Champions Online and City of Heroes both tout character customization as their primary feature, and both deliver in leaps and bounds above the standard fantasy MMO customization model. You can determine your look at the very start of the game, and it never changes throughout the experience, regardless of what items you are using to enhance yourself (such as armor). You can even unlock new costume slots to shift between different forms of your character. Want a modern day version? Go right ahead! Both games have this, but they differ in implementation and content.

City of Heroes came first, and is the model upon which Champions Online's character constructor is built. City of Heroes divides each part of the costume into multiple parts, each of which has several different options available. However, many parts have repeats, such as Spikes versus Metallic Spikes, and the menu itself can be a little obtuse at times. For example, armored helms, such as those worn by knights, are in a completely different category from full helms, which are apparently futuristic helmets much like the SPARTAN helmets in Halo. Not only that, but many customization options only unlock after you have had an active subscription for quite a bit of time or after you reach a certain level. You can only get a trenchcoat if you have been playing for 3 months, and a cape requires you to be level 20. It's nice that there is some incentive to play through the prospect of having more creator options, but it is also a little frusrating.


In comparison, Champions Online divides its features into much the same way that City of Heroes does. Where it differs is in the modular nature of the creator, which is much more intuitive than City of Heroes. Every item you can put on usually has at least two, maybe more, options as for material, and there's a lot of diffuse options, such as dirt or scuff or ornate markings. There is a lack of content in the editor compared to City of Heroes, though, and some of the categories and options seem a little obtuse or frustrating when it comes to making your character just right. A nice feature that is lacking in City of Heroes is the inclusion of an "unlocked costume pieces" viewer that allows you to instantly place any unlocked costume pieces, which is great for seeing how they look. You can also access capes, wings, and various other costume options right off the bat.

Finally, there's the notion of powers. City of Heroes once again reflects its age by having a smorgasbord of powers to choose from compared to Champions Online. However, City of Heroes powers are locked into specific sets, where any character can take any power in Champions Online, as long as they fit the prerequisites for amount of powers chosen previously. In this case, Champions Online wins thanks to its open-ended power system, which allows for much greater flexibility. The one issue is that in order to be effective you have to choose powers outside your trees, which will sometimes defeat the purpose of a dedicated character. Both have the options to color your powers, although the City of Heroes interface for this is more intuitive.

Overall, it's a touch choice. City of Heroes offers more content to choose from in regards to character outfits and powers, but Champions Online has a much better interface while still allowing for a great deal of flexibility. In the end, Champions Online wins out for this reason more than any other. Sure, it's a new MMO and it lacks some of the content for the editor, but the editor is so much better.

Winner: Champions Online



There's more to playing an MMO than the characters. Content and experience should both be customizable as well, and both City of Heroes and Champions Online want to bring this to the table. It's important to tailor the experience to where you want it, after all, and nobody knows this better than Paragon and Cryptic.

Champions Online has a fair bit of general customization, but it is, overall, sort of lacking. There is no options to adjust difficulty, no slotting of powers, nothing. The few things it has going for it are doozies though. The option to create a nemesis to fight with as well as the minions you will be attacked by every so often is amazing. The power replacement items also add a flair of customization through allowing you to add new effects to powers, and perks are a great way to show off your various bonuses and get new items and titles as well. In the end, though, it's missing things that would make it feel like a complete experience, rather than a straightforward grind to the level cap.

City of Heroes knocks the ball out of the park with this one. The obvious mention is the difficulty system, which allows you to scale the game depending on your skill level and how easy you are breezing through it. This makes combat at any level fun, thanks to your ability to tailor the game's challenge to your tastes. Powers are also much more customizable than Champions Online, as each one has many different enhancements that can be slotted into them. There's no reliance on attributes here; it's all about the powers, and it is reflected in the great options available to the average character. There's much more as well, such as the Day Jobs, which let you gain certain bonuses depending on where you log out, or bases, which allow you to establish a location all your own. An absolute godsend.

City of Heroes is known for its massive customization options both inside and outside of the character generator. While Champions Online is sure to get these eventually, its got a long way to go before it can catch up. They both receive a demerit for not having customizable interfaces, but beyond that, it's obvious who the clear winner is. Thanks to the power-centric focus and various additions over the years, City of Heroes wins this one easily.

Winner: City of Heroes