It won't be entirely F2P, but I am willing to bet it will be a limited F2P until...drum-roll...level 34. The new user experience focuses a very fluid and direct path to get to level 34 and stops there, and heavily tries to get the player involved in PvP along the way. (Every quest hub has a quest to go to the BGs for that level range, and each hub grants a suit of gear that makes you pretty competent for that BG.)
WoW is currently doing the same thing, and it's not like they're really hurting for subs. It's just intended to greatly lower the entry barriers for new or returning players. While the 14 day free trial is essentially the same, I think it was probably simply too daunting for new players to get a start and really catch a foothold in the game. The old zones were vacant anyway, and greatly out of date in terms of loot/cash rewards, and these new quests largely fix that and make leveling fast & fun. They also made the path to 34 take about as long as it used to take to get to level 15.
Also, if these folks dare to venture into BGs now, they're no longer mere cannon-fodder for the BG-pros whom are twinked to the max. So I think the hope is that they get hooked on the game and especially BGs/RvR, and then want to take that level 34 higher to join NF.
This is all entirely speculation on my part btw, because from what I see on Pendragon that seems like the logical conclusion.
It just wouldn't make sense for Mythic to invest so much time into the new user experience, when they didn't expect a sizable amount of new & returning players to see these changes. I also think they may very well open up a new "Fresh Start" server if demand spikes to where Ywain can't handle it, although I'm sure they're going to wait that out and see as they certainly don't want to open one only to close it again a year later. Such a server would surely attract not only new but especially returning players, but also many current subscribers.
I'm personally very excited to see what is coming up though. The stuff on Pendragon was a nice experience to work through. It's like revisiting the past, only it's gotten MUCH less painful and more enjoyable then it was back then. (I never liked heavy grind games, and early DAoC PvE was a huge PITA for me.) The quests are fun and the rewards really keep you coming as you're dashing through the levels. Of course seeing all the old locations again is a blast too for nostalgic reasons alone.
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Windwalker
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