Guess it was only a matter of time, huh, Tera? En Masse Entertainment's online fantasy game joins Star Wars: The Old Republic and DC Universe Online on the roster of big-deal MMO titles that are ditching subscriptions. Starting in February, subscriptions will no longer be required to play Tera.

New players who join after the free-to-play switch—which is being called Tera: Rising—will be getting the full game, but paying users will be granted elite status. Rather than restricting free players and giving paid players the full game, everyone gets the full game and paid players get extra goodies. Here's a breakdown from today's press release:

Standard players will have full access to TERA's wealth of in-game content with two free characters per server. They are not subject to level caps and will experience no restrictions to content, time, or level. In recognition of their early adoption to the game, players who purchased TERA will gain founder benefits, including eight character slots, four bank tabs, a "Founder" title, the exclusive Terminus mount, and much more.

Available in 30-day increments for $14.99, elite status grants players extra dungeon rewards, 10 bonus quests per day, a daily delivery of items and boosts, an elite mount, in-game store discounts, waived brokerage registration taxes, and more. Elite players will find that their status pays for itself through free items and discounts, let alone in-game perks.

While non-elite players will not benefit from the same perks as their Elite counterparts, they will experience game content, character growth, holding political office, and other in-game determinations of status and power exactly the same way all players have since the game launched. They can also choose to buy most items available to elite status players on an a la carte basis from the in-game store or trade broker.

The exact date of the changeover hasn't been revealed yet but Tera players interested in more details can learn more here.