DDO: Eberron Unlimited Preview

WarCry is offering up some impressions of their guided tour through Eberron Unlimited, Turbine's upcoming free-to-play version of Dungeons & Dragons Online.
There are several new areas for players to try out. Some of them will be accessible to all players, some only to those opting to purchase them. Upon reaching a 'premium content' area, a screen will pop up telling a player that this area is available for purchase. Players can then choose to purchase or not. If so, the store automatically opens with the content to buy already on the screen. Two clicks later, it's a done deal and that content belongs to a player's account. It is accessible to all characters as well. Additionally, players who 'own' content can also buy guest passes for their companions who do not. The guest passes are good for 90 minutes. This is a terrific way to "try before you buy" and doesn't separate parties solely based on access.

One awesome feature for all players, whether party players or soloists, is the scaling of all areas of the game. The scripting allows the game to 'know' a party's composition and adjusts the area accordingly. If a player is dropped or leaves the party for some reason, the scripting adjusts again to compliment the composition. The difficulty scales higher if more players enter, lower of players leave.

When I asked the team about solo players, they told me that they didn't want the game to be impossible for solo players. With the ability to purchase hirelings and scaling, soloists are good to go.