Reflecting On State Of The Game and DB

color me shocked lmao

With a felt pen or a coloring pencil?

We just need more content. The more there is to do the less time spent commplaining.

I remember how furiously many posters were claiming the game is over and done, about to go out of business, back in December of 2018, the last time lifetime memberships were offered.

Those of us buying the memberships were told over and over and over what fools we were for throwing money away on a game about to die, how we'd never make money back, that we were just stupid idiots. It was so obvious that the game was done!

Of course, disgruntled players were saying that back in 2016, as well.

People have always claimed the game is about to shut down, is over, has no new players left, has a pitiful population, and that anyone who believes otherwise is deluded and gullible.

It makes those who themselves want to quit or do quit feel better about their decision. It channels their anger and frustration.

But that's all it does.

https://massive lyop .com /2018/12/20/everquesting-why-im-hesitant-to-jump-on-daybreaks-lifetime-membership-deal-bandwagon/

Being on EU server, I too am guilty of this mindset.

Otherwise I still have bounty feats from much older episodes that I still don't have (Doomsday in the Doomed Metro open world, 105 Starro in Deluge) that either I will never get or will take a long time to get.

I know when a new bounty (and feats with it) launches that if I am actively playing DCUO it is a priority to get all associated feats for that bounty at the earliest opportunity possible (when I get free time). Usually takes a few hours at most if enough people are also doing it at the same time.

Burnout happens. Could be content related, could be that a lot of your friends/leaguemates aren't playing much, or a mix of the two. Especially at this time of year.

The game is stale.

Its the same thing every episode. A raid or two. Alert, duo or solo. Open world bounties. Get marks buy gear. There is very little variation. Just a different skin and a different view.

I still play a little bit, but mostly out of habit and time I’ve invested since 2012. But the game isn’t really “fun”. It’s more like a chore now.

I don’t even buy weapons and rings anymore. Everything is more than beatable with purple gear. I just buy the vendor gear for feats.

Mepps we love you <3

Lots of criticism in here with too few solutions. Let's fix that.
Gameplan to fix the Game:

A) Power and Wep Rework.
There needs to be a literal ingame Wall between Precision and Might, otherwise every solution that doesn't have one opens the game up to more exploits and more Metas. When allocating Skill Points, there'd be 2 options instead of 3. Weapon Mastery and Powered.

- Weapon Mastery would be your Precision Players, and would allow you to use Weapon Mastery Combos with your Weapons. The power bar is standard, and can run out of Power if overused. The Penalty however is a 70% reduction in Power Attack Damage.

- Powered would be your might players, Power costs are reduced to 0 (as that outdated system doesn't actually add anything to the game except turning Controllers into batteries) but they'd be locked out of using Weapon Mastery Combos. The Penalty would then be a 70% reduction in Weapon Attack Damage.

B) PVP
Although it's pretty clear that PVP numbers were pretty low for the Devs to abandon it, it's still a big draw for most online games these days. PVP would have to return in one form or another. One option is faster and hits 2 birds with one stone, the other is much slower but might be more favoured due to preference:

- PVP returns and DCUO introduces a New Power. For arguments sake let's just say its Shadow. Shadow is only available in PVP, and that's because when you enter PVP your Power is automatically changed to Shadow. You cannot use your own Power. It's set up this way to make PVP 100% Skill based. Everyone using the same Power means a completely even playing field. A new Menu would need to be created so that you can pick your Shadow Loadout, which you would be able to save to an Armoury.

- PVP is brought back and you use your own power. Because of this, you'd need to wait a few extra years for its return. Fix A above would have to be implemented first, after which the imbalances between powers become 100x easier to spot and over time, fix/modify. Only once the Devs are 100% satisfied with the rebalance, can PVP begin to return.

C) Content
DC Comics is home to some truly epic storylines. Unfortunately lately the Episodes based on some of these epic storylines has been "going through the motions" as the saying goes. Not one of the "Big Bads" has felt as Big as Brainiac did in the very beginning. Content needs to change, because it never feels like we "Earn" the Fight against these Monsters and Madmen. So how does this get fixed?

Each Year, one of DCs big threats is chosen to be the Big Bad. These are chosen carefully as their plans affect different genres within the game (EG: Magic, Tech, Meta, Mysticism etc etc). As an example, Next Years big bad could be Mongul and War World. But his presence and War Worlds Presence has affected Magic on Earth, requiring an Episode, and Tech on Earth, requiring an Episode. Each Big Bad Each Year has 3 Normal Episodes and 1 Confrontation Episode at the End of the year. They differ as such:

- Normal Episodes are made up of a mix of Open World, Solos, Duos and Alerts. There can be no Raids in these episodes. Raids are just thrown into this game and are slowly declining in quality. This isn't the Devs fault, its the proverbial "too much of a good thing". Raids need to be Earned, need to be something to look forward to.

- Confrontation Episodes are simple. Throughout the year we've either battled our way to confront the big bad, or trained in the previous Episodes to be ready for this Confrontation. This Episode would have at least 1 Raid in it. This Raid is worked on from early in the year, around the time the 1st Normal Episode drops. As such, there'd be many months to fine-tune things, to test out new mechanics and to make the Raid/s in general something worth waiting for. These Raids would be a commitment, meaning you would not be in and out within 10 mins. This is what you've been working towards for 9ish months, so the aim would be that the Raids, even without wipes or mistakes or disconnects, would be at least 25-30 mins long. It's the last chapter in a year-long narrative after all.

D) Clipping and Animation Cancelling
Clipping in the game, as was explained by Mepps a good few months back, wasn't even intended, and tends to be a major thorn in the Devs side. As such, Clipping overall needs to be removed until an Intended Version is patched into the game. Theres several different versions of Clipping that could intentionally be made a part of the game without accidentally messing with Fix A's fixes. Animation Cancelling in its entirety needs to go. I get the argument about "if you see an attack coming you can avoid it" etc, and I don't disagree. But whether folks want to admit it or not, Animation Cancelling has opened far too many avenues to both Exploits and Meta Builds over the years. Theres plenty of Games out there that don't let players Animation Cancel and instead tell them "Well, Action -> Consequence". Fighting Games and literally every FromSoft game comes to mind. Animation Cancelling is not a Skill, watching the battle you're in and choosing the right time to use X Attack is.

E) Power Balancing
The Bane of this games existence . So far I recall 3 attempts to do this and we're still no closer. After Fix A, this should be a priority. And the guiding principle of this balance is simple, make powers make sense. The Game has done a great job of making different powers feel unique, and yet even after 12yrs the Powers make absolutely no sense. Superman does not stop a run-of-the-mill burglar by burning them to death with heat vision. The GL Corps officers of 2814 don't stop folks robbing a TV by butchering them with a Mini gun. And then there's the issue of Powers coming across as Feather Strikes. If I call down a Bolt of Lightning, it shouldn't be hitting the same and/or weaker than one Precision Punch. Another area that needs a change:

- Powers Overall stay the same. If its a Combo Power it stays a Combo Power, if it isn't it stays not being one.

- Powers that look like they should be Mangling anything they hit are, for lack of a better comparison, turned into "Mini Supercharge" powers. In other words, you can't just use these powers whenever. They start Grayed-Out and have the same "Circular Bar" around them that Supercharges have.

- The system itself would work like this. Every Power has 3-4 ability powers picked out and turned into these "Mini Supercharge" Powers. As an Example, take Electric. Voltaic Bolt would be one of these 3-4 powers. You need to use Powers that do not fall into the "Mini Supercharge" category in order to build up/unlock Voltaic Bolt. So while in combat, you hit the enemy with Arc Lightning, then Spark Barrage, then Tesla Ball. Using those 3 will fill Voltaic Bolts Meter and Unlock it for use. The power can then be used straight away, with significantly higher damage than it currently has, to reflect how damaging a Lightning Strike actually would be, or if you prefer you can continue to build it up stronger. Each time you use 3 or 4 powers to build its meter, it's damage once used is multiplied, with maximum being 10x. At 10x the power will flash, indicating its at its maximum so you don't miss it.

- Finally, this meter Decays over time. So you can't just spam powers and then head into an Alert with an Advantage. Over time the Unlocked power locks again if not used, and you'll need to start from the beginning again. Any warp/phase shift also does this.

Adding this mechanic to powers would not make powers feel the same, no more than every power having a Finisher Power does right now. What it would do however is make powers incredibly more simple to balance. And, as explained, would make it satisfying to pull off that 10x power hit and see the huge number pop off. This change would only affect the DPS Side of a Power, when in Tank/Heal/Controller Role, the powers remain as is, or are modified by the Devs if they feel something is lacking.


I'm sure there's plenty who disagree with some/all of the changes. There always will be. Some are afraid of losing their edge, others spent money chasing a meta build. I didn't post this because it's a Want, I posted it because its a Need. And because I wanted to add something actually Constructive in here. Have at it.

I just came back to the game after several years away, and I'm really enjoying it. Because of stat clamping, I have a lot of old content to explore that is actually challenging, and lots of feats to get through gameplay. I really love the Legion, so having a speedster in Enhanced Magnetic Paladin with a 31st Century Hologram aura is just golden.

There are a couple of downsides. The game has become much, much less alt friendly, requiring months and months of play to level artifacts and now allies. I used to be able to consistently maintain three characters at max level - now, I'm struggling to get a single set of artifacts to 160.

I realize that this game will probably get kind of boring once I finish the non-P2W feats and finish up my artifacts and allies, because new content is at a trickle and it's kind of repetitive. Still, I'm enjoying myself for now.

Glad you’re enjoying it. I know the feeling. But that’s gonna wear off lol.

Dcuo is the game where you play for a few months. then quit for a few months, then come back and do it again. Its not a game you can constantly play day after day between episodes. The game becomes stale.

I am in the same boat as you. I started playing around the time Halls of Power 1 came out. I loved it. I had 12k hours on playstation alone up until 2018. Then i quit. I returned in october and loved the game again. I made a new account on pc, still to have a 2x artifact exp week so i can go from rank 80 artifacts to 7 rank 160s (Roughly 4m exp saved). There is so much to do, new missions for me, omnibus, no loot locks.

I stopped playing for a month in dec/jan on and off, doing seasonal dailies and logging off because the game was already stale, i was full elite, 300sp, no one to run feats with because everytime i look in lfg, no one is responding at all. My artifacts are low so i cant really push to do elite + stuff as i am to stubborn to use my exp without the 2x week. The cost to start up the game is incredible. within this 5 months of playing i have already spent what? 25 (3month member + 1 more month this month. roughly 100 on cash for the shop for basic supplies like replays, the odd style/capsule keys) So in total, 130-150 and i am still nowhere near anyone who is end game content. The only thing i have is skill retained from past game experience.

As it stands now, the game is what 2018 me wished for. No loot locks, old content relevant (to a degree), stuff to do, and much more. But thats the issue. That was 2018 me. That is when the game should have been like that. Not 2021-2023. The game ages terribly. The game was the first to do many things, like mepps mentioned earlier. First MMO on PS3. First MMO on console (I believe he said). It should have been innovating so much with the evolution of consoles. Instead it stuck to its format, gave the same dlc with different story every so often and didnt massively change until stat revamp, then omnibus, and then... Emotes? Thats all it has to offer now besides a cash shop that is so pay to win/pay to progress/pay for convenience/pay for artifacts or however you wanna lable it.

It is such a shame that the game like this, that made so many fond memories of my childhood is slowly declining and is on a steady path into the earth with no signs of stopping. I think the final nail in the coffin was seeing the yearly dev update. It was lackluster to say the least, the fact that it had nothing on it but "Normal scheduled seasonal events. Dlc releases and 'Ps5 update in future TBD'". Lots of staff has left that was beloved by the community, key members of the team to help decide where the game is going are gone meaning the game has no direction other than produce micro transactions for P2W items or emotes.

That is just me though. I am passionate about the game and i want it to succeed. I know it seems like i am doomsaying but this is just how i feel and no one can change how i feel about the game until i see an actual improvement to the game or given at least some hope from announcements made in the future.

Yes... The game isn't very alt friendly.... mostly because of the afore mentioned additions that were added to cover the stat clamping that you were just praising a few sentences earlier.

Now...
Which provided longer-lasting fun gameplay:
Leveling multiple characters and keeping them relatively on par with each other..

or

Playing one main character now being challenged.. and some other characters that never seems to be on the same level or just seem to be needed to feed the main character's augments/allies/artifacts?

I really wish you could edit past the half hour mark... because I should have worded it:


Playing one main character now being challenged on years old content.. and some other characters that never seems to be on the same level or just seem to be needed to feed the main character's augments/allies/artifacts?


I assume everybody likes being challenged on the current content.