EverQuest Goes Free-to-Play

SOE is keeping that F2P ball rolling!

With EverQuest II going Free-to-Play in December 2011, it seemed inevitable that the original EverQuest would follow in its younger brother's footsteps. Well, today is that day, as EverQuest Producer Thom "Phathom" Terrazas has just announced that in early March 2012, EverQuest will be going Free-to-Play!

This is some big news for EverQuest players, both current and anyone nostalgic enough to want to set foot back into the game. It also comes alongside EverQuest's 13th birthday on Friday, March 16th! For anyone who hops into the game at EQ's F2P launch, they'll also receive a "Welcome Pack," which includes a unique Mercenary, some Bayle Marks, Experience Potions, a unique in-game item to display in your home, and a Weapon Ornamentation!

SOE has also provided a player matrix to give more detail on how they plan to implement this Free-to-Play transition, and it looks like it shouldn't have too much (if any) of an impact on pre-existing subscribers, while still offering some easier options for returning players. Finally, SOE will also be hosting a Community Webcast on Thursday, February 2, 2012 to cover this shift, so be sure to get your questions in on the EverQuest Facebook Page or via Twitter to @EverQuest.

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:P
# Feb 02 2012 at 3:12 PM Rating: Decent
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YAY!!

SOE is basically making it if you want to go anywhere in game, you have to upgrade/pay...so glad I left over 2 yrs ago...
:P
# Feb 26 2013 at 2:44 PM Rating: Decent
Hey thats a crock of crap dude! Don't tell people that! Sure your choice in classes/races is limited but wth man! They have to make money some how! I have been playing on a silver account for MONTHS and have yet ran into a zone i can't enter. ALL F2P games have restrictions like this. Stop with the SOE hate really i mean it got old in 2001! If you aren't interested in joining then just shut up dude.
Old promo
# Feb 02 2012 at 4:13 AM Rating: Decent
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Many years ago I enlisted in a promo that if I paid by the year, it would cost $100/yr paid once a year, which comes out to about $8 a month. The gold is $14, does this mean I am getting converted and a 75% fee hike? And since I run 3 accounts, +18/mo? This does not tickle my fancy...

What say you, admins??

thanks
Old promo
# Feb 02 2012 at 10:02 AM Rating: Decent
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I'd say read the infortmation. So far they say that Legacy pricing will stay the same, as long as it does not lapse in payment.
Give us what we paid for
# Feb 01 2012 at 4:47 PM Rating: Decent
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I like many have had recent financial difficulties and have had to cancel my subscriptions and i love the idea of free to play. But SOE is going to make those of us that having been loyal customers for years get short changed, i have no problem with the limit on plat and aa's, but when SOE says that silver members won't have access to what they paid for in the expansions they bought it makes me think i will never come back to EQ. SOE give those of us that paid for the SoD expansion FULL access to our mercs we PAID for them when we bought the expansion same goes with the extra bag slots we PAID for when we bought HoT. I am not asking for everything i had as a paying member but having shelled out the $50 per expansion to have that taken away because i am not a "gold" member seems rather nasty of SOE.

Edit: Also do not lock our access to the races and classes we paid for with the expansions they came out with (like the Iksar and the Beastlords) they were not originally part of the game you had to pay for the expansions to unlock them.

Additional Edit: i have recently received an email from a SOE admin stating that any old "vet" players will not have access to any additional content that they paid for because it was only one half of what was required to access the content the other half being an active subscription. Typical SOE spit in the faces of those thinking to return by telling them their past support of the game was worthless to them.

Edited, Feb 1st 2012 7:36pm by Aininia

Edited, Feb 1st 2012 7:38pm by Aininia

Edited, Feb 1st 2012 10:32pm by Aininia
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Uro thoughts
# Feb 01 2012 at 12:17 PM Rating: Decent
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The world of business and consumer wishes infrequently go hand-in-hand. I don't play anymore, but atleast this new development aroused my interest. The silver plan seems like a fair step up from the very basic plan, and works well with the casual player, newcomer, or long time returning player. Though the monthly subscription still feels harsh for a game so old, even despite the new content from so many expansions. I'm certain that in time these plans will be tweaked... I found myself wanting a somewhat more customizable silver plan... for example I would rather have one character I could take very far in gameplay, than 4 halfway characters and I probably would put up more money for it, too.. Not to mention the other criteria I would modify a bit, such as AA's, cash limit and so on. Though I'm sure for a "modest" fee these will be upgradeable - I wouldn't be surprised to see 5 bucks for 50-100 aa packs coming.

But what really restricts the silver plan in growth is that the gold plan isn't really that special. What I mean is that it is really hard to push for more in the silver package without really just getting basically full access (getting the cap levels so high on the restrictions that the average player wouldn't reach them to ever notice). If they added master mercs, special events like MM's, and maybe some abilites/spells/aa's for gold members only, that might open up for a little bit more for silver flexibility. Though I think, this would only serve to segregate the gold hardcore from the silver casual/moderate players more. EQ has always had some split like this, though it was more between the endgame raiding players and the casual group players.

Ultimately, they probably should have just lowered the subscription price to 7.99/month... still added free to play... have all the sellable items ppl need to play uber... etc...

Though as much as I love EQ, after the hundreds of dollars I've spent on it, it's really hard to see myself paying to play again. Not to mention the opportunity cost lost to other games and just general time lost.

But beyond that it's a wonderful game and even if I don't play it again... I'll still push people it's direction :)
The Money Bucket SOE Sees
# Jan 31 2012 at 2:48 PM Rating: Decent
I believe with the free play SOE’s revenues will rise far above what they make in monthly subscriptions. I believe they are copying Facebook‘s Farmville where FB makes most of its money from buying items from their store.

SOE sees a money bucket there and are cashing in, sure free to play but are betting on consumers making purchases . . .
Well...
# Jan 31 2012 at 8:18 AM Rating: Decent
Been waiting for this move for a while, I've wanted to come back to EQ but couldn't justify the monthly fee. Unfortunately... my two highest characters are a Drakkin Cleric and a Halfling Ranger. So I'm a bit screwed on that one -.-
Well...
# Jan 31 2012 at 10:03 PM Rating: Excellent
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Paradox wrote:
Been waiting for this move for a while, I've wanted to come back to EQ but couldn't justify the monthly fee. Unfortunately... my two highest characters are a Drakkin Cleric and a Halfling Ranger. So I'm a bit screwed on that one -.-

Buried in their FAQ is this tidbit:
Quote:
- Character Slots: When you downgrade from Gold, all characters that are on the account will still be visible to you. Characters that were created before February 29, 2012 will be allowed to log in (regardless of if you are currently over the cap of characters or do not have their race or class unlocked). Characters that are created on or after February 29, will only be available for use if you have both the race and class unlocked. For character slots, only the most recently logged-on characters (up to the character slot cap for your membership level) will be available for play.

Quote:
- Races and Classes: Any character you created before February 29th 2012 will be playable regardless of race or class. New characters that you create will be limited to the four available races and four available classes unless you purchase access to another race or class or upgrade to gold.

I must admit that I'm not 100% sure that it includes everyone with existing characters or only current subscribers that end up downgrading later. On EQ2 they ended up grandfathering in characters (as above) due to people coming back and being unable to play their old chars, so hopefully it'll work the same here.
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Well...
# Feb 01 2012 at 10:24 AM Rating: Decent
Oooh, thanks for pointing that out. I fully intend on playing again in any case (when LotRO went f2p I created a secondary account just to play through without spending a penny) but it's nice to know I won't have to spend money to play the characters I spent years raising.
Well...
# Feb 04 2012 at 7:21 AM Rating: Excellent
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Paradox wrote:
Oooh, thanks for pointing that out. I fully intend on playing again in any case (when LotRO went f2p I created a secondary account just to play through without spending a penny) but it's nice to know I won't have to spend money to play the characters I spent years raising.

No problem. :) After doing some more digging it appears that it's any character created before that cutoff date, regardless of whether or not your account is active. It might still be worth paying for a month subscription if you need to do a lot of bank/inventory management to reduce it well to what Silvers can hold but you should be good. Smiley: grin

Edited, Feb 4th 2012 8:21am by Cyliena
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Please use your influence
# Jan 30 2012 at 10:01 PM Rating: Good
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Most people don't realize how much influence paying members have. in the past i have seen soe change their policies and even the placement of items because of an outpouring of responses. I am not against the free to play plan, but they will lose a lot of people if the existing raf isn't honored. First, do feedback daily on all of your toons. then post in every forum, on the facebook page and twitter them.

Personally the raf doesn't affect me, but i have friends who worked hard to get those mounts and the bonus xp and it isn't fair to them.
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taking away the referral bonus sucks
# Jan 30 2012 at 9:55 PM Rating: Default
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a lot of people used their influence to promote eq to their friends with the raf. in return, sony promised certain compensations and made a lot of promises to both. to rip that all away is not fair. In most business dealings, this is called bait and switch and is illegal in most states. is sony above the law and can they actually get by with it? it isn't fair and i don't care what their disclaimers said.
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taking away the referral bonus sucks
# Feb 01 2012 at 1:19 PM Rating: Decent
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I agree so I shut off all of my buddy accoounts and will never turn them on again
subscription
# Jan 30 2012 at 7:01 PM Rating: Decent
if i subscribe to eq am i going to have to pay extra to unlock certain features as well?
subscription
# Jan 30 2012 at 9:28 PM Rating: Excellent
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IronHaloLP wrote:
if i subscribe to eq am i going to have to pay extra to unlock certain features as well?

Assuming it runs the same way as EQ2's F2P, as long as you have a normal subscription nothing should change for you.
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subscription
# Jan 30 2012 at 7:01 PM Rating: Decent
if i subscribe to eq am i going to have to pay extra to unlock certain features as well?
subscription
# Jan 30 2012 at 10:55 PM Rating: Excellent
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IronHaloLP wrote:
if i subscribe to eq am i going to have to pay extra to unlock certain features as well?


If it works like EQ2, and if you maintain the new equivalent of a subscription (that'd be Gold in EQ2), no. With EQ2 you just keep on paying your monthly and it's all the same as it ever was, with more new players.



Edited, Jan 30th 2012 11:56pm by Calthine
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# Jan 30 2012 at 6:01 PM Rating: Decent
Honestly, this is a way to get people to play and maybe hook them into paying for a regular subscription or even better spending some money on station marketplace items.

Either that or it could be a way for them to get some users to stop saying "I pay for this site, now fix whats broken"...you know, like the mercs have been for 3 months now
btw
# Jan 30 2012 at 4:52 PM Rating: Decent
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654 posts
don't think "great i can make a trader with a free account" because it ain't happening. SOE has stated that there will be limited access to the ingame market and barter system--which means, i presume, no traders on the free accounts-- which is unfortunate in a way because if you are playing you would like to support the merc and the toon, however there are other limitations-- like only 200 pp allowed on the freebie and 500 pp allowed on the silver -- although you can have land on the silver so i don't know how that will happen and there are no shared bank slots -- also the freebie gets 2 characters and the silver gets 4 and there are only 4 races and 4 classes allowed.very limiting -- obviously designed for a child or a poor person or an elderly person who just wants to enjoy something in their spare time.

Edited, Jan 30th 2012 5:52pm by iyeni
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btw
# Feb 01 2012 at 8:53 AM Rating: Decent
Obviously you cannot read; both free and silver accounts can have a house. Also, for F2P its 100pp per level (9,500pp potential), and for silver its 500pp per level (47,500pp potential).

In my opinion the most crucial limiting factor is going to be the limit on AA's. F2P is 250AA and silver is 1000, I think it should be F2P 750AA and silver 2000AA, otherwise it will suck to group with these people if you are a gold member.

Leave it to the **** Militia at SoE to ***** over the paying members that have supported this game over the years.
btw
# Feb 01 2012 at 12:13 PM Rating: Decent
A point Im sure the elite of EQ will convince them when they try to camp monopolize and turn down requests to join said group
yeah it's limited
# Jan 30 2012 at 4:09 PM Rating: Decent
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but what do you expect? there has to be some incentive to keep people paying subscriptions-- but this makes it easier for children to play and for people on a limited income. and for a one-time $5 fee you can get silver membership which doubles some of the stuff like bag slots.

my favorite is what they are doing for the people who still pay subscriptions-- $5 a month in station cash. hopefully we will get all the neat things they are giving the free accounts in the welcome package and also hopefully they will come up with more to offer those who are faithfully paying the recurring subscriptions monthly
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Heres hoping
# Jan 30 2012 at 2:50 PM Rating: Decent
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I just hope it isnt like eq2s free to play and forces you onto 1 server with all the other f2ps. Which in eq2 ftp its actually a whole different game.
Heres hoping
# Jan 30 2012 at 9:31 PM Rating: Excellent
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Lonaleb wrote:
I just hope it isnt like eq2s free to play and forces you onto 1 server with all the other f2ps. Which in eq2 ftp its actually a whole different game.

Back in early December all EQ2 servers became F2P. It was never a whole different game either; the F2P and legacy servers all had the same exact content, just the Marketplace had varied back then. :) It looks like they're simply converting EQ like they did with EQ2 back in December.


I still have my EQ subscription but barely anyone I know plays anymore, so maybe some of my old friends will come back now. :)

Edited, Jan 30th 2012 10:34pm by Cyliena
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Heres hoping
# Jan 30 2012 at 3:15 PM Rating: Decent
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you havent looked at EQ2 lately have you? they did away with the one FTP server, and now all servers are FTP....but i agree its a terrible model, and so limiting.
RAf over
# Jan 30 2012 at 1:45 PM Rating: Decent
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It says in the fine print that the Refer a Friend program is over and linked accounts will no longer be linked. See FAQ page under accounts. Typical SOE fashion.
RAf over
# Jan 31 2012 at 5:39 AM Rating: Decent
Baeddon wrote:
It says in the fine print that the Refer a Friend program is over and linked accounts will no longer be linked. See FAQ page under accounts. Typical SOE fashion.


Effective at the F2P transition.
eh
# Jan 30 2012 at 1:42 PM Rating: Decent
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just hope those of us who payed 2 yrs at time dont get the rape stick .
prepaid
# Jan 31 2012 at 5:28 PM Rating: Decent
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yeah i just did 3 accounts for 2 years each how is that going to work?
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Limitations
# Jan 30 2012 at 1:40 PM Rating: Decent
Note, this "Free to play" is another gimp version like eq2..Limits on AAs is terrible!
Limitations
# Jan 30 2012 at 8:36 PM Rating: Decent
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It's free. What do you expect lol.
Limitations
# Jan 31 2012 at 5:39 AM Rating: Decent
The One and Only fcoty wrote:
It's free. What do you expect lol.


What do we expect? Free everything. Nothing to pay for ever. Free AAs, free XP, free free free. Gimme gimme gimme free. Freeeeeeee.

Note, sarcasm.
Limitations
# Jan 31 2012 at 4:21 PM Rating: Decent
LOL, Sounds like "Occupy" EQ movement
Limitations
# Jan 31 2012 at 8:07 PM Rating: Decent
lol
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