Going Rogue

Overview

City of Heroes: Going Rogue will be the second expansion of the City of Heroes universe (the first being City of Villains). It will be a new box featuring a whole new world, where a character's choices may decide whether they end up a hero or villain. The release date is scheduled for August 17, 2010. [1]

At the Official Going Rogue site, there is teaser trailer available, which introduces Maelstrom, a pistol-wielding hero turned Vigilante, and Desdemona, a demon-summoning villain turned Rogue.

The skyline for the title logo is an outline of Nova Praetoria, the heart of Emperor Cole's domain, like City of Heroes has Paragon City skyline and City of Villains has Spider City (Grandville)'s skyline. The center building is a landmark which is Emperor Cole's tower of operations in Nova Praetoria, and is visible from almost any point in the city. This is to show citizens that the entire city is always under observation and under Emperor Cole's rule.

Features

A small section of Nova Praetoria with Cole's tower visible in the background

Several new zones in Praetoria, including new enemy factions
To begin as a Praetorian instead of a Hero or Villain. This will put the newly created character directly in Praetoria
Praetorian players may choose to align with the Resistance (hero) or with Loyalists (villain) in the beginning levels
The ability to switch from Hero to Villain and vice versa
- Heroes will be able to become Vigilantes, an intermediate step between hero and villain. This will enable them to visit the Rogue isles and team with villains. They can only use Wentworth's.
- Villains in the intermediate stage become Rogues. Likewise, they may visit Paragon City and team with heroes. They can only use the Black Market.
- Note that Issue 18, released alongside Going Rogue, merges the market database between Wentworths and the Black Market. This allows heroes and villains to auction off and bid from a common pool of items.
Heroes and villains that reaffirm their current alignment will gain Hero Alignment Merits or Villain Alignment Merits. These can be used to purchase purple recipes of your choice from special lounges in Paragon City (Fort Trident) or the Rogue Isles (The Crucible).
Introduction of the Incarnate System, an end game system (Note: This was removed from Going Rogue's initial release, but Going Rogue will still be required to participate in the Incarnate System when it is available.)
All base archetypes get a new powerset:
- Demon Summoning primary powerset for Masterminds
- Dual Pistols primary powerset for Blasters and Corruptors and as a secondary powerset for Defenders.
- Electric Control primary powerset for Controllers and Dominators
- Kinetic Melee primary powerset for Scrappers, Brutes, and Stalkers and as a secondary powerset for Tankers.

Ultra Mode, originally slated for Going Rogue, was completed early and was instead released with Issue 17: Dark Mirror.

Confirmations

Several players, though reportedly not all players, received the following email late in the evening on May 11, 2009:

Paragon Studios™ is proud to officially announce the next City of Heroes® expansion, City of Heroes Going Rogue™! This will be the first major expansion for the City of Heroes franchise since the launch of City of Villains® in 2005.

Praetoria, a utopian mirror to our own world, hides a dark secret. Exploring this mysterious alternate earth, the heroes and villains of this world feel an uneasiness of doubt creep over them. Loyalties are questioned. Choices are made. Lines are drawn. As they search for the truth behind Emperor Cole and his Praetorian guard, brutal foes and fierce allies emerge, turning this once blissful paradise into a battle ground.

City of Heroes Going Rogue officially opens the "mirror universe" of Praetoria and an all-new alignment system that explores the shades of gray that lie between Heroes and Villains. For the first time, Hero characters can become Villains and vice versa, enabling Heroes to cross over to the Rogue Isles™ and Villains to experience Paragon City™.

In response[2] to a post on the forums, Castle said:

[quoted] If this is a joke, I am quitting this game right then and there.

It's not a joke. I can't say more about it now, though. Stay tuned for more info!

Soon after this was posted, the Going Rogue website, which was non-functional at the time the newsletter was sent out, went live. It includes a CGI teaser video, a 14-day free trial offer (currently for the Architect Edition of City of Heroes), a way to register for newsletter updates, and a "Hall of Fame" that tracks the top five people who have sent Going Rogue details to their friends.

Early the next morning, the press release was posted to NCsoft's news log, and a FAQ was posted on the forums by Niviene. The FAQ revealed a few new pieces of information:

Q: Do I have to own City of Heroes or City of Villains to be able to play the Going Rogue expansion? A: Yes.
Q: Do I have to change sides in order to play the expansion? A: No.
Q: If you change over to the opposite alignment, can you change back? A: Yes.

On June 19, 2009, Positron posted on the game's official forums, "Issue 16 is NOT Going Rogue."[3]

During the 4/28/2009 anniversary event, Positron mentioned Dual Pistols and Demon Summoning, but it is not necessarily linked with a specific Issue release (partial chatlog):

04-28-2009 18:33:30 [Local] Sicari: Can we expect to see more power proliferation in new issues to come?
04-28-2009 18:33:34 [Local] Positron: Demon Summoning? Dual Pistols?

However, in Positron's Dev Diary on July 13, 2009, Positron says that Dual Pistols and Demon Summoning are part of the Going Rogue expansion.

On July 29, 2009, a newsletter was sent out, containing a few tidbits pertaining to Going Rogue:

All City of Heroes® and City of Villains® players who maintain an active account for the time period beginning August 15, 2009 and ending November 15, 2009 will receive a set of special rewards for their loyalty to Paragon City™ and The Rogue Isles™:

Closed Beta access for City of Heroes Going Rogue™
Exclusive loyalty badges: "Vigilant" for Heroes and "Determined" for Villains

Going Rogue Closed Beta Access will be granted using a three-tier system:

Tier One: City of Heroes Veterans with 60+ months of paid time.
Tier Two: Loyalty Program players
Tier Three: Players who Pre-Order Going Rogue (Preorder details to be announced at a later date)

Badges will be enabled within one week after the promotional period has ended.