Please don’t intentionally misunderstand the issue

I'm sure some people are being willfully ignorant but I do feel there are plenty of people who just don't get why it's a big deal, even with your (and others) explanation.

1. Irrelevant. Just because they haven't been that way till now doesn't matter whatsoever. Games change directions all the time.
2. Yes they shouldn't have backtracked so suddenly like that as it causes confusion/mistrust to players but people can and do change their minds. It happens. It's not a big deal. People are allowed to change their minds even if how it went down could have indeed been done better.

It went down poorly and should have been done differently but people are blowing this into way more than it actually is. Yes FOMO makes companies more money, not a surprise, most companies do this, they need to make money. Not a big deal. Honestly for how critical of BHVR I am they are extremely generous when it comes to their game pricing, like 70% of the game (not even getting into all the free cosmetics as well) you can even acquire for free through play time. They didn't need to do that.

This is wild for literally just some skins that can even be bought right now if people care about them so much.

People aren't ignoring the points people are making on this topic as the original post says, they're literally pointing out why it isn't a big deal.

I'm more confused on why people are revolting now when FOMO has been a major thing with the Prime skins and Rift Charms/Skins since they started? Like, why was this the final straw? Holiday skins you never see anyone wearing anyway unless it's the holiday? Is it not the skins themselves but the idea of FOMO being bad? Then why is no one outraging about everything else FOMO related and only about these skins? Would people really be okay with everything else if the skins simply stayed? Was our FOMO levels at the tip of the glass before this little stunt spilled over a little? I doubt it.

It honestly feels more like Mob mentality rather then genuine concern which you see on the forums now and again. The people who hated FOMO from the very start have suddenly gained traction behind a Mob and I feel like nothing is going to change and those same few people will be left alone again when everyone inevitably stops caring which is incredibly sad.

For the record, I don't care all that much about the skins or any of this FOMO business because it doesn't effect me. I do think it's a dumb decision to time-lock the skins though since it will upset people. What really gets me is all the bandwagon people that suddenly have a problem when there was none before. It's like if a small protest group that's been active for years suddenly gets news coverage and now their group of 10 is suddenly in the 100's. Then a week or so goes by and that group is down to 13 because hardly anyone cared, people just wanted to be involved in the new hip thing.

I hope something comes from all this outrage because I don't like time-locked stuff and everything else even if it doesn't really effect me but I have a feeling this will all die out once people realize they don't actually care that much. I do hope I'm wrong though.

If you could link some of these studies, that would be nice. I'd be interested. I understand that this situation is irritating to people, but I don't understand why people claim this is some sort of huge assault on their mental health. They're skins.

When the rift was first announced the devs said you could either earn them for free via game play in the rift or you could buy them 6 months later in the store. After the first rift when it hit the 6 month mark players were asking "where are the rift cosmetics?" Players still ask when rift cosmetics are going to the shop. There HAS been complaints about rift cosmetics, especially the charms, becoming exclusive because of BHVR saying "no more exclusives."

Prime is one people have been complaining about from the start because of BHVR saying they would no longer do exclusives. Prime has also been complained about because of it costing money and forcing players to use a third party to get whatever the reward is in game.

People are being louder now for multiple reasons. They have been complaining for awhile now about there still be exclusives after BHVR said no more exclusives and this is just adding to that - they've been consistently complaining quietly and that didn't work so now they're being louder. FOMO marketing tactics are anti-consumer and they don't want to see it in a game they care about - also expect better from BHVR who in the past had avoided being yet another anti-consumer game company. BHVR JUST made an announcement in September about making cosmetics available for shards after 4 weeks only to go back on that already by saying that time limited cosmetics are exempt. The skins they are removing aren't just holiday skins but ones that were released in the winter - they are extremely generic and can be worn year round. A decent portion of the cosmetics being removed to make time limited also currently cost shards and BHVR is refusing to confirm if they will be available for shards when they come back or if they will be auric cell only going forward. There's also a portion of the cosmetics for characters that already have limited cosmetic options and are rarely played - it doesn't help the vicious circle of BHVR rarely releasing cosmetics for these characters because they aren't played as much but their low play rate is because they barely have any cosmetic options.

Thank you, I'll have a look.

One can imagine I find the concept of mental anguish due to losing out a skin hard to imagine. I (personally) don't feel like I'm missing out on anything by not having a certain skin. I might feel bummed out, sure, but nothing further than that. Is there any reason this feels so unbearable to a lot of people on the forums? Last I checked, people in Yemen, Ukraine and Donetsk PDR are still being shelled, so I'm just having a hard time sympathising with people who are so shellshocked by ultimately meaningless decision.

"The gist of it is, is that I just don't understand how a lot of people on the forums feel such incredible mental anguish over an ultimately trivial item in a game."

Pretty simple: it's not really anguish over the in-game item, it's anger at BHVR for constantly moving towards a less player-friendly, more freemium-like model. This is the same company that once gave out a few items saying that they weren't happy with the idea of exclusives, and all rift cosmetics would eventually be in the shop...

And now the rift cosmetics still aren't, there were Prime exclusives, they're running limited time events, they're making previously unlimited skins limited, and employing the least palatable sales tactics to do so.

I understand the frustration with the general unhappiness about the whole situation, and I agree with you that the "it's always worse somewhere else" argument is #########, but, restating my first comment, I feel it's unreasonable of people to feel such anguish over something as simple as a limited-time cosmetic. All I ask is that you put things in perspective. I used to get very angry about these things too, but I try to view this in a broader frame of reference.

What I don't get is how utterly ignorant whoever made that decision has to be. The community made it clear that

1. they don't want LTO skins (having LTO BUNDLES is a different topic)
2. they are very willing to pay money for skins, but these skins still haven't hit the store (various rift skins, the mobile outfits etc)

Several people have suggested great mutually beneficial solutions to the topic, but bhvr seems to stubbornly ignore it.

Seriously, whoever makes these decisions ought to pack their desk and leave

I understand the whole outrage, but I'm not gonna call it that big of a deal still.

You are so very right, I know a few cases about people not caring about "stuff" because it didnt affect them then suddenly someone on their family begins being affected by "stuff" and they notice they should have cared a bit more when they had the chance.

People who dont understand the problems with gacha, fomo, lootboxes and other predatory practices in videogames wait until you have a gambling adict on your family like I had and you will understand why "lol just dont buy em" is not a real option same as "lol just dont gamble" isnt an option.

Luckily one day this is going to blow up and force politicians to legislate.

I've had bad experiences in other games, and while that's not a problem for me here, it does mean having sympathy for people that this change in tactic is going to negatively impact.

And, y'know, disappointment with BHVR for this change in course.