Unlimited Trial for Returning Players

Argider · November 2009

I just noticed something interesting on my free trial...I'm not limited to T1 nor am I limited to the Empire vs. Chaos area. I can go anywhere and everywhere. From things I've heard from others, there may be no level limit either. So...it seems I can play for free. I think that may be true of all returning players. So, if you had an active account before, even a trial one, now is an absolutely awesome time to try it out! Of course, they'll fix this soon, but in the meantime, why NOT try it? Granted, maybe mine is a relatively rare glitch, but it's worth a shot, isn't it?

Anywho, back to the game!

Euphoryk · November 2009

Did you re-enlist using the call to arms option?

If you did, it would explain why you do not have the trial restrictions that endless trial players do.

I haven't heard of anyone on the endless trial not being restricted, however I cant begin to count the amount of players over the last two weeks that have re-enlisted and mistakenly thought they were on the same trial as endless users, which is not the case.

The call to arms re-enlistement campaign for returning players is NOT the same as the endless free trial.

EDIT: Just logged into my own Endless Trial account and the restrictions all still apply. So I suspect my above theory is completely accurate.

Argider · November 2009

Interesting. I'm certain I didn't do any sort of call to arms as I've never paid a dime for the game. I played the normal free trial back in...gee, I can't remember...February or so maybe? I played for a couple of weeks, liked the game, but for one reason or another didn't buy it. If I recall, that was just after having bought another MMO, and the wife wasn't thrilled with the idea of shelling out another 50 bucks. So...my particular situation is old trial account converted to endless trial.

Maybe the bug only affects former trial accounts. Maybe it only affects people with an account name starting with a certain letter. Maybe it's totally random. However, I know I'm certainly not the only one this way. For instance, one guy was asking why he turned into a chicken in the RvR area. Which, of course, means he hit level 12...on his endless trial. My wife also seems to have the same access as me (also had an old trial account).

Like I say, I'm not sure why or what the cause is, but I think it's certainly worth checking out. I also don't exactly feel bad about doing it or telling others about it as in the long run it will be fixed and if it attracts more players in the meantime, it's a good thing in the long run. Some of them will be hooked like me. I plan to buy the game soon...maybe for Christmas. I liked it before, and it's massively better now, I think.

Odd situation, eh?

feena750 · November 2009

My account was a former free trial and I now have the same bug as you. I am not restricted. I asked a mod in the newbie guild and he said to just report it using bug report.

Loke666 · November 2009

Lol, well some bug was bound to be good for the players... But if they find out it will be fixed fast.

But you can't see the trial in Xfire, the game have dropped below AoC now. Not that Xfire statistics means that much of course but a trial like this should raise the numbers, not lower them. Does it feels like it is more players now than a month ago for you guys?

Argider · November 2009

Not sure about populations a month ago, since I've only been playing about a week and a half. But, folks on some of the servers have said they've seen more newbies lately and that T1 is more active. On the RP server, the population seems pretty light, but I've still run across some other newbies, and the community there is fantastic. Numbers...not so large, I think. Gorfang, on the other hand, is doing fine. Usually when I queue up for a scenario, my wait is under a minute, often nearly instant. The longest I've waited there was maybe 5 minutes, and that was at an extremely off time.

So...I don't know if numbers are moving up or down or staying stable, but I know the numbers on some servers are low, and on others they're just fine. Do keep in mind that I really can only speak of T1.

Oh, and as a semi-relevant side note, they added in apprenticing. Meaning that low level characters can be bumped up to the level of their mentor. So if you have someone to group with, you can do T4 with a level 1 now...do it poorly, mind you, but still.