I'll also need a sidekick F2P MMO and I'm thinking about DCUO cuz I love the IP and there is a DLC expansion coming next month or maeby try Ragnarok 2, which is about to come out in NA. I've also seen big interest in Phantasy Star Online 2, but I haven't checked exacly when its coming out in NA.
Both TERA and Aion are graphically enjoyable and heard awesome things about their cash shop models. I had to exclude Age of Wushu because I heard the cash shop is pay to win designed. I wonder how restrictive are these MMO's to the F2P player and when compared both how many features they offer as well as how frequent they get content updates.
Anyways, I did buy Aion on release and subbed for 2-3 months before I quit, so I'm familiar a bit with the game unlike TERA. I also wonder if its worth jumping into any of these MMO's now when there is a lot of big MMO's coming this and early next year. I was also told Aion 4.0 coming in June, which is perfect.
When it comes to F2P MMO's the cash shop design as I mentioned above, the security (botting/cheating/hacking) and content updates/features are the main factor behind making my final decision. It's a good idea first to get some feedback from the community before I make my choice.