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Is Buying Skyshard SP Pay to Win?
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Ertosi✭✭✭✭✭
✭Yes it's P2W.I think another problem here is that most folks eager to see such a thing have grave misconceptions about how it's going to be implemented. Let's see what little we know about it so far:
source: linkAccount Wide Things
Starting in Elsweyr you’ll be able to buy Skyshard SP unlocks for Crowns if you’ve previously completed the achievement on another character. There might be bundles (zones, alliances etc), however much of this was in development at the time and nothing was nailed down.
Add that to today's stream where ZOS said purchases are going to be on a per-character basis, not per-account and it starts to get real nasty. And yes, yes, yes, I know this is all conjecture at this point, but it's still a good place to look because it seems like it puts us in the ballpark for what to expect.
Anybody remember how additional Outfit Slots work? At 1500 crowns a slot, it's been calculated that unlocking every slot for all of their characters will cost a player about $1200 before tax. And remember, there are just 9 additional Outfit Slots to unlock for each character.
If unlocking a Skyshard Bundle is comparable in price to an Outfit Slot (and that's being nice, given Skyshards give you skill points so they'll probably be even more expensive because they give real utility) it's going to cost players even more. You've got your base alliance zones + Coldharbour + Cyrodiil + IC + Orsinium + Hew's Bane + Gold Coast + Morrowind + Clockwork City + Summerset + Mirkmire + Elsweyr + each future chapter and DLC. That's already 3 times the slots needed to buy per character!With three times the slots to buy over Outfit Slots, if they're the same price that would be about $3600 to unlock them all for all of your characters. And that's still assuming they won't be MORE expensive per slot because they actually add character power.
PC NA @Ertosi♠♦ My Team ♥♣
Goan – Jabsplar [Grand Master Crafter, Master Angler, Tamriel Hero, Explorer]
Dru – Stamplar
Tickles – Healplar
Dixie – Magplar
Figs – Stamblade Sneakthief [Master Thief]
Sir Price – Stamblade Bow Ganker [Daedric Lord Slayer]
Maya – Stamblade Speedster
Ahmed – Magblade Bomber
Balzar – StamSorc Blitzer
Winnie – PetSorc Thunder Mage
Tanks – StamDK Tank
Mona – MagDK Fire Mage
Dawn – HPDK
Bearly – Stamden Tank
Ivana – Magden Ice Mage☠ CP 950+ ☠
♌ DC Loyalist ♌
✄ Grand Master Crafter
No new crafting or game systems for 2019? "Season of the Dragon" would be better named "The Year of no New Major Features"
https://i.imgur.com/TPscgS9.jpg to see major features of the last few years compared.
https://i.imgur.com/X8qY0gP.jpg to see a detailed comparison of this year's Q1 to the last two Q1s.
https://i.imgur.com/4z71cK8.jpg to see a detailed comparison of each years' first two quarters combined.
https://i.imgur.com/jrHe5h8.jpg to see a projected comparison of the full years and what 2019's Q4 will need to catch up.
Unsubbed January 15th, 2019 due to the lack of any new substantial features shown to be coming in 2019.4 -
Caligamy_ESO✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭Yes it's P2W.This game has been sliding into p2w gradually for a long time now.
You cannot compete with someone on a single target fight with a new monster set such as Zaan in terms of DPS, you can get close but we all know this is the best single target dps monster set. You can't cast a (free) stronger heal and purge in Cyrodil while on a DPS character without an Earthgore set. Just as you can't really do the insane 'power creep' dps that everyone is flinging about these days without new trial gear (relequen, siroria, etc.) All of these are locked behind paywalls. You can try to put whatever pretty little mental bow on it you want to justify it in your own head but it is still locked behind a purchase.
Skyshards however.. pale in comparison in my eyes, its not REALLY p2w but now it gives access to whales to just crank out an alt anytime they feel like it and not have to invest the time into it that everyone else will and dive right into the end game or pvp content with it. So here we are.. I already know what will happen, there will be CP810 maxed out Necromancers on Day 1 who only need to obtain Lorebooks, Fighters guild, and Psijic skills. With the profits on skyshards Zo$ will probably do Lorebooks next.love is love6 -
dbgager✭✭✭No it's not P2W.Caligamy_ESO wrote: »This game has been sliding into p2w gradually for a long time now.
You cannot compete with someone on a single target fight with a new monster set such as Zaan in terms of DPS, you can get close but we all know this is the best single target dps monster set. You can't cast a (free) stronger heal and purge in Cyrodil while on a DPS character without an Earthgore set. Just as you can't really do the insane 'power creep' dps that everyone is flinging about these days without new trial gear (relequen, siroria, etc.) All of these are locked behind paywalls. You can try to put whatever pretty little mental bow on it you want to justify it in your own head but it is still locked behind a purchase.
Skyshards however.. pale in comparison in my eyes, its not REALLY p2w but now it gives access to whales to just crank out an alt anytime they feel like it and not have to invest the time into it that everyone else will and dive right into the end game or pvp content with it. So here we are.. I already know what will happen, there will be CP810 maxed out Necromancers on Day 1 who only need to obtain Lorebooks, Fighters guild, and Psijic skills. With the profits on skyshards Zo$ will probably do Lorebooks next.
Those sets are available through normal play. SO no not P2W. It may be DLC content. But if you expect everything in the game to be totally free and not have to purchase any DLC at all. Then you expectations are way to high. If you want to play for totally free. Then don't expect to have access to everything. Your not helping the developers in any way in that case.Edited by dbgager on March 30, 2019 10:46PM3 -
disintegr8✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭It's only pay to win if you are competitive.I'm not competitive, so it does not affect me if someone else pays to get an advantage on their second, third, fourth character. Personally I am against the 'account wide' concept for anything but that is on principal - if you don't want to do the work, don't roll a new character.
it does not affect me any more because my main acc has 15 maxed out characters with all the skill points they need.
What I see is ZOS further spreading the divide between the haves and have nots. Necromancer class comes out, I create a new character and buy all the skyshards I have previously located. What about the person who has done nothing wrong but cannot afford to buy them?
At least we now have gifting so people can trade crowns for gold.
On the other hand, I'm all for ZOS selling stuff to people with more money than sense, as it hopefully keeps them financial so they can give us more content.Australian on PS4 NA server.
Everyone's entitled to an opinion.2 -
Oliviander✭✭✭✭No it's not P2W.The only real PTW aspect in ESO are the motifs in crown store.
1. You get achievementpoint for it
2. you get an significant financial benefit ingame for getting more master writs.
3. I think it's nearly impossible to get all motifs for 15 toons without buying some or even the majority of them.
So you don't just save time like buying some Skyshards.
You get an ongoing gold benefit for the investment.
You can get to a point which is nearly impossible to achieve without paying (at least for 15 toons)
I would call that PTW
But you also get achievement points for the skyhards so if you are
hard on the issue you may call it PTW. But as it is not really difficult to collect the needed skyshard´s
I for myself wouldn't call it PTW
Edited by Oliviander on March 30, 2019 10:48PM0 -
todokete✭✭✭✭✭Yes it's P2W.disintegr8 wrote: »It's only pay to win if you are competitive.I'm not competitive, so it does not affect me if someone else pays to get an advantage on their second, third, fourth character.
Then BDO isn't p2w either4 -
GrimClaw✭✭✭No it's not P2W.It would be default behavoir to have shared skyshards among characters. It's not because of the shop.1
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Mr_Walker✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭Oliviander wrote: »The only real PTW aspect in ESO are the motifs in crown store.
1. You get achievementpoint for it
2. you get an significant financial benefit ingame for getting more master writs.
3. I think it's nearly impossible to get all motifs for 15 toons without buying some or even the majority of them.
So you don't just save time like buying some Skyshards.
You get an ongoing gold benefit for the investment.
You can get to a point which is nearly impossible to achieve without paying (at least for 15 toons)
I would call that PTW
But you also get achievement points for the skyhards so if you are
hard on the issue you may call it PTW. But as it is not really difficult to collect the needed skyshard´s
I for myself wouldn't call it PTW
None of the things you quoted affects your actual gameplay one bit. Do you even know what p2w is?1 -
TheValkyn✭✭✭✭✭
✭Yes it's P2W.DCUO did this with Skill Points. It then led to them selling artifact xp which is directly tied to power.4 -
Universe✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭Yes it's P2W.DCUO did this with Skill Points. It then led to them selling artifact xp which is directly tied to power.
Interesting fact.
I won't be surprised if ESO will go full F2P in the next 3 months to 1 year.
F2P games model involves many micro transactions which are P2W or borderline P2W, so it makes sense ZOS is preparing the game to this transition.Some videos I recorded for fun: Main character:
PC EU main: Universe - AD magicka Sorcerer, Former Emperor, Grand Overlord, The Merciless, Trial Bosses Solo Champion
Top alts: Genius(stamina/sagicka Dragonknight) The Force(stamina Nightblade) and other chars.
PC NA main: The Magic - AD magicka Sorcerer
Started playing ESO in beta & early access
User_ID: Daedric_Prince3 -
disintegr8✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭disintegr8 wrote: »It's only pay to win if you are competitive.I'm not competitive, so it does not affect me if someone else pays to get an advantage on their second, third, fourth character.
Then BDO isn't p2w either
What is BDO?Australian on PS4 NA server.
Everyone's entitled to an opinion.1 -
Tandor✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭No it's not P2W.DCUO did this with Skill Points. It then led to them selling artifact xp which is directly tied to power.
Interesting fact.
I won't be surprised if ESO will go full F2P in the next 3 months to 1 year.
F2P games model involves many micro transactions which are P2W or borderline P2W, so it makes sense ZOS is preparing the game to this transition.
I suspect they're also preparing for replacement revenue if they are forced by law to drop crown crates. Those campaigning against crown crates may end up in competitive gameplay against players who have bought their skills through "skyshards for crowns". As always in life, be careful what you wish for.3 -
dbgager✭✭✭No it's not P2W.DCUO did this with Skill Points. It then led to them selling artifact xp which is directly tied to power.
Interesting fact.
I won't be surprised if ESO will go full F2P in the next 3 months to 1 year.
F2P games model involves many micro transactions which are P2W or borderline P2W, so it makes sense ZOS is preparing the game to this transition.
I don't see how they could ever go full FTP. With the infinite crafting bag and DLC content all tied to a sub. How could they end that. What would happen to all the people who sub for that reason. What would happen to the 1000s of crafting components they have.Edited by dbgager on March 30, 2019 11:17PM0 -
TheValkyn✭✭✭✭✭
✭Yes it's P2W.disintegr8 wrote: »disintegr8 wrote: »It's only pay to win if you are competitive.I'm not competitive, so it does not affect me if someone else pays to get an advantage on their second, third, fourth character.
Then BDO isn't p2w either
What is BDO?
@disintegr8 Black Desert Online1 -
disintegr8✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭
Never heard of it.disintegr8 wrote: »disintegr8 wrote: »It's only pay to win if you are competitive.I'm not competitive, so it does not affect me if someone else pays to get an advantage on their second, third, fourth character.
Then BDO isn't p2w either
What is BDO?
@disintegr8 Black Desert OnlineAustralian on PS4 NA server.
Everyone's entitled to an opinion.1 -
Universe✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭Yes it's P2W.DCUO did this with Skill Points. It then led to them selling artifact xp which is directly tied to power.
Interesting fact.
I won't be surprised if ESO will go full F2P in the next 3 months to 1 year.
F2P games model involves many micro transactions which are P2W or borderline P2W, so it makes sense ZOS is preparing the game to this transition.
I don't see how they could ever go full FTP. With the infinite crafting bag and DLC content all tied to a sub. How could they end that. What would happen to all the people who sub for that reason. What would happen to the 1000s of crafting components they have.
ZOS can figure something out.
For example, the crafting bag can be changed to monthly crown store crafting bag tokens to keep the access to the crafting bag.
Same for double bank/furnishings.
There are many bad options which can replace the current model ESO has.Some videos I recorded for fun: Main character:
PC EU main: Universe - AD magicka Sorcerer, Former Emperor, Grand Overlord, The Merciless, Trial Bosses Solo Champion
Top alts: Genius(stamina/sagicka Dragonknight) The Force(stamina Nightblade) and other chars.
PC NA main: The Magic - AD magicka Sorcerer
Started playing ESO in beta & early access
User_ID: Daedric_Prince1 -
dbgager✭✭✭No it's not P2W.DCUO did this with Skill Points. It then led to them selling artifact xp which is directly tied to power.
Interesting fact.
I won't be surprised if ESO will go full F2P in the next 3 months to 1 year.
F2P games model involves many micro transactions which are P2W or borderline P2W, so it makes sense ZOS is preparing the game to this transition.
I don't see how they could ever go full FTP. With the infinite crafting bag and DLC content all tied to a sub. How could they end that. What would happen to all the people who sub for that reason. What would happen to the 1000s of crafting components they have.
ZOS can figure something out.
For example, the crafting bag can be changed to monthly crown store crafting bag tokens to keep the access to the crafting bag.
Same for double bank/furnishings.
There are many bad options which can replace the current model ESO has.
Monthly crown store. That is a sub just by a different name0 -
Jhalin✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭Yes it's P2W.DCUO did this with Skill Points. It then led to them selling artifact xp which is directly tied to power.
Interesting fact.
I won't be surprised if ESO will go full F2P in the next 3 months to 1 year.
F2P games model involves many micro transactions which are P2W or borderline P2W, so it makes sense ZOS is preparing the game to this transition.
I don't see how they could ever go full FTP. With the infinite crafting bag and DLC content all tied to a sub. How could they end that. What would happen to all the people who sub for that reason. What would happen to the 1000s of crafting components they have.
ZOS can figure something out.
For example, the crafting bag can be changed to monthly crown store crafting bag tokens to keep the access to the crafting bag.
Same for double bank/furnishings.
There are many bad options which can replace the current model ESO has.
Monthly crown store. That is a sub just by a different name
No, what can happen is every aspect of the sub is split apart into individual monthly payments.
You’ll pay $15 for DLC access
Another $20 for craft bag
Yet another $10 for bonus exp and insight
One last $15 for double bank space
They’re looking for more and more ways to monetize things that should be free QoL updates, or at least ingame purchase options instead of cash only
Skyshard location should unlock when you find one, so alts can see them but still have to go get them. Same for lorebooks.
Money should never be an option to circumvent gameplay1 -
Grandma✭✭✭✭✭No it's not P2W.Facefister wrote: »They've just confirmed that they'll also add Skilllines like Mages Guild and Psijics on the store.
if it has the same requirements of completing on another character then thank god. 99% of the reason i hate alts is leveling these skills and skyshards. this literally just makes the game more fun and encouraging me to make more alts. And it's not like WoW where new players miss all the stuff they never knew existed, they still have to play it all to completion to buy it for other characters. and i laugh at the idea that people say ZOS is "FORCING" them to pay money for these things. We've been doing it for free with 100x the time investment for years, what's wrong with letting people who have done it a dozen times before skip it if it lends nothing to the gameplay they want to achieve? is ZOS holding a gun to your head and demanding your money because you need skyshards on your alts? No, you can just grind it out for a few days like everybody else is and has been for all these years.
edit: this wasn't targeted at you, only my first line was.
Edited by Grandma on March 31, 2019 12:44AMGH / 3/04/2021 / Elemental Catalyst Necromancer3 -
Vandril✭✭✭✭No it's not P2W.Facefister wrote: »
That's the entire point of it. Putting monetized band aids on the broken systems like in this case, leveling an alt. Why patch it when you can sell the patch. Just like the Welkynar motifs. Make the grind so long and boring so people can just buy it for 6k crowns.It’s not sharing achievements, it’s buying power with cash. The people who will use it don’t care about characters, they just want their power with as little time spent as possible.
I will use this if I feel it's priced fairly. And I will do so because I want to play the character I care about in content I care about, not run around mindlessly across overland zones and running passed 1-shot mobs of no difficulty or intrigue in delves to collect all the glowy things. And no, I won't slow down and "acquire Skyshards naturally instead of grinding them", as many opponents of account-wide Skyshards tend to suggest, because I have content I'd like to play and it is not the overland content I've already taken my time to enjoy at least once.
I'm the kind of person that does things once. Books? Read it once. Games? Play it to completion once. Movies? Watch it once. Shows? Watch it once. I don't enjoy doing the same exact activity more than once. So while I enjoyed and was engrossed in overland content the first time I roleplayed through it and will enjoy future overland content as it gets released, I will almost never enjoy going through any of it again.
It's not that I "don't care about characters". On the contrary, I love coming up with backstories and deciding on their personalities and how they'll solve problems differently than my other characters. But in the interest of not boring myself to tears by doing content I've already done, and for players like me, gameplay concessions must be made. I will buy the skyshards for my alts, and I will then go on to immediately enjoy the characters I've created by joining them in activities I enjoy.
I absolutely wish it weren't (or won't be) a cash shop feature - it should be a basic game feature - but I will take advantage of it to increase my enjoyment of the game in any form I find at least reasonable.
Oh, trust me, I agree. One of the biggest problems (one of quite a few, though) in the modern video game industry is this. When you have time-savers being sold for real cash, developers are stuck between designing for quality and designing for profit. Guess which wins out?
But unless I intend to boycott gaming entirely, I'm pretty SOL on changing this on my own. Until there's a big outrage and organized protest of this sort of thing, or until governments of the world start introducing legislation against this sort of thing, then we all have no choice but to put up with it or stop enjoying games. And I'm certainly not going to stop enjoying games. I mean, sure, I have limits to what sort of capitalistic nonsense I'll put up with, but Skyshards you've already earned as the player is far from crossing the line.
As it stands, ZOS won't be getting an extra penny out of me that they wouldn't have gotten regardless. I'll be buying these Skyshard packs off the crown store...with my stipend of ESO+ crowns that I already get for always being subscribed to ESO+ whenever I play. I'll buy my Necro mount speed, then use leftover crowns on Skyshards for him. I'll then slowly work my way through my list of alts every few months of ESO+ sub.
This whole debacle would make me angry at ZOS if they didn't give you free crown currency equal to the sub cost just for being subbed. But as it is, the fact that they do that gives them a lot of leeway from me with this sort of thing. If this game wasn't free, I'd be paying a sub. In essence, I'm getting free bonus stuff from the crown store for staying subbed and, put in that light, it seems very reasonable.I think the term pay to win is too black and white. I think a better question to ask is if buying skyshards is paying for power? And my answer is yes. If it were up to me I wouldn't add the ability to buy skyshards, if I had to compromise then I would make it a one time purchase per account where all the characters share the skyshards.
The best question honestly would have just been: "Is it acceptable?" That's what all this boils down to, anyway. And asking that would stop people from bickering back and forth regarding the definition of P2W when there really isn't one.Edited by Vandril on March 31, 2019 1:53AM1 -
TheInvalidUsername✭✭✭✭No it's not P2W.It is not P2W.
P2W is something that cannot be obtained without using real life money and gives a competitive advantage over other players who do not pay. Buying an achievement (which you already have to do at least once) is not P2W. Is is purely convenience.
Do I like it being locked to the CS with (possibly) no option to buy with gold (some items arent able to be gifted, so no Gold/Crown trade for them)? No.
Does that mean it is P2W if I can't buy all 15 (16 with elswyer) characters full skyshard sets? No.
What is P2W is selling items that cannot be obtained in game. Either through stat boosts (pay 1000 crowns for a 1000 stamina buff) or Item Sets (pay 5k crowns for an Earthgore helmet).Do your writs.1 -
Vandril✭✭✭✭No it's not P2W.Caligamy_ESO wrote: »This game has been sliding into p2w gradually for a long time now.
You cannot compete with someone on a single target fight with a new monster set such as Zaan in terms of DPS, you can get close but we all know this is the best single target dps monster set. You can't cast a (free) stronger heal and purge in Cyrodil while on a DPS character without an Earthgore set. Just as you can't really do the insane 'power creep' dps that everyone is flinging about these days without new trial gear (relequen, siroria, etc.) All of these are locked behind paywalls. You can try to put whatever pretty little mental bow on it you want to justify it in your own head but it is still locked behind a purchase.
Yeah. Kind of like expansions for practically every other MMO out there, where the raised level cap and new, more powerful gear is locked behind the paywall of the expansion cost. The only differences between that and ESO's ways of doing things are: there's no level cap increase (unless you count CP in the past), the gear introduced in each "expansion" is only marginally stronger than the previous gear as opposed to completely eclipsing them, and the DLCs are cheaper and smaller individually than typical expansions.
Are those other MMOs that have levels, content, and power locked behind expansions also P2W? Because your logic dictates that they are, as ESO is doing the same thing, just more often and without level cap increases.Edited by Vandril on March 31, 2019 2:01AM2 -
david_m_18b16_ESO✭✭✭✭✭Yes it's P2W.They should be account wide then and not a boring grind making you want to spend $ to skip it.
I wish I could go back to the time games we,rent made in a way to bore you so much that youd pay to skip playing it.0 -
karekiz✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭No it's not P2W.Are those other MMOs that have levels, content, and power locked behind expansions also P2W? Because your logic dictates that they are, as ESO is doing the same thing, just more often and without level cap increases.
Everquest was P2Win in 1999 way before P2Win was even a term. First expansion gave 10 more levels required purchase - Vastly better gear - and some of the most powerful spells released into an expansion.
EQ is OG like that.
I think a lot of people spout P2Win because its a popular term to sling around. Don't get me wrong P2Win does exists in some games, but this just isn't it.Edited by karekiz on March 31, 2019 3:18AM1 -
Elara_Northwind✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭Yes it's P2W.Elara_Northwind wrote: »I doubt anybody is against alts getting the skyshard achievements, I think everybody is on board with that [...]
I'm against it, so kindly don't speak for all of us. I saw a few others post saying the same.
Pay-to-Skip cash-shop options are still a "softer" form of Pay-to-Win as they allow players to bypass content and thus save time; time is an advantage. To me, it doesn't matter if the content has already been cleared by one of a Player's characters; that doesn't mean they deserve the option to buy it for their other characters that haven't earned it.
I agree with you! Completely! See my answer, pay to win
Sorcerer, Templar, Wolf Collector, Housing Addict!
GM of Salted Wings Tavern and Salted Wings Housing 🏠🌻
'A House is Built with Boards and Beams, a Home is Built with Love and Dreams'
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/c/ElaraNorthwind0 -
Kalik_Gold✭✭✭✭✭
✭Yes it's P2W.Yes it’s P2W as it is a feature that will help more than cosmetics in crown store.
Edited by Kalik_Gold on March 31, 2019 3:27AMMain: (PvP & PvE)PS5/NA - Ras Kalik a Redguard Templar - Daggerfall Covenant • 1550+ Champion
Ras Kalik a Redguard Templar, the Vestige
PvP:
Aurik Siet'ka a Redguard Necromancer
Cacique the Sage of Ius a Redguard Warden
Jux Blackheart a Redguard Nightblade
Goliath of Hammerfell a Redguard Dragonknight
Kaotik Von Dae'mon a Redguard* Sorcerer
PvP: (Specialty)
Tyrus Septim an Imperial Lycan Sorcerer
Tsar af-Bomba a Redguard Vampiric Nightblade
Movárth Piquine a Nord Vampiric Necromancer
Uri Ice-Heart the Twin a Nord Vampiric Warden
PvE:
Cinan Tharn an Imperial Dragonknight
Bates Vesuius of Dawnstar an Imperial Dragonknight
Herzog Zwei the Genesis an Akavari* Templar
Tav'i at-Shinji a Redguard** Warden
Lucky Hunch the Gambler - a Redguard Nightblade
Leveling...
Zenovia at-Tura a Redguard** Sorcerer
Yesi af-Kalik a Redguard Templar
Voa a Priest of Sep a Redguard* Necromancer
======
Passives of another race used. (RP)
*Breton
**Imperial
__________________________Backstories:_________________________
Ras Kalik the Vestige, a renown Redguard warrior; He has been blessed to save Tamriel from Molag Bal’s destructive Planemeld while reuniting the Five Companions. His further accomplishments after defeating Molag Bal, has been to stop the destruction of Morrowind, the Clockwork City, return order to the isle of Summerset and create a new king in Wrothgar and a queen in Elsywer. These events have made him a living legend and continue to lead him into new adventures throughout Tamriel, as well as into the hearts of many ladies including the Elf Queen, Aryenn. Over many years of adventurous travels, Ras Kalik had become a loner, until he re-visited his homeland of Alik'r.
Alik'r and it's cities were overrun by the undead Ra-Netu and therefore he made an allegiance with Alik'r's own Ash'abah tribe. These Ash'abah with his help, cleansed the city of Sentinel in Alik'r desert and it's surrounding areas of the undead brought to life by the Withered Hand. After rescuing Sentinel from the undead zombies, King Fahara’jad’s personal bodyguard the Goliath of Hammerfell, who was given this name by Imperials in the region; was asked to assist the tribe after learning of the defeat of the Withered Hand to the Ash'abah. Kalik promised Goliath he would task him with fighting living enemies on the battlefield if he so desired. Goliath being a Yokudan warrior wields a massive sword in respect to the Ansei, a gift given by the Imperial, Cinan Tharn. Not many soldiers are able to wield double two handed weapons, but Goliath loves to get up and personal in a fight, so he also carries a giant maul, both weapons laced with magical flames.
Jux Blackheart is a master thief that masquerades as a Bard at the Sisters of the Sands inn, with his younger sidekick Lucky Hunch for pilfering and gambling during this time. Jux was known to infiltrate any towns bank vault he came across and even delved into Ayelid ruins without detection. Kalik can vividly recall the night he met the famed thief. Jux found himself rummaging thru a slightly inebriated Kalik’s pocket for too long, on a full-mooned night and because of his greed and the glimmer of his golden armor in the moonlight. He lost his left pinky fingertip as a lesson! But in return, he gained a new friend, as it was his first time since a child being caught red-handed...
Upon arrival back in the Alik'r after many moons of adventuring, Ras Kalik ventures to Bergama. Visiting The Winking Jackal, he runs into Jux Blackheart, who introduces him to the coin game Crowns vs Forebearers (Heads vs Tails) and Golden Dwemer (RBG).... Jux constantly takes gold from the unfortunate thru theft or gambling, his biggest gambling victim is actually his partner in crime known as Lucky Hunch the Gambler. Lucky doesn't mind losing any gold coins to Jux... as Jux saved him from Altmer slavers in Summerset, by stealing a key and sending him on a boat to the mainland years prior. Lucky spent years in slavery with Khajiits in Summerset and picked up the art of subterfuge, using illusion magic disguises and stealing there.
Kaotik Von’Daemon an outcast, and a half-caste between a Breton mother and a Redguard father. Kaotik become a pariah due to his conjuration of Daedra pets. He was taught healing magic during his childhood years by his Breton mother. His father due to Redguard customs exiled him from the desert, sending him by wagon caravan to be a soldier in the war in Cyrodiil. He happened to meet Kalik while traveling from Alik'r, during this long caravan ride the caravan he was in was ambushed in Bangkorai by a group of bandits. Kalik by chance was also traveling thru this area on his Auridon Warhorse (which was bestowed to him by his friend, Darien Gautier). During this ambush, Kalik was able to rescue five hostages from the bandits. Kaotik was the first rescued, and Ras Kalik also recruited him to be in the Ash'abah tribe. These core Ash'abah tribesmen may never be seen together in travel as they partake in their own adventures but they always know what each other is doing; as they frequent a hideout in northern Bankorai. Their hideout an old Orc castle ruin, is kept watch by Nuzhimeh and she passes messages written between them, and frequently they also enjoy her company and her bed.
The other men rescued were a Dunmer banker, an Imperial mercenary and two other soldiers, an Imperial and a Breton Knight, stating proudly he was an Akavir descendent. One of the Imperials, Cinan, claimed to be related to Abnur Tharn the Battlemage of the Imperial Elder Council (One of Ras Kalik's mentors in the Five Companions). Cinan Tharn was really Abnur's drunkard treasure hunting illegitimate son. He was caught smuggling artifacts out of the Ayleid ruins in Cyrodiil and the elder of the two Imperials was Tyrus Septim a retired Imperial navy battle-mage (now a Lycan mercenary living in the city of Rimmen) and guard to the Tharn family. As much as Abnur Tharn hated his half-sister Euraxia, he dislikes his bas†ard son Cinan more. Tyrus now a ruffian and privateer had been paid by Abnur Tharn to watch over Cinan as much as possible. Cinan Tharn a drunkard, loves to drink at least a quarter barrel of Nord mead before he raids various delves and dungeons for relics to sell on the black market. Cinan also plans to one day, run an illegal gambling ring... which he thinks will net him more gold for his wares.
The Dunmer captive shackled to the Imperials looked familiar to Kalik from his time in Morrowind.... and he recognized him as Tythis Andromo a House Telvanni slave-owner and banker from Vvardenfell. During a rough interrogation to Tythis, Ras Kalik learnt why the bandits accosted him. The racist Dunmer was providing slaves as soldiers for the Three Banner War. The bandits were trying to negotiate a lucrative ransom for Andromo and the Imperials.... Kalik did not need any of this gold and he could never set Tythis free as he did with the two Imperial soldiers. His past involvement with slavery and war crimes, made Kalik's blood boil. He chose not to execute Tythis, as he figured the worse punishment for this former rich and opulent slave owner, is to now be an imprisoned servant for Ras Kalik and the tribe.
Herzog Zwei the Genesis a reknown Imperial/Akavirri battle-mage. His roots going back to Akavir through his mother’s bloodline. (His mother is descended from the Akaviri, through Versidue-Shae, and his Imperial father met her in Hakoshae, while traveling) Herzog earned the nickname "the Genesis" from his father as a child, as he was his mother's first born child, and last, as she tragically died in child-birth.
Herzog was seeking to purchase an artifact from Cinan Tharn, before their capture and was meeting Tyrus while in Rimmen, who introduced him to Cinan. This artifact being the Ayelid artifact; the sword Sinweaver. After their rescue and the exchange of gold to Cinan for the sword he decided to slip away before Ras Kalik could question who he was, and why the Akavir descendant really wanted that sword. Herzog was headed to Nagastani — An Ayleid ruin in eastern Cyrodiil. He had read in scrolls that the Sword would give him magical powers to meet his mothers spirit, if he performed an Ayleid ritual at an old shrine hidden there. Equipped with the artifact sword, he was off to start his own adventure but Ras Kalik, did indeed notice the sword however and instead sent a letter to Jux Blackheart (whom also was interested in Ayleid treasures), to attempt to find Herzog and acquire the sword. (*Azani Blackheart in Elder Scroll's Oblivion is Jux's descendant some 747 years later)
And so the Redguard, Imperial and Akaviri men parted ways ... While Ras Kalik went off to Elsweyr to encounter the latest threat to Tamriel, with Abnur Tharn and Sai Sahan - - DRAGONS!! Little did Ras Kalik know a few people were awaiting him in Senchal besides Sai. A necromancer survived his attack on the Withered Hand, while in Alik'r. The necromancer known as Auriek Siet'ka is also following him to the land of the Khajiits and Cacique the Sage of Ius a Shaman mystic who has become attuned spiritually with Tu'whacca (a Redguard God) and Ius (the Animal God), after being burned severely by the escaped dragons in Elsywer, is awaiting his arrival also. Aurik is a soldier of the Daggerfall Covenant that was introduced to necromancy while in the military, even though this magicka art is not spoken of openly by most of the Military leaders. He came to Alik'r and worked with the Withered Hand before Ras Kalik intervened on their plans. After the defeat of the Withered Hand, he aligned with the Worm Cult, and is constantly adapting and perfecting his necromantic arts.
After his journey to Rimmen, Kalik heads south to Senchal, in the southern regions of Elyswer. This new adventure will also put him on a path to meet a strange Redguard man. The stranger which was infected with an untreated Peyrite disease and also was the exiled from the Order of the New Moon cult, due to his sickness. He originally joined the cult to worship Laatvulon, the green dragon, mistakenly thinking it was the Daedric prince Peyrite. This confused and suffering cultist is known as Tsar al-Bomba and he is on a path to spread the disease. He was originally infected in Orccrest while recruiting members there. Can Ras Kalik and the shaman Cacique cure this poor soul, only time will tell. Little does Tsar al-Bomba know, that his infection is tied to Vampirism, and eventually the desire for blood will take over his mind. Senchal also offers Kalik his latest love interest... Aeliah. Whom he fondly led thru battles with the Dragonguard.
After the trek thru the heat, tropical and desert climate of Northern and Southern Elyswer, Ras Kalik heads north to the cold mountain range of Skyrim. His companion friend Lyris beckons for him with a letter sent by crow...
Movárth Piquine - a former vampire hunter (now infected), within the Fighter's Guild (and a secretive necromancer) was in Skyrim working with the Morthaal Guard. On a patrol mission he was caught in Frewien's ice curse outside of Morthaal with the frozen undead. Movárth's vampiric infection kept him from becoming an undead minion to the curse. He was able to use necromantic ice-magic to encase himself safely until he was freed with Freiwen, when the Vestige Ras Kalik broke the curse.
Uri Ice-Heart - brother of Urfon Ice-Heart. The twin sons of Atli and Oljourn Ice-Heart. The Ice-Heart family are originally from Markarth but now reside on the Jerall Mountain range near Cyrodiil, with their younger sister Araki. The twins had joined the Winterborn Reachmen while living in Markarth. Urfon pushed west to Orsinium with the Winterborn Clan, leaving his family behind. Uri stayed behind with his parents and sister to live in the family cabin for safety, avoiding the Vampire plague infiltrating the Reach. After news reaches him and he hears of Urfon's death... Uri leaves and heads home and is seeking vengeance. Meanwhile, his sister has also moved on to Windhelm to join the Fighter's guild. He will visit his sister, once before going to seek vengeance and she will craft him armor mixed with ice, called Stalhrim armor. Uri fearing death, after his brother's passing, falls victim to the convincing talk of Movárth at a Nordic tavern, and will also becomes a vampire.
{time moves forward through the hour-glass}0 -
Ertosi✭✭✭✭✭
✭Yes it's P2W.There's one scenario I haven't seen brought up in which buying skyshards would give a huge advantage: Cyrodiil's Below Level 50 Campaign, Kyne.
Those that buy Skill Points through Skyshard Bundles would have a distinctly higher Skill Point/Level ratio and would be able to stay within the campaign longer before being forced out from hitting level 50.
This is due to every other means of getting Skill Points giving players lots of experience (main story and faction quests, 4-player dungeons, public dungeons, skyshards [location discovery experience adds up fast], alliance war rank). Anyone gaining Skill Points the old fashioned way would automatically have quite a bit more experience, thus be higher level, and eventually no longer able to join the campaign.
And for those about to argue about needing that experience anyways to level their Skills... First, we all know that's going to be the next thing in the cash shop. Second, it doesn't stop them from having bought a significant advantage. Take two players who have leveled and gained Skill Points normally up to like level 45. One buys a bunch of Skyshard Bundles giving them a bunch more Skill Points to allocate; they automatically have an advantage over the non-paying player. The only option the non-paying player would have would be to gain more Skill Points, only doing so normally would give them enough experience to level out of being able to join the campaign.
And for those about to argue Below 50 Campaigns are just one little part of ESO... Well, it's still one ugly P2W foot in the door.PC NA @Ertosi♠♦ My Team ♥♣
Goan – Jabsplar [Grand Master Crafter, Master Angler, Tamriel Hero, Explorer]
Dru – Stamplar
Tickles – Healplar
Dixie – Magplar
Figs – Stamblade Sneakthief [Master Thief]
Sir Price – Stamblade Bow Ganker [Daedric Lord Slayer]
Maya – Stamblade Speedster
Ahmed – Magblade Bomber
Balzar – StamSorc Blitzer
Winnie – PetSorc Thunder Mage
Tanks – StamDK Tank
Mona – MagDK Fire Mage
Dawn – HPDK
Bearly – Stamden Tank
Ivana – Magden Ice Mage☠ CP 950+ ☠
♌ DC Loyalist ♌
✄ Grand Master Crafter
No new crafting or game systems for 2019? "Season of the Dragon" would be better named "The Year of no New Major Features"
https://i.imgur.com/TPscgS9.jpg to see major features of the last few years compared.
https://i.imgur.com/X8qY0gP.jpg to see a detailed comparison of this year's Q1 to the last two Q1s.
https://i.imgur.com/4z71cK8.jpg to see a detailed comparison of each years' first two quarters combined.
https://i.imgur.com/jrHe5h8.jpg to see a projected comparison of the full years and what 2019's Q4 will need to catch up.
Unsubbed January 15th, 2019 due to the lack of any new substantial features shown to be coming in 2019.2 -
Linaleah✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Yes it's P2W.I think another problem here is that most folks eager to see such a thing have grave misconceptions about how it's going to be implemented. Let's see what little we know about it so far:
source: linkAccount Wide Things
Starting in Elsweyr you’ll be able to buy Skyshard SP unlocks for Crowns if you’ve previously completed the achievement on another character. There might be bundles (zones, alliances etc), however much of this was in development at the time and nothing was nailed down.
Add that to today's stream where ZOS said purchases are going to be on a per-character basis, not per-account and it starts to get real nasty. And yes, yes, yes, I know this is all conjecture at this point, but it's still a good place to look because it seems like it puts us in the ballpark for what to expect.
Anybody remember how additional Outfit Slots work? At 1500 crowns a slot, it's been calculated that unlocking every slot for all of their characters will cost a player about $1200 before tax. And remember, there are just 9 additional Outfit Slots to unlock for each character.
If unlocking a Skyshard Bundle is comparable in price to an Outfit Slot (and that's being nice, given Skyshards give you skill points so they'll probably be even more expensive because they give real utility) it's going to cost players even more. You've got your base alliance zones + Coldharbour + Cyrodiil + IC + Orsinium + Hew's Bane + Gold Coast + Morrowind + Clockwork City + Summerset + Mirkmire + Elsweyr + each future chapter and DLC. That's already 3 times the slots needed to buy per character!With three times the slots to buy over Outfit Slots, if they're the same price that would be about $3600 to unlock them all for all of your characters. And that's still assuming they won't be MORE expensive per slot because they actually add character power.
yep. and while yes, argument is very easily made that you do not need to buy those skyshards, you can just discover them - when they very excitedly said that community was requesting this feature for a while, and now its finaly here - all i could do is shake my head in disgust. yes. we have been requesting the feature. but NOT as yet another heavily monetized addition to ever growing collection of monetized quality of life additions..
edited to add.
just
becasue
it could be
worse
does NOT
make this ok.Edited by Linaleah on March 31, 2019 4:56AMdirty worthless casual.
Lois McMaster Bujold "A Civil Campaign"Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself. Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will. And outlive the ***1
