DC Universe Online introducing Casual Friendly Raids & Alerts

For many massive multiplayer online games, end-game content has always been introduced for "hardcore" players; the gamers who are willing to spend hundreds of hours grinding for better gear. Very few developers have managed to blur the line between casual and hardcore audiences.

With Game Update 9: Assemble for Battle, Sony Online Entertainment will be introducing casual friendly features to their free-to-play DC Universe Online in an effort to cut down on alert/raid queues and provide an avenue for all players to experience end-game content. Don't have the time to improve your Combat Rating? That's fine, SOE is opening the doors to the Batcave and Fortress of Solitude with "Novice Raids". With "Novice Raids", players will be able to experience all of the raid content with a more forgiving difficulty level. They'll have similar rewards, although not the same quantity of them (1/3 of the Marks of Distinction has been rumored) and share the same timers as the veteran versions.

The Alerts are also going to be improved with a new "Role Optional Alert" feature. Queues in DCUO can take anywhere from seconds to an hour, depending on the player role and their instance selection. For some players, it can get a little ridiculous. With the introduction of a new "Role Optional Alert" feature, players will be able to queue without worrying about who's involved. Any combination of players will be able to complete an instance. Got 4 'trollers? You'll be fine. The game will decrease the amount of damage each player will take and regenerate your health over time. Got two tanks and 2 damage players? It'll also compensate for the lack of power and health regen. The goal is simple - cut down the amount of waiting and encourage players to group without worrying about player balance.

Disappointed in the lack of PVP news from the last few updates? New PVP content is coming with DLC4 in mid-2012. Quite a ways off, considering we haven't heard anything about DLC3 yet.

As for Game Update 9, it's coming "soon".