by Jin Lovelace, HSM team writer & filmmaker

I’m starting to see why DC Universe Online is a great sandbox for some startling ideas, and has became one of the greatest MMO experiences to ever release for the PlayStation.

A recent update saw over 2,000 fixes, a graphical update, a retake on the campaign modes, script rewrites, and tons more to even list here that spells out awesomeness. It all points to the sign of great success, thanks to the team at Sony Online Entertainment (SOE). DCUO is now practically a new game, with a fresh look and a bold approach for new and veteran players alike.

SOE had a lot on their shoulders when it came to this update along with the PS4 launch, and have listened to every single detail and suggestion through their weekly community outreach shows such as Friday Night Legends. Earlier this year we were graced with the hype build-up when DLC 8 “Sons of Trigon” were announced, where we finally get to see the Teen Titans in the spotlight as we are allowed to traverse around the mucky terrain that is Gotham’s Wasteland where Trigon’s sons have finally claimed the prestigious City their abode. We were introduced with a power (Celestial) that gave us a unique twist on healing and dealing solid damage, and a tougher challenge in the DLC’s Raids and Alerts; some that are “tapping out,” and demand for a difficulty nerf. I seriously don’t blame them.

So now with the sweet offerings thanks to Game Update 31, what’s next for DC Universe Online? What can we look forward to in the upcoming updates and how is it going to impact the community? According to Ted “Mepps” Stone, they can now move onward to concentrate on some of the upcoming DLC content and game updates, as well my expectations and thoughts on what’s to come.

Game Update 32

For the past year I’ve subjected myself to nothing but a lot of complaining on how the Player vs. Player content in DCUO has been nothing but flat and disappointing. I’m a PvP player per se, but one can sympathize on how much boredom can hit a player before either moving on to PvE content or simply just stand around the streets of Little Bohemia to fight against fellow heroes.

What else is interesting is that this year saw two respective updates on four core powers of DCUO: Gadgets, Mental, Ice, and Fire. We saw not only improved visuals on the powers but also some revamping of movesets that were deemed unnecessary for the player role or simply useless. While we simply ate the eye-candy up and started going back to the default power sets, we all wondered when would Sorcery and Nature would start receiving some of the love.

Sorcery Powers at work in the alert “Oan Scientiis”

With Game Update 32, we’re looking to finally seeing the much-anticipated healer update of Sorcery and Nature powers and PvP Season Two, along with the yearly holiday seasonal event. For those who are looking forward to the Healer role update, the focus will be more on gameplay changes rather than the visuals, though I personally think nature could receive a graphical update. As a fan of the Sorcery power set, I strongly feel there are a few powers that were rather useless and were heavily reliant on your demonic pets than damage alone. While I’ve no qualms giving burst heals to my teammates, I feel there’s little to no battle benefits when I’m just throwing Circle of Protection while spamming the Square button for eight seconds, activate Boon of Souls, spam the Square button once more, wash, rinse, and repeat.

Even with my time on the Nature powers — as many heralded the set for being absolutely incredible for its healing potency — it feels held back, with a few powers that are either useless or far too boring to use. Granted, Nature complements other healer powers and it’s true shine is the Pheromone ability, which amplifies heals significantly.

While I’m not experienced with the latter powers, the former is something I’m looking forward to playing with again. Right now (if you were to log into DCUO), you’ll see the majority of the Healers recently are that of Celestial users, mainly because it give the players a fresh take on healing your party based on the damage dealt, while supplying heals-over-time, and burst effects, which you can combo into other damaging moves to dish against your opponents. I’m not stating that Sorcery should be that much involved, but I wish for some damage interaction while in my healing role.

As for the PvP Season 2, this is something that struck my interest immensely. This season will see new gear, new styles, a one-level cycle down on the top gear available and removal of lockouts on PvP. This means there are no limits on rewards received, or what you queue yourself into. Tired of seeing ludicrous prices going for Recovery Kits to remove your mods that took you nearly two weeks to grind? Well, now you can play to your heart’s content to luck out on a few for yourself. While I’m sure this isn’t the team’s entire intent, the removal of PvP restriction is going to see some major traffic.

This also means now you can approach the game the way you see fit, be it you’re an Arena competitor or a Legends player (the latter being my favorite), both that can net you Marks that you could put towards your next gear piece. How this will play out will remain to be seen; however, while I’m sure there will be some catches to how you earn your said Marks, what if Mepps said holds to its original statement? We’re looking at a complete revival of Player vs Player mode, and the streets of Gotham and Metropolis will never be the same again.

This December: Armories

Ever since the Armories announcement, I’ve never thought too much of it as nothing more but a gimmick since the Utility Belt Trinket had been introduced — until I found how useful it was.

Then it dawned on me on how this new feature will allow you to save your setups of your styles, power and skill point selections, and even your gear set. There will also be a visual representation of your styles you have currently loaded out and you’ll be able to switch them on the fly, at any time!

As an avid player that creates as many styles for this game as I do for Home, this is going to be yet another huge feature awaiting in the midst this December. What’s more is that if you’re experimenting with new loadouts and power sets, then you could save your original set up and switch to your heart’s content, with no monetary penalty on your count on respecing your powers and skills, which will add so much convenience to veteran players when testing new powers. And did I mention that your gear and styles will be visually presented in your Base? Do I seriously need to tell you how much I am going to take advantage of this feature, like a rabid child on Christmas day, when it comes out?

A recent mech design by the author

DLC 9: War of the Light, Part 1

As excited as I am on the aforementioned announcements, War of the Light part 1 will be DCUO’s very first mini-series DLC that will unveil a comic tale involving the Blue and Red Lanterns. Nothing much is said about the DLC or its contents aside from the teases that Creative Director Jens Andersen would relay to the community on the bits and pieces regarding on the cast, the settings, and how it will affect the imagery around the city of Metropolis.

There have been heavy rumors revolving around the Blue and Red Lantern powers to be the next set to be revealed next month, and judging from the collective, all signs are pointing towards that it’s happening, especially from a recent source by YouTube user and DCUO player Balkan DCUO that stumbled upon some Base items that weren’t supposed to be available via the Vendor.

Blue Lantern teaser

Red Lantern teaser

I’m with them when I say I’m all excited about playing with yet another Lantern power, if this holds true to the rumors. As much as what’s purveyed in the videos I can honestly say I take the information with a grain of salt, and for good reason. For one, the Hard Light powers offers a great set of abilities that you can combo and give power to your party members. The power interactions are superb and plays very much like what you would see in a comic or an animated movie featuring the cast that wields the Green Lantern powers. With so many choices on other powers in the DC universe, I just don’t see the Blue Lantern powers to be anything original or add anything new to the tank role, as I never saw them to be such a said role in the first place.

This holds true to the Red Lanterns, as they don’t create any constructs whatsoever, so I’m not grasping onto the idea of this rumor to be anything less (or more) true than to what the videos might say or the teases thrown at us. For me, I’m staying neutral until the formal announcements.

But, to be honest, this winter season is going to be a busy one when it comes to the MMO, and I can’t wait for the unveiling of the updates and the launch of DLC 9.

Source: https://www.dcuniverseonline.com/news/archive/dc-universe-online-winter-plans-2013

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