Blizzard to offer compensation for PVP Season 10 transition woes
by Anne Stickney 
Jul 8th 2011 at 10:53PM
Yesterday, we talked about an issue that had PVP players in an uproar: Conquest points were accidentally down-converted to honor points a week early, with excess points converted to gold. On top of that, Blizzard launched a new tier of ilevel 371 gear without warning, just after making ilevel 365 gear available for purchase with honor. Players who spent their points decking themselves out in the latest PVP armor found themselves abruptly faced with the stunning realization that had they saved their points, they could have had better gear.
It was a mistake, and it was acknowledged by Zarhym (Blizzard community manager) in a fairly lengthy blue post, along with a mention that Blizzard was exploring some options to try and make it up to players.
Happily, it appears those options have been explored, as Blizzard's Bashiok posted today with a proposed solution for compensation: Players who were caught off guard by the change will be provided with 4,000 honor points, stacking over the cap. Players will not be able to accumulate more honor until spending below the 4,000 cap, but that should give PVPers a chance to pick up that new gear. This will not be immediately implemented, as it seems Blizzard is still trying to figure out how, exactly, to determine who was affected by the sudden transition and who was not -- so don't expect those 4,000 points on your character tomorrow.
Still, it's nice seeing Blizzard acknowledge something that was clearly a miscommunication in regards to the transition between seasons and that it will be making sure those players caught in the middle of the fumble will be getting something back. Follow after the break for the full announcement from Bashiok.
It was a mistake, and it was acknowledged by Zarhym (Blizzard community manager) in a fairly lengthy blue post, along with a mention that Blizzard was exploring some options to try and make it up to players.
Happily, it appears those options have been explored, as Blizzard's Bashiok posted today with a proposed solution for compensation: Players who were caught off guard by the change will be provided with 4,000 honor points, stacking over the cap. Players will not be able to accumulate more honor until spending below the 4,000 cap, but that should give PVPers a chance to pick up that new gear. This will not be immediately implemented, as it seems Blizzard is still trying to figure out how, exactly, to determine who was affected by the sudden transition and who was not -- so don't expect those 4,000 points on your character tomorrow.
Still, it's nice seeing Blizzard acknowledge something that was clearly a miscommunication in regards to the transition between seasons and that it will be making sure those players caught in the middle of the fumble will be getting something back. Follow after the break for the full announcement from Bashiok.
Bashiok
We wanted to let everyone know that we're working to address the miscommunication that occurred regarding the introduction of new item level 371 PvP gear, and share our current plans.
For background, many players spent their Honor Points on item level 365 gear once Season 9 ended only to find that more powerful item level 371 gear was available when season 10 started. We should have communicated ahead of time that this was going to be the case, and we apologize for the mistake.
We've been working over the past few days to evaluate and determine the best course of action to offer players some kind of compensation for those who were caught off guard by the new gear. The plan we've found to be achievable within an acceptable amount of time is to provide players who were affected with 4000 Honor Points. This extra Honor would function similarly to the currency down-conversion in that it would stack over the cap, but you would not be able to earn more until you spent under the 4000 cap.
The process of determining who was affected is certainly the most difficult task of this issue, and the entire process of figuring out who should receive the Honor or not and then delivering it isn't anything less than a giant undertaking. We're still evaluating many of the processes that will be required to make this happen. Although we're fairly confident we can pull it off, there is still a chance it may not be possible. Due to other service related work the soonest we would be able to distribute this Honor is the 7/19 Tuesday maintenance. More complicated solutions we discussed could take months to implement, but we felt getting something to those affected as quickly as possible was more important.
Although some of this is still uncertain we felt it best to let people know as far in advance as possible to allow for adequate planning. We'll be able to provide more information and specifics on how this process will be carried out, and the requirements to receive the 4000 Honor, next week.
Again, we apologize for any inconvenience caused by our miscommunication. We greatly appreciate those who took the time to give us constructive feedback on the matter.
For background, many players spent their Honor Points on item level 365 gear once Season 9 ended only to find that more powerful item level 371 gear was available when season 10 started. We should have communicated ahead of time that this was going to be the case, and we apologize for the mistake.
We've been working over the past few days to evaluate and determine the best course of action to offer players some kind of compensation for those who were caught off guard by the new gear. The plan we've found to be achievable within an acceptable amount of time is to provide players who were affected with 4000 Honor Points. This extra Honor would function similarly to the currency down-conversion in that it would stack over the cap, but you would not be able to earn more until you spent under the 4000 cap.
The process of determining who was affected is certainly the most difficult task of this issue, and the entire process of figuring out who should receive the Honor or not and then delivering it isn't anything less than a giant undertaking. We're still evaluating many of the processes that will be required to make this happen. Although we're fairly confident we can pull it off, there is still a chance it may not be possible. Due to other service related work the soonest we would be able to distribute this Honor is the 7/19 Tuesday maintenance. More complicated solutions we discussed could take months to implement, but we felt getting something to those affected as quickly as possible was more important.
Although some of this is still uncertain we felt it best to let people know as far in advance as possible to allow for adequate planning. We'll be able to provide more information and specifics on how this process will be carried out, and the requirements to receive the 4000 Honor, next week.
Again, we apologize for any inconvenience caused by our miscommunication. We greatly appreciate those who took the time to give us constructive feedback on the matter.
The news is already rolling out for the upcoming WoW Patch 4.2! Preview the new Firelands raid, marvel at the new legendary staff, and get the inside scoop on new quest hubs -- plus new tier 12 armor!Filed under: News items, PvP, Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
crateish Jul 8th 2011 11:03PM
Yep. That's what happened to me. It will be interesting to see how they find me.
Mgssidley Jul 8th 2011 11:11PM
I leveled to 85 and purchased 4 items on the night before the maintenance. When I logged in and had heard about the change I checked and was able to sell everything back for the old price thus upgrading those 4 pieces with no loss. Wondering if I will still gain the 4k and benefit from this >:D
Valdres Jul 8th 2011 11:23PM
So, once I regrind out all these points again, and have no more need for Honor by the time the week and a half go by... that's when I'll get that honor repaid. Yay for another Maelstrom crystal....
Greenjojo Jul 8th 2011 11:22PM
Guess we'll see how they "find" people. Farmed nearly 12k honor on my warrior, got the full 365 set, and couple rings ^_^
Abbadon Jul 8th 2011 11:28PM
This will be interesting... and can only cause more QQ when some ppl don't get compensated for whatever reason...
I fully expect one of my toons to be passed over:
One had very little CP converted to HP but did spend about 7k HP (some saved the rest from JP conversion) on the now outdated s9 vicious gear during the transition week.
The other lost about 600 HP when CP was converted and capped at 4k HP, but then I didn't spend any of that HP during the week.
Would be nice for both to get compensated... We'll see.....
Brock Jul 8th 2011 11:28PM
Well 4000 is about half of what I spent but still it's a nice gesture.
Bamsen Jul 9th 2011 12:59AM
While it's fine getting 4k honor back, that's not really the biggest issue for me. It's really the small fortune I spent on gems and enchants for two full sets of season 9 vicious gear that pisses me off. I went for the most expensive enchants because I fully expected to keep that gear for a while - certainly longer than a couple of weeks.
Lsprof4 Jul 9th 2011 3:33AM
^ this
Snuzzle Jul 9th 2011 3:31AM
Even though I don't PVP, I agree with your statement. What they SHOULD do is upgrade all the 365s that were bought during that interim week to 371s automatically. Not to mention all the guys who saw there were 371s now available and dropped their 365s a week after buying them, essentially wasting any honor they grinded and spent on those 365s.
Don't get me wrong, the free 4k honor is a very nice gesture but I think it's a little bit of "too little, too late" at this point.
crateish Jul 9th 2011 11:35AM
Good point. Easier to earn honor than gold on my server, where the economy screwed up.
babywhiz Jul 9th 2011 2:32AM
All I care about is my main. She's the one that farmed all weekend. :D
Twill Jul 9th 2011 2:37AM
THANK YOU BLIZZARD
Jack Jul 9th 2011 3:14AM
This 4000 honor is total BS. Why in h*ll would Blizzard put out gear that is good for one WEEK? The 4k honor does not compensate people who spent the time to grind for the gear, which could easily cost 20,000k honor. Nor does it compensate people for the gems/enchants/arcanums/threads used on the gear.
Not even close to a solution, and I think if Blizzard doesn't do FAR more, players will leave. I know I will be done with this game forever if this isn't fixed. And by fixed, the gear needs to be converted to the current season. Period.
rgalbraith83 Jul 9th 2011 3:25AM
that's a little extreme jack. the gear wasnt around for only one week. it was the conquest gear. so if you did pvp before that, you would have had it. the intentions were to let people fill in the gaps and spend down to the 4000 hp cap, but the mistake was made in the conversion and the announcement to the community. so, while i also spent more than 4k honor that week on gear that is irrelevant, the gear was still a major upgrade for me and got me to where i needed to be to start season 10 arena (i didnt pvp much during season 9).
if players leave because of 6 ilvl points on their gear, they obviously dont care about the game enough. its not that hard to farm the honor to upgrade...
PvtDeth Jul 9th 2011 3:44AM
"players will leave."
No. No, they won't.
thawedtheorc Jul 9th 2011 4:06AM
Tell it like it is, Brotha Cartman!
trefpoid Jul 9th 2011 4:34AM
just farm till u cap your VP and you'll be capped in justice points, convert those to honor points and you'll be set :D I'm not happy about what happened, but some compensation is nice and I'll get more points very quick too
wowdamimcute Jul 9th 2011 7:43AM
Jack, ppl like you make me crazy....well....crazier. Repeat after me....THIS...IS...A...GAME! You want to quit? Quit. Games are meant to be fun, period. I am a firm believer that if you aren't getting enjoyment from it it's time to go. Your type takes the fun out of the game not only for yourself...but also for everyone around you, whether it's in instances, bg's or just in chat. Blizz made a mistake, so what. Get over it, move on, call it a reason to run the hell out of bg's to get more points or something....or quit.
Jari Jul 9th 2011 8:18AM
20,000k = 20,000,000
Pika Jul 9th 2011 3:20AM
For all the people screaming that Blizz needs to 'do more or i quit', plenty of other companies facing a snafu like this wouldn't even bother with compensation of any kind.