Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited is the name of the next upgrade to the D&D-themed online RPG. While it adds new content, it also takes away a crucial part of the game: the subscription fee.

[The upgrade] makes DDO Unlimited the world's first free-to-play massively multiplayer online game (MMO) to offer the quality graphics and robust features previously only available in premium subscription based-games.

Those are a lot of qualifiers, and I can think of at least one MMO that would take exception with D&D Online's claim to be first. I'm pretty sure Anarchy Online is effectively free-to-play after a long run as a subscription-based MMO, but maybe that's where the qualifiers come in. It's been a long time since anyone could accuse Anarchy Online of "quality graphics".

But never mind who was first. Exactly how gimped with the free-to-play version be? What stuff do you have to pay for in the upcoming DDO Unlimited? Turbine lists the following goodies as examples of what will be for sale in the DDO Store: "premium dungeon packs, additional character slots, hirelings (hired muscle), potions, and character customization". There are more details here about a paid subscription option that will presumably include all the content you'd have to buy in the store.

You can go here to sign up for the beta program and have a look for yourself.