Losing Gem Socket when upgrading to oathbreaker!

[Xugodx]

Wouldn't this in some way be some breach in consumer rights?

[khynnea]

The last time I had an issue (and got good customer support), they told me if I had a problem on a store bought item I could get a refund within 7 days.

 

After telling me variants of "we're aware of the problem and sorting it out" and "we read the forums even if we don't respond," now they are simply telling me "working as intended," and will not give me a direct answer after asking directly 3 times.

 

If that's not a breach in consumer rights in some way, or at the very least, abysmal customer support, I don't know what is.

[myuna]

 What is really annoying me is we are told 2 weeks ago our version will not be getting this weapon gem socket re-rolling system, followed by no more info just silence.

 

Then now when players are losing sockets we are told 'working as intended' if that is not misleading information I do not know what is, and to make the matter even more important it involves real money transaction items, this is appalling busines practise and is no doubt  breaching consumer rights laws, the only thing is if you kick up a big fuss about it they are within their rights to ban your accounts which is pure internet bullying.

[Warturtle]

Just when I got over the fact that I could've saved a bunch of gold had I just bought a gem hammer earlier instead of buy 4 for one slot; now I have a chance of losing it? Or that I could've gotten it for free? 

 

This game is a piece of work. A masterpiece.  The publishers don't know how it is intended to work; but it's a piece of art. 

[Xugodx]

File a complaint at the Betters Business Bureau  (BBB). This maybe the best/only thing that can be done.

[khynnea]

3 minutes ago, Warturtle said:

Just when I got over the fact that I could've saved a bunch of gold had I just bought a gem hammer earlier instead of buy 4 for one slot; now I have a chance of losing it? Or that I could've gotten it for free? 

 

This game is a piece of work. A masterpiece.  The publishers don't know how it is intended to work; but it's a piece of art. 

This is what is most heartbreaking. The game *is* a work of art, and it *is* mismanaged.

 

If they want to play a short game with customer loyalty, that's their business.

Just now, Xugodx said:

File a complaint at the Betters Business Bureau  (BBB). This maybe the best/only thing that can be done.

It's not quite the "only" thing, but it's the less drastic of several options left to a consumer at this point. I would have really hoped that they would have stepped up and looked at this with a broad stroke in terms of fostering customer loyalty, customer retention, community relations, pick anything. Being a realist, I'm not even in the same neighborhood of a customer who spent $6K on lockboxes so maybe they feel they don't need to retain me :D 

 

[Warturtle]

9 minutes ago, khynnea said:

This is what is most heartbreaking. The game *is* a work of art, and it *is* mismanaged.

 

If they want to play a short game with customer loyalty, that's their business.

It truly is. They're losing customer's trust by misinforming them. Even if it was a slip or an accident, they're going to keep losing customers faster by not correctly informing players of the potential losses or compensating for it.

 

 

[Elvenmad]

39 minutes ago, Warturtle said:

It truly is. They're losing customer's trust by misinforming them. Even if it was a slip or an accident, they're going to keep losing customers faster by not correctly informing players of the potential losses or compensating for it.

 

 

 Sad but true the only problem is this is a very common practise now with western publishers, they simply do not care, for every player who leaves the game, and who as more than likely spent money there is a new player joining the game totally naive to how it works and ready to spend cash, so they can keep ignoring complaints and wasting time with copy paste CS replys and meanwhile there is still a steady flow of new players spending cash. so yeah welcome to modern western game publishers.

 

[khynnea]

1 hour ago, Warturtle said:

It truly is. They're losing customer's trust by misinforming them. Even if it was a slip or an accident, they're going to keep losing customers faster by not correctly informing players of the potential losses or compensating for it.

 

Good customer service goes a long, long way. I had a great experience with two things where they didn't have a cash handshake involved, and I could have been f2p entirely and had the same issues and (hopefully) gotten the same great service. And guess what, as a result, I spent a hefty amount of money and subbed up for a longer period of time than I had usually. This is how you'd think you'd want things to work -- or I would it to work this way, if I were not just out to milk the audience for what it was worth, if I wanted a sustainable business model. Unfortunately, this experience has left me regretting those decisions. Live and learn.

 

[Warturtle]

7 hours ago, khynnea said:

 

Good customer service goes a long, long way. I had a great experience with two things where they didn't have a cash handshake involved, and I could have been f2p entirely and had the same issues and (hopefully) gotten the same great service. And guess what, as a result, I spent a hefty amount of money and subbed up for a longer period of time than I had usually. This is how you'd think you'd want things to work -- or I would it to work this way, if I were not just out to milk the audience for what it was worth, if I wanted a sustainable business model. Unfortunately, this experience has left me regretting those decisions. Live and learn.

 

It's true. I've played a game for years; continually support them by putting more and more into the game as a happy and loyal customer. Even after totaling the amount of money spent I had no regrets.

 

It's really unfortunate that more and more gaming companies just seem to neglect consumer... most times feigning ignorance or claiming their inability to fix certain issues. 

[Kadirra]

Well it's Monday. Maybe we'll get some actual moderator/NCsoft explanation of this situation and what they intend to do about it. I really hope they do right by the customers that have been actively supporting the game with the purchase of Ncoin and Premium.

[Saksoy]

I upgraded to oathnreaker and now have 6 gem slots 

[AveryCloseCall]

Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention. With the Silverfrost Mountains update, during the weapon upgrade process after True Profane, the number of unlocked gem sockets available on your weapon are randomized when transitioning to the new progression system. What this means is that you can either lose, gain, or experience no change on your weapon’s gem sockets. This is by design and experienced in all versions of Blade & Soul. However, for those that have invested in unlocking an additional slot with Gem Hammers, this can feel unfair.

 

We understand that this is not a positive player experience for those players who feel this, and we are looking into options to rectify this issue for affected players. At this point, we cannot share specific details as to how this will be accomplished but we remain committed to the idea that reasonable and informed players shouldn’t feel reason to regret their purchases. The technical details of how we address this will take some time to determine, but we will keep you updated when we have made more progress.

 

In the meantime, we have requested additional messaging within the game that will advise players of this process, better inform how Gem Hammers work, as well as evaluate a system change that will require much more consideration.

 

Thank you for your understanding. We will be sure to provide an update when we have more information as soon as it is available.

[Lurkios]

36 minutes ago, AveryCloseCall said:

[snip]

Well, that's about as reasonable an answer as you could hope. Not sure why any region would find that even the least bit acceptable, but if they fix it all is well.

 

(What happens to a lost socket if you had a gem in it? Is it returned to inventory or destroyed?)

[Elvenmad]

12 minutes ago, Lurkios said:

(What happens to a lost socket if you had a gem in it? Is it returned to inventory or destroyed?)

you have to remove your gems before you evolve and from then its RNG :P

Great system considering in other versions Gem Hammers are far more accessible within the game.

 

[tashabunny]

So I'm wondering... if I keep up on the pirate path, are my gem sockets safe from RNG at least until it's time to go breeze? 

[Elvenmad]

 This is now boarderline P2W since the 'chance' to obtain Gem Hammers from playing the game are near to zero, plus the fact at higher levels you need 4 of them per socket and no doubt even more in the new weapon paths and it is an item that can directly enable you to increase damage.

 

My wife and I have 10 characters between us all level 45 and higher and have never seen a Hammer drop we have bought all ours through the cash shop at like $10 per socket.

[ThePrelate]

2 hours ago, tashabunny said:

So I'm wondering... if I keep up on the pirate path, are my gem sockets safe from RNG at least until it's time to go breeze? 

Since I was never prompted to remove sockets in Pirate path, I guess it stays the same until you get to Breeze.

 

43 minutes ago, Elvenmad said:

 This is now boarderline P2W since the 'chance' to obtain Gem Hammers from playing the game are near to zero, plus the fact at higher levels you need 4 of them per socket and no doubt even more in the new weapon paths and it is an item that can directly enable you to increase damage.

 

My wife and I have 10 characters between us all level 45 and higher and have never seen a Hammer drop we have bought all ours through the cash shop at like $10 per socket.

I agree, Gem Hammers are quite hard to come by. Seriously, NCSoft is getting less and less initiative from me to donate to this game and I believe a multitude of other players as well. Someone made a good point and said that Gem Hammers could be a part of Forgekeepers profession. Nice idea, especially if we are going to be at the mercy of RNGesus as of this patch.

[Piper]

5 hours ago, AveryCloseCall said:

This is by design and experienced in all versions of Blade & Soul. However, for those that have invested in unlocking an additional slot with Gem Hammers, this can feel unfair.

Unfair? Try unethical. You don't sell customers something and then take it away later, especially since there is nothing in game that warns you that you may or may not have that thing you just purchased with real money taken away by the very people who sold it to you. Why in the world would you think this was okay to do just because you're a "gaming company"? You don't get a free pass to swindle people, intentionally or not, just because you deal in virtual items. Why is this design even in the game?? How does this promote game-play or enjoyment at all? It doesn't. So why is it there?

 

What next? Weapons disappear while upgrading? Costumes get destroyed when switching? I don't see this being far-fetched at all because.... wow.... the RNG in this game is so horribly misplaced. The truth is it would be more ethical if you were to destroy weapons via RNG while upgrading since this doesn't involve real money.

 

This design is unreasonable, unethical, and unnecessary. It's appalling.

[GlowLight]

Quote

 

Buy another gem socket with NCcoins lol

 

Who actually uses gold in bns in 2016? Seriously?

 

 

[Tsuchiryu]

All of this is all the more reason for me to upgrade weapon last. Going Hongmoon accessories first, then belt and bracelet, maybe Soul if I run Labyrinth enough times and THEN weapon... and likely the Siren -> Pirate path anyway.

 

So much for new path, eh? Good thing you allowed us to stick with old one, NCsoft, because that seems to be the only thing you got right from the start. Unless people have NOT used Gem Hammers, there's no way going for the new path is going to be a good idea as it is.

[GlowLight]

new path is cheaper in the long run.

 

but siren path is cheaper to the people who dont look far down the road.

[Elvenmad]

 found this recent video, jan 2016 just before our live release and it shows the weapon evolve system we now currently have in game from last patch , however in the video he clearly says he got his Gem Hammers from daily dash and surveys, which is I know how it works on CN servers last time i was on there, you also used to get the Hammers as rewards from daily quests,  so OK we have the same weapon evolve system as other versions BUT not the same supply of Gem Hammers.

 

 

 

 

 

[GlowLight]

2 minutes ago, Elvenmad said:

 found this recent video, jan 2016 just before our live release and it shows the weapon evolve system we now currently have in game from last patch , however in the video he clearly says he got his Gem Hammers from daily dash and surveys, which is I know how it works on CN servers last time i was on there, so OK we have the same weapon evolve system as other versions BUT not the same supply of Gem Hammers.

 

 

 

 

thanks for sharing, this helped me alot

[Kadirra]

9 hours ago, AveryCloseCall said:

Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention. With the Silverfrost Mountains update, during the weapon upgrade process after True Profane, the number of unlocked gem sockets available on your weapon are randomized when transitioning to the new progression system. What this means is that you can either lose, gain, or experience no change on your weapon’s gem sockets. This is by design and experienced in all versions of Blade & Soul. However, for those that have invested in unlocking an additional slot with Gem Hammers, this can feel unfair.

 

We understand that this is not a positive player experience for those players who feel this, and we are looking into options to rectify this issue for affected players. At this point, we cannot share specific details as to how this will be accomplished but we remain committed to the idea that reasonable and informed players shouldn’t feel reason to regret their purchases. The technical details of how we address this will take some time to determine, but we will keep you updated when we have made more progress.

 

In the meantime, we have requested additional messaging within the game that will advise players of this process, better inform how Gem Hammers work, as well as evaluate a system change that will require much more consideration.

 

Thank you for your understanding. We will be sure to provide an update when we have more information as soon as it is available.

Thank you guys for addressing this volatile and sensitive matter. Please post this information somewhere that it does not get buried, along with any followup information regarding any compensation or fixes in the future. Your customers need to know what is going on.