What is it? Character Creation Concepts (3 C’s) are concepts that players of Champions Online come up with to explain/clarify why they chose the powers they did and the costume design they came up with. It is the fundamental thing that establishes your PC (Player Character) in the Champions Universe. It also helps with the background story of where your character came from and how he/she got their powers.
Different types of concepts: There are many different ways a hero can get his/her powers. Here are a few that I came up with for my characters.
- Arcangel- This character became my gun guy. It is all about the guns for this toon. His background, which I still need to put on paper, is a former government Spec Ops/NSA agent. He felt that his skills would be better served saving the public from villains rather than doing operations for the government.
- Titan- This one is my super strong guy. He has all the classic powers that you would think Superman would have. He is Super Strong, Invulnerability, and most of the powers from the Might power set in the game. This one was the second character I created and at first I made him my primary character. The problem with this concept is I did not think it through enough and choose other powers that would make it easier to stand up in a fight. Unfortunately, the cost to change out the character’s powers is more than the character has. So I must rethink the concept again.
Roles associated with the concepts: There are different roles your character can use and each has strengths and weaknesses. You should pick a role that would fit with your concept. For example, if your concept revolves around the munitions power set, then you should choose either Guardian or Avenger roles. Guardian is well balanced with good defense and good offense, while Avenger has increased offense and decreased defense. With the Avenger role, damage dealt out will be more and you will have a greater chance of scoring a critical hit against the bad guys. There is a role called Protector which has decreased damage output, but increased defense. This is especially good if your concept calls for you to keep the bad guys at bay (or locked down as we say in game). This role is good in team battles against major villains since you need to keep your teammates alive and the bad guys unable to act.
Costuming: This one is kind of up to each individual, but I think that the costume should match the concept you come up with. If your concept is a inventor who develops a suit of armor, then you should develop the costume around that. Coloring is important too. If your concept is a dark brooding martial artist, then your colors should be a bit darker.
Builds: This one goes hand in hand with the roles for your character. When you hit level 8, you can create a second build for your character. That means that you can choose a different role and move around your powers to make them more efficient for you. An example is that if you choose a Protector role, you should move around your powers so that more of your support abilities are easier to use. A good power set for this role would be the Celestial power set. It lends itself to more healing and villain hampering. It has decent direct damage powers with an added bonus of a chance of healing your teammates. You get one build at 8 and another at 16. I don’t have a character past level 21 yet, so I am not sure if you get another build slot at 24 or not.
There are many other things to consider when coming up with a concept for Champions Online. I will hit upon some of them with my next post. Stay tuned for more!
