Today’s episode of our F2Pmeter series is dedicated to DC Universe Online (DCUO). Set in the universe of the popular DC comics, this massively multiplayer online role-playing game is available for PS 3, PS 4 as well as PC and allows players to become a mighty hero or villain who embarks on story-driven adventures, during which they engage in true action combat and battle against and side by side with legends like Superman, Batman and The Joker.

Just a quick reminder that our testing candidates begin with a 100% of free-to-play-ness, and depending on how our questions have to be answered, this percentage will change.

So let’s get started!

No. Since November 2011 when DC Universe Online changed to free-to-play only 10 months after its launch, players aren’t charged anymore for creating an account and downloading the client, being able to play the game for free.

 

 

Yes (optinal) – -15%. Although adopting a free-to-play model, the title still offers multiple subscription-based membership options in form of monthly, 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month subscription packages ($14.99/ $12.99/ $11.99/ $9.99 per month) Membership grants free access to all DLC packs as well as additional character slots and the ability to carry unlimited in-game cash. At release, users were moreover able to purchase a non-expiring lifetime membership. By purchasing anything for at least $5 in the shop, the ordinary free-to-play account can be upgraded to premium, which also grants some in-game bonuses and perks.

 

 

Yes – -15%. Expansion packs are only availale for free to Legendary members (subscribers), whereas free-to-play and Premium users are charged with $9.99 of real-world money for each DLC pack.

 

 

Yes – -5%. There’s an in-game marketplace incorporated in DCUO where players are able to spend the premium currency - Loyalty Points (PS3) or Station Cash (PC) – which has to be purchased with real-world cash on a wide range of premium items. They may purchase XP boosters, consumables, housing decoration, temporary upgrades to have unlimited access to their in-game currency, tokens to change their character’s appearance, outfits, legendary characters, additional character, inventory, bank and auction slots as well as DLC packs and more.

 

 

No. Most of items the marketplace offers seemingly don’t grant gameplay advantages in any way, as they purely serve time-saving, convenience or aesthetical customisation purposes.

 

 

No. The UI customisation options the game offers are that many and only include things like resizing the chat box. However, the little that is available can be done for free by any player. There’s nothing paying members could spend their money on to receive additional customisation options.

 

 

Yes. DC Universe doesn’t feature any races or classes; character customisation is done by selecting among various power sets that define the combat role the player’s hero/ villain is most proficient in. Although some of those sets were released with DLC packs, therefore only being available for paying players, everyone is able to create their character and customise it to their preferred style of play.

 

 

Yes – -10%. The game incorporates a broker system which fairly differs from other auction house systems as to only featuring a simple buyout system without any open biding incorporated. While free-to-play users are entirely excluded from selling and trading items, Premium and Legendary members may pay a small fee in advance to make their items available to others via automated kiosks for 12, 24 or 48 hours. The number of items that can be posted at once is limited, additional auction slots are available with the premium currency.

 

 

Yes – -10%. The player’s inventory is pretty limited (28 slots per character for F2P players) but can be expanded by purchasing additional slots via the marketplace. As part of the Hand of Fate DLC (only available for free to Legendary users), players can also increase the number of trinkets and consumable items they are able to carry through the use of Utility Belt. The same applies to bank storage, free players are provided with 12 bank slots, whereas Premium players have 24 and Legendary players 48 bank slots at their disposal. Similar to the inventory spaces, the marketplace also offers additional banks slots for purchase.

 

 

No – -15%. As non-paying player can only access the core game content, new areas released with purchasable DLC packs are completely unavailable to them.

 

 

No. There aren’t any restrictions imposed on F2P players; they can freely access the end-game content which mainly consists in PvP and raids.

 

 

Yes – +10%. DCUO ultimately seems quite fair and utterly playable without having to take out your wallet, although options of spending money on premium items through micro-transactions or Legendary memberships actually exist. Those who opt for paying are able to receive some in-game bonuses that will certainly make their in-game life easier but they won’t be granted an unfair advantage over non-paying gamers. They may moreover access additional content, but there’s still sufficient content waiting to be enjoyed and explored without having to pay a single dime.

Having tested the game with our F2Pmeter, DC Universe Online receives a feeble 40% of free-to-play-ness.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 31st, 2014 at 1:09 pm and is filed under Articles, MMO News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Puedes dejar una respuesta, o un trackback desde tu sitio web.