As the City of Heroes community fell upon and devoured the news of Issue 13: Architect like a pack of wild crack manatees, the developers occasionally ran out from under their desks to answer a question or two. The merits system in particular has been clarified, courtesy of Positron: 'Upon completing tasks in the game (Task Forces, Trials, etc.) you get an option of receiving Reward Merits instead of a normal reward. The number of merits is based on the difficulty of the mission, how long it takes to complete on average, etc. Thus things like the Katie Hannon TF have minimal merits associated with them, and things like the Shadow Shard Task Forces get bunches.'
This is, as we had suspected, a step to counterbalance the quick farming of Task Forces, not by nerfing them but by making the longer Task Forces worth doing. We'd like to see them made more interesting, too - some of the real marathons are very old now, dating back to launch and the first two Issues - but it's a step in the right direction.
Positron has also added a detail concerning the Mission Architect that has the more creative players gibbering with excitement. Some of the player-created missions of particular quality (and non-farmability) may be picked out as 'Dev's Choice', and it's implied that these will give rewards just like any other mission. We're not sure if the stories are then considered canon in the CoX universe or not. No doubt there'll be many heated debates to come.
Back Alley Brawler has confirmed that Shields will not only be customizable (as with the current Weapon Customization) but able to bear any of the current chest logos, which is exactly what many players were hoping for. However, Shields won't be a set for Stalkers. That information has been retracted as incorrect.
Coming much sooner than Issue 13 will be the Super Booster I: Cyborg Pack, retailing at $9.99, and containing 'an awesome set of costume pieces, emotes, auras and a power'. Although we don't know what the power is, we do know that it's entirely new, courtesy of Castle. This and the purchaseable temporary jetpack ($4.99 for 30 days of whoosh) will be available in about a month.
No further booster packs are detailed as yet, but it strikes us that you don't call something Super Booster I unless you're planning for a Super Booster II and III to follow it. City of Heroes may thus be heading for a double-layered system in which the game costs a regular subscription fee, but largely cosmetic optional extras can be bought for an additional small sum; this is what happened with the Wedding Pack, which was so successful it allowed Villain Epic Archetypes to be brought in one issue early. Microtransactions aren't universally popular, especially in a game where players love to have as many costume options as possible, but judging by player reaction so far there'll be plenty of buyers.
