Not sure how they thought that was ever going to be accepted by the players.
The same way every other EQ2 "We promise to never do this again" featureset will be introduced: in a few years when 'other games are doing it' and they decide they can make money on it once people have forgotten about the drama.
This has been the EQ2's modus operandi since the game launched, and it has cannibalized interest in each failed, broken promise.
Short sample of broken promises since release:
- Crafting will remain interdependent (broken after Desert of Flames)
- We won't merge the Station Exchange servers or allow transfers between them (broken after 3 years of the server being online)
- We won't add paid power to the main game (broken by addition of F2P)
- F2P will be on its own server that will never intersect with the main game (Broken a year after release)
- F2P will be added to the main game, but only the cosmetics (Broken a year after cosmetics were added)
- Spells are only to be researched (broken by monetized cash shop research)
- We're adding gambling with crates, but it's only cosmetic (Broken the moment the crates were added)
- We won't let players skip raid progression through purchases (You are here)