Costumes
Overview
One of the greatest strengths of City of Heroes and City of Villains is the wide variety of costumes available to heroes and villains. The costume creator is extraordinarily deep, with customization available for all aspects of a character's appearance.
Changing a Costume
Once a character has selected his or her costume, he or she may change their selections as one of two stores. In City of Heroes, there is a chain of stores called "Icon." There are branches in Steel Canyon, Independence Port, and Founders' Falls. In City of Villains, there is a chain of stores called "Face," which has a branch in Cap Au Diable. For a fee, a hero or villain may change almost any aspect of his or her character's appearance, except for the fundamental properties of gender, body type, and height.
Capes and Auras
At level 20, a hero or villain may earn a cape. In City of Heroes, a hero should visit City Representative in City Hall in Atlas Park to undertake a mission to unlock capes. In City of Villains, a villain should call Kalinda or Matthew Burke in Mercy Island to undertake a mission to earn the right to wear a cape.
At level 30, a hero or villain may earn an aura. In City of Heroes, a hero should visit the City Representative in City Hall in Atlas Park to undertake a mission to unlock auras. Kalinda and Matthew Burke allow villains to "unlock the power of the destined ones."
Extra Costumes
At level 20, 30, and 40, a hero or villain may earn extra costume slots, which will allow a hero or villain to have more than one costume defined for himself or herself at a given time.
At level 20, a hero should visit Serge in the Steel Canyon branch of Icon to earn his or her second costume slot. A villain should visit The Facemaker in the Cap Au Diable branch of Face to earn his or her second costume slot.
At level 30, a hero should visit Lauren in the Independence Port branch of Icon to earn his or her third costume slot. A villain should visit Gorgeous Glenda in the Cap Au Diable branch of Face to earn his or her third costume slot. (She is in the room at the end of the hall that The Facemaker is standing in)
At level 40, a hero should visit Carson in the Founder's Falls branch of Icon to earn his or her fourth costume slot. A villain should visit Lovely Linda in the St. Martial branch of Face to earn his or her fourth costume slot.
During the Halloween Event 2006 players were able to gather a set of Halloween themed Event Salvage. A full set of this salvage could then be turned in to unlock an extra costume slot. This extra slot stacks with all existing slots, resulting in a total of five slots when a character reaches level 40, completes all the above missions, and unlocks the Halloween slot. After the event, players are unable to acquire more of the event salvage, but can still turn in existing sets to unlock the extra slot.
Swapping Between Costumes
Once a hero or villain has earned his or her second costume slot, he or she may switch to that costume by typing the following on the chat command line:
/cc 1
Once a hero or villain has earned his or her third costume slot, he or she may switch to that costume by typing the following on the chat command line:
/cc 2
Once a hero or villain has earned his or her fourth costume slot, he or she may switch to that costume by typing the following on the chat command line:
/cc 3
If a hero or villain has unlocked his or her fifth costume slot during the Halloween Event 2006, he or she may switch to that costume by typing the following on the chat command line:
/cc 4
To change back to his or her original costume, a hero or villain may type the following on the chat command line:
/cc 0
Note that a hero or villain must wait 30 seconds between costume changes.