Blood Moon releases, hints of future content for Champions Online

Blood Moon is out and Cryptic is ensuring everyone knows all about what's being offered in the first free content update / seasonal event in their newest State of the Game address. First and foremost is the news that Cryptic will be keeping their promise of people being able to earn things like retcons and additional characters slots simply by playing the game. You can still buy this for cold hard- er, Cryptic Points, but it's not the only path to acquiring said bonuses.

Also, remember those new costume pieces we told you about? They're real, and really free, too -- along with a handful of other new pieces that came with the update. In addition to the pieces everyone gets from patching, there are new unlocks earned by playing Blood Moon content.

Something we're super happy to see being added here at Massively is 'Crossover' missions -- or shared missions for grouping. The feature will enable players to share missions with their teammates regardless of whether their teammate isn't eligible for or has already completed the mission. Most importantly, a hero who completes a Crossover mission earns their own separate mission reward. This is a big win for players wishing for a more socially positive experience and we can't wait to try it out ourselves.

For the future, Cryptic is working on "Flashbacks" that will allow replays of a previously completed mission. A new repeatable Lair is in the wings that reportedly features some "very special" villains, including one that's going to shock us. Also, power balances! Yep, more of these are coming soon -- but that's all we know.

Finally, the big hint of far-flung future content! It's not much but we've now got official confirmation that a December event is coming, followed by a "big surprise" in early 2010. It's as vague as could be, but it's at least nice to know several things are in fact coming soon. Let the speculation begin!