Agreed, and I've said the same thing elsewhere. I'm really surprised at how offended some people are about the wipe.

I for one like the game well enough to not mind starting over. I even intend to make an additional character once I can subscribe.

They also had to wipe things because people had already "beat" the game on the Closed Beta. They didn't want all of those people running around with max level and the best equipment, so they evened the playing field by clearing the slate. People who were accepted into the Closed Beta were able to play the game 24 / 7 for the past several months. I was accepted, but unfortunately, I never got to play that much.

I've decided to start over anyway, and my characer looks exactly the same as before, and with the same name :)! The game is easier for me this time round as I know what I'm doing. The bits that took me about 3 days to complete I did ind about an hour or so. It was a bit of a shame having to start over, but I guess it is really a good thing because it does make it more even for new players on the games launch

This sucked when it happened.