Originally Posted by
Potato Bus
F2P players will have the 4 quickbars that all players currently have, the ones listed in the Cartel Shop are 2 extra bars (allowing up to 6 bars total - btw totally not necessary).
To address your hypothetical argument: trading, gathering mats, and pet and vehicle limitations are not core-gameplay mechanics. This game was not originally intended to be F2P. Bioware may be stretching to create income paths with the sudden change of their business model, but the fact is that you can play the game with all the restrictions in place.
We've been told for awhile now that restrictions will be implemented for free players, so it's not something that they sprung on you. Some will argue that the restrictions make the game unplayable, but that's just untrue. Farming WZs, FPs, or running OPs should be thought of as bonus material to non-subscribers. You have the chance to participate in some of them (obviously not OPs), but you have to pay or subscribe if you want to farm them. If you're farming them, you don't fit into the F2P demographic of people testing out or very casually playing the game once or twice a week, so of course that model doesn't fit you. If you want to specialize in, for example, PVP through WZs, you are given an option to spend less money than a subscription to play the game how you want. If you want more than just WZs, say you want Operations unlocked too, you're probably better off subscribing. In the end, that's the big question: how do you want to play the game? Because let's face it, if you're playing F2P, you do want to play the game.
TLDR: You gotta give to get more.