New "Rising" version of MMORPG to be available without subscription fee next month with no level cap or content restrictions for new players.

En Masse Entertainment's massively multiplayer online role-playing game Tera will be free-to-play when it relaunches at Tera: Rising February 5, it was announced today. Previously, the free-to-play switch was scheduled to take place sometime in February. The new version of the game will not require a subscription fee and new players will not face any content restrictions or a level cap.

Though Tera: Rising will be available to play for free, players can use real-world money to purchase various items on an a la carte basis from the in-game marketplace.

Past and current Tera subscribers will be awarded permanent "founder" status, which carries numerous exclusive privileges. Those who pay $15 per month for "Elite" status will be granted extra dungeon rewards, 10 bonus quests per day, a daily delivery of items and boosts, an elite mount, in-game store discounts, and waived brokerage registration taxes.

A detailed breakdown of Free-versus-Founder-versus-Elite status benefits can be found at the official Tera website.

To coincide with the free-to-play business model switch for Tera, new in-game content will be made available. This includes a wave-based dungeon called the Crucible of Flame and a PvP battleground map called Champions' Skyring that "introduces a new way for players to test their skills against each other."

Tera is the latest MMO to drop its subscription fee, following Lord of the Rings Online, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, EverQuest II, Aion, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Bethesda has not said if its upcoming MMO The Elder Scrolls Online will carry a subscription fee, though consultant Nicholas Lovell believes the game will launch with a subscription before going free-to-play.

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