Crating Bag Exclusivity is Unfair

Wanderinlost

Extremely disappointed they are making crafting bags sub only "perk". It's more than just a nice perk for crafters. It's the exact kind of feature that should not be implemented to sub only because then you are in a position where you feel a subscription is mandatory for your style of play and if you are subscribing then what do all the previous unlocks and DLC purchases amount to? It is a major feature that has been requested for a long damn time. Personally it frustrates me because the game itself is so loot heavy inventory management has been a constant issue since day one, and even with all the space you can currently buy/unlock you can still fill your inventory in 20 minutes of play.

Even if it was priced at $30-$50 it would be far better than this restriction to sub only. It is a buy to play game, and we all bought into that idea and supported the game through DLC and crown purchases, not to have something this important restricted at a later date in order to drive up sub numbers. Making the sub more attractive is fine and good sense but this is taking it too far. For some of us this has been a #1 requested feature for a long time(above content), and there have been many indications by the devs that it would be added sometime in the future. However by making this sub only feature you are putting all your buy to play customers in a extremely distasteful position.

If I am left in a position to sub in order to get this feature or not then I will probably never by any DLC, any crown packs and sub for a month or two per year at best. In the end it will be a lose-lose situation and a great disappointment for what was one of the better examples of MMO monetization. Currently ESO has great flexibility but this move is a major step backwards that nullifies the advantages of B2P and the crown store.

Edit:

ESO+ getting this feature is a great reward and incentive. However putting this feature on the crown store in no way diminishes the value of that feature. ESO+ is going to have the bag, although the rest of us are going to be left with no recourse to improve the dismal inventory management that has plagued us for years other than switching to ESO+, which after buying DLC for a year is a major loss.

Many have argued that this is going to be good for the game as it will increase income the game generates. I would argue the opposite. If it comes down to it, instead of spending over $100-$200 a year on DLC and cash shop purchases it will cost far less to sub a few months per year, not ever buy any crown packs and get the use of the feature at no additional cost. As a loyal player I would prefer not to do this but loyalty can easily turn to hostility when you are faced with the prospect of dealing with inventory woes every 20 minutes with no end in sight or having to abandon the principle Zenimax sold us the game on to get an important QoL feature.

Restriction and exclusivity were the principles F2P was founded on and there are still games today which embrace these qualities. ESO made a great move by going B2P and taking on the more modern approach of all carrot and no stick. While I could not compare ESO in any way to those early games this is an exclusive QoL feature and that exclusivity will not benefit ESO+ members or members. Sell it, please.

[minor edit due to temporary lock]

bedlom

No! Children suffering is unfair.

[Edit to remove insulting content]

Valrien

It's a quality of life thing. I can do just fine without the crafting bag...but when I get it it'll be fantastic.

Buffler

Its absolutely fair. ESO + subscribers dont really get any worthwhile perks. We just pay a sub out of blind loyalty. Its about time we got something useful

Sharee

I have all crafts maxed on main, keep a reasonable stock of materials for all of them, and i've been doing fine inventory-wise for years without crafting bags. The sky is not falling.

Epona222

So... people who pay a sub and help provide the game with regular income shouldn't get anything good or useful because it's 'unfair' on those who don't. Try that approach at your local membership-only gym and see how far it gets you... smh.

strikeback1247

It is definitely fair. It's a nice incentive for subscribing and if you can't live without them, you should seriously stop hoarding [snip].

dimensional

I honestly don't think this is a big deal, and I am a big time crafter. Nothing unfair about it.

Svalinn

I hope you're joking... inventory management in the game is awesome and you can achieve everything you want just with gaming time and gold... the crafting bag is a very nice addon but at the same time well... is absolutly not game breaking not having it and pure convenience owning it, thus making the perfect addon for subscribers that, since paying every single month, deserve to have something more in the package.

I am NOT a subscriber by the way.

magnusthorek

I've been saying for a long time already. It's a very nice feature indeed, specially because it's been a long time since ZOS don't give a damn about increasing the purchasable bank/inventory slots, but making it exclusive to ESO+ members is one step towards pay-to-win.

It doesn't affect the overall gameplay giving a headstart to the premium members but it's how things start getting nasty. Being a subscriber is not worth in some countries due the exchange rate between currencies. Being a subscriber requires an international credit card for those living outside US.

Much better to have it as a purchasable feature in Crown Store like all DLCs. Give the opportunity for those unable, physically or financially to have the same benefit of those living in US or, at least, in better countries.

Wanderinlost

So purchasing the game, subbing for years, buying DLC, spending hundreds on crowns is not enough? Just because you are ESO+ now does not make you in anyway special. It doesn't mean many others have not paid and continue to pay though crowns or make them less of a customer.

Pangnirtung

They NEED to make subbing worthwhile. If you can buy things without subbing then what's the point?

I dropped my sub last summer and have been perfectly happy not getting bonus points, etc.

My guess is that some "genius" in the business office dreamed up this model and has the spreadsheet to show that it is profitable for ZOS.

It is what it is. No big deal.

If I wanted the extra space bad enough I would sub again.

Mickey_Ox

Its not mandatory for your playstlye as you and I and everyone else for that matter have been playing the game fine for anything up to 2 years without it. As someone who does sub I'm delighted its added as a perk and not a purchasable addon, and as a lover of this game I'm also happy as its an incentive for more people to sub and help keep this game going long into the future. Its a simple sub up or shut in my opinion

Wanderinlost

I am not saying that ESO+ should not get the bag, but why should us who have supported this game through buy to play be given the same option, to buy the crafting bag with crowns.

dimensional

Extra crafting space is in no way pay to win, not by any stretch of imagination.

Svalinn

magnusthorek wrote: »

is one step towards pay-to-win.

at first i wanted to just laugh at this.. then i've been thinking of just asking you if you're serious or just joking, then i just gave up and wrote everything that came to mind because i'm kind of sure that wathever i might answer to this would be received either as an insult or as a "making fun of you" kind of post and i really don't want that... but yeah... a bag like the one they're giving to subscribers is kind of the opposite of what pay to win is...

jamesharv2005ub17_ESO

Hmm so charge $30-50 for it or get $15 a month forever for it. Let me think...

Tryxus

Wanderinlost wrote: »

So purchasing the game, subbing for years, buying DLC, spending hundreds on crowns is not enough? Just because you are ESO+ now does not make you in anyway special. It doesn't mean many others have not paid and continue to pay though crowns or make them less of a customer.

You don't HAVE to pay for and spend Crowns, but ESO+ members sub and HAVE to pay a fee for it. Ofc they should be given a bonus or three: extra XP, Crafting Bags,...

Elsonso

Wanderinlost wrote: »

It is a buy to play game, and we all bought into that, not to have something this important restricted at a later date in order to drive up sub numbers. Making the sub more attractive is fine and good sense but this is taking it too far.

It is a buy to play game with a premium subscription. I actually bought into a full subscription game and part of me wishes that it has stayed that way. But, if we have to be B2P with a premium subscription, the premium subscription should have a reason to subscribe that is more than just Crowns, Boosters, and DLC. Crafting bags are perfect. No one really needs them.

Wanderinlost

It seems to me that most of the argument against B2P customers having an option to purchase this is that it would somehow diminish the game for ESO+ customers in some way and to me that seems like a petty argument. How does one customer having a feature make it any less valuable to a ESO+ member? There are also other ways to increase the value of a premium service other than restricting an important feature from half the playerbase.

Beowulf_McCallum

All these arguments tend to boil down to a common essence. Animosity towards/ hatred of subscriptions. I ask, why does a subscriber not deserve some recompense for their monthly payment? When others could refuse to pay another cent past the box price and still continue to play... Surely you don't think subscriptions should be just a monthly charitable contribution, do you? Let them be rewarded a little something extra. They deserve it.

JD2013

I think it is perfectly fair. Those who loyally give £8.99 ($14.99) a month to the game deserve a little extra perk or two and it's nice that ZOS is acknowledging that since they dropped loyalty rewards.

I'm looking forward to all that extra space in my bank!

ArvenAldmeri

I love non-subs complaining about not getting something that subs do. You dont support the game, we do, sub or manage you inventory the better way. We were subs even before this was planned, some will sub because of it, some will resub because being a sub did not have much benefit for them before. Want crafting bags? Then sub. Its absolutely fair. Being sub will finally mean something.
Its not anything pay to win and if someone says otherwise then he apparently dont know what pay to win means. Let me explain so that you dont have to google it. It means buying advantages over other players in terms of combat, being stronger, less killable, having better gear - well guess what, you cant buy better gear or more damage in crown store or getting it by subbing. Crafting bags are about being more comfortable with your inventory. You dont pay to win. You pay so that you dont have to spend hours trying to manage your already very full inventory/bank. Which is extremely annoying.
I am sub since I started to play the game, which is about 2 years now and finally now I feel its really worth it.

aubrey.baconb16_ESO

Nope. I disagree. I personally don't find it unfair at all. A very nice addition to the sub perks, thanks ZOS.

If you want one sub.

Svalinn

Wanderinlost wrote: »

to me that seems like a petty argument.

Well.. to me it seems that B2P players complaining on not having a totally optional item that offer nothing more then convenience.. adding value to the subscription model (value that would be totally lost if everyone could buy it) just seems lazy since you can have all space you want in your inventory just playing the game like i, as a non-subscriber, do... so i guess we're even ^^

Wanderinlost

Beowulf_McCallum wrote: »

All these arguments tend to boil down to a common essence. Animosity towards/ hatred of subscriptions. I ask, why does a subscriber not deserve some recompense for their monthly payment? When others could refuse to pay another cent past the box price and still continue to play... Surely you don't think subscriptions should be just a monthly charitable contribution, do you? Let them be rewarded a little something extra. They deserve it.

You are getting the crafting bags for free, for something you are already paying. A B2P customer will have to spend a substantial fee to access them. This isn't about hating the sub, if anything it is about subbers feeling they are somehow more deserving. I have no problem with ESO+ now, when I get crowns sometimes I get them though ESO+, especially if I know my playtime will warrant it, but I choose one time purchases over a sub because of a lower playtime and the flexibility it offers.

phaneub17_ESO

I'm waiting to see how many extra character slots we can get before I make any snap judgement, I'm hoping at least 2 while the window looks like it can fit at most 4 more characters. If the price is reasonable, I'll buy those instead of subbing for more mule storage. It's only a minor inconvenience, at least I'll have more playable characters than mules.

ManwithBeard9

Well the ESO Plus crafting bags will be essentially infinite in space. I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually out a limited bag in the crown store. But no, the ESO Plus should be for subs only.

Elder_III

I want a "Disagree" button. The only reason to sub the past year+ was to "support the developers" (which I have done on 2 accounts). It will be nice to actually have some perceivable benefit for my wife and I going forward.

*$ wise it has been more affordable to buy dlcs with Crowns, so I view that perk as a wash.*

Ra'Shtar

How is it unfair? I pay to play and you just want everything for free without supporting the game you are playing, like developing things doesn't take time and effort. I should be rewarded for being loyal to the development of the game not completely ignored even when i'm paying for basically nothing because buying crown packs is better you save tons of money.

aubrey.baconb16_ESO

Wanderinlost wrote: »

I am not saying that ESO+ should not get the bag, but why should us who have supported this game through buy to play be given the same option, to buy the crafting bag with crowns.

Everybody supported the game through buy to play, those subbing still had to buy the game. Those of us who sub pay extra to additionally support the game for a few tid bits in return. This is just an extra tid bit that I personally welcome.

An excellent reward for subbing in my opinion.