Pay to Win

No i think its for a different reason.. From the changes in each every patch since f2p, well, its not that hard to see that bioware literally did change their business model to freemium+microtransactions. Look at the new content!! I think the restrictions are first and foremost a way to justify value for a subscription to existing customers, and to their discredit, not have to do any additional work to create that perceived value. I find it hard to see how bioware would still perceive tor (internally at the business discussions) as a sub first game with with a ftp "option". The output of new content (and the way its been priced and sold) tells a different story. Bioware do run the cartel market..

Dont get me wrong i have no problems with biowares approach to get paid.. i quite enjoy certain aspects of it. I always get the urge to say something when people go around thinking all sorts of strange other things...

So based on your examples of why TOR is P2W, let's look at some of the other freemium MMOs you mentioned in this thread:

LOTRO is P2W because F2P players have a 2 gold limit, they only get a couple of trait slots, and cannot earn rest XP.
Rift is P2W because subscribers get 15% more currency and daily XP/reputation boosts.
Tera is P2W because subscribers get daily XP, gold, and reputation boosts.
Aion is P2W because F2P players can only gather/extract a limited number of times each day, and their instance cooldowns are much longer.

Subscribers will always get benefits that F2P players don't get; otherwise there would be no point in subscribing. Now you can argue that TOR has more restrictions than other games (and I would actually agree with you on that), but having restrictions doesn't make it P2W. Otherwise every freemium MMO would be P2W.

wouldn't p2w only apply to f2p (and probably b2p as well) games? any p2p game is also p2w, since you have to pay to access the game, right? there seems to be some suggesting here that swtor is not f2p, it's freemium, which is different because in a f2p game, it's free to play, and in this game, you have to pay a subscription for the complete swtor experience.

maybe there needs to be a different term that requires you to pay a subscription, and pay for items from a cash shop on top of that to gain access to all elements of the game. maybe shop to win (s2w)? since we're moving from games focused on gameplay to games focused on shopping.

so, p2w = pay to win. the more you spend, the better you do in-game
b2p = buy to play, a box cost for the game and you don't have to pay monthly for access to content.
p2p = pay to play, subscription gives you access to all content
f2p = free to play, you get access to the game download and all gameplay content for free; there is typically an extra charge for cosmetic items in a cash shop
freemium = limited free to play. you have to pay a subscription to gain access to all gamplay content. the game can get extra income through cosmetic purchases in a cash shop. there could be a charge to download the game or not with this model
trial = very limited free to play. people are expected to pay a subscription after playing enough to see if they like the game.
s2w = shop to win, the new more complicated model that obfuscates your choices. limited content for free players, but more than a trial. gameplay content is available to subscribers. the cash shop goes beyond cosmetic, to the point where subscribers are expected to buy additional items in order to get the full experience of game content. direct tie-in from cash shop to in-game economy. pushes as close to p2w as possible without crossing the line. when they do cross the line lots of people complain on the forums and they step back for 3 or 4 weeks and try again.

+1

I dont agree with the op and p2w is exactly the above.

SW:TOR is more than fair with its price models where you can easily level your toon without paying a single buck. I was free to play before i subbed and im not forced to spend hundreds or even thousands more bucke on every single char to compete with guys who do. As satisfactory validation to my my sub they even give me a monthly amount of cash shop credits (with which i bought some more inventory and bank slots).

Of course you can get millions out of buying cash shop packs, but that does not give you any advantage over someone who played his toon for even a little while (ingame money is really so easy to gain in SW:TOR that this is no real issue.)

Again, explain to me how my statement in any way, shape or form indicates that I believe "these restrictions do not exist"........

Did you perhaps intend to reply to someone else and just chose my quote instead?

I pointed out, in pretty clear terms, that pay to win is not a label you can give the current system. Pay to easy, maybe, pay to access, sure...not pay to win.

I'm going to start calling my local gas station pay to win. Might as well...it's becoming the popular meme now.

If you want to argue there are too many restrictions on free players, I'll engage in that conversation.

If you want to say it is the definition of pay to win I will make you a peanut butter and mayo sandwich.....and then explain why it is pay to win as well.

I don't think that long a title would go over well with their marketing folks.

It is more than a demo though, as you do get the complete single player experience from the original game (which while it isn't Mass Effect, isn't bad either).

You pay $15 a month and are entitled to post your opinion, no matter how stupid. Good for you.

If someone wants to establish that TOR is P2W, first they need to establish that it's possible to win something. How does one "win" PvE?

One doesn't.

I win every time I launch swtor.exe. Boo-yeah!

Who's in this competition with you?