View source for Account

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== Overview ==
An '''account''' is required to play City of Heroes Freedom. There are several types of accounts, each offering access to a different set of features in the game. The two primary types of accounts are '''Free''' and '''VIP'''. Additionally, Free accounts are further subdivided into '''Free''' and '''Premium''' accounts. Players of such accounts are known as '''Free Players''', '''Premium Players''', and '''VIP Players'''.

== Account Types ==
=== Free ===

A Free Player is a non-subscription account holder who has never spent money on City of Heroes. Free Players have extremely restricted in-game options, much like the Trial Account had prior to the release of City of Heroes Freedom. As soon as a Free Player spends any money on City of Heroes, their account upgrades to Premium Player. Note that it is impossible to downgrade from a Premium Player back into a Free Player.

Trial Accounts from prior to City of Heroes Freedom launch will be treated as Free Players when logging in.

Free Players are also colloquially referred to as ''freebs'', ''freeps'', ''freeks'', ''freems'', and ''freemies''.

=== Premium ===

A Premium Player is any non-subscription account holder who has ever spent money with [[NCsoft]] on the [[City of Heroes]] product.  VIP Players whose subscriptions lapse turn into Premium Players. Premium Players may have limited access to some game features and systems. It is impossible to downgrade from a Premium Player to a Free Player.

Premium Player account status is an intermediary access tier in the hybrid model adopted when [[City of Heroes Freedom]] launched, between Free Players and VIP Players. Premium Players include, but are not limited to:

* Players joining the game as Free Players after [[Issue 21]], who have purchased points through the [[Paragon Market]]
* Players joining as Free Players after Issue 21, who subscribe (with [[Game Card]]s, [[Game Time Cards]], or by applying a retail code) and then let their subscription lapse
* Returning players who applied a retail code to their account, subscribed to the game, or applied a game time card, at any time in the game's history, but do not renew their subscription after Freedom launch

The features and systems available to Premium Players compared to VIP Players are very strongly and directly tied to the [[Paragon Rewards Program]].  See also [[Reward Token#Converting from Veteran Rewards Program|Converting from Veteran Rewards Program]].

Premium Players are also colloquially referred to as ''preems'', ''freemium'', and ''premies''.

=== VIP{{anchor|vip}} ===
[[File:Icon vip.png|left]]
A VIP Player is a subscription account holder in good standing. Any form of subscription counts for VIP status, including monthly payments, paying for blocks of time, and free months included in box sets. VIP Players get 400 [[Paragon Points]] for free each month they are subscribed, to make purchases from the [[Paragon Market]]. VIP Players have little restriction within the game, especially long-time subscribers, as the [[Paragon Rewards Program]] awards a lot of the unlockable content for free over time. Additionally, any player who had an account prior to the release of City of Heroes Freedom still has access to any [[Veteran Rewards Program|Veteran Rewards]] they may have accrued.

VIP Players that unsubscribe for any reason are downgraded into Premium Players, and must adhere to any restrictions placed on them due to their new designation, although any purchased or rewarded unlockable piece is still available even if normally restricted from Premium Players (e.g. purchased character slots, costumes or powers awarded through Veteran Rewards or Paragon Rewards).

VIP Players are also colloquially referred to as ''veeps'' and ''elites''.

=== Changing ===

There are several ways to change an account's type:
* Free accounts become Premium accounts by making any purchase on the Paragon Market
* Free and Premium accounts become VIP accounts by purchasing a VIP subscription
* VIP accounts become premium accounts by allowing their subscriptions to lapse

Note that it is impossible for Premium and VIP accounts to be downgraded to Free accounts.

Any purchases made on the Paragon Market are retained even if the account type changes from Premium to VIP or from VIP to Premium. Any purchases made prior to the release of City of Heroes Freedom (such as [[Super Booster]]s, Mission Architect Story Slots, and directly purchased Character Slots) are also retained if the account type changes.

== Account Features ==
Accounts have access to a wide variety of game features depending on the type of account, the account's Paragon Rewards status, and any made on the Paragon Market.

=== For Free ===
All accounts have access to the following core features.

* Access at least 8 [[Archetypes]] ([[Blaster]], [[Brute]], [[Corruptor]], [[Defender]], [[Dominator]], [[Scrapper]], [[Stalker]] and [[Tanker]])
* At least two [[Global Character Slot Token]]s across all [[servers]] (details on the Global Character Slot page)
* Create [[costumes]] from billions of combinations
* Play as a [[Hero]] or [[Villain]] up to [[Level]] 50
* 105 [[Power Set]]s
* Join [[Supergroup]]s
* Edit [[Supergroup Base]]s
* Play in 45 different game [[Zone Overview|zones]]
* Access to Local, Team, Help, Pets, Friends, League, Arena, Leveling Pact, Looking for Group, Emote, and Architect [[Communication Channels]]
* Reward drops including small [[Inspirations]], [[Enhancements#Training Enhancements|Training]] (TO), [[Enhancements#Dual-Origin Enhancements|Dual-Origin]] (DO), [[Enhancements#Single-Origin Enhancements|Single-Origin]] (SO) and [[Special Enhancements|Special]] [[Enhancements]]
* Receiving [[Mail System|email]] (not sending)
* [[Inf]] cap of 25 million inf per character
* Limited inventory
* Ability to buy anything from the [[Paragon Market]]
* Read the [[Official Forums]]
* Support by [https://help.ncsoft.com/ Knowledge Base] and [mailto:support@ncsoft.com email]

=== Paragon Rewards, VIP Status ===
The following features can be earned as part of the Paragon Rewards program. Additionally, VIP accounts automatically have access to all of these features.

* Access to all of the communication channels and ability to join [[Global Chat Channels]]
* Inf cap up to 2 billion per character
* Send and receive [[Mail System|email]]
* [[Mission Architect]] [[Mission Architect License|License]] (varying levels of access)
* Ability to earn [[Merit Rewards|Reward Merits]]
* Ability to earn [[Vanguard Merit]]s (subject to [[Vanguard Merit#Prerequisite|prerequisites]])
* Medium and large [[Inspiration]] drops
* Increased [[Invention System Capacity]]
* Player-to-player [[The Players' Guide to the Cities/Trading|trading]]

=== Paragon Rewards, Paragon Market, VIP Status ===
The following features can be earned as part of the Paragon Rewards program or purchased from the Paragon Market. Additionally, VIP accounts automatically have access to all of these features.

* [[Invention System]] (30-day [[Invention License]] through Paragon Market; permanent access through Paragon Rewards and VIP)
* [[Auction House]] (30-day [[Auction House License]] through Paragon Market; permanent access through Paragon Rewards and VIP)
* [[Controller]] and [[Mastermind]] archetypes
* Additional character slots
* Post in "All Access" sections of the Official Forums

=== Paragon Market, VIP Status ===
The following features can be purchased from the Paragon Market. Additionally, VIP accounts automatically have access to all of these features.

* [[Peacebringer]], [[Warshade]], [[Arachnos Soldier]] and [[Arachnos Widow]] Archetypes
* [[Alignment]] system access
* [[Praetoria]] access
* Praetorian Character Creation
* Going Rogue Power Sets: [[Dual Pistols]], [[Kinetic Melee]], [[Electric Control]], and [[Demon Summoning]]
* Going Rogue [[Costume Sets]]

=== VIP Status Only ===
The following features are available to VIP accounts. These features are unavailable to Free and Premium accounts.

* Access to [[Incarnate System]] content, powers and drops
* Access to Exalted, the [[Servers|VIP Server]]
* Ability to create or moderate [[Global Chat Channels]]
* Interact with the [[Super Group Registrar|SG registrar]] (create [[Supergroup|SGs]], pay [[rent]], exchange [[inf]] for [[prestige]], server's top SG list)
* Ability to access Tier 9 VIP exclusives within the [[Paragon Rewards Program]]
* Post in any forum of the Official Forums
* Priority [[Issue 16#Queue Server|server queueing]]
* Premium in-game customer support
* 400 Paragon Points per month (or 550 per month, with [[Paragon Rewards Program#Tier 8 Bonuses|Rewards Tier 8]]), awarded monthly on the player's renewal date; these stack with themselves and any purchased points
* One Server Transfer per month, awarded on the first of the month; these stack with themselves and any purchased server transfers
* One [[Reward Token]] for every month of paid VIP subscription, awarded at the end of each subscription month

== Notes ==
* Free and Premium Players cannot get rid of the Paragon Market icon, even if they have it disabled in options.
* Both Free and Premium accounts are listed as "Free" on the NCsoft account management website.

== See Also ==
* [[Reward Token#Converting from Veteran Rewards Program|Converting from Veteran Rewards Program]]
* [[Trial Account]]

[[Category:Gameplay]]