There are a lot of bad or spurious arguments in this thread, but if I had to make the decision if and when to offer a free quest code (and didn't have the leeway to just make purchase of the latest expansion include all previous content) I'd wait until 64 bit servers were rolled out and running a game experience that might convert those players coming to try it out with the free code into some form of paying customer.
It would have been a fool's errand to try to attract people to the game 6 months ago, when lag was at a notable peak, and now it seems foolish not to wait a couple more months for the game to be in the best possible state to advertise it.
I think this is a good idea.
For a long time it's been evident that the servers can't really handle a higher population. I would add, that if they do the free quest code again after the 64 bitters are here, they should really use the 64 bitters as the selling point. "Our new 64 bit servers can handle significantly higher population levels, and as such, we are giving this free code in order to make the game more accessible to new players. In addition older accounts can use the code to get any relevant packs they didnt yet have" etc etc. At the same time, if SSG had any advertisement ideas, that would be the time. Keep the code open for 3 months, advertise, collaborate, ATTRACT INTEREST. Doing things with DDO streamers is fine up to a point but not for this. It is wholesome that some SSG employees do stuff with streamers, but the audiences are small and we want it to be more well known. Reach out to people like Matthew Mercer, or some other big names in the actual D&D community, for DM audio on new packs for example. Maybe see if some sort of temporary partnership with D&D Beyond could be done? The DDO community is tiny, but the D&D community is enormous, and yet DDO doesnt feel like part of the D&D community. IT SHOULD BE.
