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Star Wars: TOR Free to Play Weekend Starts Thursday

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Star Wars: The Old Republic will be free to play this weekend, starting early Thursday morning.

BioWare and EA are offering a free weekend pass to PC gamers who aren't already sucked into Star Wars: The Old Republic. The "Weekend Pass Free Trial" begins Thursday, March 15 at 12:01am CDT (1:01am EDT) and ends Monday, March 19 at 2:00am CDT (3:00am EDT). The trial is available only to players in territories where Star Wars: The Old Republic is available, and to those who have never had an active SW:TOR account.

BioWare warns that the PC game can take several hours or more to download and install -- this is probably why the "weekend" starts tomorrow so that gamers can get the MMORPG up and running before the weekend really kicks in. Purchase of the game itself is not a requirement, nor will players need to enter any payment details or redeem a Game Time Code.

Gamers will be able to assume the role of any one of the eight classes, and play on their Origin World, Capital World, the Fleet, all Warzones, and in their first Flashpoint. A message box will appear if a character attempts to go outside of these areas. The character also cannot exceed level 15 (paid characters reach level 50), thus trial players will be notified via in-game notifications and chat message once they have hit the maximum level.

"A Weekend Pass Free Trial character will not be able to use general chat, trade chat, or PvP chat," reads the FAQ. "The character will only be able to use local chat, group chat, guild chat, and reply to whispers." It also adds that all server types will be available (PvE, PvP. RP-PvE and RP-PvP), and that there are no plans to immediately delete the character after the Weekend Pass Free Trial concludes.

Once BioWare and EA have you hooked into the new Star Wars MMORPG, the Standard Edition via Origin will cost $49.99 whereas the Digital Deluxe Edition, which features additional digital items, will cost $79.99. The game's website also features the $149.99 Collector's Edition (PC physical version) which is jam-packed full of goodies. A 1-month subscription costs $14.99 whereas a 3-month subscription costs $41.97 and a 6-month subscription costs $77.94.

For those unsure about taking the plunge into another Star Wars MMORPG, this is a good time to test the waters. To learn more about the weekend pass and to create an account, head here.

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34 Comments Comment from the forums
  • dalauder
    I don't appreciate Bioware/EA's greed on this one. Either free to start (included in first monthly fee) or no monthly fees with offline play mode (like Diablo II's offline mode). I really wanted a KOTOR 3, but I will NOT pay $15 a month for it when I don't even want online play.

    Either way--thanks for the first free crack sample this weekend EA. Next one's on me, I guess?
    Reply
  • malicemizer
    dalauderI don't appreciate Bioware/EA's greed on this one. Either free to start (included in first monthly fee) or no monthly fees with offline play mode (like Diablo II's offline mode). I really wanted a KOTOR 3, but I will NOT pay $15 a month for it when I don't even want online play.Either way--thanks for the first free crack sample this weekend EA. Next one's on me, I guess?Dang you complain a lot dude. If you don't want to play online than don't play mmorpgs.
    Reply
  • erunion
    Wow. Biodrones here for damage control already.
    Reply
  • ringzero
    dalauderI don't appreciate Bioware/EA's greed on this one. Either free to start (included in first monthly fee) or no monthly fees with offline play mode (like Diablo II's offline mode). I really wanted a KOTOR 3, but I will NOT pay $15 a month for it when I don't even want online play.Either way--thanks for the first free crack sample this weekend EA. Next one's on me, I guess?
    Yeah, I'm confused by this comment. You want an MMO, but without the multiplayer or online aspects?

    SWTOR is a super fun game. It's addicting and the voice-acting and storylines are superb. That said, after 3 months of play I've grown bored and ended my subscription. Overall it really did prove to be too much like an RPG with almost no social interaction and none of the complexity and end-game difficulty of a normal MMO. There's nothing to keep me hooked except rerolling new characters over and over again.

    But it's a free weekend. There's no reason to not try that out.
    Reply
  • alidan
    ringzeroYeah, I'm confused by this comment. You want an MMO, but without the multiplayer or online aspects?SWTOR is a super fun game. It's addicting and the voice-acting and storylines are superb. That said, after 3 months of play I've grown bored and ended my subscription. Overall it really did prove to be too much like an RPG with almost no social interaction and none of the complexity and end-game difficulty of a normal MMO. There's nothing to keep me hooked except rerolling new characters over and over again.But it's a free weekend. There's no reason to not try that out.
    his coment is this.

    he enjoyed knights of the old republic games.
    he wants a third one
    swtor is basically kotor 3
    he doesn't want to pay a monthly fee for a game that he will treat like a single player game.
    Reply
  • Aaaaand the trial is closed. WTF?
    Reply
  • malicemizer
    Ya I waited till the minute to refresh the page to try out swtor. Instantly says, "Star Wars: The Old Republic Weekend Pass Free Trial is no longer available." Awesome customer service or should I say a slap in the face to new customers. I was excited but now im annoyed, is this something ea does a lot?
    Reply
  • malicemizer
    MaximumdriveAaaaand the trial is closed. WTF?I know how you feel. Maybe this was a gimmick to get people excited to play then there like, "UHM ACTUALLY PAY THE 50 BUCKS IF YOU WANT TO PLAY". lawl.
    Reply
  • Gamer-girl
    The free weekend just started about 30 mins ago. The server is probably overloaded. I just got a friend invite for a 7 day trial was downloading at around 1MB/s when it suddenly slowed down to ~250KB/s at the last 150MB >.<

    It was has downloaded 2GB (video files) and 11GB (main assets 1) so far if anyone wants to know. I missed a 4.7GB English file too, there are also a few smaller ones. Total is 18.5GB
    Reply
  • malicemizer
    Gamer-girlThe free weekend just started about 30 mins ago. The server is probably overloaded. I just got a friend invite for a 7 day trial was downloading at around 1MB/s when it suddenly slowed down to ~250KB/s at the last 150MB >.<It was has downloaded 2GB (video files) and 11GB (main assets 1) so far if anyone wants to know.Ya works for me now, prolly going to be a long download but im going to get up extra early so I can play before my classes.
    Reply