By and large, I’m very glad that free-to-play exists. It’s brought many fine, exceedingly hi-fidelity games back into the PC gaming fold, and I can’t argue with the option to jump in without spending a cent, coin, point, spacebuck, gorgle, or smarnx. Well, except when I can – and usually, that’s when the subject of unlocking comes up. The reason? It’s almost always excruciatingly slooooooooooow. Because naturally, those darn developers – who apparently need to eat occasionally and sleep under roofs (the nerve!) – want you to drop a few extra dimes to speed up the process. It is, then, somewhat shocking – but no less appreciated – that SOE’s taking steps to buck that trend with PlanetSide 2. Or at least make it a bit less of a bitter pill to swallow.

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