Special Events

A special event is a period of time during which the game(s) are altered. To date, there have been two kinds of events; Invasions, which usually entail a certain NPC group swarming Paragon City or the Rogue Isles, as with the Rularuu Invasion Event 2004, and events to coincide with holidays, which usually include the implementation of contacts, missions, badges and activities which are only avalible for the duration of the event, such as the Winter Event 2006.

Rikti Invasion 2004

The Rikti Invasion of 2004 took place at the end of the City of Heroes beta test, on April 25th. On this day, Rikti forces invaded the City, and it was the job of player heroes to hold them back. Some of the game's developers came out for this event, taking control of Rikti generals, fighting players and spawning more Rikti forces when needed.

During this event, Rikti UFOs could be seen flying above Paragon, something that has yet to be seen in the live version of City of Heroes.

Rulraruu Invasion 2004

The Rularuu Invasion Event 2004 coincided with the release of Issue 2 in September 2004. During this time, forces of the Rulraruu spilled out of the Shadow Shard and invaded Paragon City.

Halloween Event 2004

The Halloween 2004 Special Event, which took place during the weekend of Halloween in 2004. During this event, heroes could earn six special badges: Buster Badge, Dead Head Badge, Hallow Spirit Badge, Hunter Badge, Malleus Badge, and Shifter Badge by clicking on doors around Paragon City, which would then give the player a treat, in the form of inspirations or influence, or a trick in the form of any number of Halloween themed monsters. This was the first players saw the forces of the Fir Bolg, who would become one of the major villain groups present in Croatoa, implemented in Issue 5.

Winter Event 2004

The Winter Wonderland 2005 Event, which took place in January 2005. During this event, heroes could earn two special badges: Frozen Fury Badge and Cold Warrior Badge. Also, there was a special inspiration type available during this time, Presents.

Fifth Column/Council War 2005

Shortly before the release of Issue 3 in January 2005, this invasion saw forces of the 5th Column and The Council fighting on the streets of all the zones in Paragon City. This was part of the introduction of The Council, and in turn the removal of the 5th Column, as part of the storyline of Issue 3, which saw a coup d'etat remove Requiem as the leader of the group. This fed directly into the introduction of Striga Isle and the larger Council mythology.

Statesman's Strike 2005

This invasion of the Rogue Isles by the Freedom Phalanx and Longbow took place at the end of the City of Villains Beta test. Developers controlling Signature hero characters and GMs controlling special named Longbow bosses invaded the Isles in order to recapture the villains that had escaped during the length of the beta test and bring them back to the Ziggurat. In a surprising show of force, the invading forces where pushed back by the villains of the Rogue Isles. A couple of hours after the beta came to an end, a modified story of what had happened was released to explain the suprising lack of victory for the heroes.

Winter Event 2005

The Winter Event 2005, which took place in December 2005 and early January 2006. There were three stages to this event.

On December 8, 2005, where heroes would receive the Longbow Reservist Badge and villains would receive the Jet-Setter Badge by logging in. Both heroes and villains received a temporary power, the Holiday Rocket Pack.

On December 15th, Agents appeared at helicopters in Paragon City and Operatives appeared in the Rogue Isles offering missions for characters which rewarded badges. Heroes were to go recover stolen presents and upon completion, they would receive the Holiday Spirit accolade. Villains on the other hand would go steal presents and receive the Scrooge accolade.

Then on December 19th, mysterious presents appeared all over the Rogue Isles and Paragon City with two possible outcomes. If you were "Naughty", the Winter Horde would appear. If you were nice, you would receive a Present Inspiration. The appearance of the Winter Horde allowed characters to receive the Cold Warrior Badge. Also, if you opened 200 presents, you would receive the Toy Collector Badge.

Valentine's Day Event 2006

The Valentine's Day Event 2006 started on February 8th. It marked the first time that Heroes and Villains could work together. Heroes received the Heart of Light Badge and villains received the Heart of Darkness Badge for logging in during the event. Characters could earn the Beautiful Badge (for females) or the Handsome Badge (for males). After unlocking DJ Zero as a contact, characters could earn the Toothbreaker Badge for defeating Snaptooth five times.

Halloween Event 2006

The Halloween Event 2006 took place from October 18th, 2006 to November 2nd, 2006. During this event, Paragon City and the Rogue Isles were constantly in darkness.

During this event, players could click on doors to trick or treat, just as with the previous Halloween event. Several types of treats could be earned; random inspirations, the rock temporary power, and four different special salvage items that could be used to unlock an extra costume slot. These pieces of salvage have since become moderately rare and sought after, and was one of the game's first examples of loot.

Tricks would spawn various enemies, many of whom could be killed for badges. The badges available from these spawns were the same as those rewarded in the Halloween Event 2004, and consisted of the Buster, Dead Head, Hunter, Malleus, and Shifter badges.

Additionally, Eochai and Jack in Irons were spawning in all zones, accompanied by the Unseelie Court. Killing the Halloween Event form of these Giant Monsters granted the Hallow Spirit Badge (for Eochai) and Iron Warrior Badge (for Jack in Irons). Killing the Unseelie Court would earn the Ghost Touched Badge.

Winter Event 2006

The Winter Event 2006 began on December 14th and took place in two phases: the first began on December 14th, the second phase on December 18th; they both ended on January 2nd. During this event heroes and villains could once again team up to battle a common threat. Logging in between December 14th and January 2nd earned both heroes and villains the Cold Front Badge.

Pocket D was extended especially for this event, adding a Ski Chalet and snow covered slopes to an outdoor section of the Shadow Shard. This was also where heroes and villains could both earn the Trucker Badge, an Exploration Badge on top of the floating truck positioned in the air near the main Pocket D building.

Starting on December 14th, characters could earn the Joyful Badge, Miraculous Badge, Frosty Badge and Crystallized Badge by completing a mission given to them by Father Time in Pocket D. These badges would give a number of awards, including Temporary Powers and costume items; specifically Santa Gloves and Boots. Additionally, characters could once again earn the Toothbreaker Badge for defeating Snaptooth five times in the mission given by Father Time. As Tuatha de Dannan and Red Caps both appeared on this mission map, it was also an oppertunity for villains to earn the Cap Buster Badge and the Bane of Dannan Badge. The Winter Horde were also present as enemies on this mission, giving both heroes and villains another chance to earn the Cold Warrior Badge.

Phase 2 was highly similar to the Winter Event 2005, but with added rewards recieved from opening the mysterious presents from the previous year. When in teams of five members or over, one was able to spawn the Winter Lord by opening presents, making the Frozen Fury Badge avalible for the first time since the Winter Wonderland 2005 Event. This was also another oppertunity to earn the Toy Collector Badge, given to a character for opening 200 presents.

Valentine's Day Event 2007

The Valentine's Day Event 2007 began on February 13th and ran until March 3rd. During this event, characters were given a new contact; Ganymede for heroes and Scratch for villains. These two contacts had a story arc each which lasted for two missions, the second of which would need a player from the opposite side. For example, a hero would require the help of a villain to be able to complete Ganymede's second mission.

This was another chance for characters to earn the badges that were avalible during the Valentine's Day Event 2006. The first mission given to villains by Scratch contained Circle of Thorns, and specifically Cold Demons, which allowed heroes to earn both the Weed Whacker and Coldblooded badges. By being present on both the second mission from Ganymede and Scratch during mission completion, characters could earn the Beautiful Badge (for females) and the Handsome Badge (for males).

The Heart of Darkness and Heart of Light Badges were once again avalible during this event, but were not awarded simply for logging in as during the Valentine's Day Event 2006; in this event, they were one of five rewards given to characters who completed DJ Zero's mission to defeat Snaptooth. Other rewards were the Partygoer Badge, which celebrates Pocket D's anniversary; the toga and sandals avalible during the 2006 event, and a heart chest pattern for both males and females.