Gamers will be able to get access to more content without paying

Oct 30, 2012 09:06 GMT  ·  By

The development team at BioWare says that it has made a number of modifications to the free-to-play model that Star Wars: The Old Republic will use from November, designed to offer more options to all those who join the game and choose not to pay a subscription.

The new model that the company plans to introduce will allow gamers that play for free to use a second quickslot bar and they will also have the ability to take part in five warzones during each week.

The developers have also reduced the cooldown linked to shop items, with subscribers now able to get them after two days and free-to-play gamers seeing their limit down to three days.

Damion Schubert, the lead designer currently working on Star Wars: The Old Republic, says that the team has made the changes based on feedback that was offered by the community and by other developers.

On the official forums of the BioWare-made MMO, he says that, “If it turns out that the Free-to-Play conversion results in a degraded Warzone experience once we go live for subscribers, you can rest assured that we will quickly make adjustments to the system to ensure that subscribers have an optimal experience.”

“That being said, it is important conversely that the subscription offers subscribers strong, tangible benefits over the Free-to-Play experience. We value our subscribers greatly, and they are crucial to the success of Star Wars: The Old Republic,” the developer added.

Star Wars: The Old Republic was launched during December 2011 and initially performed very well, but starting with the middle of the year the game has seen a sharp decline in paying subscribers, which has prompted Electronic Arts and BioWare to announce a move towards free-to-play.

BioWare says that it has plans for long-term support for the MMO.