Regarding Re-Quests - Blue Tracker

#0 - March 21, 2007, 7:52 p.m.

Hello, I did not know whether to post this here, or in suggestions.

Anyways, this is in regards to the policy surrounding "requesting" or petitioning a GM to obtain a different quest reward from the previously chosen Item. Today i received this as a response:

"My apologies, but regrettably we are only able to exchange the rewards for a short time after the quest is completed and unfortunately due to the length of time it would no longer be possible. =/"

This is the 2nd time I have petitioned hoping for a different response, but alas this is all i get.

Anyways, my point is this--I am aware that game masters are not allowed to be open with WHY policies are the way they are so all i can do is speculate from conversations I have had with Game masters regarding this whole concept and i have come to the conclusion that:

The reason this policy is in effect is due to the constant nature of character respecs and with an ever changing character focus and talent changes from patches, this type of restoration would occur too often and the player base would abuse the privilege if it existed.

That being said, what about those folks that made a mistake months ago at a time in their Wow career when they really didn't know much about the game, and now that they are more experienced, terrible quest choices constantly scream at them saying, "what were you thinking!"

Case in point: On my druid when i completed "General Drakisath's Demise" I selected "blackhand's breadth" by the advice of my hunter friend. Looking back, even before the expansion--when i didnt know there would be a replacement for the item i picked, i felt in my heart that i had made a mistake those several months prior. Now even more than ever i look at other druids and see the mark of tyranny giving better mitigation in bear form than any trinket available in the expansion--all from a quest that is so "old world" its rediculous, and there is no way to take back my mistake.

My point in posting is this: If is remotely possible to restore and item that I might have destroyed months ago, why isn't it be possible to allow that same restoration of a quest reward I made a mistake on months ago? If i understand correctly, there are a limited amount of restores available per account, why not allow those to tie into those limited restores, as a way of making it fair on you guys--meaning people cant request all they want without being denied very rapidly.

Thank you for reading, I guess i just want an honest response as to why I cant have what i really want, and theres no way for me to get it because i was foolish so long ago. I swear i am a good person really, I am not trying to abuse it....

Batta

#1 - March 21, 2007, 8:21 p.m.

Q u o t e:
The reason this policy is in effect is due to the constant nature of character respecs and with an ever changing character focus and talent changes from patches, this type of restoration would occur too often and the player base would abuse the privilege if it existed.

This is very true to an extent. It is not always possible to maintain the resources and staffing necessary to accommodate what would truly be a very minor policy change in the grand scheme of things. We are, unfortunately, unable to cater to each player's change of heart for, or mistaken selection of, quest rewards as a simple matter of convenience.

That said, please do not misunderstand our point-of-view to mean that it's simply about offering minimal service to support cost effectiveness. There is also a design philosophy behind our policy not to exchange quest rewards within indefinite amounts of time. Allowing anyone to exchange rewards compromises the importance of the idea that one has accomplished a task and received a reward for it. It wouldn't make much sense to say a reward one has chosen from a quest giver suddenly has a return/exchange policy on it. One is to complete a task and be rewarded for the effort based on the choice of reward that player makes at that moment. This adds value to the reward system, as these items cannot be obtained other ways, and certainly not simply via Game Master intervention.

Q u o t e:
That being said, what about those folks that made a mistake months ago at a time in their Wow career when they really didn't know much about the game, and now that they are more experienced, terrible quest choices constantly scream at them saying, "what were you thinking!"

According to this context, we consider it a mistake when a player means to click Item A, and accidentally clicks Item B. A "mistake months ago" to me sounds like more of a change of heart based on your playstyle and knowledge today. The learning experience through which you've gone in this time is simply a part of the process. There are no "take backs" in the manner of quest rewards.

Now, if a player makes a mistake that's immediately apparent and reported, this is different. There might be circumstances where we will assist players who simply clicked the wrong reward by mistake. This is a completely different matter from those covered above, as it should not take a player months to realize they had chosen the wrong reward.

Q u o t e:
If is remotely possible to restore and item that I might have destroyed months ago, why isn't it be possible to allow that same restoration of a quest reward I made a mistake on months ago?

In most cases, we will not destroy items lost months ago when the loss cannot be verified. As I've mentioned earlier, we wish players to embark on a linear journey and be rewarded along the way for their accomplishments.

Q u o t e:
If i understand correctly, there are a limited amount of restores available per account, why not allow those to tie into those limited restores, as a way of making it fair on you guys--meaning people cant request all they want without being denied very rapidly.

While this may be a good compromising solution, it is best that you repost such a notion on our Suggestions forum for review.

Q u o t e:
Thank you for reading, I guess i just want an honest response as to why I cant have what i really want, and theres no way for me to get it because i was foolish so long ago. I swear i am a good person really, I am not trying to abuse it....

You're welcome, Moroni. Since Berghe just gave me a suspicious look for typing so much, I guess I should thank you for reading as well. ; )

I can certainly understand your disappointment with the limitations of the policy in question, and do apologize for the fact that we are unable to assist you.

Batta

#9 - March 22, 2007, 1:52 a.m.

Moroni, your objection to the idea of "maintaining lore" is certainly valid. I still do not feel, however, as though one can easily liken a request to have an item restored to a request to have an item exchanged. Allowing open-ended (with regards to a time frame) quest reward exchanges would simply add a new dynamic to the game we do not feel would be beneficial. At this time, exchanges are only performed when it's verifiable that the reward choice was recent enough that we can assume it was a mistaken selection.