Is your question at all related to the fact that DSS is closed for the moment due to server impact issues?

https://chroniclesofelyria.com/forum/topic/33932/dss-claiming-mode-temporarily-disabled

Update: wasn't aware of the free-kingdom stuff; Ignore my above message.

No, it's because the Free Kingdoms remain locked for Count and above because they are still reserved for FK winners. I would have thought the lock would have been removed for Mayor week of DSS, but can understand it remaining until the end of that stage.

At this stage, however, the people that paid to upgrade in their pledged Kingdom are still being told to wait until auction to use their original DSS claims. That is a problem for many. At least let the original people in a day early to claim with their existing titles!

I had no clue that I would not be allowed to pick yet again today. I took the day off work thinking I would finally be able to choose, after having to let my assigned DSS time expire without choosing due to the reservations. Once again I was locked out of choosing at this stage. The Free Kingdoms of Elyria has built up a very nice, strong community, and not being able to take one's place in it only because of upgrading is horribly frustrating.

I so wish I could return my count upgrade for credit so I could at least pick my settlement, and upgrade again during the Dutch Auction. At least that way I return to the value I had (picking a settlement in Alesia) while still getting to upgrade to Count during the SoE.

It's the fact my settlement can be taken now, while I'm locked out of claiming it until the future SoE event, that really seems like it is shafting the people that are attempting to be a larger part of this grand community of people.

It does seem odd that someone with only a mayor package would be able to choose before someone with a count package, potentially taking the count's intended county seat. It would almost make more sense to lock mayors from placing in Alesia until after the counts have had their turn.

Posted By Marco Facinus at 4:27 PM - Mon Oct 07 2019

It does seem odd that someone with only a mayor package would be able to choose before someone with a count package, potentially taking the count's intended county seat. It would almost make more sense to lock mayors from placing in Alesia until after the counts have had their turn.

The counts have already had their turn... weeks ago. If they didn't bother to pick their spot then they shouldn't be surprised if someone else does.

After domain and settlement selection. So during SoE likely

Posted By Dekul at 5:33 PM - Mon Oct 07 2019

Posted By Marco Facinus at 4:27 PM - Mon Oct 07 2019

It does seem odd that someone with only a mayor package would be able to choose before someone with a count package, potentially taking the count's intended county seat. It would almost make more sense to lock mayors from placing in Alesia until after the counts have had their turn.

The counts have already had their turn... weeks ago. If they didn't bother to pick their spot then they shouldn't be surprised if someone else does.

That was his point I believe, is that counts were NOT ALLOWED to choose in Alesia, and they are still not allowed to choose in Alesia even now. For those that bought count upgrades with the explicit understanding from the store description that they would be allowed to choose during their normal time at mayor week, this turned out to be flat out untrue. It feels dishonest to offer count upgrades to Alesians, then not deliver as promised.

This is the frustrating part for me, I imagine the OP, as well as others expressing frustration in Discord. We bought something being told we could pick at a certain time, and only after the timer expires are we finally being told the store description was untrue and we are still not allowed to choose at this time. This in spite of the store description of the count upgrade clearly saying we could.

Now, future Alesia counts are still not able to choose, although even people that did not have DSS times can slip in at the mayor level. Mayors can choose now in Alysia, which is why non-DSS mayors are able to choose ahead of both DSS and non-DSS counts in Alesia. That's just plain messed up.

If they had been upfront about not being able to upgrade in Alesia BEFORE buying the count upgrade, I'd have been happy to place my mayor in my settlement during my assigned time during DSS, and then upgrade to count during SoE. It's losing the ability I had already had to select my settlement that is so frustrating.

Us as leaders have been saying it for a while within Alésia that you can not or should not or should speak with your duke before upgrading. It is the entire reason that we were unable to purchase upgrades ourselves because of the limitation to spots.

The rest of the slots are reserved for free kingdom winners. They have their time still to select and it will be opened afterwards.

Every time there has come a count package or a count upgrade the free kingdom winners were always barred from being able to purchase it due to the lack of space for counts within our kingdom. We have been pushing that in our kingdom to our citizens various times so we can fit and accommodate everyone.

You’re able to buy the count upgrade as not a free kingdom count winner because there are various locations on the map still yet to place that you are able to place.

It’s been said by sbs various times of the limited space in the free kingdom.

There are 288 counties. 144 were won in a contest. And 144 were reserved by the dukes.

It’s not a matter of them being able to place. They are able to place. We have had quite a few random count placements. But now all that is left is the people that are suppose to be there and select there. They are entitled to their selection time and being able to select by the allotted time given just like everyone else.

If they don’t choose to select by the end of domain and settlement selection then it will open up to be selected or purchased by others.

There was absolutely no promise that stated you would be able to pick in a specific kingdom. Especially not Alésia. There was a promise you’d be able to pick a county.

Ps. You can select your county and your settlement during settlers of Elyria.

It seems many of us, across several duchies, believed the explicit description SbS put on the store page was true. While the FK winners were limited, there was no stated restriction for those regular players wanting to join the Alesia. If there had been, then the upgrade absolutely should have had the disclaimer they routinely put on anything that involved Alesia, that count upgrades would not work until SoE.

Had they done this, I would have chosen as a mayor weeks ago, and been looking forward to SoE so I could upgrade. Instead I feel taken advantage of, and have to go into SoE only after paying full price upfront, and then only if my settlement I bought the upgrade for was still available.

To make matters worse, the 3000 EP item leaves the store before we can choose, so now we don't even know if we need to buy that or not. Had I selected today as planned, I would have purchased that as well, given that I only have 775 EP otherwise. So not only do I pay max price for a county during the auction, I'll have to pay more to get the same amount of EP if/when I do get to use the upgrade I bought. If I don't get the settlement, then I don't need the EP, so it would be silly to buy the EP until I know if I have the settlement to spend it on.

It was your choice to buy the count upgrade. The count upgrade guarantees you a county on our server. Not a specific kingdom. You can still pick within Alésia during the settlers of Elyria event.

It did not exclude Alesia, thus the upgrade was not limited to the other 4 kingdoms. By it's very wording, it included any kingdom, including Alesia. That assurance was the only reason I upgraded from my comfortable mayor spot.

I am not alone, in that members of at least three duchies have been taken by surprise that the restriction is still in place. Being forced to leave the community, after all the emphasis has been on community building, is not a responsible action to tell players to take.

Likewise, no leader of any community, especially a Queen Consort, should be implying that membership is so shallow that they should up and leave their Duchy and Kingdom at the first sign of trouble with the mechanics of the store.

Several of us are complaining publicly or privately (or both) in order to get this resolved fairly for those affected. SBS needs to step in and make this right. Either by allowing the few upgrades to proceed, or allowing those affected to downgrade back to mayor, and upgrade during SoE like everyone else at that point. Bumping them out of line and moving them to the back, without warning, is bad business practice.

Good thing this Queen Consort isn't doing that (:

It seems at the very least, that the reservations by the Duke should have expired at the end of Stage I of DSS, as they were the active members of the communities. They either picked where they were reserved, or they picked elsewhere, but regardless the active ones have already picked.

Also, a lot of the duchy reservations were for people who were also FK counts in order to make sure the "right" ones were able to place. So the 144+144 assumption included double counting some of the same people. I also don't think all the dukes used all 12 of their slots either. I know the "randoms" that selected had to be FK counts, as all the "wild" counts were locked out without a duke reservation.

That being said, releasing at least some of the locks at this point seems viable. SBS would be able to see how many FK counts remain outstanding, and free up X counties to be claimed until the number of unpicked counties remaining equals the number outstanding FK counts.

There are 48 counties remaining, so it's a matter of seeing how many FK counts have not yet claimed, and releasing the excess to the wild. If there are still all 48 FK counts unclaimed, then by all means let us know so people know to plan accordingly.