Crafting Surveys Drain Your Soul

FrancisCrawford

I have huge numbers of them banked across two mules, now that they stack, in the range of 1000 each for enchanting and alchemy, low 100s for the hard crafts.

AlnilamE

Erinia wrote: »

Most annoying is Why!? why i need every time run away and back, away and back, if i have on me 2-3 of same survey.... It could be ok otherwise, but this moment is horrible. Why it just couldn't give me multiple amount of materials, according to amount of this certain surveys - i am already there, on this point of map, i found it, please, don't forse us to run around many times trying to respawn copy of it...

But what if you are leveling crafting (say jewelry) and you only need mats from one of the maps you have and you want to save the rest for when you are max level?

neverwalk

Daily Provisioning, Daily Alchemy and dolgubon's writ writer. go to Alinor to do crafting writs=best place.

pod88kk

I do all writs on my main everyday then just do the alchemy and jewelry ones on my other 14 characters each day.

I rotate doing surveys each patch like alchemy one patch then jewellery the next and so on

Erinia

AlnilamE wrote: »

Erinia wrote: »

Most annoying is Why!? why i need every time run away and back, away and back, if i have on me 2-3 of same survey.... It could be ok otherwise, but this moment is horrible. Why it just couldn't give me multiple amount of materials, according to amount of this certain surveys - i am already there, on this point of map, i found it, please, don't forse us to run around many times trying to respawn copy of it...

But what if you are leveling crafting (say jewelry) and you only need mats from one of the maps you have and you want to save the rest for when you are max level?

Leave rest in bank/another char?

That running away and back to collect few of same surveys taking a good amount of time, not all of nodes are similar - for some is enough to run around closest rock, for another it is not enough, and have to run far away. And if it's 4, 5... That repeating ride is really ... not nice.
Though the resourses from surveys itself is a good thing, and helpful for crafters.

Beardimus

Mashille wrote: »

It's 1:40am and I've been doing my crafting surveys for almost 4 hours now.



I'm losing my brain, nothing seems real anymore... GET ME OUT OF HERE I'M LOSING MY MIND!



Why are these things still a thing? They were kinda cool when first introduced but when you've been doing them for 4 years they are the most soul draining pieces of trash that you grow to despise.

I've done writs from launch, used to drown in mats, but since the change to them being all over the place not just the zone you dropped of in I've lost interest. I'm sat on a few hundred and just can't be bothered. When i have like 3-4 in the same place ill go do them but with limited play time they are such a time sink, in particular on console with no add ON's.

A map pin would help, a 5k assistant to fetch then too.

Mancombe_Nosehair

phileunderx2 wrote: »

Don't let them pile up.

This. Try to do them every day.

Tasear

Is it because overland is too easy?

Metafae

luton0watford4 wrote: »

phileunderx2 wrote: »

Don't let them pile up.

This. Try to do them every day.

I would do them on a daily basis if they were in the same zone. But they're all over Tamriel. It wasn't so bad when you only had surveys in one single zone.

FlopsyPrince

JamieAubrey wrote: »

There's an addon that does it for you, you run up to the board press E it will take them all and you do the same at the craft table and after a few seconds it will have crafted what you need

Where is the "E" key on my PS4?

FlopsyPrince

Metafae wrote: »

luton0watford4 wrote: »

phileunderx2 wrote: »

Don't let them pile up.

This. Try to do them every day.

I would do them on a daily basis if they were in the same zone. But they're all over Tamriel. It wasn't so bad when you only had surveys in one single zone.

It would also help if they had some map indicator for location on the PS4. Using the online maps is not quite as accurate and can waste a lot of time, especially when they are not near a wayshrine.

Fischblut

Why are these things still a thing?

Or rather, why they don't go back to having all crafting surveys in Craglorn zone?.. Why some time ago they decided it's better to scatter them across the all zones?.. I can only think of one reason: they wanted to take horrible inventory management problem to much higher level, so if you have many characters who do writs and you decide to stack surveys for later gathering, you will have to sacrifice much more inventory slots for it

IzzyStardust

Loves_guars wrote: »

This is the main reason why I stopped doing daily writs. I don't have the strenght to delete the surveys, so I force myself to collect them but even when I love sightseeing Tamriel, I find it extremely tedious, even with the addons

You don’t have the strength to click and drag left and then press a key?

sudaki_eso

4h doing surveys?! How many did you collect? Here is my "Pro-Tip", dont collect them for month without doing them and do them every week. I always do them each weekend and its usually around 1 hour.

technohic

I do them as I get them and it only takes about 5 minutes tops. Your tedium is from hoarding then trying to cleanup later.

SoLooney

Once I get 20 surveys, I just do them cause it will take about an hour. I need the refined mats for writs and they're good money, Its a necessary evil

zaria

PC has it easier here because addons. Its beneficial to have them pile up as you get more duplicates and more in the same zones.

JKorr

JamieAubrey wrote: »

There's an addon that does it for you, you run up to the board press E it will take them all and you do the same at the craft table and after a few seconds it will have crafted what you need

neverwalk wrote: »

Daily Provisioning, Daily Alchemy and dolgubon's writ writer. go to Alinor to do crafting writs=best place.

The op isn't complaining about doing writs; if I recall other posts this person does writs on all 15 characters they have, every day. The op is complaining about getting surveys as rewards for writs, and needing to spend a huge amount of time going to the various locations to pick up the mats.

I usually do writs on two characters only. I like getting surveys; saves time on farming mats. I don't get hundreds of surveys because I don't do writs every day with all 15 of my characters. :shrug: Easy solutions; stop doing writs on your roster of characters, or just destroy the surveys you don't want to bother with.

Cpt_Teemo

Kel wrote: »

Have you tried....
Not doing them?

Just sayin

Yes

MartiniDaniels

sudaki_eso wrote: »

4h doing surveys?! How many did you collect? Here is my "Pro-Tip", dont collect them for month without doing them and do them every week. I always do them each weekend and its usually around 1 hour.

Actually it's more effective to gather a lot of them (of one type-location) and then travel and gather several them in one run. I usually do them when there are 5 or more of the same name.

jaws343

I have a bunch from week 1 of the event. Been doing a handful a day with the intention of having it all cleared by week 5. To then start all over again after doing crafting writs on 15 characters every day during that week again.

tyggerbob

I don't mind them.. I have an alt that has fiords and cowards and a maxed horse. I throw rapids on and blast around and get them done Doesn't take long at all. .

Erinia

If we could collect them without needing to jump from zone to zone, maybe that would be easier. Right now when I doing survey run, most of time I spend not riding through beautiful Tamriel, but staring at loading screens. And doing it every day only multiple the amount of loading screens, not every day i have time and willing to do it, sometimes I want to... play other aspects of game. So more effective is to stack some of them, and do at same point all together. But then I meet that "run away" thing.

So here is two disadvantages:
- many loading screens, since surveys are all around Tamriel
- not possible to get at once all materials from one map point, if we have more than one similar survey

Then there is a thing which someone like, and someone not - is looking for them on map and ride there. Someone enjoy it, someone would prefer to just get an email or box with those extra mats, and for someone on console without addons could be a problem even before ride, but just to realise Where to ride at first place.

And ofc in general everybody probably consider as plus - the extra materials itself, which we appreciate.

And please, don't need to advise "stop doing writs" or "do them only on 1 char instead of 15". It's like "oh, something broken - just don't go there". The point of discussion is to highlight the arguable aspects of certain gamedesign decision, and maybe have a hope to correct it for more comfortable using for everyone, with 1 char or 15, on PC or on console. Surveys are very helpful as a sourse of materials, but the way it works right now - it have some inconvenient moments.

twev

Erinia wrote: »

If we could collect them without needing to jump from zone to zone, maybe that would be easier. Right now when I doing survey run, most of time I spend not riding through beautiful Tamriel, but staring at loading screens. And doing it every day only multiple the amount of loading screens, not every day i have time and willing to do it, sometimes I want to... play other aspects of game. So more effective is to stack some of them, and do at same point all together. But then I meet that "run away" thing.

So here is two disadvantages:
- many loading screens, since surveys are all around Tamriel
- not possible to get at once all materials from one map point, if we have more than one similar survey

Then there is a thing which someone like, and someone not - is looking for them on map and ride there. Someone enjoy it, someone would prefer to just get an email or box with those extra mats, and for someone on console without addons could be a problem even before ride, but just to realise Where to ride at first place.

And ofc in general everybody probably consider as plus - the extra materials itself, which we appreciate.

And please, don't need to advise "stop doing writs" or "do them only on 1 char instead of 15". It's like "oh, something broken - just don't go there". The point of discussion is to highlight the arguable aspects of certain gamedesign decision, and maybe have a hope to correct it for more comfortable using for everyone, with 1 char or 15, on PC or on console. Surveys are very helpful as a sourse of materials, but the way it works right now - it have some inconvenient moments.

I do writs on 12 'toons, and just let them stack up until I have enough to download a mess of them for a single zone, and then I devote a few hours to doing every survey on as many zones as I feel like fitting in. I just combine the zone surveys with thieves quest(s), or DB assignments, or even just hitting anything that looks interesting as I go from survey to survey.

Not saying I have the magik answer, but it works for me and keeps me sane(ish).

Vandril

Cpt_Teemo wrote: »

Kel wrote: »

Have you tried....
Not doing them?

Just sayin

Yes

Oh. My. God.

I don't know if I'm jealous, horrified, or both.

Out of curiosity, do you have a stack going for every individual survey in the game, or are some SOMEHOW still missing?

XxMissAlycexX

Did for 6.5 hours the other day I absolutely fee your pain lol

bmnoble

Just wait until you get a stack of 6 - 10 survey's in the same spot and then go harvest those, don't go out to every dam location for the sake of 1 survey.

Unless its Jewelry, I sell platinum dust for 15K a stack.

I only ever do my surveys at the end of the week.

Some weeks I will just do my Jewelry surveys and every week I ignore my Enchanting and Alchemy surveys completely.

Tigerseye

I think the treasure maps are more of a time waster.

As long as you know where the survey sites are (via an addon), most of them aren't too bad to find.

I don't approve of addons, in general, but this game is pretty much impossible without them.

Nerouyn

Erinia wrote: »

Most annoying is Why!? why i need every time run away and back, away and back, if i have on me 2-3 of same survey.... It could be ok otherwise, but this moment is horrible. Why it just couldn't give me multiple amount of materials, according to amount of this certain surveys - i am already there, on this point of map, i found it, please, don't forse us to run around many times trying to respawn copy of it...

Yes, the running away and back over and over and over and over and over etc. is very tedious.

Just have the next survey's resources instantly respawn upon completing the first - which is no less immersion breaking than them magically respawning after you run away.

Hand_Bacon

MMOs are literally a drain on your life...so why should surveys be any different?