Duskscythe
12-22-2011, 06:12 PM
<p>Hello, all. I know the 'how to calculate # of character slots' question was brought up before the changes, and I know it was answered in very good detail a few weeks ago. This is not dealing with that aspect, but rather how those slots were unlocked and how they act/unlock in future.</p><p>I had opened a ticket with my concerns and have not really gotten much of anywhere, so I am hoping someone else has had similar concerns and has maybe come up with a solution or heard of one coming down the line. Here is my ticket:</p><p>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------First off, thank you for taking the time to read this. I was directed to you only after asking about the possibility of getting a refund for the money I spent pre-ordering the Age of Discovery EQ2 expansion, but I am hoping there is still a way to resolve the problem that is keeping me from playing and a refund request will not be needed. If there is someone else I should be contacting, please forward my information along and/or let me know the correct department and email address.The situation:I was a player a few years before EQ2X came along and, while I did not get to a very high level, I enjoyed the game quite a bit. I left for various reasons, mostly related to not having enough time to play. Maintaining a subscription was not the best choice for me, so I looked for other games that fit playstyle, schedule, and budget.Then EQ2X started. The opportunity to come back and play, even if not on my original characters, was too good to pass up. Maintaining a subscription was still not a great option, but I did upgrade to Silver and stocked up on some station cash for any purchases when needed. Again, I had fun playing the game with friends and again we had to take a break from the game due to lack of time. Difference was, I knew I could pop in now and again without worry.When the announcement that all of EQ2 was going to be put under a model similar to EQ2X came, it was great news. Not only would EQ2 be my top choice for the winter (I have more time stuck inside, therefore more time to play), I would be able to play my original characters. I did follow along with some of the concerns in the forums about number of character slots available once the services merged, but it seemed to be figured out and resolved (ref: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2x/posts/list.m?topic_id=11111" target="_blank">http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2x...?topic_id=11111</a>). ; What I did not consider was the impact EQ2X would have on my ability to play my older EQ2 characters.The week of the conversion arrived and I had gotten my pre-order in just in time. Patched up, logged on, and the characters I'd wanted to play were outside the character slot limit of a Silver account (4). Don't ask me why, but it had not occurred to me that the "last played" order of the characters would naturally mean the EQ2X characters were all at the front of the line and the older EQ2 characters would remain locked. I called in to ask if there were any other options, but there were none.I decided to wait a few more days to see if any changes came down the line. The new model was still young for lots of accounts, so maybe problems would be seen and fixed. Sure enough, a few days later an announcement was made concerning "Grandfathered" characters (ref: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=510914" target="_blank">http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/...topic_id=510914</a>). Truthfully, I'd been planning to buy whichever race packs I needed since I knew my characters were not all in the free options, but I'm not one to look a gift ratonga in the mouth, so I was happy SOE had made the choice to help out returning players. Unfortunately, my problem with the unlocked character slots remained.From the post: "It’s not a fun experience to come back to something that seemed exciting (F2P) and then get hit with a bill as soon as you arrive, just for the privelege of using your current characters." As a returning player who'd had a regular EQ2 account in the past, the concept of current characters become murky. Yes, the last ones I'd played were on EQ2X. That does not mean they are necessarily the ones I would come back to play. So I was still being hit with either a bill or the deletion of my characters. And not just one bill or one deletion, either. Paying for a new character slot or deleting a current character did not present me with a choice for who to unlock, it just moved the whole list down one spot.Example: Harvey's a normal guy. He had 4 characters on Live in the past and has 4 characters on EQ2X. Let's number the EQ2X characters 1-4 and the Live characters 5-8, with 1 being the most recently played and 8 being the one with the longest time since last login. When Harvey comes back to the game, he can still play characters 1-4, but if he wants to play #8 he has to either delete 4 characters or buy 4 character slots. (That is a pretty hefty fee and seems to go against the philosophy behind the choice to grandfather in race class for older characters.) Harvey gets discouraged and decides not to play after all, even on the EQ2X characters.Now, in my case, I only had 3 character slots taken up on EQ2X, so not only can I not play my old characters, I also can't create a new one like I could before the merger. In this case, I do understand what was done, but it still feels like an option was taken away from me when I should feel like the merger is a good thing giving me more options.I am not asking for more than 4 character slots. I want to make that clear. I understand the limitations of a Silver account and am willing to work within those limitations. At the same time, I don't think the unlock options I have are good ones. The ideal scenario for the customer would have been to have a choice of four characters to unlock. Next best would be to have that choice when a spot is "freed up" through purchase or deletion.I am asking if anything else can be done. My characters remain unplayed (even the ones I can access) in the hope that this will be resolved. I did not want to complicate matters further by logging in, just in case. If, however, nothing can be done and I have no hope for any resolution, I come to the request for a refund. I purchased the Age of Discovery with the intent to play characters I'd not been able to play for a while. I was excited to get back to them and explore the changes to the game. Like Harvey, though, I was discouraged.Please let me know your thoughts and suggestions on this matter. As I said at the start, I would rather solve the problem than pursue a refund. I would rather be excited about getting back to the game than be discouraged and not feel like playing.Thank you--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p>The response I have so far is that my options remain either delete characters (because they are low level, I guess this was seem by support as an ok option), buy multiple character slots just to open up the one character I want to play, or go to a Gold membership.</p><p>I still hope there will be some other possible resolution for this, since I really do want to play. SOE seems to have handled most things in the changeover very well, with great consideration for their customers (including, but not limited to, the grandfathering of race/class unlocks on old characters). This situation seems to be an uncharacteristic oversight in the process.</p><p>Thank you for any help or advice you can provide.</p>