They are already discussing milking the subscribers

Really?! Growing huh? What 3 servers do you play on?

Here's what you can probably expect:

1. Free to Play goes live, meaning Cartel Points(CP) and the "cash shop" are in place, allowing you to buy CP with real money and use to to buy things from the cash shop.

2. If you subscribe to TOR, you get free CP each month to spend on the cash shop however you like.

3. New content comes out, such as Makeb B and additional player levels. It's available for purchase on the cash shop. If you subscribed and didn't spend your free CP on other stuff, you just use them to purchase the new content. If you don't subscribe, you pay out real money for the content.


Now, I have no insider knowledge with Bioware or anything, but this is generally how hybrid F2P games work. So in a sense, the content will not be "free" but anyone who stays subscribed will likely be able to get it without having to pay more, even though they still have to "purchase" the content using the CP they get for subscribing.

But how do they justify removing content from subscribers one they stop subbing?

Under the LOTRO model subscribers KEPT all the content they had when they were subscribers once the game went F2P.

SWTOR is saying it will remove content from subscribers that stop subbing.

Which again makes it seem like a gouging have your cake and eat it model (for EA), by trying to hit players for stuff they should already own.

I know the fans will come in and say... well its an expansion, of course we should pay extra for it. Sorry but 1 planet and a 5 level increase is not an expansion. Its a way to justify milking more money. This is the type of content that we should have gotten all along.

But if you've bought it in the cash shop then why should it be removed?

Yes you will lose access to your extra slots, bank tabs etc, because they were available as part of the early game i.e. you haven't bought them in the cash shop.

All BW have said so far is certain things will be restricted from the current game.

Because as a subscriber you won't have bought it in the cash shop, it'll will be in with your subscription instead...... so when (or if) you stop your sub you'll then lose them (unless you buy them again).

They've stated that accounts that move from subscription to F2P will lose things like character slots, number of bank vaults etc. unless they buy them back through the cashshop again.

Isn't that what I'm saying?

Why do you you would lose anything you buy from the shop (assuming for one moment they follow the method in Discosoc's post) when you revert to your F2P account.

Because access through a sub isn't the same thing as buying it in the cashshop as a F2Per in that model, as soon as you stop subbing you lose it (apperently).

You only have access when you sub, unless you ALSO buy it in the cashshop.

In fact the aren't even clear as to whether you'll have "full" or "limited" access to anything you do buy in the cashshop as a F2Per.

Here's what you can probably expect:


3. New content comes out, such as Makeb B and additional player levels. It's available for purchase on the cash shop. If you subscribed and didn't spend your free CP on other stuff, you just use them to purchase the new content. If you don't subscribe, you pay out real money for the content.

But if you think about it, you are going to pay. Everyone does. What do you think the Cartel Coins are for? To purchase stuff. As subscribers, if we where never expected to pay for anything, what would be the point in giving us coins every month? Our subscription covers all aspects of the game and gives us a monthly dose of coins. If the planet costs us 500 Cartel Coins, who cares? We get them right now every month for subscribing. Non sub players will have to purchase the coins, hence charging coins for the planet, those f2p people will be "buying" it. The rest of us will get the planet with our coins that given to us every month from our sub. If it ends up working like this, I fail to see the issue with it. Im not going to buy vanity items with my coins, what else would I spend them on? And if I have nothing to spend them on, then what's the point in giving them to us?