Thread: To FTP or..?

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  1. #1

    To FTP or..?

    Well, I'm just now starting out on TOR. I've been meaning to find a new game since WoW's Cataclysm finally forced me to un-sub but just now got around to trying some things out. When I heard you could Free play on TOR now I was like okay awesome, don't have to buy the game and pay a sub to just see if I like it now. I tried it and I actually really love it so far. The story is engaging and the combat reminds me of what I did enjoy of WoW, but much cooler since I can use a lightsaber

    My main question is this:

    I'm only a lvl 13 Sith Marauder right now. I had originally planned not to sub till I was certain I liked it and till I casually quested/grinded to like level 30 or 40. But so far in game I have seen a lot of things in-game like reduced Exp earned for FTP, and a LOT of features only available to subscribers. So is it worthwhile to Sub earlier rather then later? Would just buying 5 bucks worth a cartel points to be a preferred member or whatever be a major improvement over FTP till I'm ready to sub?

    And honestly, whats the big differences between FTP and Subscribers? I know they have a chart but half of it sounds like jibberish when I'm still pretty unfamiliar with the game.


    Besides that.. If anyone has any other good tips for starting out and leveling I'd appreciate any of those you might want to share with me also.

    Thanks in advance for any input shared, I really appreciate all help, starting a new MMO from scratch is always kind of confusing lol

  2. #2
    The Lightbringer Razael's Avatar
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    Prefered status is definatly better than F2P. Especially as a Marauder, you need those extra Ability bars than the 2 given to F2P. Plus you can create more characters if you so desire and generally can play in a less restrictive way than F2P can.
    You also can acess more bank and inventory space i believe. You can't send mails , and the chat functions are heavily restricted as a F2P but as a Prefered player you have a bit more options here.
    If you think you are really liking the game, i mean 5 dollars ain't alot of money, its a Popcorn box and a soda at your local cinema.
    I personally could not play with all the F2P restrictions.
    Overall you are correct in your assessment that there are lots of restrictions on F2P, its up to you to decide if its worth it to eliminate or aliviate these restrictions, i suggest you drop the 5 dollars for the Preferred status and see from there.

    As for the sub thing.. well i'd really wait a while longer to see if you really really like the game and want even less restrictions and if you think you are being provided with enough content to warrant it.
    Subs generally enjoy no restrictions on number of dungeons , battlegrounds and raids that can be completed per week (using wows terms since those are what you're familiar with), can wear epic armor (F2P or Prefered need to buy an unlock), have more slots in inventory, bank, don't have the long cooldowns on travel conveniences etc.
    Last edited by Razael; 2013-01-17 at 03:11 AM.

  3. #3
    Thanks a ton. I think that pretty much hit on everything I was curious about as far as Preferred status and Subing. Sounds like Preferred gets a fairly decent improvement over Free so I think I'll go ahead and do that while I continue to play and see if I wanna upgrade to a Sub when I get far enough into the game to actually need to worry about most of those things.

    Thanks for your time and input, and also really appreciate the using WoW terms so I could understand a bit better lol.


    Haven't really ran into trouble so far but if theres anything people think would be important for new players to know feel free to share, would appreciate it and thank you in advance.

  4. #4
    F2P is terrible.

    Preferred account isn't much better.

    If you were going to drop $5 on some cruddy cartel item you might as well just sub for the whole month and get all the things you're locked out of for ~$13.

    Be warned though once you sub you will not want to go back to Preferred or F2P because every 3 seconds you will be reminded of what you are being denied.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Mirve View Post
    If you think you are really liking the game, i mean 5 dollars ain't alot of money, its a Popcorn box and a soda at your local cinema.
    5 dollars? Hell at my local cinema that's at least 10 dollars for a soda and popcorn.

    If it's fun for you then go for it. If you were willing to the twice the sub fee for wow then might as well try this one out for a while to see if you like it.

  6. #6
    The Lightbringer Razael's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Argroth View Post
    Be warned though once you sub you will not want to go back to Preferred or F2P because every 3 seconds you will be reminded of what you are being denied.
    Precisely why i don't advise subbing until you're really sure. Prefered isn't MUCH better, but its better than playing with all the F2P restrictions, it aliviates some, but unfortunately not that many , just really the basics, chat, bank, trading with other players, sending emails, sprint function early on (god knows i need that) , more hotbars and char slots however it still leaves some awful restrictions that can only be removed by either subbing or buying unlocks in the AH, but i assume that as a new player he couldn't afford those anyway.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Argroth View Post
    F2P is terrible.

    Preferred account isn't much better.

    If you were going to drop $5 on some cruddy cartel item you might as well just sub for the whole month and get all the things you're locked out of for ~$13.

    Be warned though once you sub you will not want to go back to Preferred or F2P because every 3 seconds you will be reminded of what you are being denied.
    Was kind of thinking that might be the case but they make it sound like Cartel has helpful items :| I guess not then.

    I don't mind paying a monthly sub really, was just thinking I probably don't have the time to rush to 50 in a month at the moment unless its just really easy to level (after 10 has felt really slow so far), so it might save me 30 or 40 bucks if I didn't sub till I really needed all those bonuses at or near max level but if Subers get this much of a boost idk maybe I should just go ahead and sign up.

    Quote Originally Posted by Komic View Post
    If it's fun for you then go for it. If you were willing to the twice the sub fee for wow then might as well try this one out for a while to see if you like it.
    Hm? Is TOR that cheap? Coulda sworn I checked last night and it was like 14.99/Month but maybe I was looking at the wrong thing

  8. #8
    Drop $5 on the Market and get yourself upgraded to Preferred. Finish leveling to 50, maybe level a couple other classes to 50, if you feel like you want to keep playing the end game (PvP, Operations, Unlimited Flashpoints) sub for a month, do them, see if you like it.

    If you only like PvP, or only like doing Flashpoints, you can easily drop back down to preferred and just buy the weekly passes to do what your favorite activity is without paying the full sub fee.

    As for just starting out, stick with one character for as long as possible. I've noticed myself that if you take long breaks between characters you come back and forget parts of the story. Also if you plan to level more than one class to 50, switch sides. Level an Empire 50, then a Republic 50, then back to Empire, it definitely breaks up the monotony.

    Another fun thing to do, find an active guild, I don't know what server you're on, but a lot of people in my guild LOVE to do sub-50 PvP, and it's actually a fun way to level once you've seen all the side quests. You can pretty much level through PvP, then just hit your story missions on each planet. That would require getting the weekly PvP pass though.

  9. #9
    Deleted
    I would personally go for some other f2p game unless you are really into Star Wars. SWTors f2p is most likely one of the worst ones in the business. Sub or nothing.

  10. #10
    Based on this I guess I''m just gonna sub early on lol, think I'll give it another day or so to make sure I do like the game and upgrade when I'm satisfied I'm not going to get bored of it. Thanks guys

  11. #11
    I started out like you a month ago, thought I would stay f2p till a certain lvl and then get prefered status. Turns out after a week I got myself subsribed and so far I still think it was a good decision.

  12. #12
    F2P is near impossible to play. Spend the $5 on cartel coins to get Preferred. Sprint at level 1 compared to 15, increased credit limit from 200k to 350k, 6 character slots compared to 2, and you can use the Cargo Bays on ships and use the mail box. Well worth the $5.

  13. #13
    Free to play isn't that bad if all you're doing is leveling. Yes you level slower, but it sounds like OP is on his first character, loving all the dialogue and the newness and isn't in a mad rush to 50. Free to play is fine for playing the game out like KOTOR3 or some single player.

    That said, if you enjoy doing Warzones or Flashpoints, or want to do anything that involves other players you might want to sub. If you plan to play a character at 50 you pretty much need to subscribe. But if you plan to just roll another character to 50 and experience all the stories then F2P or Preferred status should work well enough for you.

  14. #14
    the only big downside of F2P i've found is that your not able to trade, send mail and not able to get more bag space.
    and that your not able to equip artifact gear and only can learn one profession.
    there also seems to be a limit on the max amount of credits you can have, wonder if there also is a limit on those planet coins. but otherwise still no reason to pay for it .
    i think i wait with paying untill that new expansion is out and see how things get screwed or not.

  15. #15
    Tera going full F2P in feb... =P just saying.
    It's like crossing an intersection. There's shit going on all over the place and you don't panic and act like an idiot then do you?

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by kynthrus View Post
    Tera going full F2P in feb... =P just saying.
    Can't say for sure but if you want a F2P game this seems to be the way to go.

    Tera actully looks like it wants and will appeciate F2P players while swtor may seem like they want them they punish them any way they can.
    Biowares Go-to Plan:
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  17. #17

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by stresskiller View Post
    That is the biggest F2P matrix I've ever seen. It really puts in perspective how much they lock out for non-subscribers : /

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by edgecrusher View Post
    That is the biggest F2P matrix I've ever seen. It really puts in perspective how much they lock out for non-subscribers : /
    lol it used to be worse, this is thier 2.0 redo of the page.

    You used to see a long colum of blacked out stuff for f2p people showing how they get no acess to many things while only 2 or 3 rows had a untaken quest symbol.

    You seriously kept scrolling down the page seeing all the things F2P was locked out of.

    Now they are trying to cover it up with this new page it dosn't look half as bad.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Argroth View Post
    lol it used to be worse, this is thier 2.0 redo of the page.
    It's like they were trying to scare new players away.
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