Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

Creating a build for Champions Online can be difficult with the insane number of choices a player has. Fortunately for you, your friends at Ten Ton Hammer are here to provide a quick guide for a ranged dps build to help you unleash death upon your foes from a long ways away.

This ranged dps build is based upon several power sets, primarily the munitions, archery, and fighting claws power sets. There is also a little telekinesis and force power sets sprinkled in. Why are there some fighting claws powers, you ask? Well, despite its reputation as a melee power set, there are some excellent ranged abilities as well. Please note that not every power listed will be a ranged power. There will be a couple of melee attacks as well, and to answer your question as to why, the reason is that sometimes your enemy will get up to you and you’ll need something up your sleeve.

Creating a build for Champions Online can be difficult with the insane number of choices a player has. Fortunately for you, your friends at Ten Ton Hammer are here to provide a quick guide for a melee-style tank build for your superhero meat shield.

The build for this tank is based on a few power sets, mainly the gadgeteering, force, and might power sets. There is some dabbling in sorcery and telekinesis as well. Unlike other tank builds, this build relies upon Constitution and Dexterity. Most tank builds usually build upon Strength and Constitution.

Now that Celestial power set is available for every player, your friends at Ten Ton Hammer are pleased to provide a guide to this new set. For all the healing-themed goodness, read on!

For the overview, we’ll list each power along with any pertinent information. In addition, any advantages that can be purchased for the power will be listed. The tier of the power will also be listed. Newer players may be confused by the term ‘tier’ for the powers.

Creating a build for Champions Online can be difficult with the insane number of choices a player has. Fortunately for you, your friends at Ten Ton Hammer are here to provide a quick guide for a melee dps build based upon Telekinesis Ego Blades.

The build for our melee dps hero is one of the more popular builds floating around, the TK Ego Blade build. This build relies primarily upon the Telekinesis power set, with some dabbling in Supernatural and Darkness. To begin, we’ll look at the powers and advantage points that you’ll spend on this build.

During the Blood Moon event currently playing in Champions Online, players are able to unlock the newest power set up to two weeks earlier than its scheduled release date. To do so, heroes will need to free the trapped souls of 13 undead heroes. Fortunately, Ten Ton Hammer is here to help with an overview of this mission chain plus locations!

To begin, the 13 undead heroes can be found at the portals scattered throughout Millennium City. Each hero is found at a specific portal. To save you time flying all over the city in a vain attempt to find all the portals, we have a handy map located below showing all the locations.

One thing that sets Champions Online apart is that your hero gets to fight against his own personal arch villain! Your friends at Ten Ton Hammer are here to provide an overview of the nemesis creation system in CO.

Villain. Let the word roll off your tongue. Sounds awesome, doesn’t it? Every hero needs a villain. Where would Superman be without Lex Luthor…Spiderman without the Green Goblin…Batman without the Joker? Throughout history to today, every great hero needs a mighty foe to test their mettle against, from Arthur and Mordred to Luke versus Darth Vader, villains are needed.

The Power Sets in Champions Online are designed in such a way as to be independent from one another, but that doesn’t mean Cryptic intentionally made it so players have to stick to one set and one set only. Just as there are powers in each set that compliment each other, some from different sets work wonderfully together. William “JoBildo” Murphy shares what to look for in terms of power synergy, and offers a few examples in this guide.

First time to the big city in Champions Online? Well, don’t stare at the majesty of Millennium City like a slack-jawed yokel! Your friends here at Ten Ton Hammer are here to provide a quick guide to this futuristic metropolis. Soon, you’ll be sipping lattes like a local.

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, so did Millennium City rise from the rubble of old Detroit. Once a shining beacon of industry, Detroit was destroyed by the arch villain, Doctor Destroyer, who left 60,000 civilians and numerous heroes dead in the destruction. In defiance of that fiend, a new city was built upon the ruins of the old.

Bored with cage matches in CO? Well, then step up to the next level in PvP action! The friendly folks at Ten Ton Hammer are here to guide you through this slobber-knocking free-for-all.

What is B.A.S.H. exactly, you say? Well, put simply, B.A.S.H. is a straightforward free-for-all fight. There are no teams in this battle royale. Nobody is on your side, which means that everybody is against you. It’s you, and you alone, against the world (or more specifically, a bunch of superheroes).

Have you just put down the Qularr Invasion and headed to the atomic goodness of the Southwest Desert, but are confused on where to go and when? Then sit back and relax as your friends at Ten Ton Hammer provide an overview of the fallout-laden zone.

Within the Southwest Desert, there are a number of interesting locations (called ‘neighborhoods’ in CO) that vary wildly by level. We’ll glance at each one briefly, giving you the level range the neighborhood is for, and noting if there is a respawn point located at the neighborhood.

The jaw-smashing world of Champions Online has not one, not two, not even three…but seven types currency! Fortunately, your friends at Ten Ton Hammer are here to provide an overview of the seven basic currency types in CO.

A total of seven different currency types can be daunting at first, but all the currencies have some similarities. The main differences between them is how you accumulate them (I prefer rifling through the pockets of unconscious henchmen), and what you can spend them on.

Confused by those pie thingies at the bottom of your inventory screen? Well, your friends here at Ten Ton Hammer are here to provide a basic intro to currency in Champions Online. We’ll give you the information you need to get a firm grasp on how currency works in CO.

Economics…money…bling…moolah…dinero…the invisible hand theory of John Smith, these are the backbones of superhero gaming. What? You thought that pulse-pounding excitement, bone-jarring two-fisted combat between the forces of good and evil, and the wearing of tight spandex were what constitutes a good superhero MMOG?

Cage match! Most players' first foray into PvP in Champions Online will take place in the Cage Match map for the Ultimate Tournament of Champions. This guide is here to get you in the thick of the action as quickly as possible.

The tutorial zone in Champions Online is not your typical festival of "press this button to move forward" commands. No, there's a full-scale alien invasion going on right as you enter the game. William "JoBildo" Murphy has compiled this handy little quest guide to help you either get every last detail, or to burn through the tutorial and into the real world as quickly as possible. Take a look!

There's an awful lot of content to swallow in Champions Online. Missions, quests, and perks are littered all over the place, and it's enough to keep you busy for hundreds of hours. But how do each of these categories stack up to the traditions of the MMO genre? Bill "JoBildo" Murphy has it covered.

The crafting system in Champions Online offers players the opportunity to expand their arsenal of upgrades and devices, and can even be a means of creating interesting new visual elements for many of the available powers in the game. At first glance the system can be a bit daunting, as crafting deviates from industry norms in a few key areas while still providing a fairly robust overall experience. To help players better understand what Research and Development is all about, we’ve put together a complete guide to crafting in Champions Online.

Certain instances or lairs will include interactive objects that can only be used if you have the appropriate crafting skill of the minimum required level. For example you might head into an underground bunker to put a stop to one of ARGENT’s lieutenants and have the option to disarm or even rewire the defensive weapons systems if you have a high enough Arms skill.

The crafting system in Champions Online offers players the opportunity to expand their arsenal of upgrades and devices, and can even be a means of creating interesting new visual elements for many of the available powers in the game. At first glance the system can be a bit daunting, as crafting deviates from industry norms in a few key areas while still providing a fairly robust overall experience. To help players better understand what Research and Development is all about, we’ve put together a complete guide to crafting in Champions Online.

Certain instances or lairs will include interactive objects that can only be used if you have the appropriate crafting skill of the minimum required level. For example you might head into an underground bunker to put a stop to one of ARGENT’s lieutenants and have the option to disarm or even rewire the defensive weapons systems if you have a high enough Arms skill.

The concept of character customization has been taken to unparalleled extremes in Champions Online. Not content to merely allow players to create the visual style of a hero to their liking, Cryptic has gone the extra mile to truly immerse players in nearly every aspect of what shapes their character’s overall role in a world threatened by countless supervillains.

One such means of shaping your hero is the use of Innate Talents, also known as Characteristics. While you have the option to select a pre-defined Framework for your character from the get-go, you may also build a custom framework which includes the ability to choose the exact characteristic you want your new hero to begin their adventures with.To help demystify this process for the would-be heroes among you, we’ve put together a complete guide to the innate talent options in Champions Online, as well as a brief look at the 8 core stats they’ll ultimately affect.

The crisis zones in Champions Online are like those fantastic five or six issue story-arcs from your favorite comic series of old. Last week we brought you the Crisis in Canada guide, and this week we're covering the Desert Disaster from the first steps out in the sands to the final confrontation with a radioactive super-villain.

You’ve saved Millennium City from the Qulaar invasion, not
only earning the eternal respect of the Champions, but the key to the
city from Mayer Bissell himself. No sooner have you begun to celebrate
your victory amidst a crowd of cheering onlookers than your attention
is diverted by two Champions greatly in need of your assistance;
Witchcraft and Ravenspeaker. The latter urgently requests that you aid
him with the current crisis in Canada before Force Station Steelhead is
lost to the legions of ice demons wreaking havoc in the nearby forests.



Think of the crisis zones in Champions Online
as a cool story arc spanning a few issues of your favorite comic
series, only instead of watching the action unfold with each turn of
the page, you get to be part of the action and play the hero. This
guide will provide a complete walkthrough of the Crisis in Canada, so
snap on your show shoes and grab your best zombie-whacking stick.

The launch of Champions Online is just a few short weeks away, and there's soon going to be a wealth of new verbiage and MMOG trappings to learn. Let Ten Ton Hammer help you by giving you an overview of the level-progression by zone in Cryptic's new MMORPG. Our Ultra-Awesome Leveling Flowchart will give you a very good grasp on just where you'll be fighting baddies come September!

Unlike traditional MMOGs, characters in Champions Online
need not conform to rigidly defined classes, or perhaps more
importantly, the standard roles typically associated with a class-based
system. As you progress and unlock new powers, talents and advantages,
you’re free to pick and choose exactly what path your
character will ultimately follow.



Taking things one step further, the role you assume in combat can also
be altered through the use of Builds. The system is fairly robust and
allows you to switch between offensive, defensive, balanced or support
roles at the drop of an irradiated hat. To help players better
understand the impact each of these roles can make and how they fit
into the grand scheme of builds in CO, we’ve put together a
extensive guide on all things build related.

Among other cool features, Champions Online
boasts a team of tireless scholars who chronicle your
character’s every move; from your very first meeting with the
Mayor of Millennium City to your findings on Foxbat’s
FoxBattle Bots, each and every detail is painstakingly scrutinized,
categorized and ultimately fed into UNTIL’s massive database
on superhuman activities. While we may never know the names of these
cape-less crusaders, it’s thanks to their efforts that
we’re able to earn a plethora of Perks.



Perks are a means of managing your achievements in CO, but Cryptic
Studios has taken that core concept one step further by allowing
players to use their accumulated points to purchase things like new
costume pieces, upgrades and more. We’ve put together a short
list of cool Perks you might come across in the game, so be sure to
check them out!

What do you want to know about Champions Online? We've likely got the answer right here in our Ten Ton Hammer Champions Online FAQ. We have covered a lot of the questions you may have about the game, but it doesn't end there. This FAQ will continue to be updated right through launch, so be sure to check back often.

Have a question about Champions Online that's not covered here? Ask in our forums, and we may just include it.

What do you want to know about Champions Online? We've likely got the answer right here in our Ten Ton Hammer Champions Online FAQ. We have covered a lot of the questions you may have about the game, but it doesn't end there. This FAQ will continue to be updated right through launch, so be sure to check back often.

Have a question about Champions Online that's not covered here? Ask in our forums, and we may just include it.

So you've read all about what makes PvP in Champions Online different than in any other MMO you've played. Now for the fun stuff: tips to help players get a leg up on the competition! We asked Champions Online PvP Designer James Laird and Producer Rob Overmeyer for some hints and strategies to help us get started on player vs. player pwnage, and they delivered in a big way... er, make that 10 big ways!