Gamertell

Free massively multiplayer online (MMO) games are abundant these days, but the free part is often deceptive. Yes, the games can be played and enjoyed without breaking out a credit card but many feature a premium shop filled with exclusive little goodies.

In some cases cash, shop purchases will allow players to customize their character or items (weapons, pets, etc.) bought from the shop can make adventuring a little easier. In the case of Mabinogi, for example, certain shop purchases even allow players to participate in special quests and storylines.

So I decided to take a look through the premium cash shops in some of Aeria’s, Nexon’s and Ntreev’s games and determine just how much fun $10 can buy in some free MMOs.

Aeria
Since Aeria offers the most games, and is the only company with a different currency conversion, I’ll begin with them. (Okay, really I’m going in alphabetical order, but I’m trying to provide further justification.) For $10 players get 1,080 Aeria Points (AP). Aeria also offers the most payment options, as users can recharge with Google Checkout, PayByCash, Paypal, credit cards (Amex, Discover, Mastercard or Visa) or uKash.

Aeria also has the most MMOs. There’s Shaiya Light and Darkness, Twelve Sky, Dream of Mirror Online (DOMO), Last Chaos, Project Torque and the beta game Richman Online. To make things a bit simpler, I’ll just see what can be purchased for 1,080pts in Shaiya and DOMO.

In Shaiya, 1,080pts can get you a lot of support items. You could get a 299AP scroll to change your character’s appearance and 20 Etein potions to keep your character in perfect condition for 780pts.

Unfortunately, 1,080pts won’t get you much in DOMO. There are Costume chests which cost 98AP and contain a random item, but you have no idea what item you’ll get from it and some of the items received will only last for a brief time period. Full, permanent outfits tend to start at 1,149pts. You could always purchase a 90-day ninja, schoolboy or schoolgirl uniform for 498AP. Probably the best deal is the 798AP pet package that comes everything a player needs for a pet.

Nexon
With Nexon you get 10,000 Nexon Cash (NX) points for $10. These points can then be used in the MapleStory, Audition or Mabinogi premium shops. You can charge up your account by purchasing pre-paid Nexon Game Cards from stores or by purchasing Nexon Cash from the official site with a Paypal account.

Depending on the game, 10,000 NC can go a long way. In MapleStory that money could completely dress a character in the “Black Tie Affair” shirt and pants (5,300NX) with enough left to buy 6 Minerva owls (3,000NX) and a safety charm (700NX). Audition is even better - players could purchase multiple hair, face, tops, bottoms and shoes for their character. For example the new Urban Riot Girl ensemble, which includes a face, hair, top and pants, would add up to 5,600NX if you purchased all the pieces. There’d still be plenty of NX left over for another outfit.

Mabinogi, however, is expensive. Perhaps this is because so much can be accomplished for free in the game. 10,000NX is just enough to purchase either a basic character card (7,900NX), a premium character card (9,500NX) or 30 days of Nao’s Support Service, Storage Service or Advanced Play Service (all 9,500NX). Purchasing one of the Mabinogi services though also allows your character to participate in the Gen 1 story quests for 30 days.

Ntreev
If you buy Ntreev points, then there’s only one game you can use them in - Trickster Online. The charging process is identical to Nexon’s, as $10 will get you 10,000 points. Again, like Nexon, you can charge your account with pre-paid cards, or you could recharge through Paypal, with a Visa or Mastercard, with Click & Buy or money order.

Things are pretty affordable in the Ntreev shop, and there are often little bonus associated with certain purchases. For example 10,000pts will get you 11 Gacha coins for the Gacha drill game. A set is undoubtedly the way to go here, as it will provide a lot of equipment at a discounted price. The Willow Special Set is a phenomenal deal for 6,300 pts, as it provides players with a helmet, weapon, shield and a Willow Puppy pet which can be used by characters who’ve reached level 5. A Willow Puppy pet alone costs 4,500pts, so its a great deal.

Ntreev’s Grand Chase is currently in an open beta phase and so it does not have a cash shop associated with it yet. Once it is released commerically, it will likely have a premium shop with items that can be purchased for characters.

Site [Aeria] Site [Nexon] Site [Ntreev]

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