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''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.

''City of Heroes'' is complemented and paralleled by a villainous counterpart, ''City of Villains''. The two overlap in select areas, including [=PvP=] zones and a [[BadGuyBar no-conflict nightclub]] in another dimension called "Pocket D". There's another expansion announced, ''Going Rogue'', which will allow characters to change alignment and introduces a mirror universe as a third 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.

Hero archetypes include:
* [[StoneWall Tanker]] (high defense, low-damage melee)
* [[TheBerserker Scrapper]] (lower defense, higher-damage melee)
* [[MindControl Controller]] (specializing in powers that hold or disorient opponents)
* [[HealingHands Defender]] (specializing in powers that aid allies or "debuff" foes)
* [[GlassCannon Blaster]] (high-damage ranged and Melee attacks, but no defenses)

There are also two "epic" archeypes, unlocked once one of your heroes reaches level 50; [[KnightInShiningArmor Peace]][[KnightTemplar bringers]] and [[TheAtoner Warshades]]. These have unique abilities, such as intrinsic travel powers and shapeshifting. Their powersets are fairly similar, but Warshades tend to play to the strengths of your teammates, while Peacebringers tend to make up for their weaknesses.

Villain archetypes include:
* [[TheBrute Brute]] (medium-defense, medium-damage melee)
* Corruptor (ranged attack with buff/debuff)
* Dominator (control plus damage)
* Stalker (stealth-based "critical-hit" melee)
* [[TheBeastmaster Mastermind]] (commanding and buffing minions)

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).

''Going Rogue'' 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 [[PsychoForHire 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.
* [[WeirdScience Science]] -- Characters that get their powers via scientific means. Super serums, [[ILoveNuclearPower radiation]], [[FreakLabAccident experiments gone wrong]], etc. Examples include Comicbook/{{Spider-Man}}, Marvel's Sandman and the Comicbook/FantasticFour.
* [[{{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.
* [[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, {{Hellboy}} and DoctorStrange.
* [[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 armour, alien weapons, cybernetics, et al. Examples include IronMan, Doctor Octopus and Robotman.
* [[BadassNormal Natural]] -- Characters that got where they are through natural training. Can also refer to characters whose species naturally have the abilities. Examples include Comicbook/{{Superman}}, Comicbook/{{Batman}}, {{the Punisher}} and Kingpin.

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.

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.
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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 Rikti without hitting an abandoned warehouse. And there are supervillains in ''every freaking one''.)
* 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.
*** You haven't been to Faultline or The Hollows yet? It '''has'''.
****Yes, but all of that's justified by supervillains with Earthquake machines and other such comic tropes...The (skyscraper full) centre of town, including multiple 50-foot metal statues, all stand fine.
* AIRoulette (Found in more recent {{Mook}}s.)
* AlienInvasion (The Rikti, although [[spoiler:they're actually forcibly-mutated humans from AnotherDimension]].)
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation (Nemesis is either a brilliant schemer with a hand in friggin' ''everything'', or an egotistical blowhard who keeps trying to take credit for other people's work.)
* 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 Wondergirl.
** Positron is a [[ILoveNuclearPower radioactive]] IronMan.
** Manticore is {{Batman}} with the fighting style of Green Arrow. (So basically, Batman.)
** Sister Psyche heavily resembles [[{{X-Men}} Jean Grey]], down to being [[HeroesWantRedheads a redhead]].
** Synapse, the token speedster, is generally considered an equivalent to TheFlash.
** Back Alley Brawler seems to have a little of Luke Cage, and/or Wildcat.
* {{Alt-itis}} (With all the power and costume options, it's not unusual for one person to have 20 or more characters.)
** Given 584 possible archetype/powerset combinations, 20 is ''little''.
* 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.)
* AnInteriorDesignerIsYou
* 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. )
* AnotherDimension
* AntiVillain (Many player characters, but also a few of the contacts on villain side. Most notable is a demon hunter who gives you missions where rescuing the demons' victims is mandatory.)
* AscendedMeme (The "Kill Skuls" badge)
* AsteroidsMonster (Some Devouring Earth, Clockwork Princes)
* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever (Giant octopus, giant robots, giant amoebas, giant giants, giant walking plants...)
* BadassNormal (Malta humans, Knives of Artemis, Family, Paragon City Police, and a fair number of Natural-origin human heroes.)
* BadGuyBar
* TheBaroness (Countess Crey)
* BeneathTheEarth
* BizarroUniverse (Praetoria, where all the heroes are evil and all the villains are good.)
* BlackCloak (The Circle of Thorns)
* BoringButPractical (The "Fitness" Power Pool, which is almost mandatory for most characters if you don't want to have to rest after every fight due to endurance depletion.)
* BraggingRightsReward
* BreastPlate (Some armor pieces, like that of the Widows or the Roman Centurion armor are rather form-fitting)
* 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.")
* TheCape
* CardboardPrison (Ziggursky Penitentiary, AKA "The Ziggurat" or "The Zig")
* CardCarryingVillain (Subverted. They're actually ''less'' evil than the KnightTemplar and VillainWithGoodPublicity groups, apart from (maybe) the Circle of Thorns.)
* CatGirl (Mynx and her AlternateUniverse counterpart Bobcat. And a metric ton of player characters, to the point where "swinging a dead catgirl," referring to there being something extremely common, is now a commonly-accepted joke on most servers.)
* 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, and again, many players)
* ChestInsignia (Dozens of selectable ones!)
* CherryTapping
* 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.)
** It comes up exactly once. To be fair, that one [[strike:probably]] ''is''.
** 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."
* TheChosenOne (Framing device in ''City of Villains.'' Your character is broken out of the Zig due to his potential of being 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. SoYeah.]]
** Somewhat subverted in that your "destiny" [[spoiler:was to create a future in which [[BigBad Lord Recluse]] would TakeOverTheWorld. The only problem is that when you go into the future to learn how that happened, you find out your assistance created an EnemyCivilWar that basically caused TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. Luckily, you were able to ScrewDestiny by facing down Lord Recluse at the future moment of his triumph, kicking his ass, and taking his helmet back to the "current day" Lord Recluse.]]
* 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
* CityOfCanals (Founder's Falls)
* ClingyCostume (Positron was permanently stuck in his anti-matter-driven armor for a while. [[IGotBetter He got better]])
* [[PunkPunk Clock Punk]] (The Clockwork)
* 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 are all 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".)
** Somewhat averted by the upcoming Issue 16, which will allow you to customize your power's colors -- so you can have a villain with blue powers and a hero with red.
* CombiningMecha (The Malta Group's Hercules Titans)
* CompleteMonster (Westin Phipps definitely qualifies for this title and arguably anyone who gleefully takes on his missions)
* ConspicuouslySelectivePerception
* CopyAndPasteEnvironments (Each building/cave's rooms and corridors come in several different flavors and with different features. Selection of these features, except for storyline missions, is rather random, so you aren't stuck running around just a couple of different layouts for each type.)
* CorruptCorporateExecutive (The Countess Crey, and Crey Industries in general. Kirk Cage, and the Cage Consortium in general.)
* CosmeticAward (Badges and costume options)
* 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 opperations for there 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.)
* {{Cutscene}}
* CyberPunk (The Freakshow)
* DarkIsNotEvil (The Darkness powersets are equally available to heroes and villains, and heroes can easily be made to look this way. Infernal is a big time canon example)
* DeadlyDoctor (Dr. Vahzilok)
* 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 [[strike:three]] six.
* DegradedBoss
* DemonicSpiders (The Malta Group have been one of the most-loathed enemy groups in the game since they first appeared, generally having the right abilities to eventually hose ''any'' PC trying to fight them.)
** While Malta are annoying, the Knives of Artemis are much more deserving of this. Knives can see through stealth, can easily keep player characters stunned permanently, and they stack Caltrops to a ridiculous level, ensuring that most players can barely move while taking damage. Unless there's a character on the team with Speed Boost to free others from Caltrops, teamwipes happen on every single Knives of Artemis mission. Fortunately there aren't that many.
* DevelopmentGag
* 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.)
* DieChairDie (Mayhem missions in ''City Of Villains'', where you get extra time for destroying scenery.)
* DoomyDoomsOfDoom ("DOOOOOOOOOOOM!!" is actually [[MemeticMutation a fad used among the community]] to poke fun at the rioting that ensues whenever a major announcement is made.)
* DoorToBefore (The "Exit Mission" button)
* DownTheDrain (Sewer missions)
* DracoInLeatherPants (See: Ghost Widow. Scirocco also gets this occasionally.)
* TheDragon (Several for each major villain)
** 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
* ElaborateUndergroundBase
* TheElectricSlide (It is technically possible given that power lines act like any other surface but there's no real point in doing so.)
* EleventhHourSuperpower (Several of the tier 9 powers are used like this.)
* EliteMooks (Every evil organization has 'em.)
* EmoteAnimation
* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt (many, many, many times)
* EnemyCivilWar (Warburg breaking off from the Rogue Isles and the Rikti's clash between the Traditionalists and the Restructurists)
* 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.)
* EnemyWithout (Inverted: Rularuu the Ravager, a god-like being from AnotherDimension, has a Hero Without in the form of Faathim the Kind.)
* 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.
* EqualOpportunityEvil
* 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.)
* EvilMinions
* EvilTwin: The leaders of the Praetorian dimension are an evil Freedom Phalanx.
* EvilVersusEvil (Much of ''City of Villains''' missions.)
* ExpandedUniverse (comics, novels)
* ExpansionPack (''City of Villains''; marketed as an "expanshalone", since it could be played as a separate game. Whether ''Going Rogue'' will follow the same model is unknown. 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.)
* FaceHeelTurn / HeelFaceTurn (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.)
* FacelessEye (Some of the inhabitants of the Shadow Shard)
* FacelessGoons
* {{Feelies}}
* FetchQuest (plenty of them)
* FiveBadBand (The leaders of Arachnos.)
* {{Flashback}} (Via the aptly-named Flashback system, complete with [[DeliberatelyMonochrome sepia tones]].)
* FragileSpeedster (Any Blaster with the Speed travel power)
** LightningBruiser (Any Tanker/Scrapper with the Speed travel power)
* FriendlyFireproof
* 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.]])
* 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)
* 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".)
* GoddamnedBats (Exactly which enemy type fits the trope depends on the individual player.)
* GoingThroughTheMotions
* GoodBadBugs (Countless pop up every now and then. From the ability to make illegal but cool (and lag-causing) outfits, through captives being replaced by harmless killer robots, to [[HumongousMecha ten foot tall robots]] trying to ma-er, [[CombiningMecha combine]] with players. [[ChunkySalsaRule And succeeding]].)
* GradualGrinder (Controller/Dominator primaries work that way. Debuff-based Defenders when soloing.)
* {{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.)
* 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 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. Also the Trope Namer.)
* 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, although it's 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.)
** 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.''
* IGotARock (ShoutOut: during the Halloween events, 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.)
* ImpossiblyLowNeckline
* InescapableAmbush
* InnBetweenTheWorlds
* InstantDeathRadius (Anything based on fire.)
* InvisibleWall (Averted: ''CityOfHeroes'' has [[JustifiedTrope very visible]] War Walls. ''City Of Villains'' has the same blue force fields, but mysteriously unexplained.)
* InvulnerableCivilians
* ItemCrafting (The Invention system.)
* JumpPhysics
* KickTheDog (overlaps with UnpleasableFanbase in the contact Westin Phipps, whose missions has 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''.)
* 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.)
* KryptoniteFactor
* LargeHam (Romulus Augustus' transformation, right down to larger font.)
* LaughablyEvil ([[MadScientist Dr. Thaddeous Aeon]]. His scatterbrained megalomania is just so ''cute''!)
* LeakedExperience
* 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
* LevelFiveOnix
* LevelGrinding
* LexLuthorSecurity
* LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition (Standard editions, DVD Collector's Editions, Good vs. Evil pack...)
* LoadBearingBoss
* 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.)
* LoveItOrHateIt (sometimes seems this way, you see people either gushing over it or complaining about it for ''the exact same reasons''.)
* MacGuffin
* MadScientist (Several of them, from the Praetorian Anti-Matter to Dr. Aeon.)
* MagikarpPower
* ManaMeter (Called "Endurance" here)
* MetaOrigin
* {{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 powerset.
** ''Going Rogue'' brings graphical updates for the Praetorian Clockwork, providing male, female, huge, and Giant Monster flavors of Mecha Mooks.
* MemeticBadass (Blue Steel is responsible for so many DeusExMachina rescues in ''CityOfVillains'' that fans hail him as a Super Super Hero. He has a fact list similar to "Chuck Norris" facts.)
**Until recently, his shield-based powerset was impossible to show in game, making him even more awesome.
* MemeticMutation (Go. Hunt. Kill Skuls.)
**Also, it's all a [[{{Chessmaster}} Nemesis]] plot.
** Freem!
* 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.)
* MirroredConfrontationShot (Th Good vs. Evil box art)
* MirrorUniverse (Praetorian Earth)
* 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 flat-chested female character.)
* 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.)
* NewsTravelsFast (Even ''backwards in time'')
* 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.
* NotTheFallThatKillsYou
* NoticeThis (Inanimate mission targets glow pulsatingly and emit a distinctive sound.)
* 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.
* 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
*ParanoiaFuel (When you idle in the game by civilians, sometimes they'll talk about your exploits. Nemesis is fond of using Automatons that perfectly resemble normal people. If you've encountered Nemesis troops lately, you might get a confrontation like this:)
-->"I can't believe how Carol behaved today at the Lord Nemesis is watching you, *character name*. He will not let this transgression pass without punishment. We know who you are before the toner ran out and I had to get more."
* PatchworkMap
* PerpetualMolt (For burned wings; this is more like perpetual smoke. The straight version was meant to be put in but was pulled due to hardware limitations)
* PickUpGroup
* PowersViaPossession (Peacebringers and Warshades, lots of villain PCs.)
* PlaceBeyondTime - Ouroboros, home to the organization of the same name.
* PreOrderBonus
* ProductPlacement (The recently introduced "Optional In-Game Advertising" has thus far advertised Nike and T-Mobile products)
* PunchClockVillain
* PurelyAestheticGender (Male, female, and "huge". While there are no statistic differences, some costume options, like skirts, are unique to the bodytype.)
* RagdollPhysics
* RandomlyDrops
* RecurringBoss
* TheRemnant (The Rikti, after their failed AlienInvasion; specifically, the Reconstructionist faction.)
* RivalTurnedEvil ([[TheCape Statesman]] and [[BigBad Lord Recluse]])
* RobeAndWizardHat (The Cabal. With the release of the Magic Booster pack, players can join in.)
* {{Roofhopping}}
* 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 toggles, so you shouldn't use it in combat.)
* 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
* ScrappyLevel (Certain mission tilesets, including the "layer cake" room in several caves and the Circle of Thorns' city, Oranbega. The Shadow Shard consists of four entire ''zones'' of scrappyness and are all but deserted nowadays.)
* ScrewDestiny (In fact, screw Operation: Destiny!)
* 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 dropped. 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.
* SealedEvilInACan
* SequentialBoss
* 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 DisContinuity on the part of some players, mostly due to StatusQuoIsGod.)
** By that token, MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight
* ShoutOut
-->"[[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".
* 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'' looks to give players the ability to move along the scale as they see fit.)
* {{Soaperizing}} (In the ShowWithinAShow)
* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil
* SlippySlideyIceWorld (The Frostfire Mission)
* StatusBuff
* StatusQuoIsGod (Averted somewhat, since several areas, such as Faultline and the Rikti War Zone, have seen permanent changes. However, almost every mission that was ever available to do is still available; a notable exception is the Calvin Scott Task Force. Also embraced mercilessly by at least a couple story arcs in ''City of Villains'', sometimes to the point of SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong.)
* SteamPunk (Nemesis)
* StockSoundEffects
* StopHavingFunGuys (see the example in that article for more detail)
* StupidJetpackHitler (The 5th Column)
* SummoningRitual (The Circle of Thorns are almost always seen doing this.)
* 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.)
* SuperPowerMeltdown (Subverted with the origin of the Siren's Call zone; played straight at first glance in the origin of Faultline.)
* SuperRegistrationAct (Established in the backstory, and generally not seen as a bad thing.)
* ThatOneBoss (Which boss is That One depends on the PC's powers -- Malta Gunslingers and Carnie Master Illusionists tend to be much-hated.)
* ThouShaltNotKill
* ThrivingGhostTown (Literally, in Dark Astoria!)
* TimeKeepsOnSlipping
* TimePolice - Oroboros [[spoiler: Well, that's what they CLAIM anyway]]
* TimeTravel
* TimedMission
* TimeyWimeyBall
* TomatoInTheMirror ([[spoiler:Subverted: you're real, but your contact is an automaton.]])
* TotallyRadical (played for laughs with a certain famous Nemesis quote)
* TrainingBoss
* TrainingDummy (The disabled Rikti drones.)
** Also Rikti shaped dummies in the Rikti War Zone.
* TransformationSequence (Available in the Magic Booster Pack as of Spring 2009)
* TruceZone (Pocket D, the Vanguard Base, the Rikti War Zone, Cimerora)
* UndergroundLevel
* {{Unobtainium}} (An actual {{MacGuffin}}, made from Nonesuchium.)
* UnpleasableFanbase (Like just about every other {{MMORPG}}, players will complain about everything.)
** Emphasis on ''everything''. More ludicrous examples include a universal experience increase/death penalty decrease, the ability to customize your own weapons, the ability to make your own ''missions,'' and the fact that you have to pay money to play the game. As a rule, whenever there is a major announcement, there will be [[strike:rioting]] cries of "[[DoomyDoomsOfDoom DOOOOOOM]]!"
* UpUpAndAway (After flight poses were added.)
* ValleyGirl (Becky the Tarantula Mistress.)
* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon (Featured in several story arcs, and usually with their own custom tilesets.)
* VideogameHistoricalRevisionism
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: [[spoiler: Crey Industries, which is responsible for rebuilding much of Paragon City after the First Rikti War, is 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 CityofVillains 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" of Praetoria introduced in ''Going Rogue''. 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:the psionic Seers being literal thought police, Praetorian PD drafting any super powered individuals, and the secret police under Chimera having full authority to "disappear" anyone that they think is a risk to the "peace"]].
* TheVirus (The Will Of The Earth)
* TheWallAroundTheWorld: The War Walls.
* WarpWhistle
* WeBuyAnything (Partially subverted, in that non-matching stores won't give you your full price)
* 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.)
* XanatosRoulette (Nemesis)
* YouMeanXmas (The blandly-named Holiday Events, complete with snowballs, presents that give {{Status Buff}}s, and giant snow monsters.)
* 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.

The powers the game offers to players provide examples of:
* AnAxeToGrind (The Battle Axe powerset.)
* 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.
* BackStab (Stalkers can land critical hits 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.)
* BarrierWarrior (The Force Field powerset.)
*{{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 powerset is a big hammer. Also, Stone Mallet and Heavy Stone Mallet from Stone Melee.)
* DualWielding (The Dual Blades powerset.)
* ElementalPowers (Comic book staple)
** 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, [[IncendiaryExponent Fire Aura, Thermal Radiation]] -- seeing a theme here?)
* EyeBeams (Including those used by ''[[FacelessEye giant eyeballs]]''.)
* FinishingMove (The Dual Blade powerset combo system utilizes these.)
* FlashStep (Shield Rush from the Shield Defense powerset is the rare "attack while stepping" variety)
** Some roleplayers with the teleport power play it off as this.
* GatlingGood (Miniguns used by the Council, Crey, Nemesis, [[RedshirtArmy Longbow]] and... your everyday ordinary bank security.)
* GottaGetYourHeadTogether (Standard pose for characters Held psionically.)
* GunsAkimbo (Part of the Thugs powerset for Masterminds, also combined to great effect with AbnormalAmmo and a bit of ImprobableAimingSkills by [[DemonicSpider Malta]] [[TheGunslinger Gunslingers]]; one of the most requested powersets is a dedicated Guns Akimbo set, and as of Issue 16 it's being added to [[TheGame the game]].)
* HealingFactor (The Regeneration powerset)
* HealItWithFire (Thermal Radiation)
* InASingleBound (With the Leaping power pool.)
* InstantRunes (Mystic Fortune, [[http://tinyurl.com/VanguardSigil Vanguard Sigil]].)
* KatanasAreJustBetter (Averted. The Katana powerset 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 animations.
* KungFuSonicBoom (Every. Single. SuperStrength power.)
* 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 (Eagle Claw, the rest of the Martial Arts powerset to a lesser degree)
* ManaDrain (Damn you, Malta Sappers!)
* 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)
* MeteorMove (Air Superiority from the Flight power pool is a Type A if used against a flying target)
* MidairBobbing
* MoreDakka (Gun Drone -- Pet Flying Dakka. /Device Blasters and Malta Enigineers get access to these)
* NinjaRun (From the fourth Super Booster pack, Martial Arts)
* NotQuiteFlight (Temporary, buyable or stealable jetpacks)
* PunchedAcrossTheRoom (Once very prolific, many complaints from the players resulted in much of the knockback melee attacks being turned to knockdown. 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 powerset.)
* RapidFireFisticuffs (Available both in SpeedEchoes and [[DarkIsNotEvil darkness]] 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 powerset, but dialed it back after players complained of motion sickness.)
* SelfDestructMechanism (Used in one of the taskforces, also powers available to some NPCs and ''players''.)
* StoneWall (Fittingly, Granite Armor from the Stone Armor powerset turns the player nigh unkillable and nigh harmless)
** Of course, some players [[GameBreaker do everything to offset that...]]
* SuperSpeed (a power pool)
* SuperStrength (a power set)
* SwissArmyWeapon (The Assault Rifle powerset)
* SwordBeam (Focus and Shockwave from the Claws powerset)
* 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.]])
* WolverineClaws (The Claws powerset. This actually got [=NCSoft=] into some legal trouble with Marvel.)
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