Secret World Legends free to play model detailed

Secret World Legends is launching on June 26 as a free-to-play revamp of the acclaimed MMORPG The Secret World and Funcom has already mentioned that the entire story content was going to be free for everyone. However, we didn't know exactly how the business model was going to work – after all, they have to make money somehow to support the game. Now, a blog post from Community Manager Andy Benditt explains it all.

The thing that you should retain is this bit: “Every story, every mission, every dungeon, every region – all free for everybody“. Andy also adds that all future content for Secret World Legends will be absolutely free, so they won't be going at your wallet with paid content expansions. All classes are free and you can earn everything through playing – every item, skill and ability – but you can also use two currencies to buy from the shop: Aurum and Marks of Favour. You can buy some things only with Aurum, and other things only with Marks of Favour. Here's a description of each currency:

“Marks of Favour are a flexible currency used for a variety of things, such as purchasing items from the Auction House, additional weapons, potion refills, dungeon keys, fusing items, cosmetic options, social items, and more. They are collected by completing daily challenges and by selling items to other players through the auction house–just playing the game.

For example, while each starting Class comes with only 2 different weapons, you can unlock every other weapon and ability for your character by spending Marks of Favour. You never need to pay cash or Aurum to unlock the other weapons for your character!

Aurum is Secret World Legends’ premium currency–you purchase Aurum with real money and use it to acquire various items, conveniences, and services. These include things like additional character slots, boosters, extra inventory space, vanity items (pets, mounts, outfits), and more.”

Secret World Legends features a player-driven economy and it is mostly represented by the Exchange, a currency market where you may set the prices and trade Aurum with other players for Marks of Favour, and vice-versa. Here's a good example:

“Let’s say an awesome shotgun drops for you while you’re playing. Sweet! This weapon could be worth a lot on the Auction House, so you put it up for sale; behold, another player indeed buys it from you! You then take your Marks to the Exchange and trade them out with someone for Aurum. Now, you can get that pet or booster you’ve been wanting!”

Sounds interesting and we're hoping it's all nicely balanced so you don't have to grind too much for Marks of Favour. What do you think of this Secret World Legends free to play business model?