Guild Wars 2 Base Game is Now Free-To-Play




/ 9 years ago

GuildWars2

Guild Wars 2’s base package is now available for free after the studio announced a revised pricing structure. However, to monetize the game’s player base, there will be a significant number of restrictions imposed on free accounts. These include limiting the character slots from 5 to 2, disabling Map chat and even prohibiting access to the forums. MMOs require micro-payments or a subscription to remain successful, but I’m quite wary that the hefty restrictions could deter new players from joining up and upgrading to premium accounts. This huge table below illustrates the differences between the main three account types:

Free Account Core Guild Wars 2 Account Heart of Thorns Account
Character Slots 2 5 5 or more*
Bag Slots 3 5 5
Revenant Profession No No Yes
Heart of Thorns Maps & Content No No Yes
Central Tyria (Core) Maps & Content Starter maps only until character reaches level 10

Lion’s Arch unlocked for each character at level 35

Yes Yes
Masteries No No Yes
In-Game Mail Can only send to mutual friends

Can’t send gold or items

Yes (accounts created after August 28, 2015 require SMS or app authentication to send gold and items) Yes (accounts created after August 28, 2015 require SMS or app authentication to send gold and items)
Guild Bank Access No Yes (accounts created after August 28, 2015 require SMS or app authentication to withdraw) Yes (accounts created after August 28, 2015 require SMS or app authentication to withdraw)
Whisper chat Except for mutual friends, can only whisper in the same map, one new person every 30 seconds Yes Yes
Map chat No Yes Yes
Squad chat Unlocked for each character at level 30 Yes Yes
Looking For Group Unlocked for each character at level 30 Yes Yes
PvP Chat Team Chat always available

Chat in PvP Lobby unlocked when the account reaches PvP rank 20

Emotes, Map and Say chat unavailable during matches

Yes Yes
WvW Unlocked account-wide when one character reaches level 60 Yes Yes
Daily Login Bonus No Yes Yes
Gem Store Items unusable by free accounts (such as glider skin) are unavailable Yes Yes
Currency Exchange Gems to gold exchange available, gold to gems exchange unavailable. Yes Yes
Trading Post Can buy and sell items from a selected list. Yes Yes
Forum Posting Access No Yes Yes

According to the developer, this new strategy is designed to create a clear and transparent model showing how varying accounts differ and allowing players to see beforehand if the premium accounts are worth the extra. It seems the majority of MMOs end up going free-to-play barring World of Warcraft, and it will be interesting to see how the community reacts. Guild Wars 2 is an outstanding MMO and its latest free model reduces the barrier to entry.

Thank you MMOs.com for providing us with this information. 


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