Being A Cool Player
City of Heroes isn’t just about leveling up your hero(es), getting new powers and enhancements, and selling stuff for profit. It’s also about interacting with fellow heroes, working with other people in teams and supergroups, and doing things in the virtual community.
Since behind each digital hero is a living human being, I do my best to hold myself to these rules of communicating and playing with fellow humans:
Don’t be so worried about XP that you forget to have fun.
If you spend all your team battles whining “im not gettin xp”, or you run missions that seem suspiciously farmlike in format just so you can power-level your character, then you’re missing out on a large part of the game’s function (and you run the risk of annoying your teammates). Part of the game’s allure is the “stop and smell the roses” factor—-fly or jump around Talos Island and take screenshots of the ocean scenery, take a minute to talk under Atlas with random people, and compliment a costume or two while you’re at it. Enjoy the feeling of being level 5, level 15, level 25—-you won’t have many more opportunities to experience it with this same character, unless you spend the rest of your Level 50 life in the Ouroboros portal doing time-travel missions.
When you play on teams, work for the team’s benefit.
This may seem obvious, but it’s important to realize how your character’s build can work with other characters’ skill sets. Controllers and Defenders are the best for team support, but every team also needs damage dealers. It’s positively lovely to play in a team that works together closely and cares about each other’s welfare. For example, with a Controller locking down a group of enemies, a Defender keeping everyone healed, and a Tank, a Scrapper, and/or a Blaster taking each enemy down in turn, each player is working toward a common goal and has a specific role to fulfill. Thus, everyone gets XP faster because no one’s dying, and everyone feels useful. Don’t hesitate to ask the leader of the team how you can best work for the team if you’re not sure—-a good leader will be glad to work with you and help you place yourself where you will do the most good. If you are not sure how to play your hero in teams, check out the Teamplay article for general tips and guidelines for each archetype.
Be courteous when chatting.
No, you don’t have to say everything “just so” in chat, nor do you need your left pinkie extended. However, saying “Please” and “Thank you” is a small but significant way to let your teammates or chatmates know that you are a cool person. Just like in real life, no one likes to stay around someone who is constantly being negative or self-centered. You can also inquire as to the other person’s current mission status, and offer advice if any questions come up that you can answer. Compliment the other person’s costume, bio, or character build if you check it out and like how they’ve designed it. (On the flip side, don’t throw around insincere compliments; being “fake” is not the way to go, either.) If you show people that you are not just out for yourself, they may do you some favors in the future, or simply may remember you as a cool player and seek you out for future missions. For more guidelines on chatting effectively, see the Chat Etiquette article.
Do things for other players.
This kind of goes along with #3, but in a way, it is its own separate issue. If you help out, even if you’re not going to get anything for it, you show that you are a cool human being to play with. Give a gift of influence to a player who needs some if you have some to spare; hook someone up with a costume piece, enhancement, or piece of salvage they’ve been looking everywhere for. Join forces with a low-level character and make them the leader of the team so that you are at their level. You will get some XP and influence, but most importantly, you will be helping a new hero level up, and they will be glad for your help. I find that doing things for other players helps me enjoy the game a lot more, and I rarely get bored when I know that all I need to do is look around for heroes to help. Check out the Things to Do in Atlas Park article (and especially the "Helpful/Warm Fuzzy Things" section) for some fun things you can do to help boost the new heroes who are in Atlas Park.