It's times like these that make me feel special to be a vet.
I'M A VETRIN!!! WOOOOHOOOOO!!
Okay, analogy time.
You have been working at a company for 5 years. As a thank you for your loyalty the company gives you a watch. The watch is an exclusive design with the company's logo on it, only people who have worked there for a certain length of time have such a watch.
Now, you discover a person wearing that very same watch, who you know for a fact has not been with the company for 5 years. Upon inquiring, you discover that the person in question purchased the watch.
Something that was only obtainable through loyalty to a company was purchased by someone who has not shown the same loyalty. This would, in essence, make that thank you gift completely worthless, because now anyone can have it. Most people would be justifiably upset by that.
There are a number of vet rewards beyond my 48 months that I would LOVE to have, but I am content to wait for them, because I have not yet met the criteria set forth by the people awarding them (the devs).
The criteria is: Amount of time your account has been active for. I had two periods of several months where my account was not active for one reaon or another. Therefore I am 6 months short on rewards I would have recieved had my account stayed active.
This is perfectly fair, because everyone is subject to the same rules.
Asking to purchase vet rewards is like saying "You should change the rules for me, because I'm special and shouldn't have to wait like everyone else"
To sum up my stance, not only "no", but HELL no.
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Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison See, it's gems like these that make me check Claws' post history every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything good lately. |
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You still didn't have to pay for it, while they did. |
Originally Posted by ClawsandEffect
Something that was only obtainable through loyalty to a company was purchased by someone who has not shown the same loyalty. This would, in essence, make that thank you gift completely worthless, because now anyone can have it.
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I really wish the people against this would stop trying to justify it any other way and admit that the reason the support the program as is and like the program as is is due to the feeling of being special, valued, and favoured it conveys. You like knowing that the time you've put in makes you valued more than the people that have put in less time.
It's that simple. It's human, it's understandable, and it's what's really behind all the objections.
How about those against this idea want to keep the intent of the program intact?
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There it is for all to see. It is to reward people for their time spent supporting and playing the game. It wouldn't be a reward for supporting and playing if the rewards could be purchased by people that let their accounts lapse.|
Originally Posted by City of Heroes website
This program rewards our fans for their time spent supporting and playing City of Heroes® and City of Villains®!
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It has nothing to do with feeling superior, it has to do with fairness. The veteran's rewards are completely fair. The criteria for these awards are absolutely clear. If people put the time & support into the game, they will get the goodies.
Triumph: White Succubus: 50 Ill/Emp/PF Snow Globe: 50 Ice/FF/Ice Strobe: 50 PB Shi Otomi: 50 Ninja/Ninjistu/GW Stalker My other characters
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********. If playing had anything to do with it, then the basis of rewards would be on time played, or some complicated algorithm balancing time played and time paid. |
Originally Posted by Snow Globe
It is to reward people for their time spent supporting and playing the game.
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It only rewards time paid, and that is all it is meant to reward.
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BZZZT! Wrong!|
Originally Posted by Eiko-chan
You still didn't have to pay for it, while they did.
I really wish the people against this would stop trying to justify it any other way and admit that the reason the support the program as is and like the program as is is due to the feeling of being special, valued, and favoured it conveys. You like knowing that the time you've put in makes you valued more than the people that have put in less time. It's that simple. It's human, it's understandable, and it's what's really behind all the objections. |
If a company has a loyalty program attached to, say, their monthly subscription (let's assume a gym here) where you get some free workout gear with a unique logo every year or so, no, it's not the same if you can buy that exact same gear. Veteran rewards are for actual loyalty by staying subscribed. By the way, I'm a 27 month veteran, and I'm missing a long chunk of time that could be my vet rewards (as you can see by my reg date), but I will *always* oppose this suggestion because it denies the point of Veteran rewards.
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Originally Posted by Back Alley Brawler
Did you just use "casual gamer" and "purpled-out warshade" in the same sentence?
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As a programmer, I'd hate to see that algorithm. As it stands, NCsoft has given their definition of time played as well:|
Originally Posted by Eiko-chan
If playing had anything to do with it, then the basis of rewards would be on time played, or some complicated algorithm balancing time played and time paid.
It only rewards time paid, and that is all it is meant to reward. |
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| *Active account time includes 1. the free month of game time included with the game, 2. free trial time, and 3. payments by credit card or game time card. Payments by credit card or game time card only include the paid time already incurred, not future time. |
To further show what they mean by time
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Q: My account is no longer active. Can I still receive my rewards?A: Yes. All you need to do is reactivate your account via credit card or game time card and the appropriate level of awards will appear for your characters. Just log in and they will be waiting for you. Note: the time that your account was not active does not count towards your rewards. |
Records are not kept on the server on how often your account is played as that would be a huge drain on resources. Not to mention that characters are deleted and created all the time. Then there is time spent on the Test Server, and participating on the forums. By setting the bar at an active, playable account, the program is fair.
Triumph: White Succubus: 50 Ill/Emp/PF Snow Globe: 50 Ice/FF/Ice Strobe: 50 PB Shi Otomi: 50 Ninja/Ninjistu/GW Stalker My other characters
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That's exactly what some people don't like about it. The vet reward system is unbiased and fair. No one can manipulate it to their advantage, and no one gets special treatment.|
Originally Posted by Snow Globe
By setting the bar at an active, playable account, the program is fair.
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And that's what this really boils down to. Some people want to be able to go up to long time vets and wave the reward they bought in their faces because it will make them feel special and superior to the veterans that have been here longer.
Doesn't that last short statement sound stupid? It sounds almost as stupid as this.
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I really wish the people against this would stop trying to justify it any other way and admit that the reason the support the program as is and like the program as is is due to the feeling of being special, valued, and favoured it conveys. You like knowing that the time you've put in makes you valued more than the people that have put in less time. |
The Cursed Sorcerer rejects this idea. I feel that one must EARN his rewards!
to 
TO THE END!Villains are those who dedicate their lives to causing mayhem. Villians are people from the planet Villia!
Well 1 $ a month ... is a bit cheap isnt it , well if they want to make it purchasable .
Then make it double the money of a monthly subscription . so 30 $ a month .
Fair deal you can pay extra to buy back loyalty 
Or just wait like the rest for the normal price , some crazy people would gladly pay double .
Now to all you people who say paying doesn´t support the game .
Freaking hell it does , income is income , neither the developers or creators or moderators live on good will or wishes .
offcourse playing and paying supports it even more .
But then again you play a game cause you love it .
Anyway if you want the veteran reward just have patience .
A subscribe account maybe not active , is beter then a none subscribed account who only returns every new issue for a month .
While player wise maybe the none subscribe account player is more active .
Income and keeping the server and issue development running . the person isn´t .
Conversations about Veteran Rewards are never good, thus my initial response condemning the necromancy that brought it back.
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While I'm normally against the idea of being able to purchase vet rewards, I'd actually be fine with it if you put a huge price on it like this. Hell, I'd probably even eventually catch up on my account to what it should have been had I not been lured away by that evil other ginormous MMO for a few months. I love this game, and I would embrace a scheme to get it such a huge influx of cash.
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Originally Posted by Lonelyshade
Well 1 $ a month ... is a bit cheap isnt it , well if they want to make it purchasable .
Then make it double the money of a monthly subscription . so 30 $ a month . Fair deal you can pay extra to buy back loyalty Or just wait like the rest for the normal price , some crazy people would gladly pay double . |
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As suggested earlier, the idea of charging ridiculously high rates for this option (on the order of $30 per month) would soften the blow for me quite a bit. Considering the deliberately fluff nature of many of the veteran rewards, I wouldn't feel terrible if a newbie gave NCSoft several hundred dollars so that he could "catch up" with me in terms of my vet rewards. It would be like if, in your analogy, you found out that someone new had the same watch that you got after working there for 5 years, but they paid, say, $5,000.00 for it. It would still rub me the wrong way, but not nearly as much as it would if they told me they paid $20 bucks.|
Originally Posted by ClawsandEffect
Okay, analogy time.
You have been working at a company for 5 years. As a thank you for your loyalty the company gives you a watch. The watch is an exclusive design with the company's logo on it, only people who have worked there for a certain length of time have such a watch. Now, you discover a person wearing that very same watch, who you know for a fact has not been with the company for 5 years. Upon inquiring, you discover that the person in question purchased the watch. |
EDIT: Upon further consideration, catching up with me for $30 a month would cost a lot more than a few hundred dollars. Especially since I've been playing for over 50 months...
Feel free to try out my AE mission arc, # 473452: Praetorian Redemption
@Valerika
We have nothing more to say to one another.
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Originally Posted by Zwillinger
GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.
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Originally Posted by Captain_Photon
NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.
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Oh, also, regardless of the price you put on it, the badge should never be available to be purchased, but the other rewards would be okay at a huge ridiculous price.
Is it that time of the month again that this topic comes back? You knew I couldn't stay away. I've said it before, no. Vet rewards are there for a reason and changing them to being a purchase just opens a whole can of other worms. Why can't I purchase Hero-Con exclusives? Why can't I purchase a shiny gold name? Why can't I purchase that cool title someone else has? Why can't I purchase all game unlockables from the start? Heck for that matter let's just go all out and offer a purchase to start at level 50 with a full load out of purples for both your builds. I know that is extreme but I think it gets the point across. Vet Rewards are there for a very specific reason. If you haven't me the criteria you don't get them.
50s - Energyman, Elec^3 Blaster - Light Bringer Prime, Triform PB - OxyStorm, Robo/Storm/Mace MM - Widow Lotone, NW - Psi-Vox, Ill/FF/Earth Control
Oh and just as a punitive response to the idea: I would only agree with the idea that you could "back date" (something nearly impossible to tell, btw) specific veteran costume sets on a per character basis.
Otherwise anyone posting this idea should be directed towards the Veteran Rewards FAQ.
Triumph: White Succubus: 50 Ill/Emp/PF Snow Globe: 50 Ice/FF/Ice Strobe: 50 PB Shi Otomi: 50 Ninja/Ninjistu/GW Stalker My other characters