Paragon Studios made a couple of exciting announcements today for City of Heroes fans. The team just revealed that Issue 17: Dark Mirror will launch this April and introduce a major graphics enhancement and new content to the game. The "Ultra Mode" setting will improve lighting, reflections, shadows and water effects. You can view some before and after comparisons in our screenshots gallery.

Issue 17 will also give players "a new and nefarious foe who will be able to match them blow for blow." Other features will include new badges, new missions, new emotes, Epic Archetypes at level 20, Mission Architect improvements, and enhancements to UI and game systems.

In addition, Paragon announced that players who pre-order the Going Rogue expansion beginning March 2 will get immediate early access to the Dual Pistols power set, and access to the Demon Summoning power set starting in April. The beta begins this spring, and Going Rogue is scheduled to launch in July.