Inf

Overview

Influence, Infamy, and Information are the three currencies used within City of Heroes. Influence is the currency for heroes, infamy is the currency for villains, and information is the currency of Praetorians. In terms of game mechanics, all three currencies are equivalent and are often referred to as inf.

Earning and Using Inf

Inf can be earned in several ways:

• completing missions
• defeating enemies
• selling items to stores or contacts
• selling items on the Auction House

Inf is used within the game for many purposes:

• purchasing Inspirations and Enhancements from stores or contacts
• purchasing Inspirations, Enhancements, Recipes, and Salvage from the Auction House
• fees for crafting salvage and recipes into Invention Origin Enhancements, Temporary Powers, costume pieces, and respecs in the invention system
• purchasing recipes from an invention workbench

Inf can be traded or sent through the in-game mail system to characters of any alignment. (Prior to Issue 18, trade and mail were limited to same-alignment characters.)

Inf Rewards Table

These are the base inf reward values for each rank and level of critter. Some critters have a Reward Scale multiplier that increases or decreases the amount of inf rewarded depending upon the difficulty of the critter.

Level Minion Lieutenant Boss 1 7 39 200 2 7 39 200 3 7 39 200 4 7 39 200 5 9 51 264 6 9 57 288 7 11 66 336 8 12 72 360 9 13 75 384 10 14 80 408 11 16 94 480 12 21 118 600 13 25 144 720 14 30 176 888 15 35 205 1032 16 36 210 1056 17 38 219 1104 18 39 224 1128 19 39 230 1152 20 42 238 1200 21 42 244 1224 22 43 248 1248 23 50 288 1440 24 57 331 1656 25 67 384 1920

Level Minion Lieutenant Boss 26 77 439 2200 27 88 507 2540 28 102 583 2920 29 118 675 3380 30 147 840 4200 31 168 960 4800 32 191 1095 5480 33 218 1248 6240 34 247 1411 7060 35 300 1716 8580 36 338 1935 9680 37 382 2184 10920 38 460 2631 13160 39 554 2851 14256 40 624 3032 15164 41 681 3116 14025 42 744 3188 13552 43 838 3354 13417 44 945 3512 13171 45 1066 3657 12801 46 1203 4125 14439 47 1356 4651 15116 48 1529 5244 16387 49 1724 5913 18480 50 1945 6669 20842

Inf Cap

The maximum amount of inf that a character can hold is 2,000,000,000 (2 billion).

Characters can continue to earn more inf beyond the cap, but it won't be recorded and the system will still see it as 2 billion. There are ways around the inf cap, such as bidding on non-existent items in the Auction House, storing inf in the mail system, or transferring inf to "mules" (characters made for the sole purpose of carrying inf).

Abstractions

To the new player, or even many advanced players, it may seem confusing at first to refer to the in-game currency as "Influence", "Infamy", or "Information" rather than something more descriptive and intuitive such as "Credits", "Dollars", "Gold/Silver/Copper"

To understand what's meant by these names, a player must understand the concept of "abstraction". Like many of the aspects of game play, currency has been abstracted to provide more room for role-playing and player character development. This allows more room for a wider array of characters to interact with the in-game economy.

• The name "Influence" is an abstraction that refers to the fact that a hero's influence with the citizens of Paragon City increases with their actions.
• The name "Infamy" is an abstraction that refers to the infamy a villain earns with the citizens of the Rogue Isles for committing dastardly deeds.
• The name "Information" is an abstraction of the most valuable currency in the dimension of Praetoria, where no one knows whose side anyone is on.

Examples

As illustrative examples, consider the in-game stories behind three of the Signature Heroes.

Mynx is a young, college-age woman who was granted super-powers against her will by the corrupt Crey Corporation. As a young woman, she doesn't really have a lot of financial clout. However, her repeated service to the city has ensured that when she needs resources to help fight crime, those resources will be available to her regardless of how much money (paper currency) she has on her person or in a bank account.

Mynx's earned Influence is primarily in the form of "good will" support available to her from her allies and the businesses located in Paragon City.

Manticore is an adult man who inherited a vast fortune and runs powerful businesses. His real identity is not particularly well known. As a more secretive hero, he's not likely to depend upon the good will of the city or his allies for support. Rather, he'll purchase it outright or use his existing financial assets to manufacture what he can't purchase.

Manticore's Influence is primarily in the form of his vast financial assets.

Statesman is an immortal being who's been protecting the city and the world for the better part of a century. He was a wealthy man when he began his exploits as Statesman, and we can assume that he's been responsible with that wealth. He's been active in the fight against evil for so long that he's become the very epitome of heroism to many in the city.

Statesman's Influence comprises not only the good will of the city and his extensive personal financial resources, but is also bolstered by the sheer amount of authority and expertise he wields.

Role-playing

This same level of abstraction can be used by players in many situations. For example, suppose a character purchases an enhancement with influence. For a partially-crazed, homeless vigilante, this might be rationalized as a gift from one of the confused but thankful people he's saved from violence. For a wealthy heiress who uses powered battle armor to fight crime, the purchase might instead be rationalized as an actual financial transaction that draws upon her considerable wealth.

Infamy is similarly abstracted, but substitutes fear and domination for good will and authority. A villain gains infamy not only by robbing a bank and stealing the cash and valuables stored there, but also by holding citizens in the grip of dread. Not only can he purchase supplies, but he can also easily extort them when he chooses.

Ultimately, this level of abstraction provides a richer role-playing experience for City of Heroes players.

History

• Prior to Issue 25, the inf cap was tiered based on the status of a player's account. Issue 25 gave all accounts the maximum cap of 2 billion.