You! Over there! The one who doesn't buy crates!

gminkalis_ESO

I have no issue if people choose to spend money in this game. Most of the items there are exchangeable for crown gems that can be used to buy what you want.

When I was young, my $10 a week went into arcade machines. After playing I had nothing in return, no recurring pixels or anything to keep using for a time.

Some people will have no issue dropping $100 for a round of golf or $50 on a trip to the nightclub. What you get from those things is gone as soon as you finish. If this is what people choose to spend their entertainment money on, it is best for them. If you prefer to go on vacations you will most likely have great memories and maybe a t-shirt or magnet to bring home but have spent quite a bit for that week of leisure.

If people choose to spend their entertainment money on crates, that is their choice as well. If they spend time in this game and can continue to enjoy what they got, I don't see any issue with it.

LadyAstrum

gminkalis_ESO wrote: »

I have no issue if people choose to spend money in this game. Most of the items there are exchangeable for crown gems that can be used to buy what you want.

When I was young, my $10 a week went into arcade machines. After playing I had nothing in return, no recurring pixels or anything to keep using for a time.

Some people will have no issue dropping $100 for a round of golf or $50 on a trip to the nightclub. What you get from those things is gone as soon as you finish. If this is what people choose to spend their entertainment money on, it is best for them. If you prefer to go on vacations you will most likely have great memories and maybe a t-shirt or magnet to bring home but have spent quite a bit for that week of leisure.

If people choose to spend their entertainment money on crates, that is their choice as well. If they spend time in this game and can continue to enjoy what they got, I don't see any issue with it.

It impacts other people. Supporting this by throwing money at crates affects everyone. This doesn't happen in a bubble. When people reward these systems, the costs for everyone get higher.

MasterSpatula

The more crates you buy, the more ZOS sees letting people pay for a chance at things a viable business practice, the less we get up-front sales practices. It can also lead them to thinking gambling is a better way to increase shareholder value than creating a consistently rewarding game people want to play and will pay for.

So, by not buying crates, you're actively helping make the game better.

Delgent

I agree that they are gambling. I also have addictive tendencies, so I've had to learn to control them myself. These companies would love it if I gave in to those tendencies, but I've learned (much later in life than I probably should have) that it's up to me to not indulge. If anything, ZOS has me looking elsewhere for my MMO entertainment due to their monetization practices. Lately I've been considering just going back to WoW, where I knew exactly what I was getting when I bought something.

Juju_beans

LadyAstrum wrote: »

It impacts other people. Supporting this by throwing money at crates affects everyone. This doesn't happen in a bubble. When people reward these systems, the costs for everyone get higher.

That's how game makers make money when the sub is optional.
As long as people buy then it will continue.

And this is the trend among games now...microtransactions because companies make more money that way then sub fees.

Doesn't bother me one bit because I don't buy crates. I take whatever they give us for free.
I save up my 1500/month crowns and then buy something from the crown store.

Sheezabeast

Thank you all for your advice, whether joking, serious, or insightful. I appreciate the support.

I have kind of a history of retail therapy and this isn't the first game I've gotten in over my head over in game purchases...it feeds a rather unhealthy problem I have. I know other people might be going through the same thing, and some dialogue is better than none. Its ok to call me spoiled like one person did, I own that...my hubby likes being able to get me things, and he was genuinely sad he couldn't get me that glittery pony that came out recently. When the money simply isn't there, it isn't there. But that gut-tugging feeling of aaaah crap I really want that really digs in....

In the other game I played that I was heavily invested in, I the hardest thing I did was stop paying premium, and it took a good year for me to stop wanting the premium content that I was accustomed to. I did it though. I was able to stop being a whale.

VilniusNastavnik

I don't have an addictive personality. I also hate RNG for cosmetics. I'll use my free gold I get from my ESO+ on guaranteed items like the upgrade packs for when I stop using ESO+ but otherwise.. that's it.

Anotherone773

Just remember when you gamble, the house always wins.

central_scrutinizer

I honestly don't care about crates. I'm not really concerned about dress-up ect. I'm not knocking people who are, I just prefer to blend in rather then stand out. When I can, I prefer to look benign and humble in games, especially with any kind of player vs player.
I'm also not interested in buying things when I don't know what I will be getting. I love gambling irl but this is just consuming through impediment to me, it's not exciting in the slightest from my perspective.

riberion

They will be available for 3 months, so you could buy some later, if you are still interested. I have purchased some in the past, but am not really tempted with this round. Maybe it's ok to take a break? Or if you have some crown gems, you can maybe still get some new shiny things without having to spend more money.

Wreuntzylla

Sheezabeast wrote: »

Tell me the secret to it. Because of some real life things called bills, I can't get any crowns this month at all, so just the 3 free crates will be all I get. How do I not give a crap about the cool new shiny things. I am a lover of shiny things Help motivate me to not mope about this.

They are morally repugnant.

There are people in-game that beg people they know for money because they blew their car payment or whatnot on crates. The saddest part is that some of these people have kids <sigh>.

Iluvrien wrote: »

I ride around on my loyalty Senche. I don’t even open the free crates I’ve gotten. Why?

Because the thought of opening one annoys me when I consider that this kind of tactic has, and will continue, to degrade this game. It rewards the studio for doing the wrong thing.

Don’t know if that helps you, but it certainly helps me.

This person gets it.

AnviOfVai wrote: »

I have the same problem...Crown crates and me = huge dent in wallet.

I also seem to want to collect everything, clothes and mounts. (except camels, you can keep those) and I mean I don't even use them all!! and yet I have 4 characters and like 20 mounts. Whhhyy..

I suppose if you can get past the ethics involved, considering what you will actually use might work. Before I buy something off the crown store, I always ask myself, "will I actually ever use that 10minutes after I buy it?' The answer is surprisingly 'no' most of the time. The things you like the most are what you typically end up using.

Of course, if roleplayer, so screwed,

Minalan

I spent the saved up subscription monthly crown awards on crates, to get the one mount I wanted (storm atronach). I haven’t been back to it since. I’m happy with what I have, I suppose I’m weird that way.

If that makes me evil for supporting ZOS monthly, then I suppose I am. But I’m doing it for the crafting bag!

Nihility42

The crown crate season is several months long, just buy crowns next month.

Nihility42

gminkalis_ESO wrote: »

I have no issue if people choose to spend money in this game. Most of the items there are exchangeable for crown gems that can be used to buy what you want.

When I was young, my $10 a week went into arcade machines. After playing I had nothing in return, no recurring pixels or anything to keep using for a time.

Some people will have no issue dropping $100 for a round of golf or $50 on a trip to the nightclub. What you get from those things is gone as soon as you finish. If this is what people choose to spend their entertainment money on, it is best for them. If you prefer to go on vacations you will most likely have great memories and maybe a t-shirt or magnet to bring home but have spent quite a bit for that week of leisure.

If people choose to spend their entertainment money on crates, that is their choice as well. If they spend time in this game and can continue to enjoy what they got, I don't see any issue with it.

This is exactly it. I went to a concert over the weekend that ended up being ~$300 for my ticket, my girlfriend's, a hotel, food, etc. I enjoyed it and obviously chose that over buying crown crates with the same money, but if someone decided that they wanted to spend their $300 or however much on crown crates for entertainment, who am I to say that's wrong?

People speaking doom like this is the end of the gaming world need to take a deep breath and calm down. I do think loot chances should be published and it should be restricted to ensure kids aren't gambling away, but it's no different than any other gambling or entertainment. Except this one subsidizes my favorite game.

Owondyah

I never, ever bought extra currency in already bought or subscribed game...

Shiny or rusty... doesn't matter. I just see that item as something that's there to sustain company's profit from people that can't help but to buy it.

It's a trap, honestly. They will pack it up nicely and decorate it far better than any ingame purchasable mount or pet Thing is, I never liked shiny armor or mounts. You will see me in common outfits and riding common mounts, unless I get really lucky and get some stuff for free.

LadyAstrum

Juju_beans wrote: »

LadyAstrum wrote: »

It impacts other people. Supporting this by throwing money at crates affects everyone. This doesn't happen in a bubble. When people reward these systems, the costs for everyone get higher.

That's how game makers make money when the sub is optional.
As long as people buy then it will continue.

And this is the trend among games now...microtransactions because companies make more money that way then sub fees.

Doesn't bother me one bit because I don't buy crates. I take whatever they give us for free.
I save up my 1500/month crowns and then buy something from the crown store.

I miss the sub days, crown stores are a different beast. I don't buy crown crates either, they're mostly full of junk. At least in SWTOR I could sell items for in-game cash that I got from boxes, and I don't recall them being full of consumables.

Kiralyn2000

LadyAstrum wrote: »

gminkalis_ESO wrote: »

I have no issue if people choose to spend money in this game. Most of the items there are exchangeable for crown gems that can be used to buy what you want.

When I was young, my $10 a week went into arcade machines. After playing I had nothing in return, no recurring pixels or anything to keep using for a time.

Some people will have no issue dropping $100 for a round of golf or $50 on a trip to the nightclub. What you get from those things is gone as soon as you finish. If this is what people choose to spend their entertainment money on, it is best for them. If you prefer to go on vacations you will most likely have great memories and maybe a t-shirt or magnet to bring home but have spent quite a bit for that week of leisure.

If people choose to spend their entertainment money on crates, that is their choice as well. If they spend time in this game and can continue to enjoy what they got, I don't see any issue with it.

It impacts other people. Supporting this by throwing money at crates affects everyone. This doesn't happen in a bubble. When people reward these systems, the costs for everyone get higher.

Ok, and paying $10-20 for cocktails at a dance club or $8 for a silly coffee at Starbucks does the same thing. Shall we campaign against those too? (good luck with it, btw. I think the 'expensive coffee' ship has long sailed)

LadyAstrum

Kiralyn2000 wrote: »

LadyAstrum wrote: »

gminkalis_ESO wrote: »

I have no issue if people choose to spend money in this game. Most of the items there are exchangeable for crown gems that can be used to buy what you want.

When I was young, my $10 a week went into arcade machines. After playing I had nothing in return, no recurring pixels or anything to keep using for a time.

Some people will have no issue dropping $100 for a round of golf or $50 on a trip to the nightclub. What you get from those things is gone as soon as you finish. If this is what people choose to spend their entertainment money on, it is best for them. If you prefer to go on vacations you will most likely have great memories and maybe a t-shirt or magnet to bring home but have spent quite a bit for that week of leisure.

If people choose to spend their entertainment money on crates, that is their choice as well. If they spend time in this game and can continue to enjoy what they got, I don't see any issue with it.

It impacts other people. Supporting this by throwing money at crates affects everyone. This doesn't happen in a bubble. When people reward these systems, the costs for everyone get higher.

Ok, and paying $10-20 for cocktails at a dance club or $8 for a silly coffee at Starbucks does the same thing. Shall we campaign against those too? (good luck with it, btw. I think the 'expensive coffee' ship has long sailed)

I'm not campaigning against anything, but at this point I'm done posting about this because some people will make excuses for anything. Like Gollum, they want their pretty at all and any cost. Good luck to them, I'm choosing to be a little more savvy when it comes to pixel purchases going forward.

PlagueSD

I have absolutely zero interest in buying crates. I have this issue of buying "virtual" pixels with hard earned cash. I will gladly pay for "access" to play a game, so I have no issue with a monthly fee - which I can always stop paying when I am no longer interested in the game.

Of all the free crates I've opened, I've pretty much just converted everything to gems. The only items I kept were the mimic stones, but may consider turning them into gems because of the outfit system.

DaveMoeDee

Buy or don't buy, doesn't matter to me. The people who annoy me are the ones who buy crates and then complain they didn't get anything good. Duh.

heaven13

Crates would be something I might be more interested in buying if:

1. Odds were public
2. All items were purchasable with gems (goodbye radiant apex)
3. Everything was able to be exchanged for gems, not just consumables or duplicates.

If all of the above conditions were met, I'd feel it was more of a value. I wouldn't be stuck with ugly mounts (I personally prefer realistic stuff so the sparkly, flaming, glowing stuff has no appeal to me and makes most of the high tier rewards undesirable) or costumes I don't like and could get the things I really did want.

ZoS is never going to meet those conditions. Because then people would save their gems for stuff they actually want and not spend as much money. And let's be real: the crates exist to dangle a nearly impossible to reach carrot in front of the consumer to tempt them to keep spending. Not to allow the consumer to purchase things they want. If the latter was important, direct purchase crown items wouldn't be so sparse or 'retired' to crates.

Miaura

Sry I did not yet read the other posts in this thread yet, will later...But my advice OP...Uh I know it hurts cause I sometimes had to cancel my sub for real life priorities and know how annoying that is..But dunno if I have advice, just a little story.

My little story, maybe naive to some but true: recently my cat got sick; a young cat, so happy and full of life usually, and he had a non fatal disease wich needed treatment. Had to pay about 350 euros for all his care, medicine and multipile vet visits with only private vet care available in our area.
I was so very happy we actually had the money to start his treatment, but still had to borrow some from friends for the rest. Now he is well and running happily here, and Im so clad I had not blown away all " extra budget money" on things like crown crates when it happened.
(And yeah that was one time when I had to cancel my ESO sub for real life..)

Cheers, keep prioritizing folks, and try to keep a little extra on the side if you have someone you care for, be it just you!

Mettaricana

Easy i dont buy anything from eso store anymore either the mount gets used once until next crate comes out or the costumes are old ones that no one bought being brought back after outfiter was added theres no need for crappy poorly dyed crown costumes. So aside from special hairs or tattoos theres nothing worth it thus i save my money and if i want something i just let my subscription crowns pile up til i feel lucky

Sheezabeast

I made this thread on General Discussion so people who don't buy stuff with Crowns could comment....and they move this to the Crown Store Discussion...I'm not creating drama or anything, why bury my topic?

Charliff1966

Sheezabeast wrote: »

I made this thread on General Discussion so people who don't buy stuff with Crowns could comment....and they move this to the Crown Store Discussion...I'm not creating drama or anything, why bury my topic?

Its about the crownstore so they dump it in the right forum. No conspiracy happening here.

disintegr8

The bottom line is that you do not need anything that you may get from the crown crates, so don't buy them.

Easier said than done, I know because I have had a gambling problem. I always have crowns because I subscribe and the temptation to buy crown crates sometimes rears it's ugly head. Those who do not have addictive personalities do not understand this and mistakenly think everyone can control ALL of their urges ALL of the time.

I did buy one bundle when they first came out, to see what they were like but have not bought any more. I do not like the way they are handled and presented to the player in a way that I think appeals to the gambler. Just change it to simple crate you open, like Rewards for the Worthy, or Guild daily quest rewards box and I would not have an issue with them.

The free crown crate events I see as no more than an attempt to entice those with less resistance to go and buy some but I will quite happily make sure I get my free ones without buying any.

Pay the bills, buy a gift for your partner, or take them out for dinner - you get more out of those investments than you will get out of a few crown crates (21 years married here and still going strong).

Kingslayer513

Gambling in a video game with actual money for pure cosmetics is just not something that I can get behind. I'll happily use the free crates ZOS gives out (and I've gotten some cool mounts/accessories with them), but I've yet to purchase any crown crates.

Ngl, I get quite a kick out of riding around in Cyro in a towel on the starter horse with all upgrades hidden and stomping people who have tons of bling and not enough skill

I guess it depends on where you derive your enjoyment from, OP. For me it's pretty easy to not dump money on gambling for cosmetics.

Merlin13KAGL

I find the joy of not being homeless tends to be a good motivator...?

Just one example.

Elsonso

Tried to read whole thread. Got confused. What are these "crates" people are talking about?

SheepdogPaladin

A fool and his money are soon parted.