By Stratos Group
Design by Marty Smith

City of Heroes has had one of the most successful launches in massively-multiplayer history, with over 100,000 subscribers signing on within the first two weeks after the game hit the shelves. Its appeal isn't difficult to comprehend, as it features a world based on comic book mythology, complete with a powerful character generator and no-nonsense, all-action gameplay. It's not a stretch to call City of Heroes the MMO game for people who hate MMO games.

Of course, if you just intend to jump into City of Heroes unprepared, you may find yourself in over your head, as there are literally hundreds of possible character designs, thanks to COH's system of primary and secondary powers. Your ability to mix and match power sets, plus custom-design your hero's look, will make it easy for you to make a character that stands out from the crowd--or make the 100th Wolverine clone on your server. It's up to you.

Luckily, GameSpot's game guide to City of Heroes is here to help steer you through the tough decisions ahead. In addition to a thorough rundown on all of the game's archetypes, origins, and powers, we'll give you a detailed look at how enhancements work to boost your hero's powers, a summary of each of the zones in the game, with maps, tips on how to solo or play on a team, as well as the most comprehensive guide to key-mapping you're liable to find anywhere. Whether you've been blessed with the power of a thousand suns, were enhanced by a benevolent alien race, or just got a load of radioactive waste dumped on your head, your superhero journey begins here.

GameSpot paid subscribers have the privilege of downloading a searchable and printable version of our game guides. Our guides are in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format, and they're laid out so you can print them out and have them at your fingertips as you're playing.