DC Universe Online DLC 3 Battle for Earth preview

DC Universe Online players have a lot to look forward to with the upcoming release of what SOE is billing as its “biggest” DLC yet. One solid piece of evidence that DLC 3 Battle for Earth will rock: Earth Powers!

“It’s a new tanking power,” explained DCUO Creative Director Jens Anderson. “It’s a pet tanking class. Basically, you’ll summon up these different automatons that are these Earth golems and Earth pets – and they will follow you around and help you fight. And they’ll also be able to take some of the damage that’s incoming to you – and take it themselves. So it’s like deferred damage. It’s a brand new mechanic and a lot of fun.”

For lovers of lore and end-game loot, Battle for Earth will also unveil the finale to the Brainiac story arc, which will climax with a large Tier 3 raid. Set in Wonder Woman’s home, Themyscira (aka Paradise Island), raiders will partner with both Wonder Woman and Circe, fighting alongside mythical NPC creatures while protecting key Amazon and Beastimorph units. At the end of the new raid, players will face the MMO’s biggest bad: Brainiac’s Avatar of Magic. Cited as Brainiac’s “final avatar,” it’s suggested that Battle for Earth’s last raid will close the chapter on what has been DCUO’s main plotline so far.

Meanwhile, in the open world, players will find a series of quests in the South Gotham area designed for “fresh 30s,” players who have hit the level cap and have a few pieces of Tier 1 gear. Unless you’re over geared, you’ll need to partner up with some friends to stop Brainiac’s final invasion force. It’s going to be the first time that players will see what’s inside what players call the bottles, those large areas of the city “bottled-up” and trapped beneath Brainiac-built force fields. Along with the new open world content, will come a new Courthouse Alert and new Duos set in Gotham.

Wondering if SOE will run out of story with the end of Brainiac? Anderson cites the Levitz Paradigm as a way for SOE to create ongoing stories for DCUO. Created by longtime DC Comics writer Paul Levitz, the Levitz Paradigm offers writers a rough roadmap to follow when mapping out multiple plotlines. To put it simply, expect some of the unresolved side plots from past quest lines to take the front stage in upcoming updates from DLC 4 and on. Anderson teased the unresolved plots involving villains like Trigon and Black Adam as possibilities for the team to explore in the future. But with a wealth of untapped lore and DC Comics history to explore, it seems unlikely that the well of ideas is anywhere near dry.

Scheduled to launch on Tuesday, March 13, DLC 3 Battle for Earth will be free for Legendary members. Free and Premium players can find it on the PlayStation Network and in-game Marketplace.