What’s In YOUR Mercenary Crate this July?

In my opinion and correct me if I'm wrong. These chance crate's and bag's on marketplace are probably an idea that was formed well before daybreak ever took over and it was all just timing on when they were introduced. I'm saying this because look at the timing of when the random status bag's you can buy from city merchant's {for rare mount}. and also the crate you could buy from the rare merchant in vesspyr {chance to win rare ethereal cozen hood} came out. starting I believe a couple month's before aom launched. I know they are 2 different form's of gambling one being real money and one being status point's and in-game money but it's the same concept that we just started seeing in game just a short while ago. It's possible those idea's were being tested to see how it might carry over to marketplace so yes in fact people could gamble to win something rare and the company and game might stay afloat. so to immediately jump on and start blaming daybreak for this decision may be premature and/or ultimately unfounded. Possible they are just moving forward with something already in progress for many of the same reason's or to prevent it from getting worse. I did not buy from the marketplace because that is my choice and I'm glad we are given the choice if we want instead of option's being added and monthly and sub's raised with no question's asked. for a company that's how you lose customer's. giving customer's option's and choice's does not. the other choice here is if you don't agree with spending RL money then spend plat for the crate and buy off the broker in game like I did. Only one I bought and on the first shot won the ultra rare pally merc. anyone can even look me up on a.b server and i'll show you. but that's neither here nor there don't be mistaken that I would still feel the same way about all this even if I didn't win and spent hundred's trying, for that's not the point here. It all come's down to the fact that everyone has a choice in the game and I would rather have them make this a decision to let the player's decide whether or not to put more money into the game opposed to us one day logging on and see that they are raising the monthly sub charge {Iv'e seen so many complain about the monthly charge but that's another article lol} and/or taking away f2p for those who can't afford it but want to play. Bottom line is I truly believe this idea was not brought into the game by daybreak and the concept of the do you want to gamble for a chance to win rare stuff started coming to the forefront and looking more prevalent well before daybreak was ever in the picture. p.s I only have 2 example's of the random bag/crate but I'm sure if looking back and thinking more about it more similar thing's have been introduced in game. but the timing and similarity's of those 2 are most prevalent to what I'm saying.

Probably a dumb question, but I have a vanity guild that I'm trying to raise at least to get the guild hall to decorate...lol silly right? But you sold merc crates and it raised your guild level? Is that for like all sales or what?

I like to know exactly what I'm buying. Not much of a gambler at all.

Unfortunately, gambling crates have proven to be a cash cow in many games, including other DBG titles. It's not going anywhere.

The merc tokens can be sold for status, levelling the guild.

I don't mind spending real money to improve my toons, and for me, appearance is everything.

Yes, I've purchased a few single merc crates; I was curious. There are a few I would love to have for specific toons, however, I've only gotten one that was a good fit for the toon it's on. I've sold two mercs back for status because they wouldn't fit the toon they were purchased on at all.

I won't be buying any more of the merc crates unless and until the merc tokens are heirloom. Even better would be to also simplify to three tokens, one for common, one for rare and one for ultra-rare, and LET PEOPLE CHOOSE which merc they want within those parameters. I would buy one of these mercs for every one of my ~30ish toons if I had the power of choice here.

I also love the idea of merc-omorph wands, but again, I want the ability to choose the merc illusion to match the storyline and appearance of each toon.

Grab bags are fun sometimes, but there's a reason they are usually priced very low; these merc crates are not priced low enough to be no-trade no-choice.

Yep, guaranteed one million status points per mercenary.

When the merc crates were on sale recently, I had enough points saved up to buy a 7-pack, a 3-pack, and a +50% status potion. I got 8 common mercs, 1 uncommon, and 1 rare out of my 10. 17 million status, +50%, total 25.5 million status. Guild went from 48 to 52.

EQ2 is at the end if its lifetime, so they try to squeeze as much revenue from it as possible before it collapses.

Likely EQNext release will put EQ2 below sustainable player numbers.

Sadly I believe this to be true. I have had a horrible experience with the merc crates and even worse with customer service. My main account is over 4200 days old, I have multiple accounts all with full expansions, an office full of computers, and a few kids that play EQ2 regularly with me. I also PAY a subscription and not once redeemed a Krono for membership. I have been ignored and tossed aside... who do they want to support the new game? If my issues are not addressed, it certainly won't be me, my family, or my kids friends. I am invested in EQ2. I would be happy if they just keep it running and fix bugs but if they're going to add content, make sure it works and doesn't take advantage of your loyal clients. We may be old news, but many of us have supported you since the beginning. With such disregard for loyalty, I won't invest in any of their other products. It's really a shame, I was looking forward to them.

I have posted on the old merc thread. Anyone who has an issue with the merc crates or customer service, I encourage you to read it and please add your experience. https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq2/index.php?threads/whats-in-your-mercenary-crate.560079/page-11

Hey there Daybreak,

I bought one of your Mercenary crates. I got all common mercs. Thank you for the shaft.

Send me the tokens, I can use the status!

I 'tried' to give away 3 tokens in channel, on Unrest. Obviously the thought that someone might give away something for nothing freaked players out, and no one claimed them. Maybe they thought I'd join their guild and never leave? I don't know.
I even got trolled and was sent numerous /tells to advise me how 'status' works... I was fascinated. I might of become rude at this point.

People are strange. Anywho, there they sit, collecting dust, in my bag.

Pretty sure they're No-Trade once opened? Can't even give to an Alt for status.

Either way, this concept of Chance would work well in every consumer driven activity we interact with in daily life. Imagine going into a restaurant and ordering a Steak and having the server bring you a microwaved hot dog. Or paying for premium gas only to get Octane 87.

Or paying for a hot hooker...and well you get the point.

Well, even these are not good examples because you have still received something for your payment that was not free.

If the customer abides and decides to participate in your business model (the Marketplace) then the consumer has attempted to meet the company half way and establish a relationship of trust. Common sense would dictate that you, at a minimum, deliver a premium product in exchange for the purchase. I believe that these crates differ in everything else on the Marketplace in that you pay for an item and get the item. Here, however, there is a deception. The customer has a high chance of receiving a product that was free to begin with (just a different appearance) and this is not how the rest of the Marketplace works. Aside from the silly status consolation prize for participation, I suppose. But, the customer wants a Mercenary not status. Otherwise, why not just sells status tokens directly? Because you couldn't think of a more creative way to make this dupe seem legitimate?

You're playing a confidence game and forcing the consumer into a gambling situation for specific products in the Marketplace that is largely devoid of this opaque ambiguity elsewhere. While I can see rewarding the consumer with an upgraded product, why in the world you would make the baseline "reward" (product) a free one is beyond me. Just plain ignorance? Trust is broken.

I assumed the "Common" mercs were still premium upgrades from those found in the game. After going outside of the Marketplace to read more on this system (Reddit, etc) the consumer discovers the dupe. You folks need to investigate the words transparency and trust and quit focusing on shenanigans.

Or, actually, perhaps I just need to find other places for my entertainment dollar and quit wasting my time and energy here. In fact, now that I think about it, I believe that is where I am now heading. This company lacks integrity.

Ok. Let me tell you how it works.
I leave my guild.
I join your guild.
I sell the mercs for status.
Your guild wins.
I leave your guild.
I rejoin MY guild.

It's quite simple really.

Solution: Make a separate post in general how you got shafted and that you will leave the game with all your accounts and blah blah blah. Continue posting and ranting and the devs will step in and give you the rare merc. At least that is what happened for one person.

That is an incredible gift, Charlice! I hope some young guild is smart and grateful enough to take you up on that very, very generous offer.

Nope no one did. They were all too busy telling me it can't be done.

DBG is a joke, having worked for SoE in the 2000s this post by them has bugged me enough to actually post something for once. What in great Odin's beard are you clowns doing to my game? Gambling boxes, I didn't know it was that bad for you kids for money but this really is just bothersome. In all honestly take your pathetic gamble mercs and keep them. I love my Kenny too much to ever think about getting this junk. And reading over some feedback from customer service, are you hiring ten year olds.

As Blade had mentioned before: "Sorry for the lag.", I was told. It didn't even unpack correctly but they said it was beyond their capability to fix it! "You can try to gain traction on the forums." they said.

What is that, is that even a proper response for customer service? The amount of unprofessional behavior I have seen in the last couple of days is downright insulting to a player base that is older then your own company. Stop spitting out these BS items and start paying attention to your fans and learn from this. Hopefully.

Can't blame DBG really...
There's a stupendous amount of people who are actually buying into this kind of deal.
Someone already brought up some real-world examples of how ridiculous buying a "chance" on something is...
Truth is, people are dumb, mindless and stupid. It's the only reason why this business model does and can exist.

All that free SC that's piled up over the years is coming in handy now...1 million, 3 million, 6 million or 10 million per merc feels nice for levelling my alt guild.


...however, giving me the ultra-rare Pally while I was on my SK is a cruel blow.