I <3 DAoC, but I haven't played it in years. I've played many MMOs in the years since, but nothing quite compares to RvR combat. 50 coordinated players + frontier areas = so much fun.
I think if Mythic was going to offer a free-to-play option in DAoC, they would have done it by now. I can't dedicated enough time to any one game to justify a recurring monthly expense, so I won't be re-subscribing to DAoC (or any other MMO) for the foreseeable future.