Star Wars: The Old Republic F2P restrictions eased

The free-to-play version of Star Wars: The Old Republic won't be quite as restricted as previously advertised.

Under the new scheme, free to play members will have access to a second quickslot bar, and will be able to participate in five warzones per week.

The cooldown on shop items has been reduced for both memberships too, to three days for free-to-play and two for subscribers.

BioWare's original proposal for how the free-to-play model would work was met with a lukewarm reception.

Lead designer Damion Schubert said the changes are a response to "community and internal feedback" and noted that most subscribers will never even see the free-to-play experiences; lapsed accounts will remain as "preferred status" customers.

Nevertheless, BioWare is taking concerns from both sides very seriously.

"One of our golden rules is that the Free-to-Play experience should not cheapen the experience for paying subscribers," he said, in the MMORPG's forum.

"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."

Star Wars: The Old Republic is expected to launch its free-to-play option before the end of the year.

Thanks, PC Gamer.