Well, I was wondering when this was going to happen — NCSoft announced on the official City of Heroes website earlier today that the 7 year-old superhero MMO will be joining the growing ranks of subscription-based MMOs to turn to the free-to-play model.
Similar to how Champions Online: Free for All handled it, City of Heroes Freedom will have membership tiers, with free members having access to the maximum character level, eight Archetypes, two total characters and “most” of the game’s Task Forces, Trials, Strike Forces and raids. Additionally, free players will be locked out of certain content such as alignment changes, Daily Jobs and the Mission Architect.
VIP players, on the other hand, will have access to all of the locked content and all future “premium” content, including all-new Signature Story Arcs. If you’d prefer to not commit to a subscription fee, you’ll also be able to purchase all of the premium content through Paragon Points.
Current City of Heroes subscribers will be automatically upgraded to VIP status, and returning members will have access to all content they previously had — if you have more than two characters, for example, you’ll still have access to all of your characters.
City of Heroes Freedom launches alongside the Issue 21: Convergence update later this year. For more information, head over to the City of Heroes Freedom page here.
