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Four Years and Going Strong

Som Pourfarzaneh Posted:
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Sony Online Entertainment’s DC Universe Online launched with a simple premise: allow players to create their own superheroes, with unique power sets, and romp around in iconic locations and alongside beloved characters from the DC universe.  Four years later, it’s still building on its solid launch, having already released twelve official updates and with much more on the way.  DCUO has seen additions to skills and content, feature updates, bug fixes, new storylines, and a bunch more.  In celebration of its fourth anniversary this week, we’re taking a look at how far the game has come with each of its updates, and where it’s headed next!

Fight for the Light

What better way to kick off DCUO’s update schedule than with the Lantern Corps?  Fight for the Light lets players get embroiled in a brewing conflict between the Green Lantern, Sinestro Corps, and Braniac, while adding the Coast City Alert & Duo and Sciencells Prison, along with the seventh power set, Light.

Lightning Strikes

The second DLC pack for DCUO, Lightning Strikes, is centered around The Flash, adding the eight power set, Electricity.  It also introduces the scarlet speedster’s stomping grounds, Central City, with the Flashback Duo and a bunch of electricity-inspired gear.

 The Battle for Earth

Earth is pretty cool, and the titular Battle for Earth DLC allows you to fight for it by taking the battle to Braniac’s minions in Themyscira, South Gotham, and elsewhere.  A new Alert, two Duos, and two Raids are on the ticket for this update, with the ninth power set of Earth to boot.

The Last Laugh

Heroes and Villains go head-to-head in The Last Laugh, pitting players against each other in Safe House Battles and introducing new characters like Kilowog, Power Girl, and Bizarro to Legends PvP.  It also brings in the likes of Mark Hamill, Adam Baldwin, and Arleen Sorkin to voice The Joker, Superman, and Harley Quinn, respectively, and adds a new weapon: the Shield.

Hand of Fate

Doctor Fate and Felix Faust take center stage in Hand of Fate, getting players to take on episodic Operations.  Hand of Fate also brings to the table new Side Missions, Utility Belt Attachments, and new Legends PvP Characters, including the marquis characters Doctor Fate and Felix Faust themselves.

Home Turf

Home Turf answers the requests for player housing, giving everyone the opportunity to create their own Lairs or Hideouts, along with new Mainframe combat abilities.  It also adds new high-level solo missions at the four locations of Stryker’s Island, Arkham Asylum, Steelworks, and Ace Chemicals.

Origin Crisis

What’s a comic book narrative without some sort of wrench in the space/time continuum?  Origin Crisis introduces a whole slew of time-and-space-based content, including two new Raids, four new Operations, two new solo Iconic Anomalies, Tier 5 PvE gear, and new Feats, Collections, and Trophies.  It also allows you to manipulate time and tinker with gravity with the new Quantum power set.

Sons of Trigon

Sons of Trigon drops you into a nightmare Gotham City, where you’ll find the likes of Wonder Woman, Circe, Raven, the Teen Titans, and the Fearsome Five.  It adds the new Gotham Wasteland shared zone with daily solo missions, the Mausoleum Alert, three new Duos, new gear, Feats, and Collections, and new Legends PvP characters in the forms of Cheetah and Donna Troy.  It also introduces the new Celestial power set, which specializes in healing.

War of the Light Part I

War of the Light Part I returns to the lore of the Lantern Corps and kicks off a trilogy based on everyone’s favorite power rings.  You can emulate your favorite Red Lanterns with the new Rage power set and take on new four-player Operations in Downtown Metropolis, Mogo, and Ranx, or a new eight-player Operation in Mogo/Ranx.  War of the Light Part I also offers new Lantern-inspired gear, new Feats and Collections, and new Legends PvP characters in Atrocitus and Saint Walker.

Amazon Fury Part I

The first of three DLC packs of its type, Amazon Fury Part I takes place in Themyscira and Gotham Under Siege, following the activities of Wonder Woman and the Amazons.  Adding a new shared open area, Solo Iconic Visions, a four-player Alert, and two new Duos, Amazon Fury Part I also introduces Amazon Queen Hippolyta to DCUO for the first time.

Halls of Power Part I

Halls of Power Part I focuses on a new storyline involving Apokolips, New Genesis, and League Halls.  Offering two new eight-player Raids, a new eight-player Operation, one four-player Alert, and one four-player Operation, the update also adds new Styles, gear, Collections, Feats, Base items, and six new skill points.

War of the Light Part II

Returning to the Lantern storyline from War of the Light Part I, DCUO’s most recent DLC release allows you to travel to Zamaron and Qward, introducing Carol Ferris and the Star Sapphires to the game for the first time.  War of the Light Part II also adds a ton of gameplay content, including eight-player Operations, four-player Operations, a four-player Alert and two-player Duo, a single-player Challenge Mode, and open-world solo missions.  It also offers new gear and Styles, Collections, Feats, Base items, and six new skill points.

Amazon Fury Part II

The Amazon War continues in DCUO’s upcoming DLC update, which is slated for PC, PS3, and PS4 early this year.  It will see the introduction of Ares, Hades, Cerberus, and more to the DCUO cast of characters, and will add three eight-player raids, two four-player Operations, one single-player mission, and new Feats, Collections, Base items, gear, and skill points.  Look for the second installment in the Amazon Fury storyline soon!

DC Universe Online is still going strong, and it looks like SOE has a clear plan for more updates and upcoming content for years to come.  Have you been playing DCUO since the beginning?  Let us know!


sominator

Som Pourfarzaneh

Som has been hanging out with the MMORPG.com crew since 2011, and is an Associate Director & Lecturer in Media, Anthropology, and Religious Studies. He’s a former Community Manager for Neverwinter, the free-to-play Dungeons & Dragons MMORPG from Cryptic Studios and Perfect World Entertainment, and is unreasonably good at Maze Craze for the Atari 2600. You can exchange puns and chat (European) football with him on Twitter @sominator.