You need to give people who bought that badge the full equal amount of units. That's just terrible and you're basically telling ppl to not buy anything like that again from Kabam.
To be fair, I understand that people are upset. I'm not trying to snub them off. I'm just explaining what's going on so people understand. This was necessary. People were being scammed and frauded. That goes beyond just the monetary value in a multitude of ways.
Correct I bought a gifting badge and got scammed because I dont have it.
Fixing fraud by committing fraud? That's a new solution for sure
This is not fraud, it is hardly even a bait and switch since the gifting badge had a value of 0
If the badge had a value of 0 why wasn't it available in game for purchase with units or added to all unit offers. It appears to be valued at 30 dollars since that is the only way to get it
It is not valued at $30, 850 units is. As an added bonus you could get the free gifting badge. You get $30 value from the units and a FREE gifting badge.
If the badge is free why are you required to buy the 30 dollar deal to get it. The units are free the badge costs 30 dollars
the unit package costs $30, you can go look now.
Free is something you get without cost. Was there ever a way to get a permanent gifting badge without spending money? Was the gifting badge offered whith any other in game purchases at lower price point? If the only way to get the permanent gifting badge was from the 30 dollar offer then that was what people were buying. Any units or other items that were given at the time of purchase would have been the bonus items. Yes the unit pack is the same cost as the one offered with the gifting badge but that isn't the point. The only way to get the permanent badge is to spend 30 dollars so it was never free.
mathematically you got it without cost. you paid $30 for 850 units, you got 850 units, that leaves a net 0, you then for that 0 got a gifting badge. It was a free incentive to get you tobuy because they known on average if they can get you to buy they can get you to buy more
You keep going back to the fact that it came with units but is it available in any other way in the game or through any other offer. Show me any other way to get this item and I'll gladly except your argument
I dont have to..If you go to the store and you see a lollipop and they said free lollipop with the purchase of a $1 candy bar, if you by the candy bar and dont like the lollipop they are not going to give you any money back, it was free. You buying the candy bar only because it came with the lollipop does not matter.
I'm sure the Kabam team has brainstormed on various solutions but i would like to throw out two, mainly because I paid for and enjoy using the gifting badge to help progress my account and help my alliance mates when they are in need. I totally understand the removal of the badge to prevent fraud but there has to be viable solutions that can be implemented to keep it around.
1. Put a timer on the units when purchased. After so X days/weeks, units accumulated, whether paid for via the store or grinded out via Arena or Questing are allowed to be gifted. Until that specified time passes, the units can only be used for personal account items. After the specified time has passed, the units can also be used to gift items. This basically gives you two unit balances, 1 balance is your total that can be used for just your account and the 2nd balance is a portion of the personal balance that can be used for gifting to others. The X days/week time frame would be however long Kabam would need to be able to identify fraudulent purchases and take action before they were laundered off.
2. Allow gifting to alliance members (within the same alliance) where both in the gift exchange have been in the same alliance for a X days/weeks? My understanding that most of the fraud is coming from fake, newly made up accounts. While being in an alliance isn't going to completely lock all possible fraudulent activity down, many who want to succeed and play the End Game want to be in a competitive alliance and this will prevent hopping to other fake alliances to get gifts. Having a specified amount of time with a fellow alliance mate will reduce the risk of random accounts from fraudulent gifting. It also puts an added benefit to being in an alliance long-term (whatever X might be).
So I hope that is a joke! Maybe I am wrong so please correct me if I am, but when I paid really money for something and someone took it from me giving me some **** instead I would call that stealing, please tell me Kabam how you would call it? I don't give a **** what other people do, if you have a proof doing something they shouldn't punish them, instead of stealing from innocence people. Keep going that road Kabam and soon you won't have a people you could steal from
You need to give people who bought that badge the full equal amount of units. That's just terrible and you're basically telling ppl to not buy anything like that again from Kabam.
Why can't people understand that you got the units when you got the badge. The offer has always been for the units not the badge. The badge was a free add on. It does not matter if you bought the offer just for the badge. That was your choice it doesn't change the fact that the offer was for the units
It’ll be interesting to see if anyone actually sues Kabam over this and, even more interestingly, on what grounds. Lol
Literally thousands of people claim they are going to sue game companies over this or that every year. Every once in a while I ask lawyers I know to to a lexis search. I'm always disappointed. Only a handful of these cases have ever gotten past the laugh out loud stage in twenty five years, and essentially none of them win anywhere in the western world. I've only seen a couple cases win, both in China, and both under very extreme situations.
The fundamental hurdle to overcome is this: you don't just have the right to play the game just because it is free to play. Kabam has the right to limit the players of the game to only those people who agree to their terms. People get hung up on the notion that the EULA or the TOS isn't "legal" or "enforceable" but that's completely irrelevant. If you don't accept those terms, you have no legal contract to play the game. It now becomes the *player* that is stealing the service, because they are deliberately playing a game they have no right to play, because they refuse to accept the terms of the contract that allows them to play. Everything they accuse the game operator of past that point becomes impossible to get to stick.
That's what makes this so difficult to pursue legally. If you manage to strike the EULA or TOS, you literally prove yourself to be a thief in court. That is not a good legal strategy. Somehow you have to prove that you're a legal player, and Kabam therefore had certain obligations to you, and those legal obligations superceded their rights under their own terms of service which both parties voluntarily agreed to. That's a really high hurdle, as evidenced by the fact that no MMO player that I'm aware of has managed to overcome it anywhere in the western world.
This truly is just ridiculous, at this point and the amount of things mcoc has done in the recent past I truly feel us players at a minimum need to boycott this game for at least a week. It is ridiculous how mcoc feels they can just take things that we pay real money for and give us a few units. If they truly feel they need to change something, why not make a poll and have everyone vote on it, or figure out a way to keep their players happy instead of once a month or so pissing us off. It is clear they dont give a damn about us and all they care about is profit. 1 star rating until they actually change their ways and show they care about the people playing their game and giving them money, and a 1 week boycott is what I vote for.
@Kabam Miike it is pretty obvious that it is CreditCard Fraud going on, but, it seems like a odd way to "fix" the problem.
Person uses stolen CC to buy stuff. This is logged information, and can be traced to the account that bought it correct?
That person then sells stuff to someone else. Again, this transaction is logged, is it not?
So, to fix it, you ban the original person's account forever, and then remove the item(s) that they sent to the other person, and tell the buyer of the gifts that if they attempt to do it again, they are banned for life.
Problem solved.
When you complete a purchase in Game, it's not directly with us. It's with your App Store, and the payment information is processed by them.
The actions we can take are limited by the information that we have access too.
If that's the case how do u even know fraud has been commited
likely chargeback, and google/apple told them why there was a chargeback. Also I think this might be related to the black market that people were able to get 50-70% off in game items by paying someone they know or arena bot farm owners directly for cheaper in game items. Both can't be solved by deleted those fraud and/or bot accounts so it makes sense Kabam is first stopping these frauds from continuing.
So we paid real money and kabam just claim that was abused.. this was a paid feature not a bug or problem from user that also paid you should limit the "gifts" or any other option instead of remove something the users payed already using your rules
To be fair, I understand that people are upset. I'm not trying to snub them off. I'm just explaining what's going on so people understand. This was necessary. People were being scammed and frauded. That goes beyond just the monetary value in a multitude of ways.
Correct I bought a gifting badge and got scammed because I dont have it.
Fixing fraud by committing fraud? That's a new solution for sure
This is not fraud, it is hardly even a bait and switch since the gifting badge had a value of 0
If the badge had a value of 0 why wasn't it available in game for purchase with units or added to all unit offers. It appears to be valued at 30 dollars since that is the only way to get it
It is not valued at $30, 850 units is. As an added bonus you could get the free gifting badge. You get $30 value from the units and a FREE gifting badge.
If the badge is free why are you required to buy the 30 dollar deal to get it. The units are free the badge costs 30 dollars
the unit package costs $30, you can go look now.
Free is something you get without cost. Was there ever a way to get a permanent gifting badge without spending money? Was the gifting badge offered whith any other in game purchases at lower price point? If the only way to get the permanent gifting badge was from the 30 dollar offer then that was what people were buying. Any units or other items that were given at the time of purchase would have been the bonus items. Yes the unit pack is the same cost as the one offered with the gifting badge but that isn't the point. The only way to get the permanent badge is to spend 30 dollars so it was never free.
mathematically you got it without cost. you paid $30 for 850 units, you got 850 units, that leaves a net 0, you then for that 0 got a gifting badge. It was a free incentive to get you tobuy because they known on average if they can get you to buy they can get you to buy more
You keep going back to the fact that it came with units but is it available in any other way in the game or through any other offer. Show me any other way to get this item and I'll gladly except your argument
Why? You don't get to force Kabam or any other company to sell you what you want on your terms. If the only way to get the badge was to buy units, then you either buy units or you don't get the badge. You don't get to decide that you're actually buying the badge.
You had no other way to get the badge except to buy units. Nor was it necessary to give you such a method. The badge was an incentive to encourage people to buy units. Giving you a way to get it without buying units would defeat the purpose of the badge being an incentive to buy units.
Seems very basic. You only receive the gifting badge by spending real money then the only way they can take said permanent badge is by refunding money. End of story.
To be fair, I understand that people are upset. I'm not trying to snub them off. I'm just explaining what's going on so people understand. This was necessary. People were being scammed and frauded. That goes beyond just the monetary value in a multitude of ways.
Correct I bought a gifting badge and got scammed because I dont have it.
Fixing fraud by committing fraud? That's a new solution for sure
This is not fraud, it is hardly even a bait and switch since the gifting badge had a value of 0
If the badge had a value of 0 why wasn't it available in game for purchase with units or added to all unit offers. It appears to be valued at 30 dollars since that is the only way to get it
It is not valued at $30, 850 units is. As an added bonus you could get the free gifting badge. You get $30 value from the units and a FREE gifting badge.
If the badge is free why are you required to buy the 30 dollar deal to get it. The units are free the badge costs 30 dollars
the unit package costs $30, you can go look now.
Free is something you get without cost. Was there ever a way to get a permanent gifting badge without spending money? Was the gifting badge offered whith any other in game purchases at lower price point? If the only way to get the permanent gifting badge was from the 30 dollar offer then that was what people were buying. Any units or other items that were given at the time of purchase would have been the bonus items. Yes the unit pack is the same cost as the one offered with the gifting badge but that isn't the point. The only way to get the permanent badge is to spend 30 dollars so it was never free.
mathematically you got it without cost. you paid $30 for 850 units, you got 850 units, that leaves a net 0, you then for that 0 got a gifting badge. It was a free incentive to get you tobuy because they known on average if they can get you to buy they can get you to buy more
You keep going back to the fact that it came with units but is it available in any other way in the game or through any other offer. Show me any other way to get this item and I'll gladly except your argument
I dont have to..If you go to the store and you see a lollipop and they said free lollipop with the purchase of a $1 candy bar, if you by the candy bar and dont like the lollipop they are not going to give you any money back, it was free. You buying the candy bar only because it came with the lollipop does not matter.
Where in that offer does it state the gifting badge is the free item.
It's pretty hard to decide what the value of any given thing is to everybody. Technically, the Gifting Badge had no value, as it was a free add on to a Unit Pack that contained 850 Units, but that doesn't mean that it had no value to everybody, as some may have purchased the package just for that and not the units.
I buy the units and the gifting Badge!! i wan't my money Back or my 850 Unit's!!, if no fair!, It is better to see more frauder block the ability to buy units and problem solved, but always looking how **** the client "US" and you win !! i will start looking for a game to go forgetting this !!, this is one **** at a time.
Block 0
Nerf Massive 12.0
Nerf Blade (Do not label villains to villains)
And the list goes on and on!!
Act 6, 4* banned!!
A Player from Dominican Republic!!
Agreed 100%. just moved my quitting date up to "No chance for redemption" Once season rewards are given I am out. Cant wait for Diablo Immortal.
Lastly, because this issue affects peoples’ real life as it pertains to fraud, I can see why Kabam was given no choice but to put a stop to it. I agree that it’s the actions of the minority that harmed the whole community, but doesn’t everything in life work this way? That’s why we have rules and laws to protect the majority from the actions of the minority.
Although I agree with your overarching point, the above uses faulty logic. In real life, beating someone with a baseball bat is illegal. There are a minority of people who do it, anyway. If they get caught, prosecuted, and are found guilty, they go to jail. The courts take away their baseball bat.
What Kabam decided to do is rather than investigating and prosecuting the majority of the violators (in the case of this very simple exercise), they decided to ban baseball bats for everyone. I'm not happy with this solution, as gifting was literally the only lifeline I have to certain Alliance members (it's a skill level thing, and while they love the game, the skill just isn't there. Not being able to send revives will be sorely missed). No, mine isn't a hardcore Alliance, but it was a fun, casual Alliance, and I will miss those that wander off to easier pastures.
That being said, I expect Kabam simply lacked the manpower to execute an investigation of such a broad scope in the time they allotted themselves to address the specter of fraud. So I will choke on my 300 credits and keep playing my most beloved/despised game/hobby. I grind my teeth at being refunded 300 of the 850 credits that $30 is worth, especially since I know awarding that extra 550 isn't going to do much at all to their bottom line and would go a long way toward building goodwill with a battered and weary honest player base.
It's times like these I like to remember what William "Canada Bill" Jones once said: "I know it's crooked, but it's the only game in town."
To be fair, I understand that people are upset. I'm not trying to snub them off. I'm just explaining what's going on so people understand. This was necessary. People were being scammed and frauded. That goes beyond just the monetary value in a multitude of ways.
Correct I bought a gifting badge and got scammed because I dont have it.
Fixing fraud by committing fraud? That's a new solution for sure
This is not fraud, it is hardly even a bait and switch since the gifting badge had a value of 0
If the badge had a value of 0 why wasn't it available in game for purchase with units or added to all unit offers. It appears to be valued at 30 dollars since that is the only way to get it
It is not valued at $30, 850 units is. As an added bonus you could get the free gifting badge. You get $30 value from the units and a FREE gifting badge.
If the badge is free why are you required to buy the 30 dollar deal to get it. The units are free the badge costs 30 dollars
the unit package costs $30, you can go look now.
Free is something you get without cost. Was there ever a way to get a permanent gifting badge without spending money? Was the gifting badge offered whith any other in game purchases at lower price point? If the only way to get the permanent gifting badge was from the 30 dollar offer then that was what people were buying. Any units or other items that were given at the time of purchase would have been the bonus items. Yes the unit pack is the same cost as the one offered with the gifting badge but that isn't the point. The only way to get the permanent badge is to spend 30 dollars so it was never free.
mathematically you got it without cost. you paid $30 for 850 units, you got 850 units, that leaves a net 0, you then for that 0 got a gifting badge. It was a free incentive to get you tobuy because they known on average if they can get you to buy they can get you to buy more
You keep going back to the fact that it came with units but is it available in any other way in the game or through any other offer. Show me any other way to get this item and I'll gladly except your argument
I dont have to..If you go to the store and you see a lollipop and they said free lollipop with the purchase of a $1 candy bar, if you by the candy bar and dont like the lollipop they are not going to give you any money back, it was free. You buying the candy bar only because it came with the lollipop does not matter.
Where in that offer does it state the gifting badge is the free item.
It's implied since the unit offer is always 850 units for $30 the fact that you are getting an additional item at no extra cost implies that the additional item is free
It's bad enough you've taken to reducing gold in rewards, you don't want to even impart 1 full Tier 3 Class catalyst if you do all of the hard level on most days, blocked 4 star champions from entering Act 6, continually change the value of rewards from events, made insane changes to the mini and final bosses of quests and wars, but this removal of the gifting badge is truly thoughtless on your part.
The gifting badge could have been limited in a multitude of ways to ensure the major reasons of the cheating were removed.
I am not made of money. The rewards (both in game rewards or in game mental yay moments) have gotten so few it is losing my interest.
You work hard to develop events and such but you've lost touch with the regular players in a major way.
To be fair, I understand that people are upset. I'm not trying to snub them off. I'm just explaining what's going on so people understand. This was necessary. People were being scammed and frauded. That goes beyond just the monetary value in a multitude of ways.
Correct I bought a gifting badge and got scammed because I dont have it.
Fixing fraud by committing fraud? That's a new solution for sure
This is not fraud, it is hardly even a bait and switch since the gifting badge had a value of 0
If the badge had a value of 0 why wasn't it available in game for purchase with units or added to all unit offers. It appears to be valued at 30 dollars since that is the only way to get it
It is not valued at $30, 850 units is. As an added bonus you could get the free gifting badge. You get $30 value from the units and a FREE gifting badge.
If the badge is free why are you required to buy the 30 dollar deal to get it. The units are free the badge costs 30 dollars
the unit package costs $30, you can go look now.
Free is something you get without cost. Was there ever a way to get a permanent gifting badge without spending money? Was the gifting badge offered whith any other in game purchases at lower price point? If the only way to get the permanent gifting badge was from the 30 dollar offer then that was what people were buying. Any units or other items that were given at the time of purchase would have been the bonus items. Yes the unit pack is the same cost as the one offered with the gifting badge but that isn't the point. The only way to get the permanent badge is to spend 30 dollars so it was never free.
mathematically you got it without cost. you paid $30 for 850 units, you got 850 units, that leaves a net 0, you then for that 0 got a gifting badge. It was a free incentive to get you tobuy because they known on average if they can get you to buy they can get you to buy more
You keep going back to the fact that it came with units but is it available in any other way in the game or through any other offer. Show me any other way to get this item and I'll gladly except your argument
I dont have to..If you go to the store and you see a lollipop and they said free lollipop with the purchase of a $1 candy bar, if you by the candy bar and dont like the lollipop they are not going to give you any money back, it was free. You buying the candy bar only because it came with the lollipop does not matter.
This is more like you buy a TV and for a limited time it comes with a free TV Antenna.
You go to use the TV with the Antenna and decide to return the Antenna, but you want a full refund, so you have to also return the TV.
In other words we should have the option to return the entire thing, 850 units plus gifting badge for a full refund.
Lastly, because this issue affects peoples’ real life as it pertains to fraud, I can see why Kabam was given no choice but to put a stop to it. I agree that it’s the actions of the minority that harmed the whole community, but doesn’t everything in life work this way? That’s why we have rules and laws to protect the majority from the actions of the minority.
Although I agree with your overarching point, the above uses faulty logic. In real life, beating someone with a baseball bat is illegal. There are a minority of people who do it, anyway. If they get caught, prosecuted, and are found guilty, they go to jail. The courts take away their baseball bat.
What Kabam decided to do is rather than investigating and prosecuting the majority of the violators (in the case of this very simple exercise), they decided to ban baseball bats for everyone.
Actually, in real life what this is closest to is that sometimes in online games trading and gifting get exploited and sometimes in ways that are extremely difficult to simply block or prevent. When that happens, the game operators often temporarily suspend the ability to gift or trade until they can come up with a way to prevent the exploits from occurring.
Lastly, because this issue affects peoples’ real life as it pertains to fraud, I can see why Kabam was given no choice but to put a stop to it. I agree that it’s the actions of the minority that harmed the whole community, but doesn’t everything in life work this way? That’s why we have rules and laws to protect the majority from the actions of the minority.
Although I agree with your overarching point, the above uses faulty logic. In real life, beating someone with a baseball bat is illegal. There are a minority of people who do it, anyway. If they get caught, prosecuted, and are found guilty, they go to jail. The courts take away their baseball bat.
What Kabam decided to do is rather than investigating and prosecuting the majority of the violators (in the case of this very simple exercise), they decided to ban baseball bats for everyone. I'm not happy with this solution, as gifting was literally the only lifeline I have to certain Alliance members (it's a skill level thing, and while they love the game, the skill just isn't there. Not being able to send revives will be sorely missed). No, mine isn't a hardcore Alliance, but it was a fun, casual Alliance, and I will miss those that wander off to easier pastures.
That being said, I expect Kabam simply lacked the manpower to execute an investigation of such a broad scope in the time they allotted themselves to address the specter of fraud. So I will choke on my 300 credits and keep playing my most beloved/despised game/hobby. I grind my teeth at being refunded 300 of the 850 credits that $30 is worth, especially since I know awarding that extra 550 isn't going to do much at all to their bottom line and would go a long way toward building goodwill with a battered and weary honest player base.
It's times like these I like to remember what William "Canada Bill" Jones once said: "I know it's crooked, but it's the only game in town."
Nice argument except you couldn't be more wrong. Kabam gas already stated that the issue isn't just about abuse of the gifting system. Players personal information was being compromised. That's something that can't be detected until reported which of course is too late for the victim. To prevent future players from being victimized the only sensible thing kabam could do is remove the means by which they were being victimized hence the removal of the gifting badge.
To be fair, I understand that people are upset. I'm not trying to snub them off. I'm just explaining what's going on so people understand. This was necessary. People were being scammed and frauded. That goes beyond just the monetary value in a multitude of ways.
Correct I bought a gifting badge and got scammed because I dont have it.
Fixing fraud by committing fraud? That's a new solution for sure
This is not fraud, it is hardly even a bait and switch since the gifting badge had a value of 0
If the badge had a value of 0 why wasn't it available in game for purchase with units or added to all unit offers. It appears to be valued at 30 dollars since that is the only way to get it
It is not valued at $30, 850 units is. As an added bonus you could get the free gifting badge. You get $30 value from the units and a FREE gifting badge.
If the badge is free why are you required to buy the 30 dollar deal to get it. The units are free the badge costs 30 dollars
the unit package costs $30, you can go look now.
Free is something you get without cost. Was there ever a way to get a permanent gifting badge without spending money? Was the gifting badge offered whith any other in game purchases at lower price point? If the only way to get the permanent gifting badge was from the 30 dollar offer then that was what people were buying. Any units or other items that were given at the time of purchase would have been the bonus items. Yes the unit pack is the same cost as the one offered with the gifting badge but that isn't the point. The only way to get the permanent badge is to spend 30 dollars so it was never free.
mathematically you got it without cost. you paid $30 for 850 units, you got 850 units, that leaves a net 0, you then for that 0 got a gifting badge. It was a free incentive to get you tobuy because they known on average if they can get you to buy they can get you to buy more
You keep going back to the fact that it came with units but is it available in any other way in the game or through any other offer. Show me any other way to get this item and I'll gladly except your argument
I dont have to..If you go to the store and you see a lollipop and they said free lollipop with the purchase of a $1 candy bar, if you by the candy bar and dont like the lollipop they are not going to give you any money back, it was free. You buying the candy bar only because it came with the lollipop does not matter.
Where in that offer does it state the gifting badge is the free item.
It's implied since the unit offer is always 850 units for $30 the fact that you are getting an additional item at no extra cost implies that the additional item is free
Implied? So it doesn't actually state it. So it's an assumption that the badge is the free item. I guess that by this logic we must assume kabam always has the summoners best interests in mind when making these decisions and we who question it are all wrong and should remain silent. Makes perfect sense
Guys responding the the kabam apologists: don’t feed the trolls. It’s their goal to derail threads. Keep it on point and either don’t interact with the few OR block them
Ok, all need to realize that when you purchased the Badge, you recieved 850 units. Which cost 29.99 USD everyday, all day, unless there's an additional deal. I do agree that 300 units is weak sauce. For sure. However, using the arguement that we're owed 850 units for something that came as an extra, be it the main reason you bought said Tony Stark Briefcase, isn't really valid. You recieved them already. Now, again, it should be worth more than 300 units. It's true.
Now, let's address the real issue here. Punishment for all when it's a select few that did it. Perhaps they should create a limit to what can be sent per player, per day. That way, people can still use the gift badge in a legitimate way vs it being abused to commit in game fraud. There's other aspects of the game that limit item use so this could EASILY have been thought up and implemented vs just 86-ing the badge. I do agree, the units are hardly compensation for something that is HIGHLY useful for all. Kabam, the team needs to get advice from the playerbase before taking actions like this. The fallout will be big. Need to stop this ready, fire, aim business.
While I agree, that we all did receive 850 units with the purchase of the badge, we were only granted the opportunity to spend more units in game. It isn't like we could gift items we already owned, we had to spend our own units, many of which were farmed, and many that were also bought with our money. That is what makes me angry. It seems as though they double dipped on us, and are disregarding the copious amounts of units we have all spent to help our alliances. I have spent at least 10x the amount of units received, outside of gifting events. They compensated us 3000 units when will power was nerfed, and I know way more units have been spent, utilizing a "free" gifting badge
Blame the people exploiting the game. This won’t be the last time something like this will happen. Since the introduction of AW seasons players are looking for any edge to win. Even out the rewards, they are very top heavy in both AQ & AW or boost the gold 1-2 rewards, boost the top 1k-1500 AQ rewards. As long as rewards are too heavy people will find ways to get that edge through black market or whatever. Each time Kabam thinks they have it covered another exploit pops up. Just even out the rewards.
But the top allies in war & AQ should receive great rewards but the mid level tier rewards need an upgrade. Everyone wants to get into the master, platinum allies and will do whatever it takes to limit kos or get ahead.
Comments
I'm sure the Kabam team has brainstormed on various solutions but i would like to throw out two, mainly because I paid for and enjoy using the gifting badge to help progress my account and help my alliance mates when they are in need. I totally understand the removal of the badge to prevent fraud but there has to be viable solutions that can be implemented to keep it around.
1. Put a timer on the units when purchased. After so X days/weeks, units accumulated, whether paid for via the store or grinded out via Arena or Questing are allowed to be gifted. Until that specified time passes, the units can only be used for personal account items. After the specified time has passed, the units can also be used to gift items. This basically gives you two unit balances, 1 balance is your total that can be used for just your account and the 2nd balance is a portion of the personal balance that can be used for gifting to others. The X days/week time frame would be however long Kabam would need to be able to identify fraudulent purchases and take action before they were laundered off.
2. Allow gifting to alliance members (within the same alliance) where both in the gift exchange have been in the same alliance for a X days/weeks? My understanding that most of the fraud is coming from fake, newly made up accounts. While being in an alliance isn't going to completely lock all possible fraudulent activity down, many who want to succeed and play the End Game want to be in a competitive alliance and this will prevent hopping to other fake alliances to get gifts. Having a specified amount of time with a fellow alliance mate will reduce the risk of random accounts from fraudulent gifting. It also puts an added benefit to being in an alliance long-term (whatever X might be).
Thanks for your consideration
The fundamental hurdle to overcome is this: you don't just have the right to play the game just because it is free to play. Kabam has the right to limit the players of the game to only those people who agree to their terms. People get hung up on the notion that the EULA or the TOS isn't "legal" or "enforceable" but that's completely irrelevant. If you don't accept those terms, you have no legal contract to play the game. It now becomes the *player* that is stealing the service, because they are deliberately playing a game they have no right to play, because they refuse to accept the terms of the contract that allows them to play. Everything they accuse the game operator of past that point becomes impossible to get to stick.
That's what makes this so difficult to pursue legally. If you manage to strike the EULA or TOS, you literally prove yourself to be a thief in court. That is not a good legal strategy. Somehow you have to prove that you're a legal player, and Kabam therefore had certain obligations to you, and those legal obligations superceded their rights under their own terms of service which both parties voluntarily agreed to. That's a really high hurdle, as evidenced by the fact that no MMO player that I'm aware of has managed to overcome it anywhere in the western world.
You had no other way to get the badge except to buy units. Nor was it necessary to give you such a method. The badge was an incentive to encourage people to buy units. Giving you a way to get it without buying units would defeat the purpose of the badge being an incentive to buy units.
What Kabam decided to do is rather than investigating and prosecuting the majority of the violators (in the case of this very simple exercise), they decided to ban baseball bats for everyone. I'm not happy with this solution, as gifting was literally the only lifeline I have to certain Alliance members (it's a skill level thing, and while they love the game, the skill just isn't there. Not being able to send revives will be sorely missed). No, mine isn't a hardcore Alliance, but it was a fun, casual Alliance, and I will miss those that wander off to easier pastures.
That being said, I expect Kabam simply lacked the manpower to execute an investigation of such a broad scope in the time they allotted themselves to address the specter of fraud. So I will choke on my 300 credits and keep playing my most beloved/despised game/hobby. I grind my teeth at being refunded 300 of the 850 credits that $30 is worth, especially since I know awarding that extra 550 isn't going to do much at all to their bottom line and would go a long way toward building goodwill with a battered and weary honest player base.
It's times like these I like to remember what William "Canada Bill" Jones once said: "I know it's crooked, but it's the only game in town."
It's bad enough you've taken to reducing gold in rewards, you don't want to even impart 1 full Tier 3 Class catalyst if you do all of the hard level on most days, blocked 4 star champions from entering Act 6, continually change the value of rewards from events, made insane changes to the mini and final bosses of quests and wars, but this removal of the gifting badge is truly thoughtless on your part.
The gifting badge could have been limited in a multitude of ways to ensure the major reasons of the cheating were removed.
I am not made of money. The rewards (both in game rewards or in game mental yay moments) have gotten so few it is losing my interest.
You work hard to develop events and such but you've lost touch with the regular players in a major way.
What a shame. I used to enjoy the game...
You go to use the TV with the Antenna and decide to return the Antenna, but you want a full refund, so you have to also return the TV.
In other words we should have the option to return the entire thing, 850 units plus gifting badge for a full refund.
This is a lot like that.
But the top allies in war & AQ should receive great rewards but the mid level tier rewards need an upgrade. Everyone wants to get into the master, platinum allies and will do whatever it takes to limit kos or get ahead.