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Well I'm done!
eccoton
Member UncommonPosts: 1,340
Well Square Enix just lost my business. After the messed up launch, I received an e-mail that my account has been suspended for gold selling. They say the violation happened yesterday, I did not even log in yesterday so my account was already hacked. Now I realize I can fight this but I tried to contact SE by phone and could not get through. It is just not worth the effort.
I liked the game but this last weekend I did not play much only about 2 hours. I just did not have that fever to log in. I would be keeping my account for at least a few months even though FFXIV did not take me away from WOW or Rift it was good enough to continue to play and I wanted to give it a chance. However all the hassles are just not worth fighting through. So the reason I am leaving is not the game itself, it is ok, but SE handling of the game and my account. This thread is not to attack the game or get others to leave it is a good game but to show at least one customer is leaving because SE just does not have it together and I am tired of waiting since there are plenty of other options. It just is not worth the hassles for me.
Comments
Are you sure it was a legit e-mail? Not someone trying to steal your account?
Yes it is. Since I am an experienced mmo I am aware of e-mail fishing. I went to log into the game and I got the message my account was suspended. I then went to access my actual account I could log in but see no info and a message on the screen said the account has been suspended for violation of the user rules. I am sure the account was hacked yesterday but I tried for over an hour to get through to customer service and just got tired of waiting on a long distance toll call. I will continue to try to contact SE to make sure my private information is deleted but I am done.
This has happened to me twice in WoW. The thing is, you may have been hacked? Are you saying you weren't?
I guess my question is, why would you want them to NOT suspend your account if in fact you were hacked? What are they supposed to do?
Honestly, this is just part of the genre now, an unfortunate part. You can take all the steps you want, but sometimes it still just happens. Maybe they are not on top of it right now, but this is fairly possible in any game now.
Where does the OP say he used a simple password?
OP - I feel for you. SE has not handled this launch well in any way shape or form. I'm learning the hard way (much like you) that they are just not a very good company to deal with when it comes to MMO launches.
A software authenticator is available for FREE on both iPhone and Android Phones.
These are sad times in the MMO genre, but you can prevent Your account from being hacked by taking a simple messure as to using the FREE software authenticator.
I have been playing MMO´s and other online games since the 90´s and have yet to have a single account hacked in all those years.
On the launcher there was a link for improving account security which was mainly about best practises, tokens, apps etc. But they also talked about account limitations (lock downs) in case dubious activity was noted.
The email you received should have all the details on how to unlock your account according to said link.
http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/news/detail/9596ebac38b743b366d89970ab004b15d14792c8
They don´t have to Guess Your password.
Most accounts get hacked due to the following:
1. Falling for phising emails. These get more sophisticated over time and sadly more and more People seem to fall for it.
2. Malware, virusses, keyloggers on PC due to visiting websites that contain them.
3. Using the same username/email/passwords on Public forums. A lot of them run low Security forum software and get hacked all the time. Easy way for them to retrieve potential account info.
4. Buying stuff on RMT sites.
That sucks.
Though this is an odd thing to say, it's probably better off for you (blood pressure-wise) that you're resigned to moving on at this point. I have a feeling that - unless they've had a major change in how they handle such things - you'd only find more aggravation were you trying to get your account un-suspended.
A little while back (okay, a couple years back), a friend decided to check out FFXI, so he bought it. I'd been trying to get him to play it for a while, as I knew it was the kind of game he would enjoy (he's a serious old-school RPG'er). He'd resisted for a long time, but eventually decided to give it a go. Turned out I was right, and once he got in and got used to not having !'s and ?s everywhere, really began to enjoy it. This was awesome for me, as he and I are really good friends IRL and have always had a blast when gaming together, along with his gf, and some other in-game friends we've met along the way.
His girlfriend decided to check it out as well and, since the game came with a buddy-pass, and because they're pretty much joined at the hip gaming-wise, she decided to install it and give it a try as well.
Her account was banned 1 day later "for suspicious activity". Essentially, she was auto-flagged for RMT.
I found this actually funny at first, knowing her as I do. She's one of the most ardent anti-RMT/Gold-Selling/Buying people you'll meet. She'd kick people from our guilds, without a second thought, upon learning they'd bought gold or any other services, etc. I used to kid that she had "The Quickest RMT Reporting Finger in The West". So, for her of all people to be tagged as possible RMT was incredibly ironic.
"Their system false flagged you", I explained to her. "Just give them a call, explain what's going on, and I'm sure they'll fix it".
She called. They didn't un-ban her. She explained the situation. She was a brand-new player, didn't really understand the game well and had just been wandering around Windurst trying to figure out the "what and who" of it all. They didn't un-ban her.
The best she got was that she could appeal and they'd get back to her with an answer. She appealed, but never got an answer. She contacted them again to find they'd reached an answer - but didn't bother to inform her of it. The ban would remain in place. As far as they were concerned, she was busted, their system was flawless, and they wouldn't reinstate her account.
I followed up and put in a word for her (I'd been a player for over 7 years in good standing at that point, never a temp ban or warning, etc). I explained the situation, that I knew her, that they were ironically banning someone who'd likely become one of the most active RMT reporters - at least on our server. I was told that they couldn't explain the particulars of the case (which I'd never asked for to begin with), but that all decisions are final.
I explained that I'd been trying for a long time to get these people to play, and now that they were,
She called one more time trying to make another appeal.
She was told they couldn't do anything about it, all decisions are final. However, she could open a new account.
She got disgusted at this, and rightfully so. My friend was also disgusted, and stopped playing as well. He and his girlfriend play the same games together, especially a brand-new one. They weren't disgusted at the fact that she'd have to create a new account, but at how inflexible and arrogant SE's stance was on it of never admitting a mistake. They believed their anti-RMT system was infallible and trusted its arbitrary results over her appeals and explanations.
So, after years (literally) of trying to get my friend(s) to play... when he(they) finally did... it was all ruined by SE's inflexibility and refusal to acknowledge and correct an error.
I was personally embarrassed and pissed off by this, because I'd spoken so highly of them and the game for all that time... and then that happens.
So... point of the story is simply: If SE decided you (or at least your account) was engaged in some illegal activity. You're done. They won't change their minds. Because - at least when it comes to customer service - they're never wrong in their eyes. Moving on is better for you in the long run if you're hoping to avoid inevitable aggravation.
Again, unless their policies have changed and they've "lightened up" a bit on it.
That's (A) assuming the OP has either of those phones and (B) the OP wants to use them.
Really, the OP's complaint isn't that his account was hacked, it's about how SE is handling (or not handling) communication attempts by him to them.
If you go to the technical support forums on SE's forums, you will see a lot of posts complaining on the inability to reach SE support and get their issues resolved.
Same thing happened to me with Neverwinter but unlike you, I tried for a week to get my account reinstated to no avail. Shitty customer service and no phone number to call for support lead me to say f*ck it. I'll never play one of their games again.
If in 1982 we played with the current mentality, we would have burned down all the pac man games since the red ghost was clearly OP. Instead we just got better at the game.
SE's... "Customer Support" is horrid.
I'd filled out a support ticket back on the 27th or 28th of August. Never got a response. I later found out (not through a follow-up email from SE themselves, but through word of mouth about an update I wasn't even aware of) that they'd closed all opened support tickets, and people who still required assistance should submit a new one and they would get to fixing it.
I re-submitted my ticket on Sept. 1st. It's now the 10th and I've yet to even get so much as a confirmation that anyone's even looking at it.
The problem now is that their support lines are overloaded because we are in the middle of the initial rush period of a New launch.
Try contacting any MMO customer support right after launch during the initial rush or during expansion releases.
Good Luck!
PS. Did the OP try to Reach chat support by the way? They are often much quicker to reach.
It's LAUNCH FFS. Get in line. Seriously, I tried PWE for STO the week NW came out and it took them 2 weeks to get back to me (right before the Romulus launch). That was me posting every day, contacting twitter, contacting their office. Trying for an hour and giving up is halfhearted.
But both iPhones and Androids are easier to hack than a PC.
Good for you, you haven't been hacked (that you know of). As someone says - brute force cracking is often used. The 2ndary authenticator does not guarantee anything. Use a real tough long password.
Yep. There are countless posts about this all over their forums (or at least the ones they haven't removed already).
But there are some in this thread and website that would rather blame the player because they feel threatened when you criticize the company or game.
I think this information needs to be out there because people are having issues left and right on a variety of different levels and one should not be allowed to silence these just because the game happens to be your little darling at the moment.
No one is saying in this thread it´s the player´s fault!
This crap With Customer Support happens With EVERY SINGLE MMO and expansion launch!
We are in the middle of an initial rush period of launch!
They are completely overloaded.
Again! Try reach ANY support of ANY MMO at launch / expansion launch!
Good Luck! As you will encounter the EXACT same.
It was the same With WoW and each of their expac launches.
It was the same With EQ2 and each of their expac launches.
It was the same With Turbine, TRION, NCSoft, EA/Bioware, etc
It was not the same. I contacted Bioware during their launch (first week) and had NO problem reaching support by phone. I was on hold for a total of five minutes.
Stop spreading misinformation.
The reason for their overcrowded lines has more to do with the sheer number of people trying to get through due to their botched launch and the fact that they are severely understaffed or just don't consider support a priority.
By saying it is the "same" you are basically trying to disqualify the OP's arguments and who are you to do that?
Bad SE customer service is bad...but the fact remains, someone got his information somehow. Which means he was vulnerable in some way, shape, or form.
It could be that SE somehow mistook his account for RMT and banned it. Other than that It could ONLY be that his information was comprimised due to user error.
The OP may be about the terribad SE customer service, but the source of the problem is still a hack
The bottom line is we don't know, and they're not going to fess up if they were stupid with their information.
It's WAY more likely to be the latter, where there are a myriad of possible ways for it to happen, versus the former where there is only one.
Not impossible....but highly unlikely.
Oh Yeah? I was there at launch and at the end of first month I could not enter a Subscription due to an error With their PayPal Processing page!
I submitted several tickets without getting a response or just automated crap response.
So I was forced to make a long distance Call from Europe to US and was stuck in Queue for almost an hour (With $1/min charge mind you!!) to get through.
And that was 4 weeks after launch! And I still had to wait nearly an hour to get through at Bioware support.
that was 4 months Worth of subsctiption costs I spend waiting on the phone.
Just saying.
That is kinda odd, I submitted a ticket on the 1st same as you and got an answer back the following day. Not sure what yours was about but mine was with regards to service account. To my understanding as well from the confirmation I received their normal response time is meant to be within 48 hours. So I would say if you haven't received an auto response within that time frame you need to re-submit.