Today marks the launch of the Nemesis Confrontation update in Champions Online. The new lair lets a 5-player group fight against their nemeses and face the Shadow Destroyer! The patch also adds some free costumes and Glow options, as well as introduces changes to Patrol Missions based on player feedback.

In addition, Cryptic has attempted to balance Archery powers. This means that all players who have selected abilities from this power set will receive a Retcon if they don't already have one. The full patch notes can be found after the jump.

Cryptic has just noted that in addition to releasing their new Nemesis Confrontration expansion pack for players on November 24th, they are also planning to release a new batch of costumes for players to choose from when they're figuring out their new wardrobe. It seems that the theme for this particular batch of costumes is weaponry, however, as many of the additions include hip-mounted pistols and sabres, or a variety of guns worn across a player's back. Also included with this update comes three new capes, two guitars (one acoustic, one electric) that can be worn across the back, and oddly enough, a brain-in-a-jar helmet.

Players can look through the rest of the costume additions over at the November Costumes page, and you can expect all of this to come on November 24th.

Cryptic revealed on Wednesday that the Nemesis Confrontation lair that is currently on the public test server will go live on Nov. 24, and the dev team is hosting a dev chat about the feature today at 4 p.m. PST. If that's not enough Nemesis news for you, Cryptic just announced in a press release that the update will launch alongside a free weekend of play from Nov. 26-30.

It looks like the free-to-play weekend event will be the perfect chance to check out the Nemesis Confrontation update and decide if they want to stick with the game. You can view a trailer for the lair at MMORPG.com and read the full press release after the jump.

Cryptic unveiled the details of the upcoming Nemesis Confrontation lair yesterday, which will pit players against their Nemeses and force them to confront Shadow Destroyer in a final showdown. The update is scheduled to launch on Nov. 24 and is currently on the public test server, but Cryptic has decided to also host a dev chat to give players another opportunity to discuss the feature.

The Nemesis Confronation dev chat will be held tomorrow, Nov. 20, at 4 p.m. PST. You can ask your questions in advance in this thread on the official forums. All you need to do to join the IRC chat is head over to the chat page on the Champions Online Web site.

UPDATE: Cryptic just announced that the "big feature" is indeed the Nemesis Confrontation, a new 5-man lair that pits players against their Nemeses and culminates in a final showdown against Shadow Destroyer. You can read all about the Nemesis Confrontation update on the preview page. The update launches Nov. 24 and includes new costume sets and perks.

According to a post by Daeke, Cryptic is planning to launch a "big feature" next week in Champions Online. In order to test out the feature before it goes live, the team is hosting a "secret playtest" on the test server today. "This one's not a timed event. Once it's up on the PTS, you can try it out whenever you'd like," Daeke said in a thread on the official forums.

So what's the secret feature? Well, Daeke suggested that you bring a 5-man group of level 40 players to the PTS, as well as a Nemesis (although it's not required). It's safe to say that Cryptic will be implementing the 5-player vs. 5-Nemesis dungeon that's been mentioned in previous interviews, but more details should be released today. Regardless, be sure to hop on the PTS if you'd like to be a part of the testing process.

Cryptic has launched the beta version of Champedia, a database for all Champions Online in-game data. You can use it to search for characters, super groups, missions and powers. For example, I was able to find the profile for GizmoDuck, which is Fony's awesome character from his BFF Report. I can look at GizmoDuck's inventory, powers, and current and completed missions. Check out Champedia to see what else you can find in the Champions database.

In addition, Cryptic is hosting playtests on the Public Test Server today and tomorrow to test almost three weeks' worth of bug fixes. The first event will be held today, Nov. 11, from 5-7 p.m. PST, while the second will be held tomorrow from 1-3 p.m. All participants will receive a "Crash test dummy head" costume piece as a reward for testing out the patch. Speaking of the patch, you can read the notes after the jump.

The main aspect of MMORPGs that makes the genre stand out are the two Ms: Massively and Multiplayer. Player-created events give a sense of community to any game, especially if they show off some creativity. Sure, developers can host in-game events, especially around holidays, but activities made by players demonstrate that MMOs are filled with gamers who just want to have fun.

Champions Online user Mr. Funsocks is kicking off a "Where in the World is Carmel Santiago?" weekly event this Sunday at 6 p.m. PST. It's your job to find Carmel in-game using clues, which will range from riddles to references about the history of the game. The winner will receive the pot from all the admission fees as well as 5g from Mr. Funsocks.

You can read all about the Carmel Santiago event after the jump. Do you have any favorite memories from participating in player-created events? Oh, and do you remember Rockapella? They're still touring! Maybe Mr. Funsocks can book them for the Champions Online event.

And that's a wrap, folks! The BFF Report has finished its initial four-part mini-series, and Fony has taken a look at every part of Champions Online. From CO's initial missions and character creation to some of the later game content and PvP, Fony has led us on a hilarious journey through the ins-and-outs of this recently released MMO.

If you've been following The BFF Report, make sure you don't miss the final episode of the Champions Online series. If you haven't seen the previous episodes of The BFF Report, you can see them all simply by clicking here!

And don't forget to check back in with us this Thursday to see what new antics Fony has in store for us in his next MMO excursion!

We reported a few days ago that you can try out Champions Online for free this weekend during the Blood Moon event. Well, here's your friendly reminder that the free trial period is under way! All you need to do is head over to the promo page and sign up to play Champions for free until 10 a.m. PST on Nov. 2. Check after the jump for some informational links straight from Cryptic.

If you haven't seen them yet, our new BFF Report series has followed Mike B, aka Fony, as he treks through the hero-filled world of Champions Online. The third episode was just released yesterday, so now's the perfect time to check out the series for an overview of the game before you start up your free trial.

Executive Producer Bill Roper has focused on the Blood Moon event in his newest State of the Game address, which also revealed that "Champions Online had 1 million characters created within the first month of launch!" We're happy to mention that GizmoDuck from our new BFF Report video series can be counted among that long list of heroes.

Roper emphasizes there are numerous free costume pieces available to players during the Blood Moon event to quell concerns that the addition of costume sets to the C-Store would spell the end of free in-game swag. He also says the Zombie Apocalypse map will be available in the PvP queue starting at level 5 to open it up to more players and mentioned that new mission chains for heroes levels 18-21 have opened up in Millennium City.

As far as future plans are concerned, Roper said the team is starting to work on the winter event that will go live in December and hinted that there's a "very big surprise we have in store for early 2010." You can read the full letter after the jump.