Official Discussion Thread for "The Witches Festival is Coming!"

SantieClaws · October 2016

Khajiit has question.

The whistle business transforms us into something yes? But all the nice costumes and things - what is the use if we are all transformed the same? An identical zombie army across the whole of Tamriel.

In short is there any way yes to receive the relevant boost but still retain the look you choose?

Yours with paws
Santie Claws

MaxTM · October 2016

It may be ok that this Harlequin set is only for crownstore. But BIND it to the person who purchases it. RL Money into Gold converter have never been a good idea. Only a desperate move.

Alp · October 2016

DerKirito wrote: »

It may be ok that this Harlequin set is only for crownstore. But BIND it to the person who purchases it. RL Money into Gold converter have never been a good idea. Only a desperate move.

Or you know, just make the style item drop from bosses for people who have the motif after the event. Then there is suddenly a lot more of them in the system and the value of it will drop.

DPShiro · October 2016

Will the bosses in Veteran Maelstrom Arena also drop these skulls, since you said "all bosses"

@ZOS_GinaBruno @ZOS_JessicaFolsom @ZOS_RichLambert @ZOS_KaiSchober

CRehrl15 · October 2016

DPShiro wrote: »

Will the bosses in Veteran Maelstrom Arena also drop these skulls, since you said "all bosses"

@ZOS_GinaBruno @ZOS_JessicaFolsom @ZOS_RichLambert @ZOS_KaiSchober

Don't think so cause vMA Bosses really doesn't "drop" anything?
You get the Chest at the End of every Stage and thats it

sirinsidiator · October 2016

Please don't

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

Going to try and answer everyone's questions, but first, want to explain how this event is going to go down.
First, you'll want to pick up a (free) Crow Caller from the Crown Store.

Then, start the quest “The Witchmother’s Bargain” by using your Crow Caller.

Complete the quest to receive the Witches Festival Whistle.

Use the Witches Festival Whistle to summon the Witchmother’s Cauldron.

You can use the Witchmother’s Cauldron to turn you and anyone you are grouped with into an Undead (each use will last for two hours, but you can use it as many times as you like until the end of the event).

Once the event is over, you’ll be able to keep the Witches Festival Whistle as a memento, but all of its supernatural powers will be gone.

There are a number of rewards you can get from the Plunder Skulls (dropped from bosses) including:
The Hollowjack Motif book

A Halloween mask (either a pumpkin or scarecrow)

Spooky (sometimes gross) recipies

Amber Marble, the Hollowjack style item

Gross stuff, like worms and guts

Hope this helps! Now, onto the questions:

show previous quotes

Caff32 wrote: »

No mention of XP boost...

Sorry about that! Yes, you will be able to get a double XP boost by using the Witchmother's Cauldron.

show previous quotes

Daz_dingoeb17_ESO wrote: »

will the grim harlequin motif drop during the event or will it be a crown store exclusive?

The Grim Harlequin is going to be exclusive to the Crown Store. However, purchasing the Grim Harlequin will net you 54 Mimic Stones, which you can use to craft gear (including the Grim Harlequin). You can use this crafted gear to deconstruct and have a chance to get a Grinstone - the Grim Harlequin style item. All this can be traded, too, if you wish.

show previous quotes

Minute_Waltz wrote: »

So do we have an exact time of this event starting? Will it start at 0:01AM EST? Will we have another 8 hour maintenance to enable this?

We'll be starting to add this event onto each realm at 10:00am EDT. It won't require any downtime, and shouldn't take too long to complete.

show previous quotes

TheDarkRuler wrote: »

Will the Motif crafting materials of the festival motif be farmable forever?
Or are the style materials gone once the festival ends?

No, only during the duration of the event.

show previous quotes

Voidnova wrote: »

Will console players be able to participate?

Yes, of course!

show previous quotes

SunshineSen wrote: »

I'm new to the game so I was wondering if the "boss monsters" that you have to kill are only those that are found in group dungeons etc. or do the bosses found in (solo) delves count as well?

Nope, it's any boss found in the game. Dungeons, delves, etc.

show previous quotes

RebornV3x wrote: »

RomansXXI wrote: »

Aldmor13 wrote: »

@ZOS_JessicaFolsom

So this is droping on PS4/XBox before 1T does. So on PS4/XBox there will still be low level world/dungeon/delv bosses dropping skulls, up until the 1T patch next week? On the other hand, those servers will be down for a day or more during this event FOR the patch...

I have this question also. Are console players missing out and getting pushed to the back again? I don't want to be missing 2 days or more of the event due to downloading the patch. What is the reason for making it the 13th and not the 18th with the console being on the same level as pc

So yeah what up with console players

There will be some downtime while we publish One Tamriel next week on console. That said, we're also publishing incremental patches on PC, so everyone is going to have some patches here and there. The event lasts until 10:00am EDT on November 1st, so you'll have lots of time to play and enjoy it.

Please no. After the few good news we had, this is just another big step into the wrong direction. Don't ruin the game in that way. I don't mind a few exclusive costumes, but please leave a way to obtain ALL crafting motifs through playing the game.

Also instead of trying to lock more and more stuff away in the Crown Store, please start adding reasonable ways to get these items through ingame means instead (maybe bind them to achievements). Right now it feels like you are taking away more and more reasons to play the game and work hard on turning it into a cash cow (new story content anyone?).

Plintkabouter · October 2016

Had to reply as this is not something I can just ignore.

You are inplementing a direct way to convert cash money into in-game gold. EVERY other decision you have made was taking this carefully into consideration to NOT do this.

As an example are the CE treasure maps, that do not give BoE set items, in-game obtainable motives, nontradeable consumables / style stones etc.

This is the first big step you took to go cross that line, and allow people to make in-game money using a motif you can ONLY obtain by using the credit card.

You have changed from supplying crown store purchases for people to individualize their character, to making it a level of frustration for crafters that they cannot be a full completionist without spending real money.

IF this cannot be stopped, at least consider making all the crafted items BOP such that you STOP the possibility for people to make in-game gold with real life money.

sinisterhulk94 · October 2016

i just wanna know when this event will start today i woke up early for nothin lol

Elsonso · October 2016

sirinsidiator wrote: »

Please no. After the few good news we had, this is just another big step into the wrong direction. Don't ruin the game in that way. I don't mind a few exclusive costumes, but please leave a way to obtain ALL crafting motifs through playing the game.

Also instead of trying to lock more and more stuff away in the Crown Store, please start adding reasonable ways to get these items through ingame means instead (maybe bind them to achievements). Right now it feels like you are taking away more and more reasons to play the game and work hard on turning it into a cash cow (new story content anyone?).

I am sure that ZOS is being told that the more stuff they offer for free in the game, the less they will be able to monetize the game in the Crown Store. ZOS has probably been told that everything in the game that is cosmetic should have been Crown Store from Day 1, and they should transition future stuff to Crown Store only. For this reason, I expect that "do no harm" does not, in any way, include Cosmetic items. One cannot harm something that is intended to generate revenue by making it generate more revenue.

Sadly, this reflects a narrower perspective of the game in order to facilitate monetization. By deliberately excluding "role playing" from the primary focus of the game, and making sure that it is always "optional", it frees up that whole part of the game for monetization. I have frequently said that the Crown Store is a tax on role players, and this is why. If you really want to role play in ESO, bring your wallet.

Plintkabouter wrote: »

Had to reply as this is not something I can just ignore.

You are inplementing a direct way to convert cash money into in-game gold. EVERY other decision you have made was taking this carefully into consideration to NOT do this.

This does ramp it up. I am not even sure if ZOS is still concerned about Crown to Gold. Many other games don't care. The game industry is pretty much an exercise in copying what everyone else is doing.

DPG76 · October 2016

sinisterhulk94 wrote: »

i just wanna know when this event will start today i woke up early for nothin lol

10 am EDT means in 2 hours !

sinisterhulk94 · October 2016

woo! cant wait need to grind and grind

bercithebeast · October 2016

Have any devs offered an explanation yet as to why they are making Grim Harlequin crown store only?

moonio · October 2016

Well any events be taking place in Cyrodiil?

moonio · October 2016

i meant 'Will'

Beardimus · October 2016

Will the Momento work in Cyrodill? I have a hazy recollection of them changing something or allowing it to work to save us porting out end back to trigger it?

anitajoneb17_ESO · October 2016

bercithebeast wrote: »

Have any devs offered an explanation yet as to why they are making Grim Harlequin crown store only?

No need for that. The explanation is obvious. We players like to *have* motifs. Even if we don't like the style, we want to "have them". We spend lots of gold and hours of grinding dailies just to "have them". Motifs in the crown store probably don't sell very well because we're more ready to grind for motifs than for anything else in this game.

Putting motifs in the crown store and removing the ability to grind for it ingame is a guaranteed jackpot for ZOS, financially speaking.

rhapsodious · October 2016

I'm actually a bit impressed. Grim Harlequin motif does indeed come with 54 mimic stones and is available for 2200 crowns.

Still wish it wasn't crown store exclusive, but this definitely softens the blow. Thanks for not making it 5k.

altemriel · October 2016

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

Going to try and answer everyone's questions, but first, want to explain how this event is going to go down.
First, you'll want to pick up a (free) Crow Caller from the Crown Store.

Then, start the quest “The Witchmother’s Bargain” by using your Crow Caller.

Complete the quest to receive the Witches Festival Whistle.

Use the Witches Festival Whistle to summon the Witchmother’s Cauldron.

You can use the Witchmother’s Cauldron to turn you and anyone you are grouped with into an Undead (each use will last for two hours, but you can use it as many times as you like until the end of the event).

Once the event is over, you’ll be able to keep the Witches Festival Whistle as a memento, but all of its supernatural powers will be gone.

There are a number of rewards you can get from the Plunder Skulls (dropped from bosses) including:
The Hollowjack Motif book

A Halloween mask (either a pumpkin or scarecrow)

Spooky (sometimes gross) recipies

Amber Marble, the Hollowjack style item

Gross stuff, like worms and guts

Hope this helps! Now, onto the questions:

show previous quotes

Caff32 wrote: »

No mention of XP boost...

Sorry about that! Yes, you will be able to get a double XP boost by using the Witchmother's Cauldron.

show previous quotes

Daz_dingoeb17_ESO wrote: »

will the grim harlequin motif drop during the event or will it be a crown store exclusive?

The Grim Harlequin is going to be exclusive to the Crown Store. However, purchasing the Grim Harlequin will net you 54 Mimic Stones, which you can use to craft gear (including the Grim Harlequin). You can use this crafted gear to deconstruct and have a chance to get a Grinstone - the Grim Harlequin style item. All this can be traded, too, if you wish.

show previous quotes

Minute_Waltz wrote: »

So do we have an exact time of this event starting? Will it start at 0:01AM EST? Will we have another 8 hour maintenance to enable this?

We'll be starting to add this event onto each realm at 10:00am EDT. It won't require any downtime, and shouldn't take too long to complete.

show previous quotes

TheDarkRuler wrote: »

Will the Motif crafting materials of the festival motif be farmable forever?
Or are the style materials gone once the festival ends?

No, only during the duration of the event.

show previous quotes

Voidnova wrote: »

Will console players be able to participate?

Yes, of course!

show previous quotes

SunshineSen wrote: »

I'm new to the game so I was wondering if the "boss monsters" that you have to kill are only those that are found in group dungeons etc. or do the bosses found in (solo) delves count as well?

Nope, it's any boss found in the game. Dungeons, delves, etc.

show previous quotes

RebornV3x wrote: »

RomansXXI wrote: »

Aldmor13 wrote: »

@ZOS_JessicaFolsom

So this is droping on PS4/XBox before 1T does. So on PS4/XBox there will still be low level world/dungeon/delv bosses dropping skulls, up until the 1T patch next week? On the other hand, those servers will be down for a day or more during this event FOR the patch...

I have this question also. Are console players missing out and getting pushed to the back again? I don't want to be missing 2 days or more of the event due to downloading the patch. What is the reason for making it the 13th and not the 18th with the console being on the same level as pc

So yeah what up with console players

There will be some downtime while we publish One Tamriel next week on console. That said, we're also publishing incremental patches on PC, so everyone is going to have some patches here and there. The event lasts until 10:00am EDT on November 1st, so you'll have lots of time to play and enjoy it.

This is too bad, so after the festival, also the hollowjack motif will become crown store only (mimic stone only), as the motif mat drops also only during the festival

this is too bad ZOS!!!

Pandorii · October 2016

Either the farm is real, someone forgot to flip the switch on ps4, or I'm missing something. I've done about 8 world bosses now, and I've got nothing that seems remotely 'witch festival-like'. Can anyone confirm the skulls drop?

MissBizz · October 2016

Pandorii wrote: »

Either the farm is real, someone forgot to flip the switch on ps4, or I'm missing something. I've done about 8 world bosses now, and I've got nothing that seems remotely 'witch festival-like'. Can anyone confirm the skulls drop?

@Pandorii Did you use the cauldron before killing them?

Pandorii · October 2016

xD @MissBizz nope. I didn't want to look ugly. That might explain it though. /fail

MissBizz · October 2016

Pandorii wrote: »

xD @MissBizz nope. I didn't want to look ugly. That might explain it though. /fail

@Pandorii You need to be pretty with no xp buff and no plunder skulls... OR look ugly with a 100%xp buff and ability to get plunder skulls from bosses.

Your call

wenchmore420b14_ESO · October 2016

wenchmore420b14_ESO wrote: »

show previous quotes

AzuraKin wrote: »

saxgooner wrote: »

The harlequin is crown store only

the start of pay to win.

No, it will be available in game also.

Sorry.. I was wrong. @ZOS_RichLambert confirmed yesterday, will be Crown store only..... I'm a sad panda...:(

Izaki · October 2016

DPShiro wrote: »

show previous quotes

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

Going to try and answer everyone's questions, but first, want to explain how this event is going to go down.
First, you'll want to pick up a (free) Crow Caller from the Crown Store.

Then, start the quest “The Witchmother’s Bargain” by using your Crow Caller.

Complete the quest to receive the Witches Festival Whistle.

Use the Witches Festival Whistle to summon the Witchmother’s Cauldron.

You can use the Witchmother’s Cauldron to turn you and anyone you are grouped with into an Undead (each use will last for two hours, but you can use it as many times as you like until the end of the event).

Once the event is over, you’ll be able to keep the Witches Festival Whistle as a memento, but all of its supernatural powers will be gone.

There are a number of rewards you can get from the Plunder Skulls (dropped from bosses) including:
The Hollowjack Motif book

A Halloween mask (either a pumpkin or scarecrow)

Spooky (sometimes gross) recipies

Amber Marble, the Hollowjack style item

Gross stuff, like worms and guts

Hope this helps! Now, onto the questions:

Caff32 wrote: »

No mention of XP boost...

Sorry about that! Yes, you will be able to get a double XP boost by using the Witchmother's Cauldron.

Daz_dingoeb17_ESO wrote: »

will the grim harlequin motif drop during the event or will it be a crown store exclusive?

The Grim Harlequin is going to be exclusive to the Crown Store. However, purchasing the Grim Harlequin will net you 54 Mimic Stones, which you can use to craft gear (including the Grim Harlequin). You can use this crafted gear to deconstruct and have a chance to get a Grinstone - the Grim Harlequin style item. All this can be traded, too, if you wish.

Minute_Waltz wrote: »

So do we have an exact time of this event starting? Will it start at 0:01AM EST? Will we have another 8 hour maintenance to enable this?

We'll be starting to add this event onto each realm at 10:00am EDT. It won't require any downtime, and shouldn't take too long to complete.

TheDarkRuler wrote: »

Will the Motif crafting materials of the festival motif be farmable forever?
Or are the style materials gone once the festival ends?

No, only during the duration of the event.

Voidnova wrote: »

Will console players be able to participate?

Yes, of course!

SunshineSen wrote: »

I'm new to the game so I was wondering if the "boss monsters" that you have to kill are only those that are found in group dungeons etc. or do the bosses found in (solo) delves count as well?

Nope, it's any boss found in the game. Dungeons, delves, etc.

RebornV3x wrote: »

RomansXXI wrote: »

Aldmor13 wrote: »

@ZOS_JessicaFolsom

So this is droping on PS4/XBox before 1T does. So on PS4/XBox there will still be low level world/dungeon/delv bosses dropping skulls, up until the 1T patch next week? On the other hand, those servers will be down for a day or more during this event FOR the patch...

I have this question also. Are console players missing out and getting pushed to the back again? I don't want to be missing 2 days or more of the event due to downloading the patch. What is the reason for making it the 13th and not the 18th with the console being on the same level as pc

So yeah what up with console players

There will be some downtime while we publish One Tamriel next week on console. That said, we're also publishing incremental patches on PC, so everyone is going to have some patches here and there. The event lasts until 10:00am EDT on November 1st, so you'll have lots of time to play and enjoy it.

Regarding this, can I continue farming VMA and they drop from those bosses too?

Now THAT is really interesting to know. But probably they won't drop cause ya know chests.

ZOS_GinaBruno · October 2016

IzakiBrotheSs wrote: »

show previous quotes

DPShiro wrote: »

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

Going to try and answer everyone's questions, but first, want to explain how this event is going to go down.
First, you'll want to pick up a (free) Crow Caller from the Crown Store.

Then, start the quest “The Witchmother’s Bargain” by using your Crow Caller.

Complete the quest to receive the Witches Festival Whistle.

Use the Witches Festival Whistle to summon the Witchmother’s Cauldron.

You can use the Witchmother’s Cauldron to turn you and anyone you are grouped with into an Undead (each use will last for two hours, but you can use it as many times as you like until the end of the event).

Once the event is over, you’ll be able to keep the Witches Festival Whistle as a memento, but all of its supernatural powers will be gone.

There are a number of rewards you can get from the Plunder Skulls (dropped from bosses) including:
The Hollowjack Motif book

A Halloween mask (either a pumpkin or scarecrow)

Spooky (sometimes gross) recipies

Amber Marble, the Hollowjack style item

Gross stuff, like worms and guts

Hope this helps! Now, onto the questions:

Caff32 wrote: »

No mention of XP boost...

Sorry about that! Yes, you will be able to get a double XP boost by using the Witchmother's Cauldron.

Daz_dingoeb17_ESO wrote: »

will the grim harlequin motif drop during the event or will it be a crown store exclusive?

The Grim Harlequin is going to be exclusive to the Crown Store. However, purchasing the Grim Harlequin will net you 54 Mimic Stones, which you can use to craft gear (including the Grim Harlequin). You can use this crafted gear to deconstruct and have a chance to get a Grinstone - the Grim Harlequin style item. All this can be traded, too, if you wish.

Minute_Waltz wrote: »

So do we have an exact time of this event starting? Will it start at 0:01AM EST? Will we have another 8 hour maintenance to enable this?

We'll be starting to add this event onto each realm at 10:00am EDT. It won't require any downtime, and shouldn't take too long to complete.

TheDarkRuler wrote: »

Will the Motif crafting materials of the festival motif be farmable forever?
Or are the style materials gone once the festival ends?

No, only during the duration of the event.

Voidnova wrote: »

Will console players be able to participate?

Yes, of course!

SunshineSen wrote: »

I'm new to the game so I was wondering if the "boss monsters" that you have to kill are only those that are found in group dungeons etc. or do the bosses found in (solo) delves count as well?

Nope, it's any boss found in the game. Dungeons, delves, etc.

RebornV3x wrote: »

RomansXXI wrote: »

Aldmor13 wrote: »

@ZOS_JessicaFolsom

So this is droping on PS4/XBox before 1T does. So on PS4/XBox there will still be low level world/dungeon/delv bosses dropping skulls, up until the 1T patch next week? On the other hand, those servers will be down for a day or more during this event FOR the patch...

I have this question also. Are console players missing out and getting pushed to the back again? I don't want to be missing 2 days or more of the event due to downloading the patch. What is the reason for making it the 13th and not the 18th with the console being on the same level as pc

So yeah what up with console players

There will be some downtime while we publish One Tamriel next week on console. That said, we're also publishing incremental patches on PC, so everyone is going to have some patches here and there. The event lasts until 10:00am EDT on November 1st, so you'll have lots of time to play and enjoy it.

Regarding this, can I continue farming VMA and they drop from those bosses too?

Now THAT is really interesting to know. But probably they won't drop cause ya know chests.

You will be able to get Plunder Skulls in VMA, but only from the chests at the end - not directly from each boss.

MissBizz · October 2016

IzakiBrotheSs wrote: »

show previous quotes

DPShiro wrote: »

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

Going to try and answer everyone's questions, but first, want to explain how this event is going to go down.
First, you'll want to pick up a (free) Crow Caller from the Crown Store.

Then, start the quest “The Witchmother’s Bargain” by using your Crow Caller.

Complete the quest to receive the Witches Festival Whistle.

Use the Witches Festival Whistle to summon the Witchmother’s Cauldron.

You can use the Witchmother’s Cauldron to turn you and anyone you are grouped with into an Undead (each use will last for two hours, but you can use it as many times as you like until the end of the event).

Once the event is over, you’ll be able to keep the Witches Festival Whistle as a memento, but all of its supernatural powers will be gone.

There are a number of rewards you can get from the Plunder Skulls (dropped from bosses) including:
The Hollowjack Motif book

A Halloween mask (either a pumpkin or scarecrow)

Spooky (sometimes gross) recipies

Amber Marble, the Hollowjack style item

Gross stuff, like worms and guts

Hope this helps! Now, onto the questions:

Caff32 wrote: »

No mention of XP boost...

Sorry about that! Yes, you will be able to get a double XP boost by using the Witchmother's Cauldron.

Daz_dingoeb17_ESO wrote: »

will the grim harlequin motif drop during the event or will it be a crown store exclusive?

The Grim Harlequin is going to be exclusive to the Crown Store. However, purchasing the Grim Harlequin will net you 54 Mimic Stones, which you can use to craft gear (including the Grim Harlequin). You can use this crafted gear to deconstruct and have a chance to get a Grinstone - the Grim Harlequin style item. All this can be traded, too, if you wish.

Minute_Waltz wrote: »

So do we have an exact time of this event starting? Will it start at 0:01AM EST? Will we have another 8 hour maintenance to enable this?

We'll be starting to add this event onto each realm at 10:00am EDT. It won't require any downtime, and shouldn't take too long to complete.

TheDarkRuler wrote: »

Will the Motif crafting materials of the festival motif be farmable forever?
Or are the style materials gone once the festival ends?

No, only during the duration of the event.

Voidnova wrote: »

Will console players be able to participate?

Yes, of course!

SunshineSen wrote: »

I'm new to the game so I was wondering if the "boss monsters" that you have to kill are only those that are found in group dungeons etc. or do the bosses found in (solo) delves count as well?

Nope, it's any boss found in the game. Dungeons, delves, etc.

RebornV3x wrote: »

RomansXXI wrote: »

Aldmor13 wrote: »

@ZOS_JessicaFolsom

So this is droping on PS4/XBox before 1T does. So on PS4/XBox there will still be low level world/dungeon/delv bosses dropping skulls, up until the 1T patch next week? On the other hand, those servers will be down for a day or more during this event FOR the patch...

I have this question also. Are console players missing out and getting pushed to the back again? I don't want to be missing 2 days or more of the event due to downloading the patch. What is the reason for making it the 13th and not the 18th with the console being on the same level as pc

So yeah what up with console players

There will be some downtime while we publish One Tamriel next week on console. That said, we're also publishing incremental patches on PC, so everyone is going to have some patches here and there. The event lasts until 10:00am EDT on November 1st, so you'll have lots of time to play and enjoy it.

Regarding this, can I continue farming VMA and they drop from those bosses too?

Now THAT is really interesting to know. But probably they won't drop cause ya know chests.

Gina ninja'd me with knowledge.

BoloBoffin · October 2016

Grim Harlequin and 54 crown mimic stones are 2200 crown.

Preyfar · October 2016

BoloBoffin wrote: »

Grim Harlequin and 54 crown mimic stones are 2200 crown.

Yeah. I'm actually pleasantly surprised by this. No, I'm still not 100% okay with the idea of new motifs being crown store only, but I'm glad it's not the same price as other high end motifs (5000 crowns). Not ideal, but I think ZOS made a good call on pricing it to a point where it's a cosmetic item that's not truly bank-sapping.

JamieAubrey · October 2016

So its only 1 guest and then just farm a boss all day ?

Conduit0 · October 2016

Honestly crafted gear and by extension motifs are pointless fluff at this time anyways. Until ZOS gives us crafted sets on par with dungeon gear or gives us the ability to change an item's style, crafted gear might as well be a cosmetic item you can only wear in town.