Ok let's assume the devs make the black-yellow crystal available to all. I then "lose" the exclusivity part of my pre-order bonus. Additionally, I lose the black-yellow crystal reward from the new method of obtainment -- because I already have it. So effectively, I lose twice?

 

I look at it like this. With galactic seasons right now, I've already got everything the vendors are offering except the fleet stronghold. (Which I don't particularly want anyway) So I can either ignore the whole concept and not do anything related to seasons, or I can play like I usually do and stack the commendations hoping something next season will grab my attention. So I'm a way... I'm actually winning because next season I'll likely already have enough to get what I want as soon as it starts.

 

It's all about perspective.

I'm not in favor of BioWare making more "exclusives" no longer exclusive. They've already done that with the HK chapter and the other companions that were offered as "limited time only" subscriber (Nico Okarr, Shae Vizla) or event (Master Ranos) rewards.

 

That being said, as far as I'm concerned the damage is done so what does it really matter? I now know that BioWare plays fast and loose with the terms "exclusive" and "limited time only." I now believe these terms when used by BioWare in the context of SWTOR rewards mean that it will be exclusive for a period of time but BioWare reserves the right to make the reward available again. BioWare has clearly demonstrated that they will make formerly "limited time" offers available again so I can use those actions to understand that my definition of "limited time" and BioWare's definition of "limited time" are not the same.

LAST CHANCE TO CLAIM A RARE BOUNTY: Unlock Shae Vizla -- legendary Bounty Hunter -- as a new Companion to fight by your side! (10-21-16)

 

FINAL CHANCE TO GET NICO OKARR AS A COMPANION! NIKO OKARR COMPANION OFFER EXTENDED THROUGH 8/10/15!Don't miss your FINAL CHANCE to get this legendary gunslinger Companion (8-7-2015)

 

So, IMO, "last chance" and "final chance" is a non-negotiable statement. So, they reneged on that claim by bringing those rewards back. Since they are back, they might as well be a part of GS rewards since that is the new reward system. But I still feel they should stick to their word on the other exclusives that have not returned and just continue to make new rewards moving forward.

 

If somebody took them to court over it do you think they'd have a case or would the reality be that this kind of thing falls under "Last chance to get X through this specific promotion." or "We never claimed/stated this would be the only way to get these rewards and that they'd be gone forever afterwards." and that Bioware is still well within their right to do even based on what the emails say or imply.

 

It's all definitely framed that way but you and I both know that if the sub numbers weren't enough to off-set the cost of doing things like an exclusive HK chapter there's no way it would stay exclusive to a sub reward and Bioware/EA knows that already going into this situation which means those rewards always had the possibility of coming to the game in some other way.

If somebody took them to court over it do you think they'd have a case or would the reality be that this kind of thing falls under "Last chance to get X through this specific promotion." or "We never claimed/stated this would be the only way to get these rewards and that they'd be gone forever afterwards." and that Bioware is still well within their right to do even based on what the emails say or imply.

 

It's all definitely framed that way but you and I both know that if the sub numbers weren't enough to off-set the cost of doing things like an exclusive HK chapter there's no way it would stay exclusive to a sub reward and Bioware/EA knows that already going into this situation which means those rewards always had the possibility of coming to the game in some other way.

 

If somebody "took them to court," the case would probably be settled well before that with the player getting a full refund of his investment. That would be no big deal to EA. A class action suit involving all the customers that paid for the service during that qualification period could actually make it to court. I have no idea how the courts would rule. I'm sure there's something in the ToS that we agree to when we install this game that gives EA/Bioware the right to make changes to things in the game. However, I would imagine a company never has the right to make misleading advertising claims in order to push sales regardless of the ToS players have to agree to. It's a good question and would be interesting to see it play out. With EA already having lost 1 high-profile court battle in recent years, I doubt they're really confident things would go their way in court.

As someone who purchased the CE and the Razer gear, I'm not keen on the idea of opening the crystals up to other ways of obtaining.

 

When they came out with the Rakghoul crystal that is virtually identical to the Razer one (that was supposed to be 'unique') it was a bit of a slap in the face for those of us who bought the branded merch.

 

Given EA/BW hasn't held up their promise for CE purchasers that the CE Vendor would be updated with exclusive items for us to buy, giving away one of the few unique items we did get would be hugely disappointing.

 

It's not so much about denying things to other players, its more about holding EA/BW to account in some way.

Look. It's been 10 years.

 

I doubt many of the CE people are around and the ones that are probably won't mind if the crystals are put up for sale to everyone.

 

I have them myself, and I haven't used them in... well... 10 years.

 

As for them being "exclusive"... yes... if they were only available to the CE owners for 10(!) years, that's still pretty damned exclusive.

Ok let's assume the devs make the black-yellow crystal available to all. I then "lose" the exclusivity part of my pre-order bonus. Additionally, I lose the black-yellow crystal reward from the new method of obtainment -- because I already have it. So effectively, I lose twice?

 

Only if they implement it as just a GS reward.

 

If it's just available to buy from the CM, you wouldn't lose any new content.

 

Personally, I just don't get the kind of "greedy" tones that many CE owners (of this game and others) give off.

 

"Ooh, you didn't pre-order so you can't have it!"

 

Ok? But what if the guy who wants it was actually in the hospital with cancer when the pre-order was available?

Or what if they were a small child at the time? (I mean, the game is 10!! years old, for crying out loud... people have grown up from being kids to adults during that time)

What if they were poor but now they have a job and want to pay to get the thing they couldn't get before?

 

Why be so incredibly selfish as to go "no, this is mine and you can't ever have it because then it'll lessen my self-value".

 

Because that's basically what people are saying here.

 

There is literally no other reason to tout the "you didn't pre-order so you shouldn't get it" nonsense.

 

It's just a childish "I'm better than you" type statement.

 

I have them... I don't care if others get them. I'm not "special" just because I pre-ordered. I'm not better than anyone else for it.

Stop pretending that you'll lose something by letting others have the stuff you have.

I think this is the classic case of you wanting something you can't have. Don't worry though, the devs loooooove to recycle old rewards rather than create something new. So I'm sure it will make an appearance one of these days.

 

There used to be different versions of this game here: https://www.swtor.com/buy -- and you could upgrade to more than just the "Digital Upgrade." I believe one of the old versions/upgrades had the crystal on it. But I don't know what year the other upgrade(s) disappeared.

 

Oh hey, I don't have the Darth Malgus statue. I only have the pre-order bonus, not the CE. Don't you think I deserve a retroactive DM statue for playing this game for 10 years? Why don't you give me yours? You've had it long enough. I'll send you my address via PM.

Edited July 29, 2021 by Rion_Starkiller

Oh hey, I don't have the Darth Malgus statue. I only have the pre-order bonus, not the CE. Don't you think I deserve a retroactive DM statue for playing this game for 10 years? Why don't you give me yours? You've had it long enough. I'll send you my address via PM.

 

Buy it on eBay...

 

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1311&_nkw=darth+malgus+statue&_sacat=0

 

...you have that option if you want it as opposed to taking somebody's physical property from them.

I don't mind it at all that they are making old exlusive rewards available again. Reason being that there is no real correlation between the effort you had to put in and the reward itself. In fact, I have been a beneficiary myself in the shape of HK's jetpack which I missed back when it was a sub reward.

 

There is one major exception, though. I feel that the "Founder" title should remain exclusive to the ones who really helped kicking off the game. Since the title itself directly correlates with the accomplishment, this one should not be made available again retroactively to anyone who came on board later.

I don't mind it at all that they are making old exlusive rewards available again. Reason being that there is no real correlation between the effort you had to put in and the reward itself. In fact, I have been a beneficiary myself in the shape of HK's jetpack which I missed back when it was a sub reward.

 

There is one major exception, though. I feel that the "Founder" title should remain exclusive to the ones who really helped kicking off the game. Since the title itself directly correlates with the accomplishment, this one should not be made available again retroactively to anyone who came on board later.

 

I agree, also here's another thing, not only are many of those items not that great, cool, or prestigious but if Bioware wanted to make them available to the player base they could replace them with new/different items for those people and let those items remain exclusive for a set amount of time/years then repeat the process depending on how long the game continues to survive for.

 

I pre-ordered the game and have the CE and I'm not seeing anything really significant here or that would be any kind of real unique loss

 

https://torf.mmo-fashion.com/collectors-edition-vendor/

 

Nothing there screams "Whoa cool what is that!?" none of it is really head-turning.

 

Some of the companion customizations are cool like the one that makes Ashara look like Shaak Ti but I don't want other players to not have access to it especially if Ashara is their favorite companion.

 

To me more appropriately themed CE items would be things associated with the early days or launch of the game. Things that are either no longer available, were removed or never made available. For instance, is there anything from the original cinematics like the Deceived trailer that never made it into the game, is there a notable NPC whose look/armor isn't a set in the game, is there any cut content, early versions of weapons, speeders, etc, things from the Alpha/Beta stages of the game. Stuff like that.

 

As it stands right now there's nothing really "special" about the CE items other than them being part of the CE vendor.

The +41 stat black-yellow crystals are 250k from the pre-order vendor. If the crystal were made available to all, I think it should be at a higher cost. This way it doesn't "devalue" the item.

The +41 stat black-yellow crystals are 250k from the pre-order vendor. If the crystal were made available to all, I think it should be at a higher cost. This way it doesn't "devalue" the item.

 

When you see the prices of certain items on the GTN it's gonna be hard to put any kind of price on it that's going to make it feel significant or right across the board to the player base.

 

For example, a million credits is a lot to a number of players but not a lot to people who have billions.

 

Replacing them with new/different items is a better way to go rather than coming up with a different price point.

When you see the prices of certain items on the GTN it's gonna be hard to put any kind of price on it that's going to make it feel significant or right across the board to the player base.

 

For example, a million credits is a lot to a number of players but not a lot to people who have billions.

 

Replacing them with new/different items is a better way to go rather than coming up with a different price point.

 

Speaking as a CE holder, I agree with new/different item....however, if it came down to it, I'd be more 'ok' with it coming back into circulation as long as it had the same conditions as when we bought it.

 

For example, the CE was a limited edition and even though I lined up and plunked down my $150 to secure the pre-order, I literally had the guys at EB Game try to steal my copy trying to tell me I missed the pick-up window by x minutes. (they 'generously' gave me the copy that their employee had 'reserved' that 'happened' to be sitting in the back). If EA/BW wanted to release say.....another 2k (or reasonable amount) of CE editions for the 10th anniversary, at the same price, so people had to go through not only the cash layout but the randomness of being able to secure a copy....I could live with that.

Hey... question for those other CE owners out there that get all pissy when someone asks if it would be ok for BW to put the items up for sale in-game...

 

What if someone buys a CE off e-bay to get the stuff... are you ok with that?

 

I mean, it's the same effect, really.

Hey... question for those other CE owners out there that get all pissy when someone asks if it would be ok for BW to put the items up for sale in-game...

 

What if someone buys a CE off e-bay to get the stuff... are you ok with that?

 

I mean, it's the same effect, really.

 

I'm not a "CE owner," but if you buy one off ebay and the code works, that's legit. There were only so many made. If you buy one that has been opened and the code doesn't work because it's already been used, then ... you know ... buyer beware. Tough luck.

As someone who proudly displays their Black-Core Yellow Crystal AND their Black and Medium Yellow dye from the CE vendor, I fear I must object to this request. My fragile ego could not take such a sudden and inexplicable blow. Having the exclusive privilege to look like a bumblebee is the last thing on my mind as I tuck myself into bed each night, and the first thing on my mind every morning.

As someone that proudly supports time travel, I have a few requests. If you're a time traveler that wants this crystal, be sure to pre-order the game. If you don't think that should be a condition, please attend the SWTOR marketing meetings ahead of that decision. Finally, please write a letter to me so that I won't waste my money purchasing a copy of this game for myself and copies for family members since I won't have to wait long before it's a free download for everybody. Thanks.

 

P.S. “It’s your kids, Marty! Something’s gotta be done about your kids!”

As someone who proudly displays their Black-Core Yellow Crystal AND their Black and Medium Yellow dye from the CE vendor, I fear I must object to this request. My fragile ego could not take such a sudden and inexplicable blow. Having the exclusive privilege to look like a bumblebee is the last thing on my mind as I tuck myself into bed each night, and the first thing on my mind every morning.

 

Glad to see you posted your 2nd post in 3 years to comment on a Black/yellow crystal. In the immortal words of TrixxieTriss, "which dev are you?"

 

BW stop being cheap: New items, not recycle items. I feel bad for your creatives/designers/artists. Create something new, you cheapskates.

Edited August 8, 2021 by Rion_Starkiller

Honestly I think that the Black/Color crystals are quite ugly and the Black/Yellow one certainly wasn't the reason why I pre-ordered the CE. I must have used it for like a few days at launch and I couldn't care less if it was available to everyone.

As I have commented on every thread back in the days which complained about not being able to get HK, Nico etc.:

 

It is OK to me if those things are available for everyone, IF ALL other not available things will also become available to everyone. CE. Pre-order. Razer. Cartel coin pets. Special events and promotions. All of it.

 

This, unfortunately, is not the case yet.

 

Either it's complete equality or none at all.

 

We got those companions, we got the bonus chapter. Now they have to offer the rest. That's the only fair option. (And I say this as someone who has most of the rarest stuff.)

 

That's my opinion.

As I have commented on every thread back in the days which complained about not being able to get HK, Nico etc.:

 

It is OK to me if those things are available for everyone, IF ALL other not available things will also become available to everyone. CE. Pre-order. Razer. Cartel coin pets. Special events and promotions. All of it.

 

This, unfortunately, is not the case yet.

 

Either it's complete equality or none at all.

 

We got those companions, we got the bonus chapter. Now they have to offer the rest. That's the only fair option. (And I say this as someone who has most of the rarest stuff.)

 

That's my opinion.

 

If they're going to be 100% "fair" then I guess they need to bring back the original Rakghoul event, the Chevin event and Ilum PvP that newer players were never able to experience. People are griping about a crystal here, a toy there, a comp, a title, etc... but there was actual game content that was either 1-time-only, or was removed. Where is the outrage?

i spent 500k buying two black/yellow power crystals for my sentinel back when power crystals were BiS. Later I bought 2 crit crystals when they were BiS. That was a lot of credits back in the day. In today's market, that's like 100 mill each.

If they're going to be 100% "fair" then I guess they need to bring back the original Rakghoul event, the Chevin event and Ilum PvP that newer players were never able to experience. People are griping about a crystal here, a toy there, a comp, a title, etc... but there was actual game content that was either 1-time-only, or was removed. Where is the outrage?

 

People generally want the rewards, not the events themselves. In terms of those things you mentioned many players either didn't know they were a thing or have no interest in experiencing them upon learning what they are/were.

Nothing there screams "Whoa cool what is that!?" none of it is really head-turning.

 

As long as I can still get into the VIP lounge, I don't care if all of the CE items are added to the Galactic Seasons vendor. lol