F2PMeter: Is Stronghold Kingdoms Truly Free to Play?

May 13, 2015 14:51 ( Articles ) 1

 

Continuing with our F2PMeter feature we head over to Stronghold Kingdoms to see just how worthy of the “free to play” title the game really is; starting at 100% we’re putting the game up against our questions, lowering the meter % for each topic that seems like the game isn’t as free as we thought.

Stronghold Kingdoms is a classic Empire building strategy, extremely community focused and with endgame/winnable victory conditions the game lets players build up their own House as they compete against other players to claim and defend territory.

Let’s begin.

 

 

 

No. Player can download the game for free on Mac or Windows/PC.

Yes (optional) ― -15%. Whilst not entirely a subscription players can purchase a Premium Token that gives them access to some offline automated features and a number of features to make managing your villages and empire a little easier. Tokens are bought with the premium “Firefly Crowns” currency, a 7 Day token costs 30 Crowns and a 30 Day token costs 100 Crowns; though the game offers discounts every so often in general the price for 40 Crowns is $5, with a greater saving the more Crowns a player purchases.

No. The game doesn’t actually have any expansions, though it does expand the game to provide more worlds from time to time, incorporating new real world countries as maps for those languages that the game has been translated into. All worlds and updates are completely free.

Yes. ― -5%. Players must purchase Firefly Crowns to then either purchase the Premium Token or Card Packs (like Trading Card Game booster packs) which, when purchased, give players a handful of random cards that they can use to give their empire instant bonuses eg. free resources or troops, or buffs that last for a set amount of time eg. improved iron mining, faster troop movement. Players can purchase a Deluxe Pack without Crowns, simply buying it wish cash, that gives them free cards, crowns, Premium Token and other perks, but can only be purchased once per account as a starter pack.

Yes (but…) ― -5%. The Premium Account makes managing your empire easier and with automated offline features such as training troops, queueing building and researching, it means players without a Premium Token have to spend more time in game to accomplish the same things, which might not always be possible. The Card Packs that are purchased offer boosts and bonuses, but they can be acquired without paying cash, so whilst there is a benefit with the speed, ease and quantity a paying player can get, it’s not beyond the unthinkable that a non-paying player could acquire just as many cards.

No. There are no restrictions, the only customization elements are the House Coat of Arms that all players can make, this feature is free.

Not Applicable. There are no classes or races in Stronghold Kingdoms.

No. All players have access to the Marketplace and Stock Exchange once then unlock the relevant technology and construct the necessary building. Premium Token accounts get offline auto trading where they can select on resource that their village will always automatically sell.

No. All players have access to the Warehouse storage and are not restricted with storing goods.

Not Applicable. There are no dungeons in the game or areas that would be open to restrictions.

No. The nature of the game does not have “End Game” content; new players have full access to the same features that veteran players have.

Yes ― +10%. The game is extremely enjoyable and has a lot of features and in depth game player for a Free to Play game, any bonuses available focus more on making managing your empire easier without providing major advantages or pay to win mechanics.

Stronghold Kingdoms scores a 85% of free-to-play-ness in our F2PMeter.

 

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