The team behind DC Universe Online has had quite a week, with developer Sony Online Entertainment's sale to new ownership. While this is a major shakeup in the gaming world, all of the former SOE's games and their development schedule are not set to be affected in any way. In fact, for DCUO, it's business as usual, with the game's 13th DLC pack set to debut next week.
Shacknews recently had the opportunity to check out Amazon Fury: Part 2, the follow-up to the original story-based DLC. The Amazon invasion continues, requiring the player heroes to team up with Wonder Woman to take down her mother, Queen Hippolyta, and her Amazon warriors before they can unleash destruction upon man's world. Senior Creative Director Jens Andersen and Design Director Jesse Benjamin walked us through the DLC's new missions atop Paradise Island. The object is to take the fight directly to Hippolyta.
The Hippolyta battle introduces some interesting boss battle mechanics. Hippolyta will use the island's statues to her advantage, requiring the party to take them out first before taking the fight directly to her. Ultimately defeating her will lead to Wonder Woman's suspicions being confirmed. Hippolyta had a Soul Cord attached to the back of her head, meaning she was under the control of outside forces the whole time. This revelation leads to the introduction of some new higher-tier enemies, dubbed Shades, and some new landscapes, like the Gates of Tartarus.
The introduction of the underworld opens the door for some of DCUO's new visual capabilities, the main one being dubbed Big Creature Tech. This is put on display about halfway through the story, as Wonder Woman confronts Ares and is faced with the mythical Hydra. The Hydra will move in proportion to its massive size, while lashing out at foes with its three heads, flame breath, and deadly tail. Cerebus will also utilize this tech, as the three-headed dog stalks foes in the underworld's Labyrinth, a dungeon that changes its pattern for each playthrough.
The Throne of the Dead raid will see players team up with Wonder Woman, once again, to confront the DLC's main antagonists, Hades and Ares, with Hippolyta's soul suspended above them. Of note, this will also be one of the first DCUO quests to feature an elite raid counterpart. Andersen pulls no punches, touting the all-out difficulty of the elite raids. The elite raid will be available for 14 days after completing the normal raid. If the elite raid isn't completed by this point, the normal raid must be completed again. On top of the enemies being completely souped up with some new moves, the boss battles will have the extra twist of a revival cap. Characters can only be revived twice during boss battles, at which point they're out of commission for the remainder of the fight. If all characters fall, the raid ends in failure. As one might imagine, with the amped-up difficulty comes far greater rewards.
Along with the DLC will come four unlockable styles for both heroes and villains. The two hero styles will be based on Wonder Woman, while the two villain styles will be based on Circe. This is in addition to individual pieces of gear that will also become available.
This is just an introduction to the larger Amazon Fury content, as a whole, with additional content expected. While the latter portion of the story wasn't revealed, there were some hints offered as to where the narrative will end up. Look for Amazon Fury: Part 2 to set up a big finale for Part 3, with DCUO introducing Olympus for the first time. Current DCUO subscribers will get Amazon Fury: Part 2 at no extra charge on February 12, while the DLC will be available for $9.99 to all others.
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replyOzzie Mejia posted a new article, Exploring the underworld in DC Universe Online's Amazon Fury: Part 2 DLC
