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DCUO Full Beta Review **Warning Long Read***
maskedweasel
Member LegendaryPosts: 12,195
Greetings MMORPGers! I've had the chance to play the DCUO Beta for the past few weeks and now that the NDA has been lifted I'd like to give everyone as clear of a picture as possible of what my experience has been like up to this point. Lets get to it.
1) Character Creation:
You are shown the gorgeous Blur Cinematic which appends to the ending with a tie in where you are put into the character creation screen. Here you will have the chance to select everything from your base powers selection and weapon type, all the way to the intricate details of your costume and your preferred color scheme. The menus are not as easily navigated as, say City of Heroes, and the initial options for costume creation aren't nearly as vast as the other two hero games on the market. At this stage you will notice some strange wonky-ness when fiddling with the menus. Selections in some of the menus such as the hair styles seem like there are more choices, but in truth it's just a different mixture of head and facial hair which makes the menu kind of a chore to go through, and you are mainly looking over the same styles in different combinations.
Another pet peeve of mine is the color selection. Currently you are allowed 3 colors for your costume and 1 color for skin. These colors will be reused across all items you pick at character creation, and throughout all the new pieces you pick up in the world. In the current beta there is absolutely no way to change the colors you originally picked, or even change the position of the colors you've already chosen. This could make some pieces not mesh well with others you find throughout the world. We are looking forward for them to make a change to this before launch.
Other parts of the menu aren't so repetitive in their options. You may also notice that you will have some mis-matched sets -- meaning you may see an amazing robotic shirt, that has no corresponding pants. We have been told indirectly that there will be more initial choices upon launch.
As you continue through the creator you get brief descriptions of each power choice out of the current 6 that are in the game. Sorcery, Nature, Fire, Ice, Gadgets and Mental. Then you select your weapons out of the following choices. Bow, Dual Wield, Dual Pistols, Brawl, Martial Arts, Staff, Two Handed Weapons, Hand Blasts, Single Handed, and Rifles. You also get to choose your mentor, 3 metors for heroes and 3 for villains making 6 total. Superman, Batman, and Wonder woman for heroes. Circe, Joker, and Lex Luthor for villains. Lastly you choose your movement mode out of the following 3 choices. Flight, Acrobatics and Super Speed.
One thing that must be said about character creation is that it doesn't stop merely because you click "next" enter your name, and start the tutorial. You continue to create your character as you play with a fantastic visual progression that happens as you acquire new pieces of armor. More on this later.
Pre-Launch Score
Character Creation: 7 / 10
2) Combat
This aspect may be quite possibly my favorite part of this game. To me, combat is multi-faceted. You have your power selections which, by the general MMORPG theme-park standards, are somewhat limited. You get 6 total powers, one consumable and one trinket item. That leaves 8 total slots in a system not much different then Guild Wars. Where this game differs greatly though, would be the way combat is handled.
Your weapon skills are pretty much the bread and butter of your character. Each weapon has its strengths and weaknesses. For example, taking the 2 Handed weapon skill gives you very strong attacks with very simple combos, although the attack rate is much slower then say, using a staff which hits in quick succession. Each skill tree for powers has a number of combos, each utilizing the right or left click in either a tap or hold configuration. Think, Batman: Arkham Asylum. Though there are only a few buttons which makes the system easy to learn, it makes it incredibly tough to master each combo and successfully pull them off. Couple that with a great dodging and blocking system that allows for some interesting counter attacks for knowledgeable players and you have a very strong foundation.
Apart from the combos, each tree has a set of innate powers. These innate powers range anywhere from increased defense, to increased attack critical chances, to increased power and health regeneration. No two weapon skills are identical in the innate abilities they have available, so you may find that a tank role might be better suited if you had a weapon skill with an innate to increase health or defense. It gives you the option for an extra boost to your desired role.
While we're on the subject of roles, the power sets have options for dedicated roles most MMORPGers will be accustomed to. For example, fire allows for a tank role at level 10, while mental allows for a controller role at level 10. These roles change the way your character performs in combat by decreasing damage and increasing other things, such as the strength of your heals, or the amount of damage you can take. This may also have some other affects on your powers such as adding healing when in a healer role to a move that didn't have it in your attack role.
Overall the combat is what you will spend most of your time doing, and for me, I couldn't be happier. The way the system is set up a skillful player can successfully clear a room in PvE of mobs generally 5 - 20 levels over their own. They can successfully PvP and actually make a difference straight out of the tutorial and nobody is absolutely helpless on a PvP server. That is one of the most appealing parts of the system for me.
Current bugs in the system are, a number of exploits in PvP. The dreaded "flash attack" which is a glitch that allows for an amazingly powerful move to be replicated in quick succession killing enemy players in mere seconds. There have also been other exploits such as the speed "hack" that allows for players to use their maximum movement speed in PvP even though attacking or being attacked would normally slow the player, giving the exploiter an unfair advantage. There has also been talk of an energy exploit that allows the players that know how to accomplish this to use unlimited powers without restriction or need to regen endurance via weapon combos.
All of those are planned to be fixed before launch according to the DCUO beta forums.
Combat: 8 / 10
3) UI (User Interface)
Quite possibly the one major downfall of DCUO would have to be the UI. This game works well with both the PC Mouse and Keyboard or a console controller. Mechanically the combat is fine, though it doesn't cater to the click and wait crowd. You'll have to actively participate in combat. Where the major UI problem lies is in the menu and chat system.
The chat system is majorly flawed. Currently there is no indicator to tell you whether you are talking in /shout or /say or /group. Once you flag for say... /group and you speak a few times in it, it may eventually go back to the /say default in the most inopportune moments like the middle of a world mission. Then we have the strange group and /tell bug that popped up recently that marks any number as a bad word. For example, saying. "I like that one" in group chat would come out as "I like that ###". Likewise saying " 1 2 3 four 5 6" would also show up as nothing but a bunch of "#"'s. Not only that but some work combinations seem to trigger that as well, such as saying the word "another" the prefix "ano" is bleeped.
Next, the friends list is pretty much completely broken. The /friend command is missing, which leads to having to add a friend by going through the wonky social menu, finding the person you want to friend, clicking their name, adding them as a friend, all for nothing as there isn't a friendslist that works properly and it doesn't notify you if they are online.
Even worse is the fact that sometimes mouse clicks just don't register for M&K users. Viewing your powers in the traits menu is pretty much pointless. You have to navigate using the arrow keys on the keyboard. While in the menu, your character is left static in the outside world which means, if you get attacked, you have to exit the menu to run away. This causes a lot of problems when leveling up in a warzone and many more problems when playing on a PvP server where even standing on a high rooftop isn't safe.
Overall the UI needs a lot of work. Even the simple things like the chat system need expanding on. This is an absolute must fix before launch.
UI: 5 / 10
4) 5) 6) Game World / Mission Systems / Longevity:
I stuck these together to try and expedite some sort of wrap up here as I didn't plan on writing a book tonight. The game world is amazing. Gotham and Metropolis are HUGE, detailed, and so much fun to explore. You totally get the feel of being not only in the DC Universe, but you get the feeling of being a hero (or villain). I could be jumping from rooftop to rooftop and suddenly come to find a man on the edge of the building threatening to jump. As a good hero, I could talk him down, or as a villain I could convince him to jump.
I can be running along and suddenly find myself face to face with Bizarro, or accidentally run into Clayface on the streets of gotham for an impromptu battle. SOE did a fantastic job of giving players the feeling of being a hero in this universe. The missions pit you against some of the best known heroes and villains of the universe in exciting and well thought out storylines. The voice acting is top notch, and really reinforces the run and gun gameplay style.
I also just can't help getting excited when I get a call from batman, and he explains that the joker may be holed up in an abandoned fun house or something equally exciting.
On top of the usual missions and run and gun style of the open world, you also have investigations, collecting costume pieces, entering alerts (which are pretty much raids), exploration, and of course PvP (both arena and legends). You'll find out very fast that each of these side missions leads to a number of interesting "feats" which in turn gives you a set amount of points. 25 Feat points will give you a new skill point. That means every time you explore a new area, or complete say, your 10th investigation you'll earn more feat points which will make your character stronger. Think of it like Badge Hunting in CoX, but the badges culminate into giving you extra skill points that you can spend on new weapon skills. It is enticing enough that most people would look forward to feat hunting just for the skill points alone, nevermind the added bonuses of the extra story elements it present and the cool costume pieces you'll receive.
For that reason, character progression doesn't stop at max level. In beta we are currently stuck at level 20. About a week or so I was stuck at level 9. Leveling is never a problem, however, being capped at 9 didn't stop my progression. I was still able to feat hunt and get more points to make my character stronger. Likewise with the cap at 20. I'd also like to mention that as you progress you also get upgraded gear. Some gear you can find on open world bosses like the Minotaur, and if you don't get them initially, you may find yourself back there killing that boss a few times to get that costume style.
I find that this game will have a great following, and with monthly updates I can't help but feel they will have more than enough content for the dedicated. I can already say with a clear conscience that in its current form, the content far surpasses what Champions Online has, even to this day. I can also say the PvP is miles ahead of anything CoX could muster. I think they've done a great job at planning the longevity of this game, even with the somewhat small power set selection.
GameWorld : 9 / 10
Mission System: 8 / 10
Longevity: 8 / 10
Summary: OR the TL ; DR version.
DCUO in its current state still needs some work, but it is a solid, fun, engrossing game. No this game will not be for everyone. Hell it may not even be for most traditional MMO'ers. What this game will be is a fantastic Action MMO RPG that I believe will have a strong, dedicated following from a very large fanbase. I didn't think SOE could pull this one off, and even though it hasn't launched yet, nor have they fixed all the bugs currently in this build, they've made me a believer that they can do it.
What do they need to do now? Take their time, fix the PvP exploits and the UI. They already have a fun game, now they need that polish to seal the deal.
My Beta Review of the game in its current state: 8 / 10
Kudos to SOE on this one, I never thought I'd buy another SOE game, but you have to give credit where credit is due. Fantastic Game. Hope to see everyone at launch!
*** will post higher level screen shots and videos in the morning. ****
Comments
Reserved for videos.
some nice info.
They better get that Ui worked out before launch. Sony better pay attention and learn from the amount of trouble FFXIV is having from its crappy UI and menu's
The game is fantastic but the one thing I hope they change is that you have to stear with your mouse and use WASD to move around. I wished it would be more like other games (CoH, WoW) where you use your arrow keys to move around and the camera automatically follows your character. I realize they can't make everyone happy, but for me, it breaks all immersion when I'm having to move my mouse around to see who's attacking me from behind or make sure I'm facing the right way.
If they could fix that or put that option in there, I'd definitely buy the game but that's, unfortunately, a deal breaker for me. Other than that I've really enjoyed the game though. I'm crossing my fingers before launch they have the option to have the camera auto-follow your toon. Here's hoping!
My issue with longevity is what is fun with one character becomes very tired by your 4th. In order to build your skills up, you have to get those feats, which will see lvl 3 characters popping out of the first safehouse and following online maps around to locate all collection items, location feats, et al. It's less an optional sidegame than a required character development component.
And there isn't enough in-game content to hold up for long (plus I'm always suspicious of devs who promise future content every month but aren't able to deliver the game on schedule). DCUO is fun, but it lacks even the content of ChampO at launch.
I'd agree with much of the OP. Game needs more polish mainly. My only worry is enough content to justify a sub. I can see people burning through it in a month or 2 easily..even casuals.
Yes, you'll burn through the content in a month or two. The devs have stated that they are going to adress the end-game lack of solo content issue before lauch though.
@OP, Nice write-up!
I want a mmorpg where people have gone through misery, have gone through school stuff and actually have had sex even. -sagil
Thanks maskedweasel! Its good to hear a positive review from someone that knows the genre as well as you do.
Nice review, 1 1/2 thumbs up ( all I have sorry, stupid lawnmower )
nice to see constructive reviews instead or all glory or rage
"All expectation leads to suffering" Buhhda
Just as a comment on the UI...
Most of the problems with the UI are minor glitches or things that aren't in the game yet...
There are features that I would love to have(like the ability to free your cursor to mouse-over powers and stuff), but as is now the UI is great as is, as long as you understand that they are still implementing features that are "necessities" for release.
Things which are not in yet, but that they have placeholder NPCs or menus...
Friends list
Bank
Auction house
Daily vault passes
etc..
etc...
I've played a bunch of chars through now, and while I think there might be a bit of balancing to do, its pretty well adjusted as is IMO.
That being said, I found dual guns + Ice to be the most powerful (in PVE) that I have tried so far... haven't really gotten to try that loadout in PVP yet.
There is some replayability as there are missions that are only available with specific mentors... And because different characters with different powers play so completely differently...
But they will definitely need to get more content going.
Thank you Masked I enjoyed reading that. I will buy this game .
Ok I read it and yes okay the UI deserves a low score. I was actually posting around the arrow key thing for power navigation when you have no power/skill points constantly and I even posted it on the forums twice.
Um..
Generally I agree with your score the combat is DEFINITELY fun. I never experienced the hacks you said but I did find everything to be balanced in terms of PVP. I got turned off of most of the power pools but I absolutely loved Gadgets and Sorcery.
Right back to the UI.
It may be not very good but dont let it push you away and dont let it think its as bad as FF14.
DCUO is LEAPS AND BOUNDS AHEAD OF FF14s USER INTERFACE.
Yes it has its share of problems but nothing as terribly bad as FF14 to the point that its unplayable. Umm...But still yes it does need fixing and I think its been posted around beta forums a lot and also reported frequently.
This beta is actually leaps and bounds better than the current FF14 state which is a few months after release already/
*EDIT*
I found Archery/ Summoning to be overpowered in PVE but I did get my butt handed to me when people went after my healer pet lol. Or when they generally used enough AOE to kill my pet. Just dont go into healer mode and youll be doing good damage @_@
''/\/\'' Posted using Iphone bunni
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**This bunny was cloned from bunnies belonging to Gobla and is part of the Quizzical Fanclub and the The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club**
It's always nice to see a game that approaches end-game content AFTER the design of the game. That worked out well for STO and APB. Lemme guess, they'll add collections, buffs, stats and that sort of thing?
Quality end game activities need to be designed throughout the game IMO...start to finish.
That was a really well-done review. I couldn't agree more nor could I have said it better.
A slight misunderstanding here. There is a large amount of endgame activities for groups. There was a lack of things to do for the solo player at endgame and now SOE has decided to remedy that and they've stated it will be in for launch. Originally, the devs stated that solo content at max level was just to be going back and finishing collections and such, but now they've changed their minds and are adding in a new reward system for max level solo players.
I want a mmorpg where people have gone through misery, have gone through school stuff and actually have had sex even. -sagil
This may be true for endgame (I haven't got there yet), but it's leaps and bounds above Champions Online for leveling content variety. I have multiple characters that haven't done the same mission twice yet. Just the opportunity to play a villain is twice the starting content that CO had.
very nice build 1 review make sure to update after they add the new features and lvl 30 content.
I'd like to add since I have a lvl 30 on beta 1 you have 6-7 raids to do along with pvp, alrerts and duo's for content. They have also anounced solo content for lvl 30 and making bounties repeatable and new rep armor. All in all it's a great game it need bug fixes and the rest of the game features like pvp raids like we saw in previews the bank and ah and new social options.
Thanks for the additional info Galiandor, end game content is something I haven't had a chance to play yet.
Also, Thank you all for taking the time to read the review! I have about 3 hours of video that I'm trying to cut down into about 10 to 20 minutes that I'd like to post, so it may not be ready today, but I'll be sure to update it.
In the review I tried putting in everything I could, but of course there are things I left out. Iconic powers, which are a big part of your character progression. Details on the alerts I've had a chance to run, and I believe I left mentors completely out of character creation.
In response to those that say Champions had more content, I would disagree. Champions didn't have much content at launch at all. In fact, those who were in beta with me and played to the launch (Aganazer I'm looking at you) could easily tell you that there were areas where you'd have holes in the content. You'd be completely missing quests for a level range, and you'd have to grind.
In DCUO you have no "grind" at this time in Beta. I have gotten to level 20 and still have a tremendous amount of quests in my quest list. I still have bounties to get, and alert missions to finish. I have races, and PvP missions.
As far as longevity is concerned though, I think people are right when they say they'll run through the *content* within a month or two, but thats developer made content. Take me being capped as me getting to the "end game" of beta. I still log into my level 20 character to PvP as you get PvP cash to spend on PvP rewards. I still run through PvE to get new loot and costume styles. I still feat hunt to increase my character strength through skill points. It hasn't gotten to a place where the game feels stale and boring for me. The additional monthly content will only add to that.
Thats just one persons opinion though.
I also think rolling on a pvp server will increase longevity. Open pvp seems like it would be a blast. Only had a small taste of it on the pve server (after you finish a pvp instance you would be flagged still) due to a bug but the couple fights i had were fun even if i lost.
I am not completely sure, if something World of Warcraft has shown is that open pvp is a nice idea but that has many drawbacks like gankers and griefers. No wonder they change from a open pvp centric to a instanced(arenas, battlegrounds). I think Eve got a better system with police and other stuff to control the pvp.
Having missions does not necessarily equal to no grind, if the quest has killing/obtaining Y and that Y is high per mission the mission itself is grindy. My problem with the DCUO content is that they took the Old Wow approach of having a lot of trash before the boss, even the alerts I have tried are built on the same philosophy. I know they need timesinks for the content to last but I think they went a bit far. The other thing is that they could have a few more variety in structure of mission arcs, a little randomness would not hurt.
Being in the beta and since the nda is lifted we can start talking about it.... the game is fairly polished for beta aspects theres a few placeholders here and there but overall for a lunch its not too bad... i suspect that they may strech out that level 30 cap a bit with the exp while they try to gather more content for expansions or updates or whatever.
Overall its decent... which is hard for me to say since its soe... but i dont know how that ps3 side is going to do if at all.. those guys only understand free and the quality is really good and theres no way your getting that for free.
My only hope is they take on board some of the ideas thrown around to make the ui work better cause yeah.. that needs some help.
Villains often end up fighting the same villains (Raven, Queen Bee, Bane) or performing similar acts in the same mission area as heroes (e.g. destroy ambulances vs destroy dark vortices). The tutorial is exactly the same.
Villains aren't doing a lot of completely new content - they are often doing hero content flipped.
And then there is the massive overlap between mentors on both sides in terms of missions available to you.
ChampO definitely had level gaps, but there was more variety in content and mission types, even at launch.
Hmm, one point I'd definitely disagree with the Weasel on is Combat being only an "8". With a proper control scheme like a Razer mouse & a G15 board, combat is really top notch and Not the least bit the mouse-killing button masher that many make it out to be. The skill index for Combat is extremely high so I'd rate it a "9" or a even 10 once it's finally balanced and patched (and Teamfortress2 is the only other game in history I'd give a 10 to for combat).
However I'd also call to lower the reviewer's score on Longevity. ...their patching process is too slow to stop exploits fast enough and the diversity of content needed for supporting repeted re-rolling of new "Alts" just isn't there and probably won't be there until anywhere from 6-9 more months of really solid content updates. And that means there's no chance it'll have a balanced economy or a healthy spread of players at every level & grouped-content teir either. Infact there's already been some grumblings that half the servers are too underpopulated in those specific areas/teirs/factions to sustain testing and that more dedicated testers are needed.