Subscription, buy the game and have it free with microtransactions afterwards, or just free with microtransactions?

I ask this as someone who doesn't play MMOs. I have been thinking about trying one for a while but the payment methods have stopped me mostly.

I was interested in Final Fantasy XIV as I've liked other FFs in the past, but with a subscription model I just can't justify getting it. Guild Wars 2 looked interesting and it doesn't have a subscription, but I'm wary of paying $50 for a game in a genre I've never even tried before. Finally there's Tera, I hear the quests are lackluster but the combat is pretty good, and it is free to play; the 30gb install scared me off a little, but I think if I'll try one someday it will probably be this.

So I was wondering which model the veteran MMO players prefer. On one hand subscriptions sound bad, but on the other microtransactions can end up as pay-to-win, so which do you prefer?

I prefer the old subscription were everyone gets the same starting chance. But that model is running out.
My guess is a cross between premium content for paying customers and microtransactions.

P2P is dead. Every P2P game released in the last few years has failed to maintain a sufficient subscriber base and gone P2P within about a year of release. Only the oldest and most established P2P games remain.

Most recent F2P games seem to be veering heavily towards selling visual changes (more colour schemes, wings for pets, etc.) with all other content available through normal play.

Been playing MMOs since 2003.

If there's one thing I learned about the payment method, is the fact that a subscription based system is the fairest of them all. Keeps things balanced: the competition amongst players, loot chance, etc.

Free to play = Pay to win.
There can't be such thing as "free" to play in MMOs, nor in any other genre, or anywhere else, for that matter. Business is not free, and in time it tends to favor people with money.
In doing so, at the end of the day, if you draw a line, you see that people actually pay more money (monthly) than they would otherwise spend on a regular subscription.

At the moment, I'm into Warhammer Online, and although it has declined tremendously (down to two servers) I honestly hope it will remain subscription based, and not turn into a cheap F2P crap.

What about TF2? People who never bought a hat in their life can still compete with people who have spent millions on them.

Probably not the future, but I like the way Guild Wars has been done. I hope it remains a niche way of doing business as I like paying full price upfront than it slowly being leeching from me over time.

TF2 is an exception - a loss leader offered by Valve to entice people to use Steam (along with Alien Swarm).

What I dislike about P2P MMO's is that they're not really suited for casual gamers, who have like 1-2 hours/week to play. If I'd create a MMO I wouldn't make an x days based subscription but an effective playtime based subscription. Like 1cent/hour. WARNING: If you're a developer and steal my idea, I expect a royalty. JK..

My guess is F2P, microtransactions and, as soon as they find a good way to implement it, in-game commercials.

Or they can follow the Activision/Bungie model (Destiny and COD): you pay the full game, then you'll have monthly DLC with new content or an "annual pass" that will give you the full content of a year.

Or the Microsoft subscription model: you pay X/month and, basing on how much you pay, you can "rent" a number of games, see TV shows, listen to music, etc.

They can all be used, depending on the game and the gamer.

Never played TF2, but if I were to venture a guess, it would be very close to what jamyskis just stated.

Free to Play aka Pay to Win.

But look it:
http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/02/01/top-tf2-item-makers-making-500k-a-year-we-cannot-compete-with-our-customers/
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2012/03/08/how-and-why-team-fortress-2-made-valve-super-rich

People who make items rake in quite a bit of dosh. And they only get a 25% cut, Valve gets the rest. Everything I can find at the moment suggests Valve makes a profit out of TF2. Unless there is something I'm missing?

F2P variants are where the genre is currently at and will probably remain. These range from "everything available but buy cosmetic stuff" to "little choice and content for free, you better pay a subscription if you're serious".

Personally I like F2P, but I'm a casual player. I never cared about competing with others, and if people want to "get ahead in the game" by paying for stuff, I don't mind that. As long as the game provides me with a decent amount of content for free it stands a chance of me paying for extra features or expansions.

There are tons of F2P games, so if you want an MMO there's not much stopping you from trying one.

Probably a mix. Like free with microtransactions and a "flat rate" subscription equivalent to a certain rate of microtransactions too. Maybe even ads included. Just let the market decide what is best. Anyway I would be a casual player, so no subscription only schemes, that would prevent me from paying anything.

As a pretty casual player I've never been troubled by any limitations of free-to-play with the likes of D&D Online, Lord Of The Rings Online and Star Wars: The Old Republic. They're all pretty good too, so worth a try?