DC Universe Online MMO News, Guides, and Features at Ten Ton Hammer

DC Universe Online has always been about breaking down the artificial barriers that the industry has fashioned for itself. That’s true whether we’re talking its first-ever trans-platform presence for an action MMORPG, the gulf between PvP players and those that strictly enjoy PvE, or that between single-player types who might flirt with multiplayer on occasion and dyed-in-wool MMO gamers. DCUO’s latest feature takes these innovations to a whole new level with iconic play, which allows players to step into the shoes of some of their favorite DC characters for small-scale PvP arena battles.

The purpose of iconic play is not to replace the game’s core PvP gameplay, where you’ll take the character you’ve created into the ongoing fight between heroes vs. villains. Rather, Senior Producer Wes Yanagi views this as a way to expose players to fully-featured characters with familiar abilities and get waist deep into PvP without the usual concerns over level differences, power and ability “builds”, or balance issues.  


According to Wes, “The way we think about it is that in DCUO, you’re building your own legacy - building your own superhero or supervillain and becoming a iconic in the DCU. But in order to become a iconic, you have to learn from the legends. In the PvE world you learn from them, but playing as them you get a deeper understanding of the strategies and tactics, the strengths and weaknesses of the characters. You can then apply that to your own character.”

The storyline grounding for iconic play is that it’s essentially just a teaching simulation, and “simulation chips” for different signature iconic characters are unlocked in different ways. “Right off the bat, you have access to Robin and Harley,” Wes explained. “As you play more PvP and gain more PvP currency, you can unlock Bane, Nightwing, and Huntress. At the highest levels you can unlock the Joker. And if you pre-order the game, you start off with Batman as well.”

Each icon character has certain trademark powers and also a few surprises. The Joker, for example, is an expert at crowd control, pulling weapons like laughing gas out of his bag of tricks to subdue or stun enemies, then escaping with his jetpack. Batman has his full compliment of devices too, from different types of batarangs to the bathook, but can also go stealth to sneak up behind enemies and temporarily handcuff his opponent.

And while players don’t have to stick to the strict heroes vs. villains motif for iconic play (though seeing eight batmans engaged in a battle royale would be a little bizarro worldish), there are certain combo “synergies” between characters, such as Batman and Robin and Harley and Joker. Producer Tim Hill noted, “We want to make sure we capture the whole sidekick angle.”

“And the great thing about all of this,” Tim continued, “is that we can add all the characters - we can keep going.” And not just the DC Universe characters are fair game, but places that a player would have little business traipsing around in normally.

Take for instance the Batcave, which happened to be the scene of our San Diego hands-on demo of the iconic play system. The Batcave is a dedicated PvP arena, a single-point capture and hold objective, with (as you can imagine) lots of defenses you can activate and use, along with numerous physics objects, such as healing barrels, AoE flame barrels and freeze barrels too. Props were also thrown-in for atmosphere points, like the  batwing, past and present batman costumes in a display case, and even a giant penny and a joker card as a nod to serious DC fans.


Other popular places mentioned as sure locations (but not necessarily arenas) in DC Universe Online were Stryker’s Island Penitentiary, the Hall of Doom, and (you guessed it) Arkham Asylum. These areas will definitely be in the game (if you had any doubt), but as of now the only 2v2 arena we’ve heard about is the ten minute timed battles in the  Batcave. Tim made mention of larger scale 8v8 fights as well.

And while iconic play might be just a simulation, but as you participate in battles and K.O. other players, you’ll accrue both acheivements and influence points for your own character, which allow you to buy special gear especially tailored to PvP combat.

What we saw of the iconic play system at SDCC 2010 is apparently just the beginning. According to Wes, “We like to think of them as weight classes, and what you’re seeing here is the ‘human’ class. Next is the  “super” class, which Wes described as “the real heavy hitters in the DC Universe.”

Like a mix between LotRO’s monster play and WoW’s battlegrounds and arenas, DC Universe Online’s iconic play is both a fun diversion from the game’s core gameplay, a way to teach the basics endgame PvP in a non-gimped, non-threatening way, and something more competitive players will no doubt take seriously as well. We look forward to hearing more about the iconic play system and DC Universe Online as the game super speeds toward a November 2nd release date.