Have Bastian's Potent Potions ever been fixed?

ColtonBrown · April 2023

Title. Seen many forum posts dating back to release of companions up until late 2022 that say the Potent Potions do not work correctly. In game they say they grant Major Sorcery/Brutality but many posts say this is not the case, that they are not working. Can't test in game right now so looking for information.

ColtonBrown · April 2023

Ok, was able to get into game and test, and these Potent Potions are still NOT giving the Major sorcery/brutality buff.

@ZOS_Kevin
@ZOS_GinaBruno

Treselegant · April 2023

Just one of the long standing bugs affecting Bastian as companion. There isn't any reason for his companion boon to be potions in the first place. There's no reference to him being a crafter in his dialogue and he doesn't react to the player creating potions. Nothing explicitly links him to potions (other than him being a mage) so why on earth is he gathering potions for me?

So many problems left un-addressed with this companion - it's getting a little ridiculous.

Jacozilla · April 2023

Sadly I can attest to this as well, plus one more. At least last when I tested last year ago.

First - only “fix” ever done on his potent potion was the level scaling. It used to be the much lower level potions and zos indeed fixed that so all drops are max tier to match your char.

Second - at least when I tested it the minor regen, forgot exact buff name, but the mag regen for example from his potion also was null. Only the instant mag increase from use, no major sorc / brutality and no mag regen increase.

Again, last year and since I insta delete these drops have none to test with. Would someone mind checking if the mag regen now works or is that a dud too?

spartaxoxo · April 2023

It's going on 2 years now that they were broken. It's a shame too since they are better than the other trash pots, so they could at least be useful for situations you want to use trash pots. But as they are now, it's just vendor junk.

Toxic_Hemlock · April 2023

Bastion's upgrade is the only one I don't have or want. I have enough trash to clear from my inventory now without having to toss useless potions too.

phaneub17_ESO · April 2023

I don't understand why they don't make into a single tri-restore pot.

Lykeion · April 2023

Bastian's potion doesn't provide any extra buffs but takes up extra slots, which is ridiculous. Until zos allow players to turn off their companions' permanent passives I can only urge my friends to avoid calling out Bastian asap to avoid getting his permanent passives.

FluffWit · April 2023

It's kinda funny- in a sad way, that such a crappy "reward" has been broken for 2 years and y'all dont even seem to know @ZOS_RichLambert

Even working these potions are trash I'd just sell to a vendor for 3 gold each. So to hear they dont even work as intended cracks me up.

Haenk · April 2023

I wish I could just disable those junk pots

redlink1979 · April 2023

I don't pick up those pots, and if mistakenly I do, I destroy them afterwards.

evymyu233 · April 2023

i have a lot of his potions,i can sell them now

Hapexamendios · April 2023

I just sell them. Not hard to do.

tsaescishoeshiner · April 2023

I submitted a /feedback about it after buying a bunch and finding that the buffs don't work. Rip! I was specifically hoping to use the Essence of Potent Magicka potions.

It would be nice if they at least gave both Major Brutality and Major Sorcery since they're not crafted potions. But first let's hope they get fixed!

spartaxoxo · April 2023

I wish there was some way to know if this was even a known issue. It's been 2 years so it feels like it might not be, but it could also just be considered really low priority.

ColtonBrown · April 2023

It really is a shame these have never worked and there has been absolutely no acknowledgement of the bug/issue from devs... Like a whole companion passive is absolutely useless since it was released it just crazy to me. Not even useless, it's actually a nuisance and costs players extra inventory slots for yet another "trash" item they have to constantly clear from their inventory.

spartaxoxo · April 2023

@ZOS_Kevin @ZOS_GinaBruno

I know that you guys probably can't give us an ETA on a fix or anything like that. But, could you please let us know if this is a known issue? Thanks.

Treselegant · April 2023

ColtonBrown wrote: »

It really is a shame these have never worked and there has been absolutely no acknowledgement of the bug/issue from devs... Like a whole companion passive is absolutely useless since it was released it just crazy to me. Not even useless, it's actually a nuisance and costs players extra inventory slots for yet another "trash" item they have to constantly clear from their inventory.

This particular companion has been treated very poorly by developers from the very start. Considering there has been some issues with writing with one of the new male companions as well that could have easily been resolved with a bit of active oversight - it's starting to feel like an issue of culture. It doesn't really matter to me if somone up top really loves female companions over the male ones, that's not my business - what is my business is when something of that nature seems be effecting player choice and the player experience.

This game has a diverse playerbase. A not insignificant amount of players want to adventure with a male companion and those male companions should have the same amount of effort put into them as the rest of the companions. Everytime this companion's bugs are brought up and there's request for general improvements there is always total silence in response and it is shockingly bad.

It gives me no joy that I have to approach this issue with criticism and frustration but at this point it seems to me this isn't simply about forgetting these bugs exist. Apparent efforts to make a 'better' Bastian out of newer companions instead of simply going back fixing the original is a baffling direction to take. It's a decision.

ZOS_Hadeostry · April 2023

Greetings,

After further review we have decided to move this thread to a category we think is more appropriate for this topic.

Thank you for your understanding

kyle.wilson · April 2023

ZOS_Hadeostry wrote: »

Greetings,

After further review we have decided to move this thread to a category we think is more appropriate for this topic.

Thank you for your understanding

instead of just moving threads, can the mods at least acknowledge what's being said?

ColtonBrown · April 2023

ZOS_Hadeostry wrote: »

Greetings,

After further review we have decided to move this thread to a category we think is more appropriate for this topic.

Thank you for your understanding

So you can read the post, move the post, but can't be bothered to acknowledge whether or not this is a known issue? Somebody needs to let us know SOMETHING.

Treselegant · April 2023

ZOS_Hadeostry wrote: »

Greetings,

After further review we have decided to move this thread to a category we think is more appropriate for this topic.

Thank you for your understanding

I'm sorry, this isn't good customer service. This isn't a simple matter of a bug report because it's a bug that's two years old by now. This is a thread that expresses confusion at and criticism of the response to the long standing bugs and overall neglect of this companion. Several requests for a response have been made within this thread to no avail. Players have paid money for a feature here (the companion system as part of Blackwood) and for some unknown reason part this feature continues to be left in a broken state. If it was a simple matter of a bug report, the myriade of bugs and quirks that effect this companion would have been fixed by now.

Can't help but feel this is a perfect example of a thread being shuffled off to a place where no-one will read it as discussed in this thread:
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/628869/please-stop-pushing-threads-into-players-helping-players-section

@ZOS_Kevin I understand you are the messenger in this situation but some developer acknowledgement would go a long way to relieve tension around this topic. Continued silence and seemingly shuffling threads asking for response to quiet areas of the forum where no-one will see them probably isn't going to improve relations with the part of the playerbase affected.

edit.spelling/grammer.

ColtonBrown · April 2023

This may seem insignificant to most but my issue now lies with the fact this is being completely ignored.

Displaced_Salad · May 2023

There are a lot of individual issues that seem insignificant to lots of players, but there is one uniting theme: inactivity and lack of acknowledgement.

The powers that be can't even be bothered to add correct categories into the ticket system for new game features. I've given up any hope that things will improve, despite public statements to the contrary.

valenwood_vegan · May 2023

ColtonBrown wrote: »

This may seem insignificant to most but my issue now lies with the fact this is being completely ignored.

Yeah I personally don't even care about the potions, I vendor them immediately... but this is a perfect example of an ongoing trend of rushed / partially-finished systems being added to the game and then essentially abandoned for shiny new content.

And a lack of any meaningful communication with players about bugs.

And a complete lack of accountability regarding bugs.

I mean Bastian yes... isn't that important in the grand scheme of eso, but he was part of the *main* feature included with an entire chapter (Blackwood). And that feature is left in this broken / unfinished state with no communication whatsoever. This kind of thing doesn't send a great message.

Treselegant · May 2023

valenwood_vegan wrote: »

ColtonBrown wrote: »

This may seem insignificant to most but my issue now lies with the fact this is being completely ignored.

Yeah I personally don't even care about the potions, I vendor them immediately... but this is a perfect example of an ongoing trend of rushed / partially-finished systems being added to the game and then essentially abandoned for shiny new content.

And a lack of any meaningful communication with players about bugs.

And a complete lack of accountability regarding bugs.

I mean Bastian yes... isn't that important in the grand scheme of eso, but he was part of the *main* feature included with an entire chapter (Blackwood). And that feature is left in this broken / unfinished state with no communication whatsoever. This kind of thing doesn't send a great message.

Exactly. This is the reason this whole thing frustrates me so much. Not only was Bastian as a companion abandoned straight away, he was half finished even at release, which really paints a picture. Despite this obvious fact we were gas lit on various dev streams with "no one likes that particular companion anyway! Wouldn't you prefer this shiny new one we have with the next expansion!" type statements. Well, no, I would prefer you to honour my agency as player and actually deliver the experience you promised when you advertised Blackwood. It's been a bizarre and utterly baffling experience as a consumer of this game.

I know how I felt after this thread, the lastest example of legitimate player concerns being ignored - "Why should I give you my money when you treat your customers like this?" A unpleasant thought for someone who was around for the Beta and remembers what it was like to be excited for what this game could achieve.

FeedbackOnly · May 2023

Do you think this could be fixed?

mbeetley_ESO · July 2023

This is really discouraging. I just tested one of the Stamina potions, and lo and behold, no Major Brutality. @ZOS_Kevin, this needs to be acknowledged. If it's just a UI error, well at least tell us. Otherwise, as several have already said, this is a terrible approach to customer service.

Treselegant · July 2023

mbeetley_ESO wrote: »

This is really discouraging. I just tested one of the Stamina potions, and lo and behold, no Major Brutality. @ZOS_Kevin, this needs to be acknowledged. If it's just a UI error, well at least tell us. Otherwise, as several have already said, this is a terrible approach to customer service.

We keep tagging Kevin, tagging absolutely anyone, for response and we get nothing. Post after post, discussion after discussion. On the recent pts patch notes there's changes to Mirri done that not a soul was pushing for in terms of companion changes and yet that appears to be prioritised over acknowledging the problem here.

If there's a more complicated reason behind the lack of changes being done then just tell us! I don't see why we can't have some sort of dialogue here - the lack of communication looks awful. It just comes across as extremely odd that ZOS continues to ignore the players who want this companion brought up to scratch.

It's textbook "how to annoy your customers" happening here: poor/slow communication, ignoring problems, not listening etc. Whether or not it is intentional it leads to customers being annoyed, frustrated and eventually withdrawing their financial support of the company. Bastian being an unfinished, buggy companion is probably not a massive problem for a lot of players but it's still an issue that effects a hefty chunk of the playerbase and it shouldn't be treated like this. It's a communciation style that isn't limited to this problem but the strange lack of response to it seems way out of proportion.

nightstrike · July 2023

Bastian is actually broken in another way, also. If you don't have him (or I suppose if you don't have the passive unlocked and don't have him active), when you loot a potion, you sometimes get nothing at all. This problem goes away when you unlock the passive.

acastanza_ESO · July 2023

Good news! This was fixed in 9.1.1!