The Players' Guide to the Cities/System Requirements
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Today, almost any Windows/Linux/Mac computer can run the game effectively; the main exception is that performance on built-in Intel 3D graphics chips can be poor.
System Requirements
| System Requirements for Homecoming: City of Heroes as of January 2024[1][2][3] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Requirement | Minimum[4] | Recommended | Ultra Mode |
| Operating System | 32-bit: Windows XP SP2/Vista/7-10 64-bit: Windows 8.1 or 10 |
Windows 10 (32- or 64-Bit) | Windows 10 in 64-bit Mode Windows 11 (64-Bit Only) |
| Processor[5] | Intel Celeron/Pentium (Pre 2022) Intel Processor (2023-present) or AMD A- and E-Series |
Intel Core i-Series (Pre 2023) Intel Core Series (2024-present) or AMD Ryzen or Apple Silicon (M1-M3 and all variants) |
Same as Recommended Spec |
| Memory | 2GB (32-Bit Win XP) 4GB (32-Bit Win Vista+) |
4GB (32-Bit) 8GB (64-Bit) |
16 GB |
| HDD | eMMC/PATA (platter HDD) SATA Gen I-II |
SATA III | NVMe (or similar embedded HDD tech) |
| Graphics | Integrated Graphics:[6] Intel UHD Graphics (2021-2023) AMD Radeon HD Graphics |
Integrated Graphics:[6] Intel Xe/Iris Xe (2020+) AMD Ryzen Vega or Navi Graphics (2018+) -OR- Discrete Graphics: NVidia GTX Cards with a Tens Digit above 5 (2012+) AMD R5/R7/R9/RX Cards with a Tens Digit above 5 (2013+) Intel Arc A500 Series |
Discrete Graphics: NVidia GeForce RTX (2020+) Cards with a Tens Digit above 6 AMD Radeon RX 5000+ (2020+) Cards with a Hundreds Digit above 6 Intel Arc A700 Series |
| Internet Connection | Always-on Broadband (DSL with at least 3Mbps symmetrical) | ||
| Controls | Keyboard and Mouse | ||
Notes:
- ↑ Circa 90% of laptops sold above $300 since 2018 meet these requirements.
- ↑ Linux systems are more likely to need to meet the above requirements; systems that do not meet the minimum requirements may have issues starting the client.
- ↑ The Homecoming: City of Heroes installer is not distributed physically and hence there is no need for an optical drive.
- ↑ At a minimum, hardware that was sold during 2012 should still work today. Minimum specs are not guaranteed to last indefinitely; as Microsoft sunsets support for various libraries and 32-bit support, expect this target to move away from 2012 hardware as the 2020s goes on.
- ↑ Apple Mac hardware has the same tech requirements with the following caveat: MacOS Mojave is the last version of Mac to support 32-bit apps, therefore HC Launcher must use 64-bit client from MacOS Catalina forward. (Using 32-bit Mac hardware is no longer advised, since the last security update to OS X Snow Leopard was in 2011.)
- ↑ a b All integrated graphics systems will 'take' RAM from the system to perform their work, so expect less system RAM available than the spec.
Historical (pre-2012) requirements
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.
As with most actively developed software, the system requirements for City have gradually increased over time. Below is a copy of the specs recommended on the NCsoft website.
Note that an optical drive is not actually required. The Game Client can be installed entirely via download as well.
Specifications
Windows
| Requirement | Minimum | Recommended | Ultra Mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows® XP/Vista/7 | Windows® XP/Vista/7 | Windows® XP/Vista/7 |
| Processor | Intel Pentium® III 1 GHz or AMD Athlon 1 GHz | Intel® or AMD Dual Core processor | Intel® or AMD Dual Core processor or higher |
| Memory | 512 MB RAM | 2 GB RAM | 4 GB RAM |
| Optical Drive | CD-ROM Drive (if original) DVD-ROM Drive | DVD-ROM drive | DVD-ROM drive |
| HDD | 4 GB available hard disk space | 6 GB available HDD space | 6 GB Available HDD Space |
| Graphics | NVIDIA® GeForce 2 Series, ATI™ Radeon® 8500 Series, or Intel i810G and above Video Card | NVIDIA® GeForce FX 5600 Series (or higher), ATI™ Radeon® 9600 (or higher) | NVIDIA® GeForce 8 Series (or higher), ATI™ Radeon® HD 2000 Series (or higher) |
| Internet Connection | Broadband | Broadband | Broadband |
| Input Devices | Keyboard and mouse | Keyboard and mouse | Keyboard and mouse |
- For ATI based video cards, the Catalyst 10.8 drivers and higher are recommended to correct FSAA and Ambient Occlusion issues.
Macintosh
| Requirement | Minimum | Recommended | Ultra Mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Mac OS X 10.5.5 Leopard | Mac OS X 10.6.3 Snow Leopard or higher | Mac® OS X 10.6.3 Snow Leopard or higher |
| Processor | Intel Core Duo Processor | Intel Core Duo 2 Processor | Intel Core Duo 2 Processor |
| Memory | 1 GB RAM or more | 1 GB RAM or more | 3 GB RAM or more |
| HDD | 5 GB available HDD space | 5 GB available HDD space | 6 GB available HDD space |
| Graphics | ATI™ Radeon® X1600 or NVIDIA® GeForce 7300 GT with 128MB of Video RAM, or X3100 Intel integrated graphics chip | NVIDIA 7300 GT (or higher), ATI X1600 or higher, X3100 (or higher) Intel integrated graphics chip (Intel GMA950 not supported) | NVIDIA GeForce™ 8800 Series (or higher) or ATI® Radeon® 3870 (or higher) |
| Internet Connection | Broadband | Broadband | Broadband |
| Input Devices | Keyboard and mouse | Keyboard and mouse | Keyboard and mouse |
- City of Heroes is compiled to work on Intel/AMD Processors. However, it has been tested and works on Apple Silicon running Rosetta 2. (At the time of this writing, M1 through M3 processors and all Pro, Max and Ultra variants.)