Creating Your Champions
Now that you have installed the game and can log in, you are ready to create your first Champion! Click on the New Champion” selection to get started.
Choosing a Power Framework:
What are superheroes without powers? The Choose your Framework screen is where you can decide just what makes your character a true Champion. There is a large variety of powers to choose from, whether you want to sling fire, build ingenious contraptions, or rely on brute force.
Click on any Framework to view the details of that framework. For more advanced users there is an option for Custom Framework. Choosing this option will allow you to mix and match your starting powers as well as choose your Innate Talent.
Customizing Your Character!
Now you can truly make your Champion what you want it to be. In all of the following screens you can left-click and drag the mouse to spin around your character.
Choose Your Face!
You’re presented with a set of preset facial types from which to choose. You can also run through any number of random faces, or select the Custom Face option to manipulate all of the fine details.
Choose Your Body!
You’re presented with a set of preset body types from which to choose. You can also run through any number of random body styles, or select the Custom Body option to manipulate all of the fine details.
Choose Your Costume!
Now that you have selected the look of your face and body, you can create the perfect costume! Along the top of the costume creator are tabs that are used to change the focus of what part of the costume is being worked on. These areas of focus are the head, upper body, hands, lower body, and mood / stance.
Once you set the focus, use the top drop down menu to determine what type of costume piece you would like to use. After selecting the “Head” tab, for example, you choose from options such as heads & hats, full and half helmets, or even non-human heads! These selections change the options located in the drop down menus on the left side of the costume creator. Once you select one of these options, you delve into the specifics of each category which are represented on the right-hand side of the window.
Specific costume piece selections are made through the drop down menus on the right-hand side of the window. Simply scroll up and down with your mouse or the arrow buttons on your keyboard and highlight or hover your mouse over a costume piece and you can see a preview of how it will look on your Champion. You may change the costume piece, determine what material it’s made of, change the patterns and designs covering it, and much more.
Now it’s time to choose the colors of your costume.
Shared Costume Colors let you select the color of your Champion’s skin, as well as four colors that will be shared with the overall theme of your costume. If you want to get into more detail for a specific costume piece, you can Unlink each piece and select their individual colors. This will change the colors only on the costume piece you have currently selected.
If you’re stuck for inspiration, you can always use the Random button on the bottom of the screen. If you like a specific piece or color that comes up through randomization, just click the circular button next to the piece you like. When the button lights up, that means the costume piece next to it will not change if you hit the Random button again.
If you see something you like but accidently pass it by, or just want to go back a few steps in your costume design, there are always the Undo and Redo buttons in the lower left of the costume creator.
Once you finish creating your character, press the Next button to name your Champion and write your personal story. When you’re finished click I’m Done! to start playing the game.
Characteristics
Eight numbers, called "Characteristics", are used to define a hero’s basic abilities:
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Strength represents the character's raw physical power, and helps determine melee damage, character's knockback, knockback resistance, break free chances over tangible holds, and pick up and throw power. |  |
Dexterity represents the character's agility and reaction time, and helps determine a character's critical chance and effectiveness of stealth granting powers. |
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Constitution represents the character's health and hardiness, and helps determine a character's hit points. |  |
Intelligence represents the character's ability to take in and process information quickly, and helps determine damage of your pet, power cool-down length, stealth detection, and affects the energy cost of their powers. |
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Ego represents the character's mental strength and strength of will, and helps determine critical severity, hold strength and break free chances over intangible holds. |  |
Presence represents the character's mental forcefulness, charisma, bravery and leadership qualities, and helps determine the amount a character heals, the health of your pet, and the amount of threat you generate. |
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In addition to increasing rate of energy generation from fighting attacks, Recovery sets a character's equilibrium. |  |
In addition to increasing rate of energy generation from fighting attacks, Endurance sets a character's maximum energy. |
Powers
Heroes constantly evolve. And as they gain more experience fighting against evil they may gain new powers, or augment the ones they already have. When a hero can add or augment powers, they can easily do this in a Powerhouse to select these changes. Choices made here are difficult to reverse, so be careful when choosing the ongoing growth of your hero.
Might
Heroes using the Might power set excel at slow heavy attacks, massive knockbacks and locking down their opponents. This power set favors being in the thick of the fight and taking the hits for friends.
Electricity
Electricity is all about offense. These powers allow you to fight multiple enemies at once with the chance for attacks to arc from one enemy to another. Heroes using electricity powers tend to favor standing back and blasting their enemies into oblivion.
Fire
Heroes using fire powers are adept at causing chaos on the field of battle. Setting everything around them on fire serves only to fuel their energy and weaken or defeat their enemies. This power set favors standing back and raining destruction on enemies.
Ice
Ice powers allow the hero to entomb enemies in ice, create explosive ice structures or freeze enemies in their tracks. This power set is ideal at keeping a measure of control over the battlefield while retaining the ability to destroy any enemy unfortunate enough to be in the way.
Force
Force powers are a mixed bag of tricks. These powers allow you to cast protective force fields around yourself and your allies, encase your enemies in force fields and render them harmless or send powerful blasts of kinetic energy at your enemies to send them flying. This power set has the ability to excel in any role.
Archery
Archery is a highly versatile power set. Through the use of specialized arrows archers have access to a wider variety of attacks than most character and can switch between roots, holds, stuns and other status effects at will. This makes them excellent both at offense and support.
Gadgeteering
Gadgeteering is the realm of the inventor. These heroes have a plethora of toys available to them. Things from pets to help them in combat to blasters with…unique effects to the impressive power of an orbital cannon. With the multitude of devices available gadgeteers are able to function in a variety of roles.
Munitions
Guns, guns, and more guns. Heroes specializing in munitions powers are masters of the gun and all its possible uses. Some may choose to focus on pistols and all the unique combat methods available with them to the more blunt uses of mowing down the enemies with a gatling gun and rocket launcher. Munitions powers primarily specialize in ranged combat, but are by no means helpless up close.
Dual Blade
With swirling blades these powers are able to deal damage to multiple enemies at once and focus on landing blows in critical spots.
Single Blade
These powers use a single blade to deliver powerful attacks that often leave lingering wounds on the enemy weakening them long after the original strike.
Telepathy
Telepathy is the power of the mind. Using these powers you are able to dominate your enemies, sending them to sleep, into confusion or just distracting them at a critical moment. You are also able to use your abilities to help heal the wounds of your allies. Telepathic powers are most effective in the background of the action, healing friends and rendering the foes harmless.
Telekinesis
Telekinesis is the physical manifestation of your phenomenal mental power. Using this power you can manifest weapons of solid mental energy for close quarters combat, or fire long range blasts of energy to take care of those that won’t come close. Telekinesis favors the offensive and is equal to the task both in melee and range combat.
Darkness
Darkness powers are fueled by a connection to energies from another dimension. These powers have tremendously strong attacks and are able to drain life energy from your enemies and give them to you. Darkness powers primarily focus on dealing damage to your enemies, but also retain the ability to support yourself and your allies.
Sorcery
Sorcery powers allow the hero access to a wide range of abilities. Among these are summoning minions to assist you in battle, healing the injured or creating circles of powers. These abilities allow the hero to provide excellent support to their friends and help shape the battlefield to their will.
Supernatural
Supernatural contains powers of myth and legend. Heroes with these powers are able to drain health from their enemies, command animals, and draw on otherworldly energies to bolster the abilities. These powers allow the hero to serve well in both offensive and supporting roles as needed.
Fighting Claws
The swift strikes from these powers utilize a variety of effects to turn each fight to your advantage.
Unarmed Martial Arts
These powers focus on the agility and strength natural to the most effective martial artists. Heroes using unarmed powers have been known to have near supernatural abilities in avoiding attacks and putting their enemies down with a flurry of kicks and punches.
Energy
The powers employed by heroes are fueled by a vast array of energy types, from inner spirit to nuclear reactors. This concept is represented in Champions Online with Energy. Heroes gain Energy in numerous ways. Energy can be gained by simply using initial, basic powers. Every power set also has an advanced way to build Energy built into that theme. Finally, appropriate boosts can be collected during combat. The total amount of Energy and recovery rate can be changed by powers and talents.
Equilibrium
There is a balance within the energy used to power a hero’s abilities, and this is represented by Equilibrium. A hero’s Energy will rise and fall many times during combat, but it always eventually returns to a base state. Certain powers and stats may alter the position of your Equilibrium point.
The Powerhouse
The Powerhouse is a location where heroes can learn new powers and abilities. Inside the Powerhouse you can speak to a trainer and gain a new ability. You are able to try that ability out in a number of specialized rooms found throughout the Powerhouse to test out the ability before you make the final decision. If you decide you like the ability you can keep it and leave the power house. If you decide you would like to try something else you can return to the trainer and select a different ability to try. Once you find the ability that fits your heroes story you are all set. Get out there are see what your new ability can do.
Controls
Camera Controls
Players view their characters, and the game, through a virtual camera. Just like a real camera, a player can change the view and manipulate how he sees Champions Online. The following controls move the camera:
- PgUp – zoom in
- PgDn – zoom out
- Home – camera reset
- End – zoom out all the way
Movement
Players can move their characters by hitting the following keys:
- W - Forward
- A- Strafe Left
- S - Backward
- D - Strafe Right
- Q - Turn Left
- E - Turn Right
If you’re getting tired of holding down “W” key to move forward, you can always hit the “R” key to toggle run mode on. Hitting any of the movement keys brings the character back out of this mode.
In addition to basic running, many heroes possess amazing travel powers. Flight, teleportation, super leap, super speed, tunneling and more! You can quickly activate these abilities by pressing the “T” key or clicking on the travel power icon in the power tray. Pressing and holding this activation key will charge the travel power and allow your hero to move at their top available speed immediately.
Combat
Combat in Champions Online captures all the fast action of a superhuman battle. Targeting is accomplished by left-clicking on a particular foe and then activating a combat power. The power will then be executed against that enemy. You can also cycle through all available targets with the TAB key.
Blocking
Supervillains posses not just nasty attitudes, but also incredibly dangerous superpowers. When heroes face off against these foes, they’ll sometimes need to block incoming attacks. When you see an enemy building up a huge attack, press the SHIFT key to block. This defensive action decreases the damage significantly, and increase the amount of Energy your hero has. Blocking will slow down your hero’s movement speed, but usually it’s worth it!
Aggro
"Aggro" is a term that refers to the aggressiveness of computer controlled enemies. If a hero enters into the aggro radius of an enemy, that enemy will attack. Canny heroes can avoid combat by carefully navigating around enemies.
In group battles, heroes will be facing off against a host of villains. The best strategy is to choose the hero with the strongest set of defenses, have that hero walk into the middle of the enemies and alternate between attacking and blocking. This strategy is called "tanking" or "drawing aggro" and is designed to have enemies focus their efforts on someone who can take the damage so the rest of the team can let loose with their fantastic abilities.
DEFENDER’S TIP: Heroes can move and attack freely, which naturally matches the flow of epic battles. A few powers can root a hero in place, but these are the rare exception and not the rule. Heroes should pay special attention to their surroundings and not mistakenly run into one group of enemies while tangling with another.
General Troubleshooting Tips
- If the AutoPlay screen does not appear automatically when you are installing the game, open My Computer, right-click the disc drive icon, and select AutoPlay.
- Disable background tasks running in Windows while playing for optimum performance.
- If you are experiencing poor game performance, try reducing the quality of the video and sound settings in the Options menu.
- Questions regarding billing
- Registering or setting up an account
- Recovering your account or password
- Cancelling your account
- Reactivating a cancelled account
- Or any other Account or Billing Issues
- France: 09 75 17 08 79
- Germany: (030) 896 778 048 59
- UK: 0870 490 0617
Troubleshooting
If you experience any trouble running Champions Online, be sure to read the most recent readme.txt and patch notes text files. These files detail the latest changes and any bug fixes made to the game. Your problem might already be listed there, along with possible solutions. Many times, errors in running the game can be attributed to a lack of updated drivers. Ensure that the drivers for all your hardware are up to date before contacting Cryptic Studios for technical support.
General Troubleshooting
If your computer hard locks without an error message, reboots during game play, will not start, or has distorted graphics of any sort, please make sure you have the latest video card drivers for your video card. Please contact your hardware manufacturer online to find and download the latest drivers.
Sound Issues
If you are experiencing sound distortions or periodic loss of sound confirm that you have the latest version of DirectX installed on your system. Also verify that your sound drivers are compatible with the newest version of DirectX. Please contact your hardware manufacturer online and download the latest drivers.
Technical Support Contacts
Web Support
Champions Online Technical Support has solutions to the most common game play related questions and problems. Please check out our Technical Support website at http://champions-online.com/support.
Email Support
You can contact the Technical Support team at any time at http://champions-online.com/support and completing the web based ticket form. Under normal circumstances you will receive an automated reply within 15 minutes, detailing solutions to the most common problems. A second email will be sent to you within 24 hours containing a more detailed resolution to your particular problem or question.
Account and Billing Issues
If you have any questions or issues pertaining to billing or your Champions Online account, please contact Billing and Account Services. Our representatives can help you with many issues, including:
We offer live phone support Monday through Friday 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. PST (Hours may be extended due to peak workload). This form of support carries no charge other than any normal long-distance charges from your phone company for calls outside your local area.
You can contact us by phone at: 408 354 7850 or by submitting a request via the web at http://champions-online.com/support.
European Account and Billing Issues
Same as the above but the hours are 8 A.M. GMT to 5 P.M. GMT Monday through Friday. The phone numbers for billing support are as follows:
Contact us via the web form at http://champions-online.com/support
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