The City of Heroes Issue 19: Strike Pack update is now live! In a continued commitment to new content, CoH brings two major new features with this update: the Weekly Strike Target, and the Rare and Very Rare Alpha Slot Abilities.

"Every Tuesday, we will announce a new Task Force and Strike Force, or a co-op Task Force, as the weekly Strike Target. Completing the weekly Strike Target will reward a one-time gift of double merits and a bonus to XP. While these bonuses are only rewarded once-a-week, completing the weekly Strike Target multiple times will earn progress towards three new badges for helping other teams."

For full details on the latest update, check out the City of Heroes official site.

NCsoft has announced that City of Heroes will be making a return appearance at PAX East next month in Boston, MA. The experience was so positive last year that the team is excited to come to the East Coast again.

CoH will bring with them panels, prizes and plenty of chances to hang out with representatives of the developer and community teams from Paragon Studios. CoH meet and greets just wouldn't be the same without giveaways, so players who attend the event will be rewarded with their choice of one of the following costume powers:

      • Meat Doctor Costume Inherent Power
      • Rikti Mentalist Costume Inherent Power
      • Praetorian Police Costume Inherent Power
      • Ghoul Costume Inherent Power
      • Freakshow Boss Costume Inherent Power
      • Carnival of Shadow Harlequin Costume Inherent Power
      • PPD Hardsuit Costume Inherent Power
      • Praetorian Clockwork Costume Inherent Power
      • Knives of Artemis Costume Inherent Power
      • Carnival of Shadows Ring Mistress Costume Inherent Power

Will you be stopping by the City of Heroes booth at PAX?

It's almost Springtime in Paragon City and NCsoft is gearing up for the City of Heroes Spring Fling event. From February 10 through March 6 co-op teams missions will have players venturing to the Well of the Furies, retrieving Aphrodite's girdle, and stopping a dimension-hopping goblin. There are various costume pieces to unlock, badges to earn, and temporary powers to be bestowed!

Also, don't forget that Double XP weekend is currently going on now through Sunday, January 31! Earn twice the experience points when you defeat opponents or complete missions.

City of Heroes is nearing its seven-year anniversary. To celebrate the occasion, Paragon Studios will be rewarding their loyal players. Each player who maintains an active, uninterrupted account from February 1 at 12:01 a.m. EST through April 18 at 11:59 p.m. EST will receive a set of special rewards for their loyalty to Paragon City, The Rogue Isles, or Praetoria. All eligible players will have these rewards unlocked on their account on April 28, which is the game's seventh birthday.

Reward items include a new chest emblem, new badge, the Loyalty emote (shown above), and the Vanguard booster pack that will unlock Vanguard constume pieces and features for your character. So log in now and keep that account active to receieve your rewards from City of Heroes!

NCsoft has announced that City of Heroes will be hosting a double XP weekend starting Thursday, January 27 at 9:00 am PST. The event will go on through Sunday, January 31 at 11:59 pm PST.

Power up through Praetoria, Paragon City, and the Rogue Isles, and earn twice the experience points when you defeat opponents or complete missions. Stock up on caffeinated beverages, because it's gonna be a long weekend!

As part of its New Year's Resolution to keep City of Heroes players informed, Paragon Studios has kicked of a new series of monthly producer's letters. Senior Producer Jesse "Ghost Falcon" Caceres announced today that he is stepping into a new role at Paragon on the business team, although he will still be working on City of Heroes. He then introduced Producer Nate "Second Measure" Birkholz as the author of these new monthly letters.

Birkholz covers a lot of ground in his letter. He looks ahead toward Issues 20-21 and announces that a double XP event will be held from Jan. 27-31. He also emphasizes that the City of Heroes team will be even more active within the community via the forums, Facebook, dev diaries, Q&As and more.

You can read Birkholz's full letter after the jump.

NCsoft has announced that to keep the New Year celebrations going the City of Heroes Winter Event has been extended for 4 weeks. The event will now end on January 30 at 11:59pm PST. If you thought you had missed out, you're still in luck! Players can continue to enjoy all the holiday shenanigans including stopping Lady Winter's plot to freeze the world, visiting the Ski Chalet and racing to win prizes, unlocking snowflake emotes and winter-themed costume pieces, and earning special badges.

So head on over to CoH and keep the festivities going!

Ready for a change of scenery in City of Heroes? Well, you're just in time as the City of Heroes 2010 Winter Event will begin on December 17 and continue through January 2. Players will be able to help stop Lady Winter's plot to freeze the world or visit the Ski Chalet and race to win prizes. Players can also unlock snowflake emotes and winter-themed costume pieces, and also earn special badges.

So get ready to deck the halls in Paragon City, the Rogue Isles and Praetoria during this year's Winter Event!

Do you want to have a costume code that will make your City of Heroes character look like a Coralax? Then you better keep an eye on the game's forums, Facebook page and Twitter account for the next 12 business days!

Starting today, Paragon Studios will be giving away blocks of Coralax costume codes in the CoH forums and on the game's social media sites. The codes will be given out at random times, so you'll just have to check back regularly for a chance to win. The costumes will be posted every weekday through Dec. 23, so there's still plenty of time to grab one. Good luck!

Two City of Heroes players have proved the old adage "love conquers all" to be true through their recent engagment event. According to an article by The New York Post, the unique real world and in-game proposal of Alexander "Strongwall" and Maria "Gaia Stormsoul" was everything the couple had hoped for and more.

Alexander contacted Paragon Studios with his idea to propose to his girlfriend, who is also a CoH player. The team came up with an elaborate event in which a huge bad guy needed to be slain using the power of love. Alexander then asked Maria to marry him in-game, and also got down on one knee in real life. The CoH community was incredibly supportive of the events taking place in Atlas Park that day. The team at Paragon was excited to participate and come up with the event.

And in case you're wondering, Maria said yes! Congrats to the happy couple and a job well done to Paragon Studios for their incredible support! Head on over to The New York Post to read a comic by Alexander outlining the event.