World of Warcraft is a popular MMORPG boasting a massive player base spread across several regions in the world. As such, it enjoys some benefits that other games of the same genre don’t.
Technically, World of Warcraft is far from being free to play since it uses a subscription service on top of having an actual in-game cash shop. And if that wasn’t enough already, the game charges a hefty sum for each new expansion, usually ranging from 50 EUR and upwards to 100 EUR.
With all of that being said, we still ask “is WoW free to play?” and is it possible to enjoy all the game has to offer completely free of charge. Stick around and find out as the answer might surprise you.
@ Blizzard
Is WoW Free to Play?
This might sound confusing at first, but the answer is yes and no. Like we mentioned earlier, the game uses a subscription service and the expansions cost money, so that would automatically label it as not free to play. You still have to pay that initial sum of money for the Game Time in order to log in.
However, there are ways you can enjoy World of Warcraft completely for free and we’ll share some of them right here.
WoW Free Trial
One sure-fire way to see how to play WoW for free is through the game’s Free Trial. This is the best way to get that first taste for the game and see if you like it before spending any money.
The Free Trial offers new players a chance to try all the classes, check out how the game looks and feels, and to visit some of the major capital cities. But there’s a heavy drawback here as the game caps your character to level 20 ( level 70 being the current maximum level ) and imposes several other restrictions on your account.
You won’t be able to get access to many of the social features that make World of Warcraft really come alive, thus you’ll get that sense of isolation pretty quickly. Additionally, you will be locked from visiting the current expansion and many of the previous expansions due to your low level. Even if you were to access some of them, you would probably be mauled to death within seconds as the monsters there are much higher level than you.
@ Blizzard
What you can do is level multiple characters to level 20 and just leave them sitting there once you’re done, or you can queue up for some low level battlegrounds and gain some WoW ranks. This can still give you dozens of hours of fun completely for free and won’t feel like a waste of time since you can always continue leveling those same characters if you decide to purchase some WoW Game Time.
Play for Free with the WoW Token
Now this is where things get fun. You see, World of Warcraft has an in-game economy, and a huge part of that economy is the WoW Token. This is a token that players can purchase for real money from Blizzard and then sell to other players for in-game gold on the in-game auction house. One single token can either be turned into 30 days of Game Time or roughly into 13 EUR of Battle.net balance. We bet you’re slowly starting to see the picture already.
So in order to purchase your token, you’ll need to farm a set amount of gold in the game. Luckily there’s a myriad of ways to do so and the best way to get started is to check out some of the top WoW streamers that focus on gold making. You can farm endless tokens, it just depends on how willing you are to farm gold. Some players hate farming gold and wish to avoid it completely, but others find real joy in the thrill of treasure seeking. If you’re one of those thrill seekers, you’ll profit massively.
In case you didn’t notice already, not only can you play WoW for free through this method, but you can also purchase other Blizzard games through the Battle.net balance you acquire. It’s a win-win situation.
Of course, we have to mention that you do need to have at least 30 days of Game Time active on your account to get started. If you have friends that play WoW, they can easily gift you one month of Game Time and you can simply pay them back afterwards. Alternatively, you can opt to pay that one time and then never have to do it again. The choice is yours.
@ Blizzard
Will WoW ever be Free?
Right now, there’s no sign that Blizzard is planning on making World of Warcraft completely free. The people are more than willing to pay a subscription fee, especially if there’s certain rewards involved, so that’s another revenue stream they’re not looking to cut just yet.
However, given how successful their in-game shop is and how lucrative WoW Token is, they most likely will opt for a free-to-play model in the future. If that happens, it will be major WoW news that will attract huge waves of new players into the game. But that’s a card they’re not willing to play just yet.
Read Also: Is World of Warcraft Dead?
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