F2P for All!
So yes, SWTOR announced that it is going F2P in November. I had suspected it was going in this direction, but I wasn’t sure.
I think this will be a great thing for SWTOR honestly. People are denouncing it as a massive catastrophe, but I truly believe that it will revitalize SWTOR. I have been through this transition before, remember. I played LOTRO before it went free, and I heard all the doom and gloomers talk about how the gameplay would be ruined and the content would suck, etc. etc. Instead, it was a great chance to get people into the game for fun and friendship. I played for a good year after it went F2P, and I enjoyed the whole time.
I think there will be three responses to this announcement.
Number 1: I am going to reinstall SWTOR. I liked it, but I couldn’t justify the sub.
Number 2: OMG I AM QUITTING THIS GAME RIGHT NOW, YOU ALL SUCK FOR STAYING, SWTOR WILL DIE LIKE I HAVE PREDICTED FOR 9 MONTHS NOW, AND I AM GLAD I CANCELED MY SUB ALL THAT TIME AGO (which seems odd, since they are still on the forums, but oh well.)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111
Number 3: I am glad I will get to try the game and continue my story past level 15. It was just getting good. (this is my brother)
What do you think? Will this be another LOTRO, where F2P revitalizes the game and makes it flush with new players and new friends? Or will this be like the gasps of a dying breed of payment models, solidifying SWTOR in the realm of City of Heroes and Age of Conan where the P2W options are more prevalent?
The Fanatical Swordsman 
When I saw this news today, it made me quite happy. I really enjoyed the game, but I play games in spurts, so I didn’t want to pay $15 a month when I might not play it for 2 or 3 months. I really enjoyed some of the social aspects of SWTOR, and the social part of the game can only be helped by an influx of new and returning players. I look forward to picking up where I left off when I ended my subscription a few months ago.
Exactly, your mindset is what I have been seeing a lot of people say. And I actually didn’t even think of the fact that the social aspect will get better, that was a good point. I tend to think “hey, more warm bodies for Flashpoints while leveling,” and “hey, more players to buy my crap on the GTN,” but just having more people to hang out with is awesome in itself. Thanks for the comment.
P.S. Nice to hear from you bro 😉
I agree with your take as I played LOTRO for 3 yrs (just recently canceled my sub) and it’s been a huge success and I think that this will be good for SWTOR. Be that as it may, I’m not sure what this does to keep me subbed as i have 2 level 50 characters. I will reserve any negative judgement until i see “advantage” items being sold in the cash shop and that have an affect on PvP. In that sense, i feel LOTRO is moving in the wrong direction as of late as it has offered more and more of these “advantage” items that cannot be earned by ingame means.
Yeah the cc-breakers for pvmp available in the store only made me angry. The starlit crystals seem an annoying grind too, lessened if you want to spend money in the store. They just made the legendary system more grindy, and I was fed up with it lol. Also the relics only available in the store. Those are maddening as well.
yeah, LOTRO has no shortage of grindy LI/Virtues, etc…and it’s a natural evolution then to place items in the store to instantly bypass these grinds…you know these are good sellers.
Right, it makes sense. That kind of thing works perfectly in the store. Makes me wonder which grinds will be trivialized by the SWTOR store.