I wonder how many times I can activate this expansion before I have to pick up the phone, call EA, wait on hold for 60 minutes, try to explain why I need to activate again, and hope they buy my story.

I actually still play Asheron's Call from time to time. It's a great game if you take the time to learn it. I really don't understand why so many people are frowning over the number of patches. These are not just bug fix patches. These are patches that add new things to do and places to go. Only about 5% or less of the patches are fix related. Even with all the newer mmorpg that came out, AC still did things that nobody has topped. It has the largest packs, a unique feel to the combat and spell system, and an open-ended skill advancement system. It's truly unique.