Creating a Super Hero Avatar in DC Universe
When players first step into DC Universe Online, they will do so in an avatar created in an image of their liking. That said, the whole process of creating a suitable superhero - especially for first time players, is a very time consuming process. The good thing is that though it takes a while, it can also be plenty of fun. Of course, it would be hard to enjoy something if you have no idea where to begin, so to help you all out with the process of creating a DC character, we decided to give the process a closer look.
How About Creating Your Very Own Superman to Fight With?
Superman is a definite fan favorite for many comic book fans. After all, the appeal of a completely invulnerable being with super speed, strength, and the power of flight is pretty high. So how does one actually get to become Superman in the virtual world of DCUO? Well, here we have a very easy guide that teaches you how to make a character that not only looks like Superman, but also functions a lot like him too. Just note that since there are many features that will not be unlocked until level 30, we will focus on doing things that can be done early in the game.
Jumping Ahead: Iconic Powers and End Game
So before we start with the actual avatar creation, here's a quick look at what you will be looking forward to as you head towards the endgame. Starting at level 10, iconic powers will slowly be made available to characters. As such, you will want to unlock heat vision, freeze breath, super strength, X-ray vision, and powerful resistance. As one would see, getting all of these would require a lot of skill points and as such, it does not bode well for the regular skill tree. Expect to rely heavily on items and gear in order to compensate for some issues. If you plan on bringing this character to PvP, you might want to consider swapping out powerful resistance (which gives health) and getting nanoweave armor instead (since it provides a boost to defense).
Also, the brawler striker will be relying on a wide range of gauntlets as well. So expect to be seeing your normally bare-fisted avatar to wearing oddly shaped stuff on his hands or be prepared to make-do with the issue of being bare fisted. One important thing to remember is that super strength turns a lot of background items into instant weapons for bashing or throwing, so be sure to scout out your current area for these things.
Lastly, if you really want to role-play as Kal-El, then be sure to try and collect the various Kryptonian armors, as well as the various Fortress of Solitude items. While these will not do much in terms of making your character look more like Superman, it kind of makes sense to collect them.
Basic Choices
Obvious things first, if you plan to make Superman, then some choices are pretty much default. The gender will be male, and the morality will have to be heroic -and of course, your mentor will be none other than Superman himself.
Movement should definitely be flight because even if Superman is insanely fast, his flying is what makes him a truly iconic character. Also, be sure to pick powerful as your general pose/attitude as the forms and poses that you take while flying will be a lot like the ones that Superman does in the comics (this is most evident when you are hovering).
For power, most people would go for ice -mostly because of the fact that this is the default power that is selected when you create a character that is inspired by Superman. While this certainly will not make you look like Superman in combat, that massive tanking benefits it does give is a good way to emulate the toughness that comes from invulnerability. So far, it makes for a better choice than all the other tank type powers.
Lastly, combat is done by brawling -after all, it is pretty rare to see Superman fight with anything other than his bare fists. Note that unlike Clark Kent, you will have to resort to making use of glove and gauntlet style weapons in order to deal a good amount of damage. While it is possible to exclusively rely on the 100% weaponization benefit that super-strength gives later in the game, it is a slow way to fight and gain progress for the character.
Aesthetic Start
Now we move on to the character's actual physical form. For the body type, you will want to start with a Male Striker with a large frame. This is a great form in terms of defined muscle tones and body proportions -quite similar to the body type of Superman himself. For the eyes, go for the default setting. Because unless you are trying to depict Cyborg Superman or the Last Son of Krypton variants, there is not much need to add anything to Superman's face.
When it comes to the hair, fans of Superman have two options. Liverpool depicts a much younger look, it is a slightly relaxed style that looks closer to the aesthetic approach of the New-52. On the other hand, the Rockford style looks akin to the classic comic book look and the one that Bruce Timm uses in the DC Animated Universe (which many fans are quite familiar with). Of course, be sure to leave the hair color as black.
Lastly, the skin is a pretty straightforward choice. Youthful has the right amount of tone and firmness -while only his hands and face are exposed, it is pretty important to get the tone right so be sure to select this properly.
Gear and Palette
Now this is where things get a little more interesting. While there are various ways to achieve a Superman-like look, there is one formula that works effectively well. Of course, this will require making use of the palette controls in order to change the hue and brightness of each part. As most of you are probably well aware, even the basic Superman costume tends to vary in terms of color depth for the red, blue, and yellow tones. But we will touch up more on that later.
Setting the Emblem
While the most common suggestion would be to go for the standard letter S and color it red, we suggest trying out the Shield emblem and modifying most of the border color to red and as much of the inside as yellow. As a whole, this looks a lot more like Supes' emblem than the plain letter S. The one big difference is that there will not be an emblem on the cape, but that's fine considering that there are not much to be done about it.
Chest, Legs, and Waist
Most Superman guides will tell you to go for New Genesis for both the arms and the legs -and that works pretty well. This may seem shocking at first since the chest has a massive yellow and red part on the upper half. This is not an issue, simply edit the chest and color the whole thing blue. The reason why this is a good choice is due to the fact that New Genesis is the only chest option that keeps the fists bare.
For the legs, New Genesis is the often given selection. This is because of the fact that the waist has the properly shaped red brief. Now, for those of you wanting to do something a little closer to the New-52 or Man of Steel version, use the Pyramid Slimline instead as it completely removes the red brief - you can check out this tutorial on youtube.
If you went for the New Genesis legs, then the best belt would have to the square buckle fully painted in yellow. This keeps up with the more traditional look of Superman. On the other hand, the Pyramid Slimline's default belt already looks good enough for the Superman outfit, so just color it red for the New 52 look and dark blue for the Man of Steel variant.
Boots and Cape
These are actually pretty easy to edit. By going with the Superman inspired presets, you would already have the proper boots and cape. With the boots, the shape is already a lot like the ones Superman uses, except for the yellow lining -to deal with this, simply run the palette controls and turn the yellow into a red color that matches the rest of the boots. As for the cape, the default one you get is already a good match, but if you want something a little more dramatic, there is a tattered version of the cape with torn and frayed edges. While the torn cape does look dramatic, it does really match all that well with the rest of the suit since everything else looks brand new -it would be interesting if they added battle damage effects on gear, but until then, the torn cape will be a pretty selective choice.
Balancing Colors
One of the key factors to consider when altering the Superman colors is how much intensity should the colors have and second, how bright should they be. Those wanting to look a lot more like the early superman comics will want to go for a more firetruck red and a really light blue shade. Those going for the darker Zack Snyder look will want to bring down the brightness to the lowest settings. Even the Pre-Crisis, Post-Crisis, and New-52 looks will each have their own colors. The bottom line is that you stick with the ones that look the best to your eyes. After all, staring at a bright red cape while your hero flies from one location to another can get pretty straining on the eyes.
As a rule of thumb, Superman's costume only uses red, blue, and depending on the version, also yellow. The belt and the inside of the emblem are the only yellow parts. The cape, the boots, and the brief (or in Man of Steel version, the belt) are red. Lastly, the full body tights should be colored blue.
Other Variations
Aside from the more commonly depicted versions of Superman are the comic variants that appeared in alternate stories. To create them, you can modify the existing Superman base above and do a few adjustments.
For Kingdom Come, keep the original look, but replace the belt and shield yellows with a black color. The Soviet-styled Red Son would have the tights and boots be turned to a shade of dark gray with a hint of ash blue. Eradicator would have a yellow shades, would keep the New Genesis red on the top part of the chest, and the boots would match the blue of the tights. Ultraman would have no brief, belt, nor boots (so just color all of those blue).
A Last Word About Iconic Powers and Skills
Since DCUO was designed for players to create original characters with, most of the iconic powers are just for show. So for those of you who want to look like Superman but still have a very functional skill set, keep the iconic selections limited -Heat Vision would be a nice choice, but it still lacks decent combat efficiency since it does not do as much damage and the fact that you cannot move while using it is a massive tactical flaw.
Another thing is that the ice based powers are really nothing close to what Superman does, but since elemental options are the only things available to Tanker types (and Superman is a tanker more than anything else), then you have to make do with it. Ice powers balances somewhere between increasing a player's defensive stats as well as dealing a lot of damage in single blow attacks.
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