The concept of character customization has been taken to unparalleled
extremes in
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/co" target="_blank">
style="font-style: italic;">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 listing of innate talent
options in Champions
Online, as well as a brief
look at the 8 core stats they’ll ultimately affect as
described below. For a more in depth look at stats and how they relate
to your character's overall power in-game, be sure to check out our
beginner's guide,
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/co/guides/new/stats"
target="_blank">Feeling Mighty: Statistics in
Champions Online.
-
style="font-weight: bold;">Constitution
– Improves a hero’s hit points -
style="font-weight: bold;">Dexterity
– Improves a hero’s critical hit chance
and the chance to avoid attacks -
style="font-weight: bold;">Ego
– Improves critical hit severity, hold strength, and
breaking from intangible holds -
style="font-weight: bold;">Endurance
– Affects a hero’s maximum energy and
rate of energy generated from fighting attacks -
style="font-weight: bold;">Intelligence
– Affects the damage done by a hero’s
pet, power cooldown length, and stealth detection -
style="font-weight: bold;">Presence
– Affects the amount a hero heals and the amount of
threat they generate -
style="font-weight: bold;">Recovery
– Sets the hero’s equilibrium and
increases the rate of energy generated from fighting attacks -
style="font-weight: bold;">Strength
– Improves knockback, knockback resistance, breaking
from tangible holds, and the pick-up and throw ability
Innate Talents
While character creation offers a robust list of suggested frameworks
based on the 18 available power sets in the game, players can also opt
to create a custom framework. Once you’ve selected an energy
builder and base attack power from the available options, your next
step will be to choose from a list of 9 innate talents that provide the
basis for your starting stats.
The advantage here will be that you’ll be able to really fine
tune your starting stats as opposed to each of the standard frameworks
which come with the Prodigy innate talent that gives you a base
increase of 8 to all but Endurance and Recovery which receive 6 each.
Each of the core stats will still see an increase, though by shifting
their focus to different specialties it allows for a more clearly
defined character.
It’s also worth mentioning that by creating a custom
framework, you’ll still have the same options available in
terms of energy builders and attack powers, though you gain the benefit
of picking the characteristic more suited for the type of hero
you’re trying to create. For example, if you know
you want to
build a character focused on the Might power set you can start out by
selecting Beatdown and Clobber for your initial powers, but then you
can pair them with an innate talent like The Hard Target for a small
boost to your starting hitpoints, energy, damage potential and
avoidance.
The following chart lists each of the Innate Talent options available,
along with which stats receive an increase and a basic description of
what type of hero the talent is best suited for. Beneath the
descriptions, I’ve also included suggestions of which core
frameworks the talent synergizes well with.
style="font-weight: bold;">
I
style="font-weight: bold;">
N
style="font-weight: bold;">
N
style="font-weight: bold;">
A
style="font-weight: bold;">
T
style="font-weight: bold;">
E
style="font-weight: bold;">
T
style="font-weight: bold;">
A
style="font-weight: bold;">
L
style="font-weight: bold;">
E
style="font-weight: bold;">
N
style="font-weight: bold;">
T
style="font-weight: bold;">
S
valign="undefined">NAME
valign="undefined">DESCRIPTION and SUGGESTED
FRAMEWORKS
The
Hard Target
+10
Constitution
Dexterity
Endurance
Strength
+4
Ego
Intelligence
Presence
Recovery
DESCRIPTION:
High health and nimble feet combined with hard hits and the endurance
to deliver makes this character a Hard Target in more ways than one
SUGGESTED
FRAMEWORKS:
Dual Blades
Fighting Claws
Single Blade
Martial Arts
Might
The
Heavy Hitter
+10
Constitution
Endurance
Intelligence
Strength
+4
Dexterity
Ego
Presence
Recovery
DESCRIPTION:
Mixing endurance and health to spare with a solid punch and a tactical
mind, this character will hit you hard, hit you again, and won't stop
'til the job is done
SUGGESTED
FRAMEWORKS:
Gadgeteering
Power Armor
Might
Darkness
The
Intimidator
+10
Ego
Intelligence
Presence
Strength
+4
Constitution
Dexterity
Endurance
Recovery
DESCRIPTION:
Stronger than you and smarter than you, this character knows you better
than you know yourself, and won't back down. Will you?
SUGGESTED
FRAMEWORKS:
Power Armor
Telepathy
Sorcery
The
Powerhouse
+10
Constitution
Endurance
Recovery
Strength
+4
Dexterity
Ego
Intelligence
Presence
DESCRIPTION:
More health, more endurance, more often - along with a good chance to
knock you on your keister - makes this character the battery of the
bunch
SUGGESTED
FRAMEWORKS:
Electricity
Might
Darkness
Supernatural
The
Perceptor
+10
Dexterity
Ego
Intelligence
Presence
+4
Constitution
Endurance
Strength
Recovery
DESCRIPTION:
A quick mind augments quick reactions and give this character all that
is needed to tackle any situation with decisive efficiency
SUGGESTED
FRAMEWORKS:
Archery
Munitions
Telepathy
Sorcery
The
Prodigy
+8
Constitution
Dexterity
Ego
Intelligence
Presence
Strength
+6
Endurance
Recovery
DESCRIPTION:
The picture of balanced perfection, this character is the
Jack-of-All-Trades, master of none, though often better than the master
of one
SUGGESTED
FRAMEWORKS:
Each standard framework comes with this innate talent, though it can
still be an excellent selection for players wanting to select their own
starting powers yet want to keep their stats spread a bit more evenly
across the board
The
Savant
+10
Ego
Intelligence
Presence
Recovery
+4
Constitution
Dexterity
Endurance
Strength
DESCRIPTION:
Thoughtful and calculating, this character makes short work of all
problems, mighty and minute
SUGGESTED
FRAMEWORKS:
Fire
Telepathy
Sorcery
The
Stalwart
+10
Constitution
Dexterity
Presence
Recovery
+4
Ego
Endurance
Intelligence
Strength
DESCRIPTION:
Whether toe-to-toe or on the move, this character has the tenacity and
resolve to never back down
SUGGESTED
FRAMEWORKS:
Fire
Ice
Supernatural
The
Untouchable
+10
Dexterity
Ego
Endurance
Recovery
+4
Constitution
Intelligence
Presence
Strength
DESCRIPTION:
Whether slipping free of holds or avoiding attacks altogether, this
character is a difficult one to lay hand, paw, pseudopod, or power
blast on
SUGGESTED
FRAMEWORKS:
Electricity
Force
Ice
Munitions
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Champions Online Game Page.
