In this next batch of superhero shenanigans, we’re going to beat up Scarecrow, backup Batman, and shout swear words on the moon! DC Universe Online has a lot of content and it’s often hard to understand what you should be doing and what gear you should be buying.
This guide fixes that. With it, you’ll always know what content will let you have the most fun while leveling up.
For other CR level ranges, view these guides:
General Tips For Leveling in DCUO
#1: Leveling to 30 and CR 1-43
Combat Rating 43-53
This level range is a lot of fun, and there are a ton of great options for efficient leveling. Take advantage of Raids at this level, where you’re likely to get one or two high-level players tossed in who can singlehandedly plow through the whole thing!
What To Do (Best Choices First)
- [RAID] Kahndaq: The Expert version of this is even better! 25 minutes nets you 13 Marks, 4 boss loot drops, and tons of crafting mats!
- [RAID] Outer Caverns, Inner Sanctum, Braniac Sub-Construct: All of the Batcave Raids are perfect for leveling. Lots of rewards, fun fights, and lots of high-level players farming it for cosmetics that’ll speedrun you through it.
- [SOLO] Old Gotham Missions: You should finally have the power to cruise through these Missions and they give a ton of Marks! Get them in the Meta Wing of the Watchtower
- [DUO] Riverside Center, Riverside Hotel, Gotham Hospital: Designed for efficiency, these little bottled buildings are straightforward and fast.
- [GROUP] Oan Sciencells: All the enemies come to you. Randomization keeps it interesting, and the fights are fun.
- [GROUP] Outer Caverns: Long, with lots of fights — but gives plenty of bonus Marks at the end to make up for it!
- [SOLO] Mannheim’s Chinese Theater: You can do this Tier 1 Challenge in a single pull now. The gear is worthless, but it’s the fastest way to get a Mark.
- [SOLO] Toyland Missions: If you don’t hate them yet, these are still efficient Mark-farmers.
What To Avoid (Worst Choices First)
- [GROUP] Hive Moon Base: If you only skip one thing, skip this. Insanely long, hundreds of unnecessary and densely packed mobs, and confusing objective mechanics.
- [SOLO] Signaling the End: Unless you have a group, this Mission is a death gauntlet — and there’s no inherent rewards. That’s a bad combo.
- [SOLO] Old Gotham Subway: Forced fights and crap gear make this heist a bust. Which is a shame, because the Two-Face costume drops look great!
- [SOLO] Gotham University Warehouse: Takes longer than a Raid, but has a ton of loot drops. Easily skippable.
- [GROUP] STAR Labs Research Facility: Lots of forced waits and just generally way too long to be worth your time.
- [SOLO] Gotham Sewer: This inefficient romp is plenty fun and has a unique Scarecrow fight (with cool-looking loot). Run it once for the experience, but don’t farm it.
What To Buy
- Lair Upgrades: By the time you leave Tier 2, you should have fully upgraded your Lair’s Mainframe. Congrats! Now we can focus on shopping for sweet gear.
- Tier 2 Gear: After your Lair is upgraded, buy a piece or two from the Tier 2 Vendors — pick the pieces you want the visuals for!
Combat Rating 53-70
We’ve unlocked our first new city! Central City is home to the Flash (one of my personal favorite heroes) and has its own set of daily Missions and gear to sell you. We’ll get one of these alternate-city-hubs in almost every Tier after this point, and they’re VERY easy to miss since you have to teleport to them in order to even know they exist and have gear/content to offer you. Each of them has teleporters in the Watchtower that you can search for in the Map UI. But I’ll make sure to call all of them out like this, even if we don’t highly recommend their content. You should at least go check it out!
What To Do
- [RAID] Sunstone Matrix: This might be the best Raid ever (reward-wise). More than a Mark a minute! All in one room, too.
- [DUO] Shady Nightclub: Best option for cheap, rapid-fire farming. Drops CR 64 Gear and is insanely quick.
- [RAID] The Chasm: The best option in the rest of the universally “meh” options of this Tier. At least there’s a dog!
- [GROUP] Coast City: Takes a lot of killing, but won’t trip up uncoordinated groups.
- [SOLO] Star Labs Facility: You only get one Mark, but you can run past EVERYthing but the final boss.
- [GROUP] League of Assassins Stronghold: I’ve seen groups wipe in the very first room, so this could go wrong. But it’s worth the risk for the loot!
- [GROUP] South Gotham Courthouse: Carries some risk as well, but has some very unique fights and good loot.
What To Avoid
- [GROUP] Stryker’s Island Penitentiary: Easily the worst option in this Tier. Longer than a Raid with half the rewards.
- [RAID] Power Core: Even with multiple 180+ CR players, the bridge section is difficult. Most groups collapse there and it just ends in frustration.
- [Group] Central City Bounties: There might be cool cosmetic loot, but just wait to solo these later. They’re spread out over 3 cities and only give 1 Mark each.
- [SOLO] East End Regal Hotel, Circe’s Stronghold, Monarch Playing Card Company: Gates and forced kills slow these down and 1 Mark isn’t worth the time anymore.
- [DUO] Cape Carmine Lighthouse, Old Gotham Subway, Ferris Aircraft: Too much fighting for these to be worth the effort.
- [SOLO] Central City Missions: No gear rewards at all, but a fine way to farm Marks if you need it.
What To Buy
- Tier 3 Gear: Superman-themed spiffy duds are the fashion this time around. Grab ’em at the T3 Vendors in the Meta Wing.
- Central City Gear: Do NOT buy this for stats. T3 Gear is straight-up better, but the gear in Central City (take Teleporter in the Hangar of Watchtower) is Flash-themed and has some very cool, unique items you should at least look at to see if you want to buy it, even with its underpowered stats.
NEXT – DC Universe Online: Leveling Guide (70 – 100)
Coming soon!