Free to play Star Wars The Old Republic – intergalactic jewel or pile of bantha dung?
They’re doing what?!?
It’s no secret that EA has decided to transition Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) from an entirely subscription based service to a free to play (F2P) model. But how much are they really making this transition? Today is the day that we find out. Those that read my posts here on Dorkadia will be familiar with the fact that I have been playing several F2P games from multiple genres. I like to think that I have a reasonable handle on how F2P games are arranged. I’m not quite so certain that the team at EA has quite as much of an understanding. It will have to be played out, but for now I remain unconvinced.
I’ve got a bad feeling about this
This will cover my biggest opinionated tirade just in case you would rather skip down to the parts where I’m not ranting as much. I understand very well that a F2P title is still there to make money. I don’t have any issue with the fact that a free game sells things through a cash shop. However, these things should always be OPTIONAL.What shouldn’t be sold is basic fucking functionality for your game. Okay EA, I get that you really want people to subscribe or buy “Cartel coins”, but requiring that people move slower than everyone else while out of combat until they give you a fiver is ludicrous. The features page isn’t overly clear about the sprint ability being completely unavailable or just not immediately available. Either way, I see it as a form of punishment for not immediately paying for a game they chose to make F2P. Or perhaps withholding access to any kind of bank storage for free players seemed reasonable for a game that emphasizes customizable gear and lots of crafting. Then there’s my absolute favorite – not being able to equip most purple (you MMO players know what this means) level gear unless you pony up the cash for it. Did you win or craft epic loot? Well you can stop having it take up inventory space (since you don’t have a bank) just as soon as you pay for the privilege to wear it.
Not entirely fail
It’ll be a cold day on Hoth before SWTOR goes free to play. Oh, they’re all cold?
There are certainly things that they are doing with SWTOR that are absolutely correct. First off, one of the best things about SWTOR is the amazing stories that Bioware tells for each character class. All players can experience these stories in their entirety for free, and that’s awesome. Secondly, one of the biggest parts of a F2P is buying aesthetic bonuses to customize your character and be unique. Customization of armor is already built in with the slot upgrade model of many pieces of armor and weapons. The clear thing to do, which it seems from the test server that they are doing, is to sell unique slotted items. Just like the buying of skins in League of Legends or the buying of costume items in Rusty Hearts or RaiderZ. No bonuses are conferred by these items (and thus not a “pay to win” model) and players that choose to play without paying do not have their experiences impacted. Pets are another great vanity item that players with money will enjoy and those without may want one, but they can continue playing unimpeded. Even functional items like mounts for sale is fine as long as the free players still have access to some kind of mount; perhaps something undesirably ugly.
There are certain other kinds of bonuses that many F2P games offer for cash that I don’t entirely agree with, but they aren’t unreasonable. Among these are the use of experience boosters like those in Allods, Firefall, and Rusty Hearts to name a few. The ability to pay to level faster irks me just a bit, but it doesn’t really ruin the game experience to not have it. The ability to resurrect in place is convenient, but not necessary. So I can certainly see the logic behind selling medical probes that allow you to do so beyond the allowed 5 times per character. Then there’s the option to reset talent points for cash (subscribers will get this for free) which really comes down to a time versus money argument. You could, if you have plenty of time but not much money, just start a fresh character instead of paying to reset the abilities of the current one.
May the Force be with them
For an official list of the changes, go the the SWTOR free to play website. There is also a fun little bit of info in their FAQ to note for those that currently or previously subscribed and now wish to play for free. The biggest problem that I see with this whole change is that they’re making it very hard to play with a free account. With no monetary investment in the game, it needs to be fun and compelling to make people want to stick around and keep playing. I, for one, will happily just walk away from a F2P that I don’t find engaging. Get them to like the game first and then get their money. I can only imagine that this “pay us or the game will be hard and terrible for you” mentality is going to end poorly for them.
