Origin Crisis Producer Letter!

Posted by Larry Liberty

Hello DCUO fans!

I'm thrilled to finally announce the launch of Origin Crisis – the seventh DLC for DC Universe Online. (If you're a DCUO Legendary Member you have hopefully already been enjoying Origin Crisis, as we were able to give early access to our Legendary players.) Origin Crisis is the DLC that I've been itching to talk about for the past year. It is the culmination of many important events, and represents some vital new practices for DC Universe Online. The basic storyline is simply great – if you're a longtime comic book fan then Origin Crisis should grab you. Who wouldn't want to meet the Council of Batmen or Council of Lex Luthors, and alter the origin of the most iconic characters in the DC Universe? First, a little backstory: Origin Crisis picks up where our third DLC, The Battle for Earth, left off – after heroes and villains united against Brainiac, stopping his plans to remake the multiverse in his image. After Brainiac's defeat, Future Lex Luthor's designs on the Nexus of Reality and its promise of near-infinite power were revealed. The last we saw of that story, Future Batman arrived to stop Lex. It's been fifteen months since those events, and now we get to see what has happened since, and the real story behind Future Lex Luthor and Future Batman.

Operations and Raids
What makes Origin Crisis so special is the storyline and the way it's weaved into the new Operations and Raids. Building on the four-man Operations first introduced in Hand of Fate (DLC 5), Origin Crisis' Origin Operations transport the player and three allies from Central City and the Flash Museum to alternate versions of Gotham City or Metropolis, and finally to an iconic origin locale. This includes visiting Crime Alley on the night a young Bruce Wayne witnessed the murder of his parents, or the House of El on Superman's home planet of Krypton right before infant Kal El is sent to Earth by his father Jor El. The actions you take can change the future of three of the most important characters in the DC Universe.
How different would Gotham City be if Bruce Wayne were corrupted and he controlled the city with the assistance of his Evil Batman alter ego, or if Bruce's parents weren't killed? What would a Metropolis be like if Lex Luthor controlled it with the aid of an evil Superman, or if Lex was a force for good? More importantly, your actions will decide the course of these events. Find the answers and more in Origin Crisis.

Quantum Powers
Not since DLC 3, The Battle for Earth, has a new power been introduced to DC Universe Online. With the launch of Origin Crisis we're adding Quantum Powers! This is our 10th power set, and our fourth Controller role. Time and Space are the names of its two power trees. The Time tree offers abilities that allow the player to control the flow of time and manipulate the futures of your adversaries. The Space tree is all about manipulating space and generating graviton fields. Together, both Quantum trees allow for some very effective power interactions - for instance, Tachyon Burst destabilizes enemies making them vulnerable to time dilation effects such as Time Shift. Taking advantage of these interactions will make the player far more effective, and makes playing Quantum very rewarding to the tactically inclined. The signature ability in Quantum has to be Quantum Tunneling. This allows the player to "blink" or teleport while simultaneously breaking the player out of control effects and preventing damage. Combined with its awesome new effects, Quantum is my new favorite power - and the first that compelled me to respec the power of my main character.

Iconic Anomalies
Have you ever wanted to play a mission as one of the DCUO Legends? Well, another first with Origin Crisis is the Iconic Anomaly. These are high-end solo missions that allow players to complete objectives as iconic DC Legends for the first time. These simulations let players run through the origin missions of two DC Legends: Huntress and Bizarro.

Introducing Tier 5
Last, but certainly not least, we're introducing a complete gear tier jump in Origin Crisis. This is a comprehensive set of gear, weapons, and mods. All told, they represent the biggest statistical jump in gear since The Battle for Earth. These range from Level 81 to 83 gear that you can loot in the iconic anomalies, to Level 85 gear that you can purchase with Marks of Reality (the new high end mark), to Level 86 and 87 Raid loot. We are doing something a little different with the gear and content in Origin Crisis: the content is designed to be played in order for optimum results - completing Iconic Anomalies and Operations before moving on to the new Raids. While it's possible to go into Raids with T4 gear, it will be extremely difficult, and just about impossible to complete without at least partial Tier 5 gear.

Can't wait to see you in-game enjoying Origin Crisis. We look forward to hearing your feedback on the Forums, on Facebook and via Twitter!

Larry Liberty
Executive Producer
DC Universe Online