My biggest concern for freeholds was that all the good spots will be zerg-rushed by guilds and anyone not in a top tier guild would never own a freehold. I think now, after reading the
latest article and Steven's few podcast appearances, that this won't be entirely the case.
I guess obtaining the right to a freehold will be an individual's effort as the result of a person's farming of a character-bound currency which is dependent on the node type. It seems that it will take a guild's worth of effort to obtain the resources for building the buildings on the freehold. In terms of a regular MMO player's ability to obtain a freehold, this seems ok. The most organized players in the most organized guilds will obtain the best stuff, and that's good. At least the commoners have a chance of obtaining their own plot of land.
I have questions, however. From the image

it seems that baronies will be controlled by guilds who own a guild hall, but does this mean the guild have any influence over who can settle a freehold in their barony? or are these baronies like tier 3 nodes next to a tier 4 node?