...The good news is that one major aspect of TOR, the detailed story, will be completely free for all classes.

Payment starts to come up when you want to run multiplayer missions. You'll get an allotment of three PvP warzone missions a week, three rewarded flashpoints per week, one crew skill, and five revives in the field. If you want to go above that allowance, you can get more by purchasing Cartel Coins. TOR subscribers will already get some Cartel Coins from the start, and those who stay subscribed will get unlimited feature access plus some Cartel Coins to spend freely.

The official site (via PC Gamer) also points out that even making a single purchase will upgrade you to "preferred" status. This lets you sprint, use bank slots, chat and trade, and licenses you to equip purple items.

BioWare has been notably vague about when exactly it will make the F2P switch, but in the meantime has continued producing new content for current subscribers. The company plans on some form of major update every six weeks.

If you’re a paying Subscriber at the launch of the Free-to-Play option on November 15th, you will be granted all of the Complimentary Cartel Coins currently listed on your Cartel Coin Ledger page, plus a one-time grant of 250 Complimentary Cartel Coins!

Additionally, we are extending the Rewards Program! All former subscribers who reactivate their subscription by the new date of December 20, 2012 at 11:59pm CST will be granted Complimentary Cartel Coins for their prior paid months up to November 15, 2012. For more information on all of the rewards you could potentially receive, visit www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com/FREE.

And we have not forgotten about those of you who once had accounts, but cancelled. We are hoping to get you to come back and play! Any player who has ever paid a monthly subscription fee will be given Preferred Status automatically when Free-to-Play option is launched. Players with Preferred Status do not face the same limitations as a Free-to-Play player and will find that some restrictions are either removed or greatly reduced.

In addition, Preferred Status can be earned by any Free-to-Play player who spends a minimum of $4.99 at our web store.

When we launch our Free-to-Play option this Fall, it will include three ways of playing The Old Republic: as a Subscriber, as a Free-to-Play Player, or with Preferred Status! We have previously mentioned Preferred Player Status on our website but have not really gone into details, something I plan to address here.

Once our Free-to-Play option launches, Free-to-Play Players will gain Preferred Player Status by making a single purchase through our website. This purchase can simply be a quantity of Cartel Coins, or a Game Time Card, or even a month of a Subscription. Additionally, former Subscribers who are returning as Free-to-Play Players, will find they have Preferred Status!

As a Preferred Status Player, you will gain the following benefits compared to Free-to-Play Players:
• The Sprint ability at Level 1
• Access to your Cargo Hold (an 80 item Player Bank)
• Access to Secure Trade
• The ability to send Mail, including one (1) attachment
• Increased allowance for chat message frequencies in Public chat channels (such as /general)
• An increased Credits Cap
• Access to the Who List
• Three (3) additional Sale Slots on the Galactic Trade Network (for a total of 5)
• One (1) additional active Crew Skill Slot (for a total of 2)
• Reduced skill point respecialization costs
• Increased Server queue priority

In addition to the above benefits, Subscribers who return as Preferred Status Players will find that they retain any Cargo Hold and Inventory expansions they had unlocked, any Legacy Unlock or Perk they have gained (including Species) and can continue to use any Artifact equipment that was bound to them previously.