Another game that went F2P a few months ago is Dungeons and Dragons Online.
With the move to F2P, DDO raised its profits a 500%. As other games that have gone or are going the same route, DDO makes use of an Online Shop. You can play for free all the way, of purchase the ingame currency via using real $$ or through your performance in the game: Some quests will give you cash to spend in the Online Shop.
Let me repeat: DDO is completely playable without paying, but you'll have to get the items through your own effort.
DDO's ratings are pretty good. Some people complain that its graphics are not jaw dropping, but for a former Eternal Lands player even Farmville's graphics rock.
We are starting this series dedicated to Free to Play MMORPGs with the last addition to the F2P Clan: The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO).
Random loading screen of LOTRO. Promising...
It is clear by now that F2P is the way of the future, with other amazing MMORPGs going the same route (stay tuned if you want to know about them).
With LOTRO, you step on Tolkien's Middle Earth and find yourself completely involved in the storyline, which mixes elements from the books with new ones by the developer, Turbine (within a reasonable limit: You won't find elements not matching the storyline, like aliens).
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Starting this September, LOTRO offers up to the Mines of Moria expansion for free. There's still the subscription option and the Online Shop. However, you won't be paying for power levelling like in other games, but to achieve things faster.
Have a look at the ratings (from 8 points over 10 and even better), then at the screenies in this post, and tell me your mouth isn't watering to try this awesome game, if you have not tried it yet.
LOTRO is an incredibly polished MMORPG. The graphics are simply beyond description, tremendously engaging. Have a look at a LOTRO sunset and you won't feel like going back to your boring real life window views anymore.
Levelling up takes time, but you'll eventually get where the PROS are. Class dynamics are also interestingly thought out and leaves the player with a lot of freedom to design his path in the game. The tasks you can do, if you wish, are varied and very well developed technically; you can swim, fish, craft or fight, to name a few. The quests are many and very well written, but you can go without them if you like. Lore is supreme.
What about the community? And character creation options? If you're wondering about these issues, take a look at this vid and find out yourself:
If you're a The Lord of the Rings fan, you should give LOTRO a try. It won't cost you a single cent!
Are you stuck in a shitty game that got you in because you liked that it was free? Were you deceived by the fact that randomness made the cool stuff almost unlikely unless you visited the online shop? Are you still playing Eternal Lands or have you already left for Facebook games?
Despair not, gamer. In following posts you'll know about other alternatives that prove that FREE TO PLAY (F2P) is the way to go!
...the most controversial and thoroughly banned site about.
Eternal Lands, aka EL, is a free MMORPG, characterised for the vast censorship concerning... well, anything. The player base is under the rule of thumb of Entropy Serpent (who calls himself "Teh God") and his wife, the "artist" Maura Privantu.
There's no censorship in ELCHEATS, so feel free to leave comments of any nature.