DC Universe Online originally launched way back in January 2011, but it has remained a healthy entry into the MMORPG scene ever since (and just released for the Nintendo Switch!). The thrill of being your very own character in the world of DC Comics is a beautiful feeling, and the game manages to capitalize on that to great effect.
But as a new player, there is going to be a learning curve, perhaps more than a lot of other, simpler MMORPG's out there. There are a ton of different systems in DCUO to keep track of, and though it's been made a bit simpler over the years, it's still a lot to take in. Here are ten tips to get you started on your journey in DCUO:
10 CREATING YOUR CHARACTER: APPEARANCE
The character creation screen is likely where most players spend their first couple hours. There are a huge amount of character customization options, and what you have access to when you start the game is maybe one-tenth of the cosmetic options you'll unlock just by playing the game. So, if you aren't perfectly happy with how your character looks from the get-go, don't worry!
There are a ton of options you'll unlock as you progress through DCUO, and you can change your costume absolutely whenever you want, with no impact on gameplay. That said, you can't change your character's body-type or personality after creation unless you're willing to spend a few bucks to do so.
9 CREATING YOUR CHARACTER: WEAPON
Another option you'll face when creating your character is which weapon to use. Now, people will tell you that only certain weapons are viable, or that if you want to play a certain way, you have to use this weapon, etc. Don't listen to those people. Pick what you think looks fun to use, or what fits your character. As long as you're willing to put in the work to figure out how to use that weapon to its fullest potential, you can use whatever you want to get through the majority of the content in the game, even in the early end-game levels.
However, if the picked weapon ends up not hitting the spot, or if you'd like to have some options, there is the option to change your character's weapon type after they've been created. This involves reallocating your skill points, which we'll get into later.
8 CREATING YOUR CHARACTER: POWER/ROLE
The next important decisions you'll be faced with when creating your character is which power you would like to use. To talk about that, we'll need to talk about the roles, a little bit. For those new to the MMO scene, there are three standard roles in these games: Damage Dealer, Healer, and Tank. Plus, DCUO has another role unique to it: Controller.
Damage Dealer's do exactly what it sounds like; they're responsible for dealing the majority of the damage in the group. Any power is capable of being a Damage Dealer (though some may argue that point).
The Healer role is pretty straightforward, too; they're responsible for keeping the group alive. Their power revolves around healing lost health for themselves and teammates, and in some cases, preventing that health from being lost in the first place. Each healing powerset accomplishes this in a unique way. Power sets capable of being a Healer are Nature, Sorcery, Electricity, Water, and Celestial.
The Tank's job is to attract (and keep) the attention of enemies (along with being responsible for a bit of crowd control, too). This means they're going to be taking a ton of damage, and a lot of the Healer's time is going to be spent keeping an eye on the Tank to make sure they're doing alright. Each Tank power has a different way in which they keep themselves on their feet, some of which are very unique. Power sets capable of being a Tank are Fire, Ice, Earth, Rage, and Atomic.
The Controller's job is to both keep their teammate's power bars full so everybody can do their jobs, along with debuffing enemies, stunning enemies, and occasionally buffing allies. Controlling used to be a fairly involved task, but in recent years, it's been simplified a bit. Controllers often dictate how a fight is going to play out, and if they're not doing their job, no one else can do their respective jobs, either. Power sets capable of being a Controller are Gadgets, Mental, Light, Munitions, and Quantum.
7 UNLOCKING POWERS
Powers unlock naturally as you level up in the game. On your journey through levels 1-30, you'll continually unlock new powers until you've unlocked every power available to your power set. To change which powers are available to you, go to the loadout screen, and select which ones you would like in your Hotbar.
You can have six powers equipped at the same time, though certain power sets, like Light or Celestial, may be able to use more than six because of their ability to chain powers together.
6 LEVELS 1-30
Levels 1-30 in DCUO are like a large, extended tutorial. Each of these missions can be accomplished solo, though you can certainly team up with friends to do them if you'd like. These missions will teach you the basics of the game, as well as start several of the storylines that will gain importance later on.
5 SKILL POINTS
Skill points are unlocked both by leveling up and each time you gain one-hundred feat points. Feat points are gained by doing little extra challenges throughout the game, such as completing a mission in a certain time-frame, by exploring an entire section of the open world, by collecting all of a certain style set, and a whole lot more.
Skill points can be spent to unlock more weapon combos, and to upgrade your characters stats incrementally. Each skill point on its own isn't going to upgrade your character by a lot, but after a few weeks of playing the game, you'll start to get quite a few of them.
4 LEAGUES
Leagues are player-created groups that usually play the game together. Players have control over their League's name, have their own League base, and can even create/customize their own League Hall.
As a side note, individual characters can have their own customizable bases as well!
League's form the backbone of a lot of the active player-base in DCUO, though it's certainly not required that you join/create a League.
3 END-GAME CONTENT
Once you hit level thirty, you'll begin to play through the end-game content in DCUO. This includes Solo Missions, Duos, Alerts (Four-Player Instances), Raids (eight-Player Instances), and Ops, which can be either four or eight-player instances.
There is a staggering amount of end-game content. As you keep playing and progressing, you'll constantly unlock access to more and more content to play through.
2 COMBAT RATING
Combat Rating is what dictates which content is available to your character. The better your gear, the higher your Combat Rating. Buying better gear means earning Source Marks, and Source Marks are earned by running through almost any end-game content.
This way, whatever content you prefer to do, you can do, and you'll still continually be upgrading your character and unlocking new content!
1 PVP
Not a lot of players are into PvP in DCUO, but PvP is an absolute blast to play. There are PvP phases, where you can fight any player of the opposing morality in the open-world.
PvP content includes Legends Matches, where you play as one of many different possible heroes or villains in the DC Universe, and Arena Matches, where you play as your character.