Letter from the Creative Director: Halls of Power Part I!

DCUO Fans,

I am really excited to talk about Halls of Power Part I, our 11^th DLC Pack since launching DC Universe Online. The Halls of Power trilogy has undergone some serious changes since it was first mentioned at SOE Live 2012...and I think those changes have only made it better. Let’s walk through its metamorphosis since the announcement.

Don’t want to hear about any caterpillar to butterfly nonsense? Then skip to the “TLDR” or keep reading.

During the SOE Live Keynote, Smed was kind of enough to give me the stage for a few minutes to outline what the next year held for DCUO fans. I had convinced Deadmeat that it would be a good idea to share our roadmap of DLCs with you. I announced Home Turf, Halls of Power, and Origin Crisis, and so far we released two out of those three. Halls of Power was going to include a new feature – League Halls – but we’ll talk about those later. It was also never meant to be a trilogy, but that was soon to change.

Long story short, we had no idea what the content was going to be when we first announced it, we just knew we were going to have it take place in the League Halls themselves, and that players could customize their own Halls and then defend them from some iconic threat. We also knew that we wanted the Hall to represent the League's achievements, both as individuals and a group. So we announced the Statuary system. This vision, when finally outlined on paper, was huge - too huge to get done in the time we had. So, we pushed it out until we had the time to get everything in place to do it right.

That time is now.

The concept for trilogies was formalized, and this gave us the opportunity to really explore what we wanted to do with the content; it needed to be something that would make you feel as badass as the Justice League. To do that, we needed the proper threat. At SOE Live 2013, I announced what form that threat was going to take – The New Gods!

People were really excited by the news and full of wonder at the possibilities. They were going to be able to defend their very own league hall from the forces of New Genesis and Apokolips? Would they be going to those locations? What characters would make appearances? Would they tangle with Darkseid? How the hell are they going to beat him?

I was delighted with the speculation. Mwahahaha! I think I even wrung my hands a few times in a distinctly evil, gloating fashion. Now it is time to end the speculation; now it is time to give you the details you have been dying to hear about Halls of Power Part I.

TLDR

Story Synopsis

Trouble is stirring in the Fourth World. Darkseid’s forces have begun to move once more. Powerful artifacts from the Third World, the bygone age of the Old Gods, are being sought out by the forces of Apokolips for a dark purpose. What Darkseid wants with these artifacts is unknown, but given his renewed interest in Earth and its new Heroes and Villains, his devious plot no doubt holds the fate of the planet in the balance.

It will be up to you to discover, reclaim, and defend these artifacts of the Old Gods from him, or, if you are a Villain, perhaps secure a place in Darkseid’s new order by aiding his forces in their quest for these ancient relics of power.

New Environments

League Halls will not technically be new to this DLC, as they are being released in an update prior to Halls of Power Part I, but this is the first time we will be using them in content. You will also travel to the planets Apokolips and New Genesis, where you will battle deep beneath the surface, in the ruins of the Third World known as The Necropolis. These ancient, ruined halls of the Old Gods hold tremendous relics of power that must be found and recovered before the enemy can do the same and unlock their secrets.

New Characters

Several of The New Gods are going to be making their first appearance in DCUO. From Apokolips you will see a whole horde of Parademons pouring out of Boom Tubes. These forces are going to be led by Kalibak and Mantis. Working to counter these villains of the Fourth World is an army of Bugs. This swarm will be aligned with Mister Miracle and Big Barda.

Players will even encounter the remnants of the Old Gods - the Dreggs - who mindlessly battle for all eternity, recreating the last moments of the cataclysm that led to the birth of the New Gods and their homeworlds.

New Styles & Gear

There are a few new styles found in the DLC Pack. You will find many iconic Fourth and Third World items that you can add to your style collection. Mister Miracle’s Cape, Kalibak’s Vest & Sash, and an Old God Helmet are just some examples.

In addition, we have four new Fourth World inspired styles coming for you to collect – 2 for Heroes and 2 for Villains. The Hero armor will be inspired by the Bugs of New Genesis; the Villain armor is inspired by the Parademons of Apokolips. Each factions’ styles can be mixed and matched to create some cool fourth world looks.

Content Breakdown

Heroes and Villains will each be able to participate in all of the content being offered in Halls of Power Part I. Characters from their faction will step in to aide them, characters from the enemy faction will stand up and oppose them, and there are a few factions that will serve as enemies to both. Here is a list of the content you will find in the DLC:

• Intergang Crime Wave (4-player Operation) –Intergang has received new technology from the planet Apokolips. They are using it to create havoc in Metropolis and steal a fortune from the financial district. Heroes and Villains alike find themselves clashing with Intergang – either to thwart their plans or stab them in the back & steal the gold for themselves. Players will start the operation in the original open-world Metropolis and then travel to Oolong Island for a final showdown with Bruno Mannheim and Chang Tzu.
• Security Breach (4-player Alert) – League Halls are being attacked by the New Gods. Parademons or Bugs are pouring out of Boom Tubes and attacking Hero and Villain basses. What do these powerful foes seek? Are they testing our strength, or is there more to it?
• Artifacts from the Past (8-player Operation) – The plot thickens as the Dreggs begin attacking League Halls on Earth. How are they using Boom Tubes, and why are these mindless husks of the Old Gods organizing an attack? Someone else must be behind this! You will travel to your allies’ Homeworld and discover what is behind the attack and rescue a key ally from the clutches of the enemy.
• Relics of Urgrund (8-player Raid) - Travel to your New God enemies’ homeworld and recover an artifact that has been located somewhere deep in the Necropolis on the planet. Hordes of Dreggs stand in your way, and in order to defeat them you will need to wield the awesome power of the Old Gods. Can you master their ancient weapons and recover the artifact before the enemy?
• Lockdown (8-player Raid) – Defend your League hall from an enemy force bent on retrieving the Third World artifact now humming with power in your League’s Hall. Wave after wave of enemies will launch an assault, with powerful bosses and an epic last battle. This is one of the more difficult pieces of content in the DLC Pack. It is fashioned after raids like Prime Battleground and the Survival Mode Event. So good luck!

All told, we have two pieces of 4-player content and three (three!) pieces of 8-player content in Halls of Power Part I! The DCUO team has put a lot of thought, passion, and work into this content, and I think you are going to have a lot of fun. Keep in mind, there are two more parts to go in this trilogy! Who will emerge from the boom tubes in parts II & III? What new locations from the Fourth World will we see? It's going to be a fun ride, and all the seeds will be planted right here in Part I.

Get ready!

Jens "Spytle" Andersen
Senior Creative Director
DC Universe Online