i need a sub now to play EQ2???

I'll vouch. I was killed by rats repeatedly in the starting area, then fell off of Kelethin and died. Then I uninstalled.

That assuming this game playing only B2B kids and retired persons
I had my share "second job" game with EQ1 - enough is enough. EQ is not difficult and no game should be difficult unless we are talking about chess - we paying $$$ to have fun, for some people fun is BSMD -well we are free country

I'm a F2P player. I'm searching diligently for my "sympathy4OP" file, but keep getting this "404" error. Weird, I mean, I'm sure that file exists somewhere.

Sorry, OP, I feel for you -- really, I do -- but I just can't reach you.

Name these number of excellent of MMO's that are 99% free...I think they give too much for free. This is why they need to generate revenue. No gaming company can let you play for free without money coming in somewhere.

That's like going into McDonald's and saying your mommy bought you happy meals for years, you should get big mac's for free...

I took a lady to the movies not too long ago and my Benjamin turned into a Lincoln by the end of the event. All I ended up with was a kiss and a greasy buttery shirt. Just saying...and agreeing the sub is cheap.

Aaah, people who can't think beyond their wallet... Gotta love 'em.
...

I have played since launch and FtP did not exist. You bought a box, got a CD and installed. When the campaigns were introduced for new content we had to pay for them. I think it was $4.99 for each one. We got bug fixes and tweaks for free and that was it. You had to put in a valid CC for a payment source to even make a character. I have been playing MMO's since the day Ultima Online launched and the most anyone gave at the time was 10 days free play when you bought the box.

Sorry, they have to make money to keep the servers up and to pay the people that develop and maintain the game, they have rent to pay and they have to eat as well. Darn people, if they wouldn't put a roof over their kids heads and feed them, they wouldn't expect those things when they get older. (a bit Snarky there, apologies)

Cyrrena

To the OP, they announced back in 2014 that subscribers would get access to some new content first. Highkeep was the first thing this was applied to that I recall. They even had 2 weeks of subscriber only on at least 1 of the expansions since then (Altar of Malice). I don't know if there was an early access period for ToT or not.

They have just taken it further this time and not actually stated when / if the new Zek zone was going to be opened up for non-subscribers instead of the limited 2 weeks early access we've seen in the past.

That's such ********. The whole point of F2P was to offer another way to pay not to "give you a taste". Where did that high horse insight come from? What was wrong with just buying xpacs?

If they're going back to sub-locked then Ill just be done with paying them and will cancel my all access. At least in TOR when I sub I get to keep it when I drop. In ESO I can sub and have access or buy it. The slot machine merc crates and the content locking behind subscription is annoying and pushy.

Wow, 99%??? would also love to see these.

I sub to 2 sometimes 3 different games. Be glad you can post here as a f2p cause the 2nd game I play they dont allow f2p to post in forums. and there f2p model is a bit on the same restriction level as here but if I remember you can buy tickets for playing certain heroic area's.

I personally wouldn't recommend at this time to sub for the new content, there are threads around how bad the bugs and balancing is. It's like alpha quality IMO.

lol f2p. Its free to log in is what it means. Then pay to use the mechanics lol. Only reason I reinstalled this game was because they created the TLE servers. I rather enjoyed the extra xp they gave us last weekend.

Which 'mechanics' are locked behind a sub?

only two games come to mind with decentish f2p and that's Rift and Swtor both of which you really should get a sub if your going to bother but come closest to what eq2 f2p is. Swtor also charges or makes you sub if you want their new story content each month, though you get to keep access if you unsub at a later date.

Overall and after playing more games then I care to remember none of them has had such a giving f2p as eq2. I am sure at some point zek will go f2p in the future but it doesn't surprise me they want you to sub for it they have to make money.

This was always a subscription game. They added a F2P model to entice new players and hoped they would subscribe.

People keep saying 'I can't believe how entitled you are!' when someone posts about how the game is going back to pay2play.

Yeah of course we feel entitled, as we adopted a game based on a certain pay structure. Played it for years and then they changed the pay structure on us, without ever even acknowledging it.

We've put a lot of time and effort into our characters, and it just became 2-3 times more expensive to play those characters - are you telling me you wouldn't be in here complaining if DBG increased the sub price to $45? Or would you be in here saying 'guys it is a business, they need to make money. The player base has decreased so they need to charge more to stay afloat, I can not believe how entitled you all are..' ?

And don't tell me 'oh you get 99% of the content' because you don't, it depends on your play style. Sure, if you're level 30 you get 100% of the content. But if you're level 100... yeah not so much.

At level 100, the only content I don't have is in the ToT expansion, because I haven't bought it. Which is the way it's always worked. I sub'd to have access to GU100; at the end of May, I'll un-sub again, & will no longer have access to that content.

It's all good. If I worried about it, I'd buy the expac.

The expac bit is how it's always worked, yes. Nobody is complaining about having to buy expansions, that's 100% consistent with how both EQ1 and EQ2 have operated for decades.

Regarding the subscription bit, I need to make sure I'm following here. Were you just defining how subscription-required content works?

$15/month? I mean really. Many of these same people would spend more than that on a carton of cigarettes or a case of beer. Both of which are gone in relative seconds. In some places, one movie ticket is $15 for two hours of "entertainment" if you are lucky. Granted, everyone has the right to spend his/her $15 any way he/she pleases as long as they earn their money and don't take from others. But then don't complain that you don't get something if you choose the cigarettes or beer over the subscription. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

Just a general observation from a paying subscriber since 2004....perception is everything. Its obvious that the majority of people that have tried this game didn't feel that they were getting great value for their money as the player base is lower than ever. It doesn't matter what a hand full of people think, its the majority that counts. If this game was perceived as such a great value for the money, then it would be splitting at the seams with paying customers. I think there comes a point in time where you can't continue to ignore reality with wishful thinking. I hate seeing this game in the state it is in, but I have accepted that it is slowly dying for a variety of reasons and will never be what it once was.