Surveys - Let Us Assign Them To Our Hireling

Android_Archer

Let it take a week. Hell, even a month for the hireling to return the mats from the assigned survey. Just make it so we can assign (Y button option on the survey) all the various surveys we acquire, to a maxed out (3 points invested) hireling. Once assigned, the survey is removed from our inventory and, we can get the mats we need, without the excessively painful grind of doing surveys constantly. We already have this hireling NPC out there acquiring mats at random anyway. Why not make it so it's less random and an additional quality of life function the crafter can take advantage of?

I mean, let's be honest, that third point invested in a hireling, really doesn't buy us much at all. Making that third point unlock the Assign Survey option would make it a truly worthwhile investment.

Tabbycat

This is an interesting idea. Not sure if this would be considered an unfair advantage to players who have hirelings. Maybe allow you to assign your hireling to do a survey but while they are doing the survey that day, they won't send their normal material shipments.

Android_Archer

I don't see how it could be considered an 'advantage'. Everyone has access to hirelings, simply by investing the points. But, I'd be perfectly happy with taking away the generic delivered goods altogether and simply making Hirelings survey runners only. Say, with every point invested, you can assign 1 survey per day.

So, 1 point invested, you can assign 1 survey to be completed over the next 24 hours. After which, you can assign another survey. 2 points invested, 2 surveys. 3 points invested, 3 surveys assigned/completed every 24 hours.

Khenarthi

As someone with 3 chests at "home" full of crafting surveys... I support anything that allows me to collect the materials without spending days hiking through the landscape.

DarcyMardin

Please, please.

FlopsyPrince

Just have the nodes give you mats for ALL the surveys in your inventory, not just one.

That would instantly solve the real problem.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

I have about 2,000 surveys in my bank. I used to do them faithfully, but it became so repetitive that I just gave up.

I don’t hate this idea. My other thought would be to let them stack. What I mean is if you have more than one of the same type. The nodes should drop more and more based on how many you have. Going to a survey, collecting everything than having to run away and come back is super annoying and terrible for immersion.

Android_Archer

FlopsyPrince wrote: »

Just have the nodes give you mats for ALL the surveys in your inventory, not just one.

That would instantly solve the real problem.

I don't see this as a viable option. I believe the intent of the survey grind was to push players to return to areas they've already played through (i.e. the never ending grind). However, instead of making surveys a grind, they could become a new quality of life enhancement, putting better use to a mechanic (Hirelings) already in the game and giving even non-crafters a reason to invest those points, use those surveys.

El_Borracho

This would be AMAZING. I would definitely drop crowns on something that alleviates the periodic, "this is the day I clear out my surveys" chore.

TagCdog

I say just make it a new skill line and have a hireling do 1 survey per day per skill point you invest into it.

If not that, get rid of the run away and come back crap. Either make each of the 6 survey nodes have a multiplied yield depending on the number of duplicate surveys in your inventory, or else make it have 12 nodes for 2x surveys, 18 nodes for 3x, etc...

I understand that "the grind" is a part of these games, but game developers also need to realize that time is precious to people and that wasting it is a good way to make them not want to pay for and play their game anymore. It is a balance.

As a maybe unrelated $0.02 I think that the hireling timers should be adjusted too. For the same reason mount timers are only 20 hours, I think the 24 hour hireling timer should be every 20 hours and the 12 hour hireling timer should be every 10 hours. It's the same time thing. I have a routine and inevitably I am a little bit later each day. Without a grace period to maintain my routine, I get agitated at the game. It's no skin off their backs, and is universal so isn't unfair to anyone.

Android_Archer

El_Borracho wrote: »

This would be AMAZING. I would definitely drop crowns on something that alleviates the periodic, "this is the day I clear out my surveys" chore.

You, I, and many of us I think, truly dread that day we set aside to do this. And let's face it, if we want those mats in the current configuration, we HAVE to set aside a day. A day where we're not able to truly play and enjoy the game. Just a day we have to grind through those damn surveys because, we do still need those mats, If we're going to keep crafting.

The crafting mechanic is great and many folks enjoy that aspect. But, the mats gathering grind really takes the joy out of it.

DMuehlhausen

This is what they have in SWTOR to a point and it's great. You don't get surveys there, but you never have to go out farming for mats. If you need computer parts for a slicing recipe you simply send a crew member / hireling on a slicing mission. The range in time from like a few minutes to a day or two if I remember and then they come back with the mats.

Scion_of_Yggdrasil

Not the first time someone has asked this, and I'm all for it.

ghost_bg_ESO

i thought it will take me too much time but in fact it is pretty rewarding and easy. all maps can be collected with one character and materials are scaled to its crafting skills(!). most surveys are near shrine, for surveys at same place you just have to go away a bit see map again and take all nodes again. if on pc with addons it is even easier...

El_Borracho

ghost_bg_ESO wrote: »

i thought it will take me too much time but in fact it is pretty rewarding and easy. all maps can be collected with one character and materials are scaled to its crafting skills(!). most surveys are near shrine, for surveys at same place you just have to go away a bit see map again and take all nodes again. if on pc with addons it is even easier...

Not disagreeing with you, but its just tedious. And they all seem to be just far enough from the wayshrine to be inconvenient. Then there are the jewelry surveys in Craglorn that always seem to be on the other side of that ridge that runs through the middle of the zone.

ghost_bg_ESO

craglon in the middle and northern elsweyr at left part i directly delete.

Dusk_Coven

Maybe they can milk the houseguests system by making new houseguests that instead of just standing around can each be sent to collect a survey. ("Can you go get this parcel from the post office?")
They don't necessarily have to be made specifically for survey gathering, just an additional function for all houseguests who might otherwise have no assistant type function.

Android_Archer

Dusk_Coven wrote: »

Maybe they can milk the houseguests system by making new houseguests that instead of just standing around can each be sent to collect a survey. ("Can you go get this parcel from the post office?")
They don't necessarily have to be made specifically for survey gathering, just an additional function for all houseguests who might otherwise have no assistant type function.

I supposed that's one way to make more use of house guests but, I think the work required (coding, animation, voice capture) to make that happen, might be a bit more intense then simply using the Hireling that exists in text only and already has a delivery method built in. Would be interesting though, to populate your house with a different 'guest' to perform each of the various survey functions.

rumple9

What a brilliant idea OP

kargen27

Android_Archer wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

This would be AMAZING. I would definitely drop crowns on something that alleviates the periodic, "this is the day I clear out my surveys" chore.

You, I, and many of us I think, truly dread that day we set aside to do this. And let's face it, if we want those mats in the current configuration, we HAVE to set aside a day. A day where we're not able to truly play and enjoy the game. Just a day we have to grind through those damn surveys because, we do still need those mats, If we're going to keep crafting.

The crafting mechanic is great and many folks enjoy that aspect. But, the mats gathering grind really takes the joy out of it.

I like seeing others out and about when I am doing my surveys. For some the surveys are just a part of a viscous circle they created themselves. They need the mats to craft, crafting gives surveys and then the surveys need to be collected so they can craft again. At a certain point I don't see the need or reason for daily crafting just to create what ends up being a grind. If I craft gear for others they often supply the materials so that isn't a problem. Picking up everything I come across as I do other parts of the game keeps me in supplies even if I didn't do the surveys.
As was said many players enjoy crafting so telling them just stop crafting isn't a good answer. For them if they don't like the surveys they can do the parts of the game they find fun and buy the materials. They decide do they want to spend time or gold.
I wouldn't mind if surveys could be sold to other players and short that at least have the option to vendor them for a bit of gold. Then maybe people who don't like doing them would feel the need to hang on to them.