Give Subscribers Some Free Crates

Hanokihs · December 2016

Like 5 or 10 a month. It's a perk that would benefit people already supporting the game; it might even entice some folks to buy a couple more, say, if they end up only needing a few more gems to afford an item they like.

Glurin · December 2016

You do get free crates. In the form of free crowns that you can then turn around and spend on crates.

Alucardo · December 2016

No thank you.

Elsonso · December 2016

Glurin wrote: »

You do get free crates. In the form of free crowns that you can then turn around and spend on crates.

Yup. However, they need to continue to build ESO Plus benefits.

Neirymn · December 2016

It'd be stupid to refuse having more for the same price but:

Glurin wrote: »

You do get free crates. In the form of free crowns that you can then turn around and spend on crates.

1500 crowns = 4 free crates a month, if you don't want to buy anything else in the Crown Store that is.

JKorr · December 2016

No thanks. Not even if they outright give me crates.

If I want a specific item, I don't want "random rng item" in its place.

I want the black mane lion. RNG gremlins being rng gremlins, I'd either never get the lion, or get one of the atronach mounts I really, really dislike.

And I'd have no option to cheerfully trade back the atronach mount for the lower tier, lower cost item I really wanted.

Yes, you can trade back all the potions and scrolls, However the race locked items and costumes and pets you don't want still can't be traded, and probably never will be able to be traded. [If they change the race locked items out based on the fact the buyer has no argonian/khajiit characters, they WILL put in other items that can't be traded in their place.] They DON'T WANT people to be able to get the specific item they want quickly. The whole point of the clown crates is to get people to buy more clown crates. Letting people switch things up to get what they want means they won't buy more until they produce more exclusive content they'll have to gamble on.

MikkeOfGreenRiver · December 2016

No, thank you. I think the Crown Crates are in every way a move in the wrong direction.

Besides, attempting to entice folks to buy more is the opposite of a benefit.

wayfarerx · December 2016

Do. Not. Want.

Zabernat · December 2016

Glurin wrote: »

You do get free crates. In the form of free crowns that you can then turn around and spend on crates.

Those are still crowns you could (and likely would) be better off spending on crown-store items/DLC/services directly if you really want any guaranteed returns.

Personally, I want to see a focus on playable content to match the "pay for this" content and DO NOT want to see practically unobtainable items introduced to the game so they can be added to the crates/store as well.

I don't know if giving boxes to subs monthly is the right path to making crates acceptable, but it wouldn't be a terrible start.

Mojmir · December 2016

A gift of poison is still poison.

MisterBigglesworth · December 2016

Sounds like you're advocating for an incredibly effective way ZOS could lower the barrier to entry into gambling addiction.

In other words:

Sanguine · December 2016

No. I could easily gamble myself into debt. In this case, I see a lot of items that I would like to add to my collection in the game, but they are locked behind crown crates.

It took a lot of restraint for me not to buy packs and packs of these crates as soon as I logged on, in hopes of getting what I want. But I didn't, because I know that if I didn't get what I wanted in the first few tries, I would keep trying until either: my bank account was empty or I wouldn't eat for the next few days.

So no, I don't want a 'free' taste of these crates. I want them to be kept as far away from me as humanely possible.

I did not buy this game to fight my impulses on a daily basis. It's getting mentally exhausting real fast.

Daeymon · December 2016

Personally I think they should drop ingame for everyone at a rare rate, similar to the recently added dust (with a better rate for subs). Loot boxes are generally better received when there is an ingame way to get them, such as the Fallout Shelter Lunchboxes.

This current model, especially with exclusive content being locked behind it, will generally upset more than it will make happy. But then if people are pumping in silly amounts of money, the model will not change. I have no intention of buying a single crate, I don't put money into RNG. Though having them acquirable ingame would do alot to turnaround the community's upset by their introduction.

Glurin · December 2016

Daeymon wrote: »

Personally I think they should drop ingame for everyone at a rare rate, similar to the recently added dust (with a better rate for subs). Loot boxes are generally better received when there is an ingame way to get them, such as the Fallout Shelter Lunchboxes.

You know, I really like that idea. Though it would probably work best if the base drop rate was a little bit higher than say, the mythic aetherial ambrosia recipe. Probably best if they were BoP as well and not something that can be traded. That way you can get a little taste of them from time to time, but people are still encouraged to buy them from the crown store because you can't just go hopping around guild traders buying stacks of them.

Banana · December 2016

F$5K crown crates

Darkstorne · December 2016

Crown Crates are planned to be quarterly, right? Four times a year, three months apart.

"Remain a subscriber for all three months of a Crown Crate season, and at the end of the season you'll be rewarded with all Crown Crate items being unlocked in your collection, accessible provided you remain a subscriber - just like DLC access."

I'd be happy with that. Three month wait before we get the shinies, but we get them guaranteed instead of having to gamble, and we still have to pay $30+ for them. Also provides ZOS with a system that encourages players to remain subscribed to the game for extended periods of time, rather than subbing on and off throughout the year like many of us do.

Danikat · December 2016

Darkstorne wrote: »

Crown Crates are planned to be quarterly, right? Four times a year, three months apart.

"Remain a subscriber for all three months of a Crown Crate season, and at the end of the season you'll be rewarded with all Crown Crate items being unlocked in your collection, accessible provided you remain a subscriber - just like DLC access."

I'd be happy with that. Three month wait before we get the shinies, but we get them guaranteed instead of having to gamble, and we still have to pay $30+ for them. Also provides ZOS with a system that encourages players to remain subscribed to the game for extended periods of time, rather than subbing on and off throughout the year like many of us do.

When people are reporting paying $100+ to get the one item they want from the crates I think I can confidently say ZOS are never going to give all those items to all subscribes for $30.

xboxone1Q · December 2016

Na ZOS likes being a pimp during Christmas time

Orjix · December 2016

not a subscriber, more than likely will never be, but i like the idea, i just think it's fair

Cheveyo · December 2016

JKorr wrote: »

No thanks. Not even if they outright give me crates.

If I want a specific item, I don't want "random rng item" in its place.

I want the black mane lion. RNG gremlins being rng gremlins, I'd either never get the lion, or get one of the atronach mounts I really, really dislike.

And I'd have no option to cheerfully trade back the atronach mount for the lower tier, lower cost item I really wanted.

Yes, you can trade back all the potions and scrolls, However the race locked items and costumes and pets you don't want still can't be traded, and probably never will be able to be traded. [If they change the race locked items out based on the fact the buyer has no argonian/khajiit characters, they WILL put in other items that can't be traded in their place.] They DON'T WANT people to be able to get the specific item they want quickly. The whole point of the clown crates is to get people to buy more clown crates. Letting people switch things up to get what they want means they won't buy more until they produce more exclusive content they'll have to gamble on.

Being able to trade something you don't want for something you do, of equal value, would be great.

JKorr · December 2016

Cheveyo wrote: »

JKorr wrote: »

No thanks. Not even if they outright give me crates.

If I want a specific item, I don't want "random rng item" in its place.

I want the black mane lion. RNG gremlins being rng gremlins, I'd either never get the lion, or get one of the atronach mounts I really, really dislike.

And I'd have no option to cheerfully trade back the atronach mount for the lower tier, lower cost item I really wanted.

Yes, you can trade back all the potions and scrolls, However the race locked items and costumes and pets you don't want still can't be traded, and probably never will be able to be traded. [If they change the race locked items out based on the fact the buyer has no argonian/khajiit characters, they WILL put in other items that can't be traded in their place.] They DON'T WANT people to be able to get the specific item they want quickly. The whole point of the clown crates is to get people to buy more clown crates. Letting people switch things up to get what they want means they won't buy more until they produce more exclusive content they'll have to gamble on.

Being able to trade something you don't want for something you do, of equal value, would be great.

Yes, but that would totally defeat the purpose for ZOS of the clown crates.

This is purely hypothetical because I will not buy *any* clown crates on live, however, let's go with the idea that I really, really, really want the atronach senche mount, for the purpose of this post. In the pts test in the course of all the crates you could buy every day for 5500 crowns for the 8 day length of the test, I eventually got the camel atronach mount. I really don't like the camel and would never use it. I can't trade it in. I didn't get a duplicate to get 132 gems for the dup. I didn't get enough dups for enough gems to buy what I wanted. So I have to buy more clown crates to 1. get the atronach senche from a crate, or 2. get enough duplicates to get enough gems to buy the atronach senche for gems. Either way I have to buy more clown crates.

If I could switch the camel/bear/horse/whatever apex reward I got that I don't like and don't want, I have no reason to buy more clown crates until they add more items that I want. The potions, scrolls, riding lessons, whatevers would actually be cheaper buying them outright than hoping you get enough from a clown crate to help you. They don't want to make it easier, they don't want you to get what you actually want in a minimum number of crates.

zzz · December 2016

If Crown Crates are here to stay, then I do think they need to take a good look at ways they can be improved.

In the context of this thread, I do not think they will want to explore giving Crates away for free. Put simply, I do not believe it is a win-win. It may seem nice to give the odd Crate away for free, but it could, in some instances and with some players, be seen as an attempt to get otherwise disinterested players hooked. Bad for those players, and bad for the overall impression of Crates.

However, I sense some subscribers are beginning to question the value of their sub and think Zenimax could improve their ESO Plus offer. To allay some people feeling locked out of whatever is packed inside Crates, irrespective of why that is, perhaps Zenimax could consider a small, token stipend of Gems per month for subscribers in addition to Crowns. E.g. 25 - 50 every 30 days would allow subscribers to accumulate approx 100 - 200 gems every quarter (depending on overlap). 25 gems per 30 days would almost allow the purchase of a Legendary tier award every quarter. 50 gems per 30 days would allow purchase of a Legendary tier item and a splattering of lower tiers, or an effective halving of the cost of obtaining that Apex mount. Crucially, it would be another incentive to remain subbed continuously, and I think ESO needs that right now if the subscription model is part of their future plans. If it is not, that is a whole other problem for them to tackle.