DCUO is getting charged up with their upcoming DLC pack, "Lightning Strikes." Staff Writer Patrick Do sat down with DCUO's Jens Andersen and Lorin Jameson to talk more.

On Wednesday afternoon, we sat down with DC Universe Online's creative director Jens Andersen and executive director of development Lorin Jameson, in a roundtable interview, to discuss the upcoming downloadable content update based on the Flash. "Lightning Strikes," gives players access to new missions, instances, maps, as well as a brand spanking new power type: electricity.

The second major DLC pack for DCUO, "Lightning Strikes" follows in the footsteps of "Fight For the Light," the Green Lantern-centric DLC that was released earlier in the year. Similarly priced at $9.99, "Lightning Strikes" will introduce a new style of map: a large scale shared instance where up to 50 players will be able to work in concert to save the inhabitants of Central City from a new enemy known as "Paradox Reapers." Also in this DLC pack are new story-based duo missions taking place inside the Flash Museum, in which players will be able to travel back in time using a new feature called the "Cosmic Treadmill." Heroes and villains alike will be tasked with protecting the past from an enemy who wishes to stop a young Barry Allen from ever being struck by lightning (hence the title), and thus, becoming the Flash. This looks to be an interesting and original take on origin stories, a subject matter that Hollywood has beaten into the ground with the fury of a thousand Brett Ratners.

"Lightning Strikes" represents the first foray into the Cosmic Treadmill storyline, which will afford players glimpses into the backstories of some of their most beloved heroes, hinting that future DLC packs may feature the origin stories of Batman and Superman. In this pack, however, the focus is predominantly on the Flash and his rogue's gallery, allowing both hero and villain characters to play a part in the origin of one of history's most iconic superheroes. I really like what SOE is doing with their DLC packs, giving characters that aren't Batman their due diligence - although I'm notholding my breath for any Infectious Lass DLC anytime… ever.

The new electricity powers introduced in this pack are broken down into two skill trees: Voltage and Amperage. While both trees will feature a unique combination of DPS as well as healing, Voltage abilities will focus on AOE burst damage, arcing chain damage between enemies, whereas the Amperage skill set is all about something referred to as "rescue healing." Rescue healing involves placing a charge on a fellow player and having them heal automatically when they reach a certain damage threshold, sort of like how berries work in Pokémon. An interesting skill that Andersen singled out during the interview was the "Tesla Ball," an Electricity ability that would allow players to conjure a large, slow moving ball of electricity, which lashes out arcs of lightning damage across nearby enemies. This is a move that is sure to please fans of chain lightning as well as fans of giant balls. 

Overall, I'm excited to see what type of traction rescue healers find in DCUO, which promises to fill a happy medium between the static AOE healing offered by Sorcery and the burst-healing Nature class. I have to admit that the thought of arc lighting abilities in the style of Emperor Palpatine is giving me goose bumps - one of my favorite MMO classes ever was the Chain Lightning Sorcerer in Diablo II, and if the Voltage class comes anywhere near the level of amazing that is the "CL Sorc," I will be forever sated.  My only concern is that they don't over buff the new powers as some would argue they did in the Green Lantern DLC in the previous installment; but then again, I wouldn't exactly be heartbroken if they did. 

Players who do not purchase the DLC will be given brief glimpses of what they are missing out on as new enemies will spawn outside of the Flash Museum; but for the most part, there will be no major changes made to the core game at this time. Unlike in "Fight for the Light," no re-spec token will be included in "Lightning Strikes." Andersen and Jameson stressed their desire for players to create new characters with Electricity powers rather than re-specing an existing high-level character.

No release date for the DLC pack was specified at this time but expect Lightning to strike before the end of the year. 

Patrick "BakersMan" Do, Staff Writer.