EverQuest II has jumped on the free-to-play bandwagon, but not exactly the same one ridden by Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Unlike the two titles who have gone or will go the full transition from a paid subscription model to a wholly free-to-play model, EQII will just set up separate free-to-play servers under the “EverQuest II Extended” (EQ2X) service.
These free-to-play EQ2X servers will run alongside existing live subscription servers and will represent “a completely separate gameplay mechanic with the aim to attract new players to the world of EverQuest II,” according to the Producer Dave “Smokejumper” Georgeson in a letter to fans.
“‘EverQuest II Extended’ shares all the content and features of Live EQII. It plays the same. It looks the same. It *is* the same, with two obvious exceptions: a) it’s free-to-play, and b) it has a more robust marketplace,” added Mr. Georgeson.
In elaborating on what a “robust marketplace” means, the producer explained that more convenience items will be made available in the free-to-play EQ2X servers—not top-tier items of Legendary and Fabled quality—but still powerful enough to help with leveling and general adventuring needs.
He also assured gamers the game can still be enjoyable without the purchase of these “convenience” items since all content will be identical to the ones running on the Live EQII servers.
SOE has set up a comprehensive EQ2X questions page which can be browsed now for more details. Meanwhile, existing Live EQII players can also sign up to try out the service, which is advisable before recommending the free-to-play service to friends interested in exploring Norrath sans subscription.
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