Champions Online: Free for All is a superhero-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing Game (MMORPG).
Simply, anyone can play Champions Online: Free for All at no cost. No subscription is required. You don't even have to buy the game. You can download and play for free.
In the Free-to-Play model, players have the option to purchase services, items and content to customize their gameplay. These purchases expand upon an already complete experience and allow you to further customize your hero and enjoy the game in new ways. You can access this new material in the C-Store and use Cryptic Points to make your purchases.
No. However, should you wish to purchase items from the C-Store, you’ll need a valid credit card, PayPal account, direct debit or other payment method.
The C-Store is an in-game and web-based virtual goods shop from which you can purchase enhancements to your Champions Online: Free for All experience. For example, you can buy Retcon tokens (which allow you to reorganize your power choices), new costume pieces, character rename tokens, Adventure Packs, Hideouts, special devices and much more! You can view a catalog of items currently available for purchase online here or inside the Champions Online game.
To access the C-Store in-game, simply click the large "C" in the upper right-hand corner of your interface. Then, select "C-Store" to begin browsing. You may also choose the button that looks like a package on the in-game minimap.
Cryptic Points are the currency you use to purchase goods and services from the C-Store. You can purchase Cryptic Points online via one of our many approved payment methods. You do not need to purchase Cryptic Points to play Champions Online: Free for All.
Absolutely. We offer an entirely optional subscription for players who prefer it. Players who are currently subscribed will remain subscribed until they choose to unsubscribe. We call all subscribers Gold Members. Among other things, all Gold Members receive special access to costumes, powers and content that may not be available for Silver Players. Please see our Features Matrix for more details.
Simple! Silver Players are those Champions Online: Free for All players who’ve opted to play the game without subscribing. They have full access to the game, but prefer the Free-to-Play model. Gold Members are those players who’ve elected to subscribe or continue subscribing to Champions Online. Please see our Features Matrix for more details.
If you choose to subscribe or continue subscribing to Champions Online, you are automatically a Gold Member. If you're a Lifetime Subscriber, you're also a Gold Member. You may subscribe via your account management pages.
Gold Members get the same things that subscribers do today. They can create any kind of hero they want by mixing and matching powers where Silver Players cannot. Gold Members have free access to more costume parts than Silver Players. They also get free access to current and future Adventure Packs. They'll also receive a monthly stipend of 400 Cryptic Points to further enhance their gameplay. Please see our Features Matrix for more details.
Lifetime subscribers become Gold Members automatically. They will not be charged a continuing subscription fee. Basically, nothing changes for Lifetime subscribers: They continue to have complete access to the same content, items and adventures they always have.
Regular subscribers become Gold Members automatically. Subscribers are charged a regular fee based on which of the several subscription options they have chosen.
If you stop subscribing, you become a Silver Player. If you have heroes that use Gold features, you will need to convert them before playing them as a Silver Player.
See question 15 for more information.
All of the content, with the exception of the Adventure Packs, is free and open to everyone.
Your heroes are still available, but they may not use Gold features. To play them as a Silver Player, you will need to convert them before playing.
See question 15 for more information.
Characters will remain when switching from Gold to Silver. However, players will not be able to play them until either they re-upgrade to Gold or convert them individually into Silver characters in-game. Please note that we never delete character data. If a Gold Member cancels his or her subscription and decides to restart it at a later date, all of that Member's characters and associated items will be intact.
Silver Players' chat and email is rate-limited (though you would likely never see the limit if you chat or e-mail normally). They cannot use broadcast chat and may only send private messages (tells) to players who are their friends. The restrictions are in place to curtail spammers.
We intend to lift these restrictions after certain criteria is met, such as time or level.
Champions Online: Free for All adds a new way to define your hero: Archetypes. These hand-designed character progressions are built to be simple but exciting. They're based on the superheroes you know from comics. They make it fast and easy to get in and play Champions Online: Free for All. When you play an Archetype, you don't choose which abilities you acquire over time. Instead, you advance similarly to class-based RPGs. Of course, all players will still retain full control over how their character looks using our costume editor.
Players interested in complete control of their character can opt to create a custom class. Custom classes are available only to Gold Members.
To learn more about Archetypes, visit the Archetype informational pages.
Like every component of our games, the business models that drive Cryptic titles are not exempt from scrutiny; however, we have not yet made any announcements. You can always expect us to deliver continual content updates to all of our games and, going forward, to make the best decisions for our company and our community. Stay tuned!
Not at all! Think of an Archetype as a class. Nearly every major Western MMO features class-based gameplay. Champions Online: Free for All just introduces interesting, powerful classes to a player’s repertoire. We also based the Archetypes on existing superhero tropes, then tweaked them based on our beta players’ feedback to make them exciting, engaging and, most importantly, well-balanced.
You still have the option to customize your Champion in a myriad of ways. In fact, there are over 3,000 costume pieces available for free and a wealth of color choices to choose from, as well as nearly limitless sizing and body type options to select, which means there are literally millions of ways to make your hero unique.
The result is, even as a Silver Player, you can enjoy nearly all of the content available in Champions Online at absolutely no cost; the difference is you’re playing a class-based game. What’s more, you have the option to pick between a number of powers as you advance, and you can still choose advantages and Superstats that further empower your character. With that in mind, even if you choose to enjoy Archetype-based play, you’re coming out ahead of most pay-to-play MMOs.
If you compare how we offer our content to Silver Players, you’ll notice nearly the entire game is available for free. (The only gameplay content missing is access to our Adventure Packs.) You’ll be able to level from 1 to 40 without any gaps in content. Put simply: If you can walk into a zone, you can enjoy everything inside it. No mission gating, no pop-ups, no nonsense.
We want to give people the chance to experience as much of Champions Online: Free for All as possible, especially if they’re Silver Players. Obviously, we value our Gold Members, and a number of great gameplay enhancements are exclusive to them. But we’re not limiting the Champions Online: Free for All experience to them. Champions Online: Free for All is for everyone, and we’re confident once you jump in and begin playing, regardless of your status as a Gold Member or Silver Player, you’ll really love what you find.
As you progress, you’ll have the option to choose between two separate powers at various levels. This is in addition to the two travel powers you can choose.
Additionally, you can choose special Advantages for each power, which can greatly alter the effect, duration and utility of a power. And you can choose Superstats, which make certain powers more effective to even further customize your character. Even inside a specific Archetype, you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone with a character just like yours.
Learn more about the specific Archetypes here.
We're continually implementing improvements and changes and may alter the free-to-play experience significantly based on user feedback.
