Shadowbane MMORPG is now free

[lozina]

No more monthly subscription... can download the client for free... dont even need credit card apparently.

I reactivated my old account without entering any CC info. Will play this evening after download finishes

I quit the game because I got bored of it but if its free why not...

Many members of the Shadowbane Community have already noticed that a change has occured to the Billing System today; one that allows players to play for free!

There will be a more in-depth announcement coming soon but, in the meanwhile, I wanted to let our community know that this is not an error. Existing users can now open up their Account Manager and their accounts will now be working, allowing them to play Shadowbane for free! This does include those who had previously canceled accounts!

In addition, those who wish to try out Shadowbane for the first time will also be able to. All you have to do is create a new ubi.com account and then click on Add a Subscription, and you will have free access to the lands of Aerynth! This is not a Free-Trial subscription and it will not run out in 15-days. This is completely free!

If you are looking for a place to download the Shadowbane client, you can get it from FilePlanet by clicking here for the PC Version, and here for the Mac version! While these version are labeled for the "Free Trial", they are full versions of the game client and any active accounts can be used to play using them.

No longer will players, existing and new alike, be charged to adventure in the lands of Aerynth! If you happen to be a new player or have not adventured in Shadowbane for many an age, makes sure you check out the Getting Started guide. You can also view the Shadowbane Version and Patch History to see what has changed over the last few years.

Rumors suggest they will be announcing Shadowbane 2 soon and are getting ready to 'abandon' Shadowbane

 

[AdamSnow]

I'll stick with my WoW addiction, but this is awesome for people who need something to do!

 

[Malladine]

hmm, in game ads?

how are they making money?

 

[jbritt1234]

Just read about that on Bluesnews. Is the game any good?

 

[redfella]

Originally posted by: Malladine
how are they making money?

Like the topic poster mentioned, rumors of Shadowbane 2 are lingering...

I don't know a lot about this game, but if a company gets desperate enough (to build a userbase) they'll do just about anything. An analogy would be like how companies sell game consoles at a profit loss in order to make money on the software.

But everything completly free is pretty cool.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Originally posted by: redfella

Originally posted by: Malladine
how are they making money?

Like the topic poster mentioned, rumors of Shadowbane 2 are lingering...

I don't know a lot about this game, but if a company gets desperate enough (to build a userbase) they'll do just about anything. An analogy would be like how companies sell game consoles at a profit loss in order to make money on the software.

But everything completly free is pretty cool.

The idea of Shadowbane 2 is exciting to me. Provided they flesh the game out with more than just PvP, it could be great. Shadowbane's PvE was more fun than challenging....akin to Diablo....PvP balance was decent, but, again, you need something compelling to fight over and sand castles just don't cut it.

 

[Malladine]

SB 2 huh? hmm, good call...pretty ballsy of Ubisoft!

 

[Crizza]

Originally posted by: Malladine
hmm, in game ads?

how are they making money?

Perhaps they'll make the switch to microtransactions where you pay real cash for in-game items/money

 

[Malladine]

Like Project Entropia, cool.

Did you know some guy spent like $26,500 for a huge lot of land in that game which he is renting out to hunters and merchants in order get his money back in a year or two :Q

 

[lozina]

Originally posted by: Malladine
Like Project Entropia, cool.

Did you know some guy spent like $26,500 for a huge lot of land in that game which he is renting out to hunters and merchants in order get his money back in a year or two :Q

so hows that investment working out for him? is he actually making his money back?

 

[Malladine]

no idea

i bet he's doing fine though, 200k+ active members in PE

 

[Lord Athlon]

So , what's the game like ? Graphics looks very outdated by looking at the a screenshots but what about the gameplay ?

How many players are playing ?

Is is more like Guild Wars/Diablo 2 or is it a true MMORPG like WOW and Everquest ?

I may give it a try if the feedbacks are good.

 

[Fingolfin269]

This is the coolest PvP game ever so I may fire it back up if my characters are still there. Any idea if sb.exe is still a rampant problem?

 

[Noema]

Originally posted by: Lord Athlon
So , what's the game like ? Graphics looks very outdated by looking at the a screenshots but what about the gameplay ?

How many players are playing ?

Is is more like Guild Wars/Diablo 2 or is it a true MMORPG like WOW and Everquest ?

I may give it a try if the feedbacks are good.

It's a true MMO a la WoW / EQ, with a persistent world.

I've never played it, but it sounds like the PvP (which is the main focus) was really hardcore. I.e, hardcore as in: you can kill a player and steal their stuff or money, thieves can only be stealthed by scouts, massive raids result in cities being taken, etc. I've heard it was pretty cool.

 

[CVSiN]

what happens to chars that were on old SB servers like Scorn?
when we log in do we get a chance to move them or soemthing?

i have like 6 R7s from Scorn back in the day when I was in the Rollin 30's and dominated scorn.. the good old days

 

[lozina]

Not sure if you would be able to transfer characters... remember the rumors back in the early days about having gates between realms to have inter-realm wars and what-not? Guess that never happened!

And what about the lore... the idea that a charcater in the game would find the legendary sword "shadowbane" and engage in some storyline?

 

[lozina]

Originally posted by: Lord Athlon
So , what's the game like ? Graphics looks very outdated by looking at the a screenshots but what about the gameplay ?

How many players are playing ?

Is is more like Guild Wars/Diablo 2 or is it a true MMORPG like WOW and Everquest ?

I may give it a try if the feedbacks are good.

Well, its main focus is PvP but it was different from other games in that you can level up really fast and items weren't too much of a factor, it was mostly skills. You would typically join a guild or start one and build a town which other guilds can try to raid and destroy. Lots of fighting other people so it's alot of fun in that regard. There's really not much grind as you would see in WoW or EQ.. just go in and have fun really.

Speaking of skills when you make a character look at some successful character templates out there because you can end up with a really weak character by not learning the most effective skills.

 

[Lord Athlon]

Originally posted by: lozina

Originally posted by: Lord Athlon
So , what's the game like ? Graphics looks very outdated by looking at the a screenshots but what about the gameplay ?

How many players are playing ?

Is is more like Guild Wars/Diablo 2 or is it a true MMORPG like WOW and Everquest ?

I may give it a try if the feedbacks are good.

Well, its main focus is PvP but it was different from other games in that you can level up really fast and items weren't too much of a factor, it was mostly skills. You would typically join a guild or start one and build a town which other guilds can try to raid and destroy. Lots of fighting other people so it's alot of fun in that regard. There's really not much grind as you would see in WoW or EQ.. just go in and have fun really.

Speaking of skills when you make a character look at some successful character templates out there because you can end up with a really weak character by not learning the most effective skills.

Thanks for the info

I am a PVP guy so i will give the game a try i guess.Probably won't last long though as there is only 4 days left before Oblivion .

 

[Malak]

Wouldn't be the first time a game was released free to get customers for a sequel. Good marketing actually, but only pays off if your game is actually good.

 

[CVSiN]

Originally posted by: lozina
Not sure if you would be able to transfer characters... remember the rumors back in the early days about having gates between realms to have inter-realm wars and what-not? Guess that never happened!

And what about the lore... the idea that a charcater in the game would find the legendary sword "shadowbane" and engage in some storyline?

Its not a char transfer.. they removed a bunch of the classic servers.. scorn being one of them..
I want to know if those chars are moved somewhere or if they ask you whenm you log in..
if i have to start over with no guild that woulda kinda suck.. as all my stuff was rank5+ gear from our old city

 

[Acanthus]

Tried to reactivate, dont remember login/pass from years ago, and its linked to an email from an internet company that is now defunct.

 

[KoolDrew]

I've never tried this before, but it looks pretty interesting. Thanks!

 

[lozina]

Originally posted by: Acanthus
Tried to reactivate, dont remember login/pass from years ago, and its linked to an email from an internet company that is now defunct.

Just create a new account- no big loss. I hear the XP rates have been increased by alot over time so you should get up high in level in no time.

Also your old character probably had focused on skills that have been nerfed by now while other skills are more important

 

[Acanthus]

So do we have an AT guild going or something?

Im a hardcore player in most mmos, if this is any fun at all ill be all for playing long term.

Edit: i use teamspeak and ventrillo

 

[lozina]

Originally posted by: Acanthus
So do we have an AT guild going or something?

Im a hardcore player in most mmos, if this is any fun at all ill be all for playing long term.

Edit: i use teamspeak and ventrillo

That might be a good idea... if we get enough players!

I usually get really hardcore into games to (before abruptly quitting one day) but Oblivion is coming out soon and that will surely grab my attention