Just Announced! The New R&D Gear System!

October, 29th 2015

Introducing The R&D Gear System!
Hello, DCUO! Today we are pleased to announce the new R&D Gear System, launching in DCUO with or soon after Episode 18. The concept is simple. With this system, you can salvage those common gear items you don't want, and turn their components into the rare gear you do.

Not simple enough? Here's how it works.


 * 1)    Play content
 * 2)    Defeat bosses
 * 3)    Loot gear
 * 4)    Salvage unwanted gear, breaking it down into new components
 * 5)    Convert those new components into the rare gear you do want using new R&D Plans

The new R&D Gear System expands the existing R&D and salvage systems to offer a new, complementary progression path to the same rare gear found in large group content. The system does not replace playing content for drops - playing content for dropped gear remains the primary means to progress beyond vendor gear - but it does add an alternative, slower, and guaranteed path to rare gear for those losing the battle with randomness.

Now with the R&D Gear System, every drop matters - every drop is progress - and you are no longer fully at the mercy of random luck. In time, if you have not found the gear you want, you have the power to build it yourself.

That's it. That's the R&D Gear System. For those of you looking for the system's overview, stop reading right here!

For those of you who want a more in depth look, join us in this Work In Progress thread in the Developer Discussions subforum, and we'll break down exactly how and why this system works.

(from the DCUO Anouncments Forum)