14 DAY TRIAL // Blizzard imposed a set of nasty restrictions yesterday, after it launched patch 1.0.3 for Diablo 3. Those who get a digital edition of the game will now have to endure up to three days in which they’re stuck with the title’s Starter Edition, meaning a lower level cap and no access to many features.
Diablo 3 was launched over a month ago and, since then, Blizzard has been tackling not just glitches and issues but also security problems, especially since the Real-Money Auction House is now available for players.
As such, in order eliminate some security issues, the studio has implement a verification process for those who get the digital version of Diablo III.
Until the verification is complete – a process that can take up to three days – the actual customer is stuck with the game’s Starter Edition, which means he won’t get past level 13, won’t be able to progress through the story, and needs to endure a series of other restrictions.
“For security reasons and to help ensure the integrity of the game and auction house service, players who purchase the digital version of Diablo III may have to wait until payment verification is complete before they can access certain game features. (See below for a full list of restrictions associated with digital purchases.) While most payments are approved and restrictions are lifted within a day, in some cases it can take up to 72 hours to complete this process,” Blizzard told Kotaku about these restrictions.
“Similar to World of Warcraft, these restrictions were put in place to deter credit card fraud, which in turn helps reduce gold spam and other harmful activities that can have a negative impact on the game experience for everyone.”
According to the company, it’s trying to alter some of these restrictions and allow those with digital copies of Diablo 3 to get past the level 13 cap and the story progress limit.
Until the verification process is complete, Blizzard notes that quite a few restrictions still apply, such as: • No public game access for unverified digital purchasers • No auction house access (real-money or gold) for unverified digital purchasers • Unverified digital purchasers cannot trade items or drop items for other players to receive • Unverified digital purchasers are not able to chat in any public or game channels • Unverified digital purchasers cannot attach a custom message to friend requests, but they can send/accept friend requests, and play with their friends • Global Play is not available for unverified digital purchasers “Again, we want to be perfectly clear that these are temporary restrictions (often lifted within a day and at most 72 hours) associated with digital purchases for the protection of players. We appreciate player feedback and will continue to evaluate the best methods for ensuring a positive game experience for everyone,” the studio added.
What do you think about these new “security” restrictions? Is Blizzard adopting a cautious stance or should it stop imposing limitations upon its customers?