Thread: Global Agenda goes Free to Play

Got this in an email today. If anyone that likes TF2/2142/etc hasn't tried this, you should.

Global Agenda to Adopt Free-to-Play Model

Mid-April "Free Agent" Update Delivers New Content and Unlimited Play For Free
ATLANTA - April 7, 2011 -- Hi-Rez Studios today announced that "Global Agenda: Free Agent", the latest update to the Shooter MMO, will enable free-to-play access to all of the game's current playable content and levels with no purchase required.
The version 1.4 Free Agent update, expected to go live in mid-April, will support free play across all character classes through level 50. This update also introduces a new Dome Defense Raid as high-level player content, a CTF- style Mercenary PvP game-mode with pilotable robots, revised skill-trees across all four character classes, and other changes and content.
For an optional one-time purchase of $19.99 USD (£13.99 GBP, €15.99 EUR), players may upgrade to Elite Agent status, which will accelerate the rate of earning character levels, gear, and currency and also grant access to premium features such as the login priority, auction house and in-game mail. All players that have previously purchased Global Agenda will be automatically upgraded to Elite Agent status.
"Global Agenda has never required a monthly subscription to play and, for a while now, we have offered a generous free trial for the game." said Todd Harris, Hi-Rez Studios COO. "Our experience with the limited free trial has demonstrated to us the great demand among free-to-play gamers for a AAA-quality Shooter MMO like Global Agenda. We believe this latest change will further broaden the game's popularity and appeal."
"With this change, we allow players to experience all of the game's current content and levels for free. We've done this in a way that ensures that free players do not have to spend real money to compete on a level playing field with those who do, while still rewarding those loyal players and fans that have purchased the game or otherwise supported the game."
Effective immediately, until the Free Agent expansion launches:

• Global Agenda is available for $19.99 (£13.99 GBP, €15.99 EUR)
• Upon release of the Free Agent expansion, any player who has purchased Global Agenda will automatically be upgraded to Elite Agent status

Below is a summary of the differences between Free and Elite versions of the game:

Free-to-Play

• No Level Restriction
• Ability to earn all of the game's current items without spending real money.
• Access to all of the game's current playable content, including:
  
  • Sonoran Desert Open Zone
  • Special Ops PvE (1- to 4-person Co-Op)
  • 10v10 Mercenary PvP
  • 4v4 Arena PvP
  • Double Agent PvPE
  • 10-person Defense Raids (including the new Dome Defense Mission coming in version 1.4).
  • Agency vs Agency Gameplay (AvA)
  
  

Elite Agent - One-time purchase of $19.99 (£13.99 GBP, €15.99 EUR)

• Earn End-of-Mission XP at twice the rate of a Free-to-Play user
• Earn End-of-Mission Credits and Tokens at twice the rate of a Free-Play user
• Earn End-of-Mission Elite Loot upon winning an instanced PvE or PvP match
• Choose which PvP game types you would like to play when queuing for Mercenary PvP.
• Access the Auction House
• Access In-Game Mail
• Less restrictive chat capabilities
• No ads for in-game voice
• Ability to create Agencies
• Higher Login priority

Both Free-to-Play and Elite Agent players can optionally purchase Boosters within the Global Agenda webstore. For a timed period, Boosters will:

• Double XP, Tokens and Credits earned in Game
• Provide 2,000 tokens a day for free
• Provide an extra end-of-mission Boost Loot drop

10-day, 30-day, and 90-day boosters are available. These are available today and will work no differently when the Free Agent release is launched.
Read more in the Free Agent FAQ.
About Hi-Rez Studios
Hi-Rez Studios, Inc, located just outside of Atlanta GA, was established in 2005 to create exceptional online interactive entertainment. In February 2010 the company released the squad-based Shooter-MMO Global Agenda. Hi-Rez is currently developing other competitive online games including Tribes: Ascend. For more information, visit www.hirezstudios.com

So do the people who payed for it get something?

Originally Posted by bust331

So do the people who payed for it get something?

Did you read it? Basically if you paid for it you get elite status automatically.

My phone won't open the link, but I saw no where in there where it said "players who previously purchased this game get elite agent automatically"

Unless that's in the link, which won't open.

Upon release of the Free Agent expansion, any player who has purchased Global Agenda will automatically be upgraded to Elite Agent status.

Hehe.

The game is fairly fun. I, however, have not played any of the new content.

Global Agenda was fun to play to level 50 when I first got it but at the time the Agency v Agency mode was kinda suckface. AvA is likely a bit better off now but I haven't really tried it. If you have never played it before it's certainly worth a shot.

The MMO style PvE content was a nice diversion when I logged in a while ago to test it. Though the random PvP queue had become a bit frustrating. Originally when I played, PvP was fairly balanced because most people had similar unlocks. But when I last played many players had acquired extra phat lewts. This mostly seemed to boost well-geared player's hp levels quite a bit higher. Arena and the "Raids" were also somewhat entertaining to try.

Hi-Rez does seem to be adding stuff at a moderate rate. I'm sure with a bit more time investment than I recently put in you could probably have some fun at low AND high levels of play.

I played both before and after the big changes and I can say the changes did help, but you kinda have to make a new character to appreciate them since you get a lot of gear through just leveling now.

The patch went live yesterday and it is a great one. If you haven't tried this game and like TF2 or 2142, you really should give it a go.