Monday, December 6, 2010

DC Universe Online to add solo content at end game

Hot on the heels on what is wrong with the game the developers have answered quickly and provided some insight on what they want to do to improve the end game content. This is a problem that a lot of current MMO's had when they launched. The companies sucker you in with trailers and fancy promises but most of it is from early to middle game. You get to the level cap and BAM all the fun goes out the window because there is nothing to do.
Hello! I wanted to post here and get you guys up to speed on some things we’re working on with some additions to the End Game (Level 30 content) for DCUO that we’ll have in a future Beta update (not the next one to hit the Beta servers but one shortly after that) that is aimed squarely at some of the most common feedback and critiques we’ve seen on these boards.



Before I dive into the specifics of the content we’re adding I want to talk a bit about how we approach developing DCUO. We have a mantra we live by here – “Prove it through play” – and that basically boils down to a decision we’ve made to let playtesting guide our decisions. How do you know if your idea for a boss or an Alert is fun? Play it and find out! We’ve also been really pleased over the past several months to be at the point where we feel like DCUO can almost “tell” us what it needs next through playtesting. We’ll play our game and think about what’s missing, what felt right and wrong, and what’s the next thing we need to do?

It was through playtesting and internally leveling a LOT of characters to level 30 that we came to the same conclusion that many of you had come to (which we were, of course, listening to) – namely that we need more to do at level 30 that doesn’t involve waiting for a queue to pop. We’re going to be adding content to the game that is intended for 1 person to do that will provide rewards and fun at level 30 to address this need that we’re both seeing (you and us.)

Specifics:

First of all we’ll be adding level 30 versions of some of our existing solo instances. You’ll be able to pick up a task to do each of these instances in the Hall of Doom or the Watchtower, and you can complete each “Challenge” instance once per day. Completing these Challenge Instances will reward you with a new currency and additionally grant you faction with the Magic, Meta and Tech groups and organizations in DCUO (such as the Cult of Trigon or the Sentinels of Magic.) Gaining faction with these groups will unlock new items on Faction vendors in the Hall of Doom and Watchtower, including 3 new armor sets exclusively available on these vendors.

Another change we’re implementing is allowing the Wanted Posters to be completed on a Daily basis instead of only once, as well as adding faction rewards to all of the higher level Wanted Poster tasks. Additionally for these Wanted Poster tasks we’ll be making it easier for players to jump in and help out on the Wanted Poster fights by automatically granting each player who engages the Wanted Poster target the task for that target, making it easier for people to work together to take down these powerful foes and all be rewarded for it.

There are a few more ideas we’re prototyping internally that may make it into DCUO for launch but until we’re sure how they’re going to work out we’ll be keeping those ideas to ourselves. As we finalize our plans we’ll update our Beta Testers when any final decisions are made. I’d like to say thank you to everyone who’s been providing feedback on this and all other topics – keep the feedback coming!

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