Playing Pax Dei without a subscription

Last edit: 05/21/2025

Hello Paxians,

Today, we want to talk about one of the new features coming out with Verse 3 - Path of the Adventurer - and how, combined with other changes we’ve introduced over the last few months, it opens the option to play Pax Dei without a plot — and therefore, without a subscription.

Yes, you read correctly. We've listened closely to your feedback and decided to adjust our approach to monetization. We don’t yet have all the details to share, but we can already confirm that, as we exit Early Access, we will offer a way to play Pax Dei without a subscription.

New spawning zones

With Verse 3, we will start to introduce new Petra Dei spawning zones.

Each spawning area will now feature starting crafting stations, allowing all players to craft basic (aka Tier 1) items.
At a later point, the altars in front of Petra Dei will grant access to private storage. While each Petra Dei altar offers unique storage, it will be shared across all your characters on a given shard/world.

These changes are meant to make discovering the game easier. New players will be able to craft basic equipment and start their adventures sooner, but this also opens a way to play Pax Dei without the need for a personal plot.

Playing without a plot

Playing without a personal plot won’t hold you back. We’ve been introducing, and will keep adding in the coming weeks and months, a number of changes to the game to allow plot-less play, along with reinforcing game loops that don’t rely on plot ownership:

The Clan system already allows players to share plot permissions with their Clan mates.
The recent introduction of the Gold economy enables players to buy gear and consumables from other players, without having to craft everything themselves.
Finally, the new Petra Dei spawning zone will offer limited individual storage to each player, and their surroundings will feature basic crafters for public use.

Allowing all play styles to connect and complement each other is one of the core tenets behind Pax Dei. If you’re the kind of player that prefers fighting Inquisitors, wants to specialize in dungeon crawling, or simply likes to hang out with friends and help them in their projects, we wanted to open a way to enjoy Pax Dei without having to own and maintain your personal plot — and therefore without a monthly subscription.

Introducing: Premium Membership

For those who do want their own personal plot(s), we will introduce the Premium Membership program. It will offer several entirely optional subscription plans. Premium Members will enjoy various in-game benefits - we’re still working on finalizing the offer - the most important being the ability to claim and maintain in-game plots.

By picking the Premium Membership plan that best suits their needs, players will choose how many plots they want to claim in-game. If they decide to cancel, the space will be freed up for other players at the end of the subscription period, and the content of the plot will be stored in the player’s Redeeming Queue, allowing players to quickly rebuild in a new location when they decide to come back.

Purchasing Pax Dei will include a free month of Premium Membership with 1 plot.

Founders at launch

Founders don’t need to purchase anything at launch. As we exit Early Access, Founders will automatically receive game access, keep their exclusive recipes and the number of character slots they have now, as well as get a free month of Premium Membership with a number of plots corresponding to their Founder’s Pack (1, 2 or 4).

We’ve aimed for a balance that offers flexibility, multiple ways to engage with Pax Dei based on your play style, and sustainability, ensuring the most engaged players can support the project long-term.

We’ll share more details on how Premium Membership works, its bonuses and pricing as we get closer to release. Stay tuned!

Pax vobiscum, The Mainframe Team

Plot management

What happens when my plot expires?

When a given plot runs out of time, it will first enter a frozen state, providing a window to take precautions or secure resources. During this phase, permissions of the frozen plot can’t be edited, no new building piece can be added, while people with access can still destroy pieces and interact with crafters and containers. During this grace period, you can reactivate it, continuing where you left off without losing progress.

Assuming this doesn’t happen, once the grace period is over, the plot is considered expired and will be released. The content of an expired plot is securely stored in your redeeming queue, while the in-game space is now freed and can be claimed by another player, for example, a clan member, ensuring we keep the world of Pax Dei vibrant and full of life. Note that, upon release, adjacent plots will lose any expanded space, and all objects in the joint area will become publicly accessible and begin to decay.

Will there be some kind of very obvious notification if a clan plot (that you are using as well) will become inactive, or is it only the original owner who will be notified?

Only the plot owner will receive a notification that their plot is running out of time and will enter the frozen state. However, once a plot enters the frozen state, this should be clearly visible to all players in-game.

Is there a way to claim a friend’s plots if they become inactive? Or transfer between players?

If your friend becomes inactive and their plot expires, you can place a plot instead, provided you have plots left to be placed.

We are currently working on a feature that would allow plot ownership transfer, however, we cannot guarantee that it will be available at release.

Will clan permissions for plots be reworked?

We’ve had long-standing plans to add more granular permissions, especially regarding trusted individuals and friends who’re not necessarily in your clan. We expect to get working on this in the near future, but our priority is to add a new clan rank.

Premium Membership

Will there be an option to pay for a friend’s plot, if they are still active?

Gifting of plots (or membership) won’t be available initially. It’s certainly something we will consider adding later if there is appetite for it in the community. In the meantime, we’re working on a feature to allow plot ownership transfer between characters.

Will I need a Premium Membership to build at all?

You won’t need Premium Membership to build. If you don’t have your own plot, you will still be able to build on the plot of a friend or a clan member, provided they’ve shared permissions with you.

As for crafting, Petra Dei shrines will offer public access to basic crafting workstations - ideal for newcomers or players without land.

When does the “free month of Premium Membership” at 1.0 actually start? Can I choose when I activate it?

As we exit Early Access, Founders will automatically receive game access, and will keep their exclusive recipes and the number of character slots they have now. Founders will also get a free month of Premium Membership with a number of plots corresponding to their Founder’s Pack.

The free month of Premium Membership will be granted the first time you log into the game.

Will I require a Premium Membership to access the market system?

No, you won’t require Premium Membership to use markets and gold to purchase advanced gear and materials. If you decide to skip the Membership, you will still have access to the same features: clans, crafting, building, dungeons, exploration, markets, etc., except you won't have a personal plot at your disposal.

Are you concerned that making the subscription optional will open the door to bots and gold farmers?

Gold farming and bots have been present in MMOs irrespective of their business models. We will continue to take appropriate action against accounts breaking our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct, regardless of their subscription status.

What about Founders that have the Journeyman and Master Upgrades, but not Artisan?

In the specific case of players owning the Journeyman and Master upgrade DLCs but NOT the Artisan upgrade DLC, that means: game access, 4 character slots, the Founder’s Outfit and Wyvern Building Set recipes, along with a free month of Premium Membership that includes 3 plots.