A few Questions from a new player

[Cribstaxx]

So I just started playing SWTOR the other day. I was checking it out as F2P before subbing, but from what I've read now it seems like most people are saying F2P is completely not worth it. I would imagine that if I sub now I have to completely remake my account since I've done a bunch of story missions at 1/12th the xp. Also you are unable to post on SWTOR forums, even the new player forum, without subbing... Really?

A few questions:

It seems like a lot of the bonuses for subbing are early in the game, is it at all worth it to level up as F2P and then sub later if I enjoy the game?

What are the bonus' for a preferred player? (Spend $5)

Can I exchange credits for cartel coins in any way to make F2P viable while I am checking out the game?

Say I purchase a 60 day sub to get crew slots and skill slots and storage space, does all of that dissapear after the 60 days if I do not resub?

I am ok with a game being P2W, I play and sub to ArcheAge. But 12x xp bonus for subs, so many key game features sub only, and not even being able to post on their forums until sub (REALLY??? does no one else try games as F2P before buying lol?) are a big deterrent. I just like to make sure this a game I want to keep on playing before I setup a recurring sub, and I want to know if it's worth the time trying as F2P or whether it's a completely different experience as a sub.

Thanks for the info!

[quras]

So I just started playing SWTOR the other day. I was checking it out as F2P before subbing, but from what I've read now it seems like most people are saying F2P is completely not worth it. I would imagine that if I sub now I have to completely remake my account since I've done a bunch of story missions at 1/12th the xp. Also you are unable to post on SWTOR forums, even the new player forum, without subbing... Really?

You would not have to start your toons over. If you sub you get 12X bonus expereince for class stories. You would quickly catch up and if you really felt the need to extra experience, use a EXP boost and do some planet side quest missions. You would quickly be on par or above level. No need to restart things and if you really think you skipped something just go back and do it.

You cannot post on the forums unless you are a subscriber.

A few questions:

It seems like a lot of the bonuses for subbing are early in the game, is it at all worth it to level up as F2P and then sub later if I enjoy the game?

The bonuses for subbing help all across the board to be honest. While level and at max level to different degrees. Some are just for fun (match colors and hide helm) while some are really nice like using all quality gear and no exp loss.

You do some nice bonuses for subbing. More UI bars, no credit limits, full EXP, match outfit colors, unlimited GTN use and hide helm plus you can use all gear no matter the quality. I do think it is worth it to sub if you are leveling but mainly because of the gear usage and the current 12X EXP boost going on for all subscribers. That boost actually allows you to level just using the class story only if you want. Never to touch a planet side mission if you choose to skip them. (but you can still do them if you want).

What are the bonus' for a preferred player? (Spend $5)

You get to have 350K credits (+100K more than F2P) and you get 2 more UI bars for a total of 4. (Subs get 6)
I know preferred lifts a few restrictions but thats the 2 off the top of my head. You can see a direct comparison here:

http://www.swtor.com/free/features

Can I exchange credits for cartel coins in any way to make F2P viable while I am checking out the game?

There is no credit for cartel coin exchange that I can think of.

However, damn near every restriction as a F2P or preferred player can be removed by buying the unlocks off the GTN for credits. You can buy them per toon or for the entire account. Account wide usually costs more credits, though it is worth it so that any alts also get the unlocks on creation.

Many people use their subscriber coins to buy unlocks and then sell the unlock on the GTN for credits. Thats the only true type of exchange going on. You can buy most unlcoks off the GTN if you have the credits.

Say I purchase a 60 day sub to get crew slots and skill slots and storage space, does all of that dissapear after the 60 days if I do not resub?

Most of it you will keep like cargo holds but I do think you revert back to 2 professions. Once I subbed I did not go back so my information is more limited on that. You don't truly loose anything but it might be locked till you sub again. Check that comparison chart I listed.

I am ok with a game being P2W,

Most would disagree with you. Even SWTOR is no where near P2W.

I play and sub to ArcheAge. But 12x xp bonus for subs, so many key game features sub only, and not even being able to post on their forums until sub (REALLY??? does no one else try games as F2P before buying lol?) are a big deterrent.

I really don't know why those would be a big deterrent. Posting on forums is a minor bump in the road given forums are not needed for you to play nor decide if the game is right for you. 12X should be a subscriber perk its that good. No one should get that for free.

I just like to make sure this a game I want to keep on playing before I setup a recurring sub,

And F2P will give that to you. If you like SWTOR for it's stories and leveling as a F2P gamer, you will enjoy it more as a subscriber given subscribers have no restrictions at all. It should be easy to reach a decision.

and I want to know if it's worth the time trying as F2P or whether it's a completely different experience as a sub.

I found it worth my time to see it SWTOR as a F2P game. It allowed me to see how much I did like about the game and when I subbed, had all restrictions removed it just made things better. F2P wasn't terrible by any means as it gave me what I needed to see the game and it's stories. It's just that being a subscriber opens up more like it should. It's not a completely different game at all but as a subscriber it's a better overall experience. As it should be.

[Cribstaxx]

Good deal, thanks for the reply.

I think 12x is a pretty insane edge over F2P, and if they just had a true "New Player" forum, I wouldn't have had to use 3rd party forums to ask questions, it just seems silly.

But I will probably buy the 60 day sub, I'm enjoying the game and it seems pretty interesting.

One other question, do I need to buy the Revan expansion also as a sub?

[quras]

Good deal, thanks for the reply.

I think 12x is a pretty insane edge over F2P,

In leveling yes it is. It's a subscriber perk as it should be. No way should someone not paying anything get a park like that. As a F2P gamer you need to do the side missions and planet missions to help compensate. It's a fair trade for paying nothing. Subscribers get a bit of a break by not having to do the extra stuff. I'm ok with that.

and if they just had a true "New Player" forum, I wouldn't have had to use 3rd party forums to ask questions, it just seems silly.

While true and maybe they will one day have a new player forum, it should not be the make or break for you. Let the game do that and to be honest. There is nothing wrong with 3rd party forums because that is usually the best place for information.

But I will probably buy the 60 day sub, I'm enjoying the game and it seems pretty interesting.

If you are enjoying it now. You will like it more as a subscriber.

One other question, do I need to buy the Revan expansion also as a sub?

You only need Shadows of Reven if you want to level past 55. As a subscriber you get everything else plus Rise of the Hutts and that will get you to 55. Past 55 need to buy SOR for $20.

EDIT:
Depending on what you plan on doing, you do have the option to wait till Oct 27 when the new expansion hits for us to level to 65. At that time, for your subscription you get SOR too. Subscribers get the new expansion for free plus some other great perks if you are a subscriber from now till then.

You can check it out here. Monthly perks for being a subscriber from now till then are nice as well. Nothing stellar but nice.

http://www.swtor.com/fallen-empire/home

[RohanV]

I think 12x is a pretty insane edge over F2P.

Not really. It's mostly a way to skip having to do the planetary stories multiple times. Personally, I strongly recommend you do those planetary missions at least once on your first Imperial and Republic character. They're worth doing once.

[Darth Belichick]

Not really. It's mostly a way to skip having to do the planetary stories multiple times. Personally, I strongly recommend you do those planetary missions at least once on your first Imperial and Republic character. They're worth doing once.

Have to agree here. The planet missions actually have a decent story on their own if you haven't done them before. Voss' in particular brings some cool lore to the planet if you've never done them.

[Jeremysync]

Lol the story line is repeated but it does get better in every installment with better indepth lore.

[bonjin]

Most of it you will keep like cargo holds but I do think you revert back to 2 professions. Once I subbed I did not go back so my information is more limited on that. You don't truly loose anything but it might be locked till you sub again. Check that comparison chart I listed.

I've subbed and gone F2P thereafter, and with regards to crew crafting professions, yes, you will be restricted to 2 once F2P, so you'll need to remember to buy the unlocks for whichever toons you are planning to play. I overlooked this part myself, and ended up having to scrounge for credits to buy the unlocks after I went FTP

[Goshko]

Good deal, thanks for the reply.

I think 12x is a pretty insane edge over F2P, and if they just had a true "New Player" forum, I wouldn't have had to use 3rd party forums to ask questions, it just seems silly.

But I will probably buy the 60 day sub, I'm enjoying the game and it seems pretty interesting.

Err edge in what? Unless there's some competition for fastest leveling I'm missing you gain pretty much nothing.

If it's your fist character I strongly suggest you turn off 12x and do all missions. It's really not targeted towards new players and can seriously kill your immersion.

[Matt0193]

Not really. It's mostly a way to skip having to do the planetary stories multiple times. Personally, I strongly recommend you do those planetary missions at least once on your first Imperial and Republic character. They're worth doing once.

This. I'd recommend doing it before subbing or ensuring that you always have the XP negation item from the Fleet. For example, all Empire players doing the Balmorra sidequests can interact with Darth Lachris but on Republic side her story only continues with Jedi Consular storyline and there are a few other situations like that across most planets.

I'd still recommend subbing and buying the XP negation item though, otherwise you'll waste credits as a new player. You'll be capped at 350000 and if you're not spending money on Trade Skills, which is probable as you'll also only have 2 instead of 3, then you'll need to spend money on pointless crap or buy BoE items for other characters as you'll get substantially more money by doing every mission available than just the main story missions. I think I earned something like 450k on Corellia before I resubbed, I ended up just buying Rank 5 ship parts from the spaceport vendor just so I wouldn't miss out on credits, as everything else on Corellia was 50.

[quras]

Like the others, I do suggest the first time though on both sides, run all the missions. Class story and planet missions. The really do tie the whole game together the first run through when it comes to some story elements.

The 12X is indeed more for subscribers who are leveling up multiple alts and have done all the side stuff before. It's a nice perk to just see th class stories where the side stuff is not needed so much anymore because you have done it already.

You can still do all that subbed if you want. As MAtt said above, there is an item on fleet that negates the 12X bonus. It's free and lasts 8 hours. So you can sub, level like normal and see all the content with no restrictions. Once you start leveling alts, it's all about class story at that point and no so much the planets you visit.

[Svifnymr]

I've subbed and gone F2P thereafter, and with regards to crew crafting professions, yes, you will be restricted to 2 once F2P, so you'll need to remember to buy the unlocks for whichever toons you are planning to play. I overlooked this part myself, and ended up having to scrounge for credits to buy the unlocks after I went FTP

Pretty sure the referal code program gives you the 3rd crew skill spot too.

[Puzzony]

Being restricted of playing starfighter, and pvp as a F2P should be eliminated, they should make them unlimited, but not being able to get XP/valor rank from it, or at least offer a monthly pass instead of 7 days on the same price, as a preferred paying a credit cap for 7 days is just horrible..Not to mention that the current GTN pricing (~300k on my server) makes it unavailable for F2P players

[quras]

Being restricted of playing starfighter, and pvp as a F2P should be eliminated, they should make them unlimited,

I disagree. Thats just another way someone wants something for nothing and for a particular part of the game they like. They could ease up on the numbers a little but unlimited. Even with your mentioned XP/valor restriction it should not be unlimited and really, with the restriction you mentioned I doubt many would continue playing for very long with no reward. (but thats for a different thread).

You want unlimited. Pay something for it.

but not being able to get XP/valor rank from it, or at least offer a monthly pass instead of 7 days on the same price, as a preferred paying a credit cap for 7 days is just horrible..Not to mention that the current GTN pricing (~300k on my server) makes it unavailable for F2P players

I do think there should be a monthly options to buy instead of just weekly. However, BW has no control over what people price items. If they don't sell, the sellers will drop the price. If you're seeing those prices stay that high it's because gamers are buying them and the market is supporting it. Sometimes sad but it's true.

[Darth Belichick]

I do think there should be a monthly options to buy instead of just weekly. However, BW has no control over what people price items. If they don't sell, the sellers will drop the price. If you're seeing those prices stay that high it's because gamers are buying them and the market is supporting it. Sometimes sad but it's true.

Good old supply and demand. As mentioned, Bioware can't control what people charge credits-wise when it comes to cartel market items going on the GTN. Personally I wouldn't play this game as a non-sub. I'll agree it feels very limited otherwise. But as mentioned, do you expect the entire game for free?

[quras]

I could easily play as a non-sub now.

It was easy enough for me to remove the restrictions that I felt were a hindrance and for as cheap as weekly passes are in general. IF I wanted to PVP or PVE content in a particular week. Just buy the passes. If you're doing that content every week, you should be a sub anyway. If you're skipping weeks, then it's cheaper to just be F2P and buy a pass on the random week you want.

[Skizzit]

If you haven't subscribed already (or even if you have and just want some free stuff) go to this thread and use someone's referral code. They'll either be posted or in people's signatures. It'll give you 7 days worth of free subscription and you can see the difference for yourself without laying out any cash. Plus you get some very useful unlocks in case you decide not to sub after all.

If anyone is going to use the 7 free days referral thing, I would highly recommend spending $5 on cartel coins first to get bumped from F2P to preferred. The unlocks you get as a f2p are different then preferred. Every character you have will get a bundle in their mail and the f2p bundle contains a single use quick travel pass, 5 minor XP boots, and an inventory module unlock (an extra row of inventory slots) while the preferred bundle contains the inventory unlock, a "unify colors" cosmetic unlock, a "show titles" cosmetic unlock, and a crew skill unlock. Those three unlocks are worth a lot more then a quick travel pass and a few XP boosts. The crew skill in particular will give you a total of 3 vs. only being able to have a single crew skill as F2P since you get a second for being preferred as well.

[JusticeAndVengeance]

If anyone is going to use the 7 free days referral thing, I would highly recommend spending $5 on cartel coins first to get bumped from F2P to preferred. The unlocks you get as a f2p are different then preferred. Every character you have will get a bundle in their mail and the f2p bundle contains a single use quick travel pass, 5 minor XP boots, and an inventory module unlock (an extra row of inventory slots) while the preferred bundle contains the inventory unlock, a "unify colors" cosmetic unlock, a "show titles" cosmetic unlock, and a crew skill unlock. Those three unlocks are worth a lot more then a quick travel pass and a few XP boosts. The crew skill in particular will give you a total of 3 vs. only being able to have a single crew skill as F2P since you get a second for being preferred as well.

Skizzit, that's a really good point. Hopefully people read your post and get to take advantage of this.

Here's my referral if anyone wants a link for those freebies.
(And if you subscribe within 14 days of using the link, we both get added benefits!)

http://www.swtor.com/r/X2KZWc
-Justîce, Begeren Colony

[Mordin Solus]

after you purchase the raven expac how long does it take for them to send you the code to enter into your account? got the confirmation of purchase but no code yet

[Darth Belichick]

Did you buy it through Amazon? Or through the SWTOR website?