What Archetypes and Builds Are Good for Farming
CoH Planner was built on the idea that you shouldn't need to install additional software just to work through a build for City of Heroes or City of Villains. This site not only provides a full-featured Hero/Villain planner, but also the ability to easily, save, and display the builds you make with anyone else! This article is currently a work in progress. As such, it may contain some editing notes in addition to information. Please be patient, it is being worked on and will be in a finished state before long! Overview Issue 13 added the ability for characters to have multiple builds. Each build allows.
In general, you want a build that has good Area of Effect (AE) damage (and particularly PBAE – Point Blank Area of Effect). The build must also be able to sustain the 'Alpha Strike' (the initial attack of the 10+ mobs in each spawn) as well as any subsequent damage.
Tanker Farming
Tankers can easily survive the alpha and sustained damage. The problem is damage. Super Strength provides a permanent 80% damage boost from rage, and you can time the crash between spawns. Footstomp is a 15' radius PBAE that also knocks the mobs down to prevent scattering. If you couple this with an armor set that possesses a damage aura (fire, ice, or dark) and you can farm pretty well.
If you plan on farming in a duo team, grouping with a kinetics support character will increase damage enormously. The second team member definitely needs to be someone who can either deal a lot of AE damage, buff AE damage, or both.
Scrapper Farming
The alpha strike is a bit rough, but survivable. The Spines set is really the only offensive set with enough AE damage to farm well. If you couple this with fire or dark armor, you add a second damage aura and a good heal.
For a long while, the spines/dark armor scrapper was considered the best scrapper farming build. With I12, spines/fire has also become popular. Fire Armor has the advantage of an endurance recovery ability, whereas Dark Armor has a more powerful heal. In the end it mostly comes down to preference or what kind of scrapper you already have leveled up.
Controller Farming
The king of farming is the fire/kin controller. Kinetics gives you enormous damage. Your control powers make surviving the damage possible. Containment adds to your damage. Spamming your transfusion and transference means you never have downtime.
Brute Farming
Since they are like a cross between tankers and scrappers, it is easy to see why they can farm pretty well. The same set choices apply. Electric Armor is a particularly good farming set as it has an endurance return power (to avoid downtime) and lightning reflexes increases recharge time (AEs often have longer recharges) and run speed. Run speed is a grossly underrated ability in CoX as over time a faster base run speed will significantly add to your inf earned per hour.
Dominator Farming
Many believe the fire/psi dominator is even better at farming that the fire/kinetics controller. This is largely due to the extreme power of Psychic Shockwave – a 25' radius PBAE. With perma-domination, the fire/psi dominator has amazingly good control (to reduce damage taken) and very high damage. The problem is, villain side of the game has become so vacant and unpopular that few people have the patience to level up a dominator from 1 to 50.
This post is part of the series: City of Heroes Farming Guide
This guide to farming will help you earn massive amounts of influence or infamy in City of Heroes and City of Villains.
Getting Started...[edit]
The main thing you will obviously want to do as a superhero is create the perfect character for you! After all, you will be using them for a long, long time, and you can have more than one character if you're the type of person that enjoys taking on multiple tasks. Each different type of character has different 'move' sets, and abilities to use, as well as different contacts for missions. You will need to decide what you'd prefer to play as from the get-go, because you cannot change this information as the game progresses.
Archtypes[edit]
The Archtype you choose will effect literally everything when you play City Of Heroes. This is basically what character 'build' you have. The Archtype will effect how your play the game, considering it alters your Powers selection from the selection screen, and it will definitely alter who you play with in parties. Remember that all Archtypes are different, so choosing one is a decision that must be thought out. After all, this is what you'll be doing for a few months, so you'd better get used to it. Read our Archtypes section for all of the basics for choosing which Archtype to be.
Origins[edit]
The Origin selection is based on where you got your powers from. Perhaps you got them from a biological spill, or you've had them for as long as you can remember? Or maybe you believe in old fashioned witchcraft? Heck, maybe you're just a normal person, living an alternative life outside of your own? Any way you go, selecting an Origin will certainly base your character's development around that said Origin, whether you're a mage, a mutant freakshow, or even a cyborg from the planet Yourmotheron. Choosing what Origin will also alter what missions that you take during the game, as well as what types of Enhancements that you can use later in the game.
![Heroes Heroes](/uploads/1/2/5/6/125623895/248023939.jpg)
Powers[edit]
The Powers that you choose will be as equally important to your character's build as choosing your Archtype, as the Powers you choose will be the superpowers that you attack with. Yes, you can even choose superpowers to assist you. What, did you think you were going to be a superhero and walk around waving to old people and mowing lawns for the hot wife of your nextdoor neighbor in hopes that once the legal proceedings end, she'll run to you? We think not! You can choose a primary power set, and a sub power set. Obviously, the primary is where all of the action is, and is what you should build your character and possibly your character's looks around. Nobody wants to have a character named 'The Fire Demon' and have him shoot ice, you know?
The Tutorial[edit]
The tutorial is going to show you the basics of everything from taking missions to fighting the bad dudes around the corner. This is pretty straight forward, and will show you the bare basics much better than any guide could. You will be forced to get used to walking using the W, A, S, and D keys, or by using the right mouse button to steer while holding the W and S keys to move forward and backwards. After completing each mission, you must switch to a new contact and take their mission. Your last mission will be to find a glowing computer inside of a building that you must raid. The computer is on the lower level, although you can blast those enemies upstairs, if you'd like. Once this is finished, it's time to jump into the game!
Go On, Brush Your Shoulders Off[edit]
There are a lot of superheroes running throughout the city, so obviously, there's going to be a lot of bad guys to destroy with your super powers and other superhumanly things. Sadly, finding an enemy to give a big bear hug isn't as simple as it seems. As there are many superheroes around you, they may take the kills before you have the chance to say 'It's a bird...' The best thing to keep in mind is that more enemies will spawn in given places, so have no fear if you are having trouble finding some baddies to smash up. Just make sure to...
Check Your Enemies[edit]
The most important aspect of any massive multiplayer online role-playing game is to check your enemies. Since the entire world is practically accessible from the beginning, your tiny, puny low-level character may run into a gigantic demon that wants to rip your head off and swallow it. Even with a nice, big party to assist you, these big bad guys will stomp on your poor faces. It's best to avoid these guys, since they will likely kill you in a couple of hits. Stick to things that are your level or slightly higher, and hey, if you can't find nothing else, beat up a few of those weakling enemies. Experience is experience, you know? Keep in mind that everything is color coordinated, so after following the tutorial, you will easily understand this concept. Grey being the easiest, Purple being the hardest.
No EXP After DOA[edit]
As you have likely guessed by now, you can die as many times as you'd like, and you will respawn with ease... Sadly, after you have attained Level 4, you will begin losing experience points after you have been slain by a nasty foe. To avoid such trivial matters, try not to take on anything too tough by yourself. Always grab a Party before hunting super hard enemies, and try to grab decently hard enemies that are away from the group, since all of the bad guys will gang up on you. Make sure you have some healing Inspirations around, just in case.
Inspirations[edit]
You may become slightly discombobulated by the whole 'Inspirations' thing when you first attain said items, but do not become confused: that is all they are, temporary items. When you use an Inspiration, you gain a temporary boost in one of the many statistical categories. Certain Inspirations will also heal your character, and since they are set to the F keys, you can easily tap a button on the keyboard and use an Inspiration in mid-battle without too much hassle. As long as you have these wonderful items to help you along, you can take out tougher enemies.
Chatting It Up![edit]
There are many ways to speak to other people in City Of Heroes, and you can find out every single way just by browsing the lower left-hand side of the screen. You can speak to those in your immediate area, you can send a shout out to everyone in the entire city, you can send a private message to a specific person, you can send a message to your entire party (if you're in one, otherwise you will be chatting to yourself), or you can even request things, such as a party. Of course, you can even speak with your own Supergroup. What is a Supergroup, you ask?
Supergroups[edit]
![City of heroes builds bots/ff City of heroes builds bots/ff](http://i.imgur.com/NZ7xgEM.png)
At level 10, you can start your own Supergroup. Otherwise, you can join a Supergroup by exploring the world, and joining parties with other people and making friends that will want you in their Supergroup. If they enjoy your company enough, and given they have their own Supergroup to begin with, they will invite you to join their Supergroup. A Supergroup is a group of heroes that help each other out, whether it be in parties or for other missions, or just to chat. Just remember one thing: these things are not the duties of other people in your Supergroup. Supergroups are not one big mission, but rather a group of actual people that have real-life responsibilities. You can also design costumes that your Supergroup members can toggle on and off to 'represent.' You can only be in one Supergroup at a time, so choose wisely.
Don't Steal Kills![edit]
One of the most common things to know in any massive multi-player online role-playing game is that it is extremely rude to steal enemies away from those that are eyeing said enemies. If a superhero is near a group of enemies, and he or she was there before you were, you should ask them if you can take the enemies if front of said person. Being polite will get you far in this game, so learn to use your manners.
Enhancement Slots[edit]
Enhancement slots are vital to updating your superhuman abilities, or even the sorta-human ones. After fighting several different enemies, you will notice that a few of them will drop Enhancements. These things are somewhat-permanemt attributes that will be applied to whatever ability you stick them on. You can delete these abilities after they have been applied by simply applying a new Enhancement in place of it. Of course, this will break your enhancement that was currently in there, so it will be lost forever. Keep this in mind, and if you get a few extra Enhancements, remember to go to the Enhancement screen and trash them. Just remember to pick and choose, as the lost ones will be lost and gone forever.
After Leveling Up...[edit]
Upon leveling up every time, you will need to speak with one of the senior heroes in the game. They will allow you to choose which abilities to expand Enhancement slots, or even give you new abilities from which to choose from. This will broaden your horizons as a player, as it will give you new aspects of the game to experiment with. With these new abilities, you will be able to perform new and better actions. Just check out the Origins section for more information regarding the abilities. As for the Enhancement Slots, you will be able to do many, many things to make your attacks unique from others.
Super Power Pools![edit]
Finally, there are Pool Powers. What are they? Think of them as general Super Hero type powers that everyone can choose from. That's right, all Archtypes are able to pick from these. Starting at level 6, it will open up one Power Pool slot. These range from cool powers like Flight, Speed, Healing, to useful powers such as Teleportation. Yes, you will be able to even teloprt yourself and your group later on in the game if you choose those selected powers. Pool Powers come along a lot more rarely then the rest, and are limited, so make your choices wisely.
Catch That Crook![edit]
Always be highly aware when fighting the bad guys in City Of Heroes, because some of them realize when it is a losing battle to face off against you, and they will desert their poor bad guy buddies in favor ofg getting their booty out of dodge. You will need to pursue the criminals before they get away, but make sure to finish off any enemy that is near death first. The ones that have full health (or nearly full health) will stay and fight against you, or chase after you while you run after the crook that is getting away. Blasters have an advantage here, since they can launch a projectile to kill off the useless newbie that's running away. That'll teach'em! Some enemies will run back and attack you, so don't give up on them!
Map It![edit]
One of the best things regarding City Of Heroes is the ability to set map markers to a certain person that you can find located on the map. This makes navigating the city a lot easier and less confusing, and/or stressful. If you need to reach a certain non-playable character (NPC), just open your map and set the marker to where they are at. Now, you will see a marker on the actual screen, telling you how far away you are from your target. Hey, this saves a lot of time rather than navigating normally when you're in a hurry, and accidentally going in the wrong direction only to realize it 10 minutes later.
Configuring Your Controls[edit]
Of course, if you're just flat out new to the PC gaming scene, you may be highly confused by the whole 'walking by using the keyboard, WHAT???' thing. You can set up the controls to however you'd like by selecting 'Options' and then 'Configure.' You honestly might be better off with configuring your controls, regardless of your personal preference, as you can jump a lot easier by setting it to a closer key with the 'W,' 'A,' 'S,' and 'D' keys. Examples of this without using your steering keys ('Q' and 'E,' which are extremely useful in case you do not want to use the mouse, although the mouse is recommended for newbies to keyboard-controlled games) can be found in the '`/~' key, or the 'Z' key.
Summons Aren't Monsters, For The Most Part[edit]
Just so you know, don't start expectin' to see a gigantic monster to pop up from the depths of Hell to damage all nearby enemies when you read that you have acquired a Summoning ability, nor should you expect to see a lovely curing angelic creature swoop down from the Heavens to protect your sorry behind, either. The Summons in City Of Heroes are usually elements in general, such as volcanos, ice storms, or even electronic devices that will aid you in battle, such as automatic turrets. Sorry, but there's nothing flashy about them, considering you're not playing a Final Fantasy game here and all... Actually... If you're seriously looking for monsters or something that resembles them in the least, be a Controller. They have stone golems, flame imps, and the like.
Stuck? Ask Around![edit]
One of the absolute best things regarding massive multiplayer online role-playing games, or any MMO game in general, is that if you are truly stuck to the point that you cannot figure something out, you can merely ask someone around you. Can't find a specific non-playable character (NPC)? Just ask a kindly stranger that is willing to help you out. Need help on where to go to find a certain mission or key item? Just ask a kindly stranger. Need help taking out tougher enemies that are blocking your entrance or key item that you oh-so desperately desire? Just ask a kindly stranger for help. While some people can be really stupid on MMORPGs, there are as many nice ones that you will encounter as there are the ones that will disrupt gameplay.