Have you looked at the comparison table between Free and Premium? I've played the game too little to be able to comment, but I can say that how people react to limitations changes quite a bit. Some people can fit themselves to the limitations and enjoy a game, for some every reminder of limitations grate on them and they ragequit. I'd suggest you try the game and maybe check out its forums to find out more about how free play is.
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well the comparison table doesn't seem like it will limit me much. I am more of a casual player and just want to enjoy the game... What I mean by limitation is: if for example, the game balance alter significantly for premium players, such that a lvl 10 premium player can defeat a level 50 free player, then that is not really a type of game I would like to bother downloading (I have a limited internet connection and pay for each MB, so I want to know before hand whether it is worth downloading)
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You pay for each MEGAbyte? Christ, you're getting screwed over nowadays.
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I'm sure that if there is a difference it's not that big. If you're into PvP you're likely to lose to subscribers just because you're casual. :) If you're into PvE, I imagine the game will not penalise you so much for being a free player that it will be unplayable.
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Yeah more of a PVE guy... casual player...
Edit: corrected typo
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oh.. wow that is great ^^ just my case then. thanks for the heads up :)
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Now, compared to most other companies I'd agree with you. However, I personally can't play the free version of Champions Online after having played the regular version before it was F2P. The main appeal of that game was the ability to create your own "class" and the F2P version completely removes that.
Personally, I prefer the way that Turbine does F2P. You may be significantly limited at first, but (at least in LoTRO) you can unlock Turbine Points for free just by doing in-game achievements. You may need to grind a bit, but you can actually play the game 100% free.
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I haven't tried this game specifically, but I want to say that I'm loving the trend of F2P games. You can complain about the free versions being limited, but consider this: limits or no, you're still accessing more content than you would have before without paying. However, I don't think that anyone has done F2P quite as well as LoTRO. You may be quite limited at first, but at least it's still the only one where it's theoretically possible to get everything while still playing 100% free.
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LoTRO is the only Turbine one I've tried so far, but I do keep trying other F2P games just to see if any can match Turbine's setup and none can. Cryptic does a decent job with F2P but not quite as well.
I also tried EQ2 (I never actually owned it, but played a friend's account long ago) and gave up after maybe an hour or so because of how restrictive it was. You only get access to 1/3 of the classes and races and the prices to unlock the others are outrageous.
If everyone could do the point system that Turbine has, then the F2P scene could become a lot larger and more active.
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would you consider adding me as a friend in those games... I play both DDO and Lotro :)
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I'd suggest trying EQ2. I can't tell about skill and equipment because my old characters were low level, but at least as far as class and race they are all playable even though these classes and races aren't available for free.
For me EQ2 has a better model than DDO. I'm a casual player and hate grinding. Getting a useful amount of points in DDO takes too much time, especiall considering that most content is behind a pay wall. EQ2 on the other hand has the vast majority of content available for free. I can live with limitations on equipment etc. when I have access to the content.
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EverQuest II. I would personally advise against playing EQ2 if you're looking for a free-to-play MMO. The free version is WAY too restrictive.
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Depends on what you're looking for. Well, okay, totally free is a little too restrictive, but Silver, for $5, is a lot better, and can be a nice gaming experience for a casual player. Also if you ever played EQ2 as a subscriber before it went "free to play", you're automatically Silver and can also play your old characters even if they don't match the Silver race/class restrictions.
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Ok, I'll admit that keeping old characters is nice. My biggest complaint about Champions Online right now is that I had a membership before and still have my characters from then, but I can't access him as a free player. Because of this I have 2 of my 4 character spaces permanently filled (I just can't bring myself to deleting them).
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I'll admit, I did go and buy the smallest bundle of Turbine points, but not because I was having difficulty earning them. I did it to get to unlock the second account type to get the minor improvements (namely the free auction house slots).
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Oh... you play LotRO too? Can you add me as a friend in that game? I am still trying to figure out how the game works, but as you said, the free turbine points is really nice and I managed to collect some turbine points as well (10 I believe)...
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I tried it a while back and didn't really care for the gameplay. But it's free, so no harm in trying it out.
Star Trek Online went F2P also, and looks promising.
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I tried Star Trek Online and I personally wasn't a big fan. The game was certainly fun, and the story was interesting, but the quests felt repetitive and leveling took way too long. Maybe these are just flaws with the beginning of the game, but it was enough to keep me from even getting past the beginning.
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I played through the beginning up to finally docking my ship. It's definitely feels unique for an MMO. And the customization is almost overwhelming.
Didn't care much for the spaceship controls though.
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But the thing is: every company handles F2P differently.
Some (like Turbine) make it so you could technically end up with having essentially 100% of the game absolutely free.
Others (like Cryptic) make it so if you want to unlock things then you'll have to pay money eventually, but not unlocking them won't necessarily put you at a disadvantage.
And then others (like Sony Online Entertainment) will limit the game so much that you pretty much have to pay in order to succeed in the game.
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well, I know of one SOE game that doesn't do that so much: Pirates of the Burning Sea... Caribbean during the colonial era .. all the good stuff. most unique thing about it is the ship combat and ability to build ships, player economy... you can play totally free (I have) but I advise playing in the Pirate nation as you can get free ships from your defeated enemies ^^
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So this game went f2p in 2011 and I have been meaning to try it out, but I want to know how "free" it really is... Does it have a level limitation like lord of the rings online (implicit or explicit), or Do shop items change the balance of the game significantly, etc?
Please share what you know or feel if you have tried the game...
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