DCUO Guides: How to gear up for end game content

Basically, gear is obtained by earning the right currency and buying the gear. Most of the level 30 gear is purchased from vendors in the Watchtower or the Hall of Doom. But some of the PvP gear is only available at the green lantern corps when your faction is in control of the Ring War battle zone. First off, lets look at the stats our gear provide.
 

STATS

Defense – This is your PvE defense stat. It directly impacts the amount of damage your character takes when hit by mobs and enemies in PvE combat, meaning raids, duos, missions and the like. This stat scales with level, in other words in order to mitigate damage by 1% you will need appx 71 points of defense at level 30. At lower levels, less defense is required for that 1% mitigation. You can get additional points of defense from the staff and bow weapon trees.

Toughness – This is your PvP defense stat. Works almost as a mirror of Defense, but only for damage from other players, meaning arenas and open world raids etc. The scaling is almost exactly the same as defense, where 71 points of toughness grants appx 1% mitigation from player damage at 30. You can get additional points of toughness from the staff and bow weapon trees.

Health – This is your hit points stat, or the ‘green bar’. The green bar keeps you alive longer when this stat is high. Pretty basic. Two handed and Rifle weapon trees give you additional health.

Might – This is the damage stat for powers. The scaling is around 1% extra base power damage per 4 points of might. This is an obvious choice of stats for a DPS character. You can get additional points of might in the One handed and Martial arts and Dual Pistols weapon trees.

Precision – This is the damage stat for weapons. About 10 points of Precision will boost your weapon damage by appx 1 dps. All weapons enjoy the same dps increase. Another good choice for DPS characters, but usually have to trade off between precision or might on gear. Weapon trees don’t give a bonus to Precision.

Power – This is your energy or the ‘blue bar’. This stat is required to use your powers, the more of it you have the more powers can be used. It is also requried to break free from stuns/holds. Weapon trees don’t give a bonus to Power.

Dominance – This is the ‘control’ stat. Basically the more dominance you have the more damage your controlled mob must take to break from from stuns/holds. The scaling is around 2 points of Dominance to one point of additional damage taken before control breaks. It is currently believed to not work as intended though, as a high dominance doesn’t seem to have much effect in combat right now. Brawling, Staff, Hand Blaster or Dual wield trees can increase your Dominance.

Restoration – This is the healing stat. Similar to might, the more Resto the more powerful the heal. The scaling is about 4 points to improve healing by 1%. Martial Arts, Dual Wield and Dual Pistol trees can increase your Resto.

Vitalization – This is the power regeneration stat. Important for controllers, as they are our power batteries. 10 points of Vit to 1% increased power regen. Two handed, Rifle, One Handed and Dual Pistol trees can increase your Vit.
 

PVP GEAR

Influence – Any time you enter an Arena or Legends battle, you gain influence, win or lose. You get more for winning of course, but you get some either way. You can use influence alone to buy level 19, 24 blue PvP gear in Midtown, or level 30 blue PvP gear from vendors in the Watchtower and Hall of Doom. Playing in Legends arenas also grant Marks of Legend, which you can use to buy additional characters to play with in the Legends arenas, but they can’t be used for gear.
 
Marks of Victory – Once you reach level 30, you start earning this currency with every Arena and Legends match. Marks of Victory are used to buy Purple PvP gear from Green Lanter Corps at the Ring War, or vendors in the Watchtower and Hall of Doom. This is currently the best PvP gear attainable in the game.
 

PVE GEAR

PVE gear is paid for with the following marks + Cash.
 
Marks of Triumph – Once you reach 30, you will obtain this currency from Duos, Hard Mode alerts and raids. You can also exchange 10 Marks of Allegiance for 1 Mark of Triumph. You can buy tier 1 PvE gear with this currency in the Watchtower or Hall of Doom.
 
Marks of Distinction – Typically once you have a full set of tier 1 PvE gear, you will be able to complete hard mode ‘star’ raids and duos. While you can enter the hard mode raids and alerts without T1 gear, these are much more difficult and some find impossible to complete. Starred duos will award you 1 Mark of Distinction as a bonus and starred Alerts will award you 2 Marks of Distinction as a bonus. Marks of Distinction are used to buy tier 2 PvE gear.
 
Marks of Allegiance – These are awarded from some daily quests and instances at level 30. They can be used to buy general non role specific gear or can be converted into Marks of Triumph. When completing some Daily Quests or Challenges you will receive Marks of Allegiance and gain Tech/Meta/Magic Renown, depending on the Challenges. You must be of highest Renown in order to buy the MoAllegiance Armor Set, and complete the Double Star Rank feat.
 
Marks of Krypton You will obtain this currency from the new Fortress of Solitude Raid. Marks of Krypton are used to buy tier 3 PvE gear, currently the best PvE gear, and by far the best DPS gear in the game.

So in a Nutshell:

Influence (Skull) – Legends, Arenas – PvP Gear
Mark of Victory (Fist) – Legends, Arenas, Ring War – PvP Gear
Mark of Legend (Eagle) – Legends, Arenas – Legends Character Unlocks
Mark of Allegiance (Wings) – Challenges – PvE Gear
Mark of Triumph – ( Wings) – Hard Alerts, Duos – Tier 1 Gear
Mark of Distinction (Wings) – Raids – Tier 2 Gear
Marks of Krypton (Wings) – Raids – Tier 3 Gear
 

LOCATIONS

Midtown Metropolis heros & villains – each have a vendor in the midtown station/hideout that sells level 19 and 24 blue PvP gear that can be bought with cash and influence. This includes weapons, head gear, shoulders, rings, and neck.
 
Metropolis Ring War near LexCorp Tower – when your faction wins the Ring War, you will have access to a Green Lantern/Sinestro corp vendor that sells purple PvP weapons and Chest gear (trench coats) for Marks of Victory and Cash
 
Watchtower/Hall of Doom – in the war room, there is a kioske that gives access to additional characters you can buy to unlock and play with in Legends PvP. These are bought with Marks of Legends.
 
Watchtower/Hallof Doom – in each wing, Tech, Meta, Magic, there are displayed suits of armor that is class specific. Typically the T2 gear is in the center, when you enter your wing. Just to the left and right are hallways the go UPSTAIRS. On the left side is your T1 PvE gear. On the right side is your Iconic PvP gear. Power Girl sells T2 in the Meta Wing. Super Girl sells T3 in Meta Wings.
 
Blue PvP gear is found in the floors below the Meta Wing, near the Power Core. If you follow the DOWNSTAIRS hallways that go below the main floor of the Meta Wing, you will see a large ‘orange’ energy core. Cyborg and Hawkman are standing between two kiosks, and each one sells PvP gear you can buy with influence and cash, and others you need Marks of Victory to buy. Both blue and purple gear is found at these kiosks, the blue generally cost influence, the purple cost MoV.
 
There are also vendors that sell MoA PvE gear, and other trinkets and sodas and such. Wondergirl sells blue PvE gear for Marks of Allegiance in the Magic Wing.
This is all basic info, and I know there is a lot more to go into. But I hope this helps anyone trying to wrap their head around the end game gear thats available now. If I made mistakes, don’t hesitate to correct me. This is mostly pulled from random sources on the forums and my own experience.
 
Also, not Certain on all locations of all the vendors. Do some exploring of your wing of the Watchtower, and you should be able to find everything.

We would like to say a big THANK YOU to Shaolinwind for making this guide. We think this will be extremely helpful for all of the DCUO community members and we hope you will enjoy it.