DCUO: Returning Players
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| Azrael in Bombshell Paradox |
It can be overwhelming to return to a 15 year old MMO that's been through many structural changes and core enhancements. It would take years to get up to speed at the rate you were grinding back when you first started and you'll always be behind current players who are grinding at the same rate, but didn't take time off. This article is designed for you to have a substantial amount of skillpoints with light but efficient grinding. Do these things to have anedge over new users who simply use a CR Advance token to skip to the current episodes. You'll have a respectable SP-to-CR ratio.
NOTE: This article was written in June 2026, with Episodes 51-53 being the recent 3.
AAA Checklist
Before diving into the episode content, it's important to make sure your character is squared away first. There have been many additions to the character's arsenal and they all start with "A." Below is the order in which you should activate them as a returning player.Artifacts
Artifacts were added around Ep30, Earth 3 where you were able to equip 2. A third slot was added during Ep32, Teen Titans. And then the max level increased from 160 to 200 during Ep35, Metal I. Recently, in May 2025, during Ep50, Fearful Day, artifact slots were expanded to 5. This short history is important because content moving forward from each point would have been adjusted to the change.For a returning player, you'll want to look through your journal and sort by CR. There will be a lower leveling mission that gets you started on Artifacts. It's a one time solo walk-in with Constantine that has several small tasks. You'll get your first basic one here. Depending on what level you left off, you may be granted more of them. If you used a CR Advance token, you will also be granted an Artifact Starter kit. You'll want all of your artifacts at level 80 minimum in order for them to activate. If the game had no artifacts when you were last active, then 5 is a bit daunting. Between the starter mission, granted items and a CR Advance, see if you can equip 3 that are relevant to your role/style.
Augments
Augments were added to the game during Ep33, Atlantis back in November 2018.The Origin Augments should just be there when you return (assuming you're above 30). Just equip them via Inventory menu's 3rd tab. You may also be granted 2 episode augments from one or more episodes, depending on what CR you left off of. Just equip the 2 episode augments with the highest stats for now.
Allies
Allies were added during Ep44, Sins of Black Adam in November 2022.Like Artifacts, they back-inserted a low leveling mission in your journal. Look for this and complete the one-time solo with Cyborg. You'll want your three allies to be level 4-6 at least for their abilities to be usable.
CR Advance?
The next thing to look at is if your account has any CR Advance tokens available. Depending on the CR you left off on, you'll have one or more skip options. The ones without a Daybreak Cash icon were granted to your account during some promo or event. I would recommend using one of these just to cleanup some early feats you may have missed. Choose one based on how much content you want to skip. If you think you'll have a lot of time to grind old content, then pick the lowest one. If you want to get close to current and don't have time to grind, pick the highest.What Content to Start?
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| Alyssa Goldenblade in Sunken Argo |
While you're earning 2 streams of income, use the episode marks to buy the respective episode vendor items. Use Sourcemarks to buy starting from the episode you left off. So if you left off on 36...
- 51 pays for 51 & 36
- 52 pays for 52 & 37
- 53 pays for 53 & 38
With the much older episodes, the current episode SM will likely pay for much more than 1 legacy vendor.
Sourcemark Spending
After you've completed vendor items from the episodes you missed, the next priority is to cleanup style feats. Visit the Archive of Victory in the House of Legends where 7 vendors are selling iconic armor styles for 10 SM a piece (these are style only, no stats). As you grind more SM playing the recent 3 episodes, allocate your SM earning to this room next, until it's all cleaned out. There are A LOT of SP in this room!The next priority is to level your artifacts and allies. Going forward, allocate the rest of your SM to artifact catalysts and alliances. I like to keep 6 slots free in my shared bank for the 3 stacks of catalysts and 3 stacks of alliances. When I have a lot of excess SM, I pour them into these 6 so that I'm ready to level up when something new comes out. This actually applies to all players, not just returning ones.
