Hello PlayStation and DCUO fans,

Today our latest DLC pack – Home Turf – went live! Home Turf is our sixth DLC and brings with it the biggest addition to DC Universe Online since the launch of the game two years ago – Player Bases. Bases are a player-created and controlled space that can be used as a venue of self-expression in addition to being a place for combat. Perhaps the most important part of your Base is the Mainframe. Through it, players can unlock several new abilities. In a lot of ways it’s like having your very own Bat Computer.

The thing you’re likely to notice when you first enter your Base is a terminal on the wall next to the front door. This is your Base’s Control Panel, and by interacting with this you can relocate or rename your Base, or enter Decoration Mode. Decoration Mode pops you into a first-person camera, allowing you to easily zoom around your Base, placing and moving items and amenities. The latter can include things like an R&D Station, Broker, Mailbox, or Bank. Basically, the things that you otherwise would need to visit a Safehouse or HQ to use – in the convenience of your own home. When you first start decorating, you will have to use pre-defined markers to place objects you’ve collected. The markers will only accept compatible items – ceiling objects on ceiling markers and so forth. There are pink markers that signify an amenity location. Aside from teaching players the basics of item placement, these markers will also serve another purpose – only items placed in markers are visible during Lair PvP Battles. Once you’ve placed at least 20 items in markers you unlock Free Placement Mode – allowing you to place items just about anywhere you want.

Lair Battles need a bit of explanation. They’re a new addition to Arenas: PvP that takes place in your Base – a multi-round 1-on-1 PvP contest. Lair Battles are set-up much like a fighting game, with a best of five rounds format, and short cut-scenes before and after each round. You can earn PvP rewards just like in other PvP Arenas.

The Mainframe is a major addition to the “player package” – everything that makes up a player’s abilities (power, weapon, movement mode). Leveraging the Utility Belt introduced in DLC 5, The Hand of Fate, the Mainframe is the heart of your Base, and offers several new abilities and a new class of mods. You can unlock some pretty amazing Upgrades such as Orbital Strike, Supply Drop, a powerful Sidekick (Accomplice for Villains), a group of Back-Up (Henchman for Villains), and Tactical Mods using Marks of Triumph. Orbital Strike is a powerful AOE attack from the heavens, from your own killer satellite. Supply Drops are similar, but instead drop a variety of power-ups (health, etc.) from the sky.

Sidekicks are powerful allies that can provide health and power buffs in addition to being a competent battle companion. Using Back-up will summon three less powerful companions, perfect for those occasions when quantity is more important than quality. Tactical Mods are a new type of mod, fitting into the white sockets that started showing up on some gear in our last game update. They do more than just incremental stat-buffing. For instance, Absorption Adapter is a Tactical Mod that fits into weapons that has a chance of activating a shield while attacking, reducing damage by 75% until its damage threshold is reached. Focused Restoration, a neck mod, increases Restoration until you’re hit by an attack. There are a lot of these and they offer up some really fun and interesting combat mechanics.

Though Bases are getting a lot of the attention in Home Turf, there is a good deal of new content to play through, too. For the first time, we’re offering Tier 4 solo challenges. These are set in and around four of the most iconic locations in DC Universe Online: Ace Chemicals, Steelworks, Arkham Asylum, and Stryker’s Island. All of these missions will have an open world component in addition to instanced content, and will allow players to collect Marks of War for the first time solo. Of course, we have new gear sets for each location.

As you can see, there are a ton of new features and content in Home Turf that will keep you happily busy for months, so dive in and check it out!

See you in game!