Dust Brigade Parasite Helmet should be available for evryone.

[Le-Quack]

as toptic said, Dust Brigade Parasite Helmet should be available for evryone,, and not only for those who pays for 1 years. i REALY belived funcom was against unbalance, but you to the freaking oposite by give that helm to players who afford 1 year at a time. i always paid for 1 mounth each mounth for years. and yeah i find that unfair. it was a freaking stupid desition.

that helm helps so damn much for tl 4 and tl 5 twinks becose of the torturing.

http://www.xyphos.com/ao/aodb.php?id=293398 <----- Link to helm

so i throw it out, make that helmet buyable in itemstore AND OR Throw it in Veteran shop for like 20-30 Points. Its about time that Vets actualy get something Usefull except the recall beacons, thats the only usefull vet thing, and it makes me S I C K.

Funcom Obviously dont support balance with the Helmtet for evryone who paid for 1 year. i can gladly pay for 1 year but i freaking wont beose this company is so Upp and down.

But i also have to say you stand out as a selfish company that forgets that there excist people with lower economy, also allot of people are without jobs. and when you then threw out that helm it botherd me from time to time, but now i wanted to whine about it in forums becose i realy trualy belived funcom saw the mistake on giving it to people who only could afford and botherd to pay for 1 year.

this thread by me is problabe a waiste of time, but now i tried, and yes funcom this thread you kinda deserved.

[trousers]

Quack actually makes a good point.

Many players, myself included, refused to / couldn't pay for 1 year at a time. To make such an item unavailable to players who have already paid for long stretches of time, sometimes years on end, is kind of foolish.

[Traderjill]

The rubi'ka hardcore pack and Funcom's decision to only make that helmet available via the pack was the nail in the coffin for me.

When this offer first came out, several months ago (think it was November), I had about 7 months left on one account, and had just re-subbed (within 45days) my other 2 accounts. The fact that the only way that I could get this helmet was to add on another 3 years of paid time across 3 accounts was/is pretty ridiculous.

For me personally, I did everything I could to get this "looked at" by someone that might actually care that long-term customers were feeling slapped in the face. That included contacting customer support via live chat, contacting customer support via e-mail, PMing Means, posting it as a question in that "Ask me Questions" thread Mean started.. heck I even contacted Funcom's CEO via facebook and most recently threw this on my list of customer support issues handed off to Lindelu when she took over.

I've yet to get any response that made feel as if Funcom cared. I just find it hillarious that they'd expect people with running subscriptions to add on more time.

But for those that missed the question I posed to Means, and his answer... here you go:

As a veteran player (long term paying customer across multiple accounts) I was rather frustrated with the rubi'ka hardcore pack that was offered. I think it was a good offer, don't get me wrong, but as someone with 3 subscriptions under year long terms I felt really slighted. AO seems to have a long history of throwing rewards at people that have not been loyal in order to get them to return or subscribe whereas not providing comparable rewards to those of us that have been consistant in supporting this game over its lifetime (me personally for over 7 years). I've spoken to customer service and basically been told 'too bad' but Id like to know your perspective on why existing customers, especially those that have existing year long subscriptions under no promotions, can not be given the same types of virtual perks as new people or folks that have been away and decided to resub with the new offer.

I disagree with the idea that we do not reward long term subscribers. Anyone on a yearly subscription is saving almost 50% off the cost of regular subscription prices. This kind of discount is not matched by any other MMO that I am aware of and it is offered purely as a reward for our longer subscribers as it certainly does not generate more revenue for the company. I think it is also important to note that the offer you are speaking about was offered to all players, not just inactive ones, and that active players could actually purchase the pack for a lower price than inactive subscribers. I'm also not sure that as a company we should feel compelled to provide every single promotional item we put out to people currently on a year susbscription. That being said I do feel we need to do a better job of rewarding our long term subscribers. The items in the veteran vendor, while fun and offer some advantage, are inadequate for the purpose. We are discussing a better way of doing this going forward.

The answer really made me laugh. Providing a discount on the yearly subscription on a 10 year old game that is probably more expensive (or as expensive) as brand new game productions isn't a big incentive, to be honest. Apparently Funcom doesn't see things that way, however. I don't know programming AT ALL.. but I can't imagine that it can take longer than 15minutes for someone to throw that helmet in the vet shop, to be available during the next update. They can do it.. they simply choose not to. Ultimately Funcom is missing the big picture here. Folks with 30+ extra vet points sitting around ARE people that have been supporting the game financially over the years. Those are the people that continued to pay for the game without any added bonuses or incentives for years on end already. If Funcom hadnt offered the Rubi'ka Hardcore Pack I would still probably be re-subbing my account in May, and more than likely (regardless of if a new engine was out, rebalancing done or new player experience out) re-subbing my other 2 accounts in the fall. But, the Funcom viewpoint apparently thinks that treating your most loyal like they are irrelevant is 'ok'. How they feel that they can afford to lose even a handful of loyal subcribers (probably paying for multiple accounts) in this current climate is beyond me really.. but oh well.

[Carlonel]

Wow you guys are unbelievable. The helmet is a bonus for paying for a year upfront, i say if you want it they should add it to the item shop for the amount equivalent to a 6-12 month sub just for the helmet. And before you start your o i have 3 accounts i cant afford it, nobody said you need to do it for 3 accounts, i have 2 out of my 6 paid accounts that have the helmet. The helmet is an incentive to pay for your year upfront, are you gonna start crying to because i also saved 50% on my subscription and you didn't?

[Le-Quack]

Wow you guys are unbelievable. The helmet is a bonus for paying for a year upfront, i say if you want it they should add it to the item shop for the amount equivalent to a 6-12 month sub just for the helmet. And before you start your o i have 3 accounts i cant afford it, nobody said you need to do it for 3 accounts, i have 2 out of my 6 paid accounts that have the helmet. The helmet is an incentive to pay for your year upfront, are you gonna start crying to because i also saved 50% on my subscription and you didn't?

no but as he said some also paid 1 year subscribtion before the helmet came out as a special offe,r they didnt get it. unfair? YES
also i pay for a freaking year but 1 mounth at a time. its special treatment for those whos willing to pay for 1 year at a time. its funcom's way to say they dont Support Balance and fair play

[Traderjill]

Wow you guys are unbelievable. The helmet is a bonus for paying for a year upfront, i say if you want it they should add it to the item shop for the amount equivalent to a 6-12 month sub just for the helmet. And before you start your o i have 3 accounts i cant afford it, nobody said you need to do it for 3 accounts, i have 2 out of my 6 paid accounts that have the helmet. The helmet is an incentive to pay for your year upfront, are you gonna start crying to because i also saved 50% on my subscription and you didn't?

The truth is I had THREE (3) accounts under yearly subscriptions already when the offer came out. It wasn't a matter of what I could financially afford to do at all but a matter of fairness.

When the offer came out, I had already pre-paid the equivalent of almost 2 1/2 years of gametime on my accounts. In May I moved my Doctor to my 2nd account and opened a third account where I rolled a crat so that I could still effectively get content done in the game despite its ridiculously low population. This new account was opened under no promotion and I did a yearly subscription. In Sept/Oct I renewed my other 2 accounts for another year.. and then in November.. the Rubi'ka Hardcore offer came out. I'm not sure how anyone, Funcom or not, could think that its reasonable for me to practically pay for 2 years of subscription time upfront in a MMO. There was, however, no other option for me to get the helmet so I bump this suggestion wholeheartedly.

[Kuegen]

add a helmet with a different mesh and different name that gives 100 tutoring and 1 to all abilities to the itemstore. It seems reasonable to me. I mean ive been playing AO for a while, but I dont get a pioneer backpack because i didnt play when it came out? wtf? (yeah its yesdrop, but still)

If you just make it accessible to every via VP, then i should have never bought the hardcore pack. Your just asking to ripoff people who did buy it. As my main incentive was the 15% xp, i think its fair to limit that part to the people who buy the hardcore pack. A separate helm with tutoring in the vet/item stores will help balance the "broken OPness" that hardcore pack players have.

[SoapTarder]

It is rather odd, to have a Veteran shop in place to reward "long time players", and then do a 180 and reward those willing to fork over the real life cash with an item that would obviously benefit vets more than new players. most companies don't have multiple business models overlapping a single product (product in this case being an MMO); that tends to anger those getting the short end of the stick. either remove the vet shop from the game, and be honest with people that its now about rewarding those who will spend more money up front, or at least pretend the vet shop is still there and make those who have been playing a long time feel appreciated.

For me at least, its about the principle of the thing, not whether the helmet is really needed to play the game (just in case some troll wants to add that its not needed to play the game).

[Traderjill]

If you just make it accessible to every via VP, then i should have never bought the hardcore pack. Your just asking to ripoff people who did buy it. As my main incentive was the 15% xp, i think its fair to limit that part to the people who buy the hardcore pack. A separate helm with tutoring in the vet/item stores will help balance the "broken OPness" that hardcore pack players have.

I don't see how its ripping off someone to give something to people that also have yearly paid subscriptions.

To be honest, I initally just flat out asked that they give the helmet to those of us who already had ongoing yearly subscriptions under no incentive. The compromise I was completely cool with was adding it to the vet shop for veteran points.

I paid more for my yearly subscription than the people did who got the Rubi'ka Hardcore pack and I got less for my money.. how are the rubi'ka hardcore people getting ripped off in comparison??

[trousers]

And, let's not forget that the Pioneer Backpack was a Release Sensitive item, like other Pre-Release items.

The Helmet was given to people who buy new subscriptions and disregards those who already have paid.

Even Cable companies will give existing customers the "New Customer Specials" if they call and complain about it...

[Carlonel]

Get over it, your not getting the helmet unless you pay for a year upfront, and you do so during the time it is offered. This item wasn't intended for vet players, so it shouldn't go in the vet shop. It was made as an incentive for those who paid for a year during the time it was offered. If you paid for a year outside of that time then well it sucks to be you cause your not getting one. If you want the incentives for paying the year sub wait until they offer it again and sign up for it otherwise stop crying on here.

[Traderjill]

The forums are a method for paying customers to express their opinions on the status of the game. That would include special offers.

If you want to call my complaints 'crying' then feel free but I can guarantee you that no tears have been shed over it. Nevertheless I will 'bump' threads that have reasonable alternative suggestions that might make me a happy customer.

[SoapTarder]

Get over it, your not getting the helmet unless you pay for a year upfront, and you do so during the time it is offered. This item wasn't intended for vet players, so it shouldn't go in the vet shop. It was made as an incentive for those who paid for a year during the time it was offered. If you paid for a year outside of that time then well it sucks to be you cause your not getting one. If you want the incentives for paying the year sub wait until they offer it again and sign up for it otherwise stop crying on here.

go bark up some other corporate tree, your nose has something on it. most here are discussing the logic behind this offer. myself, along with most of the others who have posted in this thread have done the 220/30/70 grind repeatedly, and aren't in a rush to 220 for the dozenth time. its the fact that an item of such power has never been offered to long time vets exclusively in ten years (to my knowledge). most of the stuff in the vet shop is in the item shop, so nothing unique to be offered of any value from vet shop. that helmet trumps anything I've ever seen in the vet shop or phasefront stores, and yet its something you literally can only get through cash purchase. A lot of people paying for that 1 year offer, may likely only log on for a few months anyhow here and there. who it sucks for?... well... time only will tell.

[Raggy]

Uneducated opinion.

Lol this guy. I got an infraction for putting him in his place yesterday.


As for this item, it's the first I have heard about it in all honesty, but as has already been mentioned, 'offers' for new customers are 9 times out of 10 given if an existing customer calls up the company about it. That is if they had recently renewed a contract just before the offer.

But honestly 15% XP on a helm that is exclusive to people who pay for 1yr in advance?

Call me a doomsayer, but to me it looks like a quick cash grab by FC before AO sinks.

[Carlonel]

Lol this guy. I got an infraction for putting him in his place yesterday.


As for this item, it's the first I have heard about it in all honesty, but as has already been mentioned, 'offers' for new customers are 9 times out of 10 given if an existing customer calls up the company about it. That is if they had recently renewed a contract just before the offer.

But honestly 15% XP on a helm that is exclusive to people who pay for 1yr in advance?

Call me a doomsayer, but to me it looks like a quick cash grab by FC before AO sinks.

Lol you didn't put anyone in any place, you were complaining that Wikipedia was down for an obviously good reason but you couldn't accept it. If you guys don't like the fact that the helmet is only offered to people who buy the special offer then well to bad. Either wait for the offer and pay for a year or don't, but don't come on here and cry cause you aren't just handed something others paid for. And when i say paid for yes we bought the helmet not just the year subscription like you did. If you signed up for a year outside of the incentive period then that's to bad. I plan on getting the helmet on my other 4 accounts once the offer comes out again. Till then i will pay monthly. Like i suggested though i wouldn't mind seeing the helmet in the item shop for like 7,000 PP or something, you want it you will have to pay for it.

[hokutonoken]

make it "yes drop"

so people can sell it for 3 bil. like the pbp ^_=

[enakur]

Funcom should just make an identical Helmet with a different name and put it in the Vet Shop or the VP shop.. Also cause many of the 'veteran players' weren't around when the pioneer backpack was introduced.. put a backpack with the identical stats in the shops so everyone can profit from the twinking skills.

Everyone not-happy, but at least everyone able to twink the tutoring without ány effort.

....

[Towerblock]

make it "yes drop"

so people can sell it for 3 bil. like the pbp ^_=

I get a new one for ever new toon I make, continuously, forever....
So far ive gotten 12 of these helmets.

You sure you wanna let that monster loose?

[Kuegen]

I don't see how its ripping off someone to give something to people that also have yearly paid subscriptions.

To be honest, I initally just flat out asked that they give the helmet to those of us who already had ongoing yearly subscriptions under no incentive. The compromise I was completely cool with was adding it to the vet shop for veteran points.

I paid more for my yearly subscription than the people did who got the Rubi'ka Hardcore pack and I got less for my money.. how are the rubi'ka hardcore people getting ripped off in comparison??

I bought a 1 yr sub a few months before the hardcore pack was introduced. My accounts are paid for until 2013. The "reason" I did such is because I expected to get an item that not EVERYONE would have. If you just add it to the vet shops, it was basically false advertising to include this "limited time helmet" with the offer.

I agree, it was dumb of FC to have an offer like this. They could have introduced a back items with the same stats as the pioneer backpack, as pbp is yesdrop there would be less drama. But the fact is they did have the offer, and I took advantage of it. It sucks thats you paid for a year before it came out, but I did too.

FC said they would never put items in the itemstore that would make someone more powerful. This hardcore pack was essentially the same thing. To remedy this, Introduce a new head item in the game thats gives the same tutoring and ability modifiers, perhaps the first aid and runspeed as well. If the only reason for the hardcore pack was an easier to obtain version of this in game helmet, as well as the added 15% xp, there would be less wrong with it. Everyone could then twink equally.

[Traderjill]

I'm not asking for anything in the itemstore personally.. I think that's a horrible idea.

I'm asking that, as a person that has paid yearly subscription fees for many years.. that I get the same opportunity to get +15% xp and tutoring on my new toons as folks that just jumped on the yearly subscription bandwagon recently. That's all and I don't see how anyone can think that's a ridiculous request.

Reward those that stuck by Funcom through all of the nonsense... reward those that didn't get offers of free months of service because they never stopped paying for the game. Instead, Funcom has a history of rewarding people for leaving and coming back.. instead of rewarding the folks that never left in the first place. That's where my overall gripe (if you want to call it that) is with their customer service policy.