Me, AI and Sidekick Make the Ultimate City of Heroes Build!

Can AI actually build a GOOD City of Heroes character? Today we're putting that question to the test. I'm working with ChatGPT to create a brand-new City of Heroes: Homecoming character from the ground up using CoH Sidekick — starting with nothing more than an Archetype, powersets, and an idea for how the character should play. But this isn't "AI, give me a build." We're developing a repeatable system for AI-assisted character creation that begins with a **mechanical thesis**. What is this character actually supposed to DO? From there we'll work through: • Character concept and gameplay identity • Archetype and powerset synergy • Power selections from levels 1–50 • Pool and Epic/Patron powers • Incarnate abilities • Enhancement slot allocation • IO sets and procs • Attuned vs. boosted enhancements • Enhancement Diversification • Global defense, recharge and endurance targets • Set-bonus breakpoints • Build budget and efficiency • CoH Sidekick/SKIF validation • Name, origin, costume concept and backstory The goal isn't to optimize every power independently. We're trying to optimize the **character as a complete system**. That means asking questions a real build designer asks: Is the sixth piece of that IO set actually worth another slot? Would a proc contribute more? Could two +5 boosted enhancements accomplish nearly the same job as three ordinary IOs after Enhancement Diversification — freeing a slot for something more important? Should an IO be attuned so a lower-level set can scale upward and remain useful while exemplared, or boosted to maximize its level-50 performance? Are we chasing a set bonus because the BUILD needs it, or just because six-slotting a set looks complete? And most importantly: *Does every major build decision reinforce the reason we created this character in the first place?* We've already used this process experimentally to build **Project R.A.D.I.U.S.**, a Traps/Radiation Defender designed around one central idea: *FRONTLINE ERODER* Instead of simply maximizing damage, RADIUS enters the enemy formation and progressively dismantles its ability to fight — stacking -Defense and -Resistance while traps, radiation, control, knockdown and other mitigation keep the kill zone under control. That test taught the AI some important lessons. A good CoH build isn't just a collection of expensive IO sets. Set bonuses are **breakpoints, not trophies**. Slots are a scarce resource. Procs should have a purpose. Attuned vs. boosted is sometimes an **individual enhancement decision**, not a decision made for an entire power. Incarnates should reinforce the build rather than rescue a bad one. And sometimes maximizing one power actually makes the complete character worse. We've turned those lessons into a contained *CoH Character Builder Project* with its own instructions, reference material, validated Sidekick builds, and an evolving Build Design Manual. Each new character gets its own development thread, but the AI can draw upon the building methodology we've established through previous testing. And when we discover something new — an interaction involving Enhancement Diversification, proc behavior, pseudopets, exemplaring, Sidekick compatibility, SKIF formatting, or something we simply got WRONG — that lesson gets incorporated into the methodology for future builds. That's important because the AI isn't getting a free pass. If it recommends an enhancement a power can't take, we're calling it out. If it misunderstands a proc, we're testing it. If I make a bad assumption, we're correcting that too. And if something involving Homecoming's mechanics can't be established confidently from the available data, we're going into the game and finding out. The long-term experiment is bigger than today's character: *Can we develop an AI-assisted City of Heroes character designer good enough that other players could eventually use the same system?* Today we find out whether what we learned building RADIUS transfers to a completely new hero. Concept → Build → Sidekick → Character. Let's see what the AI comes up with.