The sun was beginning to set, and shadows covered the city. Looking towards the light left you squinting at the glare, and looking away left you searching the darkness to see anything at all. It was the time when things changed and every corner seemed primed to hide something or someone.

It was the perfect time to find some criminals, Lightforge could feel it in his bones. He was back to leaping between rooftops, eyes open for any and all crimes that might give him some experience. He’d passed a couple of mobs of heroes wandering the streets below, but he had no interest in joining them.

In principle, they had a sound strategy. Groups inherently brought safety, after all. In a world where death wasn’t just on a screen, such things had a habit of jumping up the priority list. But it also meant that no individual would be getting much experience, even with the dozens of crimes going on.

For his part, Lightforge preferred to be efficient and actually get credit for all of his takedowns. He just had to be more careful about which crimes he went after. More than once he’d nearly jumped in before noticing figures hiding in the shadows, just waiting for a stupid hero like him. Since he’d already fallen for that trap once, he forced himself to walk away.

The next rooftop that he landed on was much like all the others. Loose gravel slipped under his feet and some even crushed under the weight of his landing. He jogged lightly over to the edge to look down and survey the area. Just across the street was a pawn shop that was already locked up for the night. It was probably a good target for thieves.

There was a quiet click behind him, and a gruff voice said, "Turn around slowly, [BLEEP]."

The last word was rendered inaudible by the unmistakable sound of a censored curse.

Huh. Apparently the automatic language filter still worked. This was an odd first thought to have in this situation, but Lightforge couldn't help himself. It was the first thing that came to mind.

He played it safe and raised his hands as he slowly turned to see who was talking to him. His attention was instead pulled to the honest-to-god bazooka that he found pointed at him. In fact, he was staring right down the barrel.

Well, shit. He really, really didn’t want to die again already. He forced his eyes away from the weapon and looked at the man behind it. He looked lithe and strong, with an outfit that looked like an armored military uniform but with camo in shades of white and red. His entire head was covered except for the eyes, which were glaring at Lightforge through the sights of the weapon.

Lightforge didn't dare speak. After a moment the stranger said, "Show me your status screen."

With the barest hint of a nod, Lightforge called up the screen and turned it towards the other man. The man read over the contents in moments, visibly relaxing as he did so. He nodded and finally lowered the bazooka.

"Sorry about that," the stranger said, "Though I admit I'm a little disappointed."

"Oh really? You have a thing for blowing people up, I guess?"

"Nope, but it would have been some really easy XP if you were a villain. And that's not something you find around here often, in case you hadn't noticed."

"Yeah, I've noticed. You’re like me, right? Someone who got sucked in from the real world?"

"Of course I am. Did you really think it was just you?"

"No, of course not. I just haven’t really talked to anyone yet. Nothing around here makes sense. Heroes act like mobs and old Mr. Flaherty is a real [BLEEP] now."

"True, though I can't really blame him. He gets harassed a lot by newbies."

"So there’s really no new missions?”

"Not anymore. Any that open get completed within minutes. And with so many low-level heroes running around, villains spend weeks planning so much as a purse snatching."

“Are you sure about that? Seems like there are crimes around every corner.”

“I’m talking about players, not NPCs. Though the situation right now is still a little different from normal.”

"This sucks. I thought I was done being a noob in this game. I'm Lightforge, by the way. And you are…?"

"Oh, right. Call me Cannoneer. I get it. I've been here for about two months, and I’m still learning about all the differences."

"Wait, what? I've only been here two days, and you've been here for months already?"

"Yup. A few newbies show up about once a month. No clue how long it’s been happening, but rumor has it that the old timers have been here at least a year."

Lightforge felt his stomach drop into a bottomless pit. Dark thoughts ate at the edges of his mind, and they shot to his mouth before his brain could review them.

"You're kidding! That's absolute [BLEEP]. I mean, come the [BLEEP] on!"

"Wish I had better news for you. Anyway, you're kind of in my spot. If you could kindly move?"

Lightforge blinked in surprise, shocked out of his stunned fury. He did as he was asked, moving to one side to make space for Cannoneer at the roof's edge. The other man stepped up and hauled his weapon up onto his shoulder, taking aim at the pawn shop.

Lightforge winced and said, "Ok, now I feel like I need to check your status screen. Because that looks extremely suspicious."

Cannoneer didn't even turn as he called up the screen and turned it to face Lightforge.

Name: Cannoneer

Alignment: Hero

Level: 5

Powerset 1: Weapon Specialist (RPG)

Powerset 2: Enhanced Durability

Huh. No details. Nothing had seemed different about the way the other man had pulled up the status screen. Maybe the system had a default privacy setting? It was hard to say with only one sample. Of course, his attention quickly shifted from what the panel didn’t say to what it did.

"Wait… You're only level 5. In two months. I figured that XP would be hard to come by, but that's just…"

"To be fair, I get a lot of penalties for how I resolve crimes in progress."

Before Lightforge could respond, an alert appeared in front of him at the same moment he heard the bazooka fire. He ignored the notification and turned to look down onto the street below. He looked just in time to see a pair of crooks clearing glass from the broken window of the pawn shop. Other heroes were already darting out of their own hiding places to intercept, but none was fast enough.

Cannoneer's rocket exploded right next to the criminals in an eruption of fire and sound that shattered windows up and down the street. The light and heat was intense even on the rooftop, and Lightforge was forced to look away. When the smoke cleared, the crooks were definitely down for the count, as were a couple of the faster capes who’d been too close.

There was also a much larger hole in the front of the store than there had been a moment earlier. Ah, so that’s what he meant.

Under most circumstances, collateral damage and friendly fire reduced the amount of experience you got from an encounter. It was a common problem with area of effect specialists like Cannoneer, especially at lower levels. It took time to unlock the more specialized options.

Lightforge whistled at the sight of the destruction beneath him. For a low level character, it was an impressive sight. He looked over to where Cannoneer was grinning to himself, smoke still trailing off from the back of the bazooka he was holding.

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Cannoneer was still smiling as he finally looked over and said, "That's what I was talking about. I don't have any non destructive options, but I am pretty quick on the draw. It tends to balance out eventually."

"Right," Lightforge said, "But it looked like you were just waiting for the crime to start."

"I was. I've met enough NPCs to start getting tips, and this was one of them. They don't always work out so well, though."

"You blew a hole in a building."

"Yeah, but I got the bad guys. It'll have to do, especially with this piece of crap weapon."

Lightforge raised an eyebrow at that. It wasn't a common sentiment around weapon specialists, who tended to treat their weapons more like pets than tools. Then again, he hadn't gotten a choice in his powerset, so that was probably true of the other players too.

"What do you normally play?" Lightforge asked, "I'm guessing it's not Specialist."

"Nope. Blaster/Regen is my usual specialty. I like to style myself as an unkillable sorcerer smiting my foes."

"Sounds like a sweet build. But I'm guessing that you haven't upgraded your weapon yet, have you?"

"Uh, no. Didn't know that was an option."

"Yeah, I figured. Specialists get a big boost in starting power, but the cost is that they have to upgrade their equipment on top of leveling themselves."

"That sucks. How am I supposed to do that?"

"For today, you're in luck. I can do it for you."

"Right… That's what your Gadgeteer ability is all about, right?"

"Got it in one."

Without even being asked, Cannoneer handed over his weapon for Lightforge to take a look. As soon as he touched it, his Gadgeteer ability, Inspect, kicked in and started listing information about it.

Name: Stovepipe Rocket Launcher

Type: Projectile Weapon

Level: 1

Quality: Common

Base Power: 10

A simple rocket launcher lauded for its dependability and power.

Ammunition Types:

* Explosive

* Incendiary

Repair: Not Available

Tune-Up? Yes/No

Upgrade? Yes/No

Lightforge whistled softly, thinking of the damage this thing had managed even at level 1. Unlike characters, equipment couldn’t level up on their own. They required maintenance and adjustments to become more powerful. That was what the tune-up option would do. Of course, Cannoneer could do that himself once he was shown how.

Upgrades, on the other hand, were a Gadgeteer’s specialty. There were NPCs scattered around who could do it too, but the material cost was higher. So he went to the upgrade option and touched the Yes command, and a second window opened on top of the first:

Upgrade

Requirements:

* 3+ small gears (any type)

Result:

* Apply pending weapon experience

* +1 ammunition type (based on material selection)

Success Rate:

* 100%

Proceed? Yes/No

His eyes never left the screen but he asked, "Do you have three small lightning gears?"

Cannoneer grunted and said, "Let me check… No. I've got two and one standard gear. Does that work?"

"It should. Hand them over."

Cannoneer complied, pulling out three gears each of which weren’t much bigger than the nail of Lightforge’s thumb. Lightforge stood there, weapon in one hand and gears in the other. Finally he reached out and touched 'Yes' on the upgrade screen.

Two panels opened on the side of the weapon, just above the trigger. The first was a mess of wires and switches that represented the poor, inefficient state the thing was in. The second had slots that would perfectly fit the gears that Cannoneer had provided.

There was a brief flash of yellow light as the gears came together and merged into one. He slid it into its slot and closed that panel. When he looked at the other panel, he was at a loss. He had no idea what to do with any of the little wires and circuits that he was looking at.

And then he did. He knew exactly what the problem with this weapon was. Where the circuits needed to be streamlined and where unnecessary components should be removed. The knowledge simply appeared in his mind, and his hands immediately set to work. In moments, he closed that panel as well, and a small notification appeared in front of him.

You have successfully upgraded a weapon.

+15 XP (85 to next level)

The rocket launcher didn't look any different, so Lightforge reactivated his Inspect skill to check it's stats:

Name: Stovepipe Rocket Launcher

Type: Projectile Weapon

Level: 3

Quality: Common

Base Power: 19

A simple rocket launcher lauded for its dependability and power

Ammunition Types:

* Explosive

* Incendiary

* Shockwave

Repair: Not available

Tune-Up: Not available

Upgrade? Yes/No

He nodded at the improved abilities and handed the weapon back to Cannoneer. The other hero took it with a nod and inspected it himself, eyes bulging as he saw what it could now do. He let out a low whistle and said, "Damn. Now I feel bad about insulting it. Thanks."

"No problem. That new ammo should act like a taser, so you shouldn't need to blow up buildings next time."

"That's awesome. Guess I'll need to keep you around to keep working on this thing, huh?"

"While I would appreciate the XP, you can do it yourself if you need to."

Lightforge explained the process to Cannoneer. The computer terminals in their base were equipped to do weapon upgrades, though they weren't as efficient as going to a specialist. They were best for Tune-ups, which didn't require any special skills or material costs.

Once he'd walked Cannoneer through the process, Lightforge smiled as the other hero was finally the one confused by the new information presented to him. The military-themed hero finally nodded and said, "Thanks, I had no idea. But how about I add you to my friends list just in case. It's just a guess, but I think it'll come in handy."

"Sure thing. I'd offer a team-up, but I don't think our abilities would mesh particularly well."

"Don't be so sure about that. With a little forethought, there aren't many combinations in this game that don't work."

"I guess I'll take your word for it on that one. I was never much into the hardcore mechanics stuff. I'm in it for role playing."

"Fair enough, to each their own. But at least be smart about it. There are some real evil pieces of [BLEEP] out there. I know more than one hero who's been jumped."

"Yeah… now you know another one. I tried to stop a mugging and got swarmed."

"Welcome to Chancery Hills. This area is mostly alright. The real problem is Decker Row."

Lightforge didn't need a map to picture the two neighborhoods. They were two of the starter areas of the game, so everyone got to know them pretty well. Which one you started in didn't really matter, especially since the missions didn't work anymore. They should have been the same. He said as much to Cannoneer.

Cannoneer nodded and said, "I'm sure it was in the beginning. But now? New villains have completely taken over the Row. Supposedly, it's so bad that the businesses there won't even give XP for criminals anymore."

Lightforge whistled to himself. He'd been playing the game long enough to remember when that mechanic had been added. A few self-proclaimed "genius villains" made a guild and turned a couple blocks of the city into their own personal fortress. They didn't go on missions or fight heroes; they just robbed the same stores and assaulted the same NPCs over and over again.

They had thought that the developers wouldn't do anything. After all, wasn't it the heroes' fault if they let a section of the city fall to anarchy? Technically, yes, but most players didn't play a superhero game to participate in long, drawn-out sieges to break down an enemy encampment. There were plenty of other games out there for that itch.

In the end, it didn't last a week. The developers rushed out a patch that reduced the experience gained by villains for every crime attempted within a five block radius over the previous 48 hours. Overnight the geniuses' XP farm became useless. And while villains regularly established territories in town, none had ever become so chaotic that they triggered the patch again.

At least until now.

"Woah. So they have the numbers to keep us out, but they have to venture out to actually level up? Sounds dangerous."

"It is. Any other week, and there would be skirmishes in the streets. They try to ambush us, we set up juicy targets to catch them in the act. It turns out that sticking to a roaming mob is easier than coordinating a carefully thought out criminal scheme."

"So… literal war? That sounds just wonderful. What makes this week different?"

Cannoneer raised a finger and pointed right at Lightforge. "You," the other hero said, "More specifically, all the new arrivals like you. Remember how I said we get more once a month? Well, whenever that happens, the city changes. Missions don't reset, but NPC crimes go through the roof and overcriminalized areas get fixed up as good as new. For three or four days, we don't have to risk fighting other players to level up."

Lightforge's head was back to spinning. It was a lot to take in; this was why he'd stayed away from the player–versus-player side of the game. The strategies and metagame were constantly changing at a speed that he simply couldn't keep up with. This was why he'd preferred the role playing side of the game; all you had to think about was what your character would do.

He wouldn't realize it until later, but in that moment, Lightforge made a decision. While he would inevitably have to deal with the conflict going on around him, he wasn't going to seek it out. He had no interest in fighting battles in the streets. Especially since Gadgeteer gave him the option of leveling up in other ways.

Lightforge thanked Cannoneer for the information, and they parted ways. Despite the other hero's confidence, Lightforge wanted to get more comfortable with his abilities before pairing up with someone. And he could always reach out when he inevitably needed help. All together, it had been a good day, but he still needed to get to work catching bad guys and learning to use his own powers.