Legendary Access requires the purchase of a recurring monthly game pass (subscription) ($14.99/month) or the SOE All Access pass (subscription) ($19.99/month). At the time the game transitions to free-to-play, all existing DCUO accounts with active paid subscriptions will be granted Legendary Access. Legendary Access will also be granted to any player that activates a 30-day free subscription associated with a purchased copy of the DCUO base game software. Legendary Access will automatically convert to Premium Access at the end of the subscription period if it is not renewed. Additional items and features (e.g., in-game marketplace items and additional inventory slots) are not included and must be purchased separately.
* If your Legendary Access ends your account will automatically convert to Premium Access and you will not be able to access any DLC content, except for DLC Packs that you have purchased separately
PREMIUM ACCESS
At the time the game is transitioned to free-to-play, all existing DCUO accounts with inactive subscriptions will be granted Premium Access. After the game is transitioned to free-to-play, Premium Access will be granted to any player that spends at least U.S. $5.00 (or the foreign equivalent) or 500 Station Cash on items in the DCUO in-game marketplace, or that purchases a DCUO DLC Pack. Premium Access does not expire.
FREE ACCESS
Provides basic access to the game with limited content and features. DLC Packs and other items and features are not included and must be purchased separately.
Free to Play means anyone can enjoy the exciting world of DC Universe Online at no cost. Alternatively, you can purchase the items or features you want, or even get premium access to game content by purchasing a subscription. It's up to you and how you want to play the game. There is no software purchase or subscription fee required for basic game content and features.
Using this model, players will have the option to customize their game experience by purchasing services, items and more that best fit their style of play. When added to an already robust world, you will be able to play the game in different ways.
There will be three access levels offered in DCUO: Legendary, Premium, and Free.
2. What is the Free Access Level and how much does it cost?
With the Free Access level you can enjoy all of the level 1 – 30 missions, Alerts, Duos, Arenas, and the Bat cave and Fortress of Solitude Raids. There are limitations in terms of character slots, inventory, and other features. Be sure to see the complete access comparison matrix for full details. Best of all, this access level is completely free; just download the software and play!
3. What is the Premium Access Level and how much does it cost?
Premium Access is the next level up from Free Access. It contains everything from the Free Access level plus more slots, capabilities, and options. Be sure to see the complete access comparison matrix for full details. To achieve this access level you only need to spend 500 Station Cash on the PC or U.S. $5.00 (or the foreign equivalent) on the PS3 Marketplace. Best of all, Premium Access does not expire.
4. What is the Legendary Game Access Level and how much does it cost?
The Legendary Level is the "I want it all" way to play. It includes 16 character slots, a greatly expanded inventory (an even more inventory slots are available for purchase), free access to all current and future DLC Packs, and much more. This level of access gives you the most features and options, including unlimited cash balances. We have many game pass plans available to Legendary players so be sure to check the in-game Marketplace, PlayStation®3 Store or dcuniverseonline.com to choose the one best for you.
5. Can I use SOE Station Cash to purchase my Legendary Access?
Yes, you can. Legendary level access will be available for purchase for PC players in game with SOE Station Cash.
6. As a current subscriber what does going to the Free-to-Play model mean for me?
As a current subscriber of DC Universe Online, you will automatically convert to our Legendary Access plan with all its benefits and privileges as long as your subscription remains active. For you, the change to Free-to-Play opens up additional benefits including increased numbers of inventory and character slots, priority access to servers and the inclusion of all DLC Packs in your access level at no additional charge!
7. I'm a former subscriber but want to try the game again. What features will be available to me?
Anyone who has subscribed to DC Universe Online before the free-to-play transition will be converted to a Premium account at no cost. This provides you additional benefits you would not receive with a Free Access account such as access to the Broker, greater inventory space, and much more!
8. I'm a Lifetime Subscriber. Will I need to purchase anything additional?
No. As a Lifetime Subscriber you will be kept at Legendary Access status for the life of your account.
9. Are you still adding free content to the game for everyone?
During the transition to free-to-play, we will continue to add brand new game play missions/zones that everyone can enjoy, including two more Fortress of Solitude raids! Players can also expect continued enhancements to existing content and mechanics.
10. What happens to my characters if I change from Legendary to Premium?
If you have more than six characters you will need to deactivate enough characters to get down to the six character limit. Those characters can be reactivated later by purchasing additional character slots or by upgrading to Legendary Access again. If you have more than 42 inventory items and/or more than 24 bank items you will also need to either purchase additional inventory and/or bank slots or choose which items within those limits you want to carry over to your Premium Access account. Items that are not carried over cannot be recovered later. Finally, any cash you have in excess of the Premium Access limit will be transferred to escrow (see Question 12).
11. What happens if I play with players that are of different Access Levels? Does it affect my personal game play experience?
In most cases, you can still play with anyone you choose anywhere in the game. Generally, your access level will not affect your ability to join with others on missions, raids and alerts. However, a player who does not have access to a particular DLC Pack will not be able to join other players in those zones.
12. Why is my cash being limited if I'm Premium Access?
While we do offer a higher cash limit at the Premium Access level, there are still restrictions compared to the Legendary level. Rest assured that the money you earn in excess of the Premium Access in-game currency limit will be kept in escrow for you and you can always buy a Cash Boost from the Marketplace to access your escrow cash for big purchases. Or, you can upgrade to Legendary Access to eliminate the inconvenience of in-game currency limits.
13. Why are Broker slots being limited?
Selling items in the Broker interface is a Legendary and Premium Access service. You can upgrade to Premium Access to get five auction slots and the ability to buy even more slots, or upgrade to Legendary Access to get unlimited slots to sell your items.
14. What kind of restrictions will be placed on Leagues for Free Access?
The Free and Premium Access levels allow you to become a member of a guild. Only Legendary Access players can actually form guilds.
15. Does this mean that current Legends subscribers will continue to pay $9.99 or will we have to pay the full price?
You will renew at whatever plan you are on. If you have the Legends plan now you will continue at that price.
16. The chart at dcuniverseonline.com/free lists a few items that are included in the Legendary plan:
*16 character slots included
*63 inventory slots included
*48 bank slots included
What is the maximum in each of the above categories that can be purchased?
Maximums will be pretty high but not unlimited
17. If we have a Disc copy of DC universe Online, Can we switch to the Digital Download version?
You can indeed use Digital Download, but it will be a new install since they are technically different products as far as the PSN is concerned.
18. So legendary subscriber will have priority at logging in when the server is full?
That is the plan.
19. Will there be a way to auto renew subscription?
Yes. The IGN article is inaccurate on this point and being corrected. All subscription plans will remain recurring. We may offer 'passes' in the future that allow you to purchase legendary access for a period of time without recurrence.
20. What happens to a player, who had to let my subscription expire?
You would already be a Premium player when we convert so you will be at that level automatically. If you exceed your limit on the number of characters you will be asked to deactivate or delete the excess characters. You can always reactivate them by buying additional character slots or going back to Legendary access. Excess inventory/bank items will drop into your inventory when you make space. Excess cash will go into your escrow account.
21. if I download the digital version, will I keep my characters or will it recognize that as a different game account then my disk version.
As long as you log in with the same PSN account it will all be there
Keynotes -Group, League and Instance chat will be the same as currently implemented. We are not allowing spatial chat for Free access players.
-You can purchase cash boosters from the store that will allow you to access money you have in escrow above the tier limits.
-We are still targeting $9.99 as our DLC costs.
-New raids, new powers and weapon types and a lot of higher level content will be part of the DLC's. Open world, seasonal, and other content will be offered as free updates for sure.
-All subs, regardless of lifetime or multi-month on all platforms will convert to Legendary
- We do have restriction for creation, but once created we do not want Leagues to go away because the Leader goes to Premium (that would be bad). However Free & premium players cannot be made the leader of a League. There is a loop-hole there, but one that still requires the leader to be Legendary when they become leader.
-Download of the game software will be free.
-A lot of the new content we will add to the game moving forward, especially at the higher end of the game, will be in the DLC's. We will still offer some content as free updates of course as well as enhancements and new open world features. You always have the option to buy the new content if you are a Premium player but Legendary access folks will get access to the DLC content for free.