DC Universe Goes Free to Play

So I logged into Steam last night and it shows me that DC Universe is now entirely free to play (on PC, you can still buy the disc version for PS3 and play it online for free though). I've enjoyed MMOs in the past, but can never really get into them in the long haul. While I do have a love affair with WoW every time an expansion comes out, I tend to lose interest once I hit the level cap and have scored decent gear. Rift was the same way. I quit because I saw no more need to spend cash on something I wasn't getting a lot of enjoyment out of.

I'd been interested in DCU when it initially came out, but I could never see myself playing it for the long haul, so this F2P structure has peaked my interest.
Similar to other F2P games out there, there are certain tiers of membership that you can be in. There is the true F2P membership, a "Premium" membership which you obtain after spending a whopping $5, and a "Legendary" membership, which is the 14.99/mo that most MMOs run with.

True F2P players are in no way limited to the content of the game. You can go anywhere, do about anything. It's the side things that really limit this membership. You cannot receive attachments via the in game mail (which is a bummer since many quest rewards tend to show up that way, so you can't get them EDIT: apparently this was a bug, you can still receive items via in game mail, you just cannot send them), you get 6 chat messages every 30 seconds (annoying, but meh), you are limited to 2 character spots (you can purchase more, though if you are willing to do that, you might as well just spend $5 and get more slots that way), your inventory is limited to 28 slots, no trading is allowed, cannot put items up for auction (though it seems as though you can buy), limited to 12 bank slots, and you can only hold up to 1500 of the in game currency. While you can certainly play this way just fine, you will find certain annoyances as you go along (such as the quest-mail situation). I began the game this way, but quickly upgraded to the "premium" membership.

The Premium membership requires you to spend $5 in the in game marketplace. This is a onetime deal, so once you've bought it, you are good to go. Not really a bad deal. Also, if you previously owned the game, and paid the sub fee, you are automatically included in the premium membership, which most would expect.
This membership raises the limits on most of the F2P things. 
With this subscription, you get 6 character slots, 42 inventory slots, 5 auction slots, 24 bank slots, you can trade items only (no cash), can send and receive items in the mail, can voice chat along with 6 text/30 sec, and can hold a maximum of 2000 in game currency. Most of these limits can be raised with in game purchases if you really desire, with the exception of currency and the chat.

Legendary is the typical MMO subscription. They have multiple buying options, from single, 3 month, 6 month, and a year. The longer the sub, the smaller the monthly payments (though it is paid in lump sum).
Legendary gets you 16 character slots, 63 inventory, 20 auction, 48 bank, can trade cash and items, unlimited currency, unlimited chat, and can send items and cash in the mail. Again, many of these can be raised with in game purchases. One important (to some people) feature that comes with a legendary membership, is the ability to create guilds. All kinds of memberships can join, but only this can create. The one thing you do receive with this membership, is any DLC expansion packs are included, where as the other two must pay (the only one up right now is 9.99).

If you find you really love the game, go for legendary. But I personally feel premium will suit most people, plus $5 is really not too bad considering the upgrades.

Onto the game play. Unlike typical MMOs, there is no click one button, and they auto attack. This is more like a brawler than anything. As you level, you alternate gaining skills in super powers and weapons. Also, there are no mounts. You choose one of 3 transport options when you create a hero/villain. I'll get into that with character creation later. Other than that, it really seems to be the typical MMO. Kill X amount of baddies (or good guys I guess, depending on your alignment), turn in quest. Typical PVP combat can be seen on the server. As a level 4 hero, I was curb stomped by 2 level 9s while questing. No limits seem to be put in place for PvP, no safe zone, no safe level, which is fine, because I enjoy the combat.

My level 5 hero, The Dark Revenant. Dun Dun Dun!

Character creation is quite vast compared to many MMOs. You first choose a gender, then a body type. There are 3 main body types, each with 3 sizes.

Next, you can choose whether you would like a completely custom character or would like to model after a DC hero/villain. The big names are here, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Joker, Lex Luther, Green Lantern, etc. I assume most will create their own, which leads to the next portion of the creation, your alignment.

 Here's a shot of the Wonder Woman template

Be either a Hero or Villain. It changes the story arc and who you can choose to be your mentor (more on that later).

Next is personality. While there are no real game play changes with this, it effects your hero's animations.

The decision of who your mentor will be is the next choice. If you chose hero, Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman are your choices. As a villain, the Joker, Lex Luther, and Circe (apparently Wonder Woman's nemesis, never knew). Whatever mentor you choose, changes the story arc, so choose who you would like to follow carefully.

 I ended up going with Lex Luther though, since I already had a Hero

Now the good part, powers. There are 6 (7 if you own the one DLC) types of power to choose from:
Tank roles include Fire and Ice.
Controller types are Gadgets and Mental (and Light if you own the DLC)
Healer types are Nature and Sorcery.
The typical archetypes are here. Tanks have large health pools and high defense with taunt abilities. Controllers are about crowd control. Healers keep everybody alive.
Each has different trees to level in. Along with main archetypes, each power has a DPS tree as well. For more information on powers: Powers

 
Next you choose your movement options. 3 ways to get about the world are presented for you to choose from. The classic flying, super speed, and what they call acrobatics (allowing you to jump from building to building, climb walls, grappling hook, gliding. Think Batman).

Went with Super-Speed this time

Your following choice is your weapon. Each has weaknesses and advantages. There are: One-Handed, Hand Blaster, Bow, Brawling, Dual Pistols, Dual Wield, Martial Arts, Rifle, Staff, and Two-Handed.

Lastly, you are allowed to customize your character. You choose a skin type (typical human skins along with some not so human), hair type, and clothing. Clothing includes masks, facial gear, a torso, gloves, cape, pants, boots and a belt. Each have unique looks to them, problem is most are god awful ugly. You can then choose to color your hero/villain any way you'd like, from skin, hair, and clothing.

The last step is choosing a name. I found most good sounding super hero names were taken, and the only way to really get one is adding adjectives, as my character above. I really wanted Neutron, but meh, can't win them all.

The Finished Product

The only problems I'm really finding so far is the overloaded servers, which is expected from a brand new F2P game. Hopefully Sony corrects this, and things start to really get going.

The next post about DCU will feature more gameplay and story elements, since I've not yet quite made my way through much of the world yet.