Runes of Magic: How free is free?

In addition to the usual conveniences and cosmetic options, the Runes of Magic cash shop contains some items that could be considered essential. Yet of the few free-to-play titles I've tried that are supported by a cash shop, I find it the most supportive to players who don't want to spend any money. The method Frogster uses to keep Runes of Magic open to free players is highly effective. While cash can be used as a short-cut or convenience, free players are still able to acquire essential items and make full use of the game. In fact, there's very little a cash-wielding player can do that a free player can't.

While the cash shop contains costumes and other items that don't impact gameplay, it also contains certain essential items that would be considered a requirement for play. "Marking ink" bought from the cash shop is used to note locations in your travel book, allowing you to teleport back to that spot any time you like. Each teleport uses up a "transport rune", an item which is also sold in the cash shop. A wide range of mounts are also up for sale in the diamond shop, in 7-day, 30-day and permanent varieties. These are just a few of the cash shop items that every player should really have access to. They're practically a requirement to play the game and if you had to pay for them, the game could never be truly considered free.

Runes of Magic gets around these issues by making sure those essential items can be acquired through alternate routes that don't involve spending cash. While permanent mounts are only available in the diamond shop, you can rent temporary versions for gold from a local stable. A fifteen minute plain horse costs a tiny 300 gold and makes a good choice if you just want to shave a few minutes off a journey to another zone. A two hour rent costs only 3000 gold and I've found it handy to buy one to help with travel during an entire play session. For those who want something a little longer-term, horse rental tickets can be won in mini-games like Matalina's Course of Terror or purchased from the auction house for a few thousand gold. These will randomly give you a 15-minute, 2-hour or 7-day horse.