Is playing F2P worth it?

[Maester]

I played the game a couple months after launch because of how big of a deal it was at the time. I got to around level 15 on a Jedi Knight tank before I had to stop playing for personal reasons. By the time everything got back to normal my month of gametime had expired and I honestly didn't have a reason to spend $15 to keep playing, probably because I didn't play enough to see what it had to offer. I just went straight back to WoW and didn't look back for a while.

Then I heard it went F2P and thought I'd give it a try again, but then after reading into it a little more I found out that their F2P model was horrible, and still is apparently. My main MMO is WoW, and that's the only MMO I'm going to pay a subscription for. But I am looking for an MMO on the side to play that is F2P that'll keep me occupied when I have nothing to do in WoW (which is a lot of the time).

So my question is, is the F2P model good enough so that I can enjoy the game without paying a subscription?

I would download it and try it out but even with my awesomely high speed (and expensive) internet connection, I live in Canada where apparently data caps are necessary. So I don't want to potentially waste 10-15 GB of my 140 for the month on something I may play for like an hour. I'd rather get your opinions on it first. What I'm looking for is a fun levelling experience AND some endgame also, but all completely F2P.

[KaziOfTheSkies]

As a friend said it... Subscription wont give you anything special. But f2p puts so much penalties on you... Its perfectly fine to play the game, you get reduced xp, cant use a lot of things like titles etc (you can unlock many of these in the Cartel Market with cartel coins (that you have to buy. With real money ofc)). If you have a char, just log in and see what it feels like

[Tholl]

I tried the F2P and I could not stomach it. I had spent about two weeks just trying a bunch of games out.

Go buy GW2. After you buy it there are no monthly fees. The game is beautiful and really fun to play. If you do PvP in it and go back to WoW, it will almost seem like WoW is a slide show. The combat in GW2 is so fast and chaotic that it is almost like a FPS. The World vs. World vs. World is fun as hell, and the map is just giant.

Keep in mind however that the game is not geared for 'End game' raiding. It was however never designed for that. It is for more casual players, but if you are hardcore into it there is also still plenty to do. You can work on armor sets, run all the dungeons (And there is a LOT to them, each having its own weapon and armor sets), do world Dragons and events (The fights are fun as hell and in some cases chaotic), or work on a Legendary weapon.

Check it out. Hell, you may just drop that $15 a month you are paying Blizzard. I did.

[RoninaThorstone]

Their F2P model has been dramatically improved since Nov 15th and the community opinion hasn't caught up with the reality of the model.

It's not good, but it's not bad either.

[Forsedar]

I thought they took away the reduced exp restrictions so they weren't so harsh?

Its still something you will enjoy. You will get your "data's worth" out of it for sure. However, you may want to end up subscribing if its something you can see yourself playing longer. I recently came back to the game and I'm really enjoying it.

[ColbaneX]

I tried the F2P and I could not stomach it. I had spent about two weeks just trying a bunch of games out.

Go buy GW2. After you buy it there are no monthly fees. The game is beautiful and really fun to play. If you do PvP in it and go back to WoW, it will almost seem like WoW is a slide show. The combat in GW2 is so fast and chaotic that it is almost like a FPS. The World vs. World vs. World is fun as hell, and the map is just giant.

Keep in mind however that the game is not geared for 'End game' raiding. It was however never designed for that. It is for more casual players, but if you are hardcore into it there is also still plenty to do. You can work on armor sets, run all the dungeons (And there is a LOT to them, each having its own weapon and armor sets), do world Dragons and events (The fights are fun as hell and in some cases chaotic), or work on a Legendary weapon.

Check it out. Hell, you may just drop that $15 a month you are paying Blizzard. I did.

Don't buy GW2. It is boring to play, if you do PvP in it, well, that's all there really is in GW2 because the game sucks. The combat in GW2 is boring, uninspired and repetitive, and no one cares about WvWvW. Sure, you don't have to pay 15 a month, but do you really want to waste 60 dollars on a crap game like GW2? I'd rather spend 60 dollars on a cheap prostitute than get GW2.

[Maester]

Don't buy GW2. It is boring to play, if you do PvP in it, well, that's all there really is in GW2 because the game sucks. The combat in GW2 is boring, uninspired and repetitive, and no one cares about WvWvW. Sure, you don't have to pay 15 a month, but do you really want to waste 60 dollars on a crap game like GW2? I'd rather spend 60 dollars on a cheap prostitute than get GW2.

Well it's all about opinion, Tholl happens to like it, you don't.

Turns out I did buy GW2. Actually I followed GW2's development for over a year, I was so damn excited about it, more than any other game ever. I pre-purchased the day pre-purchases opened up and played in the first BWE. That's when I realized that the game wasn't as great as I was expecting. It was sad since I had followed it for so long thinking it would be the best game ever, but when it finally released I forced myself to play it and just didn't enjoy it at all. So I stopped.

Back on topic, thanks for the help guys, I think I'm going to download it and give it a try again.

[Deleted]

After playing - and paying - for a few months, you will be preferred, not f2p. I feel between level 25 and 49 and mostly leveling you miss a few quality of life features but nothing essential. At 50 your options are severely limited and you have to either buy the missing stuff with RL money or via the ingame AH. Level 50 play without lifting several of the limitations feels pretty much pointless.

[RoninaThorstone]

Back on topic, thanks for the help guys, I think I'm going to download it and give it a try again.

Navigating the F2P model efficiently can be confusing at times. People here, myself included, will always do our best, excluding the occasional troll, to help you get the most bang for your buck (or credits).

If I may make a suggestion, since you bought the game already, you have 6 character slots, 6 actionbars, and a 350k credit cap.
With that, you can easily purchase the rest of your unlocks off the GTN with credits. So I would avoid spending any more money unless you think it is really worth it.

[Maester]

Navigating the F2P model efficiently can be confusing at times. People here, myself included, will always do our best, excluding the occasional troll, to help you get the most bang for your buck (or credits).

If I may make a suggestion, since you bought the game already, you have 6 character slots, 6 actionbars, and a 350k credit cap.
With that, you can easily purchase the rest of your unlocks off the GTN with credits. So I would avoid spending any more money unless you think it is really worth it.

Okay, I will keep that in mind, thank you.

[Thelxi]

I wouldn't touch swtor with a stick if I were you.

Even though I'm not a huge fan anymore, I would also reccomend GW2 for something to do when bored with WoW. It looks great and WvW is one of the most fun massive scale pvp features I've seen in any game in a long time. It is BTP though not FTP, and with cash you can save yourself a whole lot of time too.

[druenos]

I tried F2P on the first day the game went F2P, and after two hours realized it wasn't worth playing as F2P. I really loved the game though so I cancelled my 6 year long subscription to Wow ( I had grown tired of wow and I hated MOP and the new MOP raids ) and subscribed to SWTOR. Bear in mind that the F2P model has one goal, to make money. If you are F2P and want to play the endgame content ( which is the whole point of playing an MMO IMO ) then you either pay by subscribing or you spend money on cartel coins and pay for authorizations, but believe me, either way you will end up paying. I suppose you could make in game currency from crafting and buy the authorizations but you are restricted even in that. A lot of authorizations are very expensive on the GTN and you as a F2P have a cap on how much credits you can have.

I think the F2P model is more like a trial really, and TBH I wholeheartedly agree. Nothing in life is free and if you want a good game then you have to pay for it.

[threads]

It's not meant to be a fully F2P game. If you just want to play through stories then sure, but the goal is pretty much getting you to sub.

[Forsedar]

A lot of people aren't understanding that the F2P model now is not the same as the one that went live. Before posting such, please go and check out http://www.swtor.com/free/features.

[Schmilblick]

And what about PvP ?

[WarpedAcorn]

It's not meant to be a fully F2P game. If you just want to play through stories then sure, but the goal is pretty much getting you to sub.

This is correct. Think of the F2P as an extended trial account. I would not recommend playing SWTOR as a F2P, but I would highly recommend subbing for a month or 2 to play through a couple of the storylines.

[RoninaThorstone]

This is correct. Think of the F2P as an extended trial account. I would not recommend playing SWTOR as a F2P, but I would highly recommend subbing for a month or 2 to play through a couple of the storylines.

Depends. If you are a casual swtor player, F2P is totally viable as 'full game'. Really, it's only if you are play a lot that it will feel like a trial.

[Purple]

I'd say no, when literally any other MMO out there, even some of the most restrictive FP2 options out there, offer more. There are better alternatives that are also free. There's just not a Star Wars alternative.

[Forsedar]

People don't understand that if you are a 'Preferred F2P Player' you can just purchase what you would use through the GTN...

[Edge-]

People don't understand that if you are a 'Preferred F2P Player' you can just purchase what you would use through the GTN...

Sort of. I'm a F2P player and the overwhelming majority of stuff is priced out of my ability to purchase it (i.e. well over 200k).