Due to the fact I am livid, I am going to attempt to be as respectful as I possibly can, and attempt to get a resolution to my problem. I know there is an existing thread on this topic but I do not know how to reply to it. I am not familiar with this forum. I am a little frustrated I need to go to a forum to get an answer to a question about something I purchased for entertainment. That does not come close to the frustration I feel about my gaming experience. I have read the postings, googled my issue, and contacted Microsoft support with the same unsatisfying results. How Microsoft and 343 are treating their customers is borderline criminal. Please justify to me why we all paid 60 dollars for a video game that gives you an incomplete experience. After being loyal Halo franchise supporters for years you enact some asinine system of leveling up that basically renders the game useless after a certain point. So much for replay value. I am yet another player that cannot get past level SR70. I purchased the regular version of the game 7 days after launch and started playing online the same day. I asked the employees at Gamestop which version I should buy, regular or limited edition, and asked what the difference would be. I was told the limited edition, “Gives you some extra content and a DVD. You don’t need it.” Money is not an issue for me personally. If I would have known the game would become useless in January I would have bought the limited edition.
So here I am with a regular copy of a video game I love and I cannot progress in rank. Funny, when playing Halo Reach regular edition, new ranks were created for me when I progressed to the end point. I did not feel like putting the game on eBay because I could not progress. Now look at the ‘solutions’ to my problem.
• Contact Microsoft XBL Support – Done. They tell me to contact 343. There is a forum topic on the subject on both the MS website and Halo Waypoint. Great. The MS forum you cannot respond to and the 343 site is full of unsatisfied customers. Not only that, I get Microsoft on support chat, and they are typing form responses to me telling me it’s not us it’s 343. That’s lovely considering the product also has your GD name on it. I get told the support specialist I am talking to can’t help me and I need XBL support and I get transferred via web to a specialist who chats with me in Spanish. Then I get dumped back in queue looking for an English support contact and I wait 45 minutes on the computer for support. I try calling the next day and I am on hold 50 minutes. So both the phone and internet is useless.
• Contact 343. This is my attempt. Let me detail what I’ve read so far.
o People being told to contact MS.
o People being told the process even though WE ALL KNOW THE PROCESS.
o People being told to be patient. Are you F’ing serious? Who are you to patronize your customers because YOU can’t get your stuff straight?
o People being ignored.
I don’t know if this will be my experience reading about so many negative experiences but here is the straight dope on my situation. I am like so many others you refuse to interact with.
• Yes I bought the game, and started playing the game, BEFORE 11/20/2012.
• YES, I played the game online before 11/20.
• YES, I am over 17.
• NO, I have not received an email.
• NO, there is NOTHING in my SPAM or JUNK folder.
• NO, I have not opted out.
• YES, my email is valid and links directly to my XBL account.
• NO, I have not received any messages from XBL in my XBL messages.
I have received some codes for helmets and avatars but nothing on specializations. Maybe the codes were in those messages but I only saw one code. A reminder was sent but it did not meet the criteria documented in this FAQ forum.
Let’s be clear about a few things here. I am an IT Professional so I know to use email. I have had XBL for over 10 years so I know how to use XBL. I have been a gamer since Atari 2600 so I know how to game. I am an adult with a career so I really don’t have time to try to navigate your ridiculous support structure. Maybe, since I am an adult with a career, the fact I can’t rank up should not be a big deal to me. I don’t know that answer. All I know is I am a gamer, and I speak for all gamers when I say your incredibly flawed system of both gaming structure and support, needs to be adjusted to give the people a better experience.
The way I look at this, there are extremely easy solutions to this problem.
• Have people prove they bought and played the game before 11/20. If they have, SEND THEM THE FRIGGIN CODE. How hard is it to prove really? You log play time in Waypoint. It is obviously some of us did not get the email for whatever reason. Resend it.
• You want to give us the Joan Collins special and screw us because we bought the regular version if this game? Fine. Allow us to buy more specializations. That is incredibly disrespectful to your fan base and the franchise but whatever. At least allow us to progress.
So what is the next step here? I have a game I bought 2 months ago I can’t play online. The replay value is almost nil. It is a great game but why cause this kind of problem for your customers? Between that and the gamertag/Temporary SR1 debacle (yes I heard about that too) this has left a bad taste in my mouth and honestly, I think I am done with the franchise unless you can rectify this situation quickly. I’ll just wait for GTA V and stop playing. Someone else stated this and it could not be truer. The more you ignore the problem and your customers the more we will respond. As far as Microsoft is concerned, keep acting like this is not your problem. Halo is the cornerstone of your console.
Can someone please assist me with this? What is the next step? Can I at least have an answer?