Graduating from older methods of garnering attention for the game such as temporary trials, Blizzard launched their new free-to-play Starter Edition for World of Warcraft. The Starter Edition allows players the ultimate luxury of free access to Azeroth forever. But all good things come with a price. For forever free access to Azeroth, players must cope with extreme restrictions that severely limit gameplay and overall fun. If popular and profitable games like Elder Scrolls Online and Final Fantasy XIV offer nearly limitless free-to-play options, why can't World of Warcraft?
Elder Scrolls Online now has a buy-to-play model, giving players a great amount of access to the game and its features without the subscription fee. This decision introduced the Crown Store, giving free players the option to buy additional DLC content as needed along with mounts, pets, and other collectibles. Alternatively, Final Fantasy XIV players play for free up to level 60, including the first expansion, Heavensward. What's the incentive for new players to stick around in World of Warcraft?
10 Increase The Level Cap
The level cap for free players in World of Warcraft caps out at level 20. Most regions of old world Azeroth span about 5-10 levels, meaning new players are lucky to quest through two and a half to three zones. Even in post-cataclysm Azeroth, many of the quests within that small level range don't accurately represent the much-improved quality of quests in newer expansions.
Square Enix allows the free players of Final Fantasy XIV access to level 60. This gives new players a chance to actually experience the content and make an informed decision on whether or not they want to subscribe.
9 Allow Auctions With Reasonable Restrictions
Many players within the MMO community live and breathe the auction house. World of Warcraft's player base is no exception. The auction house and in-world economy play an important role in the game, giving players the opportunity to bid on or purchase rare items. Free players cannot access this feature.
Giving free players the opportunity to both experience and experiment with the auction house shows them a new aspect of the game. Since they're free players, however, the addition of restrictions such as price limits on postings or purchase limits on buying items further incentivizes them to pay the subscription fee.
8 Add More Content To The Cash Shop
No free-to-play experience is complete without a developed cash shop. It provides a unique opportunity for free players to gain access to special items without paying a monthly fee. It also becomes a lucrative decision for developers.
Add more mounts, pets, and toys to the cash shop for free players to spend their money. With the popularity of the transmog system, introduce cool and unique armor sets for players to use. Of course, it's more than reasonable to ban the usage of a purchasable set during the Trial of Style event to avoid any pay-to-win problems.
7 Make Expansion Races Playable (Except Allies)
The Burning Crusade launched in 2007, Cataclysm in 2010, and Mists of Pandaria in 2012. Associated races within these expansions are now a staple of the game and infiltrate every aspect of it, including older zones. There's no reason for the races to remain intrinsically tied to their respective expansions from a gameplay standpoint.
If anything, add Draenei, Blood Elves, Worgen, Goblins, and Pandaren to the cash shop. Allow free players to purchase access to these races individually if they don't own the associated expansions.
6 Allow Whispers & Group Invites
The primary reason many MMOs prevent free users from communicating with others is gold selling. Developers and publishers don't want to give gold sellers easy access to players. While many actions are unavoidable, a simple way for sellers to advertise in-game is through free accounts.
Give free players the opportunity to work for the ability to whisper or invite players to a group. For example, if the level cap increases, grant these abilities at level 20. This incentivizes players to move forward with the leveling process and at least get a taste of the game's social scene.
5 Increase Gold Cap
Currently, free players are only allowed a maximum of 10 gold per character. Players easily hit that cap through questing alone before reaching level 20. When players need gold for armor repairs or item purchases, this cap becomes more of a punishment than general restriction.
Increase the gold cap in relation to the level increase. For example, 500 gold is more than enough to cover armor repairs at level 45, along with any other gold-related needs. Many higher-level items on the auction house cost more than this, encouraging players to subscribe while still allowing them to reap some rewards.
4 Increase The Trade Skill Level Cap
Free players in World of Warcraft can only reach crafting skills of 100. It's an unfortunate cap considering most of the craftable items or armors in that range only go up to level 10. For the following 10 levels, players can only craft a small number of viable materials for themselves.
For an appropriate experience, level 20 players need access to at least a 225 crafting skill. If the free level cap was ever moved above 20, then scale the crafting skill to the most effective range. Doing so allows players to craft items, armors, and weapons they can actually use. Otherwise, what's the point of even allowing crafting on free accounts?
3 Allow Pet Battles With Reasonable Restrictions
While free players have the ability to purchase pets from in-game vendors, they can't actually battle with them. World of Warcraft's very popular pet battle system is only available to paid players. It's a missed opportunity to show interested parties some of the other exciting possibilities the game has to offer.
Give free players access to the introductory questlines to pet battles that are available in Orgrimmar in Stormwind. Restrict the feature within reason by only allowing 3 pets within the collection or capping pet levels at 5. Go a step further and put more pets on the cash shop, but only allow free players access to lower rarity pets.
2 Add Paid Services As Cash Shop Incentives
As it stands, free players cannot use paid services. It's a strange decision considering Blizzard loses out on potential revenue. While it doesn't make sense to allow a level 20 character a server or race change, these offerings become more valuable with an increased level cap.
Give free players the opportunity for cosmetic services such as faction, name, and race changes. This gives them an added sense of customization and ownership over their accounts. Services such as a maximum level boost or anything guild-related can remain unavailable.
1 Allow Trading With Reasonable Restrictions
Many MMOs don't allow trading among free players to ward off gold sellers and World of Warcraft does the same. Trading allows players to exchange items and gold with each other. However, the system is easily taken advantage of when gold sellers have the ability to exchange large sums of gold.
Let free players earn their access to the trading feature. For example, only players who reach level 25 can trade with other players. If necessary, add limitations such as gold exchange caps or item stack caps.