The Blood Moon Rises October 27th
There is a chill wind blowing through Millennium City. It's late October and the moon has taken on a sinister aspect, staining the sky a bloody red. The superhero Witchcraft, of the Champions, warns that this is a dire portent of an approaching mystical threat. There have been sightings of strange creatures emerging across the world, those of savage werewolves and flesh-craving zombies. Even worse, they bear with them the tidings of a great evil returning to the world... Takofanes, the Undying Lord!

When Takofanes last strode across North America he killed all who crossed him to swell the ranks of his undead army. The first attempt America's superheroes made to stop him resulted in the death of half a dozen of them. A second more concentrated attempt managed to drive Takofanes from the battlefield, but he could not be defeated. Now Takofanes has returned once again with hordes of his minions, citing prophecies of doom and proclaiming his coming reign over humanity!

Blood Moon will be available to all players from October 27th through November 10th. Here's a preview of some of the things you'll be seeing:

New Power Set: Celestial! Our first new power set being added to Champions Online, Celestial is a support and healing based set with dual-purpose abilities.
Dawn of the Undead Heroes! Takofanes has trapped the souls of the Heroes who fell during the Battle of Detroit and are commanding them to spread ruin across Millennium City! Players who can save all 13 Undead Heroes will unlock the Celestial power set two weeks before anyone else!
BITE! Players will have the chance to join the Wolf Hunters and rid the land of the abominable Werewolves. However, falling to one of the beasts will force you to rise under the curse and become one yourself.
Rise of Takofanes! The Undying Lord has risen, and is appearing throughout Millennium City. Those who are strong enough to defeat his retinue will receive unique perks and rewards only available during the Blood Moon event.
Zombie Apocalypse! A brand new PvP map is here to stay! Survive as long as you can as endless waves of zombies approach, but beware, because those defeated will rise as a zombie and become the enemy.

Greetings, Champion!

We’ve got some big news we wanted to share with you right away.

Beginning Q1 2011, Champions Online will offer a free-to-play gameplay option. Everyone can download, play and enjoy Champions Online at absolutely no cost!

All you’ll need to do is download the game and begin playing. It will be a great opportunity to head back to the Champions universe to see what’s changed, spend time with your friends and enjoy a top-tier MMO without spending a dime.

We’re sure you have a lot of questions. That’s good! We’re looking forward to working with you to answer them. Right now, we’ve set up a new short FAQ (http://www.champions-online.com/f2p_faq) and a special Q&A forum(http://forums.champions-online.com/foru ... .php?f=175) to begin answering your more in-depth questions.

We plan on entering our free-to-play beta on November 9, and to launch the new, free-to-play version of Champions Online in the first quarter of 2011. We can’t wait to grow the game with you, and we hope you’re as excited as we are!

As always, thanks for your continued support. We’ll see you in Millennium City!

-The Champions Online Team