DCUO Morality Guide

So you've decided to start playing DC Universe Online. That's awesome. However when you're creating your character it will say "select your morality," and while it seems like "good and evil" it's not.

Morality is more than just a career choice. It sets the tone for your game. If you have Light powers, it's the choice between Will and Fear (Functionally, they're the same.)

Morality is what seperates characters and makes them partially unique. Partially. You're not very unique if you're the 20,000th player to make an "anti-hero" hero with a generic name.

What is an anti-hero? I will go over the many types of morality in comics.

Heroes generally help people. It's what they do. They neutralize threats to the welfare of the public.
They fight for what they believe is right, for whatever reason. Hero characters assist other heroes to do their job and do it well. hero characters don't steal or kill. Or kill-steal. Hero morality characters have many reasons to be heroes.

1. Boy Scout/Girl Scout Heroes - These guys are very stiff in their morality and never bend or break the rules in order to do their job. They are the consummate good guy, they never lie, cheat, or steal, and they are often intelligent but always know more than they're letting on for the sake of not showing their hand too soon. They defend, they don't attack without provocation. They are idealists for the most part.

2. Mercs - Mercs rarely become heroes because rarely can the forces of good afford their services. Mercs follow the money wherever it may take them. Mercs are paid to kill, Deathstroke being a merc/hitman.

3. Antiheroes - These BARELY qualify as heroes. Antiheroes do good to serve their own selfish interests. Maybe they want the fame. maybe they want revenge for their pet dog Scrappy who was hit by a LexCorp truck. Maybe they're really possessive and want to take the trash out of the city so they can rule themselves (In a game like this that's quite the delusion).

For clarity, heroes do not behave like jerks. they don't attack without provocation, and they don't insult others and have a sense of fair play.

Villains aren't always about being evil. Being a villain is about being selfish and taking from the world what you think rightfully belongs to you. Money? Infamy? Candy from a baby? It's all yours. That is, if you're willing to do the hard work. Being a villain is not easy. You have heroes trying to stop you and your colleagues are rather... non-social creatures? Just because you're a villain doesn't mean you have to hate everybody, even your coworkers at the Hall of Doom.

1. Theives with a Concience - Catwoman and Tthe Payday Crew are perfect examples of this. Yeah, they might steal or kill but they don't hurt innocent people if they can avoid it.

2. Tragic Villains - Tragic Villains are the opposite side of the coin to the Antihero. Mr. Freeze is the most well-known tragic villain, he does bad things because he wants to help his sick wife. The same could be said for any character who feels the system has failed them and feels they need to commit crime in order to meet their goals.

3. The Anarchist - This is by far the most popular, as the number of people mentored by Joker matches the number of people mentored by Batman. Anarchists do stuff JUST BECAUSE. They don't need a reason, sometimes they do things just to make things interesting/funny/less boring. Sometimes they just don't like the status quo.

4.The Evil Mad Scientist - Not all mad scientists are evil, and not all evil scientists are mad. These are the people who do sick twisted experiments to others in the unholy name of science. They are often shunned by the scientific/medical community and may or may not unleash these horrors on themselves, possibly becoming a Tragic Villain. They believe in their own projects and intellect.

5. World Dominator - It doesn't have to be world domination the villain is after. Maybe they want Earth to be rid of all the aliens. Maybe they want only their ideal, or form of government to reign supreme. Maybe they just want to monopolize cellphone manufacturing. Maybe they want to invade this plane of existence with their minions. In any case, these types of villains go to great lengths to accomplish their goals.

6. The Lieutenant - Maybe you don't want to rule. maybe you're satisfied with being some villain or villainess's lapdog or lapkitty. Nevertheless, they care for you, and life is good, as long as you do what they say. And if they approve of whatever you do, then who's to say that what you do isn't what they want?

7. Trigon's New Hired Gun - Now this is fun isn't it? Nothing like satisfying your craving for power by corrupting yourself with the power of Trigon, eh? Bonus points for actually looking like a demon.

In conclusion, being a villain is about feeding your ego and fulfilling selfish desires. Or it can be about committing crime in order to accomplish goals (finiancial goals, or helping a close one to you). It's also about doing the dirty jobs that no one wants, even treading where angels fear to tread. However a bit of a caveat... other villains are in the same boat as you. They run the same dungeons, do the same content, and know about the gear and costumes. Work with them. Your mission's success counts on it.

That's not all the types of morality in comics but I hopes that gets you started on determining which content is right for your character.