Most players angry over this won't post their displeasure here, there's too many arses calling them cry-babies even when they don't often complain. No, they'll just cancel and go play something else, and if the future Vanarchs running for election had any sense at all they'd step up and realize EM has set up to screw them too.
I'm not crying, I'm pissed. Trolls and idiots can trash me all they want for my opinion, tell me to go away, that's fine... but I'm entitled to my opinion. I liked this game, the combat is fun, but it's not that much fun to put up with EM.
EM shouldn't have messed with the Specialty Shops and Trainers at all. They should have left them alone until the elected Vanarchs took over the areas. Instead we're told it's up to the Vanarchs which ones will be returned, well... we know this, we aren't stupid, that's why we were going to vote. It actually seems improper for EM to prematurely interfere with access to something they've promised would be in the player's control from the decisions made by our elected Vanarchs.
The players running for Vanarch should be worried about EM's pre-election interference. They know their voters will want use those shops, they'd be stupid not to reinstate them if only to recover part of their 3000g entry fee with taxes. BUT...
With EM's interference, just how many regular players have decided to nerf EM right back and cancel their auto-renew over it? How many are going to renew their subscriptions after the elections? How many are going to be left to spend their gold in those shops and trainers within the areas these Vanarchs are elected? You won't know until after you've spent your 3000g, but what a hefty price to find out!
Lower level players are very likely going to pay for use of those shops, they don't have the best gear yet, but they also don't have access to higher level zones, so where's the demand and the tax income going to be? It was going to be where the players were questing, those who have become the most inconvenienced and pissed off at EM's interference over this, those who are are not so heavily invested in their characters to feel any great loss when they abandon them to play D3 or wait for GW2.
That said, if EM was going to close the shops and trainers using the excuse that it will be up to us to elect a Vanarch who will reinstate them, then following that logic they should have also removed PvP flags from all those areas on the PvP servers too. Fair is fair, if it's going to be up to the elected Vanarchs then they should have equally inconvenienced everyone over it.
I am more inclined to believe there is a problem with the code, that the controls the Vanarchs will have is being tested or there's an issue, because this stance EM has taken weeks before the election, then the reinstatement of shops/trainers overnight for only 12 hours with the removal again after a server maintenance does not follow logic of actions performed on purpose.
If access to these 'treats' are really meant to be controlled by the elected players, then wtf would EM interfere at all until the day they had to turn over that control?
It's not to make us miss it or want it more, any elected Vanarch with half a brain is going to NEED to turn them on to collect taxes to recover their investment and fund future campaigns.
That said, come June 4th, no Vanarch is going to be collecting any taxes off of me either. EM screwed up, they interfered, broke their promise that players would have control over these things, mislead, and I'm not one so inclined to be paying for that.
I really believe there are many more who feel the same way, yet have been bullied into silence and out of posting their feedback. Too bad, I don't think it's going to be the level 60s funding the shops and trainers tax collections, it was going to be those of us who are currently annoyed with EM for forcing us to endure the 2+ weeks of their illogical interference in our game progression.