City of Heroes - Issue 17

City of Heroes Issue 17, titled "Dark Mirror", was released in honor of the game's sixth anniversary and sets the stage for the upcoming commercial expansion "Going Rogue." This free expansion features upgrades to the "Mission Architect" world builder which allow players to create more elaborate mission scenarios, and also introduces a number of changes to the mail system, Consignment House, and even the chat system. The creation of temporary powers has been made clearer and more consistent, allowing players to craft their temporary powers with ease. New costume options have been included as well, including the ability to create characters with tails that are fully animated.

New gameplay features have been included in City of Heroes Issue 17 for heroes and villians alike. A new storyline is included in Issue 17, featuring a new enemy and leading directly into the main story of "Going Rogue." Additionally, the "Positron Task Force" that is available to heroes has been split into two parts and the " Silver Mantis Task Force" that was formerly only available to villain super groups is now available to all villians. Epic archetypes have also been made available starting at level 20 to allow players to expand their character options in new and interesting ways earlier in the game.

One of the most noticeable changes in City of Heroes Issue 17 is the inclusion of the new "Ultra Mode" graphics options. Ultra Mode adds a new level of realism and graphics configuration to the game, allowing players with graphics hardware capable of running the new mode to see Paragon City and the Rogue Isles in an entirely new light. Though City of Heroes is now six years old, this graphical update makes the game appear just as sharp and graphically impressive as newer MMO's. Graphics options added when Ultra Mode is enabled include the ability to adjust the realism of water, add environmental reflections, and adjust occlusion levels within the game.

City of Heroes Issue 17 paves the way for the City of Heroes expansion "Going Rogue", and introducing certain power sets from the expansion as preorder incentives. "Dual Pistols" is a power set that allows Blasters, Defenders, and Corruptors to wield two pistols that use a variety of swappable ammunitions. "Demon Summoning" is a power set for Masterminds which grants them a hellfire whip and the ability to summon demonic minions that they can unleash upon their foes. Both of these new power sets are only available to those players who have preordered "Going Rogue."