DC Universe Online players will soon get to use another set of powers as they cruise the mean streets of Gotham, Metropolis, Central City and everywhere in-between. Lightning powers will be coming as part of a new DLC pack called Lightning Strikes. Lightning Strikes will be sold for $10, but Legendary subscribers will get it for free.

Things are not looking too good for the rebirth of DC Universe Online. What started out as an effort to increase revenue by making the game free-to-play has become an effort to just keep the game running. SOE’s megaservers for DCUO have been suffering from major problems since the free-to-play initiative began. Over the past few days, PC and PS3 players in the United States and Europe have been unable to continuously play DCUO without encountering critical issues. If SOE was hoping to make a good first impression with DCUO, it has failed.

After a tough week of server problems, Sony Online Entertainment has managed to deploy a fix that brings better stability to the DC Universe Online servers. The weight of new free-to-play users proved to be too much for the servers to handle. Those free users have access to almost all of the things as those that pay, but are limited in terms of character slots, available cash and even trophies. We thought now would be a good time to remind you new players out there that you won’t be unlocking any trophies if you aren’t a Legendary member.

DC Universe Online went free-to-play this week. As we pointed out in an earlier post, the excitement on Facebook suggested the transition would be big hit. It turns out Sony Online Entertainment saw a massive influx of new players on the PC side. SOE president John Smedley announced on Twitter DCUO had more than 120,000 new PC registrations within the first two days of going free-to-play. No numbers were given on the PS3 side, but they’re most likely way up as well. Unfortunately, SOE was not fully prepared for the onslaught of new players. Since Tuesday, DCUO servers have had difficulty supporting the sudden increase of players.

Some would say the best way to convince people to give you money is to give them something for free. That’s something that a lot of MMOs have been doing lately. There aren’t many that can’t sustain a monthly subscription fee. By going free-to-play, the barrier of entry is removed and it entices new players to try out a game they may have been totally disinterested in days earlier. Sony Online Entertainment is hoping it will make more money by making DCUO free. SOE has every opportunity to succeed in this regard. In fact, if we were to base the reaction to DCUO‘s free-to-play transition on Facebook interactions, we could argue the game is already well on its way to being more successful than ever.

As promised, DC Universe Online is going free-to-play today. Sony Online Entertainment is working on the servers to convert everyone to the new free-to-play model. A new website will also be launched once the transition is complete. If you are going to play DCUO on PC, you can download the client right now.

Yesterday, Sony Online Entertainment conducted a live stream to discuss details about DC Universe Online going free-to-play. Due to audio dropouts in the stream, we weren’t able to definitively tell you about the various pricing details for things such as character slots and auction slots. SOE managed to get the broadcast on YouTube earlier today, and we’ve compiled a list of important details for those of you who will be joining DCUO for the first time.

Earlier this month, we thought DC Universe Online would be free-to-play on October 19. As it turned out, that date was obviously inaccurate. However, now we have a definitive free-to-play launch date thanks to a DC Universe Online live stream conducted by Sony Online Entertainment. You’ll be able to download DCUO from the PlayStation Store and play virtually everything the game has to offer on November 1, 2011.

Back in September, Sony Online Entertainment announced DC Universe Online will ditch the subscriptions and be one of the latest MMOs to adopt the free-to-play model on PS3 and PC. At the time, SOE only said the game would be making the switch in October. Thanks to G4, we know the switch date is October 19 – the day after Batman: Arkham City releases.

The time has finally come for DC Universe Online to ditch the $15 per month subscription fee and adopt the free-to-play business model that so many MMORPGs have flocked to. Starting this October, DCUO will be free for everyone on PC and the PlayStation Network. The entire game will be open for free users, but there will still be a a couple paid tiers that offer additional benefits.