Free Realms Membership Guide

Free Realms, a free to play MMORPG by Sony Online Entertainment, has both free to play and paid membership options. The membership, which costs $4.99 a month (or 499 Station Cash), offers a variety of benefits to players. Here's what you can expect for the monthly fee.

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If you've played up to level 5, and want to see more of any of the great classes that Free Realms has to offer, a membership is the only way to do so.

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While free players only get to have one character, paid members are allowed to have up to three total characters.

If you later decide to unsubscribe, or return from paid to free membership, you may choose one character to be your active character. The other characters will remain saved with all their quests and inventory intact until you renew your subscription.

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For the first hour per day that a member is logged in, they receive "Power Hour" - a bonus to all coins won in mini-games. During this time period, members can only win coins as a bonus on mini-games, but it's a fair pay off and helps members pad their pockets easily.

The Free Realms official forums can be a great way to get information, meet new people, and discover and learn new things about Free Realms. Although all forums are readable to players, only members can post in the [Members Only] forum.

While playing for free allows you to take on up to 10 quests at once, membership allows players to take on up to 40. If you love levelling multiple classes at once, the extra quest room definitely helps - although you may never have the need for thirty quests at once. Be warned, however - a quest grind is common for many combat jobs.

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In addition, each month a special Monthly Reward Pack goes out to players, filled with different items and coins.

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Members also have extra access to other special items in the cash shop. In addition to special member-only pets, rides - player mounts that vary from horses to dragons - are also only available to members who purchase them. There are no 'free rides' in Free Realms!

There are special member-only encounters, or "instances," available for members. These instances are generally longer and more rewarding than free instances, and often have many member-only repeatable quests that will net you more stars, experience, and coins.

Along with exclusive member-only instances, there are also tons of member-only quests. While some of these are tied to member-only jobs (see below), many are independent quest lines. In addition, many free classes - such as the ninja - can only finish their final quest line as a member.