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DCUO good for my current situation?
mm0wiggins
Member Posts: 270
Sorry if this seems odd to post here, but I think I could get some good feedback on the subject.
Short and sweet: I just recently had a child (my first) w/ my gf .... I had no idea how much of my time would be taken up by tending to them, and it's quite clear that my gaming schedule will be changed/reduced for quite some time.
I normally play EVE online, but now I don't really have the hours to spend in game planning and strategizing and organizing ops with my buddies. I will keep my Eve sub active, (of course) since my skills still progress while offline, however, I now have a void to fill in terms of "game(s) that I can play" -
I've been following a lot of posts, articles, interviews, and footage from DCUO and I can't say that I'm all that thrilled about the setting (i'm not a DC fan) but I can say that the game itself simply looks fun as hell to play. I'm getting the impression that the combat system is very engaging and the graphics and engine generally work well together and response from key-input to character is top notch, next to WoW.
Now, I guess one could say that I'm wondering how casual the game is, or better yet, how enjoyable is the game to a casual player. I am more than done with WoW, so please understand that although WoW is very casual-friendly, it's not what I'm going to settle for. That being said, I'm also aware that DCUO isn't necessarily the 'deepest' experience one could ask for in an MMORPG and that it is lacking many elements that I would otherwise deem necessary for the title of "MMORPG" as well as having some serious flaws. I just am looking for something fun, visually pleasing, easy to get in and have some fun without requiring hours of dedication at a time, and for frack's sake, FUNCTIONAL. A polished casual game with a great combat system. Is that what DCUO is?
This is not a troll, flame, or anything else worth banning me over. It is simply my pure opinion, and I have a right to share it.
Comments
It is definetly a casual game in that you pretty much can start and stop at any time. The endgame will tend to be less casual but that really depends on how serious a MMORPG player you are. My best friend was too casual for WoW but he has a great time in DCU even at level 30.
One thing I noticed is that the game gets more immersive if you are familar with the DC mythos as it makes many of the inside-jokes make sense.
I played DCUO when it went live, got my Nature/Duel Wield villian to level 30. I went through the many server restarts which caused me to nerd rage because the servers were always down and SoE never told us they were going down when I wanted to play. However when I did play the game was fun, it was visual pleasing and you can stop and go anytime you want, even in a instance. Near around level 25-26 or so, you start fighting challenging mobs which do a magnetic pull, knock you back and do a bunch of stuff to you that makes you want to go berserk on a wall. (Green lantern mobs suck!). But nothing too crazy. The PvP is fun but can be quite boring from time to time because you don't really play your own character(from what i played anyways). The endgame is lacking which caused me to unsubscribe, because I couldn't see myself sitting there not doing anything for however long it takes SOE to add content. I'm sure the server restarts have gone down drastically since I left, so I'm sure it will be a better gaming experience for you. However at the end unless they add content, prepare to be bored.
Its got a lot of bugs and glitches pvp wise, which is exploited, hopefully they will fix those soon.
As for a casual gaming experience, i think it will be all fine, but as you said yourself, its not the deepest experience, though the voyage from bottom to level 30 is enjoyable. At 30 you have two raids for 8 players, 5 or so hard mode alerts, and 5 duos (two people cooping a map).
Now this will probably keep you going for at least the first 50 hours, but after that, unless you get into a guild which tosses off some fun, or you enjoy 4vs4 to 8vs8 battlegrounds on small scale maps, that will be up for you to decide.
The combat system has similarities with the Age of Conan system. You use mostly mouseclick combinations (click,hold,rightbutton,leftbutton) with the movement keys to decide which attack you are using. If you get good at it, you can use that to interupt,stun your opponent. Its quite enjoyable, and a good change from the old hit "1-9" button to attack style. Kinda engages you more in the combat.
So my advice is, if you can spare the bucks to play the game for 30 days, go ahead, will you continue to subscribe? Who knows. I'm a pretty casual player, and I reached top level after some 30+ hours or so. Game kept me on for around 140 hours according to my log, but then I had enough, to me it was to repetative...........
If you've ever played wow and enjoyed doing the same party instance for the 53'rd time, then you will probably love this game.
DCUO is a great casual game. The combat is basically its crowning achievement. If you like the more action oriented combat then I think you'll likely love DCUO. You may not constantly stay subscribed if you run through everything and aren't very competitive in PvP.
What is good though, if you have an hour to play, you'll likely get something important done, whether you're going for your next set of PvE gear, or just getting on to fight other players, action is pretty much instant, and plentiful.
You also don't have to spend 40+ hours a week playing to be able to compete with those that do play 40+ hours a week. Skilled casual players have just as much of a chance in PvE and PvP because the game is based on how you play your character more than what your characters stats are. While there may be a learning curve when it comes to the combat, once you get the hang of it it gets very addicting.
For the casual gamer yes this game is insanely fun. The game is polished.. to an extent. By that I mean that until level 30 (the cap) you'll have a blast doing missions spamming moves and fighting all kinds of bad guys or good guys.
I should mention too that if you are on a PvP server you will be ganked A LOT. You will get ganked/camped my advice is to move to a different spot and do quests elsewhere. The end game PvE is well.. lacking. There is not a whole lot of content to look forward to. I ended my subscription a day before my free month ended because they said they would be putting out a valentines patch.. which did not get released when they had stated... it's SoE I should have expected it /shrug. Mind you I have no idea if this patch has come out since I stopped keeping track but if it has (I hope so cause it's a lot of fun and the glitchers were ruining the pvp for many people) and if they have fixed the glitches then i'd say "go! play! now!"
The combat system is by far the most unique combat out there for MMOs. You get 8 slots [6 spells slots] [1 Potion slot] and [1 trinket slot] which sounds strange right? well it is. there is no click targeting you use a lock on button to lock to your target mind you that it make take a couple of tabbing tries to get what you want (if you are in an area with more than 1 object) instead of attacking an enemy you'll probably attack a flower pot that somehow caused some agression toward you / your toon. As I mentioned before there are many glitches and I do not know if they have been fixed *I doubt they have since many of the glitches were in the beta and have stuck around till now* makes sense right? Cause thats usually what beta is for... you know fixing glitches and such getting feed back.. enough of that.
Combat/Fun = 9
You will have fun I promise and its as casual as casual gets. Log in kick some ass takes some names log out!
Well, I did play WoW.. through every expansion. Unfortunately, queuing up and being thrown in an instance/battleground with random people who don't speak to eachother, running the same instanced content over and over for nothing more than hopes of more colorful gear was not what I call fun, nor an MMORPG. However, at this point, there's really nothing that would make WoW enjoyable to me short of a complete overhaul, leaving out all the aspects that attract millions of players. That won't happen, and I've accepted it (finally) and moved on. [I've quit many times and come back hoping someone stepped up in the dev meetings and shouted "Okay! this is BullS__t!! Let's start over and make a real MMORPG and stop with this kiddy sparkles and rainbows cookie cutter instanced phased singleplayer nonsense!" but it never happened and Cata proved to me that it will never, ever, ever happen and that WoW will never again be an MMORPG"]
Whhoops! There I go again... anyways. If DCUO offers only the same shallow "end game" then I would be disappointed, but at this point, I don't know how long it would take me to reach said endgame now that I don't have hours and hours to spend logged in anymore.
What's this I hear about the PvP in DCUO? Did I read/hear correctly that you cannot use your own character?!?!?! I, for damn sure, do NOT care to play an MMO as an already created and developed character. No, I am not interested in pvping as superman, batman, or anyone else that I myself did not create. Character development, tuning, tweaking, and customization in general is one of the things that turns me on about DCUO and quite frankly, the lack of it in WoW is the first thing that started to piss me off years ago when I started to see it fade into a multiplayer console action game.
So can someone explain to me how the PvP works in DCUO? Do I have to use another character? Is it instanced/arena based? Is there world/open(REAL) pvp? Server types? etc...
Thanks for the constructive feedback. I apologize for my wow rants... I'm really really trying to not go there, but it's tough.
Damn all elephants in the room.
This is not a troll, flame, or anything else worth banning me over. It is simply my pure opinion, and I have a right to share it.
You can use your own character in PvP. He's talking about Legends PvP where you use iconic characters.
You have a few different options for PvP.
1) Legends PvP: This is where you play as robin, harley, bane, huntress, etc. in an arena match (usually to capture a point). This allows for more of a "balanced" system, where all stats and levels are predetermined. Some would say that some characters are stronger than others, but the truth is, when played well, any of the characters can be dangerous.
2) Arena PvP: This is where you queue up for an arena - 4v4 5v5 8v8, in a structured PvP environment. Players will be playing as their own player character, using their own gear, their own consumables, etc.
3) Open World PvP: Well, pretty self explanatory, but if you play on a PvP server, you'll be doing this a lot whether you like it or not. On the PvE servers, you will have to flag yourself. You also use your own character for this (obviously).
End game revolves around playing through PvE missions or PvP missions, and a few other side things that will all go towards your FEATS. Your feats accumulate into extra skill points that will progress your character. Theres plenty to do and much of it is quite challenging. Chances are, at a casual pace, you'll likely have enough to do for multiple months.
Thanks for clearing up the PvP stuff. Good info there.
It's looking like I'm going to cough up the cash to give it a shot, but another question I have is about itemization...
Now, for as long as I can remember, I've been under the impression that superheroes for the most part depend on their own power to accomplish the many super-human tasks that we read about and watch on tv/movies. (short of Batman, who depends on his corporate expense account to be a badass) Couple that reasoning with the fact that most, if not all superheroes have a known and recognizable outfit, what should I expect from DCUO in terms of itemization? I really really really hope that I'm not going to be chasing gear (again). If so, what kind of gear is it? and will I be forced to change how I look every two levels like in other MMO's that are all about ... well... let's face it, they're a bunch of childish fashion shows now. So will my superhero be changing his "look" every "season" and whatnot?
This is not a troll, flame, or anything else worth banning me over. It is simply my pure opinion, and I have a right to share it.
When you create a character you will have a ton of different choices on what you look like, but the real meat of the game (visually) will be in the gear you pick up. Each piece of gear you get will have a distinct look to it (and most will have stats as well, but we'll get to that in a moment). When you equip this gear you then gain that style. In your menu's you will also notice a style tab.
In your style tab you can select the costume pieces you've picked up at any given time and switch them around to make your desired character. You can then lock them into place so that, when you equip a different item, it won't change your appearance.
As far as itemization in regards to stats, you will have tons of items that will have different stats -- might, defense, precision, and all of these stats are geared towards a certain build. As you gain levels you'll find gear made with specific roles (like tank, healer controller) with special stats that only those roles will use. This will allow you to gear your character in many different ways, for example, wearing healer gear with high restoration so you can heal more, etc.
End game gear drops (like hard mode alerts, raids, and so on) are usually pretty good, but at the end of every successful match, (whether it be PvP or PvE) you'll receive Marks. Marks are essentially an end game currency used to buy certain gear from vendors.
So while you may play 20 hard mode alerts, but never get really great gear drops, the marks you get from the matches can be used to buy some good end game gear (not always the best, but very good). The only reason to really go after all the different gear types are for the different Styles, as some of the styles for end game gear are pretty cool looking.
PvP gear is earned through PvP marks, which you earn when doing PvP matches. All T1 PvP gear you get through influence, and the T2 isn't much better, so, in truth, about 30 - 40 PvP matches should get you enough T1 PvP pieces to be pretty competitive. The difference between PvP and PvE gear is basically defense vs toughness. Defense is for PvEdamage mitigation and Toughness if for PvP damage mitigation.
Hope that clears it up a bit.
Thanks. Cleared it up and damaged a lot of my interest in this game. . I'm sorry to say it, but those features you listed are directly from WoW, and before anyone gets mad at that statement, WoW is THE game that made that stuff up, and it was a crappy decision in the first place. "healer gear to make you heal better" doesn't sound at all like "many different ways to tailor your character" it sounds like "you better wear this if you want to be the best healer." .... Collecting marks for running BG/ARENA/DUNGEONS over and over to trade to a vendor for gear? .... umm... No, EQ didn't do that (originally) nor did FFXI, or UO, or DaOC... that is all WoW style. Ugh... since when did superheroes/villains survive and fight for the soul purpose of aquiring clothes????
I understand maybe a bonus of some extra cool stuff like an emblem or patch to put on, or even gear in general to help you customize, but ... really? Superman doesn't get more powerful because he changed his spandex. That's ludicrous, and shouldn't be forced on me to be competitive, and it sounds like it is. Tier 1 gear, tier 2... yawn.... same old carrot on a stick nonsense.
TBH I really just wanted the chance to create my own UNIQUE character that doesn't look the same as everyone else who "earned" the same gear. (tank gear, healer gear, etc... after a month all the tanks will look the same, as will all the healers, etc) and I wanted to take my unique character and cause some havoc. Understandable if I had to progress to learn/master my powers and such, but ... clothing? I really couldn't give a frack about trying to get the next cool peice of gear. I will say, however, that it is cool of them to let you lock your peices so you can look the same as you created in the first place. /shrug. Maybe I'm being overly critical. Definitely possible... I've got a lot on my plate right now and starting over in yet another game that pushes me to chase gear just to run the same content that earned me the gear in the first place really doesn't sound fun. *sad and discouraged*
This is not a troll, flame, or anything else worth banning me over. It is simply my pure opinion, and I have a right to share it.
Just wanted to say congrats on your bundle of love. Wish you and your new family the best!
Thank you!!!! Much appreciated....
You see that, people? See what happened there? Kindness. Is that too much to ask for from MMORPG communities now? helthros doesn't even know me and just decided to be kind for no other reason than to spread some joy and a sense of welcome. I don't expect that kind of community from DCUO, but one can only hope!
This is not a troll, flame, or anything else worth banning me over. It is simply my pure opinion, and I have a right to share it.
You can actually lock in any clothing style you have collected on the character. So if you find a piece that looks really cool on your character, your character can look like that forever no matter what actual gear you have equiped. My character uses a mixture of demonic and sci-fi gear to get a certain look and I don't even know what the pieces I have currently equiped look like since I locked in that look a while back.
So you can easily make yoru character look as unique as you want and you will quickly collect an assortment of styles.
Well, I think I'm still going to purchase this game, just going to lower my expectations quite a bit.
I really really didn't think it was going to be another gear grind game, since that has absolutely nothing to do with DC characters and stories... but.... oh well... another studio taking the easy way out in terms of global MMO content design.
"Here, go get some more gear... this new set glows. cool huh? and you'll be stronger. Why? I dunno, because we said so? Shut up, too many questions... chase gear. swallow it. accept it. love it. boast about it. feel good about your empty accomplishement, the reward that we told you to feel is important and gratifying. Then, we'll give you season 2."
This is not a troll, flame, or anything else worth banning me over. It is simply my pure opinion, and I have a right to share it.