The news broke during the Guild Wars 2 conference at PAX, the base game becomes free from August 29, 2015. It is a good alternative for players who want to try the game or for those who do not have a very high playing time. Let's take a closer look at these new free accounts and their restriction.
First of all, for people not knowing it, GW2 is a game called a B2P (Buy To Play). You buy the game and get access to all unrestricted content without any other frills like a subscription for example. With the arrival of the expansion, ArenaNet has chosen to offer the base game with Heart of Thorns so that new players are not excluded from certain content.
A new page turns with this announcement because the base game becomes free so that all players wanting to test it can have the opportunity. Nevertheless, ArenaNet wants to protect its regular and current players and "free" players will be subject to restrictions. Here are some examples of restrictions for these accounts:
- Number of character slots (2 instead of 5) and reduced bags (3 instead of 5).
- No shipment of gold and equipment possible.
- No access to the gem store. However, you can exchange gems for gold, the reverse will be impossible on the other hand.
- Chat channels and in-game mail are reduced (ban on sending on the / card for example).
- Limitation of progression:
- Impossible to leave the starting area before level 10.
- Group Finder cannot be accessed before level 30.
- The WvW will be accessible from level 60.
- PvP is directly accessible, however Ranked Matches and Custom Arenas are only possible from Rank 20.
- No access to the content of the extension.
Some limitations are mainly there to avoid anything that is Gold Sellers or bots. Finally, players who bought the game before this announcement will be offered a Royal Guard outfit in the coming days.
