Oh where, oh where have my little pets gone?

Oh where, oh where could they be?

You might see some of my toons frantically running around Stormreach putting up “lost pet” fliers and asking if anyone’s seen their panthers, wolves, or spiders. Those are the three pets included with the Menace of the Underdark Collector’s Edition, and all of my toons originally received their pets just fine. But since the latest update, they’ve gone missing.

Liai and the other affected toons still have the icons for all three pets on their hotbars, but the paw tab had completely disappeared from their inventories until they got their cube pets. Clicking on the hotbar icons makes the toon wave her arms as if summoning a pet, but other than that nothing happens.

Thanks to this forum thread, I know that other people are having the same problem and have been for some time. Unfortunately Turbine doesn’t seem inclined to do much; there’s been no official response from any Turbine employee since July 5. The only real suggestion posted was to try logging out and back in. I did that with all of my affected toons – even rebooted my computer – but still no pets. I tried rolling up a new toon to see if she’d get her pets; when she redeemed her MotU pack she got her mask, panther hireling figurine, tome of learning and XP elixir, but no pets.

So, as directed in the above thread, I filled out a separate ticket via the support site for each toon affected (obviously I changed the name and server on each one):

My character Liai on Ghallanda is missing her black panther, wolf and spiderling creature companions from my purchase of the MotU Collector’s Edition. The icons for all three companions and their tricks are still on her hotbars, but the companions themselves have disappeared from the “pawprint” tab of her inventory. I’ve tried logging in and out as suggested by Tolero on the forums, but her companions are still missing. I’d like them returned as soon as possible. Thank you.

That was three nights ago. I got the standard “don’t call us, we’ll call you” autoresponse and since then nothing at all. So tonight I decided to try an ingame ticket, even though I’ve already heard from several people with the same problem that the online support team won’t do anything either:

I have the MotU collector’s edition and originally received all three cosmetic pets (panther, wolf, spider) with no problem. However, when I logged in a few nights ago, all three had disappeared from my inventory; I didn’t even have the paw tab any more, although the icons for all three pets are still on my hotbar and not grayed out. I’ve logged out and back in and even rebooted my computer per suggestions in the forums, but my pets are still gone and have been for several days now. I know I had one of the pets active the last time I was logged in and still had them, but I’m not sure which one (I THINK it was the panther). This has also happened to some of my toons on other servers. I tried making a new toon to see if that one would get the pets; it got the mask, the panther hireling figurine, the tome of learning and the XP elixir, but no cosmetic pets. There has been no official Turbine response to the forum thread since July 5 (yes, I posted there first). How do I get my pets back?

I should’ve listened to them, because this is what I got back:

The issue you have reported requires additional research and is being escalated for further review. We will contact you if we need additional information to investigate the problem, or if new details can be provided about this issue. At times, research can take several days as the In-Game Support team often works with other departments to find the appropriate resolution to your issue. Please be patient while we work to resolve this issue for you.

“The issue,” “this issue,” “the problem” rather than naming it – and the response was sent less than a minute after I submitted it. Definitely an autoresponse; I strongly doubt the GM involved did more than skim it, if that. So I’m not real hopeful that anything will be done there. I suppose it’s a good sign that the GM left the ticket open and didn’t close it.

All of the affected toons were “only children” on their respective servers (Ghallanda, Khyber, Orien and Argonnessen; I had no other toons on those servers); they were all low levels, and none of them has ever reincarnated in any way. None of my toons on Thelanis, Cannith or Sarlona lost any of their pets. I’m not sure if it’s related, but I have at least three toons on each of those servers.

I guess some people will think it’s silly to care about something that doesn’t affect gameplay in the slightest. But for me, those pets really add to my enjoyment of the game. My real life is… “interesting” right now, and not in a good way. DDO has always been my escape, my stress reliever, my forget-about-all-the-crap-and-just-have-fun time. A big part of that is having those pets. On Thelanis in particular, where I have 10 toons and (so far) nine pets, I’ve had a great time deciding which toons should use which pets to match their personalities or roles – Chalei the fire savant has the flame render; Even, who’s the most like me in real life (well, aside from the green hair) has the black panther named after Victoria, my real cat; Vic the mechanic has her little bronze golem to practice her repair skills.

I’ve heard other people make the valid argument that since most of the pets are purchased through the DDO store, they represent real money and the issue should therefore be a priority for Turbine. I agree, but for me it’s more than that. It’s the added dimension they bring to the game.

Please send my pets back home safely, Turbine. I miss them.