Is playing F2P worth it?

[catcommando]

lol, I noticed even emotes are subscription locked.
My account is "preferred".

My favorite is /cry being gated behind a subscription pay wall. Don't know why but it made me laugh for some reason. :P You gotta pay to QQ!

[WarpedAcorn]

HAHA!

That's actually pretty good.

[Kelimbror]

My favorite is /cry being gated behind a subscription pay wall. Don't know why but it made me laugh for some reason. :P You gotta pay to QQ!

That would fit with the fact that they can't use forums. I suspect the two events are related.

[Khealos]

I don't raid, PVP, and don't do many flashpoints to Preferred/F2P is great for me. The credit cap is my biggest gripe, but I suck it up since I'm not a sub (yet). I've been saving money to purchase all inventory slots account wide, 2 cargo bays, a couple of GTN increases, and a few titles. If you are a casual gamer F2P is great, and for the low, low price of $5 you can get a total of 6 toons and the increase in credits.

[Vankrys]

for every prospecting F2P player out there, the best piece of advice that can be given, is to drop $5 on the cash shop to buy cartel coin. That put you omediatly on prefered status, unlock a bunch of thing. then you do whatever you want with your cartel coin, i'd suggest buying some unlock.

Anyway, try it, you have nothing (or just $5) to lose. personally, i find the amount of content available for free amazing, but that's just me.

i would give the same advice for every F2P game out there. try it for free, don't expect to have a full experience for free though, you are going to be restricted one way or another unless you drop some cash, that is the business model.

[Warloff]

I find this game to be deeply flawed.

That said their free-to-play option is very generous and it's been horrible PR that has allowed TOR to get a rep for having a bad f2p option.

The thing most people don't realize is you can unlock most restrictions by buying Cartel items off the auction house. I haven't sunk a dime into this game and I have all my quickbars, inventory slots, and can equip artifact gear. And getting credits is easy. With the exception of the expansion this game really is free to play.

[Kelimbror]

I find this game to be deeply flawed.

That said their free-to-play option is very generous and it's been horrible PR that has allowed TOR to get a rep for having a bad f2p option.

The thing most people don't realize is you can unlock most restrictions by buying Cartel items off the auction house. I haven't sunk a dime into this game and I have all my quickbars, inventory slots, and can equip artifact gear. And getting credits is easy. With the exception of the expansion this game really is free to play.

1) The 'except for the expansion' part is the entire game going forward. You dismiss it like an afterthought. Sorry, it won't work that way.

2) You can't even get access to the full end game no matter how much money you throw at your screen without a subscription.

3) There are plenty of other restrictions, like comm and currency limits that are only removed with a subscription.

4) No content unlocks are permanent.

So with just those few things, while there are so many more, it's not SWTOR's horrible PR that has 'allowed' the game's bad F2P rep...it's the fact that it's fucking awful F2P, especially when you can look at just about EVERY other game out there on how to do it right/better. Their horrible PR has just magnified the blunder exponentially.

[Jaronicity]

1) The 'except for the expansion' part is the entire game going forward. You dismiss it like an afterthought. Sorry, it won't work that way.

2) You can't even get access to the full end game no matter how much money you throw at your screen without a subscription.

3) There are plenty of other restrictions, like comm and currency limits that are only removed with a subscription.

4) No content unlocks are permanent.

So with just those few things, while there are so many more, it's not SWTOR's horrible PR that has 'allowed' the game's bad F2P rep...it's the fact that it's fucking awful F2P, especially when you can look at just about EVERY other game out there on how to do it right/better. Their horrible PR has just magnified the blunder exponentially.

I really wanted to (and still do, to some extent) like this game, but I agree with you for the most part. I feel like their "preferred" status should have just been their F2P model. I thought I was going to get some cool things because I was "preferred" but after looking at the chart on the "Features" page, I see I was sorely mistaken. Anything worthwhile has a weekly pass or you need the subscription to get it. The only thing I think I enjoyed was the fact that I wasn't limited to two characters (since I have 4). I'm certainly not going to purchase a weekly pass to raid or warzone or flashpoint.

That said, my sister is quite into this game even as far as pre-ordering RotHC for early access. I'm interested enough to hear what she has to say, but I likely wouldn't come back until a real expansion and improvements to the game.

[Vankrys]

1) The 'except for the expansion' part is the entire game going forward. You dismiss it like an afterthought. Sorry, it won't work that way.

What's wrong in selling expension. Even MMO with sub fee does it (rift, wow) For those MMO, the exansion does not even include a free month, which mean, if you want to play the expansion you bought $40, you will need at least to drop $15 for one month. Expansion for guild wars were not free, i doubt guild wars 2 expansion will be. What is wrong in purchasing expansion

2) You can't even get access to the full end game no matter how much money you throw at your screen without a subscription.

This is wrong. You can access EVERYTHING with ingame credit. I do it. I clean every PVE operation, including nightmare denova (the top tier) as F2P. all i have to do is each week, i need a couple hours farm to get the credit to buy my weekly PVE and PVP pass. Subs don't need to buy passes. It's a choice i made, i spend time but save $15 every month.

3) There are plenty of other restrictions, like comm and currency limits that are only removed with a subscription.

This is true true. i am limited to 200 comms (think of it as wow's emblem) while subs are limited to 400. Doesn't shock me though. It could displease potential player i admit, but i think it's fair game to give some perks to subscriber (such as higher limit in comm, unlimited credits) and make subscribing to the game an attractive path. If bioware were hoping from my money to keep the game going, they would go bankrupt, because i don't spend even a dime. So i don't mind subscriber getting perks, since their money is paying for the game.

4) No content unlocks are permanent.

Untrue.
Daily quest area unlock are permanent.
Makeb planet expansion is permanent.
QoL unlock (action bar, 3rd profession, Epic gear authorisation) are permanent.
Flashpoint are unlimited, only loot from flashpoint is limited to 3/week

only PVE (operation) and PVP (warzone) endgame are weekly unlock

So with just those few things, while there are so many more, it's not SWTOR's horrible PR that has 'allowed' the game's bad F2P rep...it's the fact that it's fucking awful F2P, especially when you can look at just about EVERY other game out there on how to do it right/better. Their horrible PR has just magnified the blunder exponentially.

It all depends how you look at it, what you expect from it. SWTOR F2P is far from the game of the year, it's average to good gaming experience, but it's entirely free.

[Kelimbror]

What's wrong in selling expension. Even MMO with sub fee does it (rift, wow) For those MMO, the exansion does not even include a free month, which mean, if you want to play the expansion you bought $40, you will need at least to drop $15 for one month. Expansion for guild wars were not free, i doubt guild wars 2 expansion will be. What is wrong in purchasing expansion

GW is a B2P game, not sure why you are even mentioning it. Additionally, lump in $15 to a $40 box price and you have $55 to play an expansion. When you look at the amount of content available AT LAUNCH it is vastly dominant in value compared to this 'expansion'. Point completely invalid.

This is wrong. You can access EVERYTHING with ingame credit. I do it. I clean every PVE operation, including nightmare denova (the top tier) as F2P. all i have to do is each week, i need a couple hours farm to get the credit to buy my weekly PVE and PVP pass. Subs don't need to buy passes. It's a choice i made, i spend time but save $15 every month.

Please read before responding the equivalent of 'LOL YOURE WRONG'. I said you can't reach the FULL endgame no matter how much MONEY you spend unless you subscribe. And on top of that, you can't access the full end game with just credits either. You don't get ranked PvP or anything past Story Mode in raiding. Period. You are wrong, get your facts straight. Thanks.

Untrue.
Daily quest area unlock are permanent.
Makeb planet expansion is permanent.
QoL unlock (action bar, 3rd profession, Epic gear authorisation) are permanent.
Flashpoint are unlimited, only loot from flashpoint is limited to 3/week

Daily quest areas kinda fit the bill, I'll give you that, Makeb is an 'expansion' so that surely doesn't count, QoL unlocks are NOT CONTENT. I'm talking about content that is continuously updated. SWTOR doesn't sell quest packs, they don't sell raids, they don't sell much of anything that will permanently keep you playing the game.

It all depends how you look at it, what you expect from it. SWTOR F2P is far from the game of the year, it's average to good gaming experience, but it's entirely free.

I've never said that it isn't free prior to RotHC. I told people how to get what they needed from the GTN and that as a casual experience it was what you made of it. However, my criticism was to say that it is practically the model for terrible F2P games which it undeniably is.

This isn't even going back and beating the Cartel Market horse. This game had nothing but Cartel Market additions and updates for the majority of its 'content', dabbles in pay to win in multiple areas, and generally provides nothing to incentivize a subscription other than hanging the 'real' end game over someone's head. Sure they get a minor stipend which is almost worthless as the credit cap is too low.

So really a subscriber now pays $15/mo just to access the real endgame. Their sbuscription value was drastically reduced after the game went F2P. That alone is enough to justify how awful it is as a F2P model. There's not a single avenue you can approach this to say it is a good model. Period.

[RoninaThorstone]

This is wrong. You can access EVERYTHING with ingame credit. I do it. I clean every PVE operation, including nightmare denova (the top tier) as F2P. all i have to do is each week, i need a couple hours farm to get the credit to buy my weekly PVE and PVP pass. Subs don't need to buy passes. It's a choice i made, i spend time but save $15 every month.

Really? You can do the lvl 55 raid without paying 20 dollars for the expansion it is in? Last I checked you can't get that with credits.

[Vankrys]

No, you are wrong. Please read before responding LOL YOURE WRONG. I said you can't reach the FULL endgame no matter how much MONEY you spend unless you subscribe. And on top of that, you can't access the full end game with just credits either. You don't get ranked PvP or anything past Story Mode in raiding. Period. You are wrong, get your facts straight. Thanks.

hi

first of all, i never say "lol". EVER! you will not find a post on this forum or another where i actually respond lol at anyone. i think it's a complete lack of respect and diminish the credibility of my argument. call me "old school"

second. I stand by what i said. You have access to hard and nightmare mode as F2P, with ingame credit. Again, i clear the complete asation HM and denova nightmare, as F2P. I was in a guild kind enough to understand my stance on subscrition. I raid every week with them and we managed to be ranked 3rd server on PVE progression.

My fact is straight i did it. Not something i read somewhere, i tanked and killed kephess nightmare, i got the warstalker title (which i actually had to buy an unlock to display afterward) proving i killed in less than 2 hours.

Daily quest areas kinda fit the bill, Makeb is an 'expansion' so that surely doesn't count, QoL unlocks are NOT CONTENT. I'm talking about content that is continuously updated. SWTOR doesn't sell quest packs, they don't sell raids, they don't sell anything that will permanently keep you playing the game

raid access aren't permanent, they are weekly. if i activate a pass on thurday 8pm, i can raid until next thursday 7:59pm. it can spam over 2 tag. It's character only, that is, if you want t raid with an alt the same week, you need to buy another pass, that kinda sucks.

But you have access to all endgame with a little of farming. Then again time vs money, isn't that the essence of a F2P model.

I've never said that it isn't free prior to RotHC. I told people how to get what they needed from the GTN and that as a casual experience it was what you made of it. However, my criticism was to say that it is practically the model for terrible F2P games which it undeniably is.

This isn't even going back and beating the Cartel Market horse. This game had nothing but Cartel Market additions and updates for the majority of its 'content', dabbles in pay to win in multiple areas, and generally provides nothing to incentivize a subscription other than hanging the 'real' end game over someone's head. Sure they get a minor stipend which is almost worthless as the credit cap is too low.

So really a subscriber now pays $15/mo just to access the real endgame. Their sbuscription value was drastically reduced after the game went F2P. That alone is enough to justify how awful it is as a F2P model. There's not a single avenue you can approach this to say it is a good model. Period.

look, i understand you hate swtor with passion. You hate it so much you are hear daily posting how much you hate it, i get it. But someway, somehow, they are people that actually find some fun in the game. By that the combat system, the story, the pvp, the endgame, you name it. In my guild, they are all head over heels about the game, i am the only one F2P there. different tastes i guess.

and again, it's wrong you have access to endgame raiding, at the highest possible level in the game, at F2P. I did it for pete sake, i don't know how to spell it better, i did every single raid, on every single difficulty, get all the prestigious title, including warstalker, get my self full 63 best in slot, entirely free. I bought every single unluck with credits.

---------- Post added 2013-04-15 at 06:20 PM ----------

Really? You can do the lvl 55 raid without paying 20 dollars for the expansion it is in? Last I checked you can't get that with credits.

of course not, denova nightmare is a pre-expansion operation. You have to buy the expansion to reach level 55 (55, i meant 55, wrote 50 earlier). just like every other MMO. I'm talking did all the operation in the game up until the expansion.

beside, you know exactly what i meant, why the hate, just like kitty, why hanging on those forum and posting daily negatively about the game, it's not perfect, but some people find it fun, respect that.

[Kelimbror]

look, i understand you hate swtor with passion. You hate it so much you are hear daily posting how much you hate it, i get it.

This is why I won't talk to you respectfully, nor will I give you credit for any valid points. Because at the end of the day, you haven't read these forums, you don't know how I stand, and in your haste to White Knight for a crappy F2P model you make assumptions that make you look like an idiot. There's nothing nice I can say about that.

Being adamant that a F2P model and developers are garbage doesn't mean someone hates a game. Refusing to lie and sugar coat BS doesn't mean someone hates a game. However, refusing to admit to any of that nonsense does make someone discredited on their opinion. There's nothing in this world I love enough to refrain from criticizing objective faults.

Love is not the absence of reason, contrary to any quotables out there.

Edit:

And people like me come here to talk about SWTOR because there are intelligent and well 'spoken' individuals capable of discussing all sides of the coin. Unfortunately there are several extremists on both sides which always bring down the whole forum. Don't be one of those people.

[RoninaThorstone]

of course not, denova nightmare is a pre-expansion operation. You have to buy the expansion to reach level 50. just like every other MMO. I'm talking did all the operation in the game up until the expansion.

beside, you know exactly what i meant, why the hate, just like kitty, why hanging on those forum and posting daily negatively about the game, it's not perfect, but some people find it fun, respect that.

Most other f2p mmos don't lock leveling content behind paywalls, and when they do they tend to offer a way to unlock them in game.
That's the difference. I would be more than willing to accept swtor as a B2P game if they didn't try and charge one group of people more than another for the game.

[Vankrys]

This is why I won't talk to you respectfully, nor will I give you credit for any valid points. Because at the end of the day, you haven't read these forums, you don't know how I stand, and in your haste to White Knight for a crappy F2P model you make assumptions that make you look like an idiot. There's nothing nice I can say about that.

Being adamant that a F2P model and developers are garbage doesn't mean someone hates a game. Refusing to lie and sugar coat BS doesn't mean someone hates a game. However, refusing to admit to any of that nonsense does make someone discredited on their opinion. There's nothing in this world I love enough to refrain from criticizing objective faults.

Love is not the absence of reason, contrary to any quotables out there.

Edit:

And people like me come here to talk about SWTOR because there are intelligent and well 'spoken' individuals capable of discussing all sides of the coin. Unfortunately there are several extremists on both sides which always bring down the whole forum. Don't be one of those people.

i'm sorry you feel i don't deserve your respect, though i don't feel you talk to me disrespectfully. I still believe in mutual respect, so i will never disrespect you on any occasion. frankly, i said my piece, i won't argue more.

I just wanted to correct you when you said one cannot access all PVE content as free, this is obviously wrong, i gave my reason, i will now let it to the appreciation of the readers.

I won't argue more about your or my feeling, i will just stick to fact. I apologize if i did offend you talking about your hate, but quite frankly, it's hard to think otherwise, given all the negative post you have on this game.

as for the game i would just say
nothing's perfect. but it doesn't have to be.

[Kelimbror]

I just wanted to correct you when you said one cannot access all PVE content as free, this is obviously wrong, i gave my reason, i will now let it to the appreciation of the readers.

This is the first I've ever heard that you can buy access to highest levels of raids or PvP. We've had numerous reports since the game transitioned that this isn't possible. I mean...tons of sources. You would think someone would have corrected us by now? You can see why this being the first time I've ever heard it I'm not going to know that's what you originally meant nor be able to believe you on your story alone.

If it is possible, then it's preferable to the alternative, but still is basically forcing a player into a smaller subscription. Is this better, to have a choice? I would agree that it is, but other games let you access that content with either a) No cost or b) a one time permanent unlock for not much more money. So just from this comparison, it's worse than the other models.

as for the game i would just say
nothing's perfect. but it doesn't have to be.

No, it doesn't have to be perfect....it just needed to be even close to on the level with other F2P models. And really that's the whole point. It's not. It is a perfect example of everything not to do when you go F2P. People who argue against F2P games now use SWTOR as their starting point for argument. It's not like those people are delusional about the model, they are just delusional that SWTOR represents any part of F2P other than their own game.

I don't think there's a single person on here who plays multiple B2P/F2P games that will tell you SWTOR is better than any of them overall. Yes, it gives you access to the story for free to 50. It's a snapshot of a game frozen in time. It constantly segregates you, makes you feel like you aren't valued, shoves the cash shop and reminders in your face, and goes out of its way to try and make your experience less enjoyable. Even games that sell leveling content in their store instead of giving a free game generate a better vibe and value by how they go about it.

The devil is in the details. My apologies if I misinterpreted your responses as aggressive, I tend to naturally react that way since I'm labeled as such for similar reasons...and to be fair, momentum swings are created out of the initial inertia. I really, really, really enjoyed this game when it first launched and watched in horror as every possible wrong move, design, and communication destroyed what I loved.

[Xenonn]

i played both and i gotta say i would never ever play F2P again, too many restrictions imo

[WarpedAcorn]

Kitty doesn't hate this game. He hates the decisions the people behind the wheel keep making that keep steering it off in the wrong direction. If you've followed his posts for awhile, you'll know he actually likes the mechanics of the game. His complaints have to do with, in this case, the implimentation of the F2P system which is one of the poorest examples of F2P out there that I have ever experienced.

[Vankrys]

Kitty doesn't hate this game. He hates the decisions the people behind the wheel keep making that keep steering it off in the wrong direction. If you've followed his posts for awhile, you'll know he actually likes the mechanics of the game. His complaints have to do with, in this case, the implimentation of the F2P system which is one of the poorest examples of F2P out there that I have ever experienced.

i really really don't follow people on forum, i can only react on the spot. I could read post history but, it's kinda stalkish i feel. So i did apologize if came out too strong. I personally don't think the F2P model is that bad, i adapt to it to get the best of it. Could be better, could be worse, i just manage with the hand i'm dealt. Now everyone has an opinion, i just stated mine with example how manage to still raid.

[Kelimbror]

he actually likes the mechanics of the game.

I created so many alts...soo soo many, just because those intro zones and swinging your saber or blasters around the first time was incredibly fun. I'll probably get nostalgic about it in the near future and reinstall just to create new characters on a new account. Something about starting over fresh in this game always feels so right.

Getting your ship, picking your AC, that first time you step on the fleet...all such awesome experiences. So many things done right, even with the initial mistakes they made, I thought there was nowhere to go but up. Seeing how wrong I was...was probably one of the worst things to happen in video games.

Even worse than having our horrible, dbag OT in Vanilla WoW steal the only crul shorukh that ever dropped from me. I almost rage quit all MMOs that night. Luckily I got over it.