I would like an episode where the main character in the story is not purely incompetent where the person you help does as much damage as you with multiple attacks, not just punching but actually real assistance with a full range of power multiple attacks the whole instance duration not only while the cut scenes. I want to really feel like the characters I help save me from time to time, like we both assist each other, not me being like god and them being useless and weak. I want the experience to be more accurate. We just got an episode with all the most powerful lantern corps leader that exist, but did we feel a single time like they were actually the best and the strongest? Not at all. All they do is set some walls and shoot projectiles with ring and sometimes do a sword construction and that's when they were supposed to be the most creative ring users that ever existed. All this feel so cheap.
The NPC's in the last 2-3 episodes actually do a lot more damage than NPC's use to do. Luzia and Esperanza were actually handling some business in the Fearful Day solo.
And the instant an NPC capable of what you describe would end up beating the final boss of the instance, you'd likely have as many (if not more) complaints about the players feeling weak in comparison, or worse players becoming the NPCs. It doesn't help that it's a licensed IP where players are familiar with the NPCs in question, but the idea of the game is that the players are the ones accomplishing the deeds. Take that away, or even risk taking that away, and you'd just be left with players being in a slightly interactive movie. EDIT: Just remembered something I heard from devs (I think) during my Star Wars Galaxies days when this kind of topic would come up: Sometimes canon must give way to gameplay.
Our characters are the main ones in the story. Definitely don't want an episode where Superman doesn't actually need my character, or Batman sends me home because he can do more on his own.
The big problem there is here with DCUO is because it was seen for commercial purposes, before a great gaming experience, that’s largely what makes it lose popularity, players don’t like games with a shop too imposing, that’s why the game is in this state with its community, yes, it could have been much better if it was a passionate studio, but they never wanted it to be in this sense... And when they finally react that it must be done this or that, well, it’s much too late now...
"The big problem there is here" lol this there English is some good funny stuff. But also, you just described 99% of retail video games, including all the successful ones, which really kills your entire statement. The reality is the game is boring and stale, and it has nothing to do with each eposode's release. Games need fresh gameplay to keep things interesting, to stir things up, to add strategy or something requiring critical thinking and engagement. DCUO's gameplay has been stale for the last decade, all they added was trading exos for augments, added artifacts, and allies. They changed up allies, which is nice but doesn't improve the fact that they are just a single button press. Every episode is just repeat your power rotation without paying attention, go do dailies that involve more powerbar rotations or picking up and delivering an item. The lore is fine, but the lore alone is 2 hours of content released every 4 months. I get better turnaround time and entertainment with the exact same amount of engagement watching Netflix or HBO Max. At the end of the day, it's the unengaging, repetitive nature of the game that loses people. Every game is repetitive, and every live service game hyper-monetizes because that's the only way live service games can be sustained profitably, but others are more engaging and stimulating. Likewise, everybody ignores one of the smallest elephant in the room. Daybreak themselves. When DCUO was released, it was a AAA Sony title, with Sony funding, Sony budget, Sony staff. That changed in 2015, 10 years ago. As of 2025, Daybreak has roughly 350 staff spread across something like 5-7ish studios, and the main Daybreak HQ office. That means on average, each studio has somewhere around 50 staff give or take, making every studio a small studio. DCUO isn't a high budget game, but every body acts like it is because it used to be one. And finally, the truth about this game's popularity or lack thereof: nobody remembers it exists. This game doesn't advertise at all, and word of mouth only works for super popular social-oriented games like Fortnite because they have a lot of players and that large number are able to recruit friends to play with them. DC can't replicate that because the small number of players already got their friends playing though chances are most made their DC friends from playing, and those friends are less likely to stay around because of the hostile, unaccommodating players, as well as the convoluted method of reporting in-game behavior(doing a /report then screenshotting then sending an email compared to most games, which is just 1-2 clicks to file an in-game report) and then Daybreak's no-ban policy where they seem to not ban anyone out of fear of losing antagonistic paying customers.. The truth is, micro transactions are everywhere. It's not the stores/item shops/markets that drive people away, it's an archaic game with an exclusionary community that once upon a time explained mechanics to new players but now just ragequit, disband, or press that kick button when somebody doesn't know what they're doing.
Luzia and Esparanza also tended to get hung up on rocks, trees and mobile home staircases a lot. They might punch hard, but they are cement heads still. The green lantern NPCs on the assault team spends a lot of time NOT in the capture circle....or when they are in, they tend to use their fan power to pull adds in with them. Not helpful is not helpful. I can remember the first time I was picked up by NPC Lex Luthor in the Paradox Wave raid. Now THAT was a helpful NPC.
Luzia and Esparanza do not create construct a bubble shield after defeating an ennemie like all lanterns have done since the beginning of the lantern's existence, so the plot can go forward. I was like really?? they literally see Jordan do one earlier in the episode main story in front of them.
You are not the main character. You always assist heroes or villains in their main story. They is any single story about you except at the beginning of the game and still your main goal is to learn to use power to help your mentor.
I ask for 1 episode or a single instance where they are stronger, and if this is the case, the boss would be clearly OP, not normal, one, kinda obvious, pretty much like fighting a boss in a duo and that's it.. This as an episode proposal I do not ask them to change the whole game but just for a single time.I literally start by saying I would like an episode 1
Apropos of nothing but I always thought they should have had an actual comic book storefront in game and on their site. Of course it would have been much more innovative when they first launched but what can you do.
Sure, but there must be a happy medium, somewhere between "The NPCs can do all this without my help" and "Why are the NPCs even here? I can do this just as easily without them." That said... I noticed this (more last episode than this one, but still). Esperanza, especially, as Luzia had a tendency to just float there or (as Kallader pointed out) get stuck on the scenery. But going through the Book of the Dead with Kyle Raynor and Sinestro, I feel like they're maybe having one of those days where you just can't be bothered to actually do anything, so you sort of go through the motions. Like "Oh yeah, dude, I totally got these zombies here. Yep, I got these zombies, right here, and no others. I should be done with them sometime tomorrow."
The mentor who is hardly ever about, except when they're asking us to do things that they apparently can't do for themselves... Also, current episode, our characters became the White Lantern, saved the day, and resurrected Voivode - that pretty much makes it a story about them, and not all the NPCs.
Yeah, but basically, the main story is about Liza /Voivoide and Lantern Corp ..not like it if they mention that you are the only person in the universe able to hold it. It just happens that you are there by default because they don't want a specific lantern to hold it, so basically you have nothing really special other than them putting trust in you after you help them on that location on that moment compared to other lantern who each have a different goal, meaning that you just happen to be the only option they have on hand. If they mentioned the player being the chosen one or something similar, then I would say you were the main protagonist, but this is clearly not the case.
The whole point of the iconics even being in the fight is for aesthetic purposes. At the end of the day this is a game, not a show or movie. NPCs aren’t supposed to be doing the work (even a small portion) for us. Give iconics the ability to contribute any meaningful amount will result in players starting the fight and finding a corner to hide and allow the iconic to do the work for them. Additionally, how are they supposed to balance this? If they allow an NPC to contribute towards the damage to enemies it means the enemies health would end up being buffed to account for the NPC damage. Or do players expect them to maintain the same health while allowing what essentially amounts to another source of damage? And what percent do people expect the NPCs to do? Are the NPCs averaged out to the average dps in the game (sorry but the average dps is pretty low) or are they averaged out to a solid dps? If they are averaged out to a solid dps how much of a health increase would bosses get? Would the average dps then complain that an NPC can do more damage than them?
The way you balance it is by not having the NPC do damage if the player decides to afk. As long as you keep playing, the NPC helps. You decide to start the battle and leave the rest up to the NPC? The NPC stops damaging, or worse, gets KOed. And while I'm at it, why not let the NPCs take more damage? If there's a greater chance the NPC can get knocked out, that opens it up to have feats like "Don't allow [NPC] to be Knocked Out during the instance."
Can't speak too much about the first part, but the second? Then you're turning the mission into an NPC escort mission, and those, well, kinda suck. Given the NPC actions that are taken in content at times, I wouldn't trust the NPC to NOT jump into a "circle of death" mechanic at the drop of a hat. LOL
Unlike an escort mission, though, you don't have to keep the NPCs alive/conscious in this scenario. But you're probably right, game devs love escort missions too much to not turn it into one. Just like how, after years of no underwater missions, they suddenly gave us an entire DLC of only underwater missions. And sewer missions have been part of the game since the beginning. They gotta keep playing all the hits, right?
Lol I can't even imagine the insane uproar that would happen if we saw NPC's out damaging players. This would be next level hilarious to witness.
