Step 1 - Register

The first step towards joining our City of Heroes server is to 'Register' for an account. This can be done via the icon to the top right of the page or by accessing the authentication panel by clicking here

The registration process is a multi-step process. You will need to provide the desired credentials you wish to use for your account and a valid email address. The website will then verify your email address via an activation email. You will have to click on the activation link in the email to activate your account.

Once activated - your account is now ready.

Step 2 - Download the Launcher of your choice

The City of Heroes community use a wide variety of different launchers to download and update the game client. They are listed below.

Note: The one recommended by Asmodei is the Sunrise launcher - it is a community developed launcher which is also open source.

• Sunrise Launcher (Windows): Download here
• Creamsoda Launcher (Windows): Download here
• Island Rum (Mac Launcher): Download here (Please note - It is unknown if this client actually works - Playing on Windows is recommended)

Step 3 - Configure the launcher with manifest

Once you have downloaded the launcher, you will need to configure the launcher to use our manifest URL. In sunrise launcher this is done by clicking the green + icon and then choosing an install location (anywhere on your PC you desire, for example C:\Games\CityOfHeroes

After having chosen an install location, you should paste in the manifest URL which is shown below.

Step 4 - Download game files

Once you have selected the install location and specified the manifest, you should be able to click ok and it will download the manifest and automatically start downloading the necessary game files. The game is around 4.5 GB in size, so depending on your connection it could take around 10-15 minutes on modern broadband.

Step 5 - Login

Once everything is downloaded, you should be able to click the 'Login' or 'Play' button - depending on your launcher. On sunrise launcher, the button is 'Login' - this will then start City of Heroes and take you to the game login page. You can then authenticate with the credentials you used in Step 1.

You will have the choice of 2 differnt shards to play on.

• Asmodei - Our live server, this is online almost 24/7 and has the highest performance. This is the recommended shard you play on for normal regular gameplay
• Ragnarok[QA] - Our testing server, this is for people who want to login and just test some builds or see some experimental features we are working on. It is not recommended to play on this shard long-term. This shard has low performance and can be laggy.

After choosing your shard, you can start creating your character and eventually enter the gameworld.