Free-to-Play Q&A Thread

[Losar]

The video game industry has changed dramatically over the years since the late 70s. Companies have come and gone and a lot of the models they have used for their business have changed. And while some of the changes I thought were terrible some were actually quite innovative. So I do not think that TOR going F2P is a bad idea, but it has to be done sensibly. While I think that EA has none, they could surprise all of us. So I will take a wait and see approach on how they do things. If it truly becomes a point where you "have" to buy things in the online store to complete quests, flashpoints, or even be competitive in PVP then I am out. Character skins and cosmetic things are fine but stat items need to stay in the game.

 

With that said my main question is this: If I as a subbed player get my my Chiss character up to 50 and unlock the Chiss legacy and create a couple of Chiss jedi will I still be able to play them if I unsub? If yes then great if not why?

[bsweitzer]

As a pre-order Collectors Edition monthly subscriber...I will be pissed if F2P gets advantages over me if they buy in game items with real money. I paid for the game because I love STAR WARS. Some how I just see all true fans and subscribers getting screwed. Please Bioware dont kill STAR WARS.

[Darknessinme]

F2P…love it. I may be one of the few that do not enjoy pvp, wz, fp or ops. I pretty much like leveling, doing dailies, heroics and Role Playing. Now I can do that for FREE with F2P, unless I misread something. So Kudos Bio/EA, you saved me $15 a month!

 

However, I do see some issues that might occur with the new system.

1. If you limit or restrict the GTN to Suber's and not allow F2P members access to the GTN, then the F2P players will just spam the general chat to sell their stuff or to find stuff to buy. This will flood general chat or chat in general. Supply and Demand, they will find a way to sell their stuff and buy stuff and the general chat is going to be the medium of choice to advertise or find their products. Let the F2P players buy and sell on GTN and save everyone the headache.

2. By limiting access, you are really only hurting those who are trying to find groups for FP, PVP and etc.

3. Trolling will be a major problem, so get ready for that.

 

Those are just some of the many problems I foresee coming because of F2P. Oh, when are you going to allow transfer (paid or free) to servers of our choosing?

[NSStember]

Will F2P be segregated from subscribers? In other words, will F2P players be on separate servers from players who are paying subscriptions?

 

The FAQ pretty clearly states that F2P and Subs will be on the same server. This makes the most sense otherwise you wouldn't be able to play with friends who wanted to "try" the game as F2P before subbing.

[irishtim]

If people continue to subscribe after the F2P model goes live will we have access to all of the new content that is being released (warzones/FlashpointsOperations etc) without having to pay any extra in either real money or 'Cartel Coins' on top of our subscriptions

[DPCummerbund]

Which races won't be available under F2P? And by "unavailable" can races be unlocked with Cartel points, or will they permanently be available only to subscribers?

 

To me, this is far and away the most important question. If I go F2P (which I already know I will), I need to know whether I should bother continuing to level my soon-to-be-locked toons if I'm never going to have access to them. If we could find out NOW, I could just reroll them & know I can keep playing them under F2P.

 

As it stands, my sub is up in a few weeks, and I'm considering letting it lapse until F2P or I get an answer on this.

[The_Beast_Within]

I also have some questions about the F2P move, though in truth they've probably already been answered elsewhere.

 

1. How many characters will a F2P player be able to create and store at any one time?

2. How much inventory / cargo hold space will a F2P player have access to at any one time?

3. How many credits will a F2P player be able to hold at any one time?

4. What limitations are placed on a F2P player in regards to character creation? For example, what race/class combos aren't available to F2P?

5. What limitations are placed on a F2P player in regards to 'travel features'? For example, does this mean that F2P cannot use the emergency fleet teleporter, speeder flight paths, etc?

[MarkoJinn]

What I want to know is, if I continue to subscribe, will I be able to play to my best, or will I have to purchase extra credits on top of my subscription just to keep up with the game.

 

This! If I continue my subscription I want to KNOW that I am given unrestricted access to every aspect of the game and there is absolutely no need for me to spend any more money. If on top of my subscription I need to pay more for some things, whatever they are, you can forget about me forever. No game is worth that kind of investment...

[Meifeng]

Can the Kurtob Alliance Speeder still be acquired after SWTOR goes Free-to-play? If so, how?

[Elear]

Another question:

Looking at all the info we got on day F2P was announced, this decision wasn't made overnight. How long were you prepering for this?

[scullzomben]

Will we be able to earn Cartel Credits via in-game activities? For example, another F2P game gave you a small amount of their game currency if you completed X/Y/Z amounts of quests for a certain area, or killed a/b/c amounts of a certain enemy in a certain area.

 

While this would induce a bit of grind, it would of course be optional, and a great way for people who would say, want to purchase a 300 coin item, but only had 295 coins.

[GnatB]

Looking at the FAQ, it seems likely the majority of the funding is going to come by way of the operations/warzones/flashpoints, as those are the primary P2P features. While on one hand, this focus means that I, as a player who has little interest in those features, seem to have negligable negative side effects upon switching to the F2P model, I am more concerned that this means the development team will have FAR greater incentive to concentrate on balancing/developing/etc. operations/flashpoints/warzones, at the expense of the single player story.

 

And said single player story is the only thing I really care about. Any chance of flipping that whole thing on it's head, so story is what you have to pay for, and the op/flashpoint/warzone garbage is what's free?

[crunchbarry]

Yes, I have a question. How will this game continue evolving after so much revenue is lost when many players go F2P?

 

I don't subscribe just so I can run operations or have full access, etc. I don't mind paying because I know I am playing a game that will be constantly evolving.

[Felioats]

Will Legacy perks, current or new, be for sale in the Cartel Market?

[Frumyrfrenzy]

Are you still working on the secret space project or did it go back on the wall of crazy with the refocusing of development?

[Uluain]

How will the Free-to-Play option affect companion character story content? Will expanded romantic options be payed only? What about the long-promised same-gender content? How is this affected if at all?

[Anakazael]

http://www.swtor.com/support/helpcenter/6526

 

...You will need to choose what items to keep with you within the restriction levels of the free access.

 

MY QUESTION:

does it mean my campaign/black hole/rakata items from operations wil be removed when i refuse to pay for premium ? (according to http://www.swtor.com/FREE/features operations will be available only for subscribers)

 

you have to be aware if answer is positive (yes) then you just act a ceremonial sucide. seriously, who will stay with this game if you remove items which we earned before f2p

[Mardalador]

The one thing I want to know is:

 

If I were to stop subscribing during the free-to-play in the fall, but then resubed, would I lose all the good features like free content updates forever? Sorry if this is a dumb question.

[Valkirus]

I have a question concerning those who have prevously subbed to TOR. Besides the Cartel coins you will earn each month you subbed..is there any other special treatment for those compared to the new FTP players?

For example..LOTRO did it the right way. If you prevously had subbed, you was treated differently than the new FTP players. For example, I got to access all the content I did before I unsubbed and all my chars I was allowed under the FTP model ( 7 out of 9 ) could access that same content...free. The gold was limited to 4 g per account. But I had 12 gold and could still access all of it. Just could'nt earn anymore. Bank and inventory spaces? I never lost any I had allready paid for while playing. Same for mounts, gear.

[loadtime]

I have a couple of questions about this change in service, I'll start with the simple stuff.

 

1) What is the value of a Cartel Coin? Or, suppose I phrase that differently. How many Cartel Coins can I buy for 10 US Dollars? I ask because I want to understand the value I am getting with my continued and past subscription.

 

2) Will a monthly allotment of Cartel Coins continue to be part of the benefit of a premium account? Similar to what City of Heroes awards its VIP accounts? (for reference $5 worth of virtual money is awarded each month to players paying the subscription fee. in order to purchase items from the market they are interested in that are not part of the subscription.)

 

3) Speaking of not included in the subscription. What content will subscribers still have to pay to access? Will all content truly be free and accessible by paying subscribers or will mounts, pets, social gear and social items be a further cash premium?

 

4) The restrictions on character creation and storage, and GTN placed on free accounts. Can these features be unlocked through the use of Cartel Coins? Will they be one time fees? Per Character or Per account?

 

5) Will Cartel Coins be an in-game item that can be sold or traded with other players (like a PLEX in EVE)

 

I hope a full outline of the model will be made available soon and what type of content the team hopes to provide the community going forward and at what speed.

[Petnil]

i just wonder how much time development have used on splitting the game in F2P / P2P instead of making real content that might have kept more subscibers. imo the trial should just have been expanded to lv 40ish.

i´ll probably keep playing, most of my friends still play a bit.

i guess we can go back to wow if this f2p ends in disaster

[DenokillerJedi]

1. Is there still plans for a Legacy bank?

2. Extra Slots would rock!! 8 would be nice but if you could have a light, dark, and neutral of every class that would be cool.

 

:rak_03:

[Niaana]

Will f2p players have the legacy system in general

 

More details on the " limited travel " mentioned before please

 

Will being a sub earn you enough cart coin per month to actually buy stuff because i wanna feel like my continued sub means something not just here is a TASTE on what you can get now give us more money for this fancy you only really use it for dailys mount thats point less

 

and to me this could be an awesome idea cuz i was scared it would be just buy the stuff you need

no sub option

 

andif there are pay to win item i will NOT continue to play < that means anything that gives you a benefit besides cosmetic <customizable gear like the orange gear before> and vanity <pets mounts> items in the store > and NO 120% mounts non of that shenanigans

Edited August 2, 2012 by Niaana
better detail on what i ment

[OdenLocke]

I am also curious about the value of the Cartel coins and what other perks those with a sub will get. Considering I played City of Heroes and had a sub. Yet I didn't feel like I was getting my money's worth in game. I also am wwondering if a player that is playing the free version can join groups and guilds?

[shentiex]

Would it be possible to have a subsciber only sever? Maybe have it so you have to pay some coins to get in, but only people who are subscribers can play on it.