The Players' Guide to the Cities/Fighting and Other Actions

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Combat and many other actions are controlled by using your powers. Your powers, in turn, are controlled from your Tray Window.

Before you can learn how to attack your enemies, you need to know how to keep track of your own condition in combat. This is done through the three status bars in the Status Window.

Using Your Powers

Most of the action in City of Heroes and City of Villains revolves around the ongoing battles between you, your allies, and the many super-powered villains and heroes that inhabit the world.

You conduct your battles by using your powers. Below is a general list of the broad effects of most of the powers in the game, and how they are used in combat. Note that some unique powers may fall outside of the categories below. Also note that powers may combine effects from more than one of these categories. For example, you might gain access to a vampiric attack that damages the enemy and heals you at the same time or an attack that stuns the enemy if it hits.

Attack Powers

Attack powers deal damage to an enemy. They may be single-target or area of effect (damaging all targets within a given area.) They can also be single-shot or damage-over-time (dealing damage to the enemy continuously for a certain amount of time.)

Buff Powers

Buff powers make you or your allies more effective in combat. Examples include:

• Defense Buff Powers - Defense powers prevent an enemy from damaging you or your allies by making it more difficult for them to hit you.
• Resistance Buff Powers - Resistance powers reduce the amount of damage you or your allies take when hit by your enemies or reduce the amount of time it takes to break free from mezmerization effects.
• ToHit Buff Powers - ToHit buff powers increase the ability to successfully connect when using an attack power.
• Damage Buff Powers - Damage buff powers increase the amount of damage an attack power does when it hits an opponent.
• Recovery Buff Powers - Recovery buff powers increase the speed at which you are able to recover endurance.
• Regeneration Buff Powers - Regeneration buff powers increase the speed at which you are able to regenerate hit points.
• Speed Buff Powers - Speed buff powers increase the speed at which you are able to move or perform actions.
• Perception Buff Powers - Perception buff powers increase the ability to detect stealty or hidden opponents.
• Stealth Buff Powers - Stealth buff powers increase the ability to hide from a foe.

Debuff Powers

Debuff powers make your enemies less effective in combat. Examples include:

• Defense Debuff Powers - Defense debuffs make it harder for an enemy to dodge an attack.
• Resistance Debuff Powers - Resistance debuff powers increase the amount of damage an enemy takes when hit by you or your allies.
• ToHit Debuff Powers - ToHit debuff powers decrease your opponent's ability to successfully connect when using an attack power.
• Damage Debuff Powers - Damage debuff powers decrease the amount of damage a foe's attack powers do when they hits.
• Recovery Debuff Powers - Recovery debuff powers decrease the speed at which an enemy is able to recover endurance.
• Regeneration Debuff Powers - Regeneration debuff powers decrease the speed at which your foes are able to regenerate hit points.
• Slow Powers - Slow powers decrease the speed at which your opponents are capable of moving or performing actions.
• Perception Debuff Powers - Perception debuff powers decrease your opponent's the ability to detect stealty or hidden targets.
• Stealth Debuff Powers - Stealth debuff powers decrease the ability of a foe to hide from you.

Mezmerization Powers

Mezmerization powers restrict your enemy's actions, whether by preventing them from moving or by stopping all action with some form of stun effect. Some powers turn foes against their comrades for a time, force them to ignore your teammates and concentrate on you, or force them to ignore you entirely. Examples include:

• Sleep Powers - Sleep powers will temporarily put an enemy to sleep. A sleeping enemy will awaken if attacked or healed.
• Disorient Powers - Disorient powers cause an opponent to stumble aimlessly about, incapable of performing any other actions.
• Immobilize Powers - Immobilize powers prevent targets from moving, but not from attacking.
• Hold Powers - Hold powers will immobilize your foe and prevent them from performing any actions.
• Confuse Powers - Confuse powers will cause an enemy to temporarily switch sides and begin attacking his own allies.
• Fear Powers - Fear powers will cause a foe to cower in fear, unable to perform any actions. A terrorized opponent will, however, be able to react long enough to perform one action or run a short distance every time they are attacked.
• Intangibility Powers - Intangibility powers will temporarly prevent an opponent from either affecting or being affected by anyone else. Foes will still be able to affect themselves while intangible.
• Knockback/down/up Powers - Knockback powers will send an opponent flying away from you. Knockdown powers will knock an opponent to the ground. Knockup powers will send an opponent flying into the air before they come crashing back down to the ground. Any opponent that is knocked back, knocked down, or knocked up, will have to take the time to pick themselves back up off of the ground before performing any further actions.

• Taunt Powers - Taunt powers compel your enemies to stop attacking someone else and turn their attention toward you instead.
• Placate Powers - Placate powers compel your enemies to stop attacking you and turn their attention toward someone else.

Heal Powers - Heal powers restore hit points that have been lost in combat.

Movement Powers - Movement (or travel) powers increase your mobility and speed of movement.

Taking Damage and Restoring Hit Points

Lost hit points are replenished naturally at a relatively slow, but steady pace. This rate of natural healing is referred to as your regeneration rate. (Of course, you can also rapidly recover hit points using healing powers or healing inspirations.) When your hit points are completely exhausted, you are considered defeated and are unable to fight or take most other actions. You are, however, still able to converse with other players, and even trade – which is useful if an ally wishes to give you a restoration inspiration. While in this defeated state you cannot heal any of your lost hit points, either naturally or through healing powers or inspirations. You must first restore yourself to consciousness before you can regain any lost hit points. This can be done through consciousness-restoring powers (yours or an ally's) or inspirations, or by teleporting yourself to the nearest hospital for restoration.

Hospitals

You will automatically be offered the chance to teleport to the hospital whenever you are reduced to zero hit points. If you accept this choice, you will be transported to the hospital in the zone you are in or, if the zone has no hospital, the last zone you were in that did. In addition, if you are a member of a super group with a base and have a with a medical room and an installed medical device, you will have the option of teleporting to your base instead of the hospital.

Damage Displays in Combat

During combat the game displays how much damage you are taking and how much you are dealing out to enemies. It also displays the amount of hit points regained if you are healed. The damage/healing (rounded to the nearest whole number) appears over the head of the character taking it. These numbers are color coded.

COLOR	EXAMPLE	DESCRIPTION
ORANGE		Damage inflicted by you.
RED		Damage inflicted on you.
GREEN		Healing applied.
GRAY		Damage inflicted by others on others.

In addition to the color coding, damage is indicated by a minus sign and healing in indicated by a plus sign before the number.

More detailed information on the damage and healing numbers, their sources, and the powers that are producing them are viewable in the Chat Window through displaying the following channels:

Combat Warnings

Combat-related warnings. For instance, if you attempt to use a power that has not yet finished recharging, you will see a message informing you that the power is still recharging.

Damage Inflicted

Damage you inflict on others. These numbers are displayed to the nearest one-hundredth of a hit point.

General Combat

General combat information. Messages such as those stating that you activate a power or summon a creature appear in this channel.

Damage Received

Damage inflicted upon you. These numbers are displayed to the nearest one-hundredth of a hit point.

Healing Delivered

Hit points restored by you.

Healing Received

Hit points restored to you.

By default, all of this information is displayed in your the "Combat" tab.

There are several types of damage in the game. They are:

Smashing

Damaged produced by a blunt, concussive impact.

Lethal

Damage produced by piercing or cutting with a sharp edge.

Fire

Damage produced by extreme heat.

Cold

Damage produced by extreme cold.

Energy

Damage produced by a transfer of pure energy.

Toxic

Damage produced by a poisonous substance.

Psionic

Damage produced by a metaphysical attack on the mind.

Negative Energy

Damage produced by the spiritually draining powers of the netherworld.

Heroes and villains may have different resistances to different kinds of damage. If a single attack is producing multiple numbers above the head of the target when it hits, it is probably because that attack does more than one type of damage and the game is tracking the different types separately.

Powers, Endurance, and Recharge

Players will often use the following terms when discussing powers in the game.

• Activation, Animation, or Execution Time - When you execute a click power, a white streak will circle the power's icon as it executes. The period of time during which this streak appears is referred to as the click power's activation time. When you activate a toggle power, a white streak will circle very quickly around the power's icon. Once the power is active, the streak will slow down. The period of time during which the streak moves quickly is referred to as the toggle power's activation time.
• Recharge Time - After a click power executes or a toggle power is deactivated, you will usually see the power's icon shrink and become shadowed. The icon will then begin to grow until it reaches its normal size again and resumes its original coloration. The amount of time the icon takes to reach its normal size again is referred to as the power's recharge time.
• Queuing Powers - Most click or toggle powers can be queued. Trying to reactivate a power before it has finished recharging will queue the power. Trying to activate a power that can only be executed under the right conditions will frequently queue a power. Queued powers will activate as soon as the power is recharged and all special conditions are met. For example, targeting an enemy and attempting to activate a charged melee attack from half way across a room will queue the melee attack. The attack will then automatically execute if you close into melee range with the target. Queued toggle powers will automatically activate when they finish recharging. Queued power icons will be marked by a red border in your power tray. Only one power may be queued at a time.
• Targeted Reticle Powers - Some powers require not only the activation of the power, but the selection of the destination. The cursor turns in to a reticle of shrinking, concentric rings allowing the player to place the target of the power. The reticle is white if the target is a valid location, and red if the target is invalid. Interactions with the environment using the mouse are impossible while the reticle is in use, however other powers may be activated, reverting the cursor to its default state. Examples of targeted reticle powers include Teleport, Recall Friend, summoning Powers, or Location Area of Effect Powers like Quicksand. These powers get a solid white border in your power tray, indicating that the reticle requires placement to return default use of the mouse.
• Auto-Executing Powers - You may set one click power to auto-execute. This power will execute any time it is recharged and all special conditions (if there are any) are met. Auto-executing powers receive a green border in the power tray. Setting Brawl to auto-execute, for instance, will cause Brawl to execute whenever you are in melee with a target and the power is recharged. Setting a power that does not require special conditions to execute (i.e. Hasten or Healing Aura) will cause the power to execute every time it recharges. Some powers, such as powers that may be interrupted (i.e. Blaster sniper attacks) or powers that require targeting a defeated team member (i.e. most resurrection Powers, Vengeance, and Fallout) can not be set to auto-execute. In order to set a power to auto-execute, hold down the Ctrl key and click the icon for the power you wish to set to auto-execute. Holding Ctrl and clicking again will deactivate the auto-executing power. Pressing the 'Z' key (by default) will clear all queued powers and disable the auto-executing of a power.

By default, the number keys across the top of your keyboard may be used to activate powers in lieu of the mouse. Each slot in each power tray is numbered 1, 2, 3. . . 8, 9, 0, corresponding to the numeric keys at the top of your keyboard. Powers in slot 6, for instance, can be activated using the '6' key. Each time you use a keystroke corresponding to a power icon in your power tray, the keystroke will behave the same as a single click from the mouse. You may access the powers in each of the visible power trays as follows:

• Bottom or First Tray - Powers in this tray can be activated by pressing only the numeric keys.
• Middle or Second Tray - Powers in this tray can be activated by holding down the left Alt key and pressing the numeric keys.
• Top or Third Tray - Powers in this tray can be activated by holding down the Ctrl key and pressing the numeric keys.