EverQuest II Turns 11 Years Old — 12 Year Veteran Reward Announced
On November 8th, EverQuest II will celebrate its eleven year anniversary. As EQ2’s first four expansions each awarded 90 days of bonus time when purchased, some players who have been with the game since the very beginning will soon accrue twelve years of game time. I can understand some hesitation by the EQ2 team to spend a lot of time developing rare/special rewards that few players will ever see, such as rewards from time-limited events. These rewards are discouraging to those players who missed these events. Even though it will be several years until I see this reward, this writer is having a very hard time not being insulted by the the granting of 365 Loyalty Tokens to those who have supported the company for so long.
Calthine put it better than I can: “I’m not insulted, just very, very disappointed. There’s no creativity or caring in this reward. It’s like getting a gift card for you anniversary.”
From EverQuest2.com and on the EQ2 Forums:
Norrathians! It is once again time to celebrate, as EverQuest II is turning ELEVEN this year! We’ve had eleven amazing years of adventures together, and we’re looking forward to many more creatures to slay, shinies to discover, and memories to be made. As you’re gearing up for the launch of Terrors of Thalumbra, our next expansion, make sure you save some time to enjoy the Heroes’ Festival which returns to Norrath on Friday, November 6th.
Travel to Qeynos or Freeport to take part in all the festivities. The Festival will be around until Monday, November 16th.
And for those of you who have been with us all these years, there is a new Veteran’s Reward coming your way! You will be able to claim this depending on your account age beginning on Tuesday, November 3. The Veteran Reward – 12 Year gives you one full year’s worth of loyalty tokens. That’s 365 loyalty point tokens that you can use to purchase items from vendors in game!
The Veteran Reward – 12 Year is claimable once per account.
The team here at Daybreak wants to thank each and every one of you for making Norrath a vibrant, exciting world to be part of. Happy Eleventh Anniversary!
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Comments (51)
Mermut
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Wow, that IS a pretty.. uninspired.. reward. I’m sitting on more loyalty tokens then that. There isn’t much on the merchant worth buying in quanity.
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Lateana
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DBG devs were apparently swayed by the idiots on the official forums demanding that we not get another house or merc but be given tokens instead. I can’t imagine that anyone actually thought real twelve year vets would be happy with this so called ‘reward.’ I and many others, are sitting on nearly a thousand tokens with nothing on the merchants worth buying. We already participated in the unique events and don’t need another Bowl of Growth or miniature Griffon Tower. We are mostly already at cap level and don’t need the rather weak XP potions for sale. Occasionally we might betray and spend a few tokens, but what really is there to purchase for someone who has been with the game from the beginning?
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Carnifex
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Rewards like this simply prove that free to play is the way to go. An utter lack of respect for the veteran program has always seemed to exist from the company, but this borders on sheer contempt.
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Democyde
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THAT’S STUPID!
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Wirewhisker
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Meh.
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Rebelde
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Is that all? 12 years and this is the reward? … 😯
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bhagpuss
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It is unimaginative. I’ve never spent any of the tokens I get from dailies so I won’t have much use for these. On the other hand, over 80% of all the Veteran rewards I’ve ever had are still sitting in /claim so I can’t really pretend it matters much one way or the other.
Personally I’d be more than happy with a title of some kind. Titles cost nothing to make but they’re one of the most satisfying things to get.
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Chris
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Well, that’s disappointing. I wonder how many 12 year old accounts still play. Maybe it just isn’t worth the dev time anymore.
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Ambe
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We should be glad that DayBreak does not offer you a house item such as a 12-years-veteran painting or a 12-years-veteran certificate (just kidding).
If I have a choice, I would rather get a FREE copy of Terror of Thalumbra instead.
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somePerson
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can’t buy plat or the tokens to transmute with those???
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Broomy
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Rather disappointing but it’s not like the folks at DBG haven’t had anything to do this year.
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Pipsissiwa
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I haven’t spent any of my tokens yet either & I have all the unique event stuff as I was there at the time – being a 12 year veteran.
A new title wouldn’t have taken much dev time to create and would have been a nice sweetener along side the tokens. I’m genuinely proud to have been playing since launch and there is nothing wrong with wanting to show that off.
They could even have run a competition to get the amazing Player Studio people to design something – minimum effort from DBG then.
I get that they have been busy with limited staff and the expac to make, but still – very disappointing & unimaginative.
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Surgen
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The only thing to do with Loyalty Tokens is buy the small bags of plat for 5 tokens each.
365 tokens will net you 5475 plat.
On AB that buys you one fifth of a Krono. Happy 12th anniversary.
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Moose
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The idea of the expansion for free I am not adverse to for the 12 year vets. I am one of those few left it seems. DBG plain fucked up with this bullshit “award”. It is surprising to see how damn well they improve on dumber ideas each year.
I am glad to have eq2 to play and more so for the TLE server but seriously What the Fuck are you thinking DBG?!?!?
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Xarxhant
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I thought this was a joke when someone posted it on our guild website. I’m currently sitting on >650 tokens. I think the only thing I’ve bought with them was the betrayal token.
Are DBG at least looking at adding some other items to the vet merchant?
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Kinya
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Erm… I don’t know what to say. It’s not like it matters to me as I left eq2 in April, but this is really sad… No imagination whatsoever …
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Caela
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This is definitely one of those “it’s the thought that counts” – even when not much thought went into it. I’m not so much insulted, as I know the devs are incredibly over worked – I hope they are not underpaid. I am disappointed, but then again, I’m disappointed with a lot in life.
Does DBG really owe me anything for being with them from day 1? No, not really. It’s nice that they give us something. And we’ve had some great items over the years – some better than others.
This reward is a bit on the worthless side for most of us 11 year vets. We already have most of what is on the loyalty merchant. I would have preferred a really big back pack, or a once per day potion of progress bauble.
So, meh. Oh well…
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Alawi
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How the game has fallen…
Wow we used to look forward to the unique veteran rewards it meant something geez… This is depressing
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Kruzzen
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Maybe if they had something on the vet rewards worth buying, but I have more than I can use anyway. Some elite mercs would be nice, or game time. Something worth the time we spend in game.
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Malade
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I can’t find anything I want to buy with the loyalty tokens I have. /sigh
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Sandra
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5, 10, 15, 20 year increments I can see something a little special. But 11 and 12 years? Nah. Just get over it, people and move on. Stop feeling so friggin entitled at every little whipstitch.
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noluk
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All I see are people commenting on what a joke this is and giving their opinions on what would have been a better idea.. Reading comprehension is hard for some.
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Pipsissiwa
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What makes 5, 10, 15 years special? Why not 6, 12, 18? Or 4, 8, 12? Arbitrary numbers of years being more ‘special’ than others is nonsense.
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Occam
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Look at your hand. See how many digits you’ve got there? THAT is why increments of 5 are significant to people. Our brains are wired for pattern recognition, and that’s the most in-your-face pattern there is. If we had 6 fingers on each hand we’d be counting in base 12 instead of base 10.
Not to nit-pick (well, maybe a little), but while 5, 10, 15, etc, are in reality no more special than any other number, they’re far from being “arbitrary”. ❓ 😛
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Feldon
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The six-fingered man wants his 12 year veteran reward to be special.
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Pipsissiwa
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Just because we count in base ten still doesn’t make those numbers any more “special” that any others.
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Occam
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I agree that in reality there’s nothing special about any particular number, and I said so in my reply. My point is that it’s NOT arbitrary WHY people feel that increments of 5 have more meaning than other numbers.
If it bothers you that people think this way, then get used to a life of being annoyed, because this is how the human brain works.
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Weslin
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Most people also have 2 eyes, 2 ears, 2 arms, 2 legs, 2 hands, 2 feat, usually drive a vehicle with 2 – 4 wheels and there are 2 sides to a coin. I’m sure there are more examples but I can argue that multiples of 2 are much more in your face than 5.
If it bothers you that people might think this way, then get used to a life of being annoyed, because this is how the human brain works.
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Feldon
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Embrace the rage… Let it make you stronger… Gooooood!
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Occam
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You’re right, Weslin, there are a ton of examples of sets of 2. However, we’re talking about counting, and I don’t know anybody who uses their ears, eyes, legs, or “feat” to tick off numbers.
Fingers, the first calculator. :p
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Khraezi
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I was really looking forward to a new prestige house… or at the very least maybe a token that you can buy the prestige house of your choice!
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GriffonLady
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>.> There is a forum post you might want to get in on then. Some jackass started a thread “Please no more houses as Veteran rewards, or make them optional.”
It’s not the first thread of it’s kind either. :\
People are very egocentric and narrow minded. If they don’t use/like something, they want it removed or to not be made available (even for free). Personally, I like variety, and eliminating even the possibility of certain types of rewards sucks. :\
Don’t forget, people were bellyaching that they didn’t want houses with collector editions, and the last expansion had no house. (the the people who loved the past CE houses got upset and they added one back in.)
But yah, always good to let your voice be heard when someone wants something you enjoy to be cut out for no good reason.
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Wurm
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Trying to blame this, on those of us who didn’t want yet another house or mercenary our class couldn’t use, is really funny.
One does not equal the other at all.
So please take out your rage on the Day Break dimwits that came up with this bad idea, and not you fellow players who might not like the same things in game that you find enjoyable, but still have every right to voice their opinions as you do.
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madrat
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I remember getting really nice rewards, like the mistmore house, and things like that, 365 loyalty tokens is like mey. I agree whatever happened to creativity. This is like the 10 year reward a tank merc, when it should have been tank or healer merc. So much for critical thinking.
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ereon
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I am okay with it. Note every longevity reward needs to be super. Now if the 15 year reward is similar…. 3 more years? Is it possible?
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Chris
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15 year reward should be a lifetime membership 🙂
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Sandain
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Disappointed by the lack of imagination, yes. Insulted…not so much
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GriffonLady
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While I agree that this is not what I was expecting and ill thought out, I might guess at why the tokens were the reward.
A fluff item is what one would expect from veteran rewards. Adventurers complain about fluff items. The SK and Paladin mercs were awarded, but they were next to useless. Other things that would affect the game would make every one that isn’t close to 12 years complain.
So, to keep the gift neutral and versatile, the tokens were given to use as we please.
It’s kinda like that someone you know that always complains about the christmas gift you bought them, so you just start giving them gift certificates.
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Tabri
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True people would complain no matter what they gave but this is worse than a normal complaint.
The thing is they are giving 11 yr veterans loyalty tokens to buy things we already have on a merchant that was designed for people that are NOT veterans. This merchant was designed specifically for people that do not have the rewards we do but can go grind it out to purchase them(some of them) if they wish. 11 yr veterans have all of the things listed on this merchant most likely anyway so it makes no sense.
If they were going to give a so called “Gift Card” to us they should have given us SC instead at least with that we could pick what we wanted from a large array of stuff we dont already have and this also would have been just as easy as giving us the tokens which would take very little dev time knowing they are strapped at the moment.
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Lateana
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I remember really good stuff for vet rewards. I used to look forward to them. Last year’s one per account reward sucked and now this stupid reward. Folks are saying it isn’t even doubled for All Access members. What a way to incentivize players, NOT. What a way to lure in new players, NOT.
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Nicolos
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If they add some new, interesting items catering to different play styles that sell for that 365 tokens then I’m fine with that. However, I highly doubt they do that since pretty much anything they take time to make either gets thrown on the cash shop or bundled into an absurdly priced expansion bundle. This is just NOT the game it was 11 years ago or hell even 5 years ago. It’s a directionless mess that I just don’t see any coming back from at this point.
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Nuclea
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365 token? dont kidding.
i have 1633 already. it’s worthless and useless.
i miss 9 years veteran reward.
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Trin
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I wouldn’t mind so much, maybe if they threw up some of that LON loot on the loyalty store.
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Antonia Bayle's Bit on the side
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Yep not a bad idea. Probably won’t happen though I guess.
Pesonally, I don’t mind the 365 tokens too much, it’s better than nothing at all, and maybe some new cool stuff will work its way on to the loyalty merchant in the months ahead, you never know.
Imo, It’s better than the the awful 10th anniversary mercs at least which were a terribly uninspired choice for 10 years of loyalty.
I don’t think its down to devs being lazy or anything, just very stretched resources I imagine, and no doubt the vet rewards are bottom of the list of all the stuff they have on their plates at this time of year with expansions, NotD etc.
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mortam
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LON loot on the vet store would be very nice
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Jeehi
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The loyalty merchants are getting infusers.
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Amybelle
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The woman’s face in the picture says it all.
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Stifle
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A suit of armor. Honestly don’t care what it looks like. I’ve always wanted it to happen and would totally rock it on one toon forever. Stoked about my 11 year. But really? I subscribe and get 500 every month. If you want another 11 years from me… Give us something to show off with…
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Whilhemina
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Wow. A guildie of hubby spoke of “an horrendous vet reward” (in much less gracious terms) and I came here to check. It’s… I just can’t find a word to describe it.
I miss EQ2, I miss the old game I loved. But when I see things like that… I remember why I left.
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Archangel
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To best understand the DBG award, here’s Avirodar summary of rewards past.
Veteran Reward Insulting.
https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq2/index.php?threads/dbg-veteran-reward-insulting.565265/page-4
“This is a quick drive-by on prior vet rewards. If I got one wrong, my bad.
1 week – 6 * EXP pots
1 month – 3 * debt remover, 3 * Equipment repair, house item (weapon rack)
3 month – reforming stone, firework, house item (tombstone).
6 month – 6 * EXP pots
1 year – 6 * EXP pots. Loyal title.
2 year – 6 * EXP pots, appearance change, dedicated title
3 year – 6 * EXP pots, 2*title, vet display crate
4 year – 6 * EXP pots, title, treasure hoard (25% house rent redux), mystic moppet (shrink)
5 year – 6 * EXP pots, Pixie on string, 5 yr firework, Vitality refresher
6 year – 3 * debt remover, 2 * appearance items, Tradeskill Vitality refresher, Call of the Veteran
7 year – Mistmoore Crag Estate house
8 year – 6 * EXP pots, title, disc mount, glowing eyes, veteran revival
9 year – 7 * unattuners, 3 * repair kits, 3 * self rez, 3 * HP pots, 3 * power pots, expanded vet display case.
10 year – mercenary
11 year – Isle of Refuge House, Assorted Isle of Refuge House decorations (1 per acct)
So when I look at the new reward of 365 tokens, how can it be spent, and how does it stack up vs prior rewards?
6 * EXP pots = 60 tokens
2 * titles = 10 to 20 tokens (going with 20)
5 * forgiveness potion = 5 tokens
Kromzek House = 60 tokens
Floating disc (appearance mount) = 25 tokens
7 * deity house items = 70 tokens
Currently sitting at 240 tokens used, with 125 remaining.
Worst case scenario: Someone may already have every title on the vet merchant, no more room for mounts, every deity house item, the kromzek house, and have no use for equipment repair or EXP pots. In this case, they can spend the tokens on infusers in ToT, or retain them for future additions to the loyalty merchant. Compared to most of the prior vet rewards, the only thing that really seems to be missing, is a title that is unique to a 12 year vet, and/or some fluff appearance glowy/clicky thingamajigger.
The main quirk I see with the 1 per acct nature of the 12 year reward, while most (not all) others were 1 claim per character. However, it is obvious this had to be done to prevent auto-exploitation of the plat bags.”
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Yvonne Massey
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Seriously? That’s my reward for paying to play for 12 years on multiple accounts? For purchasing every expansion (mostly pre-order or collectors). For buying thousands in SC or DBC. For getting others started on the game? For being a loyal player? Vet rewards should be something that cannot be obtained anywhere else in the game. They should reflect the many years of loyalty. They should be 1 per character not per account. There could also be a choice of (1) per 2 or more items. Two or three items of raid worthy gear for those who do not raid. 365 loyalty tokens, one per account, is useless. If you buy the plat bags it isn’t even enough to purchase most higher level gear or even some collectibles. There isn’t anything on the vendor worthy of 12 years of loyalty.
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