Sidekick

Overview

The hero sidekick and the villain lackey, and their opposites, the exemplar and malefactor, are game features that allow low- and high-level characters to play together without completely sacrificing rewards and without enemies being vastly over- or underpowered compared to some team members. This feature is fairly rare in MMORPGs, and allows casual players to play alongside more frequent players.

Super-Sidekick System

For the release of Issue 16, the Sidekicking system underwent a complete overhaul to be more flexible for teams regardless of the levels of heroes and/ or villains within the team. The most notable changes were:

• Each player in the group's level is set to the level of the owner of the active team task. If no team task is selected, everyone in the group's level will be set to the level of the team leader.
• When the team level changes, players will be notified via a dialog and have the option to quit the team or immediately accept. The dialog will time out after 30 seconds at which point acceptance is implied.
• While in the pending state, players cannot receive rewards and any critters they damage will be worth no experience.
• Players can choose to auto-accept team level changes 0 to 50 levels above or below their current level.
• Exemplars will now earn XP and a level capped person will get XP converted into influence like exemplars used to.

How To

You must be on a team with the person you intend to sidekick/exemplar with. Unlike the previous [re-Issue 16 Sidekick system, sidekicking/ exemplaring while on a team is mandatory. When a character joins a team, he or she will see a dialog box which informs the player that the character will be brought up or down to a certain level - which is either the level of the leader or the currently selected mission. If the player agrees, the character will join the team and automatically be adjusted to the level specified. Otherwise, the character is dropped from the team if they do not agree, or after 30 seconds. In addition, the player can elect to automitcally consent to teaming at certain minimum or maximum levels in his or her Options panel.

If the team is in trouble, a high-level character can simply quit the team, remain on the map, and fight at a higher level outside of the team - obviously forgoing any rewards as a consequence.

Sidekick/Lackey

All characters below the mission holder or team leader's level will sidekick (for heroes) or lackey (for villains) to the mission holder, or the team leader if no active mission is selected. Unlike the previous Sidekick system, there is no distance limitation for the sidekicked characters and their mentors.

A sidekick will not gain the same rewards from defeating enemies or completing missions as a character who is naturally at his higher level. Although the sidekick's health, power strength, and chances of hitting and getting hit are altered upward to match his new combat level, he gains the experience and influence/infamy rewards he would get if the enemies were relative to his natural level. Recipe, salvage, and enhancement drops remain based on the enemies' true levels.

For example, if a sidekick fights +2 enemies, he will get rewards as if he were fighting enemies two above his natural level. If he gains a level while sidekicked, his combat level remains the same (at the mission holder or team leader's level), so he will continue to be rewarded as if he were fighting +2 enemies. This is different from normal play in that leveling mid-mission while unsidekicked means enemies become relatively weaker and less rewarding. Note that the sidekick's combat level will rise if his mentor levels mid-mission, however, and that if the sidekick's actual level rises to within two of his mentor's, all effects of sidekicking end.

Sidekicking cannot be used to satisfy level requirements on task and strike forces (hazard and trial zone limitations were removed in Issue 16, with the exception of The Hive and The Abyss).

Exemplar/Malefactor

All characters above the mission holder or team leader's level will exemplar (for heroes) or malefactor (for villains) to the mission holder, or the team leader if no active mission is selected. The lower-level character is known as the aspirant (for heroes) and minion (for villains). Similarly to Super-Sidekicking, Super-Exemplaring has no distance limitation between the exemplars and their aspirants.

Similar to sidekicking, exemplaring adjusts the character's level for purposes of combat and causes her to gain experience as if her enemies were relative to her actual level. Unlike pre-Issue 16 Examplaring, exemplars can still gain experience while exemplared, albeit at a lower rate than fighting at the character's natural level. However, the player can also revert to the pre-Issu 16 standard (through the Options menu) and opt to choose double Influence and no Experience. All experience the exemplar would have gained goes instead toward paying off debt, if the character has any, or becomes influence if the character has no debt. This increase in influence has no effect on how much prestige is gained by a character in supergroup mode. Additionally, an exemplared character will not get any enhancements or normal infamy/influence rewards from defeating enemies, although she may still get enhancements as mission rewards. Recipe, salvage, and inspiration drops remain based on the enemies' true levels.

Note! It is widely believed that an exemplared character gains full normal influence rewards in addition to any extra influence he gets from converted experience. In fact, it's even stated in several player guides, both official and unofficial. This is not true. Playing while exemplared and debt-free will not result in roughly double the usual amount of influence.

While exemplared, a character loses the use of all primary, secondary, and pool powers that are more than five levels above her exemplared combat level. (Accolade powers, temporary powers, veteran rewards and prestige powers are not affected by this, even if they have minimum levels.) The exemplar does not lose the benefits of enhancement slots gained above that level; however, all her enhancements may provide universally reduced benefits depending both on how high her actual level is and how far down she is exemplared.

Also, the character may lose some or all Invention Enhancement Set bonuses it has. See the IO Set Bonus and Special IO section of the article below for details:

Main Article: Exemplar Effects on Enhancements

PvP Zones

PvP zones (Bloody Bay, Siren's Call, Warburg, Recluse's Victory) automatically adjust a character's combat level as it enters the zone. As long as a character is above the minimum requirement to enter a particular PvP zone, his combat level will be automatically adjusted to that zone's particular combat level. This automatically breaks any existing sidekick/exemplar pairings. In addition, any character "exemplared" to the zone's maximum level still has use of powers up to five levels above the zone's level. For example, if a level 50 character enters Siren's Call (a level 35 zone), the character can use any powers it gained up to level 40.

Rewards for PvE victories in PvP zones are the same as though you were sidekicked or exemplared to that zone's combat level, as explained above. Adjustments to enhancement effects and available powers are also exactly the same.

Task Forces/Strike Forces

Task forces and strike forces will auto-exemplar any characters who are above the task/strike force's level range to its maximum level, though they won't auto-sidekick characters who are below the minimum. This functions the same as PvP zones. An auto-exemplared character may still take a sidekick and may still manually exemplar to a lower-level teammate. As in other exemplaring, the character has access to power gained up to five levels above the Task Force or Strike Force's maximum level.

Rewards for automatic exemplars are the same as typical exemplaring, explained above.

Pre Issue 16 Sidekick System

This article or section contains information that no longer applies to the current version of City of Heroes/Villains. It is provided for historical purposes.

How To

You must be on a team with the person you intend to sidekick/exemplar with. If you are in the same zone/map as the character, you can select the character in the team list, then right click and select the option in the context menu, or select the acronym below the team list. Alternately, regardless of if they are in the same zone/map as you, you can type a slash command into chat, which is explained below.

Sidekick/Lackey

A character can sidekick (for heroes) or lackey (for villains) to any character that is at least three levels higher. The higher-level character is known as the mentor (for heroes) or boss (for villains). The mentor/boss must be at least security or threat level 10. Sidekicking raises the lower character's combat level to one level below that of his mentor. The sidekick must stay within 225 feet of his mentor to retain this effect. This is often referred to as the sidekick's "leash." If he moves too far away or enters a different map, his combat level drops to his actual level until he is again within range. Note: Inside missions, going up or down elevators or through some portals may exceed the 225 foot leash, so it is common practice to send the mentor through first.

A sidekick will not gain the same rewards from defeating enemies or completing missions as a character who is naturally at his higher level. Although the sidekick's health, power strength, and chances of hitting and getting hit are altered upward to match his new combat level, he gains the experience and influence/infamy rewards he would get if the enemies were relative to his natural level. Recipe, salvage, and enhancement drops remain based on the enemies' true levels.

For example, if a sidekick fights +2 enemies, he will get rewards as if he were fighting enemies two above his natural level. If he gains a level while sidekicked, his combat level remains the same (one below his mentor's), so he will continue to be rewarded as if he were fighting +2 enemies. This is different from normal play in that leveling mid-mission while unsidekicked means enemies become relatively weaker and less rewarding. Note that the sidekick's combat level will rise if his mentor levels mid-mission, however, and that if the sidekick's actual level rises to within two of his mentor's, all effects of sidekicking end.

Sidekicking cannot be used to satisfy level requirements on task and strike forces, or hazard and trial zone borders.

The high level character must request the low level character to be his sidekick/lackey. The chat command to request a sidekick is /sidekick name or /sk name for heroes, and /lackey name or /lk name for villains. All four commands actually work in both games, so a villain can type /sk name as well.

The reward calculations for a sidekick are applied 30 seconds after accepting or dropping the sidekick relationship. This means that if a character significantly lower than the rest of his team accepts a mentor after he enters a mission, he will not receive any experience for the first 30 seconds. On the other hand, if a sidekick or mentor quits the relationship, the sidekick has 30 seconds to find another mentor before he stops receiving experience. Some players deliberately clear an entire mission other than the last glowie or minion, drop all sidekicks, then wait 30 seconds before finishing the mission, just so the sidekicks will get the maximum possible mission reward.

Exemplar/Malefactor

A character can exemplar (for heroes) or malefactor (for villains) to any character that is at least three levels lower. The lower-level character is known as the aspirant (for heroes) and minion (for villains). Exemplaring does not have a level 10 minimum like sidekicking does. Exemplaring drops the higher character's combat level to the same as her charge. An exemplared character remains at his lower level no matter how far she is from her charge or whether they're in the same zone, unlike sidekicking.

Similar to sidekicking, exemplaring adjusts the character's level for purposes of combat and causes her to gain experience as if her enemies were relative to her actual level. Unlike sidekicking, exemplaring prevents any experience that would advance the character toward her next level. All experience the exemplar would have gained goes instead toward paying off debt, if she has any, or becomes influence if she has no debt. This increase in influence has no effect on how much prestige is gained by a character in supergroup mode. Additionally, an exemplared character will not get any enhancements or normal infamy/influence rewards from defeating enemies, although she may still get enhancements as mission rewards. Recipe, salvage, and inspiration drops remain based on the enemies' true levels.

Note! It is widely believed that an exemplared character gains full normal influence rewards in addition to any extra influence he gets from converted experience. In fact, it's even stated in several player guides, both official and unofficial. This is not true. Playing while exemplared and debt-free will not result in roughly double the usual amount of influence.

While exemplared, a character loses the use of all primary, secondary, and pool powers she gained above her exemplared combat level. (Accolade powers, temporary powers, veteran rewards and prestige powers are not affected by this, even if they have minimum levels.) The exemplar does not lose the benefits of enhancement slots gained above that level; however, all her enhancements may provide universally reduced benefits depending both on how high her actual level is and how far down she is exemplared.

Also, she may lose some or all Invention Enhancement Set bonuses she has. See the IO Set Bonus and Special IO section of the article below for details:

Main Article: Exemplar Effects on Enhancements

The lower-level character must request the higher-level character to be his exemplar/malefactor. The chat command to request an exemplar is /exemplar name or /ex name; for villains the command is /malefactor name or /mal name. As with sidekicking commands, all four can be used in both games.

PvP Zones

PvP zones (Bloody Bay, Siren's Call, Warburg, Recluse's Victory) automatically adjust your combat level as you enter. As long as a character is above the minimum requirement to enter a particular PvP zone, his combat level will be automatically adjusted to that zone's particular combat level. This automatically breaks any existing sidekick/exemplar pairings.

Rewards for PvE victories in PvP zones are the same as though you were sidekicked or exemplared to that zone's combat level, as explained above. Adjustments to enhancement effects and available powers are also exactly the same. The only difference is that the 30-second delay does not apply.

Task Forces/Strike Forces

Task forces and strike forces will auto-exemplar any characters who are above the task/strike force's level range to its maximum level, though they won't auto-sidekick characters who are below the minimum. This functions the same as PvP zones. An auto-exemplared character may still take a sidekick and may still manually exemplar to a lower-level teammate.

Rewards for automatic exemplars are the same as typical exemplaring, explained above.

Common Terms

Sidekick: SK (hero)
Lackey: LK (villain)

Mentor: (hero)
Boss: (villain)

Exemplar: Ex, Exemp, Reverse SK, RSK (hero)
Malefactor: MF, Mal, Malf, Reverse LK, RLK (villain)

Aspirant: (hero, possibly villain)

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