Following in the footsteps of many other MMOs EverQuest II will now feature a free to play version. EverQuest II Extended will not replace EverQuest II but run alongside it. If you enjoy paying $14.99 a month to play EQ II you can continue to do so, but if you want to get your feet wet in EverQuest II then feel free to play the Extended version. So do you have to go buy a copy of EverQuest II to get started with the free version? No, EverQuest II Extended will stream to you over the web. Now of course things aren’t just cut and dry and you don’t get all the features of EverQuest II by playing for free. You can upgrade your free membership to Silver, Gold, or Platinum status by spending….you guessed it, real money.
For 1000 station cash($10)you can upgrade your free membership to Silver. This will get you access to more bag slots, more quest slots, more spells, etc. Gold memberships are $14.99 a month and pretty much gets you access to everything a normal paying subscriber to EverQuest II would get. No big deal there, BUT for $200 a year you can get Platinum and this is where I assume the Extended branding comes in. Every month you get 500 station cash and even more access to EverQuest II then gold members. You get more character slots and the ability to fully level your characters. Yes, if you want to level up past certain points you have to pay money for it. I know it’s confusing. Luckily Sony Online Entertainment has made this handy chart for you to look over before you make your decision to play EverQuest II Extended. Just know this, if you get way into EverQuest II, playing EverQuest II could end up costing you more in the long run than playing just regular EverQuest II.