Enemy groups in City of Heroes and City of Villains
Paragon City, the City of Heroes setting place, and the Rogue Isles, the City of Villains locale, are full of organizations that players must confront. They range from local street gangs, such as the Skulls and the Hellions, to vast world-threatening organizations, such as the Council (formerly the 5th Column), Nemesis, Crey, the Rikti, and the Circle of Thorns.
Many groups are present in both games. Heroes deal with them as villains to capture. Villains deal with them as rival organizations. On the other hand, some enemy groups are unique to one game or the other.
Both City of Heroes and City of Villains The groups listed below are found in both City of Heroes and City of Villains.
Arachnoids
Significant members:
* Biff * Widdershins (Leader)
Genetically-engineered human/spider hybrids, with human appendage-like spider legs growing from their backsides (similar to Lord Recluse's).
Although they are more common in CoV, there is a good deal of them in the PvP zones Warburg and Recluse's Victory, making them available to both sides.
Story arcs reveal they are part of a plan for Lord Recluse and were once human.
Other notable members: *Arbiter Sands (Archvillain/Elite Boss) *Night Widow Nocturne (Archvillain/Elite Boss) *Dr. Aeon (Archvillain who spawns Elite Boss versions of himself in the Statesman Task force) The sovereign state of the Rogue Islands. Led by Lord Recluse, they make use of everything from high technology to dark magics in their quest for eventual world domination. Some minions willingly undergo horrific physical and mental transformations in order to receive promotion or respect.
The organization itself is driven by heavy infighting between Lord Recluse's chief lieutenants and their factions, which is not merely tolerated but encouraged by Recluse himself - a firm believer in the Darwinism principle of survival of the fittest. High-level villain players will eventually be invited to choose a faction, gaining access to signature powers based on their group.
To ensure the fighting does not spill over into full-blown civil war - and that the downtrodden citizens have justice of a sort to keep them from open rebellion - Recluse employs all-powerful Arbiters, who act as judge, jury, and frequently executioner. They also act as trainers for villain player characters, giving them access to new powers on levelling. Some Arbiters - such as Arbiter Sands - also act as intelligence agents on dangerous or sensitive missions.
Introduced in City Of Villains (Issue 7), Arachnos used to only appear in villain areas and PvP combat zones. With the release of the Police Band missions and the revamped Faultine zone in Issue 8, Arachnos now crop up more frequently in City of Heroes, though they still have a larger presence in City of Villains.
The true undead of Paragon City (in contrast to the scientific undead of the ). Animated corpses, shamans, mask spirits, and the powerful Totems make up this mid-level group. Their names are from the fact they were banished from their own tribe for their immoral practices of capturing gods and raising the dead.
Carnival of Shadows (Carnies) Known Leader: *Vanessa DeVore
Significant Members: *Giovanna Scaldi *Madame of Mystery
A strange and mystical group mostly of female carnival performers. They entertain their audience into a state of mind-control and take their souls. The Carnival of Shadows only appears in the high-level game (40+ in City of Heroes, 30+ in City of Villains). The soul of the Carnival Mistress (Vanessa DeVore) is linked to the masks they all wear so that she has total control whilst the masks devour the souls of the Carnival's victims/Recruits.
Circle of Thorns
Known Leader: *Baron Zoria (not present in the game)
The most prevalent of villain groups in Paragon City, the circle can be encountered from the early levels all the way through level 50. At lower levels mostly mages and human guards are encountered, but at higher levels various summoned demons and behemoths are found among the circle as well.
Mystics seen around the city chanting and conducting arcane rituals, often involving unwilling subjects. The Thorns are known to steal the bodies of the living to become vessels for the souls of other dead mages from their race, though what happens to the souls cast out is not widely known. The Circle controls a vast city named Oranbega, buried deep beneath Paragon City.
Clockwork/Psychic Clockwork Known Leaders: *The Clockwork King *The Clockwork Lord *Long Tom *Bertha Significant Members: *Babbage (Giant Monster) *Paladin (Giant Monster)
Windup robots found all over the lower level zones of Paragon City as well as some places in the Rogue Isles. Most often seen scrounging for materials and working to build more Clockwork. All are telekinetically controlled extensions of their leader, the Clockwork King. The Clockwork King himself is a powerful cyborg, with little more than his brain left in a massive Clockwork robot suit. He is able to use a good amount of Telekinetic powers to fight, though he does use the immense weight of his suit to attack also. The Clockwork in the Rogue Isles are believed to be too far away for control by the Clockwork King, but the power controlling this offshoot of the Clockwork is unknown to most people.
The Clockwork also make a return in several high level hero missions, where the player travels to an alternate dimension to face much more powerful Clockwork with psychic abilities, including alternate versions of the Clockwork King and Babbage who also wield these powers.
Contaminated Originally only found in the tutorial zone, these low level thugs have been driven to madness by tainted drugs. Defeating a hundred of them grants the character the badge "Isolator". The fact that it was impossible to acquire it after finishing the tutorial was the cause of much uproar by those who did not get it either due to lack of knowledge, or the characters being created before badges were implemented. In response, the game developers have decided to have a single level 1 Contaminated spawn in the game's highest level PvP zone, Recluse's Victory every two hours. This has caused even more uproar, though one cannot say that the badge being "ridiculously hard" wasn't coming.[http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat.php?Cat&Boardhvh&Number4971140&ForumAll_Forums&WordsIsolator&Searchpage0&Limit25&Main4969321&Searchtrue&wherebodysub&Name495&daterange1&newerval&newertype&olderval&oldertype&bodyprev=#Post4971140]
A stronger variation of this group, the Infected, can be found in City of Villains.
The Council Known Leaders: *The Center (main) *Maestro (Vincenzo Alferi) *Arakhn *Requiem (same as Requiem in Fifth Column) *Nosferatu (same as Nosferatu in Fifth Column) *Vandal (same as Vandal in Fifth Column) *Archon Burkholder (appears in Ernesto Hess Task Force)
A villain group that traces its root back to Mussolini. This is a group with conquest goals, and the ability to use a wide variety of methods to achieve these goals. Though mostly a science based group, some of its operations cross over into the realm of the mystical. The forces of The Council range from human troops, to large numbers of robots, to dark energy wielding soldiers called Galaxies (merged with the ), to the pseudo-vampiric Equinox and pseudo-lycanthropic Eclipse. The Council is another group with a wide level range, stretching from level 1 to well above level 40.
Crey Known Leaders: *Countess Crey *Hopkins
Crey is a mega-corporation whose billboards can be seen all over Paragon City. Publicly, they are a benevolent organization, working to use science to better mankind. Privately, they are the epitome of the ruthless corporation taken to super-hero world extremes. Crey wields its own security force, often seen around the higher level zones "patrolling" for trouble. But the security forces are more likely to go after the city's large vigilante (hero) population than to stop actual crime. They also sponsor the group of anonymous heroes known as Paragon Protectors, but their exact relationship with the company is the subject of much scurrilous rumour.
Crey Industries is lead by Countess Crey, wife of corporate head, Count Crey, who is currently incapacitated by illness.
Humans mutated by the avenging wrath of the earth, this mid to high level enemy group is made up of creatures made of stone, crystal, wood, fungus, etc.
The Hamidon himself is a gigantic amoeba-like posthuman that takes careful strategy and dozens of high level heroes (or, from Issue 9 onwards, villains) to defeat. Participating in a defeat of the Hamidon can earn a player a Hamidon Enhancement, one of the game's most powerful items, that can boost a power in several different ways.
The Devouring Earth also populate their own specific instanced raid known as the Eden Trial, which requires a team of heroes to face off against a gigantic Crystal Titan and many other threats. Again, defeating this Titan is rewarded with a special Enhancement.
The Family Known Leaders: *Emil Marcone (Rogue Isles) *Sebastian Frost (Paragon City) *Guido Verandi (Rogue Isles)
"The Family" is a mafia gang. They are a group of typical 1920s-esque pinstripe-suit-wearing mobsters, complete with tommyguns. They are also at war against the Mooks in City of Villains. Also in CoV, they're sometimes found in gunfights with other factions--they seem to be particularly fond of gunning against the Lost and Hellions, though they've also been at odds with the Council and Circle of Thorns.
While these thugs may have a certain nostalgia for pre-hero days, they aren't above using their methods and technology to get an edge. Higher-ranking members are known to use Superadine to boost strength, while others can display extraordinary gravity-based powers.
Freakshow Known Leaders: *Dreck *Bile *Clamor *Upstart
Famous Quote: "A Hero? Great! That'll be worth 200 points!"
Taking the word cyberpunk to a freakishly literal level, the Freakshow are a punk-styled street gang whose members build up their bodies with bizarre and garish cybernetic implants. Adding to this, the members of The Freakshow are driven mad by their frequently used drug Excelsior. Thrill seekers who thrive on anarchy, the Freakshow often hold contests among themselves (referred to as the "Freaklympics") for which faction can complete the most complex crimes. They love combat so much - with heroes, villains, each other, ANYONE - that they will often push their bodies to the limit, reviving themselves from defeat for a second attack. They have a testy relationship with the other criminal elements in the city and the Rogue Isles - for as much as their sheer appetite for destruction can make them a powerful ally, their sheer unpredictability makes them unreliable bedfellows. Freakshow are notorious for speaking and naming themselves in leet speak.
Hellions Known Leaders: *Tempter (Nick Pocker) *Battalion *Duke Mordragar *Decimator *Destroyer *Destructor *3K Kelvin A low level street gang. Though the bosses gain the ability to throw fire, the lower ranks rely mostly on common, mundane weaponry, e.g. pistols, shotguns, baseball bats, sledgehammers, knives, etc.
Hydra Significant members: *Hydra (Archvillain) *Kraken (Giant Monster) Inhabitants of an alternate dimension that have become trapped in Paragon City due to the Rikti. The hydra are basically animated blobs of matter. They are first encountered at low levels in Perez Park, and are not seen again until the higher levels of the game in the Abandoned Sewers. The Hydra itself is rumored to be down in the sewers. It is able to send its tentacles around the Abandoned Sewers looking for a Hero who was foolish enough to come down there alone.
Knives of Artemis Very high level enemy group composed principally of elite female assassins. Encountered almost exclusively on missions involving Malta Group storylines during City of Heroes, but appear in City of Villains in storylines entirely their own. They are rumoured to be a very small group perhaps numbering not much past 100 members at any one time, but this has not yet been proven.
The Lost Significant Members: * Kurse (Elite Boss) * Muxley (Elite Boss)
A low- to mid-level group. Homeless people that have been "recruited", often unwillingly. Unknown experiments have been performed on them, mutating them in ways visible and not so visible. Around level 30, players find out that their mutations were caused by Rikti, and eventually transform into Rikti themselves as Rikti are mutated humans from another dimension when originally they were thought to have been aliens.
Malta Group Significant Members: * The Slinger (ArchVillain, appears on Lord Recluse Strike Force) * Kronos Class Titan (Giant Monster)
Very high level group of commandos and cyborgs dedicated to defending what they believe is democracy and captalism. They are specially trained and equipped for anti-superbeing operations; they were formed in response to the cancellation of the Might for Right Act, which would have drafted all superpowered civilians into the military, in May of 1967 on the Island of Malta. The group performs tasks that secure their idea of metahuman interests; these missions involve kidnapping, arson, blackmail and political assassination. The group are very well-coordinated, using stun attacks, energy drains, and even simple caltrops to soften up opposition before moving in for the kill. Many an ill-prepared hero or villain team has fallen to them, and encounters should be treated with caution. Their Hercules and Zeus titans are also a significant threat by themselves and can blast unwary heroes or villains with missiles.
Nemesis Known Leader: *Nemesis
Sometimes known as the 'Brass Prince' or the 'Prussian Prince of Automatons', Nemesis is actually a person as well as a high level enemy group. Nemesis is known to have been alive for over 180 years, mostly through constant mechanical replacement of his body parts. Throughout this time Nemesis has mostly worked from behind the scenes, manipulating world events to his liking - though he will occasionally unleash spectacular strikes, such as a gas attack on Washington DC or the "Brass Monday" mass raid on Paragon, still remembered painfully by many of its citizens.
No one knows Nemesis' true goals, as he almost always cloaks his schemes in layers of deception and misdirection. Adding to the confusion are numbers of "Fake" Nemeses that lead his ranks - essentially artificially intelligent copies of his battle armour. So if a hero thinks he or she has defeated Nemesis, it's likely that it was only a copy - adding to his aura of invulnerability.
Nemesis' troops and weaponry may look old fashioned and be based on Victorian technology, but in the right hands they still thoroughly outperform modern and even alien weapons.
Outcasts Known Leader: *Frostfire (Leonard Calhoun)
A teen level street gang. Members are mostly mutants with elemental-based powers. The Outcasts were founded by Frostfire, who was originally a hero but turned to crime instead. The Outcasts' main enemies are the Trolls, although the Tsoo are a close second. The Outcasts occupy Steel Canyon areas and areas in the Hollows, where they and the Trolls go at it. They have elemental powers, with each member aligned with one element. Their pre-members, however, use guns similar to the Death Heads and Fallen of the Skulls and the Hellions.
Paragon Protectors Supergroup affiliated to Crey Industries - though they are rarely if ever found fighting crime, preferring instead to terrorise the city's population, fight heroes, and lead dangerous missions for their corporate sponsors. Easily recognisable by their blue-and-yellow uniforms, they are unusual amongst heroes in that they wear blank, featureless helmets that conceal their identities. Many observers also note that they use signature techniques and powers of dead or disappeared heroes - which makes them tough and dangerous foes. Dark rumours persist about exactly how the Protectors came about, and how their ranks seem to be swelling...
Prisoners Escapees from the Ziggurat, a huge prison that dominates Brickstown zone. The prisoners mostly hang around the zone celebrating their escape until some hero comes along to return them to captivity. Villains will encounter fellow prisoners during the prison riot that comprises their tutorial. Easily recognizeable in their bright orange jump-suits.
Rikti Known Leaders: *Lord of War: Hro'Dtohz (Supreme Commander of the Lineage of War, the current ruling body on the Rikti home-world and appeares in the Lady Grey TF in Rikti War Zone) *C'Kelkah (Traditionalists Leader) *Ambassador Kuhr'Rekt (Restructurists) *The Honoree (A corrupted, Riktified Hero 1 who appears in Lady Grey TF in Rikti War Zone)
Significant members: *Death: Rider (appears in Lady Grey TF in Rikti War Zone) *Famine: Rider (appears in Lady Grey TF in Rikti War Zone) *Pestilence: Rider (appears in Lady Grey TF in Rikti War Zone) *War: Rider (appears in Lady Grey TF in Rikti War Zone) * Dra'Gon (Decorated Rikti general from the first Rikti war) * U'Kon Gr'ai (Rikti Master At Arms and the head of ships Security)
Trans-dimensional invaders. A major part of the back-story of City of Heroes involves the Rikti War, a full scale invasion by the Rikti a few years back. Several of the zones of the Paragon City were all but destroyed in the war, including the zones now known as Boomtown and the Crash Site. The invasion was driven back by the heroes of earth. A number of Rikti mother ships and transports crashed during the invasion, leaving a large number of Rikti troops stranded on Earth. It is these stranded remnants that the heroes of today must deal with.
Presently, the Rikti are divided into two warring factions: the Traditionalists and the Restructurists. The Traditionalists, the more peaceful of the two factions, want to co-exist with humanity and rebuild their society on earth. The Restructurists however want to build a more militant society under Rikti control.
The original Rikti invasion was a catastrophic event for which the world was completely unprepared for. Heroes played the biggest role in the war and were actually the only force capable of resisting the aliens. Rikti recognized this threat early on and began to target super beings directly. Rikti are strangely ignorant to magic and are completely vulnerable to it which the heroes capitalized on. Fifty magic using heroes, lead by Hero 1, entered the Rikti dimension and destroyed their portal generator cutting off the invasion at the cost of their own lives. The Rikti invasion was defeated, but at a tremendous cost - trillions of dollars of damage was caused, many cities were in ruins and nearly the entire hero population was killed.
Issue 10 saw the return of the Rikti in a new invasion of Earth. The previous "Rikti Crash Site" zone became the "Rikti War Zone" as they attempt to recover their crashed vessel there, while heroes and villains, under the banner of Vanguard, try to stop them. One specific mission in this zone will cause a Rikti invasion senario in a random hero or villain zone where Rikti bomber craft will fly in and carpet bomb the area. Afterwards Rikti will teleport in and ambush any super powered beings in the area. The Rikti are hostile to any native creature and will attack and be attacked by anything from Hellions to Freakshow and Carnival of Shadows.
Shivans Limited mostly to the low level PVP zone, Bloody Bay, the Shivans are fusions of alien energy from a meteorite strike in the area, with human corpses/skeletons to give them internal structure. A rare few base missions within Cap Au Diable in CoV also have Shivans roaming around. Successful collection and processing of shards collected within Bloody Bay into a full sample confers a temporary summoning power to summon a Shivan Elite Boss to fight for the player for a short time. defeating 100 can win you the "Man/Woman in black" badge. Name depending on sex of character achieveing it.
Skulls Known Leader: *Marrow Snap (Radoslav Petrovic) *Marrow Drinker (Emil Petrovic) *The Strong Man
A low level street gang. Though the bosses gain access to dark energy attacks, the lower ranks rely mostly on the most common of weaponry. Ex. Pistols, SMG, Shotguns, Bats, Sledge Hammers, etc. The Skulls' main rivals are the Hellions, another enemy group.
Sky Raiders Known Leaders: *Colonel Duray *Captain Castillo (Elite Boss / ArchVillain)
This mid level enemy group style themselves as professional mercenaries, but are mostly high-tech thieves and goons for hire. The group was formerly employed by the U.S. military during the Rikti War, but went AWOL and became a criminal mercenary group still under the command of their leader, Colonel Duray. Many of them use jetpacks, but their arsenal also includes heavily-armed VTOL Sky Skiffs, and the powerful Jump Bot robotic warriors - not to mention the ever-annoying hovering Force Field Generators.
Soldiers of Rularuu Known Leaders:
*Rularuu the Ravager (Not in game) *Aspect of Rularuu (encountered only in Cathedral of Pain Trial) *Ruladak the Strong *Faathim the Kind (non-hostile) *Lanaru the Mad
Very high level enemy group, and the primary inhabitants of the Shadow Shard. They consist of a variety of strange aliens, including gigantic, hovering eyeballs known as Overseers, powerful bug-like creatures (forming the grunt-esque population), psychic endowed sci-fi alien-shaped monsters called Whisps, and the oddly crystalline and resistant Brutes. Very powerful, and very dangerous. They once attempted to invade Paragon City, but they didn't make the same impact that the Rikti did.
Spectral Pirates Pirate ghosts mostly haunting a fort in the Port Oakes section of City of Villains. They can also be found wandering the forests of the PvP zone, Bloody Bay, allowing characters from City of Heroes to encounter them, though they only spawn between levels 10 to 15, 15 is the only level they spawn at in Bloody Bay. During CoV beta, they would occasionally spawn with a clickable chest, but it is unknown if they do since release. They also appear in CoH when close to the ghost ship.
Trolls Known Leader: *Atta (Haripual Atta) *Grendel (Former Leader)
A teen level street gang focused around a drug known as Superadine (also known as Dyne or Supes). Long term exposure to the drug has turned the skin of members green, and given increasing amounts of strength to the higher ranking members. However, whatever intelligence the gang had before taking the drug is rapidly sapped away.
One of the more dramatic achievements of the gang has come to be known as the Hollowing, where they were able to tunnel under a whole neighborhood and cause much of the neighborhood to collapse into an immense sinkhole. This area is now known as the Hollows.
Tsoo Known Leader: *Tub Ci (Tub Ci Tang)
A low- to mid-level Asian street gang who are fairly new to Paragon City. Much of the power of the members of the Tsoo comes from the mystical tattoos they have all over them. The Tsoo have a much larger foothold in the Rogue Isles, often dwarfing their Paragon brothers in power and influence. The Tsoo are composed primarily of Asians of Hmong descent, and the gang itself appears to be influenced by various Yakuza and Triad groups.
Introduced into the game in Issue 10, but having already existed during the original Rikti war, The Vanguard are a UN-backed superhero organization based out of London. Their mission is to wipe out the last remaining pockets of Rikti invaders threatening Earth and resist the invasion that triggers the 2nd war. However, while they accept help from anyone willing, be it hero or villain, they are also in conflict with both as a number of questions have been asked regarding their methods and motives.
Vahzilok
Known Leader: *Doctor Vahzilok *FaceMaker *Cortex (Elite Boss)
The Vahzilok are scientific undead. Reanimated by the twisted science of Dr. Vahzilok, they roam the lower level zones of Paragon City, looking for victims to haul back to the doctor for further experimentation. In CoV, certain Vahzilok are declared as members of the Freakshow, and others work as costume tailors. They are uneffected by the Veteran award "ghost slaying axe" which deals extra damage to the undead due to their cybernetic components.
Warriors A mid-level street gang that rejects all modern technology, instead relying on various forms of medieval weaponry and magical artifacts, from swords and axes to crossbows.
Known Leader: *Heracles (Elite Boss)
City of Heroes-specific groups These are the enemies that only appear in City of Heroes.
A Nazi group that is found in the game. The in-game explanation was that they were absorbed into the Council, a group with similar methods, but without the Nazi overtones. All missions and villains that involved the 5th Column were converted to use The Council, although their uniforms and emblems survive in certain alternate-reality missions.
It has been confirmed by developer Matt Miller (aka 'Positron') that the 5th column will be making a comeback in 2007, stating they will not be a "kinder, gentler" version of the 5th column either.
Even more recently (September 2006), Miller has stated that events over the next few years will ultimately result in heroes and villains having to join forces to fight an "old familiar villain group". Many players have speculated that this is direct reference to the 5th column; however, as of Issue 10, the statement appears to have been referring to the Rikti.
Developer Sean Michael Fish (Manticore among the playerbase), however, has once again stated the 5th Column will return, lead by The Reichsman, an alternate reality counterpart to Statesman. (See 5th Column controversy, below)
Cabal Known Leader: *Mary MacComber
One of several groups introduced with the Croatoa zone, they are exclusive to that zone. The Cabal is a group of storm witches. Along with their allies, the Fir Bolg, the Cabal stands in eternal opposition to the Red Caps and the Tuatha de Dannan.
Fir Bolg Significant Member: *Eochai (Giant Monster)
One of several groups introduced with the Croatoa zone, they are exclusive to that zone. The Fir Bolg is a group of tree figures with pumpkin heads. Along with their allies, the Cabal, the Fir Bolg stands in eternal opposition to the Red Caps and the Tuatha de Dannan. Based on the Fir Bolg of Irish mythology.
Ghosts Another group introduced with the Croatoa zone. Ghosts that haunt the zone at night. Use the same images as the Spectral Passenger group, but are considered a separate group.
A low level group of animated rock monsters, mostly limited to the Hollows zone. Also found in the Cavern of Transcendence trial found also in the Hollows.
Nictus Enemies associated with Kheldians. The Nictus are Kheldians who have scientifically altered themselves and now seek to dominate the entire Kheldian race. The Warshades are themselves Nictus, but have reformed and allied with the Peacebringers, who represent the original unaltered Kheldian species. The Peacebringers & Warshades are currently in a state of war against the Nictus, and they are pursued across the galaxy, the battle on Earth being but a part of a much larger conflict. Of the Nictus on Earth, they appear to have some form of alliance with The Council.
They do not spawn on their own, but are seen occasionally as bosses that will spawn among almost any other type of enemy if a Kheldian is among the players. Mostly seen as Bright/Dark Nova/Dwarves. The most dangerous of Nictus spawns are the Shadow Cyst Crystals, which act as portals and allow passage for swarms of deadly Unbound Nictus. These cysts explode violently when defeated, sometimes taking the Nictus spawns down with them.
Praetorians Known Leaders: *Tyrant (Statesman) *Anti-Matter (Positron) *Battle Maiden (Valkyrie) *Black Swan (Swan) *Bobcat (Mynx) *Chimera (Manticore) *Diabolique (Numina) *Dominatrix (Ms. Liberty) *Infernal (Himself, but corrupted) *Malaise (Himself, but unreformed) *Marauder (Back Alley Brawler) *Mother Mayhem (Sister Psyche still trapped in Aurora Borialis' body, after having lost her sanity) *Neuron (Synapse) *Nightstar (Luminary) *Shadowhunter (Woodsman) *Siege (Citadel)
The Praetorians are from an alternate dimension to the main one of Paragon City. Very similar to the Mirror Universe of Star Trek, the Praetorian universe has counterparts to all the major NPC heroes of City of Heroes. And like the Star Trek Mirror Universe, these counterparts are generally of a villainous disposition. The villains are listed above, with their better halves in parentheses. It is also worth noting that the villain group, the , exists as the Carnival of Light in the Praetorian dimension, where they fight the Praetorians as an underground resistance movement.
Red Caps Known Leader: *Snaptooth (Elite Boss) Significant Members: *Jack in Irons (Giant Monster)
One of several groups introduced with the Croatoa zone, they are exclusive to that zone. The Red Caps are a group of gnome-like creatures who wear red caps. Along with their allies, the Tuatha de Dannan, the Red Caps stands in eternal opposition to the Fir Bolg and the Cabal and are attempting to subvert reality to their liking. Based on the Redcaps of British and Irish mythology.
A cross teaming mission (heroes and villains) available during the Valentines Day and Winter '06 events also spawned a large number of these enemies, which, for a short time, made the group available to villains.
Shadow Shard Reflections Very high level enemy group, present only in the alternate dimension of the Shadow Shard. They are ghostly images of various high-level villain groups from Paragon City. 'Reflected' groups include Nemesis, Circle of Thorns, and Crey.
Spectral Passengers Mid level special event enemies. Ghostly passengers that spawn from a ghost ship that occasionally passes through Talos and Independence Port zones. The ship crosses land as easily as water, and where it crosses land, it spawns the Spectral Passengers in its wake.
Tuatha de Dannan One of several groups introduced with the Croatoa zone, they are exclusive to that zone. The Tuatha de Dannon are a group of earth spirits resembling a cross between humanoid deer and werewolves. Along with their allies, the Red Caps, the Tuatha de Dannon stand in eternal opposition to the Fir Bolg and the Cabal. Based on the Tuatha Dé Danann of Irish mythology.
Void Hunters A group affiliated to the Council, dedicated to hunting down and destroying all Kheldians. Void Hunters wield quantum energy weapons specifically designed to disrupt the Kheldian energy matrix. These weapons are generally capable of killing a Kheldian character in one to three hits (unmitigated) by inflicting an extra specialized damage type, although they deal no special damage to other archetypes. These attacks also have a strong chance to stun the Kheldian, leaving the player helpless in mitigating further attacks by the Void. Void Hunters are also resistant to Energy and Negative Energy damage, the primary forms of damage Peacebringers and Warshades can deliver, making them a significant threat to a soloing Kheldian.
Not found anywhere on their own, a Void Hunter enemy will spawn along with almost any other gang in the game as long as there is a Kheldian nearby. They will occasionally be found outside with random street spawns, but they are mostly encountered in missions when a Kheldian is on the player team.
Some players fear these types of enemy, but non-Kheldian archetypes have little to worry as their conventional energy damage is quite weak and they will typically be a far lower threat than the conventional group of which they are a part. Team strategy, however, generally dictates that Voids should be taken out as soon as possible for the sake of the Kheldian team members.
Some players will take the time to eliminate Voids they see in 'the open' as a general service to others, though this is far from universal.
Members of other enemy groups may also spawn armed with the same quantum weaponry that the Voids wield. These enemies are also very dangerous to Kheldians, but lack the Void Hunter's specific damage resistance so are on the whole easier to deal with as Kheldian players are able to inflict higher rates of damage.
Sometimes however they occuasionally spawn over at Freedom base over at Bloody Bay if there is a Peacebringer archetype in the zone.
City of Villains-specific groups The following enemies only appear in City of Villains.
Cage Consortium Guards Known Leader: *Kirk Cage Identical to Private Security Guards. Found in such places as Sharkhead Isle working under Kirk Cage.
Cap au Diable Demons Significant Member: *Deathsurge (Giant Monster) Electrical demons called "Gremlins" that spawn around the power stations of Cap au Diable.
Coralax Hybrids Known Leader: *Calystix the Shaper Low-level enemies found primarily in Port Oakes. Also found at a higher level at the Sky Raider base in Sharkhead Island on various occasions. The Coralax Hybrids are humans infected by a unique strain of coral, turning them into blue/green/red humanoid monsters bearing a resemblance to their infectors. Reportedly, a Coralax civilization exists somewhere near the Rogue Isles, under the Atlantic.
Freedom Phalanx/Freedom Corps Known Leader: *Statesman (Hero) (FP)
Significant Members: *Back Alley Brawler (FC) *Blue Steel (FC) *Citadel (Hero) (FP) *Foreshadow (Hero) (FP) *Infernal (Hero) (FC) *Luminary (Hero) (FC) *Malaise (Hero) (FC) *Manticore (Hero) (FP) *Mirror Spirit (Hero) (FP) *Moonfire (Hero) (FP) *Ms. Liberty (Hero) (FC) *Mynx (Hero) (FC) *Numina (Hero) (FP) *Positron (Hero) (FP) *Ravenstorm (Hero) (FC) *Rose Star (Hero) (FP) *Sister Psyche (Hero) (FP) *Spark Blade (FP) *Swan (Hero) (FP) *Synapse (Hero) (FC) *Valkyrie (Hero) (FC) *Woodsman (Hero) (FP) The Freedom Phalanx is a long standing organization, originally formed by Statesman. The members of it provide a reasonable challenge to villains, considering they possess several Heroes. Freedom Phalanx members are sometimes accompanied by a Longbow or Wyvern. The Freedom Corps, or the First Hero Corps, is another major superhero division within Paragon City. The Freedom Corps differs from the Freedom Phalanx, aside from its greater number of members, because not only is the Freedom Corps not a supergroup, but it is considered Paragon City's designated hero organization.
Gold Brickers Known Leaders: *King Midas
High tech thieves, low level enemy based in Cap au Diable. Equipment consists of bulky golden jetpacks and sonic weaponry, while members typically wear double-breasted black leather jackets and leather helmets. Funded by the famed candy company owned by King Midas, most especially for his "Gold Brick" chocolate bar.
Legacy Chain Another hero group; low level group that believes that magic should only be used for noble purposes, and aim to cleanse the world of those who would use it for evil.
Longbow Known Leaders: *Ms. Liberty
Longbow is a division of Freedom Corps that is encountered repeatedly throughout a villain's career, particularly in Mayhem missions as they attempt to repel villain incursions into Paragon City.
They are only opponents in CoV or in vanguard missions in the Rikti War Zone. They often had conventional weapons apart from certain generic wardens who have powers and Ballista's who have force fields and super strength.
Luddites Known Leader: *Martin Henri
Taking their name and basic ideology from the real-world Luddites, they are a violent anti-technology organization based in Cap au Diable. As they oppose technology, low-tech variants of weapons replace typical villain armaments, i.e. crossbows and wood-burning torches instead of guns and flamethrowers.
The Mooks Known Leaders: *Guido 'The Mooch' Veranti
Low level enemies. This is a splinter group from The Family. Italian mafia.
Paragon Police Department Known Leaders: * Police Chief Conrad Bochco * Blue Steel
The Paragon Police Department, or the “Blue Shield” as they are colloquially known, is a long established institution of Paragon City. Until late 2005, they were ill-equipped to handle to increasing threat of super-powered criminals. Now, they have increased their ranks and created several new divisions to deal with these new threats, including armored units (The Powered Armor Cops), psychic officers (Psi-Division), new armored drones, and Kheldian merged officers (The Awakened Division). They also have Blue Steel amongst their ranks, who is the only hero that works directly with and answers to the PPD.
Rogue Island Police
The Rogue Islands' police force, apparently in the employ of the Arachnos organization as evidenced by the symbol worn on their sleeve. Identical to private security forces in City of Villains. Although cast as the law and order of the island, they are frequently seen brutalizing civilians.
Despite the fact that actually enforcing the law seems to be low on their list, their acts of violence seem to keep crime low. In all likelihood, this is not intentional.
Scrapyarders Known leaders: *Iron Widow (Hero) *Sea Witch (Hero) *Spinnerette (Hero) Significant Member: *Scrapyard (Giant Monster) Enraged builders, miners and other construction workers found mostly in Sharkhead Isle. They had a leader called Scrapyard, but he was slain by Captain Mako. His ghost occasionally appears in Sharkhead Isle as a Giant Monster.
Slag Golems Shambling piles of industrial waste and metal scrap found on Sharkhead Isle, animated by fragments of magical coral. Mid-level enemies.
Snakes Known Leader: *Stheno- Sister of Medusa, one of the three Gorgons of Greek mythology (origonally was a pregnant woman before drinking from the well of furies. the same well Statesman and Lord Recluse drank from when fighting together to survive.)
Very low level enemy group, although level 46-50 villains can come back to Mercy for a string of missions involving evolved versions of the low level snakes. Man-sized snake-people living on Mercy Island and in Port Oakes. Speculated to have descended from magically-transformed original colonists. There is also some suggestions in the snakes dialogue that their bite will turn others into snakes, which explains their numbers. The Snakes are among the very first groups of enemies that characters will encounter on Mercy Island. A mission will send characters right into a nest of the creatures to defeat one of the groups leaders.
Wailers Known Leader: *Wailer Lord A breed of demons infesting St. Martial, bent on obtaining the soul of the famed Johnny Sonata. They use sonic attacks and tend to speak using Sinatra-esque slang.
Wyvern Known Leader: *Manticore (alleged)
Vigilante group reportedly founded and funded by the hero Manticore. Dedicated to doing the things that need to be done to protect the world, even if the means are more questionable than those of Freedom Corps. They wield bows like their supposed leader, and are also known to wear jetpacks.
Fifth Column controversy With the advent of Issue 3, the removal of the Nazi Fifth Column villain group and its replacement by the Council caused some adverse reaction among the playerbase. The protesters claimed that Cryptic had removed the group and replaced it with a more politically correct organization, near-identical in capability but differing in back story, in order to allay potential objections from German players, as Issue 3 marked the game's release in Europe. Many story arcs featuring the Fifth Column were rewritten to feature the Council instead, and one in-game landmark, the statue of Atlas, notoriously rewrote the death of this hero, replacing a last stand against Fifth Column soldiers with a demise while rescuing kidnapped politicians.
summed up the critics' position. Burns correctly observes that the Fifth Column would not have caused problems with any existing German legislation prohibiting the use of Nazi propaganda and symbols, though other critics often make the erroneous assertion that games featuring Nazis are banned outright in Germany.
The developers have stated that there was no such motive behind the removal of the Fifth Column. Players from Germany and from other parts of Europe have repeatedly explained that the Fifth Column did not break any German laws; some players had in fact been playing from Germany since before the release of Issue 3. It has also been pointed out that the backstories for both Arachnos and the Council explain that they are Italian Fascist groups, so avoiding negative portrayals of Europeans cannot have been a priority. Nonetheless, the belief that the developers acted out of fear of causing offence, even if they would not have broken any German laws, has persisted.
The promised return of the Fifth Column has been a matter of much speculation. Sean Michael Fish (known to players as Manticore), one of the developers, stated that the Fifth Column would make a return in 2007, led by Reichsman, a development that has not as yet taken place. Later, Matt 'Positron' Miller explained that the Fifth Column were the developers' initial choice for a villain group to return in Issue 10, but the Rikti were chosen instead.
The Fifth Column were finally reintroduced to the game in November 2007 with Issue 11, A Stitch in Time. The group appears exactly as it always did, retaining the distinctive German titles such as Ubermenschen and Oberst. Currently they appear only in Ouroboros time travel missions, forming part of the collective past history of City of Heroes/Villains. They appear in the introductory arc from the Pilgrim, and form the basis of Mender Lazarus' four-mission Task Force.
Although the Fifth Column have not yet returned to the present timeline and remain, for now, a threat from the past, a cutscene in the final mission of Mender Lazarus' Task Force may foreshadow a future resurgence.