Hero By Night – An Introduction – By Zameda

The life of a Hero By Night is tough. I should know I am one. I know what you’re think “What is a Hero By Night?” Well, in City of Heroes a Hero By Night (HBN) is the casual gamer. He or she is a hero that saves the world a little bit at a time. These heroes are the typically the least vocal part of the gaming community. They simply logon, play and log off. They may search the internet for guides or for F.A.Q.s on the game but they don’t usually interact with the community. My goal is address that portion of the community.

Another question you might be asking yourself is “Why do you feel you can do this?” Well for starters, I am a causal MMORPG gamer which is a requirement to be a HBN. I migrated from the console gaming to online gaming over the past few years. There are a lot of factors that contributed to this which I won’t bore you with. Let’s just say, I started off playing Everquest back before Velious came out. I stuck with it through Luclin. I quit shortly after Luclin’s release because the game was no longer fun. It was just too much work getting to the fun parts. Then a few months ago a friend of mine got me into the Lineage 2 beta, which I played for a good solid month. I did enjoy the game and thought about buying it when it released. Then toward the end of the Lineage 2 beta I got into the City of Heroes Beta. I immediately loved the game and decided it was the game for me. After the beta it actually took me about a month to get the game. That brings me to where I am today – a HBN.

For my in-game experience I’m a have one main character which is my name sake, Zameda. He’s a level 13 Technology Blaster on Pinnacle. He is currently going through his third build. I’m thinking about starting him over again. His current build isn’t doing enough damage, which feels weird to say that a blaster isn’t doing enough damage. While I contemplate whether or not to start over with him, I have moved on to an Empathy Defender. I’m getting used to healing. It just gives me a headache. 🙂

My plan is try to express how Paragon City works and feels for the HBN. As everyone knows a HBN has a different experience then the Full Time Hero (FTH). The HBN may not experience all the game has to offer. That doesn’t mean they lack experience or don’t know what their roles are in groups and Super Groups. I show how much more a HBN struggles then a FTH. I also want to highlight my own trials and tribulations. Hopefully some of you will be able to relate. This should give the full experience of what it means to be a Hero By Night.

So if you’ve stuck with me this long you know who I am, where I’ve been and where I plan on taking you. Hopefully I’ll be able to give you a new perspective on the life of a hero as skewed and weird as it may be.