On the second anniversary of the end of the Rikti War, the cursed Statesman and his lackey Positron are looking to the future. The mighty Lord Recluse himself advises that Destined Ones would do well to pay close attention to their schemes by clicking here.

Soon, the forces of good and evil will collide in a recursive future as they battle over Recluse’s Victory. Each victory or defeat will bring the reality of this alternate Atlas Park one step closer to “true time”. It will be up to the heroes of Paragon City to defeat Lord Recluse time and again, making a future free of Arachnos ever more real until it finally takes hold and denies all other conclusions. Meanwhile, the villains will strive to litter Atlas Park with the broken bodies of their hated foes and secure tomorrow for themselves.

Now, Lord Recluse calls on all villains of the Rogue Isles to take part in this epic battle that will determine the very fate of the future. Read the transcript of Lord Recluse’s radio address below…

While creator Scott Kurtz has been taking a little time off, he’s had a few guest artists and writers taking care of PvPonline. The last couple of days have seen Greg Holkan and Eric Burns take the reins, with a couple of strips taking a light-hearted look at the appeal of playing the bad guy for a change. You can see them here and here.

The City of Heroes and Villains roadshow is returning to the the Bristol Comics Expo for Year Two, with the chance to meet the City of Heroes community crew and get your CoH/CoV characters drawn by top professional artists - while donating to charity! What more could you want from a weekend?

Our community team, including Bridger, Amboss and Midoh, will be on hand to hand to talk to players, hand out prizes and generally hang out - as well as play a few games of the City of Heroes trading card game. If you’ve got a question about CoH/CoV or just want to meet fellow players, this is the place to be.

When: Saturday 13 May – Sunday 14 May
Where: British Empire Hall & Commonwealth Exhibition Hall – Bristol (map)
How Much: Adults: £6 for day tickets, £12 for the weekend. Children 11-16: £1 per day. Children 10 and under: Free, if accompanied by an adult.

Read on for full details…

Good news for all aspiring super villains in Denmark - Arachnos is continuing its search for new Destined Ones with the May issue of pcplayer magazine, which features an exclusive 14-day free trial for City of Villains!

The full game client is included on the cover-mounted DVD, with 14-day free trial code on the back of the DVD cover. Full instructions for installing the game and creating a trial account can be found inside the magazine.

If you have any questions or need help with the game, be sure to visit the New Players section of the Official Message Boards, where many of our long-term players will be happy help. For a complete step-by-step guide to creating an account (and downloading the client, if you have any problems with the DVD), try our Free Trial page.

Gamers in Spain may still have time to grab a free trial with the April issue of Micromania, while those in the UK, Sweden or Norway should click here for details of free trials in their countries.

The second instalment of MMORPG.com’s five-part interview with City of Heroes and Villains Lead Designer Matt ‘Positron’ Miller takes a closer look at Ghost Widow, one of four Patrons that high level villains will be able to choose betwen in Issue #7: Destiny Manifest:

MMORPG.com Is there a common theme to the powers that Ghost Widow bestows?

Matt Miller: Her powers are best described as Soul Mastery. You tend to use the souls of your victims, past and present to create effects and powers to make more victims of your carnage. It’s kind of like the circle of life, only completely opposite.

You can read the full article here, and MMORPG.com also has some exclusive new shots of the powers bestowed by Ghost Widow, which can be seen here and here.

(If you missed the first part of the interview, you can read all about it in our earlier news story.)

Looking forward to causing some chaos and malicious property damage in Paragon City with Issue #7’s Mayhem Missions? Then head over to Eurogamer to see a video of these villainous rampages in action! Click here to see the video.

The chaps at MMORPG.com recently conducted a comprehensive interview with Matt ‘Positron’ Miller, Lead Designer of City of Heroes and City of Villains, which will be published in five parts over the coming weeks.

In the first chunk, the questions focus on the new Patron system for high level villains that’s a major feature of Issue #7: Destiny Manifest:

MMORPG.com: What exactly is a patron power?

Matt Miller: A Patron Power is a power in a power pool that is granted by one of the four lieutenants of Lord Recluse; Ghost Widow, Scirocco, Captain Mako, or Black Scorpion. They are themed power pools that tie directly in to the backstory and powers of the person who grants access to the pool.

You can read the full article on MMORPG.com by clicking here.

Soon, our mighty Lord Recluse will authorise brokers across the Rogue Isles to send Destined Ones to Paragon City on missions of chaos and destruction. Find out more in our latest Issue #7 Feature Update.

As Project Destiny approaches, Lord Recluse has called upon to the Fortunatas to search for Destined Ones with deadly new powers and abilities.

Find out more about the new Power Sets that will become available to villains in Issue #7 in our latest Feature Update...

As we announced earlier this week, the current issue of PC Gamer (No. 161) features a 14-day free trial of City of Villains, with the full game client on the cover-mounted DVD. Unfortunately for any potential Arachnos recruits in the UK, though, it turns out that there is a problem with the DVD and the client will not install correctly.

The good news is that our elite Arachnos boffins have come up with no less than four solutions to the problem! If you have the current issue of PC Gamer and have had any trouble installing the client for the free trial, read on for details…

Under the ever-watchful eye of Lord Recluse, the Arachnos Propaganda Section has continued its recruitment drive across Europe by securing deals with three of the finest PC gaming magazines from Sweden, Norway and the UK. Gamers from these countries who feel the call of the dark side should read on to find out how to secure an exclusive 14-day free trial of City of Villains…

The time approaches, and battle is near. Head over to the City of Heroes site for full details!

Disturbing news has reached us. It appears that the underhanded boffins of Paragon City’s D.A.T.A. organisation have resorted to industrial espionage in an attempt to improve the life of their heroic allies with improved visual systems based on Arachnos designs.

Furious at this impertinence, our mighty Lord Recluse ordered the activation of a sleeper agent at D.A.T.A., who has supplied us with schematics of the improved communications and status systems they intend to distribute to the cursed heroes at the same time. Both will become available for the use of all Destined Ones upon the release of Issue #7: Destiny Manifest. For details, check the D.A.T.A. Memo over at the City of Heroes site.