The end is near! ...so how will you go into the night?

[Tahquitz]

Followed UltraBatz in stomping Hami into a puddle in under 40 minutes, joined a final photoshoot in a base with LONG TIME CoX friends, and finished the night partying in the Matrix Room.  Goodnight Triumph.
Crap, now I'm crying... 

Amazing, wasn't it?

While I am sad how it ended, this could not have been a better ending to Triumph for me.  Exceeded all of my expectations.

[Quinch]

Saw the end overlooking the horizon from Imperial City.

The sun set down on Praetoria.

[Colette]

Anyone have a chatlog from Gemini Park? I'm lonesome already.

[McNum]

Hovering above Ouroborus, watching the eternal sunset in the place where time doesn't flow.

Seemed fitting.

[redgiant]

Pinnacle shutdown

https://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b586/redmondgiant/City%20of%20Heroes/Final_shutdown_midnight_nov13_2012.jpg

[WildThyme]

I really wish I coulda been there. I just got home from work (EST). Was passing an assessment for a new job during third shift.

[Tiberian Fiend]

I pummed Marauder one last time, then went to AP to make an ass of myself until the end.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPYXA-f4xt4

[BryanSnowden]

Having so many characters with so much left to do & even with the Sentinel+ program - I realized a couple weeks back there was just so much I couldn't finish and/or save even with the Extractor = Like all the Account Items and things I'd still seemingly lose after the servers shutdown.
And after I realized just how much time I'd need to spend on/in the really depressing task of trying to preserve it all - that I'd be better off (personally) just having faith that another company does get the chance to buy the Game+IP...

That the IT folks at NCsoft West or Interactive - or whoever = here in Austin,TX (or wherever?) would have the ability & good-sense to backup all the Databases - with the possible (plausible) exception of "Gleemail", though if they were to save the server Channels & all they would probably save EVERYTHING - as of the shutdown announcement - and/or - Yesterday!

=If they really wished to preserve the full value of the Game/Property to sell at some future date... IDK if the NCsoft S.Korea folks had a specific say in that, OR if - just maybe there still is an NCsoft West with some "Autonomy", so far as U.S. Operations and whatnot - in Seattle?

So long story short, I just couldn't bring myself to do all that over the last few weeks and instead spent more time here, And a good bit getting involved (as a "Backer" & spectator for now) with the upcoming StarCitizen/Squadron42 Project... WHere I know NCsoft won't be getting another single fraking penny of my money, and that Some other folks from PC Gaming history are all involved tell the "traditional Publishers" where they can stick it!

So, I pretty-much knew, Thursday-night/early-Friday that in effect - "I wouldn't be able to bring myself to" log-in yesterday/last-night - And go thru all the Sadness.  Technically - I know could have, but I figured I'd be better off not doing it & putting myself thru that... And simply having faith in COH/CoV/GR "rising from the ashes" in the near future = with whatever Databases they'll have access to & if it's a third party that revives it.  They're not likely to allow stuff from the Extractor to be uploaded.

And, that with "Plan Z" the stuff I'm most concerned about is all saved-away securely in my head and I could recreate it from there - when the time comes to do so.

Heck,  I procrastinated w/ the "backing up" of all my alts/bases/etc (there was just so much of it - it was daunting to think about/look at) - to the point that I never even installed the Sentinel+ program after I downloaded it *shrug* = I'm going to check in again here regularly, later today even... I still have one possibly helpful/nifty idea/plan to contribute. But for right now - I'll be focusing on breakfast.  :-\

[Jetfire99]

Virtue went splat due to everyone coming home so? I joined on the Beta Server a fight vs a mess of hamis and DE monsters there. It started small it grew but as the final moments came most of us broke and ran into AP to hold an vigil as many of us could not get home. Then the impossible happened. As the other servers died? We remained. After the last other server winked out another 15 min passed. While most had come to the park one daring team fought on. As the server ticked down they felled an Avatar of habidon. The last thing to be slain in COH with but 2 seconds to spare...

There were three things everyone in the chat agreed on in the last Atlas park. The community was amazing and we were honored to be part of it the othere? NOT ONE More dime to NCSOFT and finally? It's not over yet.

[johnrobey]

I pummed Marauder one last time, then went to AP to make an ass of myself until the end.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPYXA-f4xt4

Thank you for this!  It was a bit hard to watch so soon after the event, but already it's good to see a hero flying over Atlas Park and hear that music.  Your character lived out my fantasy of going out dancing (though I'd  imagined Pocket D, not AP.)  I always did like the Boombox.  We were doing /em holdtorch on Justice, but happily I did get in a little dancing first after a Frostfire Flashback.  Happy times!  May they come again!  :D

[johnrobey]

How will I go? Waiting forever in a queue to get back onto my beloved Virtue, apparently. Currently #500 of 1166.

And NCSoft dares to shut off a game this popular. Seriously, I hope Kim Jon Un lobs a f____ artillery shell into NCSoft's corporate HQ!

And on...

And kicked off again! Now 673 of 1153. Good lord! HATE KIM! HATE NCSOFT! HATE HATE HATE!

...and AGAIN! DO YOU SEE THIS, YOU KOREAN CREEPS! SO YOU SEE HOW MUCH LIFE IS STILL IN THIS GAME? GRAAAHHH...! I hate you so much right now.

Apart from wishing for physical harm for a non-physical (but real) injury, I sympathize with those feelings entirely, Colette.  I'd also quibble a bit and style them CORPORATE CREEPS since I've known far more nicer Koreans than I have upper echelon corporate types.    Lag, disconnections, and lengthy queues are not things I'll miss.  But I'll pretty much miss the rest of it, most particularly you players who made City of Heroes what it was but will likewise forever detest the wanton destruction of City of Heroes.  Myself, I hope Mr. Kim and those responsible for this live sufficiently lengthy lives to have ample opportunity and cause to regret their actions.  The destruction of art and community has never benefited humanity.  I had three disconnections while on Justice.  Your anger is rightly placed and I sympathize with you.

[Thunder Glove]

I spent yesterday and last night playing my favorite villains, all three created years ago when I first tried the game in the two-week free trial.

Thunder Glove, Elec/Invuln Brute (my first to 50, and still my favorite of all the many Brutes I've played, and my only character with a real backstory), beat up Mot one last time, and I demorecorded that entire last mission, and afterwards did my first Rikti mothership raid. I was somewhat distracted during the raid, since that's when the devs started signing onto the SaveCoH channel.

Graviton Hold (neé Gravity Hold - named for the Mega Man 5 weapon, yes, but changed when I moved him to Virtue for some post-announcement leveling to 50), Gravity/Elec/Mu Dominator, ran the Lord Recluse Strike Force (because I'd never done that one before, and wanted to run it before the game went down).

Ms. Stungun, a 50+3 Energy/Energy/Energy Brute, ran one ITF with my wife.  (She wasn't one of my original characters, but a later addition.  I wanted to make a character with the "worst" Melee and Armor sets - she was created before the EA improvements - and she was still extremely effective and loads of fun.  Making bosses stagger around always made me laugh, and, animation time concerns aside, I loved the animation for Energy Transfer)

Mostly, though, I played my first-ever villain, Dr. Bodog, Robotics/Storm Summoning/Mace Mastermind, becuase no other game has a pet class like Masterminds, so he's the one I'll miss the most.  I ran Morty Kal's SF, one last ITF, and was the character I played as the game went down.  I spent the last hour running newspaper missions and one last Mayhem Mission (which were always my favorites - Thunder Glove dinged 50 while doing one, in fact), one last Villain Tip mission, and then, with only a few minutes to go, I parked him in front of the Lord Recluse statue and waited for the end.  The game went down with my little mad scientist surrounded by his army of robots (in Agressive mode, no less!) and a thunderstorm rumbling above his head, ready to inflict more mayhem on the Rogue Isles the second I took my eyes off of him.

Weep not for my first-ever hero; I spent the last week playing him, and left him in Atlas Park on Virtue when I last signed off with him.  BluePulse, Elec/Elec/Elec (and then Elec/Elec/Mu) Blaster, was my first character ever, and my last 50.  Got him to 50+1, even.  I never really liked his build or his frailty, but I24 was going to change that (and did, on the Beta server).

.... damn, now I realized I forgot to play Sgt. Greenstone, my Stone/Stone/Energy Tanker (my second hero ever, my second 50 ever) one more time yesterday.  He still has my favorite backstory, though it was pure comedy:  "In the ancient mists of legend, it is said that the Monkey King Son Gokuu was sealed inside a rock for daring to defy the great Buddha.  This guy? He was the rock.  Then he joined the army.  No, I don't know how that works, either."

I wanted to play my second Mastermind (Mob-Star, Level 40 Thugs/Traps/Fire), and my last Brute (Dark Eidolon, Level 40 Staff/Dark/Energy), and my Soldier of Arachnos (Cobalt Tarantula, Level 30 Crab), and my poor neglected Peacebringer (level 18, IIRC), and all my other dozens of characters of all levels, and all the other characters that are running around in my head but hadn't yet made it into the game, but there just wasn't enough time.

There was supposed to be more time.

My poor characters.  Little bits of myself I will most likely never get to play again, except in highly diluted forms. :(

[ObsidianPhoenix76]

My day yesterday...

Well.  I spent the majority of the day on Crystallum.  She Ran Manticore's TF, Lady Grey's TF, MANY AV's, fought the Zeus Titan, went on her first and only Hamidon Raid, fought an AV spawn from Hitstreak in AP on Guardian that included Black Scorpion, Ghost Widow, and Lusca, and then, after all of her adventures had been run, she went to Atlas Park, raised a torch and silently stared at me, knowing one day she would return.

For the last hour or so, I was on Obsidian Phoenix, my main character.  After some last minute helping of a fried with Sentinel+, Myself, and my two main co-leaders of our SG, went out to RWZ 3, and proceeded to do our best to take down everything.

[NinjaWeazel]

Weazel died as he lived.  Shamelessly acting a fool over women.

https://images.weserv.nl/?url=ninjaweazel.wikispaces.com%2Ffile%2Fview%2FOutro.png

[Tanglefoe]

I work long hours 3rd shift and had to work last night. :'( My toons went to be with Statesman sometime yesterday afternoon.  A few minutes before impact I did find a quiet office to sit alone on my iphone and watched as final screenshots and reports of disconnects started rolling in.  I was there with you guys in spirit.

[Nafaustu]

I played on virtue.

Nafaustu went back to Croatoa where she had emerged from the Otherworld and sat by the tranquil wisp pool with her first friend, Ember Shadowbane.  I played her in the early part of the evening and got something like four more levels out of her first Mothership raid.

In the end through, for the last 30 minutes, I put myself into Refracted, my electric brute rogue.  She wasn't my first 50, but she was my favorite.  The character I would play if I was having a bad day.   I never unlocked hybrid, but I had the t4 ready to do if I ever...well.  Anyway.   When the lights went out I was with one other brute, her best friend, in DA.  We were running one of the Ephram Sha missions against the Pantheon.   We destroyed their foul magical bauble and held off wave after wave.   At a few minutes to the end of the world'd deadline we were on the last minion of the last wave, a death shaman, female.  She was at about half health from the AOE, and one punch from either of us was going to kill her.   We hod both just turned to her, and our attack animations started when the server crashed.   We never got back on.   I wish I would have gotten a screenshot, I didn't even think of it.

[Twylite1]

Last night was bad and tears were shed... but I honestly think tonight, for me, will be worse.

For the first time in 8 years.. I will not be able to spend Saturday night hanging with my friends... 

[Colette]

"I'd also quibble a bit and style them CORPORATE CREEPS...."

Raving. Not my best mode. Occasionally useful fo keeping my sanity, though. Let's just go with creeps.

[Menrva Channel]

My last night on Victory was a toss up. People were taking down drop ships, and doing Mother Ship raids and I? I was running around grabbing every demo and screenies I possibly could... because when it went dark that was it. I knew there'd be a MSR and I was torn between that and parking in Atlas... in the end--I got it all.

I went on a last Mother Ship Raid and downed a drop ship when it spawned with my fellow VGers. And when I kept disconnecting, I prayed. I prayed I'd get back on before the end because I wanted to end in Atlas... and low and behold, I got back on--to see the shields up... I heard the click of the Rikti weapons and as a level 27 didn't stand a chance--but hosping allowed me to go to Atlas and keep a vigil the last twenty minutes.--What I got was 25 minutes.

So... not only did I fight--but I also went protesting, holding my torch beneath the iconic statue that was the first thing I saw as I entered the game proper. I was surrounded by many heroes (maybe even some vigilantes and rogues),said good bye to my lovely peeps on VG on team speak, and had a /nice/ end.

It still hurts this morning--but... I'm glad I did what I did and finished it to the fullest.

[Adrenalin]

So, I haven't related my story here before. It seems appropriate now to lead into how the night ended. My husband found the CoH Alpha boards and we both spent plenty of time chatting with all the other crazies hoping for a decent Superhero MMO. By the time Beta rolled around we had made some really good friends and formed the supergroup that would support us throughout our time in Paragon. We both accepted Beta invites, even though we shared a single computer, and we shared one account when CoH went Golden. Freedom was our server, because that was where we played in Beta. When I found that not only was I sharing CoH with my husband but our two sons as well, it was time to purchase a second computer. I rebuilt Adrenalin not just once on my new account, but twice more since respecs were unheard of back then and I had built her (MA scrapper) without any kind of survivability. So, basically Adrenalin wasn't just 50, she was 100, and that doesn't include another 8 toons ranging in level from 36 to 10.

8 1/ years have passed, and for awhile my hubby and I had moved on to other things. We were just in the process of coming back to the City when the announcement was made and the payment options were shut down. Flash forward to last night and the hubby and I are once again sharing a computer, as the original gave up the ghost last year. I spent most of the night as I have many times before, chatting and dancing under Atlas while sporting the 1st year veteran badge. Two hours before the end Adrenalin stood in the exact same spot she came into the world at, the base of the steps leading to park. I saluted the City and it's founding fathers, and once again thought about Kiyotee, my friend and the Alpha member that died in the early stages of CoH, and who's namesake saw several of my newly minted heroes out of Outbreak. Then I logged out and allowed my husband to log in for the end. It was he who introduced me to Paragon, and only fitting.