Trion is changing up their game, and Rift will be on a free to play model in about a month’s time. You can currently play the game freely up to level 20 to get your own headstart.
The item store will surely have experience and notoriety boosts which is almost always expected when a game turns its way to the free-to-play market. However, they’ll be keeping Rift steady at its core about in game items, and it sounds like they won’t be selling complete power to the players.
Trion has already taken note that plans to sell gear in the store is a controversy. Bill Fisher, the creative director, has already said “the best gear in the game must be earned, and high level items on the store must also be available to be earned in the game if they have a high credit price.”
There will not be a price to start playing. You won’t need to pick up a box copy like Guild Wars 2, or The Secret World to play the game.
Come June 12th you’re free to hop into the game, and explore all its content. For more information you can check out the site page detailing Trion’s plan even further.