Guild Wars 2, A Good F2P MMO

There are many MMOs available, a great many that are of the fantasy/medieval type, such as World of Warcraft, Elder Scrolls Online, and Final Fantasy XIV. With many older players being on a fixed income or just not wanting to pay a monthly subscription for a game, there are good alternatives to these paid games. Some of the subscription games now offer a limited trial that may restrict a lot of features of the game but allow you to discover if the game is right for you. A fair deal if you're willing to pay the price later on.

Guild Wars 2 is another MMORPG that began as a game that you buy one time and continue to play without any subscription. It began back in 2012 and was developed by ArenaNet and published by NCSoft. In August 2015, it began a free-to-play model for the base game with very few restrictions. Players have the option of buying one of several expansion packs that will unlock all premium content and the expansions prior to the one purchased, so it is a really good deal. While buying an expansion is worthwhile, free players can still get a lot of enjoyment from the game. I will include charts with all the info below this post if you'd like to compare the options.

Tyria, the name of the game world in Guild Wars 2, consists of five player races: Asura, Sylvari, Human, Norn, and Charr. A brief introduction to the races is as follows:

RACES

ASURA

While small in stature, the asura are intellectual giants. Their thirst for knowledge and innovation has made them Tyria's foremost experts on magitech, and their arcane inventions make them powerful allies. Asuran society is competitive and fast-paced, facing each danger as a puzzle to solve—but the urgent threat of the Elder Dragons has forced them to admit that they don't have all the answers.

SYLVARI

Most sylvari are connected by the Dream, where their experiences in the world gather like dew under the branches of their mother, the Pale Tree. Some awaken for the first time with a path clear before them, but all must learn to balance freedom with duty, ardor with chivalry, and justice with honor.

HUMAN

The ruins of humanity's cities and shrines lay scattered across Tyria, serving as haunting reminders of their past glory. The Krytan city of Divinity's Reach, however, is very much alive, and stands as testament to human resilience, diversity, and spirit. With their six gods long silent, humankind can choose to fade into obscurity—or create a new future, standing equal with the rest of the world.

NORN

In any legend worth telling, a single norn would have scaled the Shiverpeaks to hunt the Elder Dragon Jormag and returned with its head. In truth, Jormag drove the norn from their homeland; it lurks undefeated in the mountains, transforming hunters into its icebrood thralls. Any hero who faces it risks having their immortal legend untold, joining the vanquished hundreds in its shadow.

CHARR

Once led by the fanatical Flame Legion, the charr have cast aside religion. Their strict military culture ensures that each charr has a place in the world…as long as they're able to carry out their duties. They value progress and innovation, despite their bloody history—but while "victory at any cost" is a principle most charr can agree on, having to rely on allies—including their ancient enemies—is a high price to bear.

PROFESSIONS

There are nine professions in Guild Wars 2, eight of which are playable by free players. The one profession, Revenant, is only available if you purchase the Path of Fire or Heart of Thorns expansion.

Mesmer

Mesmers are magical duelists who wield deception as a weapon. Using powerful illusions, clones, and phantasmal magic to ensure that their enemies can’t believe their own eyes, mesmers tip the balance of every fight in their favor.

Guardian

Guardians are devoted fighters who protect their allies and smite their enemies by drawing from the power of their virtues. True guardians are brilliant tacticians and selfless defenders who know how to empower their allies to achieve victory.

Necromancer

Practitioners of the dark arts, necromancers summon minions, wield the power of ritual, and heal themselves with blood magic. Necromancers feed on life force, which they can leverage offensively or use to delay their own demise.

Ranger

Rangers rely on a keen eye, a steady hand, and the power of nature itself. Unparalleled survivalists with traps, nature spirits, and a stable of loyal pets at their command, rangers can adapt to any situation.

Elementalist

Elementalists are multifaceted spellcasters who channel elemental forces, making fire, air, earth, and water do their bidding. What they lack in physical toughness, they make up for in versatility and the ability to inflict massive damage.

Warrior

Warriors are masters of weaponry who rely on speed, strength, toughness, and heavy armor to survive in battle. Adrenaline fuels their offensive power—the longer warriors stay in a fight, the more dangerous they become.

Thief

Experts at stealth and surprise, thieves move through the shadows, vanish into thin air, or steal items from their opponents and use them as weapons. Thieves practice an agile, acrobatic fighting style, which makes them very hard to hit.

Engineer

Masters of mechanical mayhem, engineers love to tinker with explosives, elixirs, and all manner of hazardous gadgets. They support their allies with alchemic weaponry, deploy ingenious inventions, or lay waste to foes with a wide array of mines, bombs, and grenades.

Revenant (not in free model)

Heavily armored and equipped with the otherworldly powers of the Mists, revenants channel Tyria’s legends to slaughter foes, unleash chaos on the battlefield, and support their allies. This profession is exclusive to Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns™ and Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire™.

What’s the difference between playing for free and playing on an account with a registered serial code?

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See the chart below for a full comparison of free accounts, core accounts, Heart of Thorns, and Path of Fire accounts.

	FREE ACCOUNT	CORE GUILD WARS 2 ACCOUNT	HEART OF THORNS ACCOUNT	PATH OF FIRE  ACCOUNT
More Info	Free Account Features	Guild Wars 2	Heart of Thorns	Path of Fire
Content Access	Core Game   Living World Season 2 *	Core Game   Living World Season 2 *	Core Game   Heart of Thorns   Living World Season 2 - 3 *	Core Game   Heart of Thorns   Path of Fire   Living World Season 2 - 4 *   Living World Icebrood Saga *
Character Slots (Total)	2	5	5	5 **
Bag Slots (Per Character)	3	5	5	5
Playable Professions	Elementalist Engineer Guardian Mesmer Necromancer Ranger Thief Warrior	Elementalist Engineer Guardian Mesmer Necromancer Ranger Thief Warrior	Elementalist Engineer Guardian Mesmer Necromancer Ranger Revenant Thief Warrior	Elementalist Engineer Guardian Mesmer Necromancer Ranger Revenant Thief Warrior
Profession Masteries	No	No	Yes	Yes
Accessible Regions	Central Tyria	Central Tyria	Central Tyria Heart of Maguuma	Central Tyria Crystal Desert
Central Tyria (Core) Maps & Content	Starter maps only until character reaches level 10 Lion’s Arch unlocked for each character at level 35	Yes	Yes	Yes
Guild Hall Access	Full Access to HoT Guild Halls	Full Access to HoT Guild Halls	Full Access to HoT Guild Halls	Full Access to HoT and PoF Guild Halls
Guild Bank Access	No	Yes (Accounts created after August 28, 2015 require SMS or app authentication to withdraw.)	Yes (Accounts created after August 28, 2015 require SMS or app authentication to withdraw.)	Yes (Accounts created after August 28, 2015 require SMS or app authentication to withdraw.)
Guild Enhancements Access	No	No	No Restrictions	No Restrictions
In-Game Mail	Can only send to mutual friends Can’t send gold or items	Yes (Accounts created after August 28, 2015 require SMS or app authentication to send gold and items.)	Yes (Accounts created after August 28, 2015 require SMS or app authentication to send gold and items.)	Yes (Accounts created after August 28, 2015 require SMS or app authentication to send gold and items.)
Whisper chat	Except for mutual friends, can only whisper in the same map, one new person every 30 seconds	Yes	Yes	Yes
Map chat	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Squad chat	Unlocked for each character at level 30	Yes	Yes	Yes
PvP Chat	Team Chat always available Chat in PvP Lobby unlocked when the account reaches PvP rank 20 Emotes, Map and Say chat unavailable during matches	Yes	Yes	Yes
PvP	Can only access Custom and Unranked Arenas until PvP Rank 20.	Can only access Custom and Unranked Arenas until PvP Rank 20.	Can only access Custom and Unranked Arenas until PvP Rank 20.	Can only access Custom and Unranked Arenas until PvP Rank 20.
WvW	Unlocked account-wide when one character reaches level 60	Yes	Yes	Yes
Looking For Group	Unlocked for each character at level 30	Yes	Yes	Yes
Raids	No	No	Yes	Yes
Daily Login Bonus	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Gem Store	Items unusable by free accounts (such as glider skin) are unavailable	Yes	Yes	Yes
Currency Exchange ***	Gems to gold exchange available, gold to gems exchange unavailable.	Yes	Yes	Yes
Trading Post	Can buy and sell items from a selected list.	Yes	Yes	Yes
World Transfers	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Forum Posting Access	No	Yes	Yes	Yes

* Living World Seasons and Sagas may require additional purchase from the in-game store.

** Depends on the version of Path of Fire, the total base character slots can be raised to 6.

*** Newly created accounts must wait 72 hours before gems-to-gold transactions can be completed on the currency exchange.

CORE FEATURES

	FREE ACCOUNT	CORE GUILD WARS 2 ACCOUNT
Character Slots (Total)	2	5
Bag Slots (Per Character)	3	5
Playable Professions	Elementalist Engineer Guardian Mesmer Necromancer Ranger Thief Warrior	Elementalist Engineer Guardian Mesmer Necromancer Ranger Thief Warrior
Profession Masteries	No	No
Accessible Regions	Central Tyria	Central Tyria
Central Tyria (Core) Maps & Content	Characters will be restricted to starter maps until the character reaches level 10. Lion’s Arch will be unlocked for characters who reach level 35.	No Restrictions

COMMUNICATION

	FREE ACCOUNT	CORE GUILD WARS 2 ACCOUNT
In-Game Mail *	Can only send mail messages to mutual friends. Can’t send gold or items.	No Restrictions
Whisper (chat)	Except for mutual friends, can only whisper within the same map. For non-friends, can only whisper one new person every 30 seconds.	No Restrictions
Map (chat)	Read Only	No Restrictions
Squad (chat)	Unlocked (per character) at level 30.	No Restrictions
PvP (chat)	Team Chat always available. Chat in PvP Lobby unlocked when the account reaches PvP Rank 20. Emotes, Map and Say chat unavailable during matches.	No Restrictions

* All accounts are unable to send mail until the first character reaches Level 6, though can receive messages leading up to that time.

GAME CONTENT

	FREE ACCOUNT	CORE GUILD WARS 2 ACCOUNT
Guild Hall Access	Full Access to HoT Guild Halls	Full Access to HoT Guild Halls
Guild Bank Access	No	No Restrictions *
Guild Enhancements Access	No	No Restrictions
PvP	Can only access Custom and Unranked Arenas until PvP Rank 20.	Can only access Custom and Unranked Arenas until PvP Rank 20.
WvW	Unlocked account-wide when one character reaches level 60.	No Restrictions
Looking For Group	Unlocked (per character) at level 30.	No Restrictions
Raids	Cannot Access	Cannot Access

** Accounts created after August 28, 2015 require SMS or app authentication to withdraw from the Guild Bank.

ADDITIONAL FEATURES

	FREE ACCOUNT	CORE GUILD WARS 2 ACCOUNT
Daily Login Bonus	No	Yes
Gem Store	Items unusable by free accounts (such as the glider or mount skins) are unavailable.	No Restrictions
Currency Exchange ***	Gems to gold exchange available. Gold to gems exchange unavailable.	No Restrictions
Trading Post	Can buy and sell items from a select list.	Yes
World Transfers	No	Yes
Forum Posting Access	No	Yes

*** All newly-created accounts must wait 72 hours before gems-to-gold transactions can be completed on the currency exchange.