Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited: Best F2P MMO of 2009

Stradden · January 2010

The editorial staff here at MMORPG.com has made their decisions, and today we continue to unveil the winners of the 2009 MMORPG.com awards by naming our Best F2P MMO of 2009.

We decided to throw a Best F2P MMO of 2009 category into the awards mix this year because as a business model, this was the year that free to play really came into its own here in the Western world as it becomes a more practiced. The game that perhaps personifies this transition best is also the game that we have awarded our best F2P MMO of 2009: Dungeons and Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited.

Read Best F2P MMO of 2009.

Thanosxp · January 2010

No way! Without club penguim,one of the greatest mmo of all time?

i call shenanigans

HannahMontan · January 2010

How can you call this game the best free to play? Its not even fully free to play. They make you pay at some point later in the game if you wish to contuine with your character. A free to play game does not charge to keep playing. They may have a cash shop but you dont have to buy to play. Thats a free to play game.

Robsolf · January 2010

Originally posted by HannahMontan

How can you call this game the best free to play? Its not even fully free to play. They make you pay at some point later in the game if you wish to contuine with your character. A free to play game does not charge to keep playing. They may have a cash shop but you dont have to buy to play. Thats a free to play game.

Ummm... if DDO isn't ftp, no game is ftp. And no, you don't have to pay to advance. You can get the necessary tokens to advance through quests; you don't have to buy them.

Celestian · January 2010

I guess this really does qualify as the best of the worst category.

godommorpg · January 2010

yeah mmorpg, keep burning ur reputation doing notices like this....how can a not free to play game can be called as free ? and worse how can it be the BEST F2P, lol u sold guys must thing all the gamers are idiot... keep going.

VirgoThree · January 2010

Originally posted by godommorpg

yeah mmorpg, keep burning ur reputation doing notices like this....how can a not free to play game can be called as free ? and worse how can it be the BEST F2P, lol u sold guys must thing all the gamers are idiot... keep going.

I'm not sure if you got the memo but DDO became free to play last year.

nariusseldon · January 2010

Originally posted by godommorpg

yeah mmorpg, keep burning ur reputation doing notices like this....how can a not free to play game can be called as free ? and worse how can it be the BEST F2P, lol u sold guys must thing all the gamers are idiot... keep going.

How is the game not f2p? I have been playing a while now (admittedly only little per week) and i have yet to spend a dime.

arkohighstar · January 2010

Originally posted by Robsolf

Originally posted by HannahMontan

How can you call this game the best free to play? Its not even fully free to play. They make you pay at some point later in the game if you wish to contuine with your character. A free to play game does not charge to keep playing. They may have a cash shop but you dont have to buy to play. Thats a free to play game.

Ummm... if DDO isn't ftp, no game is ftp. And no, you don't have to pay to advance. You can get the necessary tokens to advance through quests; you don't have to buy them.

no f2p game is absolutely free, otherwise they would make no money and would not last long. All f2p mmo's have some kind of pay to play scheme, whether its an item shop, or whether you buy the software up front and then pay no monthly fees(guild wars). DDO is a combination of a f2p option with some content restrictions that can either be overcome by purchasing content, or paying monthly, or if you have the time earning turbine points through completing content by gaining favor(you get 25 Turbine points per 100 favor, yes its a grind but its a free grind)

Zorvan01 · January 2010

Originally posted by godommorpg

yeah mmorpg, keep burning ur reputation doing notices like this....how can a not free to play game can be called as free ? and worse how can it be the BEST F2P, lol u sold guys must thing all the gamers are idiot... keep going.

No, just the ones who don't know the game is free. At least the U.S. version. If you play through Codemasters in the EU, sucks to be you, don't it?

Death1942 · January 2010

it's pretty easy to smash the competition when the others did not have a AAA budget on release and X years (can't remember when DDO came out) to develope the game.

Are we able to hear who came 2nd?

Samhael · January 2010

I wonder why Runes of Magic wasn't on the list. Anyone know?

Heimlichkeit · January 2010

As much as it is F2P, I'm not arguing that since it's subscription feature has been changed, and now it's free, I'm just wondering how it's actually top of the list. I've played this game, and I don't see what would put it at the very top. I was thinking maybe Atlantica, but maybe MMO wanted to be edgy.

Swoogie · January 2010

Originally posted by Samhael

I wonder why Runes of Magic wasn't on the list. Anyone know?

Prolly becuase of thier crappy customer support. They are a very bad company. and besides, I played the game and it wasnt that good. I quitafter a few plays.

kaiser3282 · January 2010

Originally posted by Samhael

I wonder why Runes of Magic wasn't on the list. Anyone know?

While RoM did have a few nice things about it, mainly the dual class system, when you get down to it its really nothing mor ethan another WoW-clone, of which way too many exist. Not very unique in any way, where all the games listed had fairly unique overall gameplay and werent just clones of eachother or other game sthat have been around for years.

On another note.... ok so great DDO is the best F2P of 2009.... but it wasnt a 2009 game, its been around for a few years, along with some of those other games. Id really like to see who the title of Best NEW F2P in 2009 would go to, or simply reevaluate this one. Some of the others are right, it was not originally designed or launched as a F2P, whereas all of the others were always F2P, and with it being launched a few years ago, i wouldnt even really want it considered as the "best of 2009".

Distopia · January 2010

I'm starting to love this, so many people pissed about what games get picked. What did you expect, it's the only F2p that has P2p production values?

kaiser3282 · January 2010

Originally posted by Malickie

I'm starting to love this, so many people pissed about what games get picked. What did you expect, it's the only F2p that has P2p production values?

That would be because it was P2P for a couple years, then they converted to F2P. Thats like Blizzard converting WoW to a F2P model with cash shop and then reviewing it as the best F2P game of the year, when its been around as an established P2P for years. Its kind of a slap in the face to true F2P games. I dont really have a problem with the fact that DDO gets high ratings as an F2P (i play it myself, and it is a great game), just saying would have been nice for them to stick to truly F2P games which were designed and launched as an F2P model, and actually launched in 2009.

Sarr · January 2010

Originally posted by kaiser3282

Originally posted by Malickie

I'm starting to love this, so many people pissed about what games get picked. What did you expect, it's the only F2p that has P2p production values?

That would be because it was P2P for a couple years, then they converted to F2P. Thats like Blizzard converting WoW to a F2P model with cash shop and then reviewing it as the best F2P game of the year, when its been around as an established P2P for years. Its kind of a slap in the face to true F2P games. I dont really have a problem with the fact that DDO gets high ratings as an F2P (i play it myself, and it is a great game), just saying would have been nice for them to stick to truly F2P games which were designed and launched as an F2P model, and actually launched in 2009.

Just wait and see new AAA-class MMO games coming as Free to Play from the start. Very soon.

Besides, I'm sure Turbine would be able to outdo what DDO is now if they started it as a new project with this F2P system. They're getting pretty rich, they're expanding both in staff and technology, and they're creating new MMO now for some "big IP" (possibly AAA-class F2P from the start).

So yes, other F2P games were done to be "cheap MMOs" and they've stayed with that, so they aren't the winners : ). New wave of P2P-class F2P MMO games is certainly around the corner. DDO proved it works and pays off if it's done wisely, so it's just a matter of time now.

Phall · January 2010

While DDO is OK as the winner in this rather useless "Best of the Worst" category, it escapes me how only one single F2P MMO could have been nominated for the "Best New MMO of 2009" category but at the same time NOT for the "Best New F2P MMO of 2009" category. Did I miss something?

Samhael · January 2010

Well, it's not a Best "NEW" anything. It's just Best F2P of 2009. DDO actually came out in early 2006 so it's by no means new. (that said, it would have still been my choice for Best F2P of the ones I've played thus far)

Sarr · January 2010

Originally posted by Phall

While DDO is OK as the winner in this rather useless "Best of the Worst" category, it escapes me how only one single F2P MMO could have been nominated for the "Best New MMO of 2009" category but at the same time NOT for the "Best New F2P MMO of 2009" category. Did I miss something?

There is nothing "worse" in F2P. I've left WoW, LotrO, WAR and AoC for DDO - or rather, as a former WoWer I find DDO much better game in many aspects than those titles. There's only a matter of taste. DDO isn't worse or better - but I prefer it to those P2P games.

Obviously, "best of the worst" category ceased to exist when D&D Online went free to play.

minix2poo · January 2010

DDO is free to play?? Not for us in Europe.

And why RoM is not on the list? I think a big factor in choosing the games are the graphics besides of the gameplay. At least all of the listed games have 1 of the best graphics compared to other games in their genres. And also mostly unique. But RoM graphics are neither unique nor beautifull in any meanings. The chars are looking as if they were made of modeling clay. Simply its not on an up to date standard of 2009. In best case its a 2006 standard graphic.

Distopia · January 2010

Originally posted by Phall

While DDO is OK as the winner in this rather useless "Best of the Worst" category, it escapes me how only one single F2P MMO could have been nominated for the "Best New MMO of 2009" category but at the same time NOT for the "Best New F2P MMO of 2009" category. Did I miss something?

Slight clarification, its best F2P of 09 not best new F2P.

Gismoland · January 2010

I totally disagree making DDO Ulimited BEST F2P in the end you still have to pay for dungeons that you need to level with and get items from, plus when playing recently the game is still crap since day one.. All the rules DnD stood for were crushed by this game, I suggest you find another F2P that was 100% F2P in the first Place not DDO Unlimited..

ThomasN7 · January 2010

This game went f2p because it is horrible and noone was going to pay the monthly fee. So they add microtransactions and now it because Best f2p of 2009 ? It just goes to show people will play anything without a monthly fee.

Sarr · January 2010

Originally posted by minix2poo

DDO is free to play?? Not for us in Europe.
And why RoM is not on the list? I think a big factor in choosing the games are the graphics besides of the gameplay. At least all of the listed games have 1 of the best graphics compared to other games in their genres. And also mostly unique. But RoM graphics are neither unique nor beautifull in any meanings. The chars are looking as if they were made of modeling clay. Simply its not on an up to date standard of 2009. In best case its a 2006 standard graphic.

Ok, I post here too often, going to stop now... Only one thing: I'm from Europe, and I not only play Turbine's Free to Play DDO, but I run big, Polish D&D Online Portal : ). Please don't make a false impression that Europeans cannot play F2P DDO.

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