Previously, one needed to redeem their retail pre-order of Reaper of Souls no later than March 31st by 11:59PM, in order to claim their Wings of Valor.
That date (for retail keys) has now changed to April 21, 2014 per the following image (which is linked directly off of Blizzard’s server). The main information on their pre-order page still has the March 31st date though (I presume this date still applies for digital pre-orders). I’ll be sending in a ticket to customer service to get confirmation that redeeming a key from a retail copy by April 21, is the new date to qualify for the pre-order bonus.
I basically flamed them to hell and back about this short redemption date (coincides with the closing of their books for Q1 2014) because there really was no reason beyond that, except to get as many pre-orders booked by that date. All it did was to screw those (especially ones in other countries who likely will face enough shipping delays due to logistical constraints to where they wouldn’t get their package delivered on time).
I still stand by that assertion that all of this was done at the last minute. And it probably worked (where the pre-order sales numbers now meet their internal forecasts). But I’m also glad they eased up on that date so that it would give those pre-ordering a Collectors Edition, a fair shot at being able to claim their wings within a more reasonable time frame.
UPDATE: the above is not correct… see my updated posting
