By Eric "Piestro" Cleaver
I have a confession to make. As a Community Relations Manager and as a player I get nervous when people start talking about making major changes to games that I love. It's pretty understandable then, that when I was first approached with the idea of taking EverQuest Free to Play, I started to get a slightly queasy feeling in my stomach. I was initially hesitant, and in meetings, brought up every issue I could possibly think of, in an attempt to make everyone aware of all the things I thought could go wrong with a conversion to Free to Play.
My concerns were threefold: how would this change impact current players, how would it impact returning players, and how would it impact new players. Coming up with a single plan that satisfactorily addresses all three of these groups is incredibly difficult, because what might be helpful and useful to one group might prove to be a negative for another. Addressing the needs of all three groups would require a careful juggling act with a brand new game, let alone a game with the proud lineage of EverQuest.
I immediately started talking with the Dev team about how this would impact our current players. Nothing against returnees, or any people waiting to take the plunge into EQ for the first time, but our existing loyal player base seemed like a logical starting point. The Dev team quickly reassured me that for current EQ players very little would change, with the exception that if they have a recurring subscription they'd start getting an extra 500 Station Cash a month. I love the occasional purchase off the Marketplace as much as the next Halfling, and I suspect that this wouldn't upset anyone.
So if things are going to be good for the current players, how about for those returning? Surely they must be somehow disadvantaged by this change, right? Obviously, there is a significant advantage for returning players in that they can log in without commitment to try the game out again, or just socialize a bit with old friends. My initial fear was that these players would log in to a list of characters they couldn't access for one reason or another, and immediately log out in frustration. Not so, the Dev team told me, they had accounted for this and every character created prior to the transition would be grandfathered in. If people come back, they'll be able to jump right back on their old characters.
I am a cynical fellow… with current players and returning players taken care of, clearly it would be new players who would feel the brunt of the weight of a Free to Play transition, right? The Dev team had not forgotten them however, and proceeded to describe all the new tutorials and the new "Hero's Journey" that are being implemented, to make starting EQ (or getting back into it) will be easier than it has ever been before. Not only that, but with all of EverQuest's expansions up to House of Thule being free to all, new players have the advantage of the Mercenary system and extended targeting window!
After months of working with the team on details, and double checking on all of these issues, I'm happy to say that I am feeling very positive, and some might even say enthusiastic, towards the upcoming Free to Play transition. In fact, things are looking strong for the future of EverQuest in general. I can't wait to see your reactions on March 16… and I haven't even mentioned the 13th Anniversary events yet!
-Eric "Piestro" Cleaver
