OK Mr Angry is gonna wade into this one too....

So what the hell have customers been paying for for the last four years?

The answer : For SOE to build an infrastructure with a third party so they can be fleeced for additional money to customize and advance their character, rather than bringing these same assets to faithful customers who work hard to distinguish themselves by their efforts, not their bank balances.

I imagine there is going to be problems for EQ2 as a result of this, they are already pushing their luck a bit and the newest expansion didn't fare too well.

It just proves that shitty card game was a thinly veiled attempt to do this before, at least you got additional content. They subsequently decided to just go direct and sell the stuff to players without dressing it up.

What's the worst thing about this, well they decide to pull it off with absolutely no warning, no testing or no feedback, just bam, get over it. John, I don't understand why you would pull this same trick twice, you said sorry for the NGE, then use the same tactics for EQ2 fans by 'surprising' them too. While it's not directly impacting their gameplay, you've decided to treat your customers as the enemy rather than your most valuable asset.

While I was tempted to look to get the new expansion for my old EQ2 account to explore a bit and see the world (which is very well designed) this sort of 'business practice' pretty much has turned me off this.

It's not so much the items, it's the manner of deployment, the fact that they should inform players where the hell their subs are going and work to increase player volumes, rather than to try and fleece those who have stuck with them for so long.