Hello folks, I briefly played DCUO when it first came out, and only just came back recently. I've been skimming through guides online and the forums, looking for help in getting the most out of my play time, but was hoping some of you more knowledgeable folks could help me out: 1. So my current "main" is a level 30 martial arts/earth villain. 2. As some of the guides instructed, I made sure to do all the side quests I could, while leveling up, in order to get as many marks of triumph as I could, by the time I hit the level cap. 3. I bought a few pieces of the Metallo gear once I hit 30, and got some others from the the demon vendor near the middle of the magic wing 4. I ran all the T1 solo instances, and did a few of the T1 duos, and Area 51 (I'm not really into PvP). 5. After doing all this, I noticed that all the content was on a 3-day cooldown, so I couldn't earn more marks. 6. I ended up playing a few alts, while waiting for this stuff to reset. My CR was in the low 40's, so I couldn't access T2 stuff yet. 7. After the reset, I ran some more stuff, and got my CD up to about 50-51, and started doing the T2 solo stuff, (I solo a lot due to my limited gameplay time). What are my options to circumvent these cooldown periods? Is buying reset tokens or subscribing my only options? I seem to have hit a wall with regards to earning more marks - am I missing something? Is there other content I can run solo to earn more marks? I have a hand blast/sorcery hero that I'm currently leveling. I'm not a subscriber, but I am of the middle tier, (premium?), and have 6 character slots. Thank you all in advance for your help!
It's been a few weeks since I started playing and wrote the initial post, so I'll jot down what I've uncovered. I'm by no means an expert, so please correct me where I am wrong. The tips I will list below are mainly focused at level 30 players: 1. Upon reaching level 30, travel to your headquarters, (Watchtower or Legion Hall). 2. Look for the CR46 vendor on the map - there should be one in each "wing". 3. From what I've seen, they all have comparable stats, so just pick the one whose appearance you like the most, and select pieces from there. This will consume the Marks of Victory that you earned from all the side quests you should have been doing while on your way to level 30. The most I've been able to accumulate in my level 1-30 play through was about 108. 4. If you haven't already, run the Funhouse "event" instance, (the one that takes place in a section of Joker's lair, where you break open presents). This will often yield a piece of role-specific gear or some other handy items, (I've gotten a mark of victory on at least one occasion from this instance). 5. You should also see a few new tasks in your journal - like if you complete the 8th Precinct solo instance, you get 5 more marks of victory or something similar. If anyone has any other suggestions, please feel free to contribute. Thanks! Additional notes: Each wing/section of your alignment's HQ (hero or villain), should have 4 vendors on the "ground floor" - 2 on each side. Two will sell gear, and the other 2 should sell R&D supplies, and be by an R&D station. One of these vendors requires a certain level of prestige with that faction, in order to buy from them. The gear they sell has unique appearances, and is about CR34. It costs some cash and 1 mark of victory. Unless you really like the look of one of these pieces, I suggest against spending your marks here, as you can get better gear from the Tier 1 instances.
I'd recommend holding off on spending Marks on gear until either you get tired of grinding the gear or you are approaching the Mark cap. Most of the time you can get your EQ from the On Duty Instances, and there are points where the grind takes a while (e.g. ~100 usually seems like a drag spot for me.) This way you have enough marks for your next tier when you need/want it. Plus grinding is usually a good time to clear the feats for thet tier.
Also, with the vault drops and new content EQ drops, you should be able to move up at a decent rate and use your marks on better things.
Just so I'm clear, do you suggest saving my marks for the T2 (or higher) gear? I'm only a premium member, and the CR of my highest character is ~70...
I would save marks until you need to use them, whether that is because the grind is too much or you are close to 200 marks. Generally I use them if I am close to the tier and am tired of grinding, so I only have to buy 1-2 pieces or I am almost at 200 marks. Marks are fairly easy to come by at endgame, but at the same time there are other things you will want to spend them on when you get to the highest CRs. It's nice not having to grind Marks at that point. During lower levels sometimes it seems that gathering Marks can take longer than you'd like to gather them. Usually I spend them around 95-100, somewhere around 130 and then just before Age of Justice content. Those are the areas that I get feeling are too grindy for me.
Don't forget the Special Events and Anniversary stuff. You get some nice free gear during these as well. Also, you may consider becoming Legendary around Anniversary time. Last year(?) They gave all Legendary members upgrades to make two of your characters 100 CR. Wait for an announcement, but they might do it again this year as well.
Thanks for the advice. As I've gotten more experience under my belt, I've learned how to judge when to spend marks, and when to save them. I enjoy the game, but am fairly certain that I will NOT be subscribing - I just can't play often enough to make it worth my while. I've picked up a few items during the black Friday event. Thanks again!
