14 DAY TRIAL // Turbine provoked a minor stir in the world of MMOs and role playing gamers by announcing that Dungeons & Dragons Online, which was initially released in 2006 and aimed to replicate the pen and paper experience of the game in an online environment, would be adopting a free to play model during the summer.
The developers avoided any talk about a date for the switch, only mentioning that it would come when the next expansion for the MMO was launched. Now, we know that Eberron Unlimited, the talked about content addition, will be going live on August 6, so this is the date when the game also drops its subscription fee.
Those who are Dungeons & Dragons VIPs, meaning that they have been engaged in the game for some time continually, will be getting access to all the new stuff two days earlier, on August 4.
Turbine is surely hoping that offering the basic game for free will attract new players to Dungeons & Dragons Online and will encourage them to play the game and get items from the DDO Store, which the company is also putting together.
Players who are not interested in micro transactions can still use the subscription model and will become VIP players. The DDO Store is set to offer such wares as potions, equipment and adventure packs for those looking to get ahead in the MMO.
Eberron Unlimited is also offering improvements related to the core mechanics. The level cap is raised to 20, offering players the chance to use more abilities and powers, new adventure packs are being introduced, combat is being re-worked to make it smoother, while the Favored Soul class is introduced for the first time. It will be interesting to watch Dungeons & Dragons Online and see how the number of players and the quality of the MMO are affected by the move to a free to play, micro transaction model.