Customer Service Announcement: Gold Membership

I Understand what you are saying. The only issues I see are:

1. Need more details for how this effects all access members, and

2. This is not what was agreed to when we signed up for gold.

Granted it is free and differs from what a Sub offered before the F2P model was introduced, but that does not change the fact that it was an agreed to feature of a subscription.

If this goes into affect, there is no reason for me to make my 2nd account gold again and I also will probably switch from recurring to buying a card. I LIKE my 500 sc. I have 5 houses and 2k sc a month would be great, but only if I get 2k for anything I want, not wasting it by only getting ONE item. Sorry Sony, this one bites and is going to affect your bottom line. I'm sure its happening for a reason (having to pay all those players for the player made stuff we are buying with free station cash maybe?) Figure out something else, we don't like this idea, obviously.

I see it says *one item * well I usually get a few items that usually don't cost much like exp potions etc. This is just another reason why I may consider dropping gold ... or maybe even not playing anymore . After playing this game for years I am slowly seeing where every chance SOE gets to take away so they can get people to buy more extra SC to get what they *used* to have ... they take it! I already pay a monthly fee... and 500 SC points wasn't that much ... sometimes to get a big item I did have to save ... but on the times I want just a few 100 SC items its gonna cost me more money? I'm not happy!!

The 500 SC each month isn't technically free. Wasn't it added to soften the blow of an increase on the monthly subscription rate at one point? If so, that means we're paying for it. Don't take it away.

No, not exactly, it was added as bonus incentive to purchase a recurring gold subscription rather than a non-recurring gold subscription (when you could still buy them with SC) when they changed their subscription system for free to play.

This is a VERY BAD idea, please don't implement this. Will definately cancel my gold sub when this is in.

I feel sorry for all the talented people making items with player studio for the SC store. No one is going to buy a 200SC bird bath or shield ornament ever again. You may as well just parcel gold members a 20 slot bag each month and shut the store completely. I stopped looking at LoN when you forced us to claim our "free" pack each month and I'll stop looking at the SC store for the same reason. I don't want to be forced to think about when I last claimed "free" stuff on your schedule. Life is complex enough as it is.

I'd also be expecting an account credit for my current SC balance that will be expired when you make this totally fantastic change that's all for our benefit.

Ok, I see the need to know how this affects All Access players. Won't even argue against that.

However, the 500SC is just as I described it: ice cream after dinner. Just because you've been getting it your whole life does not mean that it's a required part of the dinner agreement. If your parents decide that it is no longer cost efficient to give you ice cream after dinner, then that is their decision. One, I'm sure, that was made to ensure that you can still get dinner in the first place.

The 500SC is not a "feature of a subscription." It is a bonus. SOE's way of saying "Thank you." Now they're changing the way they say "Thank you" and everyone gets all offended. SOE started it, and people, as is their wont to do in any "free stuff" situation, took advantage of it and found ways to lessen the meaning of the "Thank you." SOE has let it go on for some time, and now they're stopping it.

I understand your frustration but honestly? this is something they give you it isn't actually paid for and imho they can do whatever they want with the free item they give you, its up to you whether you like it or not, I don't see blizzard giving you anything for there monthly contribution or many other games so way I see it anything they give is better then what other company's do .

This is incorrect. When selecting your payment plan, the free SC is included as a perk, on the same page. It is a feature of the subscription. This is why Krono members do not receive it. It was an included feature and also a point of contemplation on if you want to become a gold member.

Changing this changes what was agreed to when we subscribed.

https://www.everquest.com/free

Click the link. Look at the top of the gold column. It is an included feature of a subscription. Changing it changes what was agreed upon when we subscribed.

I think this sucks..... just like I thought the change to LON sucks. I do NOT want this change to happen.

You negated your whole argument with this. It is a perk, not a requirement. It is something that used to NOT be given. It was introduced (as someone said earlier) as incentive to buy recurring subscriptions when they also introduced non-recurring subscriptions. The SC bonus is their way of saying "Thank you for planning on being a future member." They are still saying "Thank you for planning on being a future member," but they're just saying it differently now.

Would you get mad and quit going to a restaurant that offered free ice cream with every dinner purchase, but then changed it to free soda with every dinner purchase? Especially when they're the only restaurant in the area offering free anything? No, you would not.

I am not upset, but it changes what is included in the package that I pay for. In my opinion, the new offering is much less flexable, thus devalues my subscription. If a restaurant said "hey, give us money every month and your sodas are free" for years, then said "We're going to give you fries now instead, tough nuggets" Well, I like my sodas more than fries, so then I would reconsider giving them my money every month, and just eat free and spend what I choose on what I want.

Clicked the link. Wanna know what I saw? This:

Doesn't sound very "required" to me. Sounds like SOE used their reserved right to change the promotion for choosing Gold Subscription.

So I say again, just because something has been a certain way for so long does not make it a requirement. Free soda, fries, or ice cream is not a required part of the dinner agreement. You pay to play the game, not for the bonus promotional thank you item. Changing the bonus promotional thank you item does not change the value of your money.

The only thing I saw wrong with that page was that it said you could only level to 95 unless you purchase Call of the Forsaken. Level 100 was a feature of the Rain of Fear expansion.

Hey Piestro can we get a reply to this???

I personally would like to know the same thing.

You are totally missing the point. No one is saying that it is required, just that we do not like the change. If it devalues the package enough, in our opinion, then we do not feel that the product is worth the subscription. I never said that they cannot change it, it just changes what is being offered for the money I pay, thus causes me to re-evaluate the arrangement.

But the bonus stuff was never included in "the package." It was a long term marketing strategy by the restaurant and all you did was drink more sodas than was cost-effective for the restaurant. So they changed the long term marketing that allows them to not have to raise the cost for everybody. That is what this is. They're changing their promotional strategy, not the agreement of money for valuable play-time.

Once again, you are failing to understand. By changing what we get for our money, they are changing the value of the package. I agreed to getting 500SC per month with my recurring subscription. Now that they are changing that to something else, I have to decide if the new package is worth the price. I am not saying they are wrong for changing it. I am saying that the change will cause the consumers to consider the value of the package.

EDIT: And yes, by including it at the very top of the Gold Level column, it was a part of the package.

You missed my point.

Hopefully, you are not paying $14.99 for a free $5.00 every month. That is ridiculous. If you feel the game has lost any value to you, and the only thing worthwhile is the free $5.00 of 500 SC, then why not go pay $15.00 for 1500SC, skip the subscription and get your money's worth. You're paying for the game, not the promotion. If the value of the promotion changes the entire game for you, maybe you shouldn't have been playing to begin with.