DC Universe Online (DCUO) players will be able to research and develop their own upgradable mods starting today. Game Update 8: Research & Development is now live, bringing the new Salvage option and Research & Development system for players to find items and develop their own upgradable equipment and consumable mods.

Starting at level 10, DCUO players can speak their faction’s Research & Development contact at either the Watchtower or the Hall of Doom for an introduction to the new system. By collecting the needed Exobit items to create Exobytes, players can create new mods or consumables capable of healing and providing a buff.

Game Update 8: Research & Development is available as a free download to all DCUO players. You can download the game and play for free via the DCUO website.

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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/226405" title=""> src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/226405" alt="DCUO Watchtower" width="200" height="113" style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px; height: 113px;" />	href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/226406" title=""> src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/226406" alt="DCUO Exobit Gathering" width="200" height="113" style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px; height: 113px;" />	href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/226407" title=""> src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/226407" alt="DCUO Watchtower R&D" width="200" height="113" style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px; height: 113px;" />

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/226408" title=""> src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/226408" alt="DCUO R&D UI" width="300" height="171" style="border: 0px solid ; width: 300px; height: 171px;" />

DC Universe™ Online Introduces Research & Development System in Eighth Game Update

Game Update Also Adds Role-Less Mode for Group Combat Alerts

WHAT: Every hero (and villain) needs a finely-tuned arsenal to succeed, and now DC Universe Online has just the right system! All DCUO players now have access to the all-new Research & Development (R&D) system. This new system allows players to create new and powerful items.

Research & Development brings Equipment Mods -- a new type of item that will socket into players' existing gear to give them a stat and combat rating increase. Players can use different Equipment Mods to increase various stats, allowing them to further customize their gear to suit their needs. In addition, players will be allowed to make superior consumables that not only restore health and power, but also provide a stat buff.

Upon reaching level 10, players will be directed to their respective faction's R&D contact in the Watchtower or Hall of Doom for an introduction to the R&D system. R&D parts, Stations and Vendors can be found throughout the game so that no matter what players do, they will be able to make use of the new system.

There are four elements of this system, including:

• Finding and Researching: Plans to create Equipment Mods to upgrade gear and consumables can be collected throughout the world.
  
• Gathering: Throughout the open world (including Gotham City, Metropolis and Central City), players (1-30) can find exobytes and other items.
  
• Salvaging: Players can turn unused, uncommon or rare items into crafting materials, and they can recover a rare item and create a useful piece of new equipment.
  
• Collecting: Bosses will drop useful ingredients such as Focusing Elements and Plans throughout the game.

WHEN: The Research & Development game update is now available as a free download for players at all three access levels: Free, Premium and Legendary.

DC Universe Online is licensed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainmenton behalf of DC Entertainment. For more information about DC Universe Online, visit: www.DCUniverseOnline.com.

About DC Universe Online

Lex Luthor has traveled back through time with news of a dire future: While the heroes and villains spent years battling amongst themselves, Brainiac has been feeding on their powers, building strength to return to Earth and destroy humanity. To change the future, Lex has come back to set off a device that bestows super powers to thousands of every-day citizens and give humanity a fighting chance. Can Brainiac be stopped, or is this another nefarious Lex Luthor plot?

For the first time, players and fans will be able to enter the DC Universe as an active force for good or evil. A massively multiplayer experience, DC Universe Online delivers unparalleled high-energy, physics-powered combat that brings the player's extraordinary powers to life.

DC Universe Online was created in the artistic vision of legendary comic book artist Jim Lee, and set within a world created by famous DC writers including Geoff Johns and Marv Wolfman.

Rated T for Teen with Mild Blood, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes and Violence, DC Universe Online is available for PC and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. DCUO Legendary access is available for a $14.99 monthly fee. For players of the PC version of the game, Legendary access to DCUO is included in the all-in-one SOE All Access subscription.

About SOE

Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) is a recognized worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online games. Best known for its blockbuster hits and franchises, including EverQuest®, EverQuest® II, Champions of Norrath®, PlanetSide®, Free Realms®, Clone Wars Adventures™ and DC Universe™ Online, SOE creates, develops and provides compelling online entertainment for a variety of platforms. SOE is building on its proven legacy and pioneering the future of online worlds through creative development and inspired gameplay design for audiences of all ages. To learn more, visit www.soe.com.

SOE, the SOE logo, EverQuest, Champions of Norrath, PlanetSide and Free Realms are registered trademarks of Sony Online Entertainment LLC. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

About Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, a division of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, is a premier worldwide publisher, developer, licensor and distributor of entertainment content for the interactive space across all current and future platforms, including console, handheld and PC-based gaming for both internal and third party game titles.

About DC Entertainment

DC Entertainment, home to iconic brands DC Comics (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash, etc.), Vertigo (Sandman, Fables, etc.) and MAD, is the creative division charged with strategically integrating across Warner Bros. and Time Warner. DC Entertainment works in concert with many key Warner Bros. divisions to unleash its stories and characters across all media, including but not limited to film, television, consumer products, home entertainment, and interactive games. Publishing thousands of comic books, graphic novels and magazines each year, DC Entertainment is the largest English-language publisher of comics in the world.

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