by certain in-game text to also be a former human.
** There is another entity that has no true form, only a human-given nickname, is ancient, timeless, has the power to bend reality and span dimensions, and has no apparent grasp of or concern for human morality. It is known as the Well of the Furies, and all current end-game content currently revolves around the thin line between you mastering its power and its power mastering you.
* ElementalRockPaperScissors: Present, but not universal. There are several notable cases of elemental-powered enemies being resistant against their own element, but weak against the opposite. On the other hand, Freakshow both use and are weak to Energy attacks. For the player side of things, elemental armors tend to have the opposing element's damage type as their weakest resist.
* EleventhHourSuperpower: Several of the tier 9 powers are used like this.
* EliteMooks: Every evil organization has 'em.
* EmoteAnimation
* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: More times than you can count. Although it never is.
* EnemyCivilWar: Warburg breaking off from the Rogue Isles and the Rikti's clash between the Traditionalists and the Restructurists.
** Also, the Council splintered off from the 5th Column, and there was a civil war in-game when the group was introduced. With the return of the 5th Column in a later update, the two groups occasionally go at it again in some zones.
* EnemyChatter
* EnemyMine: Heroes and Villains can fight together during various special events in [[BadGuyBar Pocket D]], as well as in the Rikti War Zone against [[ScaryDogmaticAliens the Rikti]] and in the ancient Roman peninsula of Cimerora.
** Issue 19 will also see an invasion of Primal Earth from Praetoria, giving both sides of the alignment spectrum (and everyone in between) an enemy that can only be fought off by pooling resources.
* EnemyWithout: Inverted: Rularuu the Ravager, a god-like being from AnotherDimension, has a Hero Without in the form of Faathim the Kind.
* EnergyBeings: Kheldians.
* EscortMission: With varying degrees of [[ScrappyLevel scrappyness]]; most of the time the escort-ee cannot actually be attacked, sometimes they are a powerful ally and capable of taking care of themselves, and sometimes [[ArtificialStupidity they run off and attack]] [[LeeroyJenkins every foe in sight like an idiot.]]
** Hi, Lady Jane! My completely full team on the lowest difficulty level is here to help you, even with the [[DemonicSpiders Circle of Thorns being absolutely ridiculous at this level]], I hope we ca-- Oh. You've died.
*** Thankfully, they managed to tone her down in a recent update. And even if she does die, you are still handed the item you came for "just before she teleports out."
** On the Lady Grey Task Force, you get an escort mission of two superhero sisters -- Infernia and Glacia -- whom you have to lead back to the door for successful mission. However, Infernia is such a ExpletiveDeleted chatterer ''who won't shut up'' that a good number of teams simply have the ambushes kill her and be done with it.
*** "Die, Infernia, [=DIE=]!!!"
* EqualOpportunityEvil: A lot of enemy groups are all-male (and two, the Cabal and the Knives of Artemis, are all-female), but Crey Industries, the Carnival of Shadows and Arachnos all have both male and female minions. And who knows what gender the Circle of Thorns are under all those robes?
** On the villain side, Longbow is an Equal Opportunity ''Good'' enemy group.
** And in Praetoria, the Resistance, the Destroyers, the Syndicate and, oddly enough, the Clockworks. The Ghouls ''might'' be, but are so heavily mutated that it's impossible to tell for sure. The PPD may qualify as well, if you count the Seers as part of their forces.
** A late 2011 graphical update to the Circle of Thorns now makes it clear what gender they are under all those robes; some of them have breasts, showing that yes, they really are an EqualOpportunityEvil group.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Some ''City of Villains'' missions have you taking on someone who has sunk to a level that disgusts even your character. Subverted if you take Westin Phipps' missions, which have you acting even ''worse''. [[spoiler:Double subverted if you choose to fail the last mission of his Francine Primm StoryArc, letting Ms. Primm escape to Paragon City in order to continue teaching reformed villains. If you do so, she sends you her syllabus and writes "It's never too late" on the back.]]
** As a Villain you can't hurt civilians.
** Lord Recluse stayed neutral during WorldWarII. Even a literal [[DemonicSpiders demonic spider]] hates Nazis.
** Most of the Rogue alignment missions are this.
* EverythingFades: The devs keep this vague on purpose; the official terminology is "defeat", which leaves the implication that a player can decide what fate his character inflicts on unfortunate opponents, from teleportation to the local CardboardPrison (Zigursky Federal Penitentiary) to leaving them roughed up but alive to leaving thousands of corpses in your wake. Exactly how you non-lethally subdue someone with a powerset that is primarily ''Lethal'' damage (such as Assault Rifle or Broadsword) is never explained.
** This changes in ''Going Rogue''. There are several instances in Praetoria where you're given the option to kill people. Not defeat, ''kill''. Most of them for treason.
** There is even a ''hero'' side mission in the ''starting zone'' of issue 21 where you get a "arrest" or "Kill" option.
* EvilMinions: Enemies even spawn in a "Minion" class. Also, play a Mastermind, and you get your own army of them. Inverted with the ''good'' minions certain high-level heroes get.
** As of Going Rogue, you can now have Good (or at least [[AntiHero Anti-Heroic]]) masterminds from Pretoria, or [[HeelFaceTurn evil masterminds turned good]].
* EvilTwin: The leaders of the Praetorian dimension are an evil Freedom Phalanx.
** [[spoiler: You can meet your own as of Issue 17]].
* EvilVersusEvil: Much of ''City of Villains''' missions.
* ExpandedUniverse: Comics and novels.
* ExpansionPack: ''City of Villains''; marketed as an "expandalone", since it could be played as a separate game. The game's major updates (known as Issues) fall in this category as well, happily adding a full pack's worth of content for free each time. ''Going Rogue'' will be a traditional paid expansion pack, though it will also be available in a ''Complete Edition'' with the base [=CoX=] game, [[AndYourRewardIsClothes bonus costume pack]], and 30 days of game time that you'll get even if you already own the base game.
* FaceHeelTurn / HeelFaceTurn / FaceHeelRevolvingDoor: The signature gameplay element of the ''Going Rogue'' expansion. Its mascots are an Arachnos-employed demon summoner who was lied to about her mother's death and a heroic KnightTemplar superhero who became an insane vigilante. You can even have a hero turn into a villain then work their way back into being a hero again! (The same is true of villains.)
* FacelessEye: Some of the inhabitants of the Shadow Shard.
* FacelessGoons
* FanDisservice: The default female Zombie costume is {{stripperiffic}}.
* FanNickname: When the Council were first introduced, they were known by many as "Sazis" or "Spazis" (for "Space Nazis"). Seems to have died out, though some still call the masked Galaxy soldiers "[[MaskedLuchador luchadores]]".
** Rommy and the Fuzzies, for Romulus Augustus and his three Nictus, who look like floating balls of purple black smoke. Boobcat for the new Praetoria revamp of [[{{Stripperiffic}} Bobcat's costume]]. Hami-O's for Hamidon Origin Enhancements. Quite a few signature characters have shortened versions for ease of use: States, Posi, [=BABs=], Manti, GW, Scorp, [[AndZoidberg and DocQ]].
** Flambimbeaux.
** The new tutorial level for ''Going Rogue'' has been referred to as the "Praetorial".
** The underground city of Orangebagel.
** Certain terms for players who play "hybrid" character, like "scranker" for a player who plays a tank but acts like a scrapper, or vice-versa. More [[http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Category:Archetype_Mash_Up here.]]
* {{Feelies}}: Including HeroClix of the signature characters.
* FetchQuest: Plenty of them.
* FlyingFirepower: mix a range ability with flight, and you are one.
* FightingAShadow: The "shadows" are actually a ''basic boss'' for the Nemesis faction -- being the MagnificentBastard that their titular leader is, his {{Power Armor}}s have a very advanced AI that can work on it's own. "Fake Nemeses" are, as one might guess, spare suits that have been activated to serve as field commanders/doppelgangers.
* FiveBadBand: The leaders of Arachnos.
* {{Flashback}}: Via the aptly-named Flashback system, complete with [[DeliberatelyMonochrome sepia tones]] at the beginning and end of missions.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The devs have gotten very good at hinting at their plans through current updates. For instance, Requiem and the 5th Column turned out to be TheManBehindTheMan in [[spoiler:Cimerora]], Issue 12, before the Column made their triumphant return in Issue 15.
** On the other hand, the "Coming Storm" had been languishing in the background with (seemingly) no developments ever since Issue 11. [[spoiler:Issue 17's new arcs made mention of it for the first time in years, and now FINALLY the first wave of it hit, destroying Galaxy City and thus creating the new Tutorial area. And it's apparently just the tip of the iceberg, according to Prometheus...]]
** Also lampshaded and played straight with Foreshadow a hero who alternates between good and evil every time he dies and is reincarnated. Which foreshadowed Going Rogue years before it ever happened
* FragileSpeedster: Any Blaster with the Speed travel power.
** LightningBruiser: Any Tanker/Scrapper with the Speed travel power.
* FridgeBrilliance: the CosmicRetcon above also explains where every new character has to do similar missions: Time gets rewound. Making the ever repeating missions your alts have to do perfectly Justified!
* FogOfWar: While most zone maps are completely visible from the start, the various hazard zones must be revealed via exploration. Averted for some players in that a recent high-level Veteran's Reward negates this.
** To a far smaller degree, the Steamy Mist power from the Storm Summoning set is quite literally a small-radius movable Fog of War centered on the user's person.
*** A full group of high level players fighting for their lives can send up a truly epic amount of particle spam, making it effectively impossible to see what is going on on your screen.
* FriendlyFireproof: You can't set team-mates or hostages on fire. Unless your power ''is'' [[HealItWithFire setting allies]] [[IncendiaryExponent on fire]].
** [[http://threepanelsoul.com/2007/08/13/on-corruption/ DID YOU JUST MAKE ME FLAMING??]]
** Enemy [=NPCs=] with Confuse powers can force you to treat them this way.
* GambitRoulette: [[{{Magnificent Bastard}} Lord Nemesis]].
* GameBreaker: Incarnate abilities are this in-universe, especially the fully-developed, not-controlled-by-the-Well version. Players will (likely) never get the full extent shown in one future flashback mission where Archvillains (the toughest regular foes in the game) are defeated with laughable ease.
* GenderBender: Possible with the third booster pack, Super Science... but please, for the love of all that is holy, [[InternetBackdraft don't bring it up on the forums.]]
** [[AlternateUniverse Fusion and Jane Temblor]].
* GeniusBruiser: Sometimes mooks standing on the street corners will come out with hilariously insightful comments about their career path or how sometimes to be a catalyst of change you have to kick people.
* GetOnTheBoat
* GhostPlanet: Several of the [[AnotherDimension other dimensions]] you get to visit. How they got that way is usually NightmareFuel.
* GlassCannon: Blasters' tendency to get killed in any particular fight has lead to Blaster players referring to themselves as members of the "Floor inspectors' union".
** Fiery Aura, in compared to other armor sets, also counts. No defense, lower resists compared to Electric Armor and Dark Armor, but has a Area of Effect attack, damage aura and a damage boosting power.
** Arguably Stalkers, with the most damaging critical hit in the entire game capable of a OneHitKill even with some bosses ([[BackStab as long as it's from Hidden status]]) but low hit points and relatively weak defence.
* GlorySeeker: The "Power" storyline of the Loyalists in Praetoria revolves around your character being this, a fame seeker motivated to gain the adoration of the masses whatever the cost.
* GoingThroughTheMotions
* GoodGuyBar: Pocket D is a neutral-zone club for all characters.
* GradualGrinder: Controller/Dominator primaries work that way. Debuff-based Defenders when soloing.
* GreyAndGreyMorality: [[{{Utopia Justifies The Means}} The Loyalists]] versus [[{{The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized}} The Resistance]] in [[{{Mirror Universe}} Praetoria]]. To put it another way, would you rather defend a society where free thought is abolished and civil rights barely exist... or would you rather destroy the last remnants of civilized society in the name of "freedom?" Tyranny or Anarchy, take your pick! (And no, you don't get a [[TakeAThirdOption third option.]]) A character from either side can become a hero or villain, depending on your specific choices during game play.
** And within each side, there's a BlackAndWhiteMorality. Loyalists can take the [[GloryHound Power]] or [[IDidWhatIHadToDo Responsibility]] paths, and Resistance can take the [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeVillified Warden]] or [[OmnicidalManiac Crusader]] paths.
* GunsAkimbo[=/=]GunKata: The Dual Pistols powerset, available to Blasters, Defenders, Corruptors and Thug Masterminds. You have to be VIP, have bought them at the Paragon Shop, or have bought Going Rogue in order to get them though.
* {{Hammerspace}}: Characters draw their weapons from thin air. Occasionally, enemies already with a weapon will put it away or leave it slung across their back, and draw another, different weapon from nowhere. Valkyrie is the primary example of the latter.
* HandBlast: The Blaster archetype runs on this. For at least half of the power sets, the first few powers involve firing fire, ice, radiation, energy, etc. from the hands.
* HandWrapsOfAwesome: one of the costume options for gloves.
* HelloInsertNameHere
* HeKnowsAboutTimedHits
* HeroesRUs
* HideYourChildren: Except for Penny Preston and player characters, although the latter is mostly illusory.
* HijackedByGanon: Nemesis, mostly. Requiem's pulled it a couple times too.
* HomingBoulders: The Trope Namer. The success of a ranged attack is determined before or just as the attack animation begins, resulting in misses that always travel in straight lines, and hits that chase their targets down and pass unimpeded through solid objects in order to reach them.
** Subverted in the same fashion; when a ranged attack misses "in a straight line," this is slightly off to the side when shot from across the room. When shot from point blank, it's hardly uncommon to see a fireball/lightning/ice blast/whatever suddenly shooting straight up or out to the side.
* HumongousMecha: Malta Titans, especially the Kronos Class Titan. Depending on the definition, the Clockwork giant monsters may also apply. Also the [[spoiler:Giant Zenith Mech from the last mission in the Hess Task Force on Striga Isle and the two repainted clones of it in the Imperious Task Force in Cimerora, although they're more properly part of the setting rather than an opponent]].
* HundredPercentHeroismRating
* IdleAnimation: The character cycles between several stances, including standing boldly with chest outthrust, crossing his/her arms, and placing their hands on their hips. The player can also pick one for AFK if they wish, such as reading a newspaper or listening to a police radio.
** Also happens for [=NPCs=]. The default is punching a fist into a palm and the odd "bring it on!" gesture, but some enemy groups have their own, like standing at attention, sitting on boxes and cleaning weapons, or ''reading books and making tea.''
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: A lot of the reasoning that shows up in Vigilante tip missions.
* IGotARock: A ShoutOut during the Halloween events is that one of the "treats" you can get is a rock. Description: "You got a rock". Deals minor damage, and is prized by some for CherryTapping.
* IJustWantToBeLoved: Motivation and frequent line of dialogue for NPC ex-heroine Flambeaux.
* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: Your chance of hitting with ranged attacks is determined by your accuracy stat, and if you miss, the projectile physically misses the target. If you're firing at point-blank range, this can result in you shooting sideways, or straight up in the air.
** Becomes somewhat egregious when the attacks in question are EyeBeams.
* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: Many of the female options for clothing are possible to wear only if one's special abilities include attaching clothes with a nailgun.
* ImpossiblyLowNeckline
* InescapableAmbush
* InnBetweenTheWorlds: The Pocket D, an interdimensional Night Club.
* InstantDeathRadius: Anything based on fire.
* InterfaceScrew:
** The Confusion status effect, which only allows you to target friendlies with your attacks and enemies with your support.
** A specific case in Noble Savage's final mission in First Ward: [[spoiler:Your character starts flipping out and shouting [[BoldInflation IN ALL CAPS]] when talking to people for no reason, and when you first enter the mission, the objective is (paraphrased) "Two poor souls who are possessing useless DUST shells to EAT" instead of "Two DUST Leader-possessing Apparitions to defeat."]] It's earnestly a little creepy. [[spoiler:It turns out you were [[DemonicPossession being possessed]] by the last Apparition you defeated -- during the course of the mission, the Apparition leaves your body to try and possess Katie Douglas, and the mission objective reverts to a more normal phrasing.]]
* InUniverseGameClock
* InvisibleWall: Averted: ''CityOfHeroes'' has [[JustifiedTrope very visible]] War Walls. ''City Of Villains'' has unexplained blue force fields that are only visible up close.
** Praetoria has sonic inhibitors in place of War Walls. Getting too close to a "restricted area" will shut off your powers and cause you physical harm. The Blue Forcefields used on mission maps and City of Villains zones are visible if you manage to get close enough to the edge without dying, or travel between Praetorian Zones via bridge.
* InvulnerableCivilians
* {{Irony}}: Paragon City is in Rhode Island. The zone for City of Villains is called The Rogue Isles. When Rhode Island was originally founded with the idea of creating a place of religious freedom, it was called "Rogues' Island" by the Puritans of Massachusetts.
* ISOStandardUrbanGroceries: Carried by some of the InvulnerableCivilians.
* ItemCrafting: The Invention system.
* JackOfAllStats: The Scrapper is the most balanced of the Archetypes, falling midway between the Blaster and Tanker in terms of its ability to both dish out and soak up damage. Scrappers therefore have the greatest survivability in solo play, but the downside is that in team play they lack a clearly-defined role and tend to be overshadowed by the more specialized Archetypes.
** ...which is fine with them because they'll gladly go off and solo the other half of the map. And that's fine with you because you're getting a share of that experience.
** Since side-switching became available, the Brute has fallen into this. Offensively, they're weaker than Scrappers, but stronger than Tankers (and vice-versa for defenses).
** Lacking a clearly defined team role isn't necessarily a bad thing. Scrappers can provide some minimal team buffs with the Leadership pool, and Invention Origin buffs can bring them to the point where they can tank archvillains. Regeneration is particularly notable for Moment of Glory, which has been known to stop team wipes on the Statesman Task Force when the Tanker/Brute goes down and the Scrapper uses it to tank Lord Recluse long enough for the Tanker/Brute to be rezzed.
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: Villain missions undertaken as a Vigilante are this, to a hilarious degree -- blowing up a Longbow base to teach them a lesson about being complacent, destroying a charity event because no one in the Rogue Isles deserves charity, ''murdering a kidnapped girl, faking a distress call with a promised reward, and then killing any heroes who try to come rescue her since they were probably doing it for the reward''...
** Issue 19 added new tip missions for Vigilantes trying to become Villains and Rogues trying to become Heroes, which are much better written while still playing this trope straight -- that is to say, Vigilantes jump off the slippery slope in a much more realistic and believable manner (along with Rogues...getting...''back up'' the slippery slope?).
* JumpPhysics
* JustifiedTutorial: Containing a viral outbreak in ''City of Heroes'' and breaking out of jail in ''City of Villains'' (both of which were retconned away when ''Freedom'' launched; now, in either case, you're evacuating from Galaxy City as it's hit by Shivan meteors); going through Powers Division training (and choosing to side with the Resistance or Loyalists) in ''Going Rogue''.
* KarmaMeter: But not of the {{Bioware}} sort. Rather, each alignment (Hero, Vigilante, Rogue, and Villain) has their own bar, and completing Tip Missions will give you an alignment point for the respective bar. After filling up the bar by doing 10 missions towards that alignment, you'll end up with a Morality Mission that will allow you to make the hard switch to that alignment.
* KickTheDog: Westin Phipps, whose missions have you kidnapping families, poisoning food meant for the homeless, and other monstrous things for no reason but ForTheEvulz. Some players think he's too evil. Other players think he's ''not evil enough''. Also that one mission where you go to Paragon City and kidnap civilians and hand them over to Dr. Vahzilok's minions so the Paragon Police will go after him and distract him from his plans in the Rogue Isles.
* KillerSpaceMonkey: Rikti monkeys.
* KnightTemplar: Scirocco embodies this during his Patron arc, and Longbow sometimes indulges in tendencies like this. Malta, without a doubt, is made of these.
** Pretty much literal with the on-a-mission-from-God Luddites.
*** ...although they're actually ''right'', at least about Dr Aeon.
** Player characters can become one themselves as both a Vigilante and with the Crusader Resistance faction.
* KryptoniteFactor: Especially bad for the Peacebringers and Warshades, whose presence on a team [[KryptoniteIsEverywhere causes special enemies to spawn specifically to hose them]].
* LargeHam: Romulus Augustus' transformation, right down to larger font.
* LaughablyEvil: [[MadScientist Dr. Thaddeous Aeon]]. His scatterbrained megalomania (complete with DidIJustSayThatOutLoud) is just so ''cute''!
** Ditto up-and-coming Mad Lab Assistant Vernon von Grun. He even tells you to laugh with him at one point. (Anyone who doesn't, for real, is not getting into the spirit of this arc.)
** The Freakshow as well. Everything they say and do is ridiculously hilarious.
*** Combine the two and you have Doc Buzzsaw:
---> "[[ScienceIsBad Oh, what has science wrought?]] [[TemptingFate I sought only to turn a man into a metal-encased juggernaut of destruction]] powered by the unknown properties of a [[GreenRocks mysterious living crystal]]. [[GoneHorriblyWrong How could this have all gone wrong?]]"
* LazyArtist: The never-ending supply of generic, near-identical warehouses with random floor plans. And the office buildings. And the caves.
* LeakedExperience
* LeaveNoWitnesses: In ''City of Villains'', sometimes an explicit mission objective.
* LeeroyJenkins: As a ShoutOut, no less.
** And far, far too many players in bad pick up groups to count.
* LeetLingo: The Freakshow tend to speak in [=l33t=]. Nobody really knows how they can pronounce it. Lampshaded on a regular basis.
* LegacyCharacter: The current Manticore took up his father's role after his murder.
** Also, in a Villain-Only [[TimePolice Ouroboros]] mission you get to fight the mother (And former nameholder) of Miss Liberty.
*** Well technically the mother is Miss Liberty, her daughter is Ms Liberty. Yes, they're confused all the time.
* LevelFiveOnix
* LevelGrinding: Although the devs do their best to minimize it.
* LevelScaling: While enemies in open world areas have fixed levels, most missions are instanced, and the instances are scaled to player levels and group sizes. In case of the flashback system that allows high-level heroes to revisit low-level missions, the ''player'' is scaled in level to match the mission difficulty.
* LevitatingLotusPosition: The lotus pose and lotus-with-levitation are stock poses, although the latter is more a fortuitous accident stemming from the various "sit" emotes still being available to a toon in flight.
* LibertyOverProsperity: If you create your character in Praetoria, the squeaky-clean police-state, you defect to Primal Earth (the main game setting) at level 20. Either because you believe that liberty is worth the chaos that comes with it, or because it'll make being a villain easier.
* LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition: Standard editions, DVD Collector's Editions, Good vs. Evil pack...
* LoadBearingBoss: The end of the last mission in the [[spoiler: Ernesto Hess]] Task Force is a nasty shock your first time through...
* LostForever: Formerly the badges from the tutorial missions. Ouroboros was added to the game for the explicit ''purpose'' of averting this trope; today, only the anniversary badges can truly be considered to be LostForever.
* MacGuffin: Including a literal [[FunWithAcronyms P.L.O.T. Device]].
** Steven Werner's precious item, which is never described in more detail.
* MadeOfIron: No one ever really explains how archetypes with no defenses (Blasters, Masterminds, etc) can take a bullet to the chest without flinching.
** MadeOfDiamond: Some of the Tier 9 moves skyrocket your defense for about 3 minutes. Moment of Glory takes this UpToEleven by combining two Tier 9 effects, but only for 15 seconds.
* MadScientist: Several of them, from the Praetorian Anti-Matter to Dr. Aeon.
* MagikarpPower
* ManaMeter: Called "Endurance" here.
* MetaOrigin: The Well Of The Furies, a [[BrokenBase very controversial]] and often misunderstood bit of lore. Originally described as being a literal [[AppliedPhlebotinum Fountain of Phelebotinum]] that could grant anyone who tasted its waters [[AGodAmI the powers of a deity]], it has since been [[Retcon retconned] to become a semi-sentient entity responsible for spreading superpowers throughout the world to fulfill its own mysterious agenda.
** By completing the Dark Astoria storyline, Prometheus reveals that [[spoiler:the Well is actually something called a Force of Potential, formed from the collective thoughts and ideals of humanity. Every species in the multiverse has a Force of Potential, but some have been consumed by members of the species going OneWingedAngel, and others are being hunted by a mysterious force called The Batallion.]]
* {{Mecha-Mooks}}: The Clockwork are an entire faction of these; in addition, The Council, the 5th Column, Arachnos, Nemesis, Malta, and the Sky Raiders all have their own punchable robots.
** Also, Mastermind villain [=PCs=] can have mecha-mooks of their own, with the Robots power set.
** ''Going Rogue'' brings graphical updates for the Praetorian Clockwork, providing male, female, huge, and Giant Monster flavors of Mecha Mooks.
* MightyGlacier: Stone Tankers and Brutes. As well, Ice Tankers can usually move as fast as anybody else -- except when using the tier 9 power, Hibernate, which renders you immobile, invulnerable, and incapable of attacking, but boosts your regen and recovery.
* MindScrew: The villainous Television contact, which has you taking orders from [[TheSimpsons Bart Simpson]], burning books and blaming it on videogames, and going ''into'' a gangster movie to defeat Nemesis troops, among other weirdness.
** Some Vigilante-to-Villain morality missions follow the idea that your character is becoming evil via descent into madness. To symbolize this, those missions will delve into MindScrew territory.
* MirroredConfrontationShot: The Good vs. Evil box art.
* MirrorUniverse: Praetorian Earth... sort of.
* MookMaker: Of both the fixed type, in Circle of Thorns demon portals, and the recurring one, in Rikti Communication Officers summoning Portals. Both type earn much ire from the playerbase for the fact that, while the summoner offers decent rewards, all the Mooks offer none.
* MookPromotion: The basis for the Arachnos player character plot line.
* MoneySpider: Especially since the introduction of Inventions.
* MontyHaul: Some players design their Mission Architect arcs like this, much to the developers' dismay.
* MostCommonSuperPower: It's still impossible to make a heroine with less than a C-cup.
** You can go a good way towards making a flat-chested female by giving her the armored upper body costume piece.
** For some bizarre reason, some ''robots'' have this.
* {{Motormouth}}: Trope, thy name is Incendia. Flambeaux during the Twinshot arc also qualifies.
* NameOfCain: "Cutter Cain", who kills Praetorian Seers, typically with a knife, in ''Going Rogue.'' [[spoiler: Subverted in that his real name is Doctor Steffard, and he's actually a [[LaResistance Resistance]] [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeVilified Warden]] trying to help them by removing cybernetic implants binding them to mindless slavery; but the science is so experimental it's not always successful, and at least one was killed by a remote kill-signal in the implants after he had released her.]]
* NebulousEvilOrganisation: Malta, Arachnos, the Council, the Nemesis Army...
* NerfArm: Intentionally averted: the developers want customizable weapons to still ''look'' like they should do significant damage. Nevertheless, a Nerf bat option remains one of the more popular requests.
** That's only because it's ALREADY in the game, but as a dev-only power, which they'll use to smack people dead in one it if you annoy them!
** That said, some of the options are still not entirely serious-looking (for example, one of the battle axe options is a shovel, one of the shield options is a manhole cover, and among the war mace options are a wooden baseball bat, a variety of pipe wrenches, a bone club, and... a shovel).
*** You think a shovel doesn't make a good battle axe? Look up "[[WorldWarOne entrenching tool]]" some time.
* NewsTravelsFast: Even ''backwards in time''.
* {{NGO}}: Vanguard, a branch of the U.N. specifically created to handle invasions by the Rikti and other outsiders, and coordinate the efforts of both heroes and villains. Occasionally seems to veer into {{NGO Superpower}}.
* [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Nice Job Breaking It Vigilante]]: the 30 range Vigilante Morality Mission revolves around the player character discovering that Frostfire is about to get OffOnATechnicality, and deciding to break into the Longbow base where he's being held. So after smacking around hordes of decent members of Longbow, the character meets Frostfire's lawyer, who [[spoiler: refuses to give up the code to Frostfire's cell, even after being smacked around; your only choice is to overload the cells... which releases a bunch of much more dangerous villains who are far too strong to fight and quickly escape, and reveals that Frostfire has since become TheAtoner, and does nothing to defend himself as the player character beats him to a pulp.]]
* NighInvulnerable: There are gameplay aspects of this (such as building a tank that mocks whatever the opposition throws at it), but by getting KO'd and paying off the experience debt that comes with it, you eventually earn badges for it. The next to last badge [[LampshadeHanging hangs a lampshade on it]] as so:
-->'''The Undying''': You can't be certain, but you believe the possibility exists that you cannot die.
* NintendoHard: The MA critters will go to extremes to teach you exactly how broken player powers are, and that's not even factoring in the bugged powers.
* NonLethalKO
* NoOSHACompliance
* NoSwastikas: The 5th Column, while explicitly said to be a fascist villain group left over from Nazi Germany, use a skull with the Roman numeral V behind it as their logo. The release of Issue 3 replaced all 5th Column content in the game with the Council, who are an ''Italian'' fascist villain group plus space aliens who co-opted the 5th Column in a hostile takeover. The 5th Column have been reappearing in select stories in recent updates, however, and officially returned in the Issue 15.
** As one of the developers explained they still "have to avoid certain symbols" and themes.
** One of the developers has stated that the reason for replacement of the 5th Column by the Council was due to the original concept for ''City of Villains'', where a starting character would join one of the villain factions as a rank-and-file thug, advancing in the organization before having an Origin; the 5th Column was replaced to eliminate the issues associated with players being able to join a Nazi organization. This starting premise was dropped when the developers decided it would constrain gameplay too much for starting characters, and the 5th Column was later brought back and fights the Council when they encounter each other.
* NotTheFallThatKillsYou: ...it's the stone thrown at you that [[CherryTapping removes the 1 HP you have left]]!
* NoticeThis: Inanimate mission targets glow pulsatingly and emit a distinctive sound.
* ObfuscatingInsanity: [[spoiler: Praetorian Penelope Yin is merely pretending to be insane in order to take down Mother Mayhem from within the BAF. Dark Watcher is concerned that she may be BecomingTheMask, however.]]
* OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler:Romulus]] and potentially anything and anyone related to Nictus/Kheldian storyline, including players. Hamidon did this to himself and his AnimalWrongsGroup in the backstory.
* {{Ouroboros}}: An organisation called Ouroboros tries to save the world from an unspecified disaster via time travel. To do this they... let heroes and villains jump back in time to do whatever they want.
* OurVampiresAreDifferent: The Council and 5th Column's Vampyri are explained as being the pinnacle of a super-soldier program rather than a bite-transmitted disease. However, players ''love'' to both embrace and avert the trope. With the advent of player-created Custom Critters in the Mission Architect tools, a player can make "Vampires" that do pretty much anything.
* PaintedOnPants
* ParentalIncest: Actually, make that ''Grand''Parental Incest, implied between Tyrant and Dominatrix (the evil versions of Statesman and Ms. Liberty), especially in the spin-off comic.
** Ironically [[AuthorsSavingThrow retconned]] as of the ''Going Rogue'' expansion. The official reaction to questions about this could be summed up as "wait, what? *looks* Oh, ewewewewewewewewewewewewewewwwww!"
*** Which suggests the current developers are woefully ignorant of their own setting's lore, the players (who've been joking about it for years) are perverts, or both.
* PatchworkMap
* PeopleJars: Several examples.
** Nemesis Warhulks have their pilots floating in a gold-colored liquid.
** Arachnos bases frequently have creepy glowing tubes mounted on the walls in which various varieties of {{mooks}} appear to be growing.
** In the "laboratory" portion of the Lambda Sector Incarnate trial, the "containment chambers" which are the targets to be destroyed contain human beings (who disappear when the chambers are broken).
* PerpetualMolt: For burned wings; this is more like perpetual smoke. The straight version was meant to be put in but was initially pulled due to hardware limitations; as of issue 20.5 it's now available for Incarnates to purchase with Astral or Empyrean merits.
* PetTheDog: A villain going to a rogue has moments like these. Your character justifies it by saying it's simply good business.
* PickUpGroup
* PowersViaPossession: Peacebringers and Warshades, lots of villain [=PCs=].
** ''All'' of the [[spoiler:Circle of Thorns, thanks to their use of GrandTheftMe.]]
* PowerCreepPowerSeep: Necessary for game balance, but not handled so well in a certain mission available only to characters who are [[BadassNormal explicitly highly-trained soldiers]], where they are sent to defeat a FlyingBrick wielding the power of Zeus just to prove how tough they are.
* PreOrderBonus: ''City of Villains'' offered special Arachnos themed costume pieces to those who preordered the game. ''Going Rogue'' offered early access to two of its new power sets.
* ProductPlacement: The recently introduced "Optional In-Game Advertising" has thus far advertised Nike and T-Mobile products.
** Strangely, despite all the [[RuinedForever kerfuffle about its addition to the game]], it seems to be impossible to find actual ads anymore even with the option on.
* PublicDomainArtifact: The trainer in one of the two hero starting zones has Excalibur on her belt.
* PunchClockVillain: A number of mooks are just in it for the reliable paycheck.
** With ''Going Rogue'', you can play one -- much of the "switch to Rogue" missions is your villain deciding that power isn't worth [[KickTheDog his conscience]] and going the AntiVillain route of working with the local AffablyEvil chaps for much less morally-ambiguous cash.
* PurelyAestheticGender: Male, female, and "huge". While there are no statistic differences, some costume options, like skirts, are unique to the bodytype.
** Hilariously lampshaded in places like tram stations, where the bathrooms are divided into three categories ... Male, Female, and Huge.
*** [[FridgeLogic So why is the Huge door the same size as the other two?]]
* {{Pyromaniac}}: Several flame-powered npcs, both villains and, to a lesser extent, heroes.
-->'''Pyra:''' I'm just here for the money. Well, the money and a chance to set people on fire.
* RagdollPhysics: Once this was implemented, defeating enemies became much more awesome ... not to mention amusing. Curiously, the original "keeling over" sound effect, which involves two distinct thuds, has remained despite not matching up with the ragdolling in the slightest...
* RandomDrop
** RareRandomDrop: Purple Recipes
* RangedEmergencyWeapon: As an ObviousRulePatch, all custom enemies with a melee attack set now get Throwing Knives as a ranged attack power, to stop ranged characters from killing them in midair from a position of perfect safety.
* RecurringBoss
* TheRemnant: The Rikti, after their failed AlienInvasion; specifically, the Reconstructionist faction.
* {{Retcon}}: When the Council replaced the 5th Column, all 5th Column missions and story arcs were rewritten as if they'd always been about the Council, no matter how little sense that made. Mostly averted with ''Going Rogue''; the Praetorian arcs were rewritten, but as sequels to the old arcs, which are still available in Ouroboros. About the only detail to actually be retconned is allusions to [[ParentalIncest a sexual relationship between Tyrant and Dominatrix]].
** There may be another "developer oops" retcon coming up: there is no interpretation of the in-game evidence that permits the most likely candidate for Penelope Yin's mother to have been older than 16 when Penelope was born -- and depending on how you interpret "young graduate student" and some other pieces of the in-game timeline, said mother could have been as young as 8.
* RewardingInactivity: As an AntiPoopSocking measure, logging off -- and staying logged off -- in certain locations will grant your character a temporary power. The longer he is logged off, the better the power.
* RideTheLightning
* RivalTurnedEvil: [[TheCape Statesman]] and [[BigBad Lord Recluse]].
* RobeAndWizardHat: The Cabal. With the release of the Magic Booster pack, players can join in.
* RoguesGallery: Issue 18 also introduces the "Rogues Gallery" faction of various enemy supers for the player to fight during Tip Missions.
* TheRoleplayer: Virtue is the unofficial Roleplay Server and, though you'll find roleplayers elsewhere, they're not nearly as common. ([[BrokenBase Or as welcome]]).
* {{Roofhopping}}
* RougeAnglesOfSatin: The ''Going Rogue'' expansion added a badge called "Going Rouge." It's right by the Praetorian tailor.
* RunDontWalk: For over five years, you could take down anything from lowly street thugs to gods of alternate dimensions to next-gen SWAT teams and demonic mystic forces... and you could never ''not'' run. This has finally been changed with the addition of the Walk toggle, although it turns off all other powers, so you shouldn't use it in combat.
** The animation of female characters using the Walk toggle is a form of {{fanservice}}.
* RunningGag: In the mission to rescue [[ShoutOut Dr. Stephen Fayte]] (who is, we are told, often mistaken for a [[DoctorStrange famous]] [[DoctorFate sorcerer]]), ''everyone'' describes him with [[JediMindTrick exactly the same phrase]]: "a gifted surgeon, and nothing more."
* RunTheGauntlet: In a couple of story arcs.
* SavingTheWorld: Several different ways, as many times as you like. One such mission even [[CosmeticAward awards]] you with a "Saved the World" badge!
** Oddly, villains get in on the act several times themselves, despite ostensibly being ''evil.'' Frequently [[EvilVersusEvil you're just trying to stop the total destruction of the world, including you]] or "just saving it for villains," but really...
* ScaryDogmaticAliens: The Rikti.
* ScrewDestiny: In fact, screw Operation: Destiny!
* ScrewGunSafety: Random NPC chatter has an Arachnos officer threatening to hurt his underlings if they don't observe gun safety, whether the gun is loaded or not.
* ScunthorpeProblem: Somewhat averted in that the chat filter can be disabled when it gets too ridiculous.
** Back in force in the Mission Architect, which for quite a while banned such words as "nip" (as in "nip in the bud") or "God".
*** Even more ridiculous when you remember that one of the first enemy boss types are called "Damned".
*** As of late, the word "Spook" has been banned. Nobody really knew why until someone pointed out that it was an extremely archaic racist term, that has dropped out of use since the 50's.
*** Referring to the Weekly Task Force (a rotating "extra" which adds Incarnate bonuses to one of the existing high-level Strike Forces/Task Forces) as "WTF" will be censored.
* SealedEvilInACan: Everywhere. Some of it gets unsealed, fought and resealed.
* SequentialBoss: Snaptooth.
* SerialKillerKiller: One of the characteristics of Vigilantes is that they usually kill villains rather than arresting them.
* SeriousBusiness: During a radio mission you may be sent to rescue [[SelfDeprecation "Jake Emmet", the designer of the newest Freedom Phalanx game]]. He's been kidnapped by a villain group who are portrayed rather negatively in the game. When you finally fight your way to him, the boss/lieutenant guarding him [[spoiler:complains that his character got nerfed in the last patch.]]
* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: The definitions of "right" and "wrong" may be subjective. Happens occasionally in ''City of Villains'', to the point of FanonDiscontinuity on the part of some players, mostly due to StatusQuoIsGod.
** By that token, MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight
* SequelEscalation: If you consider each level tier to be sequels to the previous one, you go from fighting street level thugs with minor powers to SavingTheWorld multiple times from threats that could [[Warhammer40K flay those earlier thugs alive just by looking at them.]]
* TheShepherd: New players, especially ones who come from other [=MMORPGs=], seem to be constantly surprised at the relative friendliness of the official forums, especially in the 'Player Questions' board, whose motto is "Being a newbie is not a crime." Some half-jokingly treat such players like refugees.
* ShoutOut: Quite a few...
-->"[[TheShadow The weed of crime bears bitter fruit!]]"
** Additionally, one of the pieces of salvage you can gather for crafting invention origin enhancements, the Conspiratorial Evidence, reads: "[[{{DCAU}} Who knew that the simple aglet's true purpose was so sinister?]]"
** And of course, [[TheSimpsons The Inanimate Carbon Rod]], another piece of invention salvage. Its description simply reads: "In Rod we trust".
** The Ouroboros contact who sells inspirations is Mender Roebuck (as in "Sears, Roebuck & Co.")
** The NPC who built and runs the monkey fight in Pocket D is Joe Young (''MightyJoeYoung'').
** The descriptive text for the "Fervent" Veteran's badge (42 months) is [[HitchHikersGuideToTheGalaxy "Forty-two. Could you be the answer to everything?"]]
** One of the possible passwords to give the Latin Student in Steel Canyon to gain access to the Midnighter Club is ''[[TheRedGreenShow Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati]]'' (alas, the response text doesn't continue the ShoutOut).
*** Another possible password is "Alea Jacta Est," a CatchPhrase from {{Asterix}}.
*** It's also simply a line from Caesar, referring to [[PointOfNoReturn crossing the Rubicon]].
** [[MysteryScienceTheater3000 Dr. Forrester]] is a contact in Grandville. An NPC in a mission for the "Television" contact is named [[SpaceMutiny Dr. Big McLargeHuge]].
** [[{{Unforgiven}} Little Bill]] didn't deserve to die, not that deserving's got anything to do with it...
** The mission to rescue Dr. Frank N. Scott, who is being forced to reveal a ritual that might cause a time warp, a ritual which starts with [[RockyHorrorPictureShow just a jump to the left... and then a step to the right.]]
** Another mission to recover [[TheAdventuresOfBuckarooBanzaiAcrossTheEighthDimension the Overation Oscillithruster]].
** Let us not forget Dr. [[DoctorStrange Stephen]] [[DoctorFate Fayte]], who is [[RunningGag merely a gifted surgeon, nothing more]].
** Every (non-hazard/trial) zone has a police contact who is a shout out to a TV show, ranging from ''{{Fish}}'' to ''MiamiVice'' to ''DueSouth'', or to a movie, ranging from ''{{Bullitt}}'' to ''BladeRunner'' to ''{{Robocop}}''.
** The little snatch of dialog heard from a police drone as you pass them is straight from a Season 1 ''JusticeLeague'' cartoon.
** The "glowie sound" emitted by inanimate mission objectives is from an episode of the 1970s science fiction show ''{{Space 1999}}''.
** The hastily scrawled note you are required to read as the first mission of the Villain invention tutorial concludes with first a [[OhWaitThisIsMyGroceryList grocery list]], and then the line "Jenny (555) 867-5409 Call her!"
** In one Grandville mission for the villains, you are sent to deal with a Malta cell whose commanders are at odds with each other and are convinced that both are out to get each other. The two in question are Commanders [[Webcomic/CaseyAndAndy Grimm and Weir]].
** The zone "Monster Island" features an Exploration badge titled "[[TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland Rikti Monkey Island]]". To drive the reference home, the description text for the badge begins with "There is a secret to this island of monkeys...". Continuing the theme, a nearby Exploration badge is named "[[GrimFandango Grim Fandango]]", the location of and description text for which is heavily bone-themed.
** Some of the most dangerous, 41-50 enemy groups include: Psychic Aliens with a Collective mental network who use pylons to power their technology, a bunch of creatures mutated by a collectively sentient microscopic organism and a bunch of highly skilled normals including a handful of extremely stealthy assassins.... so, basically: Protoss (Rikti), Zerg (Devouring Earth) and Terrans (Malta/Knives).
** The choice of a shovel as an alternate form for both War Mace and War Axe may be a shout out to the Shoveler in ''MysteryMen''.
** One of the options you have to identify yourself to the security computer at the start of the first mission of the Twinshot arc is [[ThePrincessBride "My name is Inigo Mon--"]]
** ...and literally ''hundreds'' more. Just try to list them all!
*** Obviously, [[http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Ingame_References someone has tried]].
* ShootTheMedicFirst: When in PvP, kill off your enemy's healers first, obviously. And the same goes for any villains who can heal other minions. The Tsoo Sorcerers are one of the earlier examples of this trope, especially annoying since they'll heal any other faction you're trying to kill. Later on you may run into the Devouring Earth.
** Confounded by the Praetorian ghouls, who radiate healing energies (that affect only other ghouls) when they die -- in other words, shooting them ''turns them into medics''.
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: ''City of Heroes'' is generally pegged firmly on the Idealism end of the scale -- villains get their comeuppance and stopped, and only the lowest, cruelest sorts firmly over the MoralEventHorizon aren't GenreBlind. ''City of Villains'' is generally more cynical, with everyone (with a few exceptions) generally being unpleasant at the very least, and the closest characters to idealism being a demon hunter whose major pleasure in life is inflicting pain upon demons, and a KnightTemplar whose aspirations involve [[spoiler:brainwashing every villain in the world into being good]]. ''Going Rogue'' gives players the ability to move along the scale as they see fit, and the world ''it'' introduces is...[[PerfectlyCromulentWord squiffy]] about the issue.
* SlippySlideyIceWorld: The Frostfire Mission.
* {{Soaperizing}}: In the ShowWithinAShow.
* SoloClass:
** The Scrapper is the local soloist-class in ''City of Heroes'' proper. Striking a good balance between absorbing damage and dishing it out, a well-built Scrapper can solo anything short of a full-on Archvillain. (And sometimes even that, depending on the version. Early versions had a few exploits that certain builds of scrappers could use to become virtually immortal at higher levels.)
** In ''City of Villains'', the Brute can play pretty much the same role as the Scrapper, but the real solo-master there is the pet-centric Mastermind-class, who basically get to bring their own army with them wherever they go. At higher levels, you'll have anywhere from 6 to 8 pets following you around (depending on exact powersets), making it quite possible to handle most bosses on your own without even getting your hands dirty.
* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil
* SquadControls: Masterminds, for their pets.
* StatusBuff
* StatusQuoIsGod:
** Averted somewhat, since several areas, such as Faultline and the Rikti War Zone, have seen permanent changes.
** ''Going Rogue'''s release also gave a modern update to the previous Praetorian Earth content, though the old story arcs are still playable through Ouroboros.
** Indeed, almost every mission that was ever available to do is still available.
** Also embraced mercilessly by at least a couple story arcs in ''City of Villains'', sometimes to the point of SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong.
* SteamPunk: Nemesis.
** Also, the SteamPunk [[AndYourRewardIsClothes Costume Part Pack]] makes it much easier for players to use this motif for characters.
* StockSoundEffects: As of issue 17, a WilhelmScream will occasionally be emitted by defeated opponents.
* StoryArc: Dozens, if not hundreds. Most contacts, once you pass the intro levels, have one, and successfully completing them rewards you with Reward Merits and a "souvenir" which contains a write-up that recaps the events of the arc. The souvenirs are usually that arc's particular {{MacGuffin}}.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Technically it's the choice of the player, but once you've made a female Hero, even the costume options that are in both male and female show off a lot of skin. There's lots of options in leather too, and some ''very'' revealing costume options.
* StupidJetpackHitler: The 5th Column.
* SturgeonsLaw: In full effect with the Mission Architect. Even with the search options, it is a huge chore to actually find missions with actual ''stories'' instead of being just a farm or meant to be [[NintendoHard a challenge]].
** And then, predictably, 90% of ''those'' are... not very good.
*** When it comes to the Mission Architect, Sturgeon was a wild-eyed optimist.
* SuicideMission: In the backstory, the Rikti War ended with a suicide mission led by Hero 1 to cut off the Rikti homeworld from Earth. For a long time, only one survivor, Ajax, was known; Lady Grey's task force reveals that three more survived on the Rikti homeworld: sisters Infernia and Glacia, and [[spoiler:Hero 1, turned into a Rikti named [[{{Significant Anagram}} The Honoree]]]].
* SummoningRitual: The Circle of Thorns are almost always seen doing this.
* SuperCop: The Paragon Police Department has regular beat cops, cops in PoweredArmour, cops with PsychicPowers, cops merged with alien symbiotes, at least one [[{{Robocop}} cyborg cop]], and Blue Steel, a superhero who works directly for the police.
** Distinctly averted in the earlier issues of the game, when the police were just another skin for the standard passer-by NPC, and had all the same reactions as the civilians -- including fleeing in panic upon encountering any kind of villain.
* {{Superhero}}: It's all about them, of course!
* SuperPoweredRobotMeterMaids: Why exactly do the Praetorian Clockwork robots, used for such dangerous jobs as trash pickup and gardening, have ''flamethrowers'' and ''lasers'' built in?
** To help assist in arresting any uppity citizens of course.
** Actually; the 'flamethrowers' in question are actually plasma torches; used for ''welding''. The lasers are probably a self-defense mechanism built in just in case [[LaResistance The Resistance]] or other attackers show up... however, the animation looks to be like a different version of their welding torch, much as the "flamethrower" is.
* SuperPowerMeltdown: Subverted with the origin of the Siren's Call zone; played straight at first glance in the origin of Faultline.
* SuperReflexes: One of the Power Sets for Scrappers, Stalkers, and Brutes.
* SuperRegistrationAct: Established in the backstory, and generally not seen as a bad thing. You have to register having powers, but it doesn't force you into anything. The last time supers were drafted was [[WorldWarII WWII]].
** Actually, it used to be a lot worse. The infamous "Might for Right Act" (passed during the ColdWar, and used to secretly draft supers -- especially minorities who couldn't fight it -- into working for the ''CIA'') is a major part of the game's {{backstory}}.
** In Praetoria, anyone with superpowers (or who is talented at martial arts, or ''owns a weapon'') is forced to join the Praetoria Police's Powers Division.
* SupervillainLair: Though the feature was introduced with ''City of Villains'', both Villains and Heroes can make lairs/bases for their Super Group. Of course, you also assault a fair number of {{NPC}} lairs.
* SwissCheeseSecurity
* ThouShaltNotKill: ...if you don't want to. The game uses "defeated", but it's up to you whether you kill, arrest, beat up, or do whatever else to enemies. Until you notice if your power does "lethal" damage.
** Averted with ''Going Rogue'' -- missions in Praetoria often require you to explicitly kill ''someone'', particularly morality missions.
* ThrivingGhostTown: Literally, in Dark Astoria!
** Mostly averted in other areas, there's lots of pedestrians walking around.
** Dark Astoria also has pedestrians. They just vanish when you get too close.
*** Oh, it's not a ghost town... Astoria has quite a bustling population. The [[BlackCloak Circle of Thorns]], the [[ReligionOfEvil Banished Pantheon]] cultists who [[HumanSacrifice]] killed everybody in the first place, [[EldritchAbomination that thing under the cemetary]] they were sacrificed to, and all the various ghouls, zombies, ghosts, revenants, evil floating tiki statues and hideous giant skinless monsters you could ever want. [[SarcasmMode Astoria is a happening place.]]
* TimePolice: Ouroboros [[spoiler: Well, that's what they ''claim,'' anyway]].
* TimeTravel
* TimedMission: A regular mission format. Can get annoying.
** Made worse in ''Going Rogue'', which includes missions that give you ''two minutes'' to accomplish some subgoal before all hell breaks loose -- often with no warning that a timer has started ticking away save for its appearance in the mission compass.
** To clarify, there are two formats of TimedMission. In the old format, the timer starts as soon as you accept the mission, is typically four to ten times longer than the mission will take, and letting the timer expire results in failure of the mission. An old-style timed mission means "do this mission now, rather than logging off and doing it tomorrow". In the new format, the timer starts when you enter the mission door or complete some mission objective, gives you just barely enough time to complete a timed objective, and letting the timer expire means the mission will get harder. A new-styled timed mission means "do this part of the mission at a dead run."
* TimeyWimeyBall
* TomatoInTheMirror: In a high-level villain story arc. [[spoiler:Subverted: You're real, but your contact is an automaton.]]
* TonightSomeoneDies: The "Who Will Die?" Signature story arc. One of the Freedom Phalanx is going to bite it. And we still don't know who.
* TotallyRadical: Played for laughs with a certain famous Nemesis quote [[hottip:* :\\
"I assure you, my good man, Nemesis is most definitely 'down with the street.' Word up, my homie, as it were."]]
* TrainingBoss
* TrainingDummy: The disabled Rikti drones.
** Also Rikti shaped dummies in the Vanguard Base shooting range.
* TransformationSequence: Available in the Magic Booster Pack as of Spring 2009.
* TruceZone: Pocket D, the Vanguard Base, the Rikti War Zone, Cimerora.
** Though the latter two are less TruceZone and more "enforced {{Enemy Mine}}."
* {{Tuckerization}}: In addition to [[ShoutOut shout out]] locations such as Perez Park and Gaiman Woods, a particular example is the first superhero that players encounter in the game, [[http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Coyote Coyote]].
* {{Uncanceled}}: The Cathedral of Pain trial, which, up until Issue 18/''Going Rogue'', was hopelessly bugged and unfinished.
* UndergroundLevel: The many cave maps; [[ThatOneLevel some are hated]].
* TheUnintelligible: Ricochet of the Crusaders part of the Resistance. The Resistance use their own slang but they can be understood. Ricochet uses slang that's so thick that the first thing you do after accepting her first mission is get someone to translate what she just said. The second has a question mark next to the mission objective. It doesn't get any better.
* {{Unobtainium}}: An actual {{MacGuffin}}, made from Nonesuchium and Yeahrightium. Played straight with Impervium.
** Parodied by the bombs the Lost can be found fiddling with in the central trench of Terra Volta; rather than being matter or antimatter, the bombs are "Doesn't Matter."
* UpUpAndAway: After flight poses were added.
* ValleyGirl: Becky the Tarantula Mistress.
* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: Featured in several story arcs, and usually with their own custom tilesets.
* VideogameCrueltyPotential: Villain Tip Missions, particularly when you're a Vigilante-turning-Villain in the Rogue Isles.
* VideogameHistoricalRevisionism
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Crey Industries, which is responsible for rebuilding much of Paragon City after the First Rikti War, is [[spoiler:run by an evil mastermind who is using this clout to cover up many evil projects, including one to clone dead and kidnapped supers so they can brainwash the clones and use them for their own purposes]].
** Subverted in {{City of Villains}} with Aeon Corp, which [[spoiler:built a power plant fueled by a bound demon]]. As this is on the Villain side, it's never really hidden that Aeon is up to something suspicious, Aeon's offices on Cap Au Diable is constantly being protested by a group of militant activists called The Luddites.
** Played straight with the [[{{Utopia Justifies The Means}} "utopia"]] of [[{{Mirror Universe}} Praetoria]] introduced in [[{{Expansion Pack}} ''Going Rogue'']]. [[{{Big Bad}} Emperor Cole]] rules a "meritocracy" where any and all basic needs are provided free of charge, Clockwork robots handle all manual labor, and Praetorian PD officers on every corner have all but eliminated crime. Which happens thanks to [[spoiler:a [[{{Government Drug Enforcement}} drugged water supply]], the psionic {{Seer}}s being literal thought police, the PPD drafting any super-powered individuals, and the {{Secret Police}} under [[{{Smug Snake}} Chimera]] having full authority to "disappear" anyone whom they think is a threat to "the peace." Such threats usually wind up as [[{{Playing With Syringes}} guinea pigs]] for the resident {{Mad Scientist}}s]].
* TheVirus: The Will of The Earth.
* TheWallAroundTheWorld: The War Walls.
* WarpWhistle
* WeBuyAnything: Partially subverted, in that stores dedicated to [[{{Super Hero Origin}} origins]] other than your own won't pay you full price. Also, your contacts will purchase Recipes and Salvage, but not Enhancements, and no [=NPCs=] will buy Inspirations.
* WhamEpisode: "Who Will Die Part 3". [[spoiler: The identity of TheDragon is revealed to be Malaise, and Statesman's daughter Miss Liberty is killed - possibly by the [[YouBastard player villain.]]]]
** [[spoiler: Or TheChessmaster, if the player villains [[NotWhatISignedOnFor declare they didn't sign up for]] [[EvenEvilHasStandards cold-blooded murder.]]]]
* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: Almost every mission in the game involves punching (or shooting or stabbing) someone in the face.
* TheWorldIsNotReady: Subverted, to an extent. There's proof that high technology/super science is relatively common amongst the populace of the Cities' world; however, many ''players'' tend to embrace this trope with Technology-origin characters.
* WorldHalfFull: Yes, there's mystically powered, drug-fueled, technologically enhanced street gangs running rampant. There's [[ThoseWackyNazis NeoNazis with werewolves and vampires]], members of an AnimalWrongsGroup gone all OneWingedAngel, [[ZombieApocalypse zombies of both scientific and magical nature]], employees of a corrupt MegaCorp, and demons wandering the streets. The world is still recovering from a not-quite-over alien invasion. Oh, and there's a nation ruled by supervillains just off the coast. But there are also [[{{Superhero}} superheroes]]. Lots of superheroes.
** [[MirrorUniverse Praetoria]] also presents a world where a totalitarian government is fought by LaResistance. Both sides have bad people trying to either grab power or having no qualms about innocent. It also doesn't help that the ruler of the world is a power-mad supervillain going all AGodAmI. But! There are some people that genuinely do good on both sides of the equation. And no matter who [[PlayerCharacter you]] are and what you decide to become, hero or villain, one day you'll take the fight back to that ruler.
* YouBreakItYouProfit: Mayhem missions, Villain-side, allow you to get small rewards for blowing up cars and such.
* YouFailGeologyForever: Averted (although probably not intentionally). While many players seem to think that the network of tunnels, caverns and caves beneath the city, as well as the rock in which they exist, are unlikely, Rhode Island has in fact a geological history -- complete with volcanoes and other phenomena -- just complicated enough to make them just barely plausible.
** Plus Oranbega being magical and not entirely in this dimension certainly helps.
* YouMeanXmas: The blandly-named Holiday Events, complete with snowballs, presents that give {{Status Buff}}s, the ugliest Baby New Year ever, and giant snow monsters.
** One of the rewards for completing the Baby New Year is a temporary power that references Hannukah, while another reward temp power is called "Five Golden Rings". No Festivus or Kwaanza powers yet, though.
* ZombieApocalypse: The Halloween 2008 special event, in which the city is beseiged by waves of zombies even tougher than the usual, everyday Vahzilok and Banished Pantheon varieties. This has since become a recurring hazard, like the Rikti invasions.
** Featuring a ShoutOut to another ZombieApocalypse in the "[[ResidentEvil Evil's Resident]]" badge, as well as to Michael Jackson's Thriller(!)
!!The powers the game offers to players provide examples of:
* AbnormalAmmo: A large part of [[{{Guns Akimbo}} Dual Pistols]]' shtick is [[{{New Powers As The Plot Demands}} the "Swap Ammo" power]], which gives you access to three toggles: [[{{Kill It With Fire}} Incendiary]], [[{{Kill It With Ice}} Cryo]], and [[{{Universal Poison}} Chemical]] Ammunition. Every other power in the set will do 70% Lethal damage, with the remaining 30% depending on the ammo you have toggled on.
* AnAxeToGrind: The Battle Axe power set.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The high level "nuke" powers for some. Extremely powerful blast, but leaves you unabled to attack again for a goodly while.
** Though YMMV. Others turn it into a bread-and-butter power.
*** A particular eight-man team composition (eight Empathy/ defenders) can turn the nuke powers into a [[GameBreaker rolling nuclear barrage]].
*** Highly YMMV. Warshades are infamous for their ability of not being hindered much by the endurance drain of their nuke. Go nuclear, pop a blue, Stygian Circle and off you go with full health and endurance.
* BackStab: Stalkers can land {{Critical Hit}}s with any attack, whether in or out of Hidden Status, but using their Assassin's Strike from Hidden status grants a massive critical hit far beyond any other crit in the game.
* BalefulPolymorph: The recent Mutant super booster's bonus power can give you a number of buffs that can increase your defenses, boost your regeneration, [[CrowningMomentOfFunny or turn you into a Rikti Monkey for 1 minute.]]
* BarrierWarrior: The Force Field power set.
* CombatTentacles: Dark Melee's Midnight Grasp, Dark Miasma's Tenebrous Tentacles, and half the powers in Plant Control.
* {{Determinator}}: The Willpower defense set. Created to represent comic book characters who don't have special defensive abilities; they can take massive amounts of damage because they have enough willpower to keep fighting. Ironically, it's commonly considered one of the strongest defense sets overall.
* DropTheHammer: One of the possible looks of the War Mace power set is a big hammer. Also, Stone Mallet and Heavy Stone Mallet from [[{{He Will Rock You}} Stone Melee]]. The Fusion Hammer in the Titan Weapons powerset as well.
* DualWielding: The Dual Blades and [[{{Guns Akimbo}} Dual Pistols]] power sets.
* ElementalPowers: As expected for a game built around [[{{Super Hero Tropes}} superhero tropes]], there are plenty.
** BlowYouAway: Storm Summoning, especially the trademark powers of Gale and Hurricane.
** DishingOutDirt: Between Stone Melee, Stone Armor, Earth Control, and Earthen Assault, runs the gamut of uses of this one.
** AnIcePerson: Ice Melee, Ice Blast, Icy Assault, Ice Control, Ice Armor, Cold Domination...
** PlayingWithFire: Fire Melee, Fire Blast, Fiery Assault, Fire Control, [[WreathedInFlames Fire Aura, Thermal Radiation]] -- seeing a theme here?
** ShockAndAwe: Electric Melee, Blast, etc. etc...you get it by now.
** CastingAShadow: Dark Melee, Dark Blast, Dark Armor and Dark Miasma. Dark Control and Assault are currently in development.
** LightEmUp: Surprisingly rare, first only present in a NPC subgroup, the Legacy of Light of the Legacy Chain, then used by the three factions of the Carnival of Light, but still unavailable to players.
* ElementalPunch: Almost every one on the list is in there somewhere.
* EyeBeams: "X-Ray Beam" from Radiation Blast, "Ebon Eyes" from Umbral Blast, [[{{Exactly What It Says On The Tin}} Laser Beam Eyes]] from Body/Energy Mastery, and [[{{Faceless Eye}} Rularuu Watchers]].
* FinishingMove: The [[{{Dual Wielding}} Dual Blades]] power set combo system utilizes these.
* FlashStep: [[{{Shield Bash}} "Shield Rush"]] from Shield Defense and "Lightning Rod" from [[{{Shock And Awe}} Electrical Melee]] are both the rare "attack while stepping" variety.
** Some roleplayers with the [[{{Teleporters And Transporters}} Teleport]] power play it off as this.
* FrickinLaserBeams: The Beam Rifle powerset.
* FridgeHorror: Some might notice that the entangles produced by the [[CombatTentacles Carrion]] [[NightmareFuel Crawlers]] power continue to deal damage to the defeated enemies. Apparently dead bodies are tasty.
* GatlingGood: Miniguns used by the Council, Crey, Nemesis, [[RedshirtArmy Longbow]] and...your everyday ordinary bank security.
** Bank security don't get gatling guns until level 30. By that time, my villain has taken down demigods, and these guys still put up a credible fight. They are anything but your everyday bank security.
* GottaGetYourHeadTogether: Standard pose for characters Held [[{{Psychic Powers}} psionically]].
* GoodOldFashionedFisticuffs: The Street Justice powerset, mixing this with a healthy dose of CombatPragmatist and, with attacks like Shin Breaker and Rib Cracker, a pinch of VideoGameCrueltyPotential.
* GreenThumb: Plant Control.
* GroinAttack: Appropriately sized characters can pull this off with the Kick power from the Fighting pool, and, rather intimidatingly, {{Super Strength}}'s [[MegatonPunch Knockout Blow]]. However, a status of special note belongs to [[http://thrythlind.deviantart.com/art/Stalactites-195559059 Stalactites]] from Earth Control.
** Martial Arts has not one, but two groin-punches: The old animation for Cobra Strike, and for MA Stalkers, the alternate animation for their assassin-strike, "Fist of Annihilation."
** At least one War Mace attack does much the same- there's something disturbingly hilarious about a four-foot fairy bashing some hapless SuperSoldier six feet into the air with a hammer larger than her torso... straight to the junk.
** One of the powers in Street Justice is a quick, hard knee strike aimed for the enemy's ribcage, but due to height differences, often ends up either in the jaw or the groin.
* GunsAkimbo: Part of the Thugs power set for Masterminds, also combined to great effect with AbnormalAmmo and a bit of ImprobableAimingSkills by [[DemonicSpider Malta]] [[TheGunslinger Gunslingers]]. With the ''Going Rogue'' expansion, also available as a primary set for Blasters and Corruptors, and a secondary for Defenders.
* GunFu: The animations for the [[{{Guns Akimbo}} Dual Pistols]] power set, which involve GunTwirling, rapid turning, posing, and bullets arcing in midair. Pretty clearly inspired by the ''{{Wanted}}'' movie and ''{{Equilibrium}}''. And on top of that, trenchcoats are available as a costume choice, and you can't even begin to imagine how cool you look.
** An alpha version of the powerset, shown off at a con, even had a chance that some DisturbedDoves would appear.
* HealingFactor: The Regeneration power set.
* HealingHands: Several buff/debuff power sets have one heal, and the Empathy set has several...[[BerserkButton but never assume it's the most important part of the set]].
* HealItWithFire: Thermal Radiation.
* {{Hellfire}}: Used by Demon Summoners and some of their pets. Functionally similar to fire, but oddly colored and with a toxic, resistance reducing after-effect.
* HerdHittingAttack: There are literally two attack sets in the game without one, but primarily a Blaster specialty, with Controllers and Dominators emphasizing keeping enemies conveniently bunched up.
* ILoveNuclearPower: Radiation Blast and Radiation Emission, which can also buff and heal your allies.
** The literal [[{{Nuke Em}} "nuke" temporary power]] from the zone event in [[{{Player Versus Player}} Warburg]].
** The Tier 9 Radiation Blast power is Atomic Blast, in which the player literally sets off a nuclear bomb centered on themselves; any enemies left alive are even left choking on the atomic radiation (a hold) for a brief while.
* ImplausibleFencingPowers: Not explicitly shown or stated, but the [[{{Cool Sword}} Broadsword]] and [[{{Katanas Are Just Better}} Katana]] sets have a power that grants defense against Lethal damage, which just happens to be the damage type dealt by ''guns''.
* ImprovisedGolems: Some characters can summon pets made out of rock, magma, crystal, fire, ice, darkness, electricity or gravity. Said pets usually have no set duration but [[NoOntologicalInertia die if the owner does.]]
* InASingleBound: With the [[{{Roof Hopping}} Leaping]] power pool.
* InstantRunes: Mystic Fortune, [[http://tinyurl.com/VanguardSigil Vanguard Sigil]], and the Demon Summoning power set.
* JugglingLoadedGuns: The [[{{Guns Akimbo}} Dual Pistols]] powerset operates ''entirely'' on the RuleOfCool and not according to any realistic expectations of UsefulNotes/GunSafety. Of particular note is the animation for Piercing Rounds, in which your character, in true spirit of the trope name, ''throws both guns up into the air'' before catching them to "punch" the bullet forward.
* KatanasAreJustBetter: Averted. The Katana power set is a slightly faster and less fatiguing clone of Broadsword, with lowered damage. Even the attacks are the same, just the names and animations are different. In fact, at launch, it was an exact clone down to the names and animations, but not the damage.
** Played very straight once you start quantifying numbers, though. The faster animations in Katana mean the set can put out a lot more damage than the slower Broadsword in the same amount of time. The only advantage Broadsword really has is being wielded with only one hand, permitting the player to pair it with [[GameBreaker Shield Defense]].
* KungFuSonicBoom: Every. Single. SuperStrength power.
** Every [[{{He Will Rock You}} Stone Melee]] attack shakes the camera.
* LimitBreak: Domination for Dominators; some NPC enemies also have special powers that trigger upon reaching a certain HP threshold.
* MakeMeWannaShout: Sonic Blast and Sonic Resonance.
* MartialArtsDoNotWorkThatWay: The entire Martial Arts power set, especially [[{{For Massive Damage}} Eagle's Claw]].
* ManaDrain: Damn you, [[{{Demonic Spiders}} Malta Sappers]]!
** Most of the [[{{Shock And Awe}} electrical]] powers do this to a limited extent, as well as some Kinetic powers.
** And Carnies.
** And Clockworks in the 1-20 game.
** And Mu magicians.
** And The Cabal.
** And numerous custom enemies....
* MegatonPunch: Several attacks qualify, but none can match SuperStrength's "Knockout Blow," a powerful windup and uppercut which sends the target a dozen feet or so into the air. (Or, if the level difference is sufficient, halfway across the zone.)
* MeteorMove: Air Superiority from the Flight power pool is a Type A if used against a flying target.
* MidairBobbing
* MoreDakka: "Gun Drone" from Devices = Pet Flying Dakka. [[{{Demonic Spiders}} Malta Engineers]] get an even better version. Assault Rifle's mini-nuke, "Full Auto," and some [[{{Guns Akimbo}} Dual Pistols]] powers like "Empty Clips" and "Hail of Bullets," also qualify.
** As do ranged Mastermind pets, particularly Robotics. You begin with a single robot with a laser that fires a simple three-round burst. By the time you finish out the set, you have six robots firing fully automatic heavy lasers, two different types of missile, seeker drones, dual plasma blasters, photon grenades, and a flamethrower.
* {{Multishot}}
* NinjaRun: From the [[{{Super Hero Origin}} Natural-Origin]] [[{{Expansion Pack}} Super-Booster pack]]. The power is actually called this.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Most pets die if their creator bites it. While it makes total sense for various elemental golems, zombies and summoned demons, it becomes dubious when applied to killer robots, automatic mortars, or thugs and mercenaries.
* NotQuiteFlight: Temporary, buyable, and stealable jetpacks.
* OilSlick: The "Trick Arrow" powerset includes an Oil Slick Arrow. The oil slick it creates can catch on fire.
* PunchedAcrossTheRoom: Once very prolific, many complaints from the players resulted in much of the knockback melee attacks being turned to knockdown/knockup. Still, there are still many examples: Energy Manipulation's Power Thrust, Luminous Blast's Radiant Strike, Battle Axe's Pendulum...
* RainOfArrows: ...Happens to be the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin name of the final power]] in the Archery set.
* RapidFireFisticuffs: Available both in SpeedEchoes and CastingAShadow flavor, with Flurry from Super Speed and Shadow Maul from Dark Melee.
* ScreenShake: Side effect of various hard-hitting powers. The developers attempted to ramp it up for the SuperStrength power set, but dialed it back after players complained of motion sickness.
** Also whenever a Kheldian transforms.
* SelfDestructMechanism: Used in one of the taskforces, also powers available to some {{NPC}}s and ''players''.
* ShockwaveClap: Hand Clap from SuperStrength tosses enemies away from the user, stunning but dealing no damage. Electrical Melee and Electricity Manipulation have Lightning Clap, which is exactly the same power but with slightly different looks. A few other attacks are also performed by clapping one's hands together.
* ShockwaveStomp: The aptly named Foot Stomp from SuperStrength is one of the game's most potent non-nuke [=PBAoE=] attacks. Several other attacks also have the character driving their foot into the ground.
* ShovelStrike: Flat-on as a club for War Mace, edge on for Battle Axe.
* [[SocketedEquipment Socketed Powers]]: The enhancement system, which allows you to add sockets ("slots") to powers as a character levels up, and provides upwards of eight different degrees of enhancements that lock into them.
* SpeedEchoes: Used in the SuperSpeed Flurry attack, as well as some high-end [[{{Guns Akimbo}} Dual Pistols]] attacks.
** The original animation for Storm Kick (a Martial Arts attack) had these, but it was changed because [[CoolButInefficient they made the attack take longer, even when you miss]].
* SpinAttack: All melee weapon sets (on non-Stalkers) have some variation on spinning around and attacking all foes in range, including using a sword made out of fire or ice.
** "Hail of Bullets" from [[{{Guns Akimbo}} Dual Pistols]], a perfect example of a [[{{The Last Starfighter}} "Death Blossom" attack]].
* StoneWall: Fittingly, Granite Armor from the [[{{He Will Rock You}} Stone Armor]] power set turns the player nigh unkillable and nigh harmless.
** Of course, some players [[GameBreaker do everything to offset that...]]
* TheStraightAndArrowPath[=/=]TrickArrow: Two (complementary) arrow sets are available: Archery and Trick Arrow. Trick Arrow has the aforementioned Oil Slick Arrow (that can catch on fire and burn mooks to death; Glue Arrow, useful for keeping them in said flames, an Ice Arrow that freezes them helpless, and numerous debuffing arrows like Flash (blind), Poison Gas (sleep) and Acid (resistance debuff).
* SummonMagic: Controllers and Dominators can summon pets at higher levels. The Masterminds have this as their entire powerset. The Demon Summoning powerset takes it UpToEleven.
** And then there are Temporary Powers which are usable by anyone (though wear out after 1-5 castings), which include zombies, snowmen, werewolves, a power-armored policeman (or power-armored criminal, depending on your alignment), giant robots, tiny robots, witches, cosmic horrors and oh yeah, a [[EverythingsWorseWithBees jar of bees]]!
* SuperheroPackingHeat: Assault Rifle or [[{{Guns Akimbo}} Dual Pistols]] Blasters/Defenders/Corruptors/Masterminds.
* SuperSpeed: A power pool available to anyone.
* SuperStrength: Available as a primary or secondary set to [[{{Mighty Glacier}} Tankers]] and [[{{Lightning Bruiser}} Brutes]].
* SwissArmyGun: The Assault Rifle power set.
* SwordBeam: Focus and Shockwave from the Claws power set.
* TarotMotifs: The "Fortune" power lets players draw a tarot card to buff another player. Only a few of the Major Arcana are represented, however, and none of the Minor Arcana.
* VideoGameFlight: [[FlyingBrick Superheroes]].
* WhipItGood: The weapon of choice for Demon Summoning Masterminds. It's also literally made of fire.
* WolverineClaws: The Claws power set. This actually got [=NCSoft=] into some legal trouble with [[{{Marvel Comics}} Marvel]].
----
''City of Heroes'' is a MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame based on [[ComicBookTropes comic-book]] style {{superhero}}es. Set in and around Paragon City, a [[NoCommunitiesWereHarmed fictional Rhode Island metropolis]] still recovering after a thwarted but still disastrous AlienInvasion, it superbly reproduces the flavor and feel of the superheroic genre. Players take on the role of one of many fledgling heroes surging to fill the void left in the wake of several heroes fallen in defense of the earth during the aforementioned "Rikti" alien invasion.
''City of Heroes'' is complemented and paralleled by a villainous counterpart, ''City of Villains''. Players of ''City of Villains'' assume the role of a freshly escaped super-powered convict who may fit into a prophecy about a "destined one" whom it is said will rise to threaten even the most powerful echelons of the Rogue Isles villain factions. The two games overlap in select areas, including [=PvP=] zones and a [[GoodGuyBar no-conflict nightclub]] in another dimension called "Pocket D". The two games, originally separate, were eventually combined, and now players can make heroes or villains.
The recently-released expansion, ''Going Rogue'', allows characters to change alignment and introduces a mirror universe as a third starting location.
Some of ''[=CoH=]/[=CoV=]'''s most innovative features are related to character/avatar design. The games provides a truly astounding variety of appearance combinations, which grow with each new version. The power combinations are similarly impressive.
The game is also the first major MMO to include user created content, in the form of its Mission Architect system and player-created story arcs.
Originally, a variety of (back)story was told through the developers' adopted avatars -- known collectively as the Avengers-esque super-team Freedom Phalanx -- with the hero Statesman as their (in game and out) leader. Their evil counterparts would later be introduced in ''City of Villains''. Known as Arachnos by name and led by Statesman's equal-but-opposite in Lord Recluse, ruler of the Rogue Isles (a fictional archipelago about 50 miles north of Bermuda). Statesman was originally the in-game avatar of real life senior developer Jack Emmert, who has since moved on and left the game in the care of Lead Developer Matt Miller (known for his avatar, Positron), who has since moved ''down'' to hands-on design work, handing the role of Lead Developer to Melissa Bianco (known for her avatar, War Witch).
With a recent update (that also changed the game from a subscription-only to a {{Freemium}} model), most character classes (called Archetypes) are now available to both sides from the start, except for the respective Epic Archetypes, described below.
Former Hero archetypes include:
* [[StoneWall Tanker]] (High-defense, low-damage melee and great "aggro management" capabilities to protect allies)
* [[TheBerserker Scrapper]] (medium-defense, high-damage melee with a chance for double damage in a critical hit.)
* [[HealingHands Def]][[StatusBuff end]][[StandardStatusEffects er]] (Primarily powers aiding (buff) allies or weakening (debuff) foes, backed up by medium-damage ranged attacks, defenders are among the hardest to quantify because each primary set is aimed in almost different directions ranging from the heal-tastic Empathy to the debuff kings and queens of Darkness)
* [[MindControl Controller]] (Primarily powers that hold, disorient or otherwise control opponents, backed up by buffs/debuffs)
* [[GlassCannon Blaster]] (High-damage ranged and high-damage melee attacks, but few defenses)
There are also two "epic" archetypes, unlocked once one of your heroes reaches level 20 (formerly level 50): [[KnightInShiningArmor Peace]][[KnightTemplar bringers]] and [[TheAtoner Warshades]]. These have unique abilities, such as intrinsic travel powers and shapeshifting. Their power sets seem to be fairly similar, but they tend to play completely different. Warshades tend to play to the strengths of your teammates, while Peacebringers tend to make up for their weaknesses. Also, Peacebringers are much more self-sufficient (e.g. if you want to heal yourself, you just press the button and get healed), while Warshades need enemies (or their bodies) to drain for their self buffs. To compensate for this the Warshade buffs tend to be a lot more powerful when there are a lot of enemies to drain. When playing [[ShapeShifting Dual- or Tri-Form]], Peacebringers tend to stay in one form for the duration of the fight or even the mission, while Warshades tend to constantly switch forms to maximize the gain from their various buffs. The powers of their respective human forms are mostly a combination of Blaster and Scrapper for the Peacebringer, and Blaster and Controller for the Warshade.
Former Villain archetypes include:
* [[TheBrute Brute]] (Medium-defense and medium-damage melee whose damage increases the longer they fight)
* Corruptor (Medium-damage ranged attack with "critical hits" as the enemy life is whittled down backed by buffs/debuffs)
* Dominator (Primarily enemy control with a mix of medium-damage ranged and melee attacks to back it up.)
* Stalker (Stealth-based "assassin type" with melee attacks, a BackStab ForMassiveDamage, and weak defense)
* [[TheMinionMaster Master]][[TheBeastmaster mind]] (Command [[{{Mooks}} minions]] or "pets" and back them up with buffs/debuffs)
Just like the heroes, there are two epic archetypes for the villains. Starting out as a member of the Arachnos faction, you take the role of a Wolf Spider (Arachnos Soldier) or Blood Widow (Arachnos Widow), then each have two branches that one can take in powers. The former represent the rank and file soldiers, starting with guns while then adding cybernetic attachments or specialized tech-maces, while the latter start out as [[McNinja pseudo-ninjas]] and can either stay as such or become a combat psychic. However, regardless of branch, you ultimately play as a damage type with some quirks (and a cool costume).
The second major expansion, ''Going Rogue'', opens a third beginning to the game, the [[MirrorUniverse Praetorians]]. They are able to play as any of the non-epic archetypes and start off neither good nor evil, choosing over the course of the first twenty levels whether they will be a Loyalist of the tyrannical Emperor Cole or join the terrorist Resistance against him. It also introduces the ability to change alignment via FaceHeelTurn or HeelFaceTurn, allowing a hero to become a villain or vice versa as well as opening up the in-between alignments of [[VigilanteMan Vigilante]] and [[AntiHero Rogue]].
Heroes and villains both choose an origin. Outside of Peacebringer (Natural), Warshade (Science), and the Arachnos archetypes (Natural), there are no limits placed on which origin can be used with what archetype/powers. It is possible to make one of your characters' powers, say, "Assault Rifle" with Magic Origins, and it won't make a lick of difference to your abilities.
* [[WeirdScience Science]] -- Characters that get their powers via scientific means. Super serums, [[ILoveNuclearPower radiation]], [[FreakLabAccident experiments gone wrong]], experiments gone ''right'', etc. Examples include Comicbook/{{Spider-Man}}, Marvel's Sandman and the Comicbook/FantasticFour. In universe example: Synapse of the Freedom Phalanx.
* [[{{Mutants}} Mutation]] -- Characters born with their powers that eventually unlock them as they grow older. Generally refers to humans inexplicably born with these features. Most of the characters in ''Comicbook/{{X-Men}}'' qualify. In universe example: Sister Psyche of the Freedom Phalanx.
* [[FunctionalMagic Magic]] -- Characters that get their powers through mystic training or artifacts. Can also refer to characters that get their powers from a patron deity or are a magical creature. Examples include Ghost Rider, ComicBook/{{Hellboy}} and DoctorStrange. In universe example: Numina of the Freedom Phalanx.
* [[TechFu Technology]] -- Characters that get their powers from technology. Where Science characters have been transformed in some way to gain their powers, Technology characters gain theirs through use of power armor, alien weapons, cybernetics, et al. Examples include IronMan, GreenLantern, Doctor Octopus and Robotman. In universe example: Positron of the Freedom Phalanx.
* [[BadassNormal Natural]] -- Characters who got where they are through the strenuous training of their bodies -- and also characters whose species naturally have the abilities. Examples include Comicbook/{{Superman}}, Comicbook/{{Batman}}, {{the Punisher}}, J'onn J'onzz the Martian Manhunter and Kingpin. In universe example: Manticore of the Freedom Phalanx.
Heroes defeat NPC villains and foil the plans of various archvillains and nefarious groups out to destroy Paragon/The World/Humanity. Villains carry out missions against {{NPC}} heroes or other villain groups to please various factions and power brokers and thereby improve their standing in the underworld. [[TheGreatPlayerVersusPlayerDebate Player-vs-Player combat]] is limited to restricted areas and is not necessary for game or level progress, although certain bonuses can be gathered by risking yourself in these areas.
The game has managed to stay alive despite being only a few months older than the massive ''WorldOfWarcraft'' juggernaut, largely by occupying a niche market and having a die-hard, rabidly devoted fanbase. There have been two novels based on it, ''Web of Arachnos'' and ''The Freedom Phalanx'', as well as two comic book series, one published by Blue King and the other by DarkHorseComics. A movie and T.V. series based on the game are currently in DevelopmentHell.
As noted above, the game is [[{{Freemium}} free-to-play (with tiered benefits for premium and subscribing players)]], and can be downloaded for free [[http://na.cityofheroes.com/en/freedom.php here]].
----
!!This game provides examples of:
* AbandonedWarehouse: ''Everywhere,'' at least in the earlier parts of the game. There are zones where you can't swing a dead catgirl without hitting an abandoned warehouse. And there are supervillains in ''every freaking one''.
** It gets to the point where, as a villain entering what seems like your eighty-third "Unused Arachnos Warehouse," you're presented with the mission entry text: "Another unused base. You have to wonder how many of these things Arachnos builds and never uses."
* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: Missions set in the sewers, the Sewer Network, the ''Abandoned'' Sewer Network...
** Between the huge sewers, the everpresent caves, and the underground city of Oranbega, it's a wonder Paragon City hasn't collapsed into the ground.
*** In some places it has. The Hollows was caused by the Trolls trying to make a cave for themselves and causing the entire city section to collapse. And Faultline was caused by a villain [[spoiler:(actually a mind-controlled hero)]] losing control of his powers, causing the entire zone to shatter and collapse.
** Averted in ''Going Rogue''[='=]s Praetoria: the incredibly spacious Underground is not a sewer system, but an abandoned ''subway'' system -- with occasional intersections with what appears to be a subterranean canal network. It also serves as an underground logistical and maintenance network.
* AfterTheEnd: Usually tied in with Alternate Universes or straight up time travel. Some notable examples:
** Recluse's Victory, a ruined version of Atlas Park used as a PVP Zone.
** Praetorian Earth, which was nearly overrun by the Devouring Earth after a nuclear war.
** Pretty much any alternate world you visit during a Portal Corp mission that isn't Praetoria, The Shadow Shard, or Council Earth/Axis America.
** Hinted at with the main game, after all the reason the WarWalls exist is to keep the Rikti Invaders out...and even then they sometimes fail...so just what is going on outside Paragon City?
*** Mainly because they would be really hard to tear down they also act as containment so if something is going badly in one area it doesn't spill over.
* AIRoulette: Found in more recent {{Mook}}s.
** Deliberately added to the [[spoiler:Flawed Clone during the battle with Ajax]]. Some players have reported the [[spoiler:Flawed Clone]] to be amazingly competent. Others just watched as it performed the chicken dance in the corner during the whole fight.
** Possibly deliberately lampshaded in a bit of NPC dialogue, wherein a Circle of Thorns Spectral Demon demands a Thorn Wielder turn over his magic knife because he's too stupid to use it properly.
* AlienInvasion: The Rikti, although [[spoiler:they're actually forcibly-mutated humans from AnotherDimension]].
* AllWebbedUp: Arachnoid lairs are often decorated with humanoid web masses.
* AlternateCompanyEquivalent
** Statesman is basically a fusion of {{Superman}} and CaptainAmerica, though his origin has a little CaptainMarvel.
*** His granddaughter, Miss Liberty is basically a combination of Supergirl and Wonder Girl.
** Positron is a [[ILoveNuclearPower radioactive]] IronMan, with a since-resolved ClingyCostume issue.
** Manticore is {{Batman}} with the fighting style of Green Arrow.
** Sister Psyche heavily resembles [[{{X-Men}} Jean Grey]], right down to being [[HeroesWantRedheads a redhead]].
** Synapse, the token speedster, is generally considered an equivalent to TheFlash, with added [[ShockAndAwe electricity powers]].
** Back Alley Brawler seems to have a little of Luke Cage, and/or Wildcat.
* AlternateUniverse: Tons. There's a company dedicated to exploring them. Some notable examples...
** Praetoria: Formerly a standard MirrorUniverse where the good guys are bad, since [[RetCon retconned]] into something a little less black and white.
** Axis America: A world where Marcus Cole sided with Germany during World War II. Home of the Reichsman.
** The Shadow Shard: Extradimensional prison of an insane god. Visually similar to [[WorldOfWarcraft Outland]].
** The Rikti Homeworld: [[spoiler:Where humanity mutated themselves into powerful psychics after contact with an alien race]].
* AnAdventurerIsYou
* AndYourRewardIsClothes: Perhaps the most eagerly pursued rewards, too, to the point where there is the occasional controversy and FlameWar over the unlock of some items.
** Though the devs upped drop rates on costume piece loot significantly, meaning that beating up a gangster and taking his fairy wings recipe no longer leaves you set for 20 levels or so.
* AnInteriorDesignerIsYou: The addition of Superbases and the Mission Architect.
* AnimalMotifs: [[MeaningfulName Arachnos really likes spiders]]. We're not kidding, damn near ''every single unit type'' is named after a kind of spider, up to [[EvilOverlord Lord Recluse]] himself.
** And he's got robot spiders as a common minion.
* AnimalWrongsGroup: The Devouring Earth, who take it to the next level by going OneWingedAngel and turning into [[{{Magitek}} part-scientific, part-magical]] {{Eldritch Abomination}}s with the ability to bring plants, fungi, and minerals to life as their minions.
** They also brought about the EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt in Praetoria.
* AnimateInanimateObject: Possibly the Radio contact in Port Oakes and definitely the Television contact in Grandville. Radio is either some [[VoiceWithAnInternetConnection DJ with a lot of contacts]] or a sentient machine that keeps tabs on you. Television appears to be the {{Avatar}} of this form of media, as it speaks to you using the characters in various TV shows. Though, it's deliberately left ambiguous.
** Definitely the Slot Machine contact in Saint Martial - it's [[spoiler: An artificially-intelligent slot machine trying to get you to rescue its inventor.]]
* AnotherDimension: Portal Corp runs on this, as do the Praetoria and Rikti factions...
* AntiHero / AntiVillain: The expansion ''Going Rogue'' makes these alignments possible in game with [[NobleDemon Rogues]] and [[VigilanteMan Vigilantes]].
** A few of the redside contacts are [[AntiVillain Anti Villains]]. Most notable is a demon hunter who gives you missions where rescuing the demons' victims is mandatory.
* ArcWords: Any arc involving Ghost Widow will usually have the phrase "The Dead can't change."
* ArtEvolution: Take a look at [[http://www.cityofheroes.com/media_and_downloads/screenshots/screenshot_gallery.html?category=23 these screenshots from issue 1.]]
** Now look at ''these'' [[http://goingrogue.na.cityofheroes.com/en/media/screenshots.html screenshots from Going Rogue/Issue 18]].
* ArtificialAtmosphericActions: Combined with GangUpOnTheHuman, if you encounter opposed factions engaged in a standoff (a very common situation), attacking either one in defense of the other is likely to make both of them attack you!
* ArtifactOfDoom: Lots, but the most important one is [[spoiler:the Well of the Furies-ie, ''the source of Incarnate powers''. It doesn't like [[BigGood Statesman]] because he protects the status quo, and it thinks [[EvilOverlord Lord Recluse]] is a ''poser''.]]
* ArtisticLicenseGeography: Rhode Island has no place on its coastline that has ocean access to the ''north,'' the way Paragon City does.
* AscendedExtra: The entirety of [[MirrorUniverse Praetorian Earth]], in a way; these lategame hero missions were popular enough that the devs made ''Going Rogue'' focus on the world in which they took place, with much more development and many more shades of gray than their previous EvilTwin tendencies. In doing so, they also revamped those original {{Story Arc}}s to be consistent with the Praetorians' new portrayal.
** There's also the Yin family; they began as largely background [=NPCs=] in the Faultline zone's redesign, though Penelope was known as a very powerful psychic, with a nebulous connection to the Clockwork King. Later on, Penelope Yin reappeared in the Lady Grey Task Force, as possibly the most powerful psychic on Earth. Come ''Going Rogue'', we met her Praetorian counterpart, a questionably sane Seer; but more importantly, her father Wu Yin finally appeared -- as [[spoiler:head of the Syndicate]].
* AscendedMeme:
** The "Kill Skuls" badge, which was based off an amalgamation of two separate forum stories about bad pick-up group experiences: one who would recruit people only to say "Go. Hunt." over and over again, and one who would recruit people only to say "kill skuls" over and over again.
** "It's always a Nemesis plot" made its ascent with the introduction of Tips: one Hero/Vigilante tip mission in the 30-40 range reveals the existence of a forum based ''entirely around'' making "everything is a Nemesis plot" jokes.
** The "Strong and Pretty" badge was based off a forum post which sang the praises of a War Mace/Energy Aura Brute. With {{MS Paint}} illustrations. The Brute in question was "both strong AND pretty!"
* AsteroidsMonster: Clockwork Princes and Devoured Earth rock and crystal monsters randomly spawn Underling-class enemies after death.
* ATasteOfPower: The first mission of the arc to unlock Incarnate Powers has you 'reliving' a scene from the point of view of your PhysicalGod future self. In it, you are completely invulnerable, and get to smack around Arch-Villain enemies like mooks.
** A villain story arc ends with you having stolen, very briefly, the powers of an EldritchAbomination. Just in time for [[CurbStompBattle an army of heroes to try and take you down]].
** The Sewer Trial offers as a reward one of four temporary powers to boost damage, accuracy, recovery, or regeneration, but it expires after 7 days or when you reach (or have already exceeded, sorry Exemplars!) level 22 (red or blue side).
** A Villain SF has you going after godlike artifacts; it gives a temp power upon completion which seems to be permanent, until you hit level 50 at which point you can trade it in for Incarnate shards.
** The Cathedral of Pain Trial also has a 7 day temp power reward.
** A Villain TF involves you breaking into Positron's base and taking a small bit of the Flames of Prometheus.
* TheAtoner: As of ''Going Rogue'', villains can receive missions that allow them to repent and change alignment. Of course, heroes can receive StartOfDarkness missions to switch sides, too.
** Warshades are aliens who used to possess humans by force and suppress their personality, but have realised that it is better to share their power with willing hosts instead.
** The infamous early archvillain Frostfire appears in high-level tips missions as a hero, making up for his earlier criminal career.
* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: Giant octopus, giant robots, giant amoebas, giant giants, giant walking plants...
** [[http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/File:CoH_Size_Chart.jpg This]] handy comparison chart (and the detail shots) show you just how obscenely huge some of the Giant Monsters can be.
* AttackPatternAlpha: The Council ''loves'' this trope. All of their seemingly endless variations on "Attack formation (something)" essentially boil down to "everybody hit somebody".
* AttentionWhore: Flambeaux, a woman who built herself a set of flame powers and became a superhero simply to get attention and praise. As of ''Going Rogue'', she turned villain because people weren't praising her ''enough'' as a hero. It's still not working like she'd hoped, but she can (and does) at least bomb the offices of magazines that won't print big articles on how glamorous and wonderful she is. This plus her habit of gasping out "But I only wanted to be loved" as she's defeated has predictably earned her the nickname "Flambimbeaux".
** As of ''Freedom'', she appears during Twinshot's arc early in the game at a point in her career when she's still a full hero -- and promptly demonstrates that as far as she's concerned, ''she's'' the player character and ''you're'' the NPC, because no matter what happens, it's all about ''her.'' And if you pay attention to another character's dialogue, she promptly gets annoyed.
** In that same arc, Manticore's computer lists a couple of the arc's characters and points out that she's one of the likeliest members to fall into villainy just to satisfy her attention-seeking.
* AuthorAvatar: a very literal example, most of the game developers will take notable {{NPC}}s as their avatars in the forums and are often referred to by their nicknames.
** Notably Statesman and Positron, who are part of the Surviving Eight because they are [[LegacyCharacter long-run]] {{Champions}}/[[VillainsAndVigilantes Villains & Vigilantes]] characters of two of the original developers.
* AxCrazy: If you're a Scrapper or a Brute, this is pretty much the best way to play them.
* {{Backstory}}: The game's mythology is surprisingly deep and complex, with basically an AlternateHistory of the entire 20th century due to the influence of superheroes. It is also notably original, rather than sampling heavily from any previously established superhero/comic-book mythos (as one might expect).
* BadassBoast: Many. Villains especially get many in badge descriptions [[hottip:*: For instance, the Abyssal Gaze exploration badge gives this description: "A yawning void opens before you, a testament to Hamidon's power, but you are unmoved. You have seen true darkness first hand and it has not kept you from pressing onward. You carry enough darkness within you and its going to take a lot more than a big hole in the ground to impress you. You've gazed into the abyss, and it's gazed into you too; you're both well acquainted with each other and have few secrets left to share."]]
* BadassCreed: The Midnight Squad has theirs written on their banner.
* BadassNormal: Malta humans, Knives of Artemis, Family, Paragon City Police, and a fair number of Natural-origin human heroes.
** Epic villain archetypes are mooks who were fed up seeing supers picked for promotion all the time and decided to show the world what a normal could do.
* TheBaroness: Countess Crey.
* BeneathTheEarth: Oranbega, The Eden Trial, The Hollows' Igneous faction.
* BigBadEnsemble: Lord Recluse is ''the'' BigBad, but Tyrant and Hamidon are currently even greater dangers to Primal Earth. Many of the other villain leaders also have a claim to the title, to varying degrees.
* BizarroUniverse: Praetoria, where all the heroes are evil and all the villains are good.
** At least, that was the original depiction. When Praetoria was made the focus of the expansion, they changed the focus from [[MirrorUniverse Primal Earth with a goatee]] to [[GrayAndGrayMorality the land of moral ambiguity]]. The alignment inversion is in place, but it's much less black and white.
* BlackCloak: The Circle of Thorns.
* BlownAcrossTheRoom: True to its superhero comic origins, gun attacks have a chance of sending the target flying backwards.
* BoringButPractical: Powers that reduce the time you have to wait between fights, such as the now-inherent fitness pool and the option to multi-slot the rest power to use it more often with faster results.
* BrainInAJar: Malta Titans contain these at their core. The Clockwork King has a classic brain-jar, bobbing eyeballs and all. Nemesis' armour-automotons contain artificial brains. Nemesis Warhulks go a step further with entire PeopleJars.
* BraggingRightsReward: Badges and Titles. Certain costume pieces also apply.
* BreastPlate: Some armor pieces, like that of the Widows or the Roman Centurion armor are rather form-fitting.
* BuffySpeak: Flambeaux, during the Twinshot arc, and also standing outside the Atlas Park Wentworth's.
-->''Sorry, hun, but I'm busy shopping. Don't you have something heroey to do?''
* ButThouMust: If you give the wrong password in Darrin Wade's villain arc: "Dad, come on. I know you know this. Are you just testing me to see if I'll call for backup or something? Let's try this again."
* CainAndAbel: [[BigGood Statesman]] and [[BigBad Lord Recluse]] are former friends and brothers-in-law. Talk about a BigScrewedUpFamily now.
* TheCape: While player characters embody this everywhere, actual capes have a very special significance in the game, due in large part to Hero 1, a very well-known Cape who never returned from the SuicideMission to end the Rikti War [[spoiler:at least, not as he was known. Still has the cape though]]. For a time they were banned in Paragon City out of respect for him, and the mission any prospective cape-wearer must do has them learning about him and visiting the Omega Team memorial.
* CapeBusters: The aforementioned Malta Group are an anti-superhero force of [[BadassNormal Badass Normals]]. They are among the toughest enemy groups in the game.
* CaptainErsatz / {{Expy}}: The game's character creator makes it trivially easy to reproduce virtually any published character -- so much so that in 2004 Marvel [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Heroes#Suit_by_Marvel sued NCSoft for trademark infringement]]. (Most of the case was thrown out by the judge, and the remainder was settled out of court.) And even though [=NCSoft=] and Paragon Studios will "generic" any too-blatant Captain Ersatz who comes to their attention, it's still hard to go through an evening's gaming without encountering at least one thinly (or not so thinly) disguised version of a published character.
* CaptainGeographic: Statesman for the USA, Hero 1 for the UK.
** The character creator also allows players to create their own CaptainGeographic.
* CaptainObvious: Parodied and played straight. Mooks often state the obvious. But in one mission a mook who speculates that heroes might be on their way is answered by another mook sarcastically hoping whoever turns up it isn't CaptainObvious. On seeing you the first mook confirms that you are indeed ''not'' CaptainObvious, CompletelyMissingThePoint.
* CardboardPrison: Ziggursky Penitentiary, AKA "The Ziggurat" or "The Zig". Before ''Freedom'', escaping from the Zig was the ''tutorial mission'' for villains.
* CardCarryingVillain: Subverted. They're actually ''less'' evil than the KnightTemplar and VillainWithGoodPublicity groups, apart from (maybe) the Circle of Thorns. They may have [[LampshadeHanging hung a lampshade on it]], as the final stage in creating a character involves you... filling out a villain registration form, presumably so you can get a card that proves you are a villain.
** The villain side of the game seems notably lacking in any concrete villainy.
*** ''Going Rogue'' has introduced a lot more, albeit optional, villainy in the form of the villain morality missions. Some players have admitted feeling very guilty after doing them.
* CatGirl: Mynx and her AlternateUniverse counterpart Bobcat. And a metric ton of player characters, thanks to costume options including cat legs, cat faces, cat eyes, cat markings for your cat faces, whiskers, animated cat tails, a power known as Claws, and ''two'' types of cat ears.
** If while playing or browsing game forums, you run across the phrase "You show me yours and I'll show you mine", this is what it probably refers to. There's an assumption that everybody's got one.
* CementShoes: You occasionally run into a group of Family goons fitting someone with these. if you attack them, the victim will try to [[CrowningMomentOfFunny hop away]].
** Additionally, you can [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential attack the cement shoes victims and still gain the experience points for it]].
* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: PPD Psi-Cops, Arachnos Widows and Fortunatas, and again, many players.
* ChestInsignia: Dozens of selectable ones!
* CherryTapping: The infamous, universal starter power Brawl is often used as a ''coup de grace'' on any enemy (usually an Archvillain towards level 50)) that has barely a sliver of red health left.
** This is also a common usage for the Rock, a one-shot low-damage temporary power you get from trick-or-treating during the Halloween event.
* TheChessmaster: Nemesis. For a lark, browse [[http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Main_Page ParagonWiki]] for a bit and pick out the number of times the phrase "mysterious benefactor" comes up. It's ''always'' Nemesis.
** With issue 12, ''City Of Heroes'' introduced messages for instance mission loading screens. One is "Not everything is a Nemesis plot"; another is "It's all a Nemesis plot."
** And with issue 14, which allows players to create their own missions, a new one has appeared: "If it's not already a Nemesis plot, you can use the Mission Architect to make it one."
** The primary Nemesis contact in ''City of Heroes'', Maxwell Christopher, spends much of his time trying to out-Chessmaster Nemesis, planning for as many possible contingencies as he can think of. [[spoiler:Hilariously, several of his attempts fail and he has as many OhCrap moments when he realizes how much of an UnwittingPawn Nemesis has made of him and you.]]
** [[spoiler: TimeCop organization Ouroboros is lead by a man named Mender Silos who claims to come from the extreme distant future. "Mender Silos" just happens to be an anagram of "Lord Nemesis".]]
*** As of I19, [[spoiler: Mender Ramiel confirms that Silos is a future version of Nemesis from hundreds of thousands of years in the future. He's supposed to have made a HeelFaceTurn by then. Unless that's just what he ''wants'' everyone to think...]]
* TheChosenOne: Framing device in ''City of Villains.'' Before ''Freedom'', new villain characters were broken out of the Zig due to their potential to become the Destined One. [[spoiler:Turns out you ''are'' the Destined One. And so is ''everyone else''. But by the end of the story arc, you aren't anymore.]]
** You are a hero in a city of heroes. And you are The Chosen One. And so is everybody else out there.
* TheChosenMany: In addition to the whole "Destined One" thing, there's the issue of "Incarnates", characters with a fragment of divine power. At first, it appears that Statesman and Lord Recluse are the only Incarnates. Then, it turned out several other characters (such as Sstheno and Trapdoor) can claim Incarnate powers. As of Issue 19, player characters have begun using Incarnate powers, drawing upon the Well of the Furies.
* CircusOfFear: The Carnival of Shadows.
* CityGuards: The invincible Police and Arbiter drones, as well as Longbow and the Paragon Police Department in ''CityOfHeroes'', and ''some'' Arachnos members in ''City of Villains''.
* CityOfAdventure: The whole city.
* CityOfCanals: Founder's Falls, aka "Super-Venice". Also Crey's Folly, whose original name actually ''was'' "Venice".
* ClingyCostume: Positron was permanently stuck in his anti-matter-driven armor for a while. [[IGotBetter He got better]].
* ClockPunk: 99.9% of all Clockwork enemies.
* CloningBlues: In the story arcs added for Issue 17, the player villain takes over [[spoiler:a cloning factory]]. It eventually ventures into MesACrowd territory. See {{Doppelganger}} for the "blue side" equivalent.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Penelope Yin. Her Primal Version seems oblivious to the fact that she's the most powerful psychic in existence. She sees the personal guard of Clockwork following her around as a perfectly normal thing, and acts confused and upset when she can't mentally communicate with her father like she can with most people. Her Praetorian version on the other hand, consistently calls the player "Rusty", seems convinced that she's the princess of "The Mirror Kingdom" and uses amusing childish terminology when giving missions. (Clockwork become "Teddy Bears", Seers become "Playtime Friends"...) [[spoiler: Considering that she's in the "tender care" of Mother Mayhem, many believe that this is ObfuscatingInsanity on Praetorian Yin's part (This is at least partially confirmed by Dark Watcher near the end of her mission arc.)]]
** Also, a minor [=NPC=] villain known as Shock Treatment. At one point, you find her fighting in an Arachnos Base, trying to get vengeance on behalf of her appliances
--> '''Shock Treatment:''' For my toothbrush!
* CognizantLimbs: Lusca has cognizant tentacles. The Hydra has cognizant tentacles with faces on them. The Hamidon has cognizant ''mitochondria''.
* ColonCancer: Rikti communication: in this manner, with the Mark II translators. Mark III translators, the first time they're used, cause the Rikti using it to comment on our adorably primitive causation structures.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: Energy blasts and lightning used to be blue for heroes and red for villains; similarly, the "neutral zone" nightclub Pocket D is blue on the heroes' side and red on the villains'. The default (customizable) interface colors also correspond to "blue side" and "red side". Going Rogue's default color is yellow.
** Other neutral zones will also color the designated hero and villain exits in blue and red, respectively. The Midnighter's Club is one example. An exception probably occurs in The Rikti War Zone: the exits have "PARAGON CITY" and "ROGUE ISLES" painted on the walls because the Vanguard base is too well lit to accommodate the blue and red color code.
** Also the trays for Praetorian characters are grey.
** Since the color spectrum added for issue 16, it's convenient so you can see which blasts are your attacks.
** If the Circle of Thorns has dominion over any part of a zone, there will be large glowing crystals with color-coded effects on characters standing near them. Red crystals drain HP, green ones replenish it, and blue ones refill endurance.
* CombatStilettos: Lots of the clothing options for females.
* CombiningMecha: The Malta Group's Hercules Titans.
* ComboPlatterPowers: Every player (except epic archetypes) gets to pick a primary power set and a secondary one. Usually sets can be paired thematically, but you are under no obligation (and rarely any penalty) to pick said combos; you can choose to have one fire-based and one ice-based set for example.
** The most commonly cited synchronicity is [[TheStraightAndArrowPath Trick Arrow/Archery]], where if you pick both, you generally keep your bow drawn, making both power sets faster. This has been a source of contention between the players and developers; the players have always insisted this was true while the developers have vacillated.
* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: Anyone with Teleport can use it to teleport almost anywhere they can see up to a certain (variable) range. For players, this means they can't teleport through walls in indoor missions. For enemy critters, this restriction does not apply; teleporting enemies can and will instantaneously transport halfway across the mission map, through several walls, to escape you.
** [=NPCs=] that are meant to resemble player characters often have powers at far lower levels than players can (Rogues' Gallery epic blasts, Desdemona and Doppelgangers being the worst offenders) or have different, better versions (such as Longbow Wardens' undisableable Quills or Carnival Illusionists' super-phase).
* ContinuingIsPainful: Miss a gate on a ski race? Tough luck. Crawl back up and finish the race, because there's no way to abort it.
* ConservationOfNinjutsu: An actual game mechanic for the mastermind. As he gains the ability to summon more minions, they become individually less powerful. At high levels the base minions tend to die a lot. But hey, that's what minions are ''for''.
** Several tanker/brute powersets have a power that increases certain stats based on the number of foes surrounding them, making them harder to kill. Not only that, but these powers also make the bad guys want to attack you more, so they stick around.
* ConspicuouslySelectivePerception: See the entry.
* CopyAndPasteEnvironments: Each building/cave's rooms and corridors come in several different flavors and with different features. However, many office and warehouse missions have remarkably similar layouts for their buildings. After a while they all start to look the same.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: The Countess Crey, and Crey Industries in general. Kirk Cage, and the Cage Consortium in general.
* CosmeticAward: Badges and costume options.
* CosmicRetcon: The [=PsychoChronoMetron=] of the Faultline arc allows a psychic user to alter reality.
** ContinuitySnarl: The one use of it caused this, and the death of its inventor, [[spoiler:when he tried to turn the hero Faultline into a villain, as well as misinterpreting his powers. As a result, a lot of information on Faultline is... confused.]]
*** Well generally [[spoiler: when you try to brute force a change in reality with absolutely no idea what you're doing, it tends to make things go wonky. We're lucky he didn't cause a CriticalExistenceFailure to reality.]]
* CurseEscapeClause: It is possible for a PC in ''City of Villains'' to get cursed by the Circle of Thorns to something truly nasty; the curse can be broken by killing the demon intended to finish fulfilling it.
* CutLexLuthorACheck: [=NPCs=] will hold victims hostage, hide out after a heist, or just make a base of operations for their goal in caves that are littered with gem stones the size of coffee tables. Never once do they think to mine this huge rock and sell it.
** Because large quantities of gemstones being readily available to the market lowers their value.
* {{Cutscene}}: Implemented as of Issue 6. Some hate them, others wish there were more.
* CyberPunk: The Freakshow.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Not literally, but one of the new Incarnate components is actually ''called'' Forbidden Technique!
* DarkIsNotEvil: The "Darkness" power sets are available to heroes and villains, and heroes can easily be made to look this way. Infernal is a big time canon example.
** With Power Customisation, nor is it [[LogicBomb necessarily dark.]]
* DeadlyDoctor: Dr. Vahzilok.
* DealWithTheDevil: Player characters' origins aside, the Hellions are a Satan-worshiping street-gang whose leaders have gained flame powers. The Circle of Thorns are sorcerers who long ago dealt with demons to defeat their enemies, and have had a lot of time to regret it. In City of Villains, one mission arc has you helping the beneficiary of such a deal to weasel out of it.
* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: Above level 10, dying results in a certain amount of experience debt, where half of the XP earned goes to paying off that debt, while the other half is used to progress as normal. Also justified in-game, in that all heroes and villains are issued medicom patches that stabilize the wearer and teleport them to a hospital in the case of their vital signs dipping below a certain point.
** Recent updates have added "patrol XP" which doubles-ish your XP gain for a time proportional to how long you've been logged off -- dying while you have any will reduce that time, you won't even accrue debt.
** There's even a "Debt Paid" line of badges, so dying a lot earns you a CosmeticAward or six.
* DegradedBoss
* {{Determinator}}: Many characters in-story, of course. The Willpower set is an example of just showing true grit while not technically being related to super powers.
** The Arachnos Soldier and Arachnos Widow classes are so determined that [[spoiler: according to Kalinda they warped reality. They weren't originally Destined Ones, but they ''become'' them by sheer force of will]].
* DevelopmentGag: A long history of them.
** Just one example. A long-standing bug was that, if the game couldn't find the proper model to display for a hostage, it would use the first model on the list -- a [[ThoseWackyNazis 5th Column]] [[MechaMook Mek Man]]. Fast forward several issues to two 5th Column {{Mook}}s discussing whether disguising robots in hard light holograms will work. And in an example of [[{{Irony}} Cosmic Irony]], said dialogue happened in the issue which broke ''that'' bug (now instead of a Mek Man there is another model, a 5th leader).
* DidNotDoTheResearch: Rhode Island couldn't hold a metropolis, unless the whole state was one city. But honestly, do you really care?
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Ancient goddess rousing her people to revolt and conquer the world? Go beat her up. Alone if you have to. She won't even be as powerful as that one guy possessed by a space alien.
** See also the Cherrytapping entry above
* DieChairDie: Mayhem missions in ''City Of Villains'', where you get extra time for destroying scenery. There is even a powerup available that has an amount of property damage among its prerequisites[[hottip:+ :100 cars, 25 hydrants, 25 mailboxes, 25 newspaper stands, 25 pay phones, 10 bank vaults, 10 burned buildings, 1000 cops, 1000 Longbow and 25 hero [=NPCs=]]].
* DoomyDoomsOfDoom: "DOOOOOOOOOOOM!!" is actually [[MemeticMutation a catchphrase used among the community]] to poke fun at the [[RuinedForever rioting that ensues whenever a major announcement is made.]].
* DoorToBefore: The "Exit Mission" button.
* {{Doppelganger}}: In the story arcs added for Issue 17, every player hero has one. [[spoiler:Two, actually; one's your standard EvilTwin, the other is nobler than you from a MirrorUniverse.]] See CloningBlues for the "red side" equivalent.
* DoWellButNotPerfect: If you complete a ski race good enough to earn the gold medal, you won't get the silver and bronze ones.
* DownTheDrain: Sewer missions which give you the constant nagging feeling that you're wading around in the combined filth of an entire city.
* TheDragon: Several for each major villain.
** Bonus points for the Rikti, because one of their bosses actually goes by the name of Dra'Gon.
** Lord Recluse has four dragons (Mako, Scirocco, Ghost Widow and Black Scorpion). Each of ''these'' villains has a Dragon of their own!
* DramaticWind
* {{Dronejam}}
* EasterEgg: Many throughout the game. Even a badge called such.
* ElaborateUndergroundBase: Many a mission map. Also, starting with Issue 6, supergroups can build their own.
* TheElectricSlide: It is technically possible given that power lines act like any other surface but there's no real point in doing so.
** Even better, there is a VIP power that is called Prestige Power: Slide.
* EldritchAbomination: Several.
** The region known as Dark Astoria was a thriving upper-class suburb until the Rikti War, when an ancient cult took advantage of the confusion to sacrifice every man, woman, and child in the place to an ancient horror that sleeps beneath Moth Cemetary known as "Mot"
** There is a Lovecraft-style Eldritch Abomination lying beneath Sharkhead Isle named "The Leviathan" complete with a Shadow Over Innsmouth-style race of fish-people that worship it.
** The ancient deities of the Mu, the Oranbegans, the Banished Pantheon, and the Corallax are all implied to be from the same larger sphere of demideific beings, all of whom are either trapped, dead, or sleeping at the moment.
** A football-stadium-sized single-celled organism with reality-warping powers is what remains of a human scientist by the name of Hamidon. Similarly, Rularuu, whose power was so great that when he was imprisoned within another dimension he immediately took control of it and became a being of godlike power, is implied by certain in-game text to also be a former human.
** There is another entity that has no true form, only a human-given nickname, is ancient, timeless, has the power to bend reality and span dimensions, and has no apparent grasp of or concern for human morality. It is known as the Well of the Furies, and all current end-game content currently revolves around the thin line between you mastering its power and its power mastering you.
* ElementalRockPaperScissors: Present, but not universal. There are several notable cases of elemental-powered enemies being resistant against their own element, but weak against the opposite. On the other hand, Freakshow both use and are weak to Energy attacks. For the player side of things, elemental armors tend to have the opposing element's damage type as their weakest resist.
* EleventhHourSuperpower: Several of the tier 9 powers are used like this.
* EliteMooks: Every evil organization has 'em.
* EmoteAnimation
* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: More times than you can count. Although it never is.
* EnemyCivilWar: Warburg breaking off from the Rogue Isles and the Rikti's clash between the Traditionalists and the Restructurists.
** Also, the Council splintered off from the 5th Column, and there was a civil war in-game when the group was introduced. With the return of the 5th Column in a later update, the two groups occasionally go at it again in some zones.
* EnemyChatter
* EnemyMine: Heroes and Villains can fight together during various special events in [[BadGuyBar Pocket D]], as well as in the Rikti War Zone against [[ScaryDogmaticAliens the Rikti]] and in the ancient Roman peninsula of Cimerora.
** Issue 19 will also see an invasion of Primal Earth from Praetoria, giving both sides of the alignment spectrum (and everyone in between) an enemy that can only be fought off by pooling resources.
* EnemyWithout: Inverted: Rularuu the Ravager, a god-like being from AnotherDimension, has a Hero Without in the form of Faathim the Kind.
* EnergyBeings: Kheldians.
* EscortMission: With varying degrees of [[ScrappyLevel scrappyness]]; most of the time the escort-ee cannot actually be attacked, sometimes they are a powerful ally and capable of taking care of themselves, and sometimes [[ArtificialStupidity they run off and attack]] [[LeeroyJenkins every foe in sight like an idiot.]]
** Hi, Lady Jane! My completely full team on the lowest difficulty level is here to help you, even with the [[DemonicSpiders Circle of Thorns being absolutely ridiculous at this level]], I hope we ca-- Oh. You've died.
*** Thankfully, they managed to tone her down in a recent update. And even if she does die, you are still handed the item you came for "just before she teleports out."
** On the Lady Grey Task Force, you get an escort mission of two superhero sisters -- Infernia and Glacia -- whom you have to lead back to the door for successful mission. However, Infernia is such a ExpletiveDeleted chatterer ''who won't shut up'' that a good number of teams simply have the ambushes kill her and be done with it.
*** "Die, Infernia, [=DIE=]!!!"
* EqualOpportunityEvil: A lot of enemy groups are all-male (and two, the Cabal and the Knives of Artemis, are all-female), but Crey Industries, the Carnival of Shadows and Arachnos all have both male and female minions. And who knows what gender the Circle of Thorns are under all those robes?
** On the villain side, Longbow is an Equal Opportunity ''Good'' enemy group.
** And in Praetoria, the Resistance, the Destroyers, the Syndicate and, oddly enough, the Clockworks. The Ghouls ''might'' be, but are so heavily mutated that it's impossible to tell for sure. The PPD may qualify as well, if you count the Seers as part of their forces.
** A late 2011 graphical update to the Circle of Thorns now makes it clear what gender they are under all those robes; some of them have breasts, showing that yes, they really are an EqualOpportunityEvil group.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Some ''City of Villains'' missions have you taking on someone who has sunk to a level that disgusts even your character. Subverted if you take Westin Phipps' missions, which have you acting even ''worse''. [[spoiler:Double subverted if you choose to fail the last mission of his Francine Primm StoryArc, letting Ms. Primm escape to Paragon City in order to continue teaching reformed villains. If you do so, she sends you her syllabus and writes "It's never too late" on the back.]]
** As a Villain you can't hurt civilians.
** Lord Recluse stayed neutral during WorldWarII. Even a literal [[DemonicSpiders demonic spider]] hates Nazis.
** Most of the Rogue alignment missions are this.
* EverythingFades: The devs keep this vague on purpose; the official terminology is "defeat", which leaves the implication that a player can decide what fate his character inflicts on unfortunate opponents, from teleportation to the local CardboardPrison (Zigursky Federal Penitentiary) to leaving them roughed up but alive to leaving thousands of corpses in your wake. Exactly how you non-lethally subdue someone with a powerset that is primarily ''Lethal'' damage (such as Assault Rifle or Broadsword) is never explained.
** This changes in ''Going Rogue''. There are several instances in Praetoria where you're given the option to kill people. Not defeat, ''kill''. Most of them for treason.
** There is even a ''hero'' side mission in the ''starting zone'' of issue 21 where you get a "arrest" or "Kill" option.
* EvilMinions: Enemies even spawn in a "Minion" class. Also, play a Mastermind, and you get your own army of them. Inverted with the ''good'' minions certain high-level heroes get.
** As of Going Rogue, you can now have Good (or at least [[AntiHero Anti-Heroic]]) masterminds from Pretoria, or [[HeelFaceTurn evil masterminds turned good]].
* EvilTwin: The leaders of the Praetorian dimension are an evil Freedom Phalanx.
** [[spoiler: You can meet your own as of Issue 17]].
* EvilVersusEvil: Much of ''City of Villains''' missions.
* ExpandedUniverse: Comics and novels.
* ExpansionPack: ''City of Villains''; marketed as an "expandalone", since it could be played as a separate game. The game's major updates (known as Issues) fall in this category as well, happily adding a full pack's worth of content for free each time. ''Going Rogue'' will be a traditional paid expansion pack, though it will also be available in a ''Complete Edition'' with the base [=CoX=] game, [[AndYourRewardIsClothes bonus costume pack]], and 30 days of game time that you'll get even if you already own the base game.
* FaceHeelTurn / HeelFaceTurn / FaceHeelRevolvingDoor: The signature gameplay element of the ''Going Rogue'' expansion. Its mascots are an Arachnos-employed demon summoner who was lied to about her mother's death and a heroic KnightTemplar superhero who became an insane vigilante. You can even have a hero turn into a villain then work their way back into being a hero again! (The same is true of villains.)
* FacelessEye: Some of the inhabitants of the Shadow Shard.
* FacelessGoons
* FanDisservice: The default female Zombie costume is {{stripperiffic}}.
* FanNickname: When the Council were first introduced, they were known by many as "Sazis" or "Spazis" (for "Space Nazis"). Seems to have died out, though some still call the masked Galaxy soldiers "[[MaskedLuchador luchadores]]".
** Rommy and the Fuzzies, for Romulus Augustus and his three Nictus, who look like floating balls of purple black smoke. Boobcat for the new Praetoria revamp of [[{{Stripperiffic}} Bobcat's costume]]. Hami-O's for Hamidon Origin Enhancements. Quite a few signature characters have shortened versions for ease of use: States, Posi, [=BABs=], Manti, GW, Scorp, [[AndZoidberg and DocQ]].
** Flambimbeaux.
** The new tutorial level for ''Going Rogue'' has been referred to as the "Praetorial".
** The underground city of Orangebagel.
** Certain terms for players who play "hybrid" character, like "scranker" for a player who plays a tank but acts like a scrapper, or vice-versa. More [[http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Category:Archetype_Mash_Up here.]]
* {{Feelies}}: Including HeroClix of the signature characters.
* FetchQuest: Plenty of them.
* FlyingFirepower: mix a range ability with flight, and you are one.
* FightingAShadow: The "shadows" are actually a ''basic boss'' for the Nemesis faction -- being the MagnificentBastard that their titular leader is, his {{Power Armor}}s have a very advanced AI that can work on it's own. "Fake Nemeses" are, as one might guess, spare suits that have been activated to serve as field commanders/doppelgangers.
* FiveBadBand: The leaders of Arachnos.
* {{Flashback}}: Via the aptly-named Flashback system, complete with [[DeliberatelyMonochrome sepia tones]] at the beginning and end of missions.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The devs have gotten very good at hinting at their plans through current updates. For instance, Requiem and the 5th Column turned out to be TheManBehindTheMan in [[spoiler:Cimerora]], Issue 12, before the Column made their triumphant return in Issue 15.
** On the other hand, the "Coming Storm" had been languishing in the background with (seemingly) no developments ever since Issue 11. [[spoiler:Issue 17's new arcs made mention of it for the first time in years, and now FINALLY the first wave of it hit, destroying Galaxy City and thus creating the new Tutorial area. And it's apparently just the tip of the iceberg, according to Prometheus...]]
** Also lampshaded and played straight with Foreshadow a hero who alternates between good and evil every time he dies and is reincarnated. Which foreshadowed Going Rogue years before it ever happened
* FragileSpeedster: Any Blaster with the Speed travel power.
** LightningBruiser: Any Tanker/Scrapper with the Speed travel power.
* FridgeBrilliance: the CosmicRetcon above also explains where every new character has to do similar missions: Time gets rewound. Making the ever repeating missions your alts have to do perfectly Justified!
* FogOfWar: While most zone maps are completely visible from the start, the various hazard zones must be revealed via exploration. Averted for some players in that a recent high-level Veteran's Reward negates this.
** To a far smaller degree, the Steamy Mist power from the Storm Summoning set is quite literally a small-radius movable Fog of War centered on the user's person.
*** A full group of high level players fighting for their lives can send up a truly epic amount of particle spam, making it effectively impossible to see what is going on on your screen.
* FriendlyFireproof: You can't set team-mates or hostages on fire. Unless your power ''is'' [[HealItWithFire setting allies]] [[IncendiaryExponent on fire]].
** [[http://threepanelsoul.com/2007/08/13/on-corruption/ DID YOU JUST MAKE ME FLAMING??]]
** Enemy [=NPCs=] with Confuse powers can force you to treat them this way.
* GambitRoulette: [[{{Magnificent Bastard}} Lord Nemesis]].
* GameBreaker: Incarnate abilities are this in-universe, especially the fully-developed, not-controlled-by-the-Well version. Players will (likely) never get the full extent shown in one future flashback mission where Archvillains (the toughest regular foes in the game) are defeated with laughable ease.
* GenderBender: Possible with the third booster pack, Super Science... but please, for the love of all that is holy, [[InternetBackdraft don't bring it up on the forums.]]
** [[AlternateUniverse Fusion and Jane Temblor]].
* GeniusBruiser: Sometimes mooks standing on the street corners will come out with hilariously insightful comments about their career path or how sometimes to be a catalyst of change you have to kick people.
* GetOnTheBoat
* GhostPlanet: Several of the [[AnotherDimension other dimensions]] you get to visit. How they got that way is usually NightmareFuel.
* GlassCannon: Blasters' tendency to get killed in any particular fight has lead to Blaster players referring to themselves as members of the "Floor inspectors' union".
** Fiery Aura, in compared to other armor sets, also counts. No defense, lower resists compared to Electric Armor and Dark Armor, but has a Area of Effect attack, damage aura and a damage boosting power.
** Arguably Stalkers, with the most damaging critical hit in the entire game capable of a OneHitKill even with some bosses ([[BackStab as long as it's from Hidden status]]) but low hit points and relatively weak defence.
* GlorySeeker: The "Power" storyline of the Loyalists in Praetoria revolves around your character being this, a fame seeker motivated to gain the adoration of the masses whatever the cost.
* GoingThroughTheMotions
* GoodGuyBar: Pocket D is a neutral-zone club for all characters.
* GradualGrinder: Controller/Dominator primaries work that way. Debuff-based Defenders when soloing.
* GreyAndGreyMorality: [[{{Utopia Justifies The Means}} The Loyalists]] versus [[{{The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized}} The Resistance]] in [[{{Mirror Universe}} Praetoria]]. To put it another way, would you rather defend a society where free thought is abolished and civil rights barely exist... or would you rather destroy the last remnants of civilized society in the name of "freedom?" Tyranny or Anarchy, take your pick! (And no, you don't get a [[TakeAThirdOption third option.]]) A character from either side can become a hero or villain, depending on your specific choices during game play.
** And within each side, there's a BlackAndWhiteMorality. Loyalists can take the [[GloryHound Power]] or [[IDidWhatIHadToDo Responsibility]] paths, and Resistance can take the [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeVillified Warden]] or [[OmnicidalManiac Crusader]] paths.
* GunsAkimbo[=/=]GunKata: The Dual Pistols powerset, available to Blasters, Defenders, Corruptors and Thug Masterminds. You have to be VIP, have bought them at the Paragon Shop, or have bought Going Rogue in order to get them though.
* {{Hammerspace}}: Characters draw their weapons from thin air. Occasionally, enemies already with a weapon will put it away or leave it slung across their back, and draw another, different weapon from nowhere. Valkyrie is the primary example of the latter.
* HandBlast: The Blaster archetype runs on this. For at least half of the power sets, the first few powers involve firing fire, ice, radiation, energy, etc. from the hands.
* HandWrapsOfAwesome: one of the costume options for gloves.
* HelloInsertNameHere
* HeKnowsAboutTimedHits
* HeroesRUs
* HideYourChildren: Except for Penny Preston and player characters, although the latter is mostly illusory.
* HijackedByGanon: Nemesis, mostly. Requiem's pulled it a couple times too.
* HomingBoulders: The Trope Namer. The success of a ranged attack is determined before or just as the attack animation begins, resulting in misses that always travel in straight lines, and hits that chase their targets down and pass unimpeded through solid objects in order to reach them.
** Subverted in the same fashion; when a ranged attack misses "in a straight line," this is slightly off to the side when shot from across the room. When shot from point blank, it's hardly uncommon to see a fireball/lightning/ice blast/whatever suddenly shooting straight up or out to the side.
* HumongousMecha: Malta Titans, especially the Kronos Class Titan. Depending on the definition, the Clockwork giant monsters may also apply. Also the [[spoiler:Giant Zenith Mech from the last mission in the Hess Task Force on Striga Isle and the two repainted clones of it in the Imperious Task Force in Cimerora, although they're more properly part of the setting rather than an opponent]].
* HundredPercentHeroismRating
* IdleAnimation: The character cycles between several stances, including standing boldly with chest outthrust, crossing his/her arms, and placing their hands on their hips. The player can also pick one for AFK if they wish, such as reading a newspaper or listening to a police radio.
** Also happens for [=NPCs=]. The default is punching a fist into a palm and the odd "bring it on!" gesture, but some enemy groups have their own, like standing at attention, sitting on boxes and cleaning weapons, or ''reading books and making tea.''
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: A lot of the reasoning that shows up in Vigilante tip missions.
* IGotARock: A ShoutOut during the Halloween events is that one of the "treats" you can get is a rock. Description: "You got a rock". Deals minor damage, and is prized by some for CherryTapping.
* IJustWantToBeLoved: Motivation and frequent line of dialogue for NPC ex-heroine Flambeaux.
* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: Your chance of hitting with ranged attacks is determined by your accuracy stat, and if you miss, the projectile physically misses the target. If you're firing at point-blank range, this can result in you shooting sideways, or straight up in the air.
** Becomes somewhat egregious when the attacks in question are EyeBeams.
* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: Many of the female options for clothing are possible to wear only if one's special abilities include attaching clothes with a nailgun.
* ImpossiblyLowNeckline
* InescapableAmbush
* InnBetweenTheWorlds: The Pocket D, an interdimensional Night Club.
* InstantDeathRadius: Anything based on fire.
* InterfaceScrew:
** The Confusion status effect, which only allows you to target friendlies with your attacks and enemies with your support.
** A specific case in Noble Savage's final mission in First Ward: [[spoiler:Your character starts flipping out and shouting [[BoldInflation IN ALL CAPS]] when talking to people for no reason, and when you first enter the mission, the objective is (paraphrased) "Two poor souls who are possessing useless DUST shells to EAT" instead of "Two DUST Leader-possessing Apparitions to defeat."]] It's earnestly a little creepy. [[spoiler:It turns out you were [[DemonicPossession being possessed]] by the last Apparition you defeated -- during the course of the mission, the Apparition leaves your body to try and possess Katie Douglas, and the mission objective reverts to a more normal phrasing.]]
* InUniverseGameClock
* InvisibleWall: Averted: ''CityOfHeroes'' has [[JustifiedTrope very visible]] War Walls. ''City Of Villains'' has unexplained blue force fields that are only visible up close.
** Praetoria has sonic inhibitors in place of War Walls. Getting too close to a "restricted area" will shut off your powers and cause you physical harm. The Blue Forcefields used on mission maps and City of Villains zones are visible if you manage to get close enough to the edge without dying, or travel between Praetorian Zones via bridge.
* InvulnerableCivilians
* {{Irony}}: Paragon City is in Rhode Island. The zone for City of Villains is called The Rogue Isles. When Rhode Island was originally founded with the idea of creating a place of religious freedom, it was called "Rogues' Island" by the Puritans of Massachusetts.
* ISOStandardUrbanGroceries: Carried by some of the InvulnerableCivilians.
* ItemCrafting: The Invention system.
* JackOfAllStats: The Scrapper is the most balanced of the Archetypes, falling midway between the Blaster and Tanker in terms of its ability to both dish out and soak up damage. Scrappers therefore have the greatest survivability in solo play, but the downside is that in team play they lack a clearly-defined role and tend to be overshadowed by the more specialized Archetypes.
** ...which is fine with them because they'll gladly go off and solo the other half of the map. And that's fine with you because you're getting a share of that experience.
** Since side-switching became available, the Brute has fallen into this. Offensively, they're weaker than Scrappers, but stronger than Tankers (and vice-versa for defenses).
** Lacking a clearly defined team role isn't necessarily a bad thing. Scrappers can provide some minimal team buffs with the Leadership pool, and Invention Origin buffs can bring them to the point where they can tank archvillains. Regeneration is particularly notable for Moment of Glory, which has been known to stop team wipes on the Statesman Task Force when the Tanker/Brute goes down and the Scrapper uses it to tank Lord Recluse long enough for the Tanker/Brute to be rezzed.
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: Villain missions undertaken as a Vigilante are this, to a hilarious degree -- blowing up a Longbow base to teach them a lesson about being complacent, destroying a charity event because no one in the Rogue Isles deserves charity, ''murdering a kidnapped girl, faking a distress call with a promised reward, and then killing any heroes who try to come rescue her since they were probably doing it for the reward''...
** Issue 19 added new tip missions for Vigilantes trying to become Villains and Rogues trying to become Heroes, which are much better written while still playing this trope straight -- that is to say, Vigilantes jump off the slippery slope in a much more realistic and believable manner (along with Rogues...getting...''back up'' the slippery slope?).
* JumpPhysics
* JustifiedTutorial: Containing a viral outbreak in ''City of Heroes'' and breaking out of jail in ''City of Villains'' (both of which were retconned away when ''Freedom'' launched; now, in either case, you're evacuating from Galaxy City as it's hit by Shivan meteors); going through Powers Division training (and choosing to side with the Resistance or Loyalists) in ''Going Rogue''.
* KarmaMeter: But not of the {{Bioware}} sort. Rather, each alignment (Hero, Vigilante, Rogue, and Villain) has their own bar, and completing Tip Missions will give you an alignment point for the respective bar. After filling up the bar by doing 10 missions towards that alignment, you'll end up with a Morality Mission that will allow you to make the hard switch to that alignment.
* KickTheDog: Westin Phipps, whose missions have you kidnapping families, poisoning food meant for the homeless, and other monstrous things for no reason but ForTheEvulz. Some players think he's too evil. Other players think he's ''not evil enough''. Also that one mission where you go to Paragon City and kidnap civilians and hand them over to Dr. Vahzilok's minions so the Paragon Police will go after him and distract him from his plans in the Rogue Isles.
* KillerSpaceMonkey: Rikti monkeys.
* KnightTemplar: Scirocco embodies this during his Patron arc, and Longbow sometimes indulges in tendencies like this. Malta, without a doubt, is made of these.
** Pretty much literal with the on-a-mission-from-God Luddites.
*** ...although they're actually ''right'', at least about Dr Aeon.
** Player characters can become one themselves as both a Vigilante and with the Crusader Resistance faction.
* KryptoniteFactor: Especially bad for the Peacebringers and Warshades, whose presence on a team [[KryptoniteIsEverywhere causes special enemies to spawn specifically to hose them]].
* LargeHam: Romulus Augustus' transformation, right down to larger font.
* LaughablyEvil: [[MadScientist Dr. Thaddeous Aeon]]. His scatterbrained megalomania (complete with DidIJustSayThatOutLoud) is just so ''cute''!
** Ditto up-and-coming Mad Lab Assistant Vernon von Grun. He even tells you to laugh with him at one point. (Anyone who doesn't, for real, is not getting into the spirit of this arc.)
** The Freakshow as well. Everything they say and do is ridiculously hilarious.
*** Combine the two and you have Doc Buzzsaw:
---> "[[ScienceIsBad Oh, what has science wrought?]] [[TemptingFate I sought only to turn a man into a metal-encased juggernaut of destruction]] powered by the unknown properties of a [[GreenRocks mysterious living crystal]]. [[GoneHorriblyWrong How could this have all gone wrong?]]"
* LazyArtist: The never-ending supply of generic, near-identical warehouses with random floor plans. And the office buildings. And the caves.
* LeakedExperience
* LeaveNoWitnesses: In ''City of Villains'', sometimes an explicit mission objective.
* LeeroyJenkins: As a ShoutOut, no less.
** And far, far too many players in bad pick up groups to count.
* LeetLingo: The Freakshow tend to speak in [=l33t=]. Nobody really knows how they can pronounce it. Lampshaded on a regular basis.
* LegacyCharacter: The current Manticore took up his father's role after his murder.
** Also, in a Villain-Only [[TimePolice Ouroboros]] mission you get to fight the mother (And former nameholder) of Miss Liberty.
*** Well technically the mother is Miss Liberty, her daughter is Ms Liberty. Yes, they're confused all the time.
* LevelFiveOnix
* LevelGrinding: Although the devs do their best to minimize it.
* LevelScaling: While enemies in open world areas have fixed levels, most missions are instanced, and the instances are scaled to player levels and group sizes. In case of the flashback system that allows high-level heroes to revisit low-level missions, the ''player'' is scaled in level to match the mission difficulty.
* LevitatingLotusPosition: The lotus pose and lotus-with-levitation are stock poses, although the latter is more a fortuitous accident stemming from the various "sit" emotes still being available to a toon in flight.
* LibertyOverProsperity: If you create your character in Praetoria, the squeaky-clean police-state, you defect to Primal Earth (the main game setting) at level 20. Either because you believe that liberty is worth the chaos that comes with it, or because it'll make being a villain easier.
* LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition: Standard editions, DVD Collector's Editions, Good vs. Evil pack...
* LoadBearingBoss: The end of the last mission in the [[spoiler: Ernesto Hess]] Task Force is a nasty shock your first time through...
* LostForever: Formerly the badges from the tutorial missions. Ouroboros was added to the game for the explicit ''purpose'' of averting this trope; today, only the anniversary badges can truly be considered to be LostForever.
* MacGuffin: Including a literal [[FunWithAcronyms P.L.O.T. Device]].
** Steven Werner's precious item, which is never described in more detail.
* MadeOfIron: No one ever really explains how archetypes with no defenses (Blasters, Masterminds, etc) can take a bullet to the chest without flinching.
** MadeOfDiamond: Some of the Tier 9 moves skyrocket your defense for about 3 minutes. Moment of Glory takes this UpToEleven by combining two Tier 9 effects, but only for 15 seconds.
* MadScientist: Several of them, from the Praetorian Anti-Matter to Dr. Aeon.
* MagikarpPower
* ManaMeter: Called "Endurance" here.
* MetaOrigin: The Well Of The Furies, a [[BrokenBase very controversial]] and often misunderstood bit of lore. Originally described as being a literal [[AppliedPhlebotinum Fountain of Phelebotinum]] that could grant anyone who tasted its waters [[AGodAmI the powers of a deity]], it has since been [[Retcon retconned] to become a semi-sentient entity responsible for spreading superpowers throughout the world to fulfill its own mysterious agenda.
** By completing the Dark Astoria storyline, Prometheus reveals that [[spoiler:the Well is actually something called a Force of Potential, formed from the collective thoughts and ideals of humanity. Every species in the multiverse has a Force of Potential, but some have been consumed by members of the species going OneWingedAngel, and others are being hunted by a mysterious force called The Batallion.]]
* {{Mecha-Mooks}}: The Clockwork are an entire faction of these; in addition, The Council, the 5th Column, Arachnos, Nemesis, Malta, and the Sky Raiders all have their own punchable robots.
** Also, Mastermind villain [=PCs=] can have mecha-mooks of their own, with the Robots power set.
** ''Going Rogue'' brings graphical updates for the Praetorian Clockwork, providing male, female, huge, and Giant Monster flavors of Mecha Mooks.
* MightyGlacier: Stone Tankers and Brutes. As well, Ice Tankers can usually move as fast as anybody else -- except when using the tier 9 power, Hibernate, which renders you immobile, invulnerable, and incapable of attacking, but boosts your regen and recovery.
* MindScrew: The villainous Television contact, which has you taking orders from [[TheSimpsons Bart Simpson]], burning books and blaming it on videogames, and going ''into'' a gangster movie to defeat Nemesis troops, among other weirdness.
** Some Vigilante-to-Villain morality missions follow the idea that your character is becoming evil via descent into madness. To symbolize this, those missions will delve into MindScrew territory.
* MirroredConfrontationShot: The Good vs. Evil box art.
* MirrorUniverse: Praetorian Earth... sort of.
* MookMaker: Of both the fixed type, in Circle of Thorns demon portals, and the recurring one, in Rikti Communication Officers summoning Portals. Both type earn much ire from the playerbase for the fact that, while the summoner offers decent rewards, all the Mooks offer none.
* MookPromotion: The basis for the Arachnos player character plot line.
* MoneySpider: Especially since the introduction of Inventions.
* MontyHaul: Some players design their Mission Architect arcs like this, much to the developers' dismay.
* MostCommonSuperPower: It's still impossible to make a heroine with less than a C-cup.
** You can go a good way towards making a flat-chested female by giving her the armored upper body costume piece.
** For some bizarre reason, some ''robots'' have this.
* {{Motormouth}}: Trope, thy name is Incendia. Flambeaux during the Twinshot arc also qualifies.
* NameOfCain: "Cutter Cain", who kills Praetorian Seers, typically with a knife, in ''Going Rogue.'' [[spoiler: Subverted in that his real name is Doctor Steffard, and he's actually a [[LaResistance Resistance]] [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeVilified Warden]] trying to help them by removing cybernetic implants binding them to mindless slavery; but the science is so experimental it's not always successful, and at least one was killed by a remote kill-signal in the implants after he had released her.]]
* NebulousEvilOrganisation: Malta, Arachnos, the Council, the Nemesis Army...
* NerfArm: Intentionally averted: the developers want customizable weapons to still ''look'' like they should do significant damage. Nevertheless, a Nerf bat option remains one of the more popular requests.
** That's only because it's ALREADY in the game, but as a dev-only power, which they'll use to smack people dead in one it if you annoy them!
** That said, some of the options are still not entirely serious-looking (for example, one of the battle axe options is a shovel, one of the shield options is a manhole cover, and among the war mace options are a wooden baseball bat, a variety of pipe wrenches, a bone club, and... a shovel).
*** You think a shovel doesn't make a good battle axe? Look up "[[WorldWarOne entrenching tool]]" some time.
* NewsTravelsFast: Even ''backwards in time''.
* {{NGO}}: Vanguard, a branch of the U.N. specifically created to handle invasions by the Rikti and other outsiders, and coordinate the efforts of both heroes and villains. Occasionally seems to veer into {{NGO Superpower}}.
* [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Nice Job Breaking It Vigilante]]: the 30 range Vigilante Morality Mission revolves around the player character discovering that Frostfire is about to get OffOnATechnicality, and deciding to break into the Longbow base where he's being held. So after smacking around hordes of decent members of Longbow, the character meets Frostfire's lawyer, who [[spoiler: refuses to give up the code to Frostfire's cell, even after being smacked around; your only choice is to overload the cells... which releases a bunch of much more dangerous villains who are far too strong to fight and quickly escape, and reveals that Frostfire has since become TheAtoner, and does nothing to defend himself as the player character beats him to a pulp.]]
* NighInvulnerable: There are gameplay aspects of this (such as building a tank that mocks whatever the opposition throws at it), but by getting KO'd and paying off the experience debt that comes with it, you eventually earn badges for it. The next to last badge [[LampshadeHanging hangs a lampshade on it]] as so:
-->'''The Undying''': You can't be certain, but you believe the possibility exists that you cannot die.
* NintendoHard: The MA critters will go to extremes to teach you exactly how broken player powers are, and that's not even factoring in the bugged powers.
* NonLethalKO
* NoOSHACompliance
* NoSwastikas: The 5th Column, while explicitly said to be a fascist villain group left over from Nazi Germany, use a skull with the Roman numeral V behind it as their logo. The release of Issue 3 replaced all 5th Column content in the game with the Council, who are an ''Italian'' fascist villain group plus space aliens who co-opted the 5th Column in a hostile takeover. The 5th Column have been reappearing in select stories in recent updates, however, and officially returned in the Issue 15.
** As one of the developers explained they still "have to avoid certain symbols" and themes.
** One of the developers has stated that the reason for replacement of the 5th Column by the Council was due to the original concept for ''City of Villains'', where a starting character would join one of the villain factions as a rank-and-file thug, advancing in the organization before having an Origin; the 5th Column was replaced to eliminate the issues associated with players being able to join a Nazi organization. This starting premise was dropped when the developers decided it would constrain gameplay too much for starting characters, and the 5th Column was later brought back and fights the Council when they encounter each other.
* NotTheFallThatKillsYou: ...it's the stone thrown at you that [[CherryTapping removes the 1 HP you have left]]!
* NoticeThis: Inanimate mission targets glow pulsatingly and emit a distinctive sound.
* ObfuscatingInsanity: [[spoiler: Praetorian Penelope Yin is merely pretending to be insane in order to take down Mother Mayhem from within the BAF. Dark Watcher is concerned that she may be BecomingTheMask, however.]]
* OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler:Romulus]] and potentially anything and anyone related to Nictus/Kheldian storyline, including players. Hamidon did this to himself and his AnimalWrongsGroup in the backstory.
* {{Ouroboros}}: An organisation called Ouroboros tries to save the world from an unspecified disaster via time travel. To do this they... let heroes and villains jump back in time to do whatever they want.
* OurVampiresAreDifferent: The Council and 5th Column's Vampyri are explained as being the pinnacle of a super-soldier program rather than a bite-transmitted disease. However, players ''love'' to both embrace and avert the trope. With the advent of player-created Custom Critters in the Mission Architect tools, a player can make "Vampires" that do pretty much anything.
* PaintedOnPants
* ParentalIncest: Actually, make that ''Grand''Parental Incest, implied between Tyrant and Dominatrix (the evil versions of Statesman and Ms. Liberty), especially in the spin-off comic.
** Ironically [[AuthorsSavingThrow retconned]] as of the ''Going Rogue'' expansion. The official reaction to questions about this could be summed up as "wait, what? *looks* Oh, ewewewewewewewewewewewewewewwwww!"
*** Which suggests the current developers are woefully ignorant of their own setting's lore, the players (who've been joking about it for years) are perverts, or both.
* PatchworkMap
* PeopleJars: Several examples.
** Nemesis Warhulks have their pilots floating in a gold-colored liquid.
** Arachnos bases frequently have creepy glowing tubes mounted on the walls in which various varieties of {{mooks}} appear to be growing.
** In the "laboratory" portion of the Lambda Sector Incarnate trial, the "containment chambers" which are the targets to be destroyed contain human beings (who disappear when the chambers are broken).
* PerpetualMolt: For burned wings; this is more like perpetual smoke. The straight version was meant to be put in but was initially pulled due to hardware limitations; as of issue 20.5 it's now available for Incarnates to purchase with Astral or Empyrean merits.
* PetTheDog: A villain going to a rogue has moments like these. Your character justifies it by saying it's simply good business.
* PickUpGroup
* PowersViaPossession: Peacebringers and Warshades, lots of villain [=PCs=].
** ''All'' of the [[spoiler:Circle of Thorns, thanks to their use of GrandTheftMe.]]
* PowerCreepPowerSeep: Necessary for game balance, but not handled so well in a certain mission available only to characters who are [[BadassNormal explicitly highly-trained soldiers]], where they are sent to defeat a FlyingBrick wielding the power of Zeus just to prove how tough they are.
* PreOrderBonus: ''City of Villains'' offered special Arachnos themed costume pieces to those who preordered the game. ''Going Rogue'' offered early access to two of its new power sets.
* ProductPlacement: The recently introduced "Optional In-Game Advertising" has thus far advertised Nike and T-Mobile products.
** Strangely, despite all the [[RuinedForever kerfuffle about its addition to the game]], it seems to be impossible to find actual ads anymore even with the option on.
* PublicDomainArtifact: The trainer in one of the two hero starting zones has Excalibur on her belt.
* PunchClockVillain: A number of mooks are just in it for the reliable paycheck.
** With ''Going Rogue'', you can play one -- much of the "switch to Rogue" missions is your villain deciding that power isn't worth [[KickTheDog his conscience]] and going the AntiVillain route of working with the local AffablyEvil chaps for much less morally-ambiguous cash.
* PurelyAestheticGender: Male, female, and "huge". While there are no statistic differences, some costume options, like skirts, are unique to the bodytype.
** Hilariously lampshaded in places like tram stations, where the bathrooms are divided into three categories ... Male, Female, and Huge.
*** [[FridgeLogic So why is the Huge door the same size as the other two?]]
* {{Pyromaniac}}: Several flame-powered npcs, both villains and, to a lesser extent, heroes.
-->'''Pyra:''' I'm just here for the money. Well, the money and a chance to set people on fire.
* RagdollPhysics: Once this was implemented, defeating enemies became much more awesome ... not to mention amusing. Curiously, the original "keeling over" sound effect, which involves two distinct thuds, has remained despite not matching up with the ragdolling in the slightest...
* RandomDrop
** RareRandomDrop: Purple Recipes
* RangedEmergencyWeapon: As an ObviousRulePatch, all custom enemies with a melee attack set now get Throwing Knives as a ranged attack power, to stop ranged characters from killing them in midair from a position of perfect safety.
* RecurringBoss
* TheRemnant: The Rikti, after their failed AlienInvasion; specifically, the Reconstructionist faction.
* {{Retcon}}: When the Council replaced the 5th Column, all 5th Column missions and story arcs were rewritten as if they'd always been about the Council, no matter how little sense that made. Mostly averted with ''Going Rogue''; the Praetorian arcs were rewritten, but as sequels to the old arcs, which are still available in Ouroboros. About the only detail to actually be retconned is allusions to [[ParentalIncest a sexual relationship between Tyrant and Dominatrix]].
** There may be another "developer oops" retcon coming up: there is no interpretation of the in-game evidence that permits the most likely candidate for Penelope Yin's mother to have been older than 16 when Penelope was born -- and depending on how you interpret "young graduate student" and some other pieces of the in-game timeline, said mother could have been as young as 8.
* RewardingInactivity: As an AntiPoopSocking measure, logging off -- and staying logged off -- in certain locations will grant your character a temporary power. The longer he is logged off, the better the power.
* RideTheLightning
* RivalTurnedEvil: [[TheCape Statesman]] and [[BigBad Lord Recluse]].
* RobeAndWizardHat: The Cabal. With the release of the Magic Booster pack, players can join in.
* RoguesGallery: Issue 18 also introduces the "Rogues Gallery" faction of various enemy supers for the player to fight during Tip Missions.
* TheRoleplayer: Virtue is the unofficial Roleplay Server and, though you'll find roleplayers elsewhere, they're not nearly as common. ([[BrokenBase Or as welcome]]).
* {{Roofhopping}}
* RougeAnglesOfSatin: The ''Going Rogue'' expansion added a badge called "Going Rouge." It's right by the Praetorian tailor.
* RunDontWalk: For over five years, you could take down anything from lowly street thugs to gods of alternate dimensions to next-gen SWAT teams and demonic mystic forces... and you could never ''not'' run. This has finally been changed with the addition of the Walk toggle, although it turns off all other powers, so you shouldn't use it in combat.
** The animation of female characters using the Walk toggle is a form of {{fanservice}}.
* RunningGag: In the mission to rescue [[ShoutOut Dr. Stephen Fayte]] (who is, we are told, often mistaken for a [[DoctorStrange famous]] [[DoctorFate sorcerer]]), ''everyone'' describes him with [[JediMindTrick exactly the same phrase]]: "a gifted surgeon, and nothing more."
* RunTheGauntlet: In a couple of story arcs.
* SavingTheWorld: Several different ways, as many times as you like. One such mission even [[CosmeticAward awards]] you with a "Saved the World" badge!
** Oddly, villains get in on the act several times themselves, despite ostensibly being ''evil.'' Frequently [[EvilVersusEvil you're just trying to stop the total destruction of the world, including you]] or "just saving it for villains," but really...
* ScaryDogmaticAliens: The Rikti.
* ScrewDestiny: In fact, screw Operation: Destiny!
* ScrewGunSafety: Random NPC chatter has an Arachnos officer threatening to hurt his underlings if they don't observe gun safety, whether the gun is loaded or not.
* ScunthorpeProblem: Somewhat averted in that the chat filter can be disabled when it gets too ridiculous.
** Back in force in the Mission Architect, which for quite a while banned such words as "nip" (as in "nip in the bud") or "God".
*** Even more ridiculous when you remember that one of the first enemy boss types are called "Damned".
*** As of late, the word "Spook" has been banned. Nobody really knew why until someone pointed out that it was an extremely archaic racist term, that has dropped out of use since the 50's.
*** Referring to the Weekly Task Force (a rotating "extra" which adds Incarnate bonuses to one of the existing high-level Strike Forces/Task Forces) as "WTF" will be censored.
* SealedEvilInACan: Everywhere. Some of it gets unsealed, fought and resealed.
* SequentialBoss: Snaptooth.
* SerialKillerKiller: One of the characteristics of Vigilantes is that they usually kill villains rather than arresting them.
* SeriousBusiness: During a radio mission you may be sent to rescue [[SelfDeprecation "Jake Emmet", the designer of the newest Freedom Phalanx game]]. He's been kidnapped by a villain group who are portrayed rather negatively in the game. When you finally fight your way to him, the boss/lieutenant guarding him [[spoiler:complains that his character got nerfed in the last patch.]]
* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: The definitions of "right" and "wrong" may be subjective. Happens occasionally in ''City of Villains'', to the point of FanonDiscontinuity on the part of some players, mostly due to StatusQuoIsGod.
** By that token, MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight
* SequelEscalation: If you consider each level tier to be sequels to the previous one, you go from fighting street level thugs with minor powers to SavingTheWorld multiple times from threats that could [[Warhammer40K flay those earlier thugs alive just by looking at them.]]
* TheShepherd: New players, especially ones who come from other [=MMORPGs=], seem to be constantly surprised at the relative friendliness of the official forums, especially in the 'Player Questions' board, whose motto is "Being a newbie is not a crime." Some half-jokingly treat such players like refugees.
* ShoutOut: Quite a few...
-->"[[TheShadow The weed of crime bears bitter fruit!]]"
** Additionally, one of the pieces of salvage you can gather for crafting invention origin enhancements, the Conspiratorial Evidence, reads: "[[{{DCAU}} Who knew that the simple aglet's true purpose was so sinister?]]"
** And of course, [[TheSimpsons The Inanimate Carbon Rod]], another piece of invention salvage. Its description simply reads: "In Rod we trust".
** The Ouroboros contact who sells inspirations is Mender Roebuck (as in "Sears, Roebuck & Co.")
** The NPC who built and runs the monkey fight in Pocket D is Joe Young (''MightyJoeYoung'').
** The descriptive text for the "Fervent" Veteran's badge (42 months) is [[HitchHikersGuideToTheGalaxy "Forty-two. Could you be the answer to everything?"]]
** One of the possible passwords to give the Latin Student in Steel Canyon to gain access to the Midnighter Club is ''[[TheRedGreenShow Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati]]'' (alas, the response text doesn't continue the ShoutOut).
*** Another possible password is "Alea Jacta Est," a CatchPhrase from {{Asterix}}.
*** It's also simply a line from Caesar, referring to [[PointOfNoReturn crossing the Rubicon]].
** [[MysteryScienceTheater3000 Dr. Forrester]] is a contact in Grandville. An NPC in a mission for the "Television" contact is named [[SpaceMutiny Dr. Big McLargeHuge]].
** [[{{Unforgiven}} Little Bill]] didn't deserve to die, not that deserving's got anything to do with it...
** The mission to rescue Dr. Frank N. Scott, who is being forced to reveal a ritual that might cause a time warp, a ritual which starts with [[RockyHorrorPictureShow just a jump to the left... and then a step to the right.]]
** Another mission to recover [[TheAdventuresOfBuckarooBanzaiAcrossTheEighthDimension the Overation Oscillithruster]].
** Let us not forget Dr. [[DoctorStrange Stephen]] [[DoctorFate Fayte]], who is [[RunningGag merely a gifted surgeon, nothing more]].
** Every (non-hazard/trial) zone has a police contact who is a shout out to a TV show, ranging from ''{{Fish}}'' to ''MiamiVice'' to ''DueSouth'', or to a movie, ranging from ''{{Bullitt}}'' to ''BladeRunner'' to ''{{Robocop}}''.
** The little snatch of dialog heard from a police drone as you pass them is straight from a Season 1 ''JusticeLeague'' cartoon.
** The "glowie sound" emitted by inanimate mission objectives is from an episode of the 1970s science fiction show ''{{Space 1999}}''.
** The hastily scrawled note you are required to read as the first mission of the Villain invention tutorial concludes with first a [[OhWaitThisIsMyGroceryList grocery list]], and then the line "Jenny (555) 867-5409 Call her!"
** In one Grandville mission for the villains, you are sent to deal with a Malta cell whose commanders are at odds with each other and are convinced that both are out to get each other. The two in question are Commanders [[Webcomic/CaseyAndAndy Grimm and Weir]].
** The zone "Monster Island" features an Exploration badge titled "[[TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland Rikti Monkey Island]]". To drive the reference home, the description text for the badge begins with "There is a secret to this island of monkeys...". Continuing the theme, a nearby Exploration badge is named "[[GrimFandango Grim Fandango]]", the location of and description text for which is heavily bone-themed.
** Some of the most dangerous, 41-50 enemy groups include: Psychic Aliens with a Collective mental network who use pylons to power their technology, a bunch of creatures mutated by a collectively sentient microscopic organism and a bunch of highly skilled normals including a handful of extremely stealthy assassins.... so, basically: Protoss (Rikti), Zerg (Devouring Earth) and Terrans (Malta/Knives).
** The choice of a shovel as an alternate form for both War Mace and War Axe may be a shout out to the Shoveler in ''MysteryMen''.
** One of the options you have to identify yourself to the security computer at the start of the first mission of the Twinshot arc is [[ThePrincessBride "My name is Inigo Mon--"]]
** ...and literally ''hundreds'' more. Just try to list them all!
*** Obviously, [[http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Ingame_References someone has tried]].
* ShootTheMedicFirst: When in PvP, kill off your enemy's healers first, obviously. And the same goes for any villains who can heal other minions. The Tsoo Sorcerers are one of the earlier examples of this trope, especially annoying since they'll heal any other faction you're trying to kill. Later on you may run into the Devouring Earth.
** Confounded by the Praetorian ghouls, who radiate healing energies (that affect only other ghouls) when they die -- in other words, shooting them ''turns them into medics''.
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: ''City of Heroes'' is generally pegged firmly on the Idealism end of the scale -- villains get their comeuppance and stopped, and only the lowest, cruelest sorts firmly over the MoralEventHorizon aren't GenreBlind. ''City of Villains'' is generally more cynical, with everyone (with a few exceptions) generally being unpleasant at the very least, and the closest characters to idealism being a demon hunter whose major pleasure in life is inflicting pain upon demons, and a KnightTemplar whose aspirations involve [[spoiler:brainwashing every villain in the world into being good]]. ''Going Rogue'' gives players the ability to move along the scale as they see fit, and the world ''it'' introduces is...[[PerfectlyCromulentWord squiffy]] about the issue.
* SlippySlideyIceWorld: The Frostfire Mission.
* {{Soaperizing}}: In the ShowWithinAShow.
* SoloClass:
** The Scrapper is the local soloist-class in ''City of Heroes'' proper. Striking a good balance between absorbing damage and dishing it out, a well-built Scrapper can solo anything short of a full-on Archvillain. (And sometimes even that, depending on the version. Early versions had a few exploits that certain builds of scrappers could use to become virtually immortal at higher levels.)
** In ''City of Villains'', the Brute can play pretty much the same role as the Scrapper, but the real solo-master there is the pet-centric Mastermind-class, who basically get to bring their own army with them wherever they go. At higher levels, you'll have anywhere from 6 to 8 pets following you around (depending on exact powersets), making it quite possible to handle most bosses on your own without even getting your hands dirty.
* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil
* SquadControls: Masterminds, for their pets.
* StatusBuff
* StatusQuoIsGod:
** Averted somewhat, since several areas, such as Faultline and the Rikti War Zone, have seen permanent changes.
** ''Going Rogue'''s release also gave a modern update to the previous Praetorian Earth content, though the old story arcs are still playable through Ouroboros.
** Indeed, almost every mission that was ever available to do is still available.
** Also embraced mercilessly by at least a couple story arcs in ''City of Villains'', sometimes to the point of SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong.
* SteamPunk: Nemesis.
** Also, the SteamPunk [[AndYourRewardIsClothes Costume Part Pack]] makes it much easier for players to use this motif for characters.
* StockSoundEffects: As of issue 17, a WilhelmScream will occasionally be emitted by defeated opponents.
* StoryArc: Dozens, if not hundreds. Most contacts, once you pass the intro levels, have one, and successfully completing them rewards you with Reward Merits and a "souvenir" which contains a write-up that recaps the events of the arc. The souvenirs are usually that arc's particular {{MacGuffin}}.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Technically it's the choice of the player, but once you've made a female Hero, even the costume options that are in both male and female show off a lot of skin. There's lots of options in leather too, and some ''very'' revealing costume options.
* StupidJetpackHitler: The 5th Column.
* SturgeonsLaw: In full effect with the Mission Architect. Even with the search options, it is a huge chore to actually find missions with actual ''stories'' instead of being just a farm or meant to be [[NintendoHard a challenge]].
** And then, predictably, 90% of ''those'' are... not very good.
*** When it comes to the Mission Architect, Sturgeon was a wild-eyed optimist.
* SuicideMission: In the backstory, the Rikti War ended with a suicide mission led by Hero 1 to cut off the Rikti homeworld from Earth. For a long time, only one survivor, Ajax, was known; Lady Grey's task force reveals that three more survived on the Rikti homeworld: sisters Infernia and Glacia, and [[spoiler:Hero 1, turned into a Rikti named [[{{Significant Anagram}} The Honoree]]]].
* SummoningRitual: The Circle of Thorns are almost always seen doing this.
* SuperCop: The Paragon Police Department has regular beat cops, cops in PoweredArmour, cops with PsychicPowers, cops merged with alien symbiotes, at least one [[{{Robocop}} cyborg cop]], and Blue Steel, a superhero who works directly for the police.
** Distinctly averted in the earlier issues of the game, when the police were just another skin for the standard passer-by NPC, and had all the same reactions as the civilians -- including fleeing in panic upon encountering any kind of villain.
* {{Superhero}}: It's all about them, of course!
* SuperPoweredRobotMeterMaids: Why exactly do the Praetorian Clockwork robots, used for such dangerous jobs as trash pickup and gardening, have ''flamethrowers'' and ''lasers'' built in?
** To help assist in arresting any uppity citizens of course.
** Actually; the 'flamethrowers' in question are actually plasma torches; used for ''welding''. The lasers are probably a self-defense mechanism built in just in case [[LaResistance The Resistance]] or other attackers show up... however, the animation looks to be like a different version of their welding torch, much as the "flamethrower" is.
* SuperPowerMeltdown: Subverted with the origin of the Siren's Call zone; played straight at first glance in the origin of Faultline.
* SuperReflexes: One of the Power Sets for Scrappers, Stalkers, and Brutes.
* SuperRegistrationAct: Established in the backstory, and generally not seen as a bad thing. You have to register having powers, but it doesn't force you into anything. The last time supers were drafted was [[WorldWarII WWII]].
** Actually, it used to be a lot worse. The infamous "Might for Right Act" (passed during the ColdWar, and used to secretly draft supers -- especially minorities who couldn't fight it -- into working for the ''CIA'') is a major part of the game's {{backstory}}.
** In Praetoria, anyone with superpowers (or who is talented at martial arts, or ''owns a weapon'') is forced to join the Praetoria Police's Powers Division.
* SupervillainLair: Though the feature was introduced with ''City of Villains'', both Villains and Heroes can make lairs/bases for their Super Group. Of course, you also assault a fair number of {{NPC}} lairs.
* SwissCheeseSecurity
* ThouShaltNotKill: ...if you don't want to. The game uses "defeated", but it's up to you whether you kill, arrest, beat up, or do whatever else to enemies. Until you notice if your power does "lethal" damage.
** Averted with ''Going Rogue'' -- missions in Praetoria often require you to explicitly kill ''someone'', particularly morality missions.
* ThrivingGhostTown: Literally, in Dark Astoria!
** Mostly averted in other areas, there's lots of pedestrians walking around.
** Dark Astoria also has pedestrians. They just vanish when you get too close.
*** Oh, it's not a ghost town... Astoria has quite a bustling population. The [[BlackCloak Circle of Thorns]], the [[ReligionOfEvil Banished Pantheon]] cultists who [[HumanSacrifice]] killed everybody in the first place, [[EldritchAbomination that thing under the cemetary]] they were sacrificed to, and all the various ghouls, zombies, ghosts, revenants, evil floating tiki statues and hideous giant skinless monsters you could ever want. [[SarcasmMode Astoria is a happening place.]]
* TimePolice: Ouroboros [[spoiler: Well, that's what they ''claim,'' anyway]].
* TimeTravel
* TimedMission: A regular mission format. Can get annoying.
** Made worse in ''Going Rogue'', which includes missions that give you ''two minutes'' to accomplish some subgoal before all hell breaks loose -- often with no warning that a timer has started ticking away save for its appearance in the mission compass.
** To clarify, there are two formats of TimedMission. In the old format, the timer starts as soon as you accept the mission, is typically four to ten times longer than the mission will take, and letting the timer expire results in failure of the mission. An old-style timed mission means "do this mission now, rather than logging off and doing it tomorrow". In the new format, the timer starts when you enter the mission door or complete some mission objective, gives you just barely enough time to complete a timed objective, and letting the timer expire means the mission will get harder. A new-styled timed mission means "do this part of the mission at a dead run."
* TimeyWimeyBall
* TomatoInTheMirror: In a high-level villain story arc. [[spoiler:Subverted: You're real, but your contact is an automaton.]]
* TonightSomeoneDies: The "Who Will Die?" Signature story arc. One of the Freedom Phalanx is going to bite it. And we still don't know who.
* TotallyRadical: Played for laughs with a certain famous Nemesis quote [[hottip:* :\\
"I assure you, my good man, Nemesis is most definitely 'down with the street.' Word up, my homie, as it were."]]
* TrainingBoss
* TrainingDummy: The disabled Rikti drones.
** Also Rikti shaped dummies in the Vanguard Base shooting range.
* TransformationSequence: Available in the Magic Booster Pack as of Spring 2009.
* TruceZone: Pocket D, the Vanguard Base, the Rikti War Zone, Cimerora.
** Though the latter two are less TruceZone and more "enforced {{Enemy Mine}}."
* {{Tuckerization}}: In addition to [[ShoutOut shout out]] locations such as Perez Park and Gaiman Woods, a particular example is the first superhero that players encounter in the game, [[http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Coyote Coyote]].
* {{Uncanceled}}: The Cathedral of Pain trial, which, up until Issue 18/''Going Rogue'', was hopelessly bugged and unfinished.
* UndergroundLevel: The many cave maps; [[ThatOneLevel some are hated]].
* TheUnintelligible: Ricochet of the Crusaders part of the Resistance. The Resistance use their own slang but they can be understood. Ricochet uses slang that's so thick that the first thing you do after accepting her first mission is get someone to translate what she just said. The second has a question mark next to the mission objective. It doesn't get any better.
* {{Unobtainium}}: An actual {{MacGuffin}}, made from Nonesuchium and Yeahrightium. Played straight with Impervium.
** Parodied by the bombs the Lost can be found fiddling with in the central trench of Terra Volta; rather than being matter or antimatter, the bombs are "Doesn't Matter."
* UpUpAndAway: After flight poses were added.
* ValleyGirl: Becky the Tarantula Mistress.
* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: Featured in several story arcs, and usually with their own custom tilesets.
* VideogameCrueltyPotential: Villain Tip Missions, particularly when you're a Vigilante-turning-Villain in the Rogue Isles.
* VideogameHistoricalRevisionism
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Crey Industries, which is responsible for rebuilding much of Paragon City after the First Rikti War, is [[spoiler:run by an evil mastermind who is using this clout to cover up many evil projects, including one to clone dead and kidnapped supers so they can brainwash the clones and use them for their own purposes]].
** Subverted in {{City of Villains}} with Aeon Corp, which [[spoiler:built a power plant fueled by a bound demon]]. As this is on the Villain side, it's never really hidden that Aeon is up to something suspicious, Aeon's offices on Cap Au Diable is constantly being protested by a group of militant activists called The Luddites.
** Played straight with the [[{{Utopia Justifies The Means}} "utopia"]] of [[{{Mirror Universe}} Praetoria]] introduced in [[{{Expansion Pack}} ''Going Rogue'']]. [[{{Big Bad}} Emperor Cole]] rules a "meritocracy" where any and all basic needs are provided free of charge, Clockwork robots handle all manual labor, and Praetorian PD officers on every corner have all but eliminated crime. Which happens thanks to [[spoiler:a [[{{Government Drug Enforcement}} drugged water supply]], the psionic {{Seer}}s being literal thought police, the PPD drafting any super-powered individuals, and the {{Secret Police}} under [[{{Smug Snake}} Chimera]] having full authority to "disappear" anyone whom they think is a threat to "the peace." Such threats usually wind up as [[{{Playing With Syringes}} guinea pigs]] for the resident {{Mad Scientist}}s]].
* TheVirus: The Will of The Earth.
* TheWallAroundTheWorld: The War Walls.
* WarpWhistle
* WeBuyAnything: Partially subverted, in that stores dedicated to [[{{Super Hero Origin}} origins]] other than your own won't pay you full price. Also, your contacts will purchase Recipes and Salvage, but not Enhancements, and no [=NPCs=] will buy Inspirations.
* WhamEpisode: "Who Will Die Part 3". [[spoiler: The identity of TheDragon is revealed to be Malaise, and Statesman's daughter Miss Liberty is killed - possibly by the [[YouBastard player villain.]]]]
** [[spoiler: Or TheChessmaster, if the player villains [[NotWhatISignedOnFor declare they didn't sign up for]] [[EvenEvilHasStandards cold-blooded murder.]]]]
* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: Almost every mission in the game involves punching (or shooting or stabbing) someone in the face.
* TheWorldIsNotReady: Subverted, to an extent. There's proof that high technology/super science is relatively common amongst the populace of the Cities' world; however, many ''players'' tend to embrace this trope with Technology-origin characters.
* WorldHalfFull: Yes, there's mystically powered, drug-fueled, technologically enhanced street gangs running rampant. There's [[ThoseWackyNazis NeoNazis with werewolves and vampires]], members of an AnimalWrongsGroup gone all OneWingedAngel, [[ZombieApocalypse zombies of both scientific and magical nature]], employees of a corrupt MegaCorp, and demons wandering the streets. The world is still recovering from a not-quite-over alien invasion. Oh, and there's a nation ruled by supervillains just off the coast. But there are also [[{{Superhero}} superheroes]]. Lots of superheroes.
** [[MirrorUniverse Praetoria]] also presents a world where a totalitarian government is fought by LaResistance. Both sides have bad people trying to either grab power or having no qualms about innocent. It also doesn't help that the ruler of the world is a power-mad supervillain going all AGodAmI. But! There are some people that genuinely do good on both sides of the equation. And no matter who [[PlayerCharacter you]] are and what you decide to become, hero or villain, one day you'll take the fight back to that ruler.
* YouBreakItYouProfit: Mayhem missions, Villain-side, allow you to get small rewards for blowing up cars and such.
* YouFailGeologyForever: Averted (although probably not intentionally). While many players seem to think that the network of tunnels, caverns and caves beneath the city, as well as the rock in which they exist, are unlikely, Rhode Island has in fact a geological history -- complete with volcanoes and other phenomena -- just complicated enough to make them just barely plausible.
** Plus Oranbega being magical and not entirely in this dimension certainly helps.
* YouMeanXmas: The blandly-named Holiday Events, complete with snowballs, presents that give {{Status Buff}}s, the ugliest Baby New Year ever, and giant snow monsters.
** One of the rewards for completing the Baby New Year is a temporary power that references Hannukah, while another reward temp power is called "Five Golden Rings". No Festivus or Kwaanza powers yet, though.
* ZombieApocalypse: The Halloween 2008 special event, in which the city is beseiged by waves of zombies even tougher than the usual, everyday Vahzilok and Banished Pantheon varieties. This has since become a recurring hazard, like the Rikti invasions.
** Featuring a ShoutOut to another ZombieApocalypse in the "[[ResidentEvil Evil's Resident]]" badge, as well as to Michael Jackson's Thriller(!)
!!The powers the game offers to players provide examples of:
* AbnormalAmmo: A large part of [[{{Guns Akimbo}} Dual Pistols]]' shtick is [[{{New Powers As The Plot Demands}} the "Swap Ammo" power]], which gives you access to three toggles: [[{{Kill It With Fire}} Incendiary]], [[{{Kill It With Ice}} Cryo]], and [[{{Universal Poison}} Chemical]] Ammunition. Every other power in the set will do 70% Lethal damage, with the remaining 30% depending on the ammo you have toggled on.
* AnAxeToGrind: The Battle Axe power set.
* AwesomeButImpractical: The high level "nuke" powers for some. Extremely powerful blast, but leaves you unabled to attack again for a goodly while.
** Though YMMV. Others turn it into a bread-and-butter power.
*** A particular eight-man team composition (eight Empathy/ defenders) can turn the nuke powers into a [[GameBreaker rolling nuclear barrage]].
*** Highly YMMV. Warshades are infamous for their ability of not being hindered much by the endurance drain of their nuke. Go nuclear, pop a blue, Stygian Circle and off you go with full health and endurance.
* BackStab: Stalkers can land {{Critical Hit}}s with any attack, whether in or out of Hidden Status, but using their Assassin's Strike from Hidden status grants a massive critical hit far beyond any other crit in the game.
* BalefulPolymorph: The recent Mutant super booster's bonus power can give you a number of buffs that can increase your defenses, boost your regeneration, [[CrowningMomentOfFunny or turn you into a Rikti Monkey for 1 minute.]]
* BarrierWarrior: The Force Field power set.
* CombatTentacles: Dark Melee's Midnight Grasp, Dark Miasma's Tenebrous Tentacles, and half the powers in Plant Control.
* {{Determinator}}: The Willpower defense set. Created to represent comic book characters who don't have special defensive abilities; they can take massive amounts of damage because they have enough willpower to keep fighting. Ironically, it's commonly considered one of the strongest defense sets overall.
* DropTheHammer: One of the possible looks of the War Mace power set is a big hammer. Also, Stone Mallet and Heavy Stone Mallet from [[{{He Will Rock You}} Stone Melee]]. The Fusion Hammer in the Titan Weapons powerset as well.
* DualWielding: The Dual Blades and [[{{Guns Akimbo}} Dual Pistols]] power sets.
* ElementalPowers: As expected for a game built around [[{{Super Hero Tropes}} superhero tropes]], there are plenty.
** BlowYouAway: Storm Summoning, especially the trademark powers of Gale and Hurricane.
** DishingOutDirt: Between Stone Melee, Stone Armor, Earth Control, and Earthen Assault, runs the gamut of uses of this one.
** AnIcePerson: Ice Melee, Ice Blast, Icy Assault, Ice Control, Ice Armor, Cold Domination...
** PlayingWithFire: Fire Melee, Fire Blast, Fiery Assault, Fire Control, [[WreathedInFlames Fire Aura, Thermal Radiation]] -- seeing a theme here?
** ShockAndAwe: Electric Melee, Blast, etc. etc...you get it by now.
** CastingAShadow: Dark Melee, Dark Blast, Dark Armor and Dark Miasma. Dark Control and Assault are currently in development.
** LightEmUp: Surprisingly rare, first only present in a NPC subgroup, the Legacy of Light of the Legacy Chain, then used by the three factions of the Carnival of Light, but still unavailable to players.
* ElementalPunch: Almost every one on the list is in there somewhere.
* EyeBeams: "X-Ray Beam" from Radiation Blast, "Ebon Eyes" from Umbral Blast, [[{{Exactly What It Says On The Tin}} Laser Beam Eyes]] from Body/Energy Mastery, and [[{{Faceless Eye}} Rularuu Watchers]].
* FinishingMove: The [[{{Dual Wielding}} Dual Blades]] power set combo system utilizes these.
* FlashStep: [[{{Shield Bash}} "Shield Rush"]] from Shield Defense and "Lightning Rod" from [[{{Shock And Awe}} Electrical Melee]] are both the rare "attack while stepping" variety.
** Some roleplayers with the [[{{Teleporters And Transporters}} Teleport]] power play it off as this.
* FrickinLaserBeams: The Beam Rifle powerset.
* FridgeHorror: Some might notice that the entangles produced by the [[CombatTentacles Carrion]] [[NightmareFuel Crawlers]] power continue to deal damage to the defeated enemies. Apparently dead bodies are tasty.
* GatlingGood: Miniguns used by the Council, Crey, Nemesis, [[RedshirtArmy Longbow]] and...your everyday ordinary bank security.
** Bank security don't get gatling guns until level 30. By that time, my villain has taken down demigods, and these guys still put up a credible fight. They are anything but your everyday bank security.
* GottaGetYourHeadTogether: Standard pose for characters Held [[{{Psychic Powers}} psionically]].
* GoodOldFashionedFisticuffs: The Street Justice powerset, mixing this with a healthy dose of CombatPragmatist and, with attacks like Shin Breaker and Rib Cracker, a pinch of VideoGameCrueltyPotential.
* GreenThumb: Plant Control.
* GroinAttack: Appropriately sized characters can pull this off with the Kick power from the Fighting pool, and, rather intimidatingly, {{Super Strength}}'s [[MegatonPunch Knockout Blow]]. However, a status of special note belongs to [[http://thrythlind.deviantart.com/art/Stalactites-195559059 Stalactites]] from Earth Control.
** Martial Arts has not one, but two groin-punches: The old animation for Cobra Strike, and for MA Stalkers, the alternate animation for their assassin-strike, "Fist of Annihilation."
** At least one War Mace attack does much the same- there's something disturbingly hilarious about a four-foot fairy bashing some hapless SuperSoldier six feet into the air with a hammer larger than her torso... straight to the junk.
** One of the powers in Street Justice is a quick, hard knee strike aimed for the enemy's ribcage, but due to height differences, often ends up either in the jaw or the groin.
* GunsAkimbo: Part of the Thugs power set for Masterminds, also combined to great effect with AbnormalAmmo and a bit of ImprobableAimingSkills by [[DemonicSpider Malta]] [[TheGunslinger Gunslingers]]. With the ''Going Rogue'' expansion, also available as a primary set for Blasters and Corruptors, and a secondary for Defenders.
* GunFu: The animations for the [[{{Guns Akimbo}} Dual Pistols]] power set, which involve GunTwirling, rapid turning, posing, and bullets arcing in midair. Pretty clearly inspired by the ''{{Wanted}}'' movie and ''{{Equilibrium}}''. And on top of that, trenchcoats are available as a costume choice, and you can't even begin to imagine how cool you look.
** An alpha version of the powerset, shown off at a con, even had a chance that some DisturbedDoves would appear.
* HealingFactor: The Regeneration power set.
* HealingHands: Several buff/debuff power sets have one heal, and the Empathy set has several...[[BerserkButton but never assume it's the most important part of the set]].
* HealItWithFire: Thermal Radiation.
* {{Hellfire}}: Used by Demon Summoners and some of their pets. Functionally similar to fire, but oddly colored and with a toxic, resistance reducing after-effect.
* HerdHittingAttack: There are literally two attack sets in the game without one, but primarily a Blaster specialty, with Controllers and Dominators emphasizing keeping enemies conveniently bunched up.
* ILoveNuclearPower: Radiation Blast and Radiation Emission, which can also buff and heal your allies.
** The literal [[{{Nuke Em}} "nuke" temporary power]] from the zone event in [[{{Player Versus Player}} Warburg]].
** The Tier 9 Radiation Blast power is Atomic Blast, in which the player literally sets off a nuclear bomb centered on themselves; any enemies left alive are even left choking on the atomic radiation (a hold) for a brief while.
* ImplausibleFencingPowers: Not explicitly shown or stated, but the [[{{Cool Sword}} Broadsword]] and [[{{Katanas Are Just Better}} Katana]] sets have a power that grants defense against Lethal damage, which just happens to be the damage type dealt by ''guns''.
* ImprovisedGolems: Some characters can summon pets made out of rock, magma, crystal, fire, ice, darkness, electricity or gravity. Said pets usually have no set duration but [[NoOntologicalInertia die if the owner does.]]
* InASingleBound: With the [[{{Roof Hopping}} Leaping]] power pool.
* InstantRunes: Mystic Fortune, [[http://tinyurl.com/VanguardSigil Vanguard Sigil]], and the Demon Summoning power set.
* JugglingLoadedGuns: The [[{{Guns Akimbo}} Dual Pistols]] powerset operates ''entirely'' on the RuleOfCool and not according to any realistic expectations of UsefulNotes/GunSafety. Of particular note is the animation for Piercing Rounds, in which your character, in true spirit of the trope name, ''throws both guns up into the air'' before catching them to "punch" the bullet forward.
* KatanasAreJustBetter: Averted. The Katana power set is a slightly faster and less fatiguing clone of Broadsword, with lowered damage. Even the attacks are the same, just the names and animations are different. In fact, at launch, it was an exact clone down to the names and animations, but not the damage.
** Played very straight once you start quantifying numbers, though. The faster animations in Katana mean the set can put out a lot more damage than the slower Broadsword in the same amount of time. The only advantage Broadsword really has is being wielded with only one hand, permitting the player to pair it with [[GameBreaker Shield Defense]].
* KungFuSonicBoom: Every. Single. SuperStrength power.
** Every [[{{He Will Rock You}} Stone Melee]] attack shakes the camera.
* LimitBreak: Domination for Dominators; some NPC enemies also have special powers that trigger upon reaching a certain HP threshold.
* MakeMeWannaShout: Sonic Blast and Sonic Resonance.
* MartialArtsDoNotWorkThatWay: The entire Martial Arts power set, especially [[{{For Massive Damage}} Eagle's Claw]].
* ManaDrain: Damn you, [[{{Demonic Spiders}} Malta Sappers]]!
** Most of the [[{{Shock And Awe}} electrical]] powers do this to a limited extent, as well as some Kinetic powers.
** And Carnies.
** And Clockworks in the 1-20 game.
** And Mu magicians.
** And The Cabal.
** And numerous custom enemies....
* MegatonPunch: Several attacks qualify, but none can match SuperStrength's "Knockout Blow," a powerful windup and uppercut which sends the target a dozen feet or so into the air. (Or, if the level difference is sufficient, halfway across the zone.)
* MeteorMove: Air Superiority from the Flight power pool is a Type A if used against a flying target.
* MidairBobbing
* MoreDakka: "Gun Drone" from Devices = Pet Flying Dakka. [[{{Demonic Spiders}} Malta Engineers]] get an even better version. Assault Rifle's mini-nuke, "Full Auto," and some [[{{Guns Akimbo}} Dual Pistols]] powers like "Empty Clips" and "Hail of Bullets," also qualify.
** As do ranged Mastermind pets, particularly Robotics. You begin with a single robot with a laser that fires a simple three-round burst. By the time you finish out the set, you have six robots firing fully automatic heavy lasers, two different types of missile, seeker drones, dual plasma blasters, photon grenades, and a flamethrower.
* {{Multishot}}
* NinjaRun: From the [[{{Super Hero Origin}} Natural-Origin]] [[{{Expansion Pack}} Super-Booster pack]]. The power is actually called this.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Most pets die if their creator bites it. While it makes total sense for various elemental golems, zombies and summoned demons, it becomes dubious when applied to killer robots, automatic mortars, or thugs and mercenaries.
* NotQuiteFlight: Temporary, buyable, and stealable jetpacks.
* OilSlick: The "Trick Arrow" powerset includes an Oil Slick Arrow. The oil slick it creates can catch on fire.
* PunchedAcrossTheRoom: Once very prolific, many complaints from the players resulted in much of the knockback melee attacks being turned to knockdown/knockup. Still, there are still many examples: Energy Manipulation's Power Thrust, Luminous Blast's Radiant Strike, Battle Axe's Pendulum...
* RainOfArrows: ...Happens to be the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin name of the final power]] in the Archery set.
* RapidFireFisticuffs: Available both in SpeedEchoes and CastingAShadow flavor, with Flurry from Super Speed and Shadow Maul from Dark Melee.
* ScreenShake: Side effect of various hard-hitting powers. The developers attempted to ramp it up for the SuperStrength power set, but dialed it back after players complained of motion sickness.
** Also whenever a Kheldian transforms.
* SelfDestructMechanism: Used in one of the taskforces, also powers available to some {{NPC}}s and ''players''.
* ShockwaveClap: Hand Clap from SuperStrength tosses enemies away from the user, stunning but dealing no damage. Electrical Melee and Electricity Manipulation have Lightning Clap, which is exactly the same power but with slightly different looks. A few other attacks are also performed by clapping one's hands together.
* ShockwaveStomp: The aptly named Foot Stomp from SuperStrength is one of the game's most potent non-nuke [=PBAoE=] attacks. Several other attacks also have the character driving their foot into the ground.
* ShovelStrike: Flat-on as a club for War Mace, edge on for Battle Axe.
* [[SocketedEquipment Socketed Powers]]: The enhancement system, which allows you to add sockets ("slots") to powers as a character levels up, and provides upwards of eight different degrees of enhancements that lock into them.
* SpeedEchoes: Used in the SuperSpeed Flurry attack, as well as some high-end [[{{Guns Akimbo}} Dual Pistols]] attacks.
** The original animation for Storm Kick (a Martial Arts attack) had these, but it was changed because [[CoolButInefficient they made the attack take longer, even when you miss]].
* SpinAttack: All melee weapon sets (on non-Stalkers) have some variation on spinning around and attacking all foes in range, including using a sword made out of fire or ice.
** "Hail of Bullets" from [[{{Guns Akimbo}} Dual Pistols]], a perfect example of a [[{{The Last Starfighter}} "Death Blossom" attack]].
* StoneWall: Fittingly, Granite Armor from the [[{{He Will Rock You}} Stone Armor]] power set turns the player nigh unkillable and nigh harmless.
** Of course, some players [[GameBreaker do everything to offset that...]]
* TheStraightAndArrowPath[=/=]TrickArrow: Two (complementary) arrow sets are available: Archery and Trick Arrow. Trick Arrow has the aforementioned Oil Slick Arrow (that can catch on fire and burn mooks to death; Glue Arrow, useful for keeping them in said flames, an Ice Arrow that freezes them helpless, and numerous debuffing arrows like Flash (blind), Poison Gas (sleep) and Acid (resistance debuff).
* SummonMagic: Controllers and Dominators can summon pets at higher levels. The Masterminds have this as their entire powerset. The Demon Summoning powerset takes it UpToEleven.
** And then there are Temporary Powers which are usable by anyone (though wear out after 1-5 castings), which include zombies, snowmen, werewolves, a power-armored policeman (or power-armored criminal, depending on your alignment), giant robots, tiny robots, witches, cosmic horrors and oh yeah, a [[EverythingsWorseWithBees jar of bees]]!
* SuperheroPackingHeat: Assault Rifle or [[{{Guns Akimbo}} Dual Pistols]] Blasters/Defenders/Corruptors/Masterminds.
* SuperSpeed: A power pool available to anyone.
* SuperStrength: Available as a primary or secondary set to [[{{Mighty Glacier}} Tankers]] and [[{{Lightning Bruiser}} Brutes]].
* SwissArmyGun: The Assault Rifle power set.
* SwordBeam: Focus and Shockwave from the Claws power set.
* TarotMotifs: The "Fortune" power lets players draw a tarot card to buff another player. Only a few of the Major Arcana are represented, however, and none of the Minor Arcana.
* VideoGameFlight: [[FlyingBrick Superheroes]].
* WhipItGood: The weapon of choice for Demon Summoning Masterminds. It's also literally made of fire.
* WolverineClaws: The Claws power set. This actually got [=NCSoft=] into some legal trouble with [[{{Marvel Comics}} Marvel]].
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